With all the new faces in the Valley - and with all the departures - what's everyone's predictions for their team's starting five this coming season? How good is the Seton Hall transfer for Drake? I assume Kaifes will be starting for Loyola? Who replaces Tulio and Cook for the Bears?
It's still really early, but here's my take on SIU at this point:
Lance Jones, PG, Soph
Ben Harvey, SG, Soph (There are HIGH expectations for this kid who is a transfer from Eastern Illinois)
Marcus Domask, SF, Soph
Anthony D'Avanzo, PF, Senior (D2 Grad transfer who can shoot from the outside)
JD Muila, C, Junior
Mullins has said before he prefers a 4-guard lineup, but he has more height than last year's team so I think he'll end up sticking with D'avanzo and Muila together to start the year. I think a wildcard though would be in Dalton Banks, who is a true freshman PG who could work his way into the starting lineup to push D'Avanzo or Muila out so they play 4 guards; at the very least though SIU can finally "go big" against teams like Bradley even though they're still undersized a bit.