Top 144 Teams--Sports Madness - 2020-2021

[VUGrad1314]

Both are underrated here and the games between the two will be fantastic. I look forward to them. I just hope that both of them are able to represent this conference in the NCAA Tournament!

[mexicobufan]

Bradley will be better and deeper than last year. They have eight guys who have a legitimate chance to start. Rienk Mast will be a very difficult player to guard in the MVC. Nolan, McAdoo and East added to the other backcourt pieces will make Bradley’s backcourt better than last year. A healthy Boya will be better than Barr in the middle and adding Rienk makes the front court better. As I already said, their depth is much, much better than last year. I also believe if it’s possible because of their athletic ability they will be better on defense as well. I loved last years team when healthy but this team’s ceiling is much higher.

[Blers]

I really feel like experience will outweigh everything this year. There have never been more distractions for teams. Restrictions on practice throughout the offseason, guidelines for socializing, online classes... sure it's a bit different at every school but newcomers aren't getting a typical introduction to the DI life compared to other years.

With that in mind i'm pretty confident Loyola's gonna be tough. This is far and away the deepest team we've ever had, and all but Norris and Hebb have already proven it in a Loyola uniform. I think Indiana State could be a real sleeper too, they return a lot of talent and it may be addition by subtraction with the Barnes loss...

What's the feeling at MSU right now?? I have no idea what their expectations are.

[BEARZ77]

What's the feeling at MSU right now?? I have no idea what their expectations are.

Given Ford's 1st two years, the feelings are mixed and cautious. First there are 8 newcomers to mix in and that's always difficult, but add the limited opportunity for melding things under a pandemic. Secondly is Ford's inability to date to get consistent performance from his teams; last years team was a bad collection of mismatched talent and attitudes as far as team play was concerned. Can he do any better with another influx of talented individuals needing to come together as a team, who knows. From that standpoint though, this group was a different bag in terms of recruiting focus. Only one D-1 transfer [ 7'0 Dawson Carpers who likely redshirts] and a nice mix of high level jucos and high school/prep school adds.

The first order of business was getting some handlers/passers in tow after a season of terrible point guard play. Black ended up finishing the year at point and was serviceable, but is really a spot up shooter type and can return to more of that role now. The offense will run thru Prim, but has tons of options in Mosley, Sharp, Hervey, Ridder, for scoring and 3 new handlers in Sharp, Wicks, Patterson. Needed size depth was added in 6'10 juco Tata and Carpers, as well as 6'8 freshman Ebonkoli. The roster is 2 deep in quality, size, and roles , but a lot of moving parts. On paper though it looks like a better blend of players who can assume roles instead of pushing to be the focus. That will be key.

It's Ford's 3rd year, usually the year I expect things to be in place to make a run, but I think given everything that has happened, we're a year behind in that process and Ford has to prove he's up to it. We only have the one senior { Prim} and i think the talent is there for a top 3-4 finish, but probably not yet this year. I think 5th-6th is about right , but I think this is a very good roster, a more balanced roster, and it still has excellent length and athleticism as we go 6'2, 6'3, 6'4, 6'5, 6'6, 6'6, 6'7, 6'8, 6'8 6'8, 6'10, 6'11, 7'0.

[ahunte1]

With the caveats being that all the turnover is tough and Ford hasn't really proven that he can get new pieces together quickly, I actually kind of like MSU. I thought Mosely had a hell of a freshman year. Him and Prim are legit. Hope Prim can stay on the court (unless he wants to foul out against Loyola).

[BEARZ77]

With the caveats being that all the turnover is tough and Ford hasn't really proven that he can get new pieces together quickly, I actually kind of like MSU. I thought Mosely had a hell of a freshman year. Him and Prim are legit. Hope Prim can stay on the court (unless he wants to foul out against Loyola).

Yeah, Mosley was held back a bit both by Ford early and especially by the selfish play of the roster. Mosley is as an efficient scorer as I've seen for a perimeter player, being able to score at all levels w/o having to take a lot of shots. But he does need to see the ball consistently and he and Prim should benefit from more focus on that this year. If Prim does get into foul problems, at least with Tata we have a big body who can anchor down low in reserve. Last year with West and DaSilva, while skilled, both went about 210 and simply couldn't contest bigger/stronger post players. Tata is a big dude and shot over 70% as a top 60ish juco player last year. Ebonkoli is interesting at about 6'7-6'8, 220 or so as freshman and had a Seton Hall offer; has played some internationally and rebounds out of space well. If Ridder is healthy and Hervey swings between 3/4, I like the versatility/depth on this frontline. Really the whole question mark starts with Ford.

A few preseason pubs out; Lindy's had Sharp as the likely most impactful recruit in the MVC, and Hervey and Sharp as possible pro prospects. With the disrupted summer both Hervey and Sharp have been overlooked a bit, but are both long, athletic, and skilled for their positions.