UNI- likely starting lineup: Berhow, Pickford, Green, Phyfe, [Carter,Kimmons,Heise,Born]. Look for Noah Carter to have a breakout year. In his 6 minutes/game, he had the team’s highest BPM. Might see time from Betz (So) and Henry (RFr) in the front court. The three income freshmen (Nate Heise, Bowen Born, Tytan Anderson) all might surprise.
Haldeman was a great shooter, but this team is full of shooters. And he was a good defender on a team that will still defend well. Brown will be tougher to replace. Berhow, Green, Carter, Heise, and Born are guys that must be defended from 3.
Loyola - Returning a bunch of good players and Krut will Krut. Loyola and UNI should lead the Valley. I would not want to face Loyola day 1, and I’m looking for Loyola to give the MVC at least one OOC 'upset.' The short OOC will tip the balance a little toward the Loyola in conf, but I still have to go with UNI for #1 (because I’m a Panther fan). There are rankings with Loyola over UNI and with UNI over Loyola. Hopefully, it will be a fun race that further establishes the intensity and respect of the rivalry.
-- After that, there are big questions for everyone. Will depend on newcomers, so I'm probably way off...
Bradley- Childs, Bar, and Boya are good anchors for some guards to step up and work around. Losses of Kennell and Brown will be tough.
SIU- I like this coach. That’s why I have them so high.
ISUb- I think losing Barnes will be tough.
MSU-Hopefully this is a team that sees how far short they fell of their potential and they use that to work on playing as a team.
Drake- Penn will shine. Liam's departure leaves a big hole. Devries seems to do well with offense regardless.
Valpo- JFL was so good on both ends of the court.
ISUr- Maybe they’ll surprise me… Sy Chatman sits this year, I think, which should give Muller another year…
Evansville- Lickliter - I don’t have a ton of confidence in him. What a sad outcome from such high hopes. I hope they pull it together and his style works for them.
Green for POY because in spite of earning POY last year, he has a lot of room for improvement, and he works really hard on his game. TOs / assists was 1:1 in ’19-’20. He needs to improve his decision making and avoid dribbling into trouble - those things I do expect to improve with experience. Getting Kimmons and Born on the court will give him a few ball handling breaks, and last year, when his usage is lower, he played his best ball. He also is adjusting his shot based on advice he got in his NBA tryouts. Defense and strength also are areas he can improve.
Krutwig
Childs
Phyfe
Key