Most Improved Player:

[CBB_Fan]

Who is the most improved player on your team and who do you feel will be the MIP in the conference.

For Wichita State, it is a toss up between Carl Hall and Evan Wessel.

Carl Hall played major minutes last year off the bench (he originally started, but volunteered to let Ben Smith start in his place to help the team), but it would be completely accurate to say he couldn't make a shot outside of 5ft. Luckily, most of his shots were inside that mark, keeping his FG% up.

One thing teams will learn very quickly this year is that Hall does have range now. Not 3PT range, but 15-17 ft range. Apparently, most of his work in the offseason was spent on developing that range. I think he leads the Shockers in points and rebounds with 15 PPG and 8 RPG. He will get the ball a lot, and he is very good at finishing through contact, so I think those stats are reasonable, if optimistic.

Evan Wessel may be more improved though, because he is starting with less. Last year, he was the definition of scrub, a player that played only in blowouts and generally wasn't that great when was in. This year, he is a starter (for now). He won't lead the Shockers in any major statistic, but he is a energy guy that can score in spurts (4-5 from the 3PT line in the exhibition). Played PG in high school at 6'5" (SF at Wichita State), so he has handles.

I'm not sure who will be the most improved player in the conference at this point. I don't know what various MVC players have improved on over the offseason. My guess is that the MIP (if they aren't Carl Hall or Evan Wessel) will be a sophomore that plays 7-12 MPG last year and will score 10 or more points this year, but that could be any number of players.

[Khan4Cats]

UNI has any number of players who could 'improve' elements of their game that could turn this season into something really special.

Jake Koch-has lived under the shadow of the expectations established by his brothers solid career and great finish. What some people may not realize is that he has put up better numbers than Adam across the board through their junior years except in points scored.
Points: Adam 778 (1186 total), Jake 737
3-pointers: Adam 21 (46) Jake 98
Rebounds: Adam 425 (596) Jake 443
Assists: Adam 132 (180) Jake 188
Steals: Adam 44 (64) Jake 75
Blocked Shots: Adam 26 (37) Jake 79
Free Throws: Adam 309/405 76.3% (446/569 78.4%) Jake 219/272 80.5%

Coach Jake has asked Jake to be more selfish and look to score more this year. I don't know if he will, but he could certainly be in the mix even though he is already a very good player for us.

Anthony James could become a "most improved" simply by taking better shots and improving his percentage. He gets closer to the 50% shooter he was a sophomore (and he only took 60 more shots last year than as a sophomore) and he ups his scoring average to 15 ppg.

Marc Sonnen already took a big step last year upping his shooting pct from 32% to 44% from both 2 and 3-pt range. I don't see him shooting much more than he did, but if does and keeps those percentages up his overall scoring could go up, especially if he learns to make lay-ups!!

Austin Pehl-No. I just don't see him playing enough to garner any consideration though his improvement would be welcome to add that big body on the floor.

Chip Rank-Chip shot almost 50% FG and 45% from 3 last year. He just needs to stay consistent with those numbers. I don't see him improving enough to be considered.

Matt Morrison-will likely continue as a back-up PG and sharpshooter (45%) off the bench. I don't see him being called on enough to be considered.

Deon Mitchell might be the best overall candidate for this. He has lost about 15 pounds and enhanced his quickness. He needs to make good decisions and take better care of the ball. If he can improve on his A-TO ratio (57-74) and shooting percentages (39/37), I could definitely see him getting consideration.

Seth Tuttle-I am not sure how you 'improve' on being Freshman of the Year and the first freshman to ever lead the Valley in FG%. He started to show his shooting range towards the end of the year and has been willing to step out in the exhibition games as well so I expect that to continue. He has added muscle and hopefully that will allow him to hold up to more of the physical play down low and maybe convert some of the contact into and-ones instead of merely drawing two shots. That and improving his FT% could see him take a big step forward from an already advanced spot.

The others are all newcomers or bit players that I don't see stepping into larger roles. The exception would be Nate Buss who played a couple of games before getting hurt last year. He has a chance to become a big scoring weapon off the bench but I think he will be considered more in the newcomer role.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Listing all, or almost all, of your players kind of runs counter to the phrase MOST improved player, right? If all of your players improved the same amount, by definition you really don't have a most improved player.

Anyway, for the Jays it will be one of the following two guys, based on what we've seen so far:

(1) Gregory Echenique. He's lost at least 15 pounds without losing any of his strength or muscle mass. He is noticeably quicker and a lot more agile.

(2) Branson's own Avery Dingman. Much has already been written in the OWH and other places about him being the most improved on the defensive side of the ball. His shooting stroke is just as solid as it was last year, he's playing with a ton of confidence and has really worked on his dribble/drive. Was perhaps the most impressive player on both sides of the ball in the exhibition.

[glm38]

For the Bears it could/should be Christian Kirk. Hes gained 20 lbs of muscle and that doesn't seem to have negatively affected his considerable athleticism and leaping ability. He's also showed an improved post game offensively. If we have any hope of finishing in the top half he'll have to step up and play big.

[PantherSigEp]

Listing all, or almost all, of your players kind of runs counter to the phrase MOST improved player, right? If all of your players improved the same amount, by definition you really don't have a most improved player.

I think he was just laying out what each individual has to do to put themselves into position for consideration of this distinction. From the way I read it, Khan laid it out almost as if we were looking for a resume for an award, not necessarily picking out certain individuals.

[UNIFanSince1983]

It is awfully hard to pick who is going to be most improved before the season even starts.