SHOX at Braves

[Wufan]

When Walt, Pickett and Prosser are gone (best ball handler, best rebounder, best big man) next year, I can't see Bradley rising to the top. Everyone always has to replace seniors but this is the heart of their team.

Lemon is a poor excuse for "best ball handler." Prosser is NOT their best big. Taylor probably is. Pickett, while a good rebounder, is not their best. Barnes is.

Rise to the top? No. Skip Thursday play? Yes!

Who falls into their Thursday place?

WSU? Maybe in 50 years....
UNI? It has been 11 years now...but...the entire team comes back next season.
ISUr? Who knows, maybe another season full of departures and full roster turn over does it for them.
MSU? Likely not
ISUb? Will slide but not that far
SIU? Not with the way Barry has them going



Who do they replace that isn't a Thursday team?

The Thursday match ups for next year look the same as this year. Evansville is the only one I see moving into 6th and that seems like a long shot.

I wouldn't bet on them moving out of Thursday, but it is possible that an upgraded PG would dramatically improve the team. Currently they are 1 game out of 4th. wouldn't surprise me at all if BU was competitive with the fourth place team in the Valley again next year, but again, that's not where I would pick them.

[rlh04d]

When Walt, Pickett and Prosser are gone (best ball handler, best rebounder, best big man) next year, I can't see Bradley rising to the top. Everyone always has to replace seniors but this is the heart of their team.

Lemon is a poor excuse for "best ball handler." Prosser is NOT their best big. Taylor probably is. Pickett, while a good rebounder, is not their best. Barnes is.

Rise to the top? No. Skip Thursday play? Yes!

Who falls into their Thursday place?

WSU? Maybe in 50 years....
UNI? It has been 11 years now...but...the entire team comes back next season.
ISUr? Who knows, maybe another season full of departures and full roster turn over does it for them.
MSU? Likely not
ISUb? Will slide but not that far
SIU? Not with the way Barry has them going



Who do they replace that isn't a Thursday team?

The Thursday match ups for next year look the same as this year. Evansville is the only one I see moving into 6th and that seems like a long shot.

That's a good way of looking at it. Although with so few games distinguishing a team between 3rd place and Thursday night (two games right now), it's almost impossible to predict teams 3-8 right now.

Bradley and ISUb are probably the only two teams I expect to regress next year.

[ptownbraves]

Bradley and ISUb are probably the only two teams I expect to regress next year.

I think Mike Shaw becomes an immediate impact guy and is at worst trading places with Pickett and at best develops into the PF Illinois signed and believed could make an impact in the Big Ten. Tramique Sutherland looks to be the point guard Bradley has been missing, averaging 8.5 assists/game in Juco and putting up some pretty monster stats. I think things are looking up for Bradley.

[rlh04d]

Bradley and ISUb are probably the only two teams I expect to regress next year.

I think Mike Shaw becomes an immediate impact guy and is at worst trading places with Pickett and at best develops into the PF Illinois signed and believed could make an impact in the Big Ten. Tramique Sutherland looks to be the point guard Bradley has been missing, averaging 8.5 assists/game in Juco and putting up some pretty monster stats. I think things are looking up for Bradley.

It's possible. But it requires a lot of "if this unproven guy can be what we're looking for ..."

Illinois State, UNI, SIU, and Missouri State were all better teams than Bradley and return almost everyone. Every reason to believe they'll improve.

Outside of WSU, Bradley, and Indiana State, only three teams lose one of their top three scorers: Missouri State, SIU, and Drake. Bradley loses their top two scorers, and Indiana State loses their three of their top four. I hope things are on their way up for Bradley, because my view for a successful Valley includes WSU, Bradley, and SIU all capable of getting at-large bids, but I wouldn't bet on an improvement next year. I hope I'm wrong. But I can easily see how every non-Bradley/ISUb team will be better next year. Even if Bradley actually does improve, I can see them performing worse because the teams around them will improve by more.

[tribecalledquest]

I forget which poster said it the best. The difference between 3 and 8 this year is barely distinguishable. Would I put money that Bradley moves into third place next year? No. But I wouldn't put money that Bradley plays on Thursday again either.

Outside of Taylor, Barnes, Bell and Grier the makeup of the Bradley team will be completely different next season. It has to be, Geno Ford's job is on the line.

I think Taylor and Barnes are a pretty good inside duo coming back. Not great, but pretty good. You are adding Mike Shaw the Illinois transfer, Tramique Sutherland a JUCO PG who is putting up ridiculous numbers (if that matters) and Donte Thomas, a 6-6 wing.

Bradley will have three to four scholarships to use this spring. I would suspect almost all of those will be filled with JUCO players. Certainly two scoring wings.

Top 125 recruit Josh Cunningham from Morgan Park is still in play for Bradley. Getting him would be huge. Right now I would say it is 50/50. Of course recruits don't pan out but he would be the highest profile/ranked recruit Bradley has gotten in a long, long time.

I'm not usually an "addition by subraction" guy but Lemon and Pickett are pretty much impossible to play with as teammates. Negative as hell. Bullies. No leadership. Selfish.

I was a huge Walt Lemon fan before the season and have been proven to be very, very wrong about him.

[tribecalledquest]

Let me also add...I love this Wichita team.

Have all season. Seeing them up close and personal was even more impressive. The talent is off the charts. The physical and mental toughness is off the charts. A very likeable team, IMO.

Enjoy it Wichita fans. I know you are flying high right now (and rightfully so) but enjoy it. It probably won't last forever (not trolling, being honest). I will be cheering for the Shox to win it all.

[rlh04d]

Enjoy it Wichita fans. I know you are flying high right now (and rightfully so) but enjoy it. It probably won't last forever (not trolling, being honest). I will be cheering for the Shox to win it all.

I agree. Nothing lasts forever, and more Shocker fans probably need to sit back and enjoy this. It's too easy to get wrapped up in the arguing over schedule strength and what-not.

I never expected to see this team in the top 5 again, let alone pushing for a #1 ranking and a #1 overall seed. This team is better than anything I ever expected to see again as a WSU fan.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Enjoy it Wichita fans. I know you are flying high right now (and rightfully so) but enjoy it. It probably won't last forever (not trolling, being honest). I will be cheering for the Shox to win it all.

You may well be right about the future and implied low flying.

Next year will be pretty bright for the Shockers.

[tribecalledquest]

Enjoy it Wichita fans. I know you are flying high right now (and rightfully so) but enjoy it. It probably won't last forever (not trolling, being honest). I will be cheering for the Shox to win it all.

You may well be right about the future and implied low flying.

Next year will be pretty bright for the Shockers.

I agree. Next year will be great. I wasn't trying to pee on the parade. I just see so many fans of teams worry about SOS, what league they are going to join next, are they "respected" enough while they can just having a hell of a lot of fun and enjoying the ride.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Enjoy it Wichita fans. I know you are flying high right now (and rightfully so) but enjoy it. It probably won't last forever (not trolling, being honest). I will be cheering for the Shox to win it all.

You may well be right about the future and implied low flying.

Next year will be pretty bright for the Shockers.

I agree. Next year will be great. I wasn't trying to pee on the parade. I just see so many fans of teams worry about SOS, what league they are going to join next, are they "respected" enough while they can just having a hell of a lot of fun and enjoying the ride.

Two thumbs up, way up.