Official MVCfans.com Prediction - Newcomer of the Year

by **MVCfans** » October 15th, 2010, 3:23 pm

Please choose the player you think will be voted MVC Newcomer of the Year for the 2010-2011 Mens Basketball Season. Since it is possible for the newcomer of the year to be a freshman, I have included a couple. Names listed per the nominations and earlier thread on this topic. If there are names I am missing, let me know and I can add them.

I will begin the Player of the Year poll on Monday.

**Sponsor**

by **fastbow** » October 15th, 2010, 5:24 pm

Ok, can someone enlighten a poor Wichita State fan? Who the heck is this Exchequer guy? How good is he really? How can England spare him from all his duties, especially in this time of financial turmoil and pressure for the coalition government?

BTW: Ragland for NOY

by **WSUbballer** » October 15th, 2010, 10:26 pm

Echenique is going to dominate the inside play in the Valley according to most people in Omaha. He should be a runaway for NOY.

Honestly, I can't vote in this one because I just can't pick somebody I haven't seen yet. There's speculation and hype surrounding a lot of players but until we see these players in the Valley, it's just a shot in the dart.

by **snoopj** » October 16th, 2010, 7:25 am

WSUbballer wrote:Echenique is going to dominate the inside play in the Valley according to most people in Omaha. He should be a runaway for NOY.

Honestly, I can't vote in this one because I just can't pick somebody I haven't seen yet. There's speculation and hype surrounding a lot of players but until we see these players in the Valley, it's just a shot in the dart.

On the UNI boards, we had a discussion about his resume and while he had a nice freshman year at Rutgers, his first 7 games in his sophomore year were domination of lesser opponents out of conferences well below MVC standards. The two games (well three actually) against teams of quality (Vermont and Florida being tournament teams and UMass got him into foul trouble), those numbers weren't that impressive (especially Florida, where he only scored 0 points and only had 2 boards in 21 minutes). For the record, even against Vermont, he only had 9 points and 5 rebounds in 23 minutes.

I can understand the hype machine, but at this time, I need to see more to justify the crown many want to put on him. That's just me.

by **WSUbballer** » October 16th, 2010, 1:49 pm

snoopj wrote:On the UNI boards, we had a discussion about his resume and while he had a nice freshman year at Rutgers, his first 7 games in his sophomore year were domination of lesser opponents out of conferences well below MVC standards. The two games (well three actually) against teams of quality (Vermont and Florida being tournament teams and UMass got him into foul trouble), those numbers weren't that impressive (especially Florida, where he only scored 0 points and only had 2 boards in 21 minutes). For the record, even against Vermont, he only had 9 points and 5 rebounds in 23 minutes.

I can understand the hype machine, but at this time, I need to see more to justify the crown many want to put on him. That's just me.

That's a good and fair assertion and analysis. Just because he's a transfer from a bottom-tier Big East school, doesn't mean it'll be an automatic success at the Valley level. I agree that I'd like to see him in action in the conference first before we crown him.

Yes, I see how Creighton fans are excited. But I think their perspective is a little off.

by **OkoboJay** » October 16th, 2010, 9:45 pm

I noticed the same things too when first analyzing his play. However, after getting my hands on copies of a few of his games I found that he also played for a coach who made absolutely no effort to feed the ball down low. That will not be the case at Creighton.

The opponents he padded his numbers against might not make your jaw drop.
Seeing Gregory in person, however, will.

by **snoopj** » October 17th, 2010, 7:49 am

PricklyPete wrote:I think CU fans are just excited because during the Altman era it was a constant stream of guys playing out of position. Hell, our backup center last year was 6-4 Wayne Runnels who might start at the 2 or 3 this year. Having a true big bodied center should help out in so many ways.

For perspective, Echenique's stats last year were more than okay although not quite all-conference level. The hope is that he can be a difference maker in a league without as many true post guys. Time will tell.

Opponent - Pts/ Rebounds
Marist 13/10
Drexel 16/14
Vermont 9/5
Umass 10/4
Florida 0/2
Princeton 21/11
Colgate 19/8

Again, I look at that body of work last year and the first thing that jumps out at me is that there was a lot of "big fish, small pond" type of games. I know the MVC isn't known for it's bigs, but you would have to think that there's going to be some teams or individuals that might have him put up more Vermont/Florida game numbers instead of going for Princeton numbers.

My guess is he's going to feast on some of the smaller teams in the league. It's a question of what he does against those that do have some sort of inside presence. If he can put up 21 and 11 against those teams in his half of eligibility this season, then sure, he's going to be a front runner for NoY.

Again, I'm just too jaded by hype machines recently and would rather it be seen on the floor. Too many times I've heard of "all conference" type of players that never pan out due to being overhyped.

by **jayball** » October 17th, 2010, 9:43 am

There are always a few guys each year that are hyped up. Reality is that Greg is big. He is a sophmore. He might not dominate the Valley this year, but he will help CU immensely as someone who has the size and athleticism to compete on the interior every night.

I know people always say the Valley doesn't have a huge number of legit post players but IMO there are a fair number of talented players to watch.

WSU with Stutz and Co. will be great in the post. Teague at SIU is talented. VanDeest at Drake showed promise last year. Carmichael at ISU. MSU has a couple of experienced players in Creekmore and Patterson.

I think Evile, InState, and UNI probably have the most to prove on the inside. While ORear and Baby Koch are nice....they have big shoes to fill from Shrek and Big Koch. IIRC Eville lost most of its size to transfer and maybe InSt too?

Can't remember much about Bradley's inside guys? anyone ?

by **45otseoj** » October 17th, 2010, 11:20 am

jayball wrote:Can't remember much about Bradley's inside guys? anyone ?

by **valleychamp** » October 17th, 2010, 12:04 pm

jayball wrote:There are always a few guys each year that are hyped up. Reality is that Greg is big. He is a sophmore. He might not dominate the Valley this year, but he will help CU immensely as someone who has the size and athleticism to compete on the interior every night.

I know people always say the Valley doesn't have a huge number of legit post players but IMO there are a fair number of talented players to watch.

WSU with Stutz and Co. will be great in the post. Teague at SIU is talented. VanDeest at Drake showed promise last year. Carmichael at ISU. MSU has a couple of experienced players in Creekmore and Patterson.

I think Evile, InState, and UNI probably have the most to prove on the inside. While ORear and Baby Koch are nice....they have big shoes to fill from Shrek and Big Koch. IIRC Eville lost most of its size to transfer and maybe InSt too?

Can't remember much about Bradley's inside guys? anyone ?

I agree with you about the post players comment. Thats one thing that people always like to say, that "the MVC lacks post players". I don't think that is true at all. I would argue that the post play for the last few years has been much better than the guard play. As you pointed out, nearly every team has 1 or multiple post players that are very talented.