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BirdsEyeView wrote:Very possible as well. But I wouldn't bet the bank your Shox win the league, nor would I bet the bank that ISUr doesn't if I were you. Both are very realistic possibilities.

MSU has a ton of talent, but questionable coach. This is a good spot for them IMO.

I think you could say the same thing about ISUr with regard to talent and coaching.

One thing that WSU does have going for them, if you look at it from the point of "WSU is regressing to the pack" is that WSU did not win the league in a tiebreaker last year. If Baker and VanVleet are worth 3 wins more than their replacements on this year's team, that still puts the 2017 WSU squad in contention and probably as the favorite.

Can't be upset with a 4th place prediction after the years we have had with Lusk.

BirdsEyeView wrote:McIntosh, Hawkins and Lee won't let us finish below 3rd.

I think they will be very disappointed if it's not 1st.

What does ISUr have besides these three? Who have they brought in that will make an impact? Do they have any depth, or will they be this years Evansville and run a six man rotation?

BuBrave2006 wrote:

BirdsEyeView wrote:McIntosh, Hawkins and Lee won't let us finish below 3rd.

I think they will be very disappointed if it's not 1st.

What does ISUr have besides these three? Who have they brought in that will make an impact? Do they have any depth, or will they be this years Evansville and run a six man rotation?

As always, we will be very athletic. Tony Wills is still around...so we return 4 starters. We lost Purcell, however, I am in the belief that he was more of a burden than a help as evidenced by his 86 turnovers to 60 assists....a negative assist to turnover ratio.

We have added a few JuCo transfers that will help immediately...

DJ Clayton (6'6 guard)
Phil Fayne (6'9 forward)


Then David N'Diaye should finally be healthy. He is a very good defender, but raw on offense.

Backup point guard will be our question mark with Keyshawn Evans back after injuries last year and Freshman Madison Williams.

My guess is we go 8-9 deep by mid-season.
Reliance will be heavy on those returning starters, but I think DJ Clayton will be our X Factor on whether or not we challenge to win the league this year.

This is probably better suited for the 3rd place poll, but I'll post it here because I can. I think the battle for third will be the biggest question of this upcoming season between Ill. St. and UNI. They both have loads of talent, with maybe Ill. St. a tad better true athletes, and UNI a superior coach. Flip a coin, and you will have just as good of a chance as trying to guess the third place team. WSU is the best team in the Valley until they prove to me that they aren't.

Cdizzle wrote:

BirdsEyeView wrote:Very possible as well. But I wouldn't bet the bank your Shox win the league, nor would I bet the bank that ISUr doesn't if I were you. Both are very realistic possibilities.

MSU has a ton of talent, but questionable coach. This is a good spot for them IMO.

I think you could say the same thing about ISUr with regard to talent and coaching.

One thing that WSU does have going for them, if you look at it from the point of "WSU is regressing to the pack" is that WSU did not win the league in a tiebreaker last year. If Baker and VanVleet are worth 3 wins more than their replacements on this year's team, that still puts the 2017 WSU squad in contention and probably as the favorite.

I usually agree with you on most things. But I'll disagree in that I don't think muller has done that badly as a head coach. He's had some rocky times for sure but overall he's been much better than Lusk. I do agree that your Shox should be the favorites again. You have plenty of talent left and Marshall as your coach.

[quote="BuBrave2006"]

What does ISUr have besides these three? Who have they brought in that will make an impact? Do they have any depth, or will they be this years Evansville and run a six man rotation?[/quote]

Not even mentioning the obvious fact of suspect coaching. The Illinois State fan is providing a fair amount of homerism.

glm38 wrote:He's had some rocky times for sure but overall he's been much better than Lusk.

Lusk hasn't exactly set the bar high...

I'll pick the Redbirds third and hope for better. It's hard for me to bet against Wichita State.

Muller has improved a lot as a coach, but our offensive efficiency is woeful. His teams always play solid defense. He's a really good recruiter. But until/unless the offense improves, I just don't envision us competing for titles.

In terms of proven talent 4th place is UNIs. 11 of 16 kids on the roster are new/never played in a D1 game.

The thing is, UNI has quite possibly the best X/O coach in the league.

MSU and ILSU, OTOH have 2 of the 4 worst coaches in the league....and that's saying something given the bottom of the barrel coaches in this league in places.

ISU may have the physical talent but they have the coaching talent, basketball IQ and emotional control of most junior high teams.