MVC Preseason Poll

[Tpguy]

I'm still pissed we missed the opportunity to beat the Illini in the NIT

 

[V Boy]

Think you are going to see a TON of zone defense from this Redbird team. Lot of reasons for it:

1) No depth at guard at beginning of season. Can't have these guys chasing other guards around whole game. They'll be gassed in 2nd half

2) Outside of maybe Williams, I'm not sure we will be strong defensively at guard.

3) Need to protect Ndaiye and Fayne from fouling. That's fouling the guys they are guarding and also fouling the other teams' guards who are likely to get around our guards in a man-to-man defense. This will protect them a little more.

4) Lot of D1/MVC-level newcomers....especially the forwards. Difficult to adjust to pace and not foul.

5) Muller is good at this

 

[PurpleRedbird]

Think you are going to see a TON of zone defense from this Redbird team. Lot of reasons for it:

1) No depth at guard at beginning of season. Can't have these guys chasing other guards around whole game. They'll be gassed in 2nd half

2) Outside of maybe Williams, I'm not sure we will be strong defensively at guard.

3) Need to protect Ndaiye and Fayne from fouling. That's fouling the guys they are guarding and also fouling the other teams' guards who are likely to get around our guards in a man-to-man defense. This will protect them a little more.

4) Lot of D1/MVC-level newcomers....especially the forwards. Difficult to adjust to pace and not foul.

5) Muller is good at this

Tinsley has the makings of a good defender but guessing he's going need to guard SF and PFs due to our lack of size.

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[SoCalRedbird]

The question mark from me comes down to on-court leadership from KE and PF. If those guys can fill the leadership void, we are a top tier team in the league.

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[Source]

1- Missouri State (30) 381
2- UNI (8) 337
3- Loyola (1) 321
4- Illinois State (1) 256
5- Southern Illinois 226
6- Valparaiso 214
7- Bradley 182
8- Indiana State 116
9- Evansville 88
10- Drake 790

FIRST TEAM Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown (High School)
*Alize Johnson, MSU F 6-9 Sr. Williamsport (Pa.) St. John Neumann High
Donte Ingram, LUC G/F 6-6 Sr. Chicago (Ill.) Simeon
Brenton Scott, INS G 6-1 Sr. Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrup High
Bennett Koch, UNI F 6-10 Sr. Ashwaubenon (Wis.) High
Reed Timmer, DU G 6-1 Sr. New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower
Aundre Jackson, LUC F 6-5 Sr. Kennedale (Texas) High

SECOND TEAM
Thik Bol, SIU F 6-8 Sr. Omaha (Neb.) Iowa Western CC
Darrell Brown, BRAD G 5-10 So. Memphis (Tenn.) Germantown
Klint Carlson, UNI F 6-7 Sr. Waverly (Iowa) Waverly-Shell Rock
Phil Fayne, ILS F 6-9 Jr. Elk Grove (Calif.) Franklin High
Ryan Taylor, UE G 6-6 Jr. Gary (Ind.) St. John's Northwestern Military
Tevonn Walker, VALPO G 6-2 Sr. Montreal (Quebec) Vanier College

*=POY




http://mvc-sports.com/news/2017/10/20/arch-madness-missouri-state-picked-to-win-mvc-mens-basketball.aspx

 

[PurpleRedbird]

1- Missouri State (30) 381
2- UNI (8) 337
3- Loyola (1) 321
4- Illinois State (1) 256
5- Southern Illinois 226
6- Valparaiso 214
7- Bradley 182
8- Indiana State 116
9- Evansville 88
10- Drake 790

FIRST TEAM Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown (High School)
*Alize Johnson, MSU F 6-9 Sr. Williamsport (Pa.) St. John Neumann High
Donte Ingram, LUC G/F 6-6 Sr. Chicago (Ill.) Simeon
Brenton Scott, INS G 6-1 Sr. Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrup High
Bennett Koch, UNI F 6-10 Sr. Ashwaubenon (Wis.) High
Reed Timmer, DU G 6-1 Sr. New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower
Aundre Jackson, LUC F 6-5 Sr. Kennedale (Texas) High

SECOND TEAM
Thik Bol, SIU F 6-8 Sr. Omaha (Neb.) Iowa Western CC
Darrell Brown, BRAD G 5-10 So. Memphis (Tenn.) Germantown
Klint Carlson, UNI F 6-7 Sr. Waverly (Iowa) Waverly-Shell Rock
Phil Fayne, ILS F 6-9 Jr. Elk Grove (Calif.) Franklin High
Ryan Taylor, UE G 6-6 Jr. Gary (Ind.) St. John's Northwestern Military
Tevonn Walker, VALPO G 6-2 Sr. Montreal (Quebec) Vanier College

*=POY




http://mvc-sports.com/news/2017/10/20/arch-madness-missouri-state-picked-to-win-mvc-mens-basketball.aspx

Would maybe flip UNI and Loyola but otherwise what I expected.

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[TIMMY]

I think Milik is flying under the radar and will shock this conference.You've seen him Source. What do you think?

 

[Redbird78]

I agree. He has the potential to make us all happy fans!!!

 

[V Boy]

UNI ranking so high doesn't speak very well of the league in my opinion. Their guards are pretty average, so that means the league's guards overall are weak. And we know guards typically determine the outcome of the Valley.

Some other observations/opinions:

-This looks like the weakest first-team preseason MVC team is a looooong time. Reed Timmer? Bennett Koch? Two guys from Loyola?
-Jordan Barnes will be at least 2nd team
-I was surprised no other Mo St. player was at least 2nd team. No Ronnie Rousseau or Church?

I've been thinking about this more. I think Indiana St. is going to surprise people this year. They have one of the best coaches in the league, and they have probably the best backcourt in the league (Scott and Barnes). I wouldn't be surprised if they are in the top 3.

 

[Source]

I think Milik is flying under the radar and will shock this conference.You've seen him Source. What do you think?

Milik is special. As others posted in the Hoopfest thread, the connection with Fayne and Milik is going to be key all season. Milik came in a similar size to Mikyle, and has cut weight. He is a better ball handler, and shooter than Mikyle. He's also faster than MiKyle, with quicker feet on defense. He doesn't have the post moves Mikyle has. Milik will have the ball in his hands a lot. He is the play maker for the team.

 

[IHateWSU]

I think Milik is flying under the radar and will shock this conference.You've seen him Source. What do you think?

Milik is special. As others posted in the Hoopfest thread, the connection with Fayne and Milik is going to be key all season. Milik came in a similar size to Mikyle, and has cut weight. He is a better ball handler, and shooter than Mikyle. He's also faster than MiKyle, with quicker feet on defense. He doesn't have the post moves Mikyle has. Milik will have the ball in his hands a lot. He is the play maker for the team.

MiKyle could post up, and so could Hawkins. The problem was they would rather play around the arc!

 

[isuquinndog]

I think Milik is flying under the radar and will shock this conference.You've seen him Source. What do you think?

Milik is special. As others posted in the Hoopfest thread, the connection with Fayne and Milik is going to be key all season. Milik came in a similar size to Mikyle, and has cut weight. He is a better ball handler, and shooter than Mikyle. He's also faster than MiKyle, with quicker feet on defense. He doesn't have the post moves Mikyle has. Milik will have the ball in his hands a lot. He is the play maker for the team.

MiKyle could post up, and so could Hawkins. The problem was they would rather play around the arc!

You thought we shot a lot of 3's last year? Just you wait....

 

[SgtHulka]

I think Milik is flying under the radar and will shock this conference.You've seen him Source. What do you think?

Milik is special. As others posted in the Hoopfest thread, the connection with Fayne and Milik is going to be key all season. Milik came in a similar size to Mikyle, and has cut weight. He is a better ball handler, and shooter than Mikyle. He's also faster than MiKyle, with quicker feet on defense. He doesn't have the post moves Mikyle has. Milik will have the ball in his hands a lot. He is the play maker for the team.

http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois-state/yarbrough-green-make-favorable-impressions-during-redbird-hoopfest/article_251f9c55-3ee4-5fff-ac60-cb96aa3f537a.html

"This is my connect right here," said Yarbrough, pointing at Fayne. "I know where he's at."

Fayne scored 12 points — three on dunks off Yarbrough assists

 

[cpacmel]

https://twitter.com/valleyhoops/status/928273741703974913

 

[Chi-bird]

Think non-conference is going to be very very unkind to our Redbirds. I think it is very possible that we could get blown out badly in some of our first few games.

Nevada is going to be really good. So is Ole Miss. Without Copeland and with Clarance missing basically the entire preseason, our backcourt is going to really struggle at the beginning of the year. We are going to turn the ball over a lot. Evans, Madison and J. Martin are going to be under a lot of pressure. So will Clarance when he gets in there eventually.

Now.....by the time we get about one-third of the way through the conference season.....after our team is used to playing with each other.....I could see our size and athleticism start to cause problems for everyone except Mo St.

I would expect us to be middle of the pack in the Valley with an outside shot of stealing St. Louis if Keyshawn Evans, Clarance and Tinsley can score.

I think the real question is whether Muller and staff will be able to hold this roster together in 2019, when we will be the clear-cut favorite to win the league. This year, we will be like Mo St. was last year. Fun to watch.....capable on any night.....inexperienced and inconsistent enough to drive us crazy. Probably close to .500 in the league.

Here's my picks:

1. Mo St 14-4
2. Loyola 12-6
3. UNI 12-6
4. Valpo 10-8
5. ISU 10-8
6. SIU 9-9
7. Bradley 7-11
8. Indy St 6-12
9. Eville 5-13
10. Drake 5-13

Solid post.

 

[JHBird]

I think Milik is flying under the radar and will shock this conference.You've seen him Source. What do you think?

Milik is special. As others posted in the Hoopfest thread, the connection with Fayne and Milik is going to be key all season. Milik came in a similar size to Mikyle, and has cut weight. He is a better ball handler, and shooter than Mikyle. He's also faster than MiKyle, with quicker feet on defense. He doesn't have the post moves Mikyle has. Milik will have the ball in his hands a lot. He is the play maker for the team.

Just seeing him a little bit, he seems like the guy who will have his hands on the ball late in a tight game when we need points. He seems quick enough to get in the paint at will, and then strong enough to make something happen there. I was really surprised at how good he is ... wish we could of had him last year!

 

[Adunk33]

UNI ranking so high doesn't speak very well of the league in my opinion. Their guards are pretty average, so that means the league's guards overall are weak. And we know guards typically determine the outcome of the Valley.

Some other observations/opinions:

-This looks like the weakest first-team preseason MVC team is a looooong time. Reed Timmer? Bennett Koch? Two guys from Loyola?
-Jordan Barnes will be at least 2nd team
-I was surprised no other Mo St. player was at least 2nd team. No Ronnie Rousseau or Church?

I've been thinking about this more. I think Indiana St. is going to surprise people this year. They have one of the best coaches in the league, and they have probably the best backcourt in the league (Scott and Barnes). I wouldn't be surprised if they are in the top 3.

I watched UNI last night against Alcorn State for a little bit. I saw little bit because I had to turn it off after watching about 4 min of the second half. It was very ugly, out of sync basketball. There is not a ton of good basketball played at the start of the season but that was just bad. UNI won by a lot.