Dave Reynolds' preseason MVC picks

[newBUfan]

hmmm

"Bradley will play a slow down style that is different than most in the Valley.
They will need a front court player to emerge but Jim Les always seems to
bite a few of the lead dogs every season."


I too, would describe bradley style like this. It is in no means slow, but very patient at times to the point of methodical handoffs, however bradley offensive is very explosive, using the pick-n-slip better than most teams in college basketball

bradley will win a game or two against a team higher in the standings in conference, i think that is what the writer is referring too.

every writer or fan base has it's on slants on things, and bradleyfan.com is very slanted too

[tornado]

and bradleyfan.com is very slanted too

but the people on BradleyFans will be the first to admit we are proBU and biased...we are honest...
but others who are just as biased claim they are not and are instead quite objective...

[real fan]

Last years team did not shoot the 3 very good, I expect this years team to be a much better 3 point shooting team which should help in being able to get a lot more easier inside baskets as it should spread out the opposing defenses a lot more , I still believe with all the returning experienced players we have that this team should be better defensively, offensively and rebouding, the 4 freshman appear that they will be able to step in and play so as long as we stay healthy it should be a very successful season, no reason why we can"t finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

[SFP]

Last years team did not shoot the 3 very good, I expect this years team to be a much better 3 point shooting team which should help in being able to get a lot more easier inside baskets as it should spread out the opposing defenses a lot more.

That will make all the difference! Last year teams packed it in and played zone on us daring us to shoot the 3! If we can shoot the 3 like we believe that will not just open up the middle for the bigs but also open up the ability for our slashers to get further penetration to the hoop. I expect us to be on the foul line a bit more this year. I hope we get back to our FT shooting form that we had a few years back. Last year we were at time horendous on the line. I also expect us to have a strong rotation of players from the 1-3 position, so playing strong D throughout the course of the game should not ba a problem. Fatigue usually effects the D first!

[AZ BU Fan]

I suggest we send a package of BU Fan Kool Aid to all the pre season pollsters next year!

7th place does seem a bit harsh....

Everyone who has them finishing 3rd or better, makes assumptions:

• BU shooting will improve
• Warren/Egoff can play all season to our expectations
• TB will be equal to/better than TW
• 2008-9 Singh/AT/JP will be an improvement over 2008-9 Collins/Singh/AT
• No major injuries

Given these assumptions, with a little help from our new freshmen, and some luck, BU could finish this coming season even higher....

One pollster picked BU 6th but said if Warren/Egoff return to form, and BU gets improved front court play, BU could go as high as 3rd this year.

I guess other pollsters don't agree on these assumptions, or don't want to rate BU higher with some caveats on Warren/Egoff/Front Court play...

Where I get into the Kool Aid is the 2010-11 season. Barring any injuries, drop outs, criminal activity, Wilkins defection, BU should be in position to win it all no matter who is coaching! ha ha ha

[DoubleJayAlum]

again -- I come back to the same question I have posed several times for these guys, and I haven't seen an answer yet...

If the sole reason BU keeps getting graded DOWN to 6th & 7th place is BU's lack of returning experience in the post, then why in the heck are they so giddy about Wichita State, Indiana State, SIU, and even Creighton themselves.

I think simple common sense sees that none of those other teams has much more than we have in the paint. Certainly InSU and Wichita are very similar in that sense to BU....guard heavy but lose most of their frontcourt and post experience.

Who says that lack of returning talent in the post is the sole reason BU keeps getting downgraded (to use your phrase) ?

As to your comment about returning experience in the post for WSU and CU, I'd point out that they both return their starting Centers...

[Bradleyguy10]

it's egolf...

just curious but is it done on purpose..spelling it egoff? Not attacking just honestly wondering.

[SFP]

Who says that lack of returning talent in the post is the sole reason BU keeps getting downgraded (to use your phrase) ?

As to your comment about returning experience in the post for WSU and CU, I'd point out that they both return their starting Centers...

So do we! Will Egolf was our starter until he was injured albeit a short period of time and we also return our guy who started occasionally and usually played the big minutes, super senior Sam Singh.

[AZ BU Fan]

Don't know if these statistics mean anything, or if they are just abstract numbers.

Here are the 08-09 stats for all returning players, and, PPG and RPG for just returning forwards and centers, for arguably the top 6 MVC teams for 2009-10:
(I counted AW's stats from 07-08 in BU's totals)

............Returning..Minutes..Rebds.....Points.. ....F&C.......F&C
............Players.....Per GM...Per GM...Per GM......PPG.......RPG
UNI........ 9........... 190.9..... 28.2.......64.5.......28.9.......18.1
CU......... 8........... 143.9.....22.2....... 50.7.......21.9.......14.3
BU......... 9........... 188.7.....24.0....... 63.3.......13.1.......8.9
ISU........ 6........... 112.5..... 18.8.......36.4.......10.3.......9.5
SIU........ 7........... 126.9..... 18.4.......42.1.......16.7.......10.3
WSU.......7............134.1.....19.5.......44.7.. .....16.3.......10.5

UNI and Bradley return the most players with the most game time in 2008-9.
UNI and CU return the most rebounds and points from front court players (F&C's). It does show BU's historic dependence on guard play vs post play.

Looks like ISU(B-N), SIU, and WSU will have to depend more on new players in 2009-10 and return fewer points/rebounds from last season than UNI, CU and BU.

I can't evaluate teams additions or returning redshirt frosh...I'll leave that up to others.

It does make a case for BU to have a chance to finish higher up than 6th or 7th based on returning players.

[tornado]

AZ, this is a point I have made showing numbers and stats on several occasions,
that BU returns more players, more minutes, more scoring and more years of experience
than all but ONE Valley team. And yet despite the fact that DJA hasn't read it, virtually every single preseason guide
has used the lack of returning experience as a factor for placing BU 5th-6th-or-7th...

[DoubleJayAlum]

AZ, this is a point I have made showing numbers and stats on several occasions,
that BU returns more players, more minutes, more scoring and more years of experience
than all but ONE Valley team. And yet despite the fact that DJA hasn't read it, virtually every single preseason guide
has used the lack of returning experience as a factor for placing BU 5th-6th-or-7th...

I read it. My comment above was in response to your statement that Bradley's rating was SOLELY due to lack of post experience (I believe other factors are at work as well).

[basketball nut]

It really doesn't matter what the preseason projections are because most of them are wrong each year. If I remember correctly the MVC POY 2 years ago wasn't picked for any preseason awards. Very few preseason all conf. picks actually make it due to someone else having a great year. And the last 2 seasons the conf. winner has been someone picked to finish in the bottom half of the conf. so maybe I like our chances.
All of the Valley teams will be improved w/ the exception of EU which will just make it harder for 1 team to dominate the Valley. I really believe that NIU & CU should be considered the front runners but would not be surprised to see anyone of 6 teams finish at the top. This should make for 1 great MVC tournament this year.