Valley Super-Sophs

[LittleBrave]

Trying to take some of the bite out of some bitterness I've read on some of our boards lately, let's think about next season (though we're a few months away) and look ahead to Valley sophomores who will make an impact on their teams.

Who will be the 5 Valley sophomores (not easy since there were quite a few good freshmen last year) who will make the most impact?
Feel free to comment from a statistical viewpoint or other aspect of their game you think will improve to better their team.

My thoughts:

(No particular ranking)

1) Seth Van Deest (DU) - will need to improve on banging inside for positioning to rebound - will score double-digits most games.

2) Colt Ryan (EU) - how good can this kid get? I think his 3-pt. % will go up - only about 36% last year. Will be the heart and soul of the Aces.

3) Marc Sonnen (UNI) - will step in as the go-to 3-point specialist in place of Ali. He does a lot of intangibles well, like most Panthers.

4) Demetric Williams (WSU) - lot of pressure on him - maybe more than any other PG in the Valley. He will grow up quickly and become a solid all-around PG for the Shox. His play may dictate whether they become Valley-champs or not.

5) Dyricus-Simms Edwards (BU) - many BU fans were in awe of some of the things DSE did last season. His defense will improve and will step up and make big shots when the team needs him to.

Considered: Jackie Carmichael (ISU-red) - has a developed body already; ability to crash the boards will get him some easy deuces - needs to work on short jumper, but doesn't have Dinma around where other teams focused on stopping him.

[BradleyBrave]

Carmichael is the best sophomore in the MVC. He may be the best big in the MVC, although Lawson and Stutz will be up there with him.

[Monmouth_Bradley_Fan]

Carmichael is the best sophomore in the MVC. He may be the best big in the MVC, although Lawson and Stutz will be up there with him.

Boom, took the words right out of my mouth.

[it's boogie time]

It'll be interesting to which part of DSE's game improves over the offseason. He'll certainly present problems for the opposition at any position.

I agree that Carmichael might be the best of the group. He'll certainly get much more playing time compared to last year. We'll see how he handles the load. There just aren't that many athletic big men in the Valley.

[houstontxbrave]

Carmichael might be the best player in our league, even as a Sophomore. I would expect his game to continue to expand.

I think the next is DSE. He is flat out a basketball player and isnt in the least fearful. I can not wait to see his game also evolve.

Van Deest is my third with Sonnen forth.

Williams is the x factor, if he comes in handles the ball and does not get turned over WSU is going to be very difficult to defeat. His development might be the most important to any Valley school.

Ryan is a nice player but, well he shoots a lot, to get what he gets and overall regardless of his game to game performance it just isnt going to effect the conference much.

[DUBulldog]

1) Seth Van Deest (DU) - will need to improve on banging inside for positioning to rebound - will score double-digits most games.

Just as an FYI....Van Deest has grown an inch since last season and is now 6-11, and he looks much thicker in the upper body. The Drake website is listing him at 238 pounds now....I think he was about 215 last season. Still has great footwork, and is getting stronger.

[shaunguth]

WHAT? A super-soph list and still no mention of John Wilkins?

[SFP]

WHAT? A super-soph list and still no mention of John Wilkins?

Who?

[Da Coach]

Carmichael is the best sophomore in the MVC. He may be the best big in the MVC, although Lawson and Stutz will be up there with him.

I will have to see more of him to bestow such accolades on him this early, and IMO he is not even in the converstion of best big man in the MVC, yet.
He had a couple nice games, but was MIA in many others, like-
He had 0 points and 1 rebound against Morehead State
3 points and 0 rebounds against Dayton
5 points 1 rebound at UNI
2 points 1 rebound at Creighton
He had 20 games with 6 points or less- for the best young big man in the MVC, where was the offense?
He had 10 games with 2 rebounds or less! and 17 games with 3 rebounds or less.

His season totals of 6.8 ppg and 4.1 rpg are very David Collins-esque.
BB, I think you may be dekluded by the game he played at Bradley (one of the best games he had all year) when he scored 12 and had 7 rebounds. But he was very inconsistent. Let's see how well he does without Dinma around, and with a weaker perimeter team.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/88746

[PTownHawkeye]

I don't believe that Carmichael is the best player in the league, let alone sophomore. He has no offensive moves, just power moves, which will only take him so far. Watch his footwork on defense...all he seems to do is try to block shots which puts him in bad position on a regular basis. Let's remember, there is a reason the high-majors passed on him.

I don't want to say he isn't good, but he needs work to take things to "star" level. He is a nice player and I would have LOVED to see him at BU, but he is a raw talent with a lot of potential at this point, nothing more. If he makes some big strides this off-season, I may change my mind.

[SFP]

Carmichael was one of the rare freshmen bigs to get plenty of time on the floor. I expect to see him improve over last year and will no doubt cause trouble for more then a few teams. On the other hand if Van Deest has grown and gained muscle I'd have to give him the nod over Carmichael.

[houstontxbrave]

I will have to see more of him to bestow such accolades on him this early, and IMO he is not even in the converstion of best big man in the MVC, yet.
He had a couple nice games, but was MIA in many others, like-
He had 0 points and 1 rebound against Morehead State
3 points and 0 rebounds against Dayton
5 points 1 rebound at UNI
2 points 1 rebound at Creighton
He had 20 games with 6 points or less- for the best young big man in the MVC, where was the offense?
He had 10 games with 2 rebounds or less! and 17 games with 3 rebounds or less.

His season totals of 6.8 ppg and 4.1 rpg are very David Collins-esque.
BB, I think you may be dekluded by the game he played at Bradley (one of the best games he had all year) when he scored 12 and had 7 rebounds. But he was very inconsistent. Let's see how well he does without Dinma around, and with a weaker perimeter team.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/88746

Eyeball test and that includes his physical abilities Carmichael is the best Sophomore in this conference and if his game evolves he will be right towards the top in best players in this conference.

Pure basketball skill DSE is the best "basketball" player of the Sophs. Van Deest if he is growing both in height and size might be the best NBA potential of the Sophs. He is very skilled feet wise for a young bigman.

[amckillip]

I will have to see more of him to bestow such accolades on him this early, and IMO he is not even in the converstion of best big man in the MVC, yet.
He had a couple nice games, but was MIA in many others, like-
He had 0 points and 1 rebound against Morehead State
3 points and 0 rebounds against Dayton
5 points 1 rebound at UNI
2 points 1 rebound at Creighton
He had 20 games with 6 points or less- for the best young big man in the MVC, where was the offense?
He had 10 games with 2 rebounds or less! and 17 games with 3 rebounds or less.

His season totals of 6.8 ppg and 4.1 rpg are very David Collins-esque.
BB, I think you may be dekluded by the game he played at Bradley (one of the best games he had all year) when he scored 12 and had 7 rebounds. But he was very inconsistent. Let's see how well he does without Dinma around, and with a weaker perimeter team.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/88746

Carmichael looked good when he played us, and I thought he was good, but it's pretty hard to argue with those numbers. Based on his averages last year and how much weaker ILSU's team is I think expectations should probably be tempered for Carmichael.

[saluki762]

My Salukis may finish in last but Gene Teague should be on this list.

[Out of Balance]

WHAT? A super-soph list and still no mention of John Wilkins?

We are not going there again Geeeee's Good one shaunguth