Can we be surprised?

[mexicobufan]

For the last couple of months I had convinced myself that this year for BU was a rebuilding year and that Next year we would be back on top. I based this on our lack of size and the amount of scoring and rebounding we lost from last year. I have to be honest most of my problem was with our size and lack of depth!!! After reading some of Jim's comments and the players its obvious they do not believe this is going to be a wasted year. Now I understand that the coach has to be upbeat and the players want to well but they seem very sure of themselves.

My question is, do they really have the talent and ability to surprise folks and end up with a solid record and in the top half of the MVC? I hope they do?

[tornado]

Yes, I am expecting a top-5 finish in the MVC.
Maybe not an NCAA bid, but a good and satisfying year.

[mexicobufan]

OK Tornado I have a great deal of respect for your BU knowledge so I was hoping for more why you feal this way and how you think we can overcome some of the issues we have. GIVE ME MORE????

[tornado]

Extremely talented and experienced corps of guards
(DRuff, Will Franklin, DA, JJ Tauai, Crouch)

What MVC coach wouldn't be optimistic in a year when they have so much depth and experience at the guard position?

Decent big men
(Zach, Matt Salley, Sam Singh)

Some new faces on the court that can help, too
(Andrew Warren, Saihou Jassey)

[mexicobufan]

What about depth and who is going to pick up the scoring load. How are we going to defend around the basket?

[tornado]

Right now the teams who are the top rated in the Valley
(Missouri State, Creighton, Wichita State) are all greater threats to score outside than inside.
I think that Falker (SIU) exploited POB because of his quickness, but possibly Zach can hold his own against the SIU post players, and the Salukis may have trouble scoring if BU can disrupt their guards+Falker.
In fact, BU may be equal to all but CU in that list when it comes to size, strength, and experience inside.
No doubt UNI will have two strong returning big men, but they will be very weak and inexperienced at guard, so we may be able to exploit that weakness.
If BU gets ion foul trouble, then I agree we don't have a lot of depth, but then, look at UNI the last two years. They basically went the entire 40 minutes with 5 maybe six players, and they still did pretty well.

If Missouri State gets some decent production out of Richards and Frazier, then with the shooting they have from outside, I would fear them the most.
But historically Richards and Frazier have disappeared in big games.
In MSU's MVC tourney loss to UNI, Richards had 2 pts, Frazier had 3 pts, and fwd. Bilyeu had 4 pts.
That's a total of NINE points out of their entire front line.

All in All, I truly believe BU will win more than lose in the Valley
and I really do expect some pleasant surprises.

[Da Coach]

I think in any ordinary year for the MVC, Bradley could be competetive, even with the losses they have had. But I am not quite as optimistic about the outcome this year, mainly because the MVC is at it's highest point in terms of quality of teams and talent. It is projected that the Valley will send 4 teams to the NCAA (the MVC did get 4 bids last year, but nobody has ever projected 4 teams in the NCAA). Those 4 teams are loaded with talent and experience (SIU, WSU, CU, and MSU), and are all rated in the top 50 in many preseason rankings. And the next tier of MVC teams is not too far behind. So the strength of the Valley will keep Bradley from having as good a year as I think they could in other years.

[it's boogie time]

My biggest fear is rebounding. Last year, BU usually had three decent rebounders on the floor and they usually won this battle. It sounds like the 3 man is going to be a guard this year with even an occasional guard at the 4 spot. I'm sure Zach is going to gobble up a bunch of rebounds this year, but he needs help. The three big guys are going to be asked to play a lot of minutes and that isn't a good sign.

I'm hoping for the best. I'm always optimistic at the beginning of the year.