MVC semifinal- Creighton vs. Missouri State

[Tulsa Brave]

No, not all of them, but the most important one.

Conzo was named coach March 26, 2008.

http://www.wtae.com/r/15713137/detail.html

These are the kids he has recruited-
Keith Pickens- a sophomore who is not playing this season while recovering from an achilles injury
Nafis Ricks- a senior guard who was a juco transfer and is averaging 9.2 ppg.
Aaron Cooper- a freshman who has played in just 14 games and is averaging 0.4 ppg.
Jermaine Mallet- juco transfer averaging 11.2 ppg
Caleb Patterson- transfer from Colorado shortly after Cuonzo Martin became coach- averages 5.7 ppg
Nathan Scheer- freshman averaging 4.1 ppg
Isiah Rhine- sophomore averaging 1.7 ppg
Nick Valla- freshman who has played in just 14 games and averages 0.6 ppg.



These are the players recruited by Barry Hinson-
Kyle Weems- the MVC Player of the Year. Was recruited and signed by Hinson.
Will Creekmore- transferred to Missouri State during Barry Hinson's final season there.


Adam Leonard- This one can be debated- He left Eastern Kentucky on March 28, 2008, 2 days after Martin was hired, but reports say he had considered leaving EKU for some time.

http://www.wkyt.com/sports/headlines/17128716.html

He then enrolled at MSU a short time later.
It has been said by some that Hinson had contact with him before he was fired, but since he actually transferred shortly after Martin was named the new coach, Martin gets the credit.

But where would Missouri State have finished this year without Creekmore and Weems?

No worse than 3rd...

[TNMSUFAN]

No, not all of them, but the most important one.

Conzo was named coach March 26, 2008.

http://www.wtae.com/r/15713137/detail.html

These are the kids he has recruited-
Keith Pickens- a sophomore who is not playing this season while recovering from an achilles injury
Nafis Ricks- a senior guard who was a juco transfer and is averaging 9.2 ppg.
Aaron Cooper- a freshman who has played in just 14 games and is averaging 0.4 ppg.
Jermaine Mallet- juco transfer averaging 11.2 ppg
Caleb Patterson- transfer from Colorado shortly after Cuonzo Martin became coach- averages 5.7 ppg
Nathan Scheer- freshman averaging 4.1 ppg
Isiah Rhine- sophomore averaging 1.7 ppg
Nick Valla- freshman who has played in just 14 games and averages 0.6 ppg.



These are the players recruited by Barry Hinson-
Kyle Weems- the MVC Player of the Year. Was recruited and signed by Hinson.
Will Creekmore- transferred to Missouri State during Barry Hinson's final season there.


Adam Leonard- This one can be debated- He left Eastern Kentucky on March 28, 2008, 2 days after Martin was hired, but reports say he had considered leaving EKU for some time.

http://www.wkyt.com/sports/headlines/17128716.html

He then enrolled at MSU a short time later.
It has been said by some that Hinson had contact with him before he was fired, but since he actually transferred shortly after Martin was named the new coach, Martin gets the credit.

But where would Missouri State have finished this year without Creekmore and Weems?

Pickens has almost fully recovered from a knee injury and will be a starter next year
Rhine is a Barry recruit
Creekmore was a walk-on who was just given a scholarship for his senior year
Adam never talked to the previous staff

We are in a much better place and Barry is available if you want him

[Bravesfan]

Is this a serious question? I put Virginia Tech WAY ahead of Missouri State...it's not even remotely close. What did MSU do in the non-conference to even sniff a bid. Outside of 2 wins against WSU, what have they done at all? Do 2 wins over WSU come anywhere close to matching wins over Duke and Florida? Does MSU have any other top 100 wins? I don't think so.

MSU was a double digit loser to Tulsa, Oklahoma State, and Valparaiso...3 other teams that won't sniff the dance without winning their conference tourneys. Virginia Tech even beat 1 of those 3 MSU lost to, not that any of them would have been great wins...

VT split games against 11th place Georgia Tech, got swept by 8th place Virginia, got swept by soon to be fourth place Boston College, and split against another fourth place Clemson. They are also 1-2 against UNC and Duke.

Yes, they do have better wins than MSU does. But they have two other things MSU does not have. Those are several bad conference losses and a late season slump (losing 3 out of their last 5).

And of course, MSU has one thing VT does not have:

A regular season conference championship.

[TheAsianSensation]

Is this a serious question? I put Virginia Tech WAY ahead of Missouri State...it's not even remotely close. What did MSU do in the non-conference to even sniff a bid. Outside of 2 wins against WSU, what have they done at all? Do 2 wins over WSU come anywhere close to matching wins over Duke and Florida? Does MSU have any other top 100 wins? I don't think so.

MSU was a double digit loser to Tulsa, Oklahoma State, and Valparaiso...3 other teams that won't sniff the dance without winning their conference tourneys. Virginia Tech even beat 1 of those 3 MSU lost to, not that any of them would have been great wins...

...it's close.

But you have VT and MSU in the right order.

[Murph]

The Barry that recruited all the stars playing for Cuonzo Martin's team.

Pickens has almost fully recovered from a knee injury and will be a starter next year
Rhine is a Barry recruit
Creekmore was a walk-on who was just given a scholarship for his senior year
Adam never talked to the previous staff

We are in a much better place and Barry is available if you want him

LOL, good post.

[Da Coach]

Looks like the MSU fans are much happier with Cuonzo, and Barry has a nice job, too, so I don't feel too sorry for him. But in the end, even with a senior-laden team, made up of players Barry Hinson recruited to Missouri State, Cuonzo couldn't get them any farther than Barry did in 2006 and 2007. In fact, Cuonzo's RPI this season is 41, which is not nearly as good as Barry's 2006 and 2007 teams that were not given at-large bids.

Maybe they will get lucky with the selection committee this year, but a lot of dominos have to fall the right way for MSU to get into the NCAA next Sunday.
And next year- Missouri State loses 4 of their 5 starters. They will not have an easy time picking up the scoring they lose. Other than Weems, the returning players are Keith Pickens (coming off a year of recovering from achilles rupture surgery), Isiah Rhine (1.7 ppg), Nathan Scheer (4.0 ppg), Caleb Patterson (5.7 ppg), and 3 freshman guards who have barely played all year and average less than 1 ppg. They have 3 good-looking incoming freshman recruits, but we have seen that Counzo doesn't play his freshmen much, so it's unclear how much they will contribute.

[Murph]

Looks like the MSU fans are much happier with Cuonzo, and Barry has a nice job, too, so I don't feel too sorry for him. But in the end, even with a senior-laden team, made up of players Barry Hinson recruited to Missouri State, Cuonzo couldn't get them any farther than Barry did in 2006 and 2007. In fact, Cuonzo's RPI this season is 41, which is not nearly as good as Barry's 2006 and 2007 teams that were not given at-large bids.

Maybe they will get lucky with the selection committee this year, but a lot of dominos have to fall the right way for MSU to get into the NCAA next Sunday.
And next year- Missouri State loses 4 of their 5 starters. They will not have an easy time picking up the scoring they lose. Other than Weems, the returning players are Keith Pickens (coming off a year of recovering from achilles rupture surgery), Isiah Rhine (1.7 ppg), Nathan Scheer (4.0 ppg), Caleb Patterson (5.7 ppg), and 3 freshman guards who have barely played all year and average less than 1 ppg. They have 3 good-looking incoming freshman recruits, but we have seen that Counzo doesn't play his freshmen much, so it's unclear how much they will contribute.

Congratulations goes to MSU on a great season, Missouri Valley Champs and 2nd in the league tournament. Some BU fans are jealous and resort to insulting ridiculous comments on message boards, they only wish BU could accomplish just half of what you guys did this year.

Again from a BU fan congratulations on a great season.

[TNMSUFAN]

Congratulations goes to MSU on a great season, Missouri Valley Champs and 2nd in the league tournament. Some BU fans are jealous and resort to insulting ridiculous comments on message boards, they only wish BU could accomplish just half of what you guys did this year.

Again from a BU fan congratulations on a great season.

Thanks Murph!

Coach we still have 3 ships left and we turned things around pretty quick with a couple jucos named Ricks and Mallett. We won't be as bad as you think next year.