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if you don't want to listen to the whole thing- I will try to summarize
-Brian Wardle- looking forward to getting Antoine Pittman back, will be happy to get the extra practices this summer, especially for the new players.
Elijah Childs will play more on the perimeter now that we have more depth at post with Boya. He is working on his jump shot. Thinks our defense will improve more than our offense. Asked about Boya - "very long", "good athlete", "extremely coachable"...
-Darian DeVries- (Drake) - lot of new faces- 8 new guys since April, still evaluating talent - every position is open. Want to play fast, transition. Senior Nick McGlynn is the clear team leader. First player he had ever landed as a head coach was transfer Nick Norton- and DeVries had recruited Norton earlier while at Creighton.
..a couple questions were asked by Don Doxsie of the Quad City Times - who is their Iowa Hawkeye beat reporter - LINK - he asked about Iowa cancelling the trend of the big state schools playing Drake & UNI.
-Walter McCarty- (Evansville) - talked a little about his new guys - was kinda high on DeAndre Williams. Wants to be known as the hardest working team... SIU beat writer asked about "Shee Feehan"- McCarty answered mostly about his shooting.
-Dan Muller- (ISU) - 1st few questions were from the SIU writer (Todd Hefferman) about taking a foreign trip - and Muller answered it even tho ISU isn't taking one this year. Focusing on getting better defensively. Muller says new assistant Chris Duhon will help "Milik" develop from the NBA perspective. Milik is "night and day" better from last summer - mostly mentions effort. Excited to have Copeland & Chastain available. Chastain still having knee issues.
-Greg Lansing- (Indiana State) - listed a lot of things that need to be fixed, effort, defense, toughness...talked about his "sand workout". Transfer Christian Williams had hip surgery some time ago - still troubling- will not play until December 16. Emondre Rickman getting knee scope next week. Newcomer Blake Brinkmeyer is also injured. Tyreke Key is improved. Transfer Cooper Neese shooting well, plays multiple positions.
-Porter Moser- (Loyola) - transfer Aher Uguak- compared to Donte Ingram. Moser talked about scenarios for his final 2018 scholarship that is still not filled. Prominently mentioned possibly holding it for 2019. Talked about building culture, bonding....blending in the newcomers. Talked a lot about looking forward not backwards (to their Final Four run). Krutwig improved conditioning, stronger. Asked if the Final Four run has helped on the recruiting trail - and yet he said kinda just the opposite -- that such expectations are dangerous - and that you have to recruit like nobody knows you - not take for granted that everyone saw you in the Final Four.
Thinks this coming season will be the BEST in the MVC in years. Donte Ingram & Milton Doyle both playing NBA Summer League. Did not land any Chicago area recruits this year. Kinda hinted there just wasn't that much talent coming out of Chicago.
-Dana Ford- (Missouri State) - talked about having to add so many newcomers. Will probably not redshirt any newcomers because he will need all of them. Had to get "some guys" that could help right away, so the best prospects were juco kids. The "Polish twins" don't quite understand the game yet. Sees a bug need to re-energize the fan base. He's spending a lot of time out in the community and among the fan base. Need to get better to be able to recruit the best players.
Ben Jacobson- (UNI) - Cole Bair from Cedar Rapid/Waterloo Gazette asked about AJ Green. Jacobson praised him as if he's expected to start. Austin Phyfe will be their main big guy. Hinted they did not have the competitiveness last year or two- need to get it back. Hinted that he could play with a point guard + 3 shooting guards. Then one guy (a reporter Mike Steffan) asked about a kid (Noah Carter) that UNI is currently recruiting. Of course Jacobson instantly shut him down and said he can't comment. Surprising that the reporter would not have known that or been prompted to that effect. Talked a little about the new guys but said he's really not anxious to take transfers and will still concentrate on high school recruits. Expressed some upset about Marty Simmons being fired and the games with Iowa & Iowa St. ending.
Tywhon Pickford dislocated his ankle and will be out 'til at least late July. still has one open scholarship - not much left out there but "still looking around".
Barry Hinson- (SIU) - Darius Beane will be playing point guard - cousin Jimmy Beane more of a forward. Thik Bol still has at least 7 more weeks of rehab before getting cleared. Possibly 5 seniors in starting lineup. Barry flatly states he was extremely disappointed that Marty Simmons was fired. NCAA needs a different system to be fair to midmajors as so few get at-large bids. Thinks the tourney will be blase without the midmajors.
Matt Lottich- Valparaiso) - hopes to be more prepared to battle - especially on the road in the Valley. Thinks he has one of the most talented freshmen Javon Freeman.
Doug Elgin- MVC Commissioner - also expresses his upset about Iowa cancelling their series with UNI & Drake. Talked about this being the final year of the MVC/MWC Challenge - but the MVC is working on lining up better tournaments and better opponents in the non-conference- mentions A-10 & West Coast Conference. Says that a new "metric" will be introduced in a month or so to use as criteria for at-large bids. Also promotes the idea of a "showcase round" of teams that get knocked out early in their conference tourneys then can win their way back into the at-large conversation.
not sure, but Dave Reynolds was apparently not available - no mention or questions..
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