Let's think on the bright side!

[LittleBrave]

Can anyone think of positives to take away from this season.
Right now I'm not upset, but disappointed when I reflect on last March compared to the final buzzer tonight.

We didn't play terribly, but no way we can keep up with the rest of the MVC with the guys that played tonight.

Here are my 3 positives - I really strained to think of 3!

1) Reink Mast - WoW! Talk about a quick development. He looked very lost the first few games of the season and then became our most reliable scorer! He doesn't look or play like a Freshman!

2) Sean East playing lots of minutes in last few games when we were thinking he may be in the Wardle D-house!
I was really hoping for this so we could see the guy that started the season, but playing a little tougher than at the beginning. I haven't seen his final numbers, but they are nothing short of very efficient in each offensive category.

3) If there was any season to experience this discouragement, maybe THIS was it! Covid was just a pest - no fans at home games. The whacky schedule.
Now we need to focus on being a regular season Valley contender for a stretch of years in the Valley!!!

[Tommy]

The playing time the freshman and sophomores got at the end of this year will be invaluable for their growth in the future. I think most all of them showed some real flashes of greatness and I think it bodes well for our future. These kids are much better than the team BW threw together in his first year with us when he came in late during the recruiting period. These kids can flat out play and by the time they are juniors and seniors, watch out. Gotta bring in a 5 to back up and replace Ari once he leaves, though. If we don't do that, we're going to struggle (though if Linke can bulk up, he could be quite good in that role). Still need to go after a big.

[Cousins Cuts podcast]

Gotta bring in a 5 to back up and replace Ari once he leaves, though. If we don't do that, we're going to struggle (though if Linke can bulk up, he could be quite good in that role). Still need to go after a big.

I agree except for the fact that linke doesn't seem like he's got potential to get much better. He's so slow as it is, any "bulk" he puts on will just make him slower. I like Hannah and I'm on the fence with kent but he should get better. Hopefully were able to get someone like a Nolan jr. in the transfer portal. Then i like the formula this year having 3 new freshman to develop. Not too many where they get lost but enough to have potential to shine in the minutes they get.

[Tommy]

I agree except for the fact that linke doesn't seem like he's got potential to get much better. He's so slow as it is, any "bulk" he puts on will just make him slower. I like Hannah and I'm on the fence with kent but he should get better. Hopefully were able to get someone like a Nolan jr. in the transfer portal. Then i like the formula this year having 3 new freshman to develop. Not too many where they get lost but enough to have potential to shine in the minutes they get.

I like your thinking on getting someone like Nolan from the transfer portal - we definitely could use some scoring. Not sure I agree with your points on Linke as I thought he moved pretty well and played some solid and aggressive defense in the little bit of time that he was given. In fairness, I was a big fan of him after we recruited him just from watching his HS clips, so I may be biased, but I honestly believe this kid is going to be pretty good for us down the road.

[Da Coach]

...Gotta bring in a 5 to back up and replace Ari once he leaves, though. If we don't do that, we're going to struggle (though if Linke can bulk up, he could be quite good in that role). Still need to go after a big.

This kind of player is available each year. Coaches just have to look for them. Look at a few of the "5" type players in our league who have made a significant impact-
Gaige Prim was a junior college recruit that has been a star for Missouri State for 2 years, and he will be back next year. He lead the MVC in rebounding, was 3rd in scoring, and lead in FG%.
And after Liam Robbins left Drake (and they also lost his backup Antonio Pilipovic to transfer), they were desperate to find a replacement big man. But Drake coach Darian DeVries picked up Darnell Brodie, who was little more than a bench-warmer at Seton Hall for 2 seasons (his stats). And he has helped turn Drake from being picked 7th in the preseason MVC poll, into a Top 25 ranked team with a good chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Illinois State's Dusan Mahorcic, also a junior college transfer, ranks 4th in rebounding with 7.2 rpg. IMO, he could be a better scorer, but the ISU guards hardly every pass him the ball..
SIU's Kyler Filewich looks like a pretty good freshman big man. He is from Winnipeg, Canada, and as far as I can tell from recruiting websites, his only other offer was from Presbyterian College and SIUE.
And who wouldn't mind having Ben Krikke, who plays for Valparaiso? He's another Canadian big kid, from Edmonton, who some recruiting sites say had no other offers other than Valpo.

[Tommy]

This kind of player is available each year.

All good points and I'd take any of the players you mentioned. And Filewich as a freshman was pretty wow in the middle, so hearing that he wasn't recruited much does give me hope.

[bigjimmy]

With coming off an injury and having not played for 2 years I figured it would take Mast awhile to get acclimated especially with him coming over from Europe. Then Ari's injury forced him to play inside but I think there's no argument that by the end of the year he was our best player on both ends. He'll be 1st team all MVC. Sean started great then had some issues with injury and just not playing but he came out of at the end of the year to show how good he could be. JaShon is a team first guy and as a senior he will lead by example. Those are 3 pretty good guys to build around. But as much as we struggled shooting it from outside we have to improve defensively if we're to have a chance to get back to the big dance. We just can't let teams get wide open 3's and back door layups like we did this past season.

[Big Mike]

I agree with Mast @the 4 and Boya @ the 5. Hannah subs Mast and Linke subs Boya.

[Chibearsfan10125]

I get why people are down on Linke, but in a normal year, I’m almost certain he would have redshirted. That would have helped him a lot. He reminds me a little of Jordan Prosser from a skills standpoint. Prosser was never elite, but was serviceable enough. If Linke can bulk up, he’s a nice backup big man in the MVC. I don’t see him ever being a star, but I can see him playing 15-20 minutes and spelling Mast, Boya, and Hannah. Not everyone is going to be a superstar/all MVC player, but he can be a “star in his role” as Wardle likes to say.

[egib52]

I get why people are down on Linke, but in a normal year, I’m almost certain he would have redshirted. That would have helped him a lot. He reminds me a little of Jordan Prosser from a skills standpoint. Prosser was never elite, but was serviceable enough. If Linke can bulk up, he’s a nice backup big man in the MVC. I don’t see him ever being a star, but I can see him playing 15-20 minutes and spelling Mast, Boya, and Hannah. Not everyone is going to be a superstar/all MVC player, but he can be a “star in his role” as Wardle likes to say.

I have no problem with Linke being a developmental post, and second post off the bench. He needs to get a ton stronger though to earn serious minutes.

[KillerB]

I've been thinking about our roster quite a bit. To me the major need is exponentially better guard play on both ends of the floor.
Our guards got beat at the 3 point line, had players drive on them almost at will.. which is where all the passes to the opposing bigs came from. Our 3 point shooting was bad. And there were way to many silly turnovers and bad passes. If you rank our guard play against the rest of the valley we have to be at the bottom or very close to it.

East shows promise. But 33% from the arc is not going to cut it unless he is the ultimate floor general. I see him as a good Valley guard, but not All-Valley at this point in time and that's what we need. I hope he proves me wrong next year.
Thomas can't shoot and I can't count the number of times he drove into the paint and threw up a shot against a 6'9" guy that was blocked.
I like McAdoo as an energy guy off the bench, but that's all I see him as.

Nolan I am assuming is gone. But if not he is way to inconsistent. He'll give you 20 points one game and 2 the next.

Tahvanainen I like. I've been a fan since he stepped on campus. But I am coming to the conclusion he is maybe a hair slow. I liked that he added more drives to the basket this year. And the kid hustles all the time. But his 3 point shooting was down and he is not a great defender. Other teams clearly targeted him on defense and he got shutdown for long stretches. I don't know if there were more 3 point shooters on the floor if that would make a difference or is his best role is to come in off the bench.

If the coaching / medical staff is confident Boya will be healthy and hold up then we are in pretty good shape in the middle with Mast and Linke (who needs to bulk up) But that seems to be a pretty big IF on Boya. If not we need another post player.

You can't say enough good about the season Mast had. He's the guy we build around. But I'm not 100% sure Boya /Mast on the floor at the same time works in the valley. It gives us a height advantage on offense, but that would probably have Mast guarding quicker players. Might work. It would be fun to try.

I think we all really like Henry and hope he comes back ready to prove he's a starter. If he can stay away from fouls he's an above average Valley forward.

Kent & Hannah. I think they both showed potential and flaws like most freshmen do. I'm not sure exactly what we have in them. Hannah is explosive. I don't think we will fill out as much as Childs. His frame just looks slimmer to me. So I'm not sure he'll be a down low bump and grind guy. But I could be wrong. Is Is Kent every going to be the 3 point shooter we need. I have no idea. Their Sophomore years should give us a better idea what we really have.

Childs.. is he back? That would be a game changer. No need to get another big and with both Childs and Mast - 2 guys who could be All-Valley. Every team has at least 2 of All-Valley type guys. But we need a guard who fits that status.

To me we need guards guards guards. And some of those have to be 3 point shooters. I know Coach Wardle said he likes to build a roster to play with the big boys. But we have to play in The Valley and it is a guard league.

My 2 cents.. GO BRAVES!

[BUfan14]

I agree with Mast @the 4 and Boya @ the 5. Hannah subs Mast and Linke subs Boya.

Those are our best two players at the 4/5 for sure, so it’d be great if it worked, but not sure it works in college ball. Who would guard the Childs type 4 on other teams of those 2?