Very, VERY early MVC predictions for next season

[braves16]

Roman Penn will be 25 years old by the time the 2022-23 season starts (birth date Sept. 1, 1997)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Penn

D.J. Wilkins will also be 25 years old (birth date Oct. 13, 1997).
Garrett Sturtz and Darnell Brodie might be close to that age, though I can't find their birth dates.

https://www.pjstar.com/story/sports/...gs/6567888001/
Sturtz is probably 22 since he graduated from High School in 2018.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...all/392415002/

[Nashville Cat]

This is an aberration caused by covid. I look forward to an adjustment in transfer rules and expiration of covid crap. Oh, and regulations around NIL.

[Da Coach]

Speaking of A.J. Green, here is an interview he did after a workout for the Indiana Pacers-

https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1531766144343883783

[BUfan17]

Speaking of A.J. Green, here is an interview he did after a workout for the Indiana Pacers-
https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1531766144343883783

A.J. Green has the shooting ability of a next level player, however I think his defense will be what holds him back. He has gotten exposed on defense quite often at the MVC level. I think he could do very well overseas though.

I bet he'll end up at Iowa State next season. He would get more exposure and would be on a team that could make another run in the NCAA tournament, which surprisingly UNI has missed since his playing career started there.

[lb071964]

https://twitter.com/tseghetti11/status/1531603557165694978?s=10&t=JWYoZgee03RdkOE7JUo2oA

[The Old Guy]

Why are so many people picking UNI to be at or close to the top? Carter is gone and most likely AJGreene is gone. Unless Jacobsen can pull several rabbits out of the hat, I don’t see how UNI will be one of the top teams.

[Nashville Cat]

Why are so many people picking UNI to be at or close to the top? Carter is gone and most likely AJGreene is gone. Unless Jacobsen can pull several rabbits out of the hat, I don’t see how UNI will be one of the top teams.

I'm with you, OG. If (wnen) Green leaves this us a middle of the pack team. I'm afraid people are sleeping on SIU as a team to ascend and surpass UNI.

[Da Coach]

A.J. Green to remain in the NBA Draft and not return to college.

https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1532143057931489280

https://www.thegazette.com/panther-basketball/uni-standout-aj-green-to-remain-in-2022-nba-draft/

[Da Coach]

Yes, a pretty good assessment of next year's MVC race. I should probably wait until after tomorrow, since June 1st is the final day for players to withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to college. That will affect players like A.J. Green and Isiaih Mosley, who will almost surely withdraw, though neither is likely to return to the MVC.

A.J. Green stays in the NBA Draft and is hopeful he will be drafted-

https://news.yahoo.com/iowa-state-loses-aj-green-233514417.html

IMO, he's a long shot to be drafted and will likely end up in the G-League.
Isiaih Mosley withdrew from the draft, but he remains in the transfer portal and is not likely to return to Missouri State-
https://247sports.com/Article/Missou...ort-188088790/
https://www.news-leader.com/story/sp...ch/9716216002/

[BUfan17]

A.J. Green stays in the NBA Draft and is hopeful he will be drafted-

https://news.yahoo.com/iowa-state-loses-aj-green-233514417.html

IMO, he's a long shot to be drafted and will likely end up in the G-League.
Isiaih Mosley withdrew from the draft, but he remains in the transfer portal and is not likely to return to Missouri State-
https://247sports.com/Article/Missou...ort-188088790/
https://www.news-leader.com/story/sp...ch/9716216002/

Yeah I don't see him getting drafted. It seems like playing in the NBA is his dream though, I don't blame him for chasing that dream.

[jturner38]

4) Belmont- They lost a couple key players, but still return a lot of their talent and they added some players who will help. Belmont will face tougher competition in the MVC, but they always seem to end up with 25 wins.
5) Northern Iowa- if by some miracle, A.J. Green returns to UNI, they will move up 2 or 3 spots. But they have just enough talent returning to stay competitive, though with losing Green and Noah Carter, not enough to finish much higher than middle of the pack, IMO.
6) Valparaiso- They return 4 of their top 5 scorers, including All-MVC (3rd team) Ben Krikke, so they should be able to stay out of the bottom 6
7) Indiana State- they have just enough talent returning to stay ahead of the teams below...

I know Belmont is used to getting 25 wins but I do not see them having the same success in the MVC this upcoming season on top of losing HUGE key pieces. I think my order is:
4. UNI (Healthy Phyfe)
5. INSU
6. Belmont
7. Valparaiso (Coaching)

[Da Coach]

I know Belmont is used to getting 25 wins but I do not see them having the same success in the MVC this upcoming season on top of losing HUGE key pieces. I think my order is:
4. UNI (Healthy Phyfe)
5. INSU
6. Belmont
7. Valparaiso (Coaching)

I agree with your thoughts about Belmont. They have been incredibly consistent in their 10 years in the OVC, and before that, in the A-Sun. But they will not win 25 games playing in the MVC, and with losing 4 of their 5 starters from last season.
Here is more of my thinking about these middle of the pack picks-
UNI lost their top 3 scorers (Green, Carter, Berhow), and return nobody who averaged more than 8.6 ppg. Nate Heise (8.6 ppg), Bowen Born (7.4 ppg), and Austin Pfyfe (5.4 ppg) appear to be the only returning players who averaged more than 2 ppg last season. They could drop down even further than 4th or 5th.
Indiana State returns a lot of their 2021-22 team's production, and I'd like to see Jayson Kent have a good year. But it remains to be seen how much they've improved. They were 4-14 in the MVC and were a 9th place team in 2021-22.
And, Valparaiso has been a bottom 4/Thursday play-in team every one of their 5 seasons in the MVC. I'm not quite as sold on their coaching, and they don't appear to have added enough to offset their losses or be improved much.

[LongTimeFan]

Ib071964, thanks for posting the link.

[Da Coach]

Northern Iowa gets one bit of good news after losing leading scorer A.J. Green to the NBA Draft, losing 2nd-leading scorer Noah Carter to the transfer portal (transferred to Missouri), and losing 3rd leading scorer Trae Berhow, who ran out of eligibility.
UNI's center Austin Phyfe, who dealt with long-term Covid symptoms last season is planning on returning next season, and Head Coach Ben Jacobson says he expects Phyfe "to be back and fully healthy for the 2022-2023 season".
He was limited to 12 minutes per game and averaged 5.4 ppg and 2.2 rpg in 2021-22, well below his 2020-21 stats (12.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg).

https://kcrr.com/unis-austin-phyfe-expected-to-make-healthy-return-in-2022/

2022-23 will be Pfyfe's 6th year at UNI. In the previous 5 years, he played 4 full seasons and had a medical redshirt year in 2018-19. And now he'll get an additional year because of the NCAA Covid rule.
Career stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...9/austin-phyfe

[Tommy]

Phyfe definitely wasn't himself last year and he's a tough guy to defend when he's on his game. It'll be a lot easier to defend him without Green and Carter, though!