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Early preview of the Evansville Aces from their new beat writer
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KenPom preseason rankings are out:
Drake - 79
SIU- 90
BU - 124
UNI - 126
Murray - 129Comment
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I'm aware how Ken Pomeroy does his ratings, and the Preseason Ratings are done a little differently than those during the season-Originally posted by Nashville Cat View Post
KenPom Preseason Ratings- https://kenpom.com/blog/preseason-ra...ith-transfers/
He does take into consideration D1 transfers, but ignores incoming freshmen (unless they are Top 30).
But I am surprised to see where Pomeroy's system ranks a couple teams-
One is SIU, which he ranks #90, the second best team in the MVC. They finished 16-15 last year, and 9-9 in the MVC, 2 games behind Bradley in 6th place and 5 games behind Drake. They lost 2 starters (Coupet, Verplancken), who were their best 3 point shooters, plus a couple other key rotation players. But, they did add 3 transfers who are expected contribute (Newton, Johnson, Rupert), but none of them shoot threes anywhere close to the guys they lost. I could be wrong, but I don't see them jumping from a .500 team with an RPI of 205, to a Top 100 KenPom, at #90, just shy of Drake . I think it shows the folly of preseason projections.
The other surprise is UNI, rated at #126. They lost their top 3 players (MVC POY and 21 ppg scorer A.J.Green, 17 ppg scorer Noah Carter, & top rebounder and 3pt% shooter Trae Berhow), and return only about 1/3 of their scoring from last season. They added no transfers, just several unproven freshmen, none of whom were rated higher than 2-star recruits.
One additional note regarding returning big man Austin Phyfe, who was severely limited last season due to a case of "long Covid". He averaged just 9 minutes per game, 3.7 ppg and 1.2 rpg last season. At a UNI media day today, Head Coach Ben Jacobson and Phyfe himself told media that he would not be available to play to start the season, but they were hopeful he could return for limited minutes at some point in the season. Jacobson also said that the only starters determined so far are 3rd year players Bowen Born and Nate Heise, and sophomore (2nd year) Tytan Anderson. The other starters will be one of the 4 freshman guards, and the 5 spot will be either Cole Henry or James Betz. That will be a very young lineup.
Here are all the MVC teams KenPom rankings-
Drake 79
SIU 90
Bradley 124
Belmont 125
UNI 126
Murray St. 129
Missouri St. 134
Indiana St. 135
Illinois St. 215
Valparaiso 216
UIC 272
Evansville 337Comment
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I think these projections may be directionally correct even though UNI's slot is inexplicable. Bottom line is that the Valley is going to be a rock fight 3-8.Originally posted by Da Coach View PostComment
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One thing that will help UNI's RPI is their non-conference schedule. "Seven of the 10 nonconference games are teams that were in the top 100 in the NET last year", according to Head Coach Ben Jacobson-
https://twitter.com/EliotClough/stat...90671514492928
UNI schedule- https://unipanthers.com/sports/mens-...le?path=mbball
And more about Austin Phyfe from the UNI beat writer- Phyfe spoke to media at the UNI Media Day today about his health struggles. In addition to dealing with long Covid symptoms, he developed blood clots in his lungs, and underwent emergency surgery this past June. He said he has recovered well from that episode, but has been on blood thinners since then. The blood thinners are why his doctors have not yet cleared him to begin contact activities, because of a risk of internal bleeding. Coach Jacobson "added that if Phyfe comes back, he believes it will be around Christmas". Unclear if that date would be when he would begin contact activities or be able to play in games. Either way, it seems his contributions this season will be very limited. Really a tough break for Phyfe.
Note that UNI plays at Bradley on November 30, the first MVC game for both teams. They play again February 4, 2023, in Cedar Falls.
Article from Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier-
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The MVC is scheduled to release the coaches & media 2022-23 Preseason Poll, and the Preseason All-MVC picks tomorrow.Comment
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The AP released their preseason Top 25 poll today-
Illinois is at #23.
No surprise, no MVC team received a vote.Comment
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More injury news, this time regarding the Valley favorite Drake-
All-MVC Point guard, and last year's 2nd leading scorer Roman Penn is reportedly still dealing with residual problems related to his foot injury, and he will not be ready to start the season with the team. They are hoping for a possible return in mid-November, but there is no specific timetable. Penn initially broke a bone in his left foot in February of 2021. He missed the last 7 games of the 202-21 season, including Drake's run in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Backup point guard Joseph Yesufu replaced him in the starting lineup for those final 7 games, and played great, which lead to Yesufu leaving Drake and transferring to Kansas.
Despite missing the final month of the season, Penn was named to the 1st team All-MVC after the season, and was runner-up for POY to Cameron Krutwig.
Penn returned and played very well for 1st place Drake in the 2021-22 season, but he reinjured the foot in December, 2021. He missed a month, but returned and played pretty well the rest of the season. He was named to the 3rd team All-MVC, though it was reported that his foot was still bothering him. It was believed that the offseason rest would help the injury finally heal. But his foot pain flared up again, and he sat out their public intra-squad scrimmage last Wednesday. Today, the team announced he will miss the initial part of the season.
Another of their veteran guards, D.J. Wilkins, has been nursing a knee injury, and has missed practices, and also sat out last week's intra-squad scrimmage. It is hoped that with rest, Wilkins will be ready to go when the season starts on November 9.
10/12/22 Tweet from Drake beat reporter for the Des Moines Register- https://twitter.com/AlyssaHertel/sta...63078364864513
Drake's scrimmage is tonight, and fans will notice some players missing. DJ Wilkins (knee), Roman Penn (foot), Nate Ferguson (shoulder) and Issa Samake (knee) will not play tonight. Garrett Sturtz (ankle) might.
Garrett Sturtz and Nate Ferguson have recovered from their injuries, and returned to practice today-
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If Penn ends up missing the season or a significant part of the Valley season would Drake still be the favorite? Who is Drake's backup to Penn and is he capable? And is there any pg depth after the backup?The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies... - John Walter WaylandComment
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When Roman Penn missed the end of the 2020-21 season and Joseph Yesufu replaced him, Drake didn't miss a beat. In fact, Yesufu immediately took over as Drake's top scorer, leading them to the championship game of the MVC Tournament (which they lost to Loyola), and to a first round win over Wichita State in the NCAA Tournament.Originally posted by PhiAlphaBoy View Post
This season, they are not so deep at point guard. They will still probably be the MVC favorite, but their point guard options are limited. D. J. Wilkins has played some point guard, and he could fill in, but he has been nursing a knee injury, though he is expected to be back by the start of the season. After that, their options are Redshirt-Freshman Connor Enright who has never played a minute of D1 basketball, Redshirt-Sophomore Okay Djamgouz, who has played very sparingly in the last 2 seasons and who isn't really a true point guard, and a couple walk-on guards.
Drake does not have an easy non-conference schedule. If the target for Penn returning is the MVC season, it could still be a problem with some tough games that could determine their chances for an at-large bid.- ScheduleComment
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Evansville is picked by virtually everyone for last place this year (12th). Yet, new head coach David Ragland is optimistic about his roster.
Here is a good article by the Evansville beat writer for the Courier & Press about each player-
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Article from the Missouri State beat writer-
Missouri State's Donovan Clay as the MVC Player of the Year? Why the Bears think it can happen
https://www.news-leader.com/story/sp...r/69582871007/
For the record, last season Donovan Clay averaged 8.4 ppg (ranked 38th in the MVC), 6.1 rpg, and he shot 31.3% from three (26.0% for his career).
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...0/donovan-clay
I agree that his scoring numbers will likely increase now that Gaige Prim and Isiaih Mosley are gone, but POY is a longshot. But, Clay is quite confident. In the article, he says-
Clay has two years of eligibility remaining including this year....
"I wanna make this my last year," Clay said. "I really wanna go to the league this year [the NBA] and play pro basketball. That's where I'm supposed to be."
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Well you've gotta say something for confidence, but I would be beyond shocked if he did either of those things.
POY - Rienk Mast. He's going to be a beast this year.Larry Bird
I've got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.Comment
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Article profiling all the new players on the Missouri State roster-
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