Valley Hoops Insider

[houstonbrave]

I saw Father Harry started to rate the various team elements and I have attached links to the backcourt and front court summaries. I have to admit I feel our backcourt will be better than he currently believes. I like what he says about our front court but while I feel we were the best last year with Reink, Ja’shon, Malevy, Darius. It is a big step to believe Darius, Malevy, Meta, and Kyle Thomas are the best this year. I firmly hope that to be the case, but surprised he feels that way with the losses and the new pieces. Other thoughts ?

https://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/ranking-missouri-valley-units-2/

https://www.valleyhoopsinsider.com/talented-missouri-valley-frontcourts/

[Da Coach]

Yeah, I saw those articles. I also thought Bradley's guards might be ranked a bit higher than 5th, but Harry does a nice job.

Of the teams ranked ahead of Bradley...
>>He has Missouri State #4, but then he admits neither returning starter "had numbers that greatly impressed" (Mason 9.9 ppg, 30% from three & Mayo 4.5 ppg, 20% from three). And he calls Matthew Lee "perhaps the most important returner", despite uncertainty with him coming off a torn ACL.
>>He has Drake at #3, which I thought was a little too high, considering they lost 1st team All MVC PG Roman Penn.
>>He has Belmont at #2, despite losing Ben Sheppard, who was 2nd in POY voting and also a 1st team All MVC pick, as well as a 1st round NBA pick.
>>And he has UNI #1 for backcourt, which is reasonable, since they have virtually everyone back. However, he counts Michael Duax as a guard, though I would argue that he doesn't really fit a true guard position. And he also counts Nate Heise, though he also plays more of a wing position like Duax, and is coming off an injury season and surgery. Both barely average 1 assist per game for their career.
Bradley's two starting guards, Duke Deen and Connor Hickman, are as good as any team's 2 starters, IMO, but depth will be an issue. I don't know if I see another guard that Coach Wardle will trust at point guard, other than Duke and Connor.

The frontcourt rankings are fair. Harry does his homework pretty well. But as houstonbrave said, Rienk Mast's contributions will be hard to replace. And, if Bradley is to justify the #1 ranking, I am not convinced we can rely too much on unproven guys like Jonovic and Thomas. I am hearing that Almar Atlason and Goanar Biliew have impressed in practices, so let's hope they will be able to help.