Agree with above. Mostly good analysis but off target on Filewich and Brown.
March on triumphantly!
I thought Brown did a good job last year, but was really impressed the year before how he handled the big men inside when we had little few inside bodies.
“The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores.”
-- Al McGuire
@salukiworld Lipstick on a pig. Still looks like a high school gym.
How can a transfer from UW look at that and not think he's playing for a high school? That has to be a recruiting negative with a capital N.
I thought Brown did a good job last year, but was really impressed the year before how he handled the big men inside when we had little few inside bodies.
Brown is scrappy and works his butt off. Doesn't have great quickness and players with good quickness can blow by him. Overall a good defender - it's not only physical talent that makes a good defender.
Like to see that vaunted 3pt shot show up on a consistent basis.
Thanks for sharing that article, and I agree with others that it was overall pretty accurate. I disagree with Lancing having major issues on defense as Jones led the team in steals and steals per game.
A couple thoughts after reading the SIU portion of the article.
1. Jones: Agree he can be an elite scorer. Agree he struggled, at times, with turnovers (but a bulk of his TO's came in a few games, otherwise he was better). I DISAGREE with him being a defensive liability. I watched every game and was impressed with his defense.
2. Lumping Brown, Harvey and Coupet together only made sense in that the article is supposed to be high level. Those that are familiar with the program know that Harvey struggled mightily on D, so much that I was really surprised. Brown is definitely an above average defender, so I'm not sure where the author got his information. Lastly, from what I have read and seen, Coupet's length and athletic ability could be a huge asset on D. I expect him to cause disruption to other team's offenses.
3. Filewich: I don't think he gave Kyler enough credit offensively. I am not saying he will be leading any team in scoring, but he was a genuine surprise down low last year, with both hands. I also thought he rebounded above average. I agree he struggled defensively. I am confident, however, that you will see a marked improvement this year as he gains additional game speed and 'hops'.
4. "There’s reason to believe the Salukis are the biggest sleeper in the Valley": Drop Mic
Go Dawgs !!!
A couple thoughts after reading the SIU portion of the article.
1. Jones: Agree he can be an elite scorer. Agree he struggled, at times, with turnovers (but a bulk of his TO's came in a few games, otherwise he was better). I DISAGREE with him being a defensive liability. I watched every game and was impressed with his defense.
2. Lumping Brown, Harvey and Coupet together only made sense in that the article is supposed to be high level. Those that are familiar with the program know that Harvey struggled mightily on D, so much that I was really surprised. Brown is definitely an above average defender, so I'm not sure where the author got his information. Lastly, from what I have read and seen, Coupet's length and athletic ability could be a huge asset on D. I expect him to cause disruption to other team's offenses.
3. Filewich: I don't think he gave Kyler enough credit offensively. I am not saying he will be leading any team in scoring, but he was a genuine surprise down low last year, with both hands. I also thought he rebounded above average. I agree he struggled defensively. I am confident, however, that you will see a marked improvement this year as he gains additional game speed and 'hops'.
4. "There’s reason to believe the Salukis are the biggest sleeper in the Valley": Drop Mic
Go Dawgs !!!
So are Wonders and D’Amico chopped liver? Not a single word of mention.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
A couple thoughts after reading the SIU portion of the article.
1. Jones: Agree he can be an elite scorer. Agree he struggled, at times, with turnovers (but a bulk of his TO's came in a few games, otherwise he was better). I DISAGREE with him being a defensive liability. I watched every game and was impressed with his defense.
2. Lumping Brown, Harvey and Coupet together only made sense in that the article is supposed to be high level. Those that are familiar with the program know that Harvey struggled mightily on D, so much that I was really surprised. Brown is definitely an above average defender, so I'm not sure where the author got his information. Lastly, from what I have read and seen, Coupet's length and athletic ability could be a huge asset on D. I expect him to cause disruption to other team's offenses.
3. Filewich: I don't think he gave Kyler enough credit offensively. I am not saying he will be leading any team in scoring, but he was a genuine surprise down low last year, with both hands. I also thought he rebounded above average. I agree he struggled defensively. I am confident, however, that you will see a marked improvement this year as he gains additional game speed and 'hops'.
4. "There’s reason to believe the Salukis are the biggest sleeper in the Valley": Drop Mic
Go Dawgs !!!
So are Wonders and D’Amico chopped liver? Not a single word of mention.
Not sure how much you can rely on Freshmen and there's Ebube too. In terms of D'Amico, I really don't know how much we'll see of him this year. I think Wonders has the best chance of making an impact right away. Ebube might come along slower being a big man.
A couple thoughts after reading the SIU portion of the article.
1. Jones: Agree he can be an elite scorer. Agree he struggled, at times, with turnovers (but a bulk of his TO's came in a few games, otherwise he was better). I DISAGREE with him being a defensive liability. I watched every game and was impressed with his defense.
2. Lumping Brown, Harvey and Coupet together only made sense in that the article is supposed to be high level. Those that are familiar with the program know that Harvey struggled mightily on D, so much that I was really surprised. Brown is definitely an above average defender, so I'm not sure where the author got his information. Lastly, from what I have read and seen, Coupet's length and athletic ability could be a huge asset on D. I expect him to cause disruption to other team's offenses.
3. Filewich: I don't think he gave Kyler enough credit offensively. I am not saying he will be leading any team in scoring, but he was a genuine surprise down low last year, with both hands. I also thought he rebounded above average. I agree he struggled defensively. I am confident, however, that you will see a marked improvement this year as he gains additional game speed and 'hops'.
4. "There’s reason to believe the Salukis are the biggest sleeper in the Valley": Drop Mic
Go Dawgs !!!
So are Wonders and D’Amico chopped liver? Not a single word of mention.
Not sure how much you can rely on Freshmen and there's Ebube too. In terms of D'Amico, I really don't know how much we'll see of him this year. I think Wonders has the best chance of making an impact right away. Ebube might come along slower being a big man.
I’m not talking rely, I’m talking contributing.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
BustingBrackets.com just released a preseason MVC power rankings article:
I won't play spoiler, but how Indy State is ahead of us in this is beyond me - I would say the same with Valpo which basically replaced their entire roster this offseason.
https://twitter.com/Bracketologist3/status/1435679336212877318
A pretty in-depth podcast previewing the Valley race (they go team by team), with the Salukis considered a mid-pack type team this year, as I think will be the norm among most prognosticators. It gets into the Valley discussion after the first 10 minutes or so.
With the early season league game this year, Northern Iowa gets to play a stretch of @ St Bonaventure (a consensus top 25 team), @ Drake, and vs Richmond in a span from 11/27 to 12/5.
BustingBrackets.com just released a preseason MVC power rankings article:
I won't play spoiler, but how Indy State is ahead of us in this is beyond me - I would say the same with Valpo which basically replaced their entire roster this offseason.
I don't see Bradley or IndSt being above is. Valpo has a bunch of Big 10 transfers, including Wisco's leading B10 scorer from 2019, 6' 4" guard who is a great shooter, and a 6'8" forward who was a part-time starter at Mich. St. last year but not much of a scorer.
Also have a D2 kid from Winona St. who averaged over 20 ppg, also an excellent shooter. The other two Wisco transfers didn't play that much - one of them is 7', the other is a great shooter who played 14 mpg.
They could be tough to beat.
The MVC will be brutal this year. Our D needs to really improve for us to make waves.
BustingBrackets.com just released a preseason MVC power rankings article:
I won't play spoiler, but how Indy State is ahead of us in this is beyond me - I would say the same with Valpo which basically replaced their entire roster this offseason.
I don't see Bradley or IndSt being above is. Valpo has a bunch of Big 10 transfers, including Wisco's leading B10 scorer from 2019, 6' 4" guard who is a great shooter, and a 6'8" forward who was a part-time starter at Mich. St. last year but not much of a scorer.
Also have a D2 kid from Winona St. who averaged over 20 ppg, also an excellent shooter. The other two Wisco transfers didn't play that much - one of them is 7', the other is a great shooter who played 14 mpg.
They could be tough to beat.
The MVC will be brutal this year. Our D needs to really improve for us to make waves.
The question is… how well will they play together with yet another completely new roster? For this reason, I’m glad that we play them twice in January. I expect they’ll be better at the end of the season compared to the beginning, even more so than other teams.
