Based on the recent fundraising amount, it seems to me that fans/donors are supportive of the current regime. I don’t agree with the “postseason or bust” mentality for Mullins this season, but of course we are here for championships. Like others have said, the arrow needs to point up. I want to see what this staff can accomplish with Jerrance. Having him does no good if the head coach gets fired and all of his recruits go somewhere else.
@kyle_saluki_17 First we need him to bring someone in before we can worry about them leaving. 😉 😀
The Almanac college basketball season preview is out today: SIU picked eighth. Their poll went 1). Drake 2). Bradley 3). UNI 4). Missouri St. 5). Indiana St. 6) Belmont 7) Murray St. 8) SIU 9) Illinois St. 10) UIC 11) Evansville 12) Valpo
The Saluki preview was pretty thorough but nothing overly surprising/unexpected for those who follow closely ... need some scorers to emerge. The author cited some data suggesting SIU for the most part got good shots last year but struggled with shotmaking. They also indicated XJ needs to cut down on turnovers.
No Salukis on preseason all-conference teams. Weirdly, they had Cade Tyson on second team, which I think is a big miss. First team was Born, Perry, DeVries, Clay, Leons.
Two things I took away from the SIU preview was Kennard Davis might not play much, if at all this year (mistake in my opinion). And Trent Brown is going to have a bigger role than people think this year (another mistake in my opinion)
Two things I took away from the SIU preview was Kennard Davis might not play much, if at all this year (mistake in my opinion). And Trent Brown is going to have a bigger role than people think this year (another mistake in my opinion)
If Brown can knock down 3s at a 38 to 40 percent-type clip, I'm guessing he'll play a lot. He has only done that one of his four years. If he can't, I'm guessing he'll lose playing time over the course of the season as he has these past couple years. But never bet against Bryan Mullins giving Trent plenty of rope. 😆
I also would like to see Kennard Davis get a long look this year. Plenty of competition at the wing spots on the roster but it seems like Davis has some of the highest upside, and SIU can't just roll out a collection of decent role players and expect big results ... Mullins has mostly been reluctant to play freshmen big minutes, but hopefully Davis is good enough to force his hand.
I don’t need Kennard getting the minutes Domask got his Freshman year but if you’re going to be an 8th place Valley team this year, which is very possible, then Kennard should be getting at least 15 minutes a night. I’ll be furious if Kennard is redshirting or not playing most nights on a team that is probably a Thursday lock.
I really think that the Valley this year will be the top 3 to be better than everyone else, any of the next 6 teams can end up in positions 4 to 9 (depending on who's hot and who's injured) and the last 3 will just not be as good as everyone else.
No that anyone is, but I wouldn't get too worried about what this, or any other, publication says, specifically about playing time for incoming freshmen. Despite some who believe to the contrary, coaches are not going to sit or not play players who excel in practice, workouts, etc. They don't care about fan favorites, what year they are, what stats these kids had in HS or how tall they are. I assure you that if a player dominates or stands out in practice, they will play...............and conversely, if they don't, they won't.
I have certainly learned over the years, not to invest too much into these Pre-Season publications. An analogy that is similar, is the star rating system of high school athletes. Hit or miss methodology. I would agree with Bradley and UNI near the top. However, if our beloved Salukis finish 8th, (which I doubt) a change in leadership may indeed need to be addressed.
I have certainly learned over the years, not to invest too much into these Pre-Season publications. An analogy that is similar, is the star rating system of high school athletes. Hit or miss methodology. I would agree with Bradley and UNI near the top. However, if our beloved Salukis finish 8th, (which I doubt) a change in leadership may indeed need to be addressed.
The caveat I would add to this is, if they strike it "rich" in November with some stud recruiting pieces, I would allow a much larger leash. I know this team is unproven, but with the added length and defensive strength (should be top 2-3 in Valley), this team can finish in the top half and might surprise all of us.
I have certainly learned over the years, not to invest too much into these Pre-Season publications. An analogy that is similar, is the star rating system of high school athletes. Hit or miss methodology. I would agree with Bradley and UNI near the top. However, if our beloved Salukis finish 8th, (which I doubt) a change in leadership may indeed need to be addressed.
Why do people think Bradley will be that good? Mast is gone and that is a huge loss.
Drake and UNI will be the class of the MVC in my opinion.
I have certainly learned over the years, not to invest too much into these Pre-Season publications. An analogy that is similar, is the star rating system of high school athletes. Hit or miss methodology. I would agree with Bradley and UNI near the top. However, if our beloved Salukis finish 8th, (which I doubt) a change in leadership may indeed need to be addressed.
Why do people think Bradley will be that good? Mast is gone and that is a huge loss.
Drake and UNI will be the class of the MVC in my opinion.
I would also pick Drake and UNI (and possibly Indiana State, Belmont and Mo State, but those are closer calls) over Bradley at this point. As far as Bradley, they have some solid returners (Leons, Hickman, Deen, Hannah), but they’re a classic case of a team that could go either way depending on how their transfers work out. If their transfers (from Marquette, Nevada and EIU) are good, I could see them challenging, but if not, probably more middle of the pack.
I have certainly learned over the years, not to invest too much into these Pre-Season publications. An analogy that is similar, is the star rating system of high school athletes. Hit or miss methodology. I would agree with Bradley and UNI near the top. However, if our beloved Salukis finish 8th, (which I doubt) a change in leadership may indeed need to be addressed.
The caveat I would add to this is, if they strike it "rich" in November with some stud recruiting pieces, I would allow a much larger leash. I know this team is unproven, but with the added length and defensive strength (should be top 2-3 in Valley), this team can finish in the top half and might surprise all of us.
The key term you mention is IF. We all realize how Mullins keeps everything close to the chest. I think we're all curious as well as anxious, to see what Jerrance Howard can do for this program both in recruiting, and coaching abilities. Defense is essential to winning, but our offense needs to improve drastically. Many unknowns about this team.
I like your optimistic attitude, and agree that this team could indeed surprise folks.
I have certainly learned over the years, not to invest too much into these Pre-Season publications. An analogy that is similar, is the star rating system of high school athletes. Hit or miss methodology. I would agree with Bradley and UNI near the top. However, if our beloved Salukis finish 8th, (which I doubt) a change in leadership may indeed need to be addressed.
Why do people think Bradley will be that good? Mast is gone and that is a huge loss.
Drake and UNI will be the class of the MVC in my opinion.
I'm solely basing my opinion on Bradley winning the MVC last year, and returning the entire nucleus minus Mast. I did not say they would repeat, however, based on what they bring back they will probably be top 4 IMO.(near the top)
Again, difficult to predict on September 21st if pre-season predictions will come to fruition. I honestly care more about our Salukis chances, and ultimately getting back to the dance. It's been painfully too long for all die hard Saluki fans. I certainly hope we can surprise.
GO DAWGS!!!
