I gave up and went to bed. We simply aren't good enough. If you think you're a 3 point shooting team then damn well recruit kids who can shoot from out there. It's difficult for me to see us much better next year.
Welcome back Blue....
Can we not demonize every pessimistic post/poster? Facts and trends certainly support those frustrations. It’s been 15 years since this program has been worth a damn.
I gave up and went to bed. We simply aren't good enough. If you think you're a 3 point shooting team then damn well recruit kids who can shoot from out there. It's difficult for me to see us much better next year.
Welcome back Blue....
Can we not demonize every pessimistic post/poster? Facts and trends certainly support those frustrations. It’s been 15 years since this program has been worth a damn.
I'm not demonizing him. Did he add anything with his post, no! He is obviously a troll. Do you want a board filled with trolls? If he turns out not to be Dean, Blue or another troll then I will gladly take my comment back, but I will say with confidence he is a reincarnation of one of those folks.
I am not happy with where Southern's basketball program is currently. If you read my posts from today you will see that. I am critical and point out what I feel is needed to get better. Trolls who are 100% negative, reincarnate themselves as new accounts/posters and add nothing but negativity add nothing to this board. If this poster wants to be constructive in his criticism that is another thing. We need to get better and I am all for constructive criticism, but straight up bashing without anything constructive doesn't do anyone any good. Just my humble opinion and I am always open to criticism.
There's going to be a lot of movement in the next few weeks in the Missouri Valley including with SIU so tough to fully predict now but right now SIU is likely going to be picked somewhere between 5th and 7th in the 12 team Missouri Valley in preseason.
The teams that will surely be picked ahead of SIU are Drake, Murray State, and Bradley.
Drake loses two key players in Hemphill and Murphy but bring back Sturtz, DeVries, Roman Penn, and DJ Wilkins (who SIU didn't even see yesterday) and they have a strong redshirt Freshman class and strong incoming class. They're turning into a well-coached juggernaut that's not going away unless DeVries gets plucked.
Bradley returns everyone but Ja'Shon Henry who missed most of the end of the season with a concussion. Terry Roberts, Rienk Mast, Jayson Kent, Malevy Leons, Connor Hickman is a nice little core to build on via recruiting and the transfer portal. The Braves overachieved this season but they're well-coached and wouldn't be shocked if they're keeping for the MVC Title next year.
Murray State is 29-2 this year and the best mid-major not named Gonzaga and they're doing it with no 5th year Seniors of note. KJ Williams and Tevin Brown are 4th year Seniors, Justice Hill is a Junior. The only concern is losing one or multiple of these players to a professional league. But even if they don't return everyone, they'll still be able to reload.
The other 3 teams depend on what happens this offseason. They all could lose key pieces but with the transfer portal being as crazy as it is, they have just as good of a shot to reload as SIU does.
Belmont had their 25-7 regular season end last night to Morehead State in the OVC Semis. Belmont has had a ton of success the last decade but they seem similar to SIU to me in that they need to get more athletic if they want to compete in the Missouri Valley. They really struggled against the more athletic teams in the Ohio Valley like Morehead State and Murray but they did beat Drake earlier this year They likely lose their best player in Nick Muszynski and another key player in Grayson Murphy but both can return. They do return Junior Ben Sheppard and Freshman Will Richard.
Northern Iowa honored AJ Green for Senior Night last week so seems like he's gone but they still return Noah Carter and Bowen Born who had pretty big impacts. Given how UNI struggled without Green last year though, it's entirely possible voters are more intrigued by SIU with Domask & Jones over them.
If there's a team that can bump SIU from 7th to 6th in the preseason predictions, it's likely Missouri State who is going to lose Gaige Prim for sure and might lose Isaiah Mosley. The good news for Missouri State is Dana Ford is one of the best recruiters at any mid-major so it's possible he hits the transfer portal hard and replaces them with other top talent and they're right back in the top 4 of the Valley.
Without seeing transfers and who comes back, this is where I'd go:
1. Murray State
2. Drake
3. Bradley
4. Belmont
5. Northern Iowa
6. Southern Illinois
7. Missouri State
But I think SIU could easily be picked as high as 5th or as low as 7. Not exactly ideal for year 4 but a lot can change this offseason.
There's going to be a lot of movement in the next few weeks in the Missouri Valley including with SIU so tough to fully predict now but right now SIU is likely going to be picked somewhere between 5th and 7th in the 12 team Missouri Valley in preseason.
The teams that will surely be picked ahead of SIU are Drake, Murray State, and Bradley.
Drake loses two key players in Hemphill and Murphy but bring back Sturtz, DeVries, Roman Penn, and DJ Wilkins (who SIU didn't even see yesterday) and they have a strong redshirt Freshman class and strong incoming class. They're turning into a well-coached juggernaut that's not going away unless DeVries gets plucked.
Bradley returns everyone but Ja'Shon Henry who missed most of the end of the season with a concussion. Terry Roberts, Rienk Mast, Jayson Kent, Malevy Leons, Connor Hickman is a nice little core to build on via recruiting and the transfer portal. The Braves overachieved this season but they're well-coached and wouldn't be shocked if they're keeping for the MVC Title next year.
Murray State is 29-2 this year and the best mid-major not named Gonzaga and they're doing it with no 5th year Seniors of note. KJ Williams and Tevin Brown are 4th year Seniors, Justice Hill is a Junior. The only concern is losing one or multiple of these players to a professional league. But even if they don't return everyone, they'll still be able to reload.
The other 3 teams depend on what happens this offseason. They all could lose key pieces but with the transfer portal being as crazy as it is, they have just as good of a shot to reload as SIU does.
Belmont had their 25-7 regular season end last night to Morehead State in the OVC Semis. Belmont has had a ton of success the last decade but they seem similar to SIU to me in that they need to get more athletic if they want to compete in the Missouri Valley. They really struggled against the more athletic teams in the Ohio Valley like Morehead State and Murray but they did beat Drake earlier this year They likely lose their best player in Nick Muszynski and another key player in Grayson Murphy but both can return. They do return Junior Ben Sheppard and Freshman Will Richard.
Northern Iowa honored AJ Green for Senior Night last week so seems like he's gone but they still return Noah Carter and Bowen Born who had pretty big impacts. Given how UNI struggled without Green last year though, it's entirely possible voters are more intrigued by SIU with Domask & Jones over them.
If there's a team that can bump SIU from 7th to 6th in the preseason predictions, it's likely Missouri State who is going to lose Gaige Prim for sure and might lose Isaiah Mosley. The good news for Missouri State is Dana Ford is one of the best recruiters at any mid-major so it's possible he hits the transfer portal hard and replaces them with other top talent and they're right back in the top 4 of the Valley.
Without seeing transfers and who comes back, this is where I'd go:
1. Murray State
2. Drake
3. Bradley
4. Belmont
5. Northern Iowa
6. Southern Illinois
7. Missouri State
But I think SIU could easily be picked as high as 5th or as low as 7. Not exactly ideal for year 4 but a lot can change this offseason.
Good analysis. I think if we get an impact transfer PG and wing and don't lose anyone from our core we can move up to the top 4. If we don't, I think your 5th to 7th prediction sounds pretty reasonable.
And I didn't include Valpo, Indiana State, Evansville, Illinois State, UIC.
Lottich has proven he can recruit and get talent to Valpo, so it's possible they can fight their way into the top 7.
Indiana State loses Tyreke Key so looking at another rebuilding year but they should be better. Robbie Avila is a Freshman to watch out for, had a great HS year in Illinois.
Illinois State gets a new head coach and really depends on who returns but likely looking at a rebuilding year.
Evansville loses a ton and is looking at another bottom of the Valley year
UIC has been a terrible Horizon team and things will likely be even worse next year. Their goal is recruiting to a Missouri Valley level and it's going to take time.
@resaluki-88 While I understand your frustration with trolls on this board, I can assure you Frog is not a troll. He loves and supports SIU as much as anyone. He goes back to the Frazier days and earned two degrees at SIU. He can be brutally honest. If you knew him you would love him.
@resaluki-88 While I understand your frustration with trolls on this board, I can assure you Frog is not a troll. He loves and supports SIU as much as anyone. He goes back to the Frazier days and earned two degrees at SIU. He can be brutally honest. If you knew him you would love him.
Ok, my apologies. He sounds like a good Dawg. You're right, I am frustrated with the trolling on the board, but obviously targeted the wrong person.
Indiana State loses Tyreke Key so looking at another rebuilding year but they should be better.
I mean they didn't have Key this year either.
Indiana State loses Tyreke Key so looking at another rebuilding year but they should be better.
I mean they didn't have Key this year either.
Yeah there was a chance Key was going to be back next year for his extra year. I think they'll be better next year either way but obviously going to be likely locked into that bottom 8 without Key
@resaluki-88 While I understand your frustration with trolls on this board, I can assure you Frog is not a troll. He loves and supports SIU as much as anyone. He goes back to the Frazier days and earned two degrees at SIU. He can be brutally honest. If you knew him you would love him.
I love Frog ...
legs!
@resaluki-88 If by “core” you mean Domask and Jones, then I agree. Everyone else is expendable, in my opinion. Although I do expect big things from our two Redshirts.
@resaluki-88 If by “core” you mean Domask and Jones, then I agree. Everyone else is expendable, in my opinion. Although I do expect big things from our two Redshirts.
Every team needs role players who know the system. Also, defense is our foundation. Obviously, Domask and Jones are our stars. D'Amico is going to be a very good player for us. He is 6'7", has good handles, rebounds, has a high basketball IQ and plays defense. His offense will come. He may very well end up starting for us at the 4 sometime in the future. I would like to keep Verplancken (good shooter and defense), Brown (good defense) and Banks (good backup point guard). Every team needs role player who know the system, although their roles may be reduced with quality transfers. Hornecker probably won't be ready next year and Ebube is a wildcard so you need Muila and Filewich for post depth. Hopefully Wonders has learned a lot during his redshirt year. We already know he is quite the shooter, so you obviously hope he plays a role next year. I am guessing (pure speculation) that Harvey may not be able to play moving forward, medically. If that is the case that leaves you 2 scholarships. One should be used for an athletic PG and the other for an athletic wing/forward. We need those two additions to be transfers who have an immediate impact. I think if we add those two pieces, and if Ebube has an immediate impact in the post we can be very competitive next year.
@resaluki-88 If by “core” you mean Domask and Jones, then I agree. Everyone else is expendable, in my opinion. Although I do expect big things from our two Redshirts.
Every team needs role players who know the system. Also, defense is our foundation. Obviously, Domask and Jones are our stars. D'Amico is going to be a very good player for us. He is 6'7", has good handles, rebounds, has a high basketball IQ and plays defense. His offense will come. He may very well end up starting for us at the 4 sometime in the future. I would like to keep Verplancken (good shooter and defense), Brown (good defense) and Banks (good backup point guard). Every team needs role player who know the system, although their roles may be reduced with quality transfers. Hornecker probably won't be ready next year and Ebube is a wildcard so you need Muila and Filewich for post depth. Hopefully Wonders has learned a lot during his redshirt year. We already know he is quite the shooter, so you obviously hope he plays a role next year. I am guessing (pure speculation) that Harvey may not be able to play moving forward, medically. If that is the case that leaves you 2 scholarships. One should be used for an athletic PG and the other for an athletic wing/forward. We need those two additions to be transfers who have an immediate impact. I think if we add those two pieces, and if Ebube has an immediate impact in the post we can be very competitive next year.
I agree with everything you said. I want to add Ebube is very fun to watch in warm ups. So athletic.
@resaluki-88 If by “core” you mean Domask and Jones, then I agree. Everyone else is expendable, in my opinion. Although I do expect big things from our two Redshirts.
100% in agreement
Just for some perspective
Bryan Mullins first three yrs at SIU 46-45
Paul Lamberts first three years at SIU 34-41
Rich Herrin's first three years at SIU. 32-53
Bruce Webers first three at SIU. 51-39
Coach K's first three yrs at Duke 38-47
Coach Henson's first three at IL 41-43
Coach Self's first three at Oral Roberts. 34=47
It takes some time , sometimes.
