This is the first time in over 10 years I have been looking forward to Saluki basketball.
Since the Kevin Dillard/Anthony Booker/Ryan Hare class, with Carlton Fay as a sophomore and BMull as a senior.
Full circle now with Mullins back as head coach. I don't know how he will do. Hinson left him with a pretty bare cupboard.
The schedule is weak, the new staff didn't have much time to recruit, and they are pretty much universally picked to finish 10th.
But you know what? I don't care. They could lose every conference game and stroll into Thursday night at Arch Madness as 20 point dogs and I would be perfectly happy with that. Because I hope that from here on out things will be better.
New chapter. New faces. New logo. New identity.
Go Dawgs.
My thoughts exactly. Well said Spike!
Just about everyone recognizes it will be difficult to compete in the upper-half of the MVC this year. So, that leaves other benchmarks as the major indicators of what a successful Year 1 would look like: recruiting progress, the development of younger players and how fans respond to the coaching change in terms of attendance/atmosphere in the Arena. This team is going to need all the help it can get, so hopefully the many Saluki fans who were rightfully done with Hinson are ready to turn out and make some noise.
We know we won't have to hear Hinson's huckster routine with the media, so we're already ahead of the game there ... 😀
I look forward to sitting in my seats, enjoying the games, no expectations and no distractions... just watching the team develop. Go Dawgs !
Spike has just said everything I think about this season.
When BH got hired, I was excited for only one reason: he wasn't Lowery. That was pretty much it. I had hopes that the guy who cared enough to recruit Tamar Macklin and Blake Ahearn would be the guy we got, but we didn't get that guy.
Now I'm happy: SIU admin cared enough to make this call. It might not work out, but it was a good move, so I'm excited. For the first time in (?) years.
I guess my point is this: I was relieved, but not excited, when Hinson was hired. Eventually, that is: initially I was outraged. Rightfully so, as it turned out: I actually am more sickened by by the Hinson regime than I was by the Lowery regime. No, not kidding.
(Inflammatory political snark)
The Dawgs were officially picked 10th in the MVC Preseason poll. No surprise there. Just out of curiosity, does anyone think our ranking would be different if Barry had stuck around, along with a few more of the returnees? How much are we being downgraded because of our all new staff, basically all new roster and so many unknowns? Because of Barry's reputation from others in the league (which was overrated), I could see us getting the benefit of the doubt in others' minds throughout the league and being 7th or 8th instead. The roster would've also had a couple more returnees like Beane, but I think overall Mullins has collected more talent than Hinson would've had. All the unknowns are what hurt us the most.
The Dawgs were officially picked 10th in the MVC Preseason poll. No surprise there. Just out of curiosity, does anyone think our ranking would be different if Barry had stuck around, along with a few more of the returnees? How much are we being downgraded because of our all new staff, basically all new roster and so many unknowns? Because of Barry's reputation from others in the league (which was overrated), I could see us getting the benefit of the doubt in others' minds throughout the league and being 7th or 8th instead. The roster would've also had a couple more returnees like Beane, but I think overall Mullins has collected more talent than Hinson would've had. All the unknowns are what hurt us the most.
Might have gotten a slight bump because of what Barry has done in the past but they don’t have a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team all MVC player and wouldn’t if Hinson were still here barring a big transfer get.
Either way, there’s a clear gap to me after 1-5. I think any of the top 5 have a legit shot at winning the conference and they’ll all be jockeying for position there. Same with 6-10. Could see any combination of those teams avoiding Thursday. But I have no problem with SIU being ranked 10th because of the turnover in players and staff. So much uncertainty.
This is the first time in over 10 years I have been looking forward to Saluki basketball.
Since the Kevin Dillard/Anthony Booker/Ryan Hare class, with Carlton Fay as a sophomore and BMull as a senior.
Full circle now with Mullins back as head coach. I don't know how he will do. Hinson left him with a pretty bare cupboard.
The schedule is weak, the new staff didn't have much time to recruit, and they are pretty much universally picked to finish 10th.
But you know what? I don't care. They could lose every conference game and stroll into Thursday night at Arch Madness as 20 point dogs and I would be perfectly happy with that. Because I hope that from here on out things will be better.
New chapter. New faces. New logo. New identity.
Go Dawgs.
Exactly! I got so the very idea of watching Little Okie run around the floor and clap at the fans after the game was making me as nauseous as Linda Blair in The Exorcist!
And I think we will be better than 10th, barring any devastating injuries. BM knows defense!
Anybody surprised that the Redturds got a first place vote? Obviously there's one homer on that voting panel that should not be allowed to vote!
Intangibles. I think Coach Mullins said it best when he said success for this season won't be defined by W's and L's.
I'm excited as hell for the new era!
--Insert something witty here--
Excited for the season. Bryan Mullins worked his ass off to become a D1 player. I fully expect his teams to play with that mentality. I don’t think many people expect much out of this season, however I am fully convinced that we won’t finish 10th . Hefferman compared this upcoming season to Bruce Weber’s first season at SIU. That team had very little raw talent and was expected to finish in the bottom of a much tougher Valley. They finished 5th . No matter where we finish I am excited for SIU basketball .
I actually think there is talent, it is just mostly in the backcourt. Domask is more of a 3 than a 4 IIRC.
Hopefully Dembele has been hitting the practice courts hard.
My brother, my old roommate & I were visiting SIU getting ready to eat at The Italian Village when the news that the Hinson hire was confirmed. We all looked at each other shaking our heads & I said, well, it'll be a long time before we come down here again. With that said, I believe that we will finish in 7th place. Bryan will whip these guys into shape & be ready for the valley. Finally we have a head coach.
Lol I infamously almost got thrown off of Salukitalk for my meltdown over the Hinson hire. Just an absolute dreadful decision that set this program and university back 10 years. Just the team he would have had this year had he stayed would have been brutal. I’m so looking forward to hard nosed basketball again. Bryan is going to be such a good coach.
I actually think there is talent, it is just mostly in the backcourt. Domask is more of a 3 than a 4 IIRC.
Hopefully Dembele has been hitting the practice courts hard.
I know that 6' 10" Barrett Benson was a four star recruit and the #3 recruit in Illinois coming out of high school. Wasn't a starter at NU - about 9 minutes/game. I hope he will be a very good MVC player.
Hope 6' 11" Stevan Jeremic can give us some good minutes (and rebounds). (Has to be as good as Rudy!)
