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BtB 2009-10 Missouri Valley Conference Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:00:26 -0000

Northern Iowa was the only Valley team to make the NCAAs last season. Drake, in their only season under Keno Davis, was the only MVC squad to make it in 2008. For those of you (like me) who keep track of this kind of stuff, that's not a good trend for a conference that's used to multiple bids.

"Wait!," you say. "The Valley is a one-bid league. 2006 was an aberration."

If you look at the numbers, they tell a very different story.

In the first decade of the new century, the only two seasons when the MVC received a single bid were the last two. Sure, in some cases, one of the two bids was a bid thief who deprived a bubble team of a slot, most notably UNI's entry as 14 seed in 2004. But in most years, the Valley's entrants repaid the Committee's faith in the conference, with MVC teams recording a single win in 2001 and 2005 and multiple victories in 2002, 2006, and 2007.

The Valley even started building a reputation in the final years of the 20th century. The MVC earned multiple bids in '94, '95, '96, and '99, finishing with a .500 mark in all of those years, except for '96. Former league member Tulsa represented the conference in the Regional Semis in '94 and '95, while Missouri State reached that stage in 1999.

So, over the past 16 tournaments ('94-'09), the MVC has been a multi-bid league 12 times. The challenge for this year is to make it 13 out of 17. To help reach this goal, the conference has even entered into a challenge series with the Mountain West this year in a bid to schedule some exciting matchups and generate more attention for both leagues. (Go here to see the matchups.)

More on the teams who will attempt to make the Valley a multi-bid league again after the jump.

Let's begin with a look at the final 2008-09 Missouri Valley standings.

Missouri Valley Conference Standings

(updated 3.31.2009 at 10:55 PM EDT)

	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Creighton Bluejays	14	4	27	8
Northern Iowa Panthers	14	4	23	11
Illinois St. Redbirds	11	7	24	10
Bradley Braves	10	8	21	15
Evansville Aces	8	10	17	14
Wichita St. Shockers	8	10	17	17
Southern Illinois Salukis	8	10	13	18
Drake Bulldogs	7	11	17	16
Indiana St. Sycamores	7	11	11	21
Missouri St Bears	3	15	11	20

Now here are my picks for the 2009-10 season, presented in reverse order.

Evansville (last NCAA: 1999) The Aces climbed their way up to the middle of the Valley pack after spending most of the decade in the bottom three, but it looks very much like Marty Simmons' team will sink right back down to the bottom due to some significant losses. Most of the Aces offense has moved on, double-figure scorers Shy Ely, Jason Holsinger, and Nate Garner graduated, and freshman point guard Kaylon Williams, a truly talented passer, transferred. So, Simmons' two newcomers with experience, Valparaiso transfer Bryan Bouchie, a 6-10 center, and 6-0 point guard Monie Hudson, a late JC signee, will have to contribute immediately for UE to avoid the basement. The Purple Aces don't face a BCS school this year, but they host Butler and visit Western Kentucky.

Drake (last NCAA: 2008) The Bulldogs went from winning 15 regular season MVC games, sweeping the league's regular season and tournament crowns, and losing to WKU on a buzzer beater in the first round of the NCAAs in '08 to losing 11 league games, falling out of the MVC tournament in the first round, and losing to Idaho in the dying moments of the CollegeInsider tournament in '09. Second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Jonathan Cox (12.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) is gone, but the backcourt is solid with seniors Josh Young (15.4 ppg) and Craig Stanley (7.9 ppg, 3.8 apg) back. They'll be supported by two intriguing newcomers, Arkansas State transfer Ryan Wedel (15.1 ppg in '07-08) and point guard Frank Wiseler, a point guard from (wait for it) Luxembourg. The frontcourt is a major area of concern for Mark Phelps, however. He'll need more out of 6-6 Adam Templeton (5.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and will have to plug in 6-8 freshman Ben Simons immediately. Besides hosting Iowa State and traveling to Iowa, the Bulldogs will participate in the Glenn Wilkes Classic. They'll host IUPUI and take on Akron, UCF, and Georgia Statein Daytona Beach.

Missouri State (last NCAA: 1999) The Bears opened up their new arena, the JQH Center, with a new coach at the helm, Quonzo Martin. The highlight of the year was an upset of Arkansas to christen the new building, but the rest of the season was disappointing, as Missouri State only managed to win 10 more times. Forwards Chris Cooks and Wayne Knapp, who combined to average over 21 points and 10 boards a game are gone, but the Bears have a lot of hope thanks to a good mix of newcomers and returnees. The National JC Player of the Year, Nafis Ricks, a 6-2 guard who averaged over 17 points a game and nearly 6 assists per contest is now on board, as are Eastern Kentucky transfer Adam Leonard, a 3-point sharpshooter; Jermaine Mallett, another JC transfer who can score; and 7-foot center Caleb Patterson, a transfer from Colorado. They'll join key returnees F Kyle Weems (10.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg), G Justin Fuehrmeyer (4.7 ppg, 2.8 apg), C Will Creekmore (7.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg), G Cardell McFarland (6.9 ppg), and F Ryan Jehle (4.9 ppg). If Martin can get some more production out of his returnees (especially on the offensive end, where they struggled) and integrate the newcomers quickly, the Bears could really surprise. Missouri State welcomes Auburn to the JQH Center this year.

Indiana State (last NCAA: 2001) Kevin McKenna's side 2008-09 campaign started badly, as they dropped 19 of their first 23. But there were two glimmers of hope during that span, a double OT win over UNI in Cedar Falls and a home win over Illinois State. The Sycamores ended up winning 7 of their last 9, completing the sweep over the Redbirds, sweeping Missouri State, and winning a game in the Valley tournament. Indiana State may be able to carry that momentum into this year, as four starters return, led by the backcourt of Rashad Reed (11 ppg) and Harry Marshall (13.6 pgg). They'll get some help from the addition of Louisiana Tech transfer Dwayne Lathan. McKenna has some issues in the frontcourt as 6-8 Jay Tunnell (12.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg) has graduated. 6-5 swingman Carl Richard showed he can be a force, but ISU may need 6-10 Brant Leitnaker, 6-8 Isiah Martin, or 6-11 Josh Crawford to step up inside. The Sycamores are in the NIT Season Tip-Off where they're in a challenging regional. They face hosts LSU first, then either Milwaukee or WKU.

Wichita State (last NCAA: 2006) The Shockers finished at .500 overall last year, 8-10 in the MVC, but it could have been a much better season. They were doomed by a 0-6 start to the Valley season, granted most of those losses weren't close. Still, a two-point home loss to Bradley and a five-point away loss to Drake are games Gregg Marshall's team wishes they had back (as is the 13-point loss at Missouri State). It wasn't a good start for a team that actually knocked off Siena at the Old Spice Classic, one of the most thrilling games I saw all year. However, the Shockers recovered enough to win a game in the Valley tournament (over Missouri State) and in the CBI (over Buffalo). Marshall brings back most of his key performers from last season, including his starting backcourt of Clevin Hannah (11.2 ppg, 4.3 apg) and Toure' Murry (11 ppg, 3.8 rpg). The frontcourt is a bit thin on experience, but the presence 6-7 J.T. Durley (8.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg) provides a solid foundation. The Shockers' scorelines show their main issue, plenty of defense, but not enough scoring. If Marshall can get more points, they'll contend for a tourney bid. WSU will open their season in the CBE Classic. They'll face Pitt in Kansas City, then either Iowa or Texas.

Bradley (last NCAA: 2006) Typical of teams who finish their league seasons at 10-8, Jim Les' Braves lacked consistency last season. They only managed two sweeps, Indiana State and Wichita State, while they were swept by Creighton and Northern Iowa. Still, 10 league and 18 overall wins got the Braves into the CollegeInsider tournament, where they fell to Old Dominion in the final. Now, Bradley must try to improve on that showing without last year's leading scorer Theron Wilson (14 ppg, 7.3 rpg). His departure leaves the frontcourt thin (which is a common thread in the Valley this year). That means 6-6 Taylor Brown and 6-9 Will Eglof, who's coming off an ACL injury, will have to be more productive this season. The backcourt, led by Sam Maniscalco (12.6 ppg, 3.1 apg) and Andrew Warren (13.2 ppg) , who's returning from a stress fracture in his foot, is in much better shape. The Braves will be challenged by a schedule that features a trip to BYU for the MVC/MWC Challenge, and games against Oklahoma State and either Illinois or Utah at the Thanksgiving Las Vegas Invitational.

Southern Illinois (last NCAA: 2007) Last year, the Salukis not only missed the NCAAs for the second year in a row, after a streak of six straight tournaments from 2002-07 (which included two Sweet 16 appearances), they suffered their first losing season since 1998. They did win 8 Valley games, but much like in the case of Wichita State, they could've done so much more, particularly in a span from January 31 to February 21 when they dropped 5 of 6 league contests and a BracketBuster against Illinois-Chicago. Chris Lowery's side will have to try to rebound without two key starters forward Tony Boyle (9.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and defensively-minded guard Bryan Mullins. The Salukis get their two leading scorers, sophomore guard Kevin Dillard (12.2 ppg) and 6-8 F Carlton Fay (10.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg), back, and they'll be joined by some interesting newcomers, led by Iowa transfer Tony Freeman, who will help Dillard out in the backcourt, and 6-9 C Gene Teague. SIU will need his help to get a boost in their inside scoring to rise up the standings. SIU travels to Las Vegas twice, once to face UNLV, and again to face San Diego and San Francisco in a neutral site event.

Creighton (last NCAA: 2007) I actually had the Blue Jays as my "Last Team In" last season, figuring the Committee would pull an "Air Force in '06" and surprise us all with the last 12 or an at-large 13. If I would've stuck with my own numbers, I would've put Arizona in and been perfect on at-larges for two years in a row. C'est la vie. This year, the Jays look like a team who could be on the bubble again. Dana Altman has two significant holes to fill, as not only is point guard Josh Dotzler (3 ppg, 3.5 apg) gone, but Booker Woodfox (15.8 ppg, 47.6% from 3) is no longer there to make pressure shots for Creighton. Expect P'Allen Stinnett, who averaged 12.5 points per game last year, to have an even bigger impact this season, along with swingman Justin Carter (8.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg)--one of the better defenders on the team, sharpshooter Kaleb Korver (3.7 ppg), Cavel Witter (7.7 ppg), and Antoine Young (4.9 ppg). The frontcourt is a bit thin on experience, especially as backup center Kenton Walker transferred after last year. Starting C Kenny Lawson (8.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg) can be a force, while 6-6 JC transfer Wayne Runnels, 6-7 frosh Ethan Wragge, and 6-8 senior Chad Millard will need to provide substantial levels of support to take the scoring load off the perimeter players. The Jays travel to Disney World for the Old Spice Classic, where they open against Michigan, with Marquette or Xavier to follow in their second game. Creighton also visits Dayton and George Mason, in what should in an interesting non-BCS triangular series.

Illinois State (last NCAA: 1998) The Redbirds have been close to breaking down the Tournament doors the past two years, but their non-conference schedule has been criticized heavily during both seasons. Last year, Illinois State skidded at the end of the year, losing badly at Niagara in a BracketBuster, then dropping two heartbreakers to their main league rivals. They recovered to make the Valley final, where, despite Osiris Eldridge's best efforts, UNI again broke their hearts in OT. The Redbirds closed their season with a close loss at Kansas State in the NIT. While Tim Jankovich lost two starters, guards Emmanuel Holloway (10.3 ppg, 2.8 apg) and Champ Oguchi (15.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Eldridge (14 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.4 apg) is back and so is Lloyd Phillips (10.6 ppg, 3.6 apg), meaning the backcourt is still in good shape. 6-8 center Dinma Odiakosa, who averaged nearly 9 points and 8 boards a game last year, will be the key man in the frontcourt, and he'll get support from 6-6 Bobby Hill, who's coming off a knee injury, 6-7 JC transfer Tony Lewis, and 6-8 Blake Mishler, who transferred from East Tennessee State. Eldridge will hope to carry his team to the Dance, but he'll need a lot of help from the redesigned frontcourt to get there. The non-league schedule should again provide a lot of wins, as a home date with Central Michigan and back-to-back December road trips to Ohio and Utah are the biggest hurdles.

Northern Iowa (last NCAA: 2009) The Panthers hold the top spot as they return all five starters off a team that won both the MVC regular season and tournament crowns before falling to Purdue in a close, but ugly game in the first round of the NCAAs. Junior guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe (11.8 ppg, 3.1 apg) runs the offense, and he's helped out in the backcourt by sharpshooters Ali Farokhmanesh (9.6 ppg) and Johnny Moran (8.4 ppg). In a league where many teams are frontcourt-challenged, the combo of 6-9 Adam Koch (12.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2 apg) and 7-foot center Jordan Egelseder (10.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg) is hard to get around. Koch's younger brother, Jake, who's also 6-9, should also see action this year after redshirting last season. UNI also finished last year first in the league in field goal percentage and second in field goal percentage defense, and they should remain a solid team all-around. The Panthers face DePaul in their first game at the Paradise Jam. If they win that, they'll probably face Tennessee in the semifinals. UNI also welcomes Iowa and Siena to Cedar Falls, while they travel to Iowa State.

The Panthers are my pick to win the Valley's auto bid this season, so they'll appear in my Final Preseason Bracket, which I'll release on Monday, November 9. Now, to wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-MVC team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-MVC Team

Player of the Year: Osiris Eldridge, 6-3 G/F, Sr. (Illinois State)

Remainder of the Team
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, 6-2 G, Jr. (Northern Iowa)
Jordan Egelseder, 7-0 C, Sr. (Northern Iowa)
Adam Koch, 6-9 F, Sr. (Northern Iowa)
P'Allen Stinnett, 6-3 G, Jr. (Creighton)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the MVC this season?

Bradley

89 votes

Creighton

12 votes

Drake

4 votes

Evansville

1 votes

Illinois State

8 votes

Indiana State

1 votes

Missouri State

1 votes

Northern Iowa

14 votes

Southern Illinois

29 votes

Wichita State

8 votes

167 votes | Poll has closed

Preseason Q&A with The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy

SFBE.NF — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:00:39 -0000

While relevant college basketball games don't tip off for another month, the sport will open for business this Friday! To celebrate, err... observe this exciting day, we thought it would be shrewd of us to bring in some real college basketball writers on here to shower us with words that carry much more weight than a couple of twentysomething bloggers.

To continue this Thursday, Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News is here. While Mike seemed to question a few of my questions - it in-turn resulted in some great, telling responses ranging from John Calipari's legacy to what a coach "on the hot seat" really is and why it's even something we debate over.

1. Where could we find you this summer? On the beach, at the racetrack -- or in a gym filled with DI prospects? My wife and I spent a week in August in Santa Monica - but only two of those days were beach days. In July, I was in Cincinnati, Akron, Cleveland and Las Vegas watching prospects for a total of about 10 days, along with another three days in Colorado Springs for the USA Basketball trials. So I suppose the correct answer would be "both A and C." But it's pretty obvious work takes precedence over all else.

2. What would you like to see the NCAA implement/change/get rid of, to better the overall product of college basketball? My first vote would be for an immediate reversal of the ridiculous rule the NCAA just passed regarding the draft, which limits underclassmen to a period of two weeks to decide whether to remain on the early entry list. I'll call it the "Tee-Time Rule." Coaches were having to deal with phone calls to NBA teams and agents and all those sorts of people during May and early June instead of playing golf, so they pushed for a rule change and nobody in the legislative process really paid attention to what they were signing. It's a dumb rule that will lead to more players making poor decisions about when to turn pro. How is that a good thing for anybody except the country clubs?

The most important move, though, would be to allow coaches to work with their players during summer school. It's a joke that John Calipari is making more than $4 million a year and yet NCAA rules essentially force him not to do his job in the summer. His job is to make the players in his program better, but he's not allowed to help. It's ridiculous. I thought earning a Ph.D meant you were reasonably smart. So how could so many people with advanced degrees allow such an absurd rule to remain in place?

3. OK focusing on 2009-2010, what will we remember it for after the nets are cut down in Indy? Calipari's move to Kentucky had a landscape-shifting impact on college basketball. I believe UK will be among the leading contenders for the national championship, and that's going to catch a lot of people's attention. It starts with Calipari, who so many in the media love to vilify. Then there's Kentucky's stature, which figures to be immediately restored. And John Wall should put on a few spectacular shows.

Kansas is our pick to win the national championship, but obviously they'll have some things to work through to get there. Kentucky is best positioned to grab the championship if KU does not.

4. On paper, this season appears to offer a handful of solid transfers expected to make significant contributions for their new teams. Which transfers do you like the most and are we overlooking anyone? Transfers at the big-time level generally wind up being complementary players more so than stars. When's the last time we had somebody who was a transfer become a legit All-America candidate? Tyler Smith at Tennessee, maybe, but his circumstance obviously was different than most, including the fact he did not have to wait a year to play. I'm not saying it's bad to have transfers in your program; on the contrary, I think they're great assets because the transfer has little choice but to do everything his coach says. If he doesn't, the next stop is Division II.

I think we'll see Jordan Crawford help Xavier a lot and Wesley Johnson be an important contributor at Syracuse. Ben Hansbrough and Scott Martin will help Notre Dame a lot. Tom Crean loves Jeremiah Rivers at Indiana. Players who step down in class are the ones who have a chance to emerge as stars, and Tony Freeman could make that happen in moving from Iowa to Southern Illinois.

5. What are your thoughts on Kentucky? What are the rabid fans saying down there and are they expecting a national title in Calipari's first season? When he leaves, will the program be intact or fractured much like what happened at UMASS and Memphis? I wouldn't agree at all with the suggestion that Memphis's program is fractured. The roster was in rough shape, but that's because he was scheduled to lose some key veterans and many of the players he recruited to replace them, including Xavier Henry and DeMarcus Cousins, chose to go elsewhere after Calipari left. But Josh Pastner already has recruited two top-15 prospects for the 2010 class. As much as I believe in Josh, there's no way Memphis would be landing those kinds of players if Calipari hadn't shown what was possible there. Memphis is a major program that was dwindling toward insignificance at the time Calipari arrived. He remade the place.

UMass wasn't really fractured, either, when Calipari left for the NBA. After he left, Bruiser Flint made the NCAAs in his first two years and was above .500 in league play in all five of his seasons. It was UMass that made the foolish decision to run him out after his team went 11-5 in the Atlantic 10. Calipari's departure didn't fracture that program - it was sloppy administrating that did that.

6. Speaking of programs that need to win now, what coaches are on the hot seat this season...I've never been a huge fan of these, and I'll explain why. I'm a believer that if you think you should fire your coach, you probably should fire your coach. A winning season shouldn't change that. If you've gotten the idea that your coach needs to be replaced, it certainly shouldn't be based just upon his win-loss record. It should be based on success in recruiting, whether his players perform as a unit, whether they handle themselves off the court, whether the coach connects properly with the public. That's one thing Kentucky got right in the whole Billy Gillispie deal. Too many of those areas were deficient, and instead of waiting around to see if he got the team to the 2010 tournament the school decided it needed to make a change. I think UK totally botched the hiring process in 2007, but they took a pretty reasonable mulligan in 2009.

There are factors that go into on-court success that are outside the coach's control: primarily, injuries. If an AD fires a coach who's partway through a rebuilding process because his point guard blew an ACL -- then the AD probably should be fired, as well.

7. Your premature surprise team of the season...I guess it depends on how big a surprise we're talking. I've got West Virginia winning the Big East. I think I'm the only one on the planet - the only one outside Morgantown, anyway - who's got the Mountaineers winning the league and ranked ahead of Villanova. I'm surprised so many people are walking right past the losses of Dwayne Anderson, Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham to pick the Wildcats. I think Villanova is strong enough in the backcourt to be a top-10 team, but the frontcourt is very young. Maybe I'll be wrong about this. If so, I'll be surprised.

8. Your premature Final Four picks...I've got Kentucky and Kansas, as mentioned, along with Michigan State and North Carolina. UNC will have the toughest time of the four getting there because of its questions at point guard. I've got West Virginia rated fifth and Texas sixth. I might have underrated Texas a bit, at No. 6, but I wasn't sure how the point guard thing would turn out for them. Jai Lucas went there to be a point guard, but I'm not totally convinced he's a true point. Avery Bradley could play anywhere on the perimeter, but is that his best position?

9. Because of the name of our blog, we ask all journalists on here to name their favorite forgotten college basketball player. What college players were you a fan of while they were in college, and then were never really heard from again? I'd say Sam Clancy. Yeah, I guess because he had a son named Sam Clancy that some people remember him a bit, but not many understand what an amazing player he was. Clancy was about 6-6 but played center for Pitt in the late '70s/early 80s and outplayed so many guys bigger than him. He had great games against Jeff Ruland and Mike Gminski. Sam couldn't shoot but was incredibly athletic and one of the most physically powerful basketball players I've ever seen. I wish more people remembered him as a player.

10. Finish this sentence: I like using twitter because... I can share links to my stories and because I come across links to other people's work that I might otherwise miss. That's what I use it for, mostly. I've even gotten comfortable saying "tweeted." I never imagined that would happen.

The 2009-10 BtB Preseason All-Transfer Teams

Chris Dobbertean — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:00:20 -0000

Just like with average college students, sometimes things don't go right for basketball players at the schools they originally pick. Of course, non-athletes don't have to worry about coaching changes and adjustments in role or playing time, which leads to a high percentage of basketball transfers, but athletes still have to deal with all of the normal stuff, family issues, homesickness, academics (players have transferred for dropped majors). All of these things can lead to a player to seek a new start at a different school.

A talented transfer or two can really boost a team's season. But teams that bring in too many transfers risk chemistry issues and rarely reach the levels coaches employing this tactic anticipate. (For a current example, look at Rod Barnes' Georgia State team, though his transfers have a second year to pull things together.) This post takes a look at only some of the talented players who left one Division I school for another. Since the NCAA doesn't want players hopping around from school to school, transfers generally have to sit out a season before suiting up for their new school. (They can practice with their new teams while they sit.) Most of my choices sat out last season, but there are a couple of players in my list who are eligible immediately.

One notable transfer who won't play for his new team this year is Scott Martin of Notre Dame. The wingman, a transfer from Purdue, is out for a year thanks to a torn ACL.

After the jump, I'll present my three preseason All-Transfer teams, starting with the 3rd team.

3rd Team All-Transfer

Matt Pilgrim, 6-8 F (Oklahoma State from Kentucky): Pilgrim already sat out last season after transferring to Lexington from Hampton. However, he didn't figure into John Calipari's plans and was released from his scholarship. In Stillwater, Pilgrim will play the 3, 4, and 5 spots and bolster the Cowboys' thin frontcourt.

Jeremiah Rivers, 6-5 G (Indiana from Georgetown): Rivers is the son of Doc, head coach of the Boston Celtics. He spent the last year practicing with the Hoosiers, with the hopes of taking over the starting point guard role. Rivers should be a perfect fit for an Indiana team that needs defense and toughness.

Tyrone Shelley, 6-5 G and Malcolm Thomas, 6-9 F (San Diego State from Pepperdine): Shelley led the Waves in scoring as a freshman, contributing an average of 15 points per game. That offense will be necessary for a team that lost four senior starters after an NIT semifinal appearance. He'll be joined on the Aztecs by Thomas, who also was pretty good in Malibu, averaging 12.5 points and almost 9 rebounds per outing. That's not a bad combo.

Alex Stephenson, 6-9 F (USC from North Carolina): Stephenson returned back to the Southland after a disappointing time in Chapel Hill. He simply fell behind more talented players on the depth chart. He should certainly make an impact with a Trojan side that's in need of talent.

2nd Team All-Transfer

Tony Freeman, 6-1 G (Southern Illinois from Iowa): You could just about fill an all-transfer team with the players who've left Iowa City during Todd Lickliter's tenure. Freeman is a senior and the biggest question about him is attitude. He averaged nearly 14 points a game in his last season with the Hawkeyes, but had problems with Lickliter's system. You have to question his decision to go to Carbondale to play under another defense-first coach, Chris Lowery.

Ben Hansbrough, 6-3 G (Notre Dame from Mississippi State): If you thought the Hansbrough era in college basketball was over, you'd be incorrect. Tyler's brother Ben will suit up for the Irish this year after sitting out a year. Hansbrough is a more perimeter-oriented player than his brother and will largely replace the graduated Kyle McAlarney at shooting guard.

Curtis Kelly, 6-8 F (Kansas State from Connecticut): Kelly was a highly touted recruit for Jim Calhoun who just didn't pan out. While his numbers in Storrs weren't great at all (averaging only 2 pts. and 2 boards per game), Kelly will be in a situation where he can be a star alongside Denis Clemente, Jacob Pullen, and fellow newcomer freshman F Wally Judge.

Vernon Macklin, 6-10 F/C (Florida from Georgetown): Macklin will be expected to be a big contributor to a Gator frontcourt that could be without Adam Allen (leg) and Eloy Vargas (academics). Alex Tyus and Dan Werner spent much of last year playing out of position. If Macklin can establish himself as a post presence along with Kenny Kadji, Werner and Tyus can focus more on the 3 and 4 spots.

Elliot Williams, 6-4 G/F (Memphis from Duke): Williams was granted a hardship waiver by the NCAA, as his mother is ill, so he will suit up immediately for his hometown team. Having a Memphis native on the roster should provide a little stability to a roster known for rapid fluctuations, while giving Josh Pastner a boost for his plans to draw more local players to the program. Williams doesn't really have a natural position, so expect to see him at both forward and guard.

1st Team All-Transfer

Derrick Caracter, 6-9 F (UTEP from Louisville): In a year when Memphis is down, Caracter could be a major gamechanger in Conference USA. The question is whether he's learned from all of the off-the-court issues that plagued him when he played for Rick Pitino. If he can, the combination of Caracter and returning C Arnett Moultriegives the Miners the best frontline in the league.

Jordan Crawford, 6-4 G (Xavier from Indiana): This is the guy who dunked on Lebron James. I'm not sure I need to say much more, but I will. Crawford gained good experience during his time in Bloomington, averaging just under 10 points a game with good rebounding (3.4) and assist (2.5) numbers, on a team that won 25 games. He'll be expected to contribute immediately on a team that lost C.J Anderson, Derrick Brown, and B.J. Raymond.

Wesley Johnson, 6-7 F (Syracuse from Iowa State): Johnson will replace Paul Harris at small forward for the Orange. He's a versatile player who can play both inside and outside, and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim says he can be an all-Big East performer. Greg McDermott has to be wishing Johnson was still in Ames playing alongside Craig Brackens.

Jai Lucas, 5-9 G (Texas from Florida): Lucas, the son of NBA player and coach, John, returned to his home state after losing the starting point guard job in Gainesville to the now departed Nick Calathes. He'll return to the 1 spot in Austin, as he'll provide the passing, scoring, and ball security the Longhorns last had with D.J. Augustin in 2007-08.
Herb Pope, 6-8 F (Seton Hall from New Mexico State): Pope is one of three transfers who'll suit up for the Pirates this year--G Keon Lawrence from Missouri and F Jeff Robinson from Memphis are the others. Pope was the WAC's newcomer of the year in 2008, and he returns East after averaging 11 points and almost 7 points a game during his season in Las Cruces. He'll fill the power forward spot for the Hall, allowing Robert Mitchell to play in his natural position, small forward.

On Monday, I'll talk about some of the more interesting coaching changes made during the offseason. Tuesday, I'll present my Preseason All-America teams.

Poll

Which transfer do you think will have the most impact this season?

Jordan Crawford, G, Xavier

83 votes

Wesley Johnson, F, Syracuse

120 votes

Curtis Kelly, F, Kansas State

6 votes

Jai Lucas, G, Texas

21 votes

Herb Pope, F, Seton Hall

15 votes

Other (list in comments)

23 votes

268 votes | Poll has closed

The Problem(s) With Iowa Basketball

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:40:51 -0000

Though we haven't spent much editorial space on the Hawkeyes' basketball team (largely because their games have been scheduled for Friday nights, Sunday mornings, and the curious "as soon as you fall asleep"), we're still watching, thinking, fact-gathering. And though the team is undoubtedly improved--even with a 1-3 conference mark, they're 11-6, and they didn't get their 11th win until February 2nd last season--that 1-3 record isn't quite where fans would like to see the Hawkeyes.

The animus has reached such a fever pitch, in fact, that the basketball forum on our favorite Hawkeye message board (no, not that one; not that one either) has become a functionally unreadable cacophony of "FUCK THE SYSTEM" and "LICKLITER WOULD RATHER PLAY HIS SYSTEM THAN WIN" and "SPEED IT UP YOU COCKMASTER." Setting aside the nonsense, like the notion that there's a coach anywhere that doesn't want to win, there are three glaring faults with the Iowa basketball team (the first feeding the last two), and while Lickliter isn't absolved of blame, they're all matters of personnel.

1) This team is still incredibly young. Here are the players who have been in the Iowa program for at least three years:

F Cyrus Tate (SR)
F J.R. Angle (SR)

Basically one legitimate, clear-cut starter, and then DanJRous. There's your long-standing, institutional knowledge.

And the list of players in their second year:

G Jeff Peterson (SO)
G Jake Kelly (SO)
F Jarryd Cole (SO)
F David Palmer (JR)

This list is even more depressing, because it goes (in order): a 2-star prospect who should have redshirted last season and who wouldn't start on most teams this year; another kid who maybe should have redshirted (but played well) and may have regressed from last year (though we can kinda understand why); an undersized forward whose PT has been cut in half in the aftermath of a major knee injury, and that guy from 24.

That's it. The rest are first-year players, and it's looking increasingly like the foundation of the program will be built on the first year guys instead of the sophomore class. It's one thing to have a young team; it's even worse when the weaknesses are largely contained to the more experienced players. Indictment of Lickliter? Maybe, but what is any coach going to do with, let's say, Cole or Peterson? They're not BXI-level players yet.

2) Cyrus Tate and Anthony Tucker are out. With Tate in the game, Iowa at least has a shot at establishing a semblance of an inside game, whether it be through scoring, rebounding, or defending the opponents' #1 big man. But when Tate went down yelping during the Minnesota game, all hell broke loose, and what was a suffocating dominance of the Gophers turned into, well, justifiable cause to suffocate yourself.

Obviously, It really didn't help when Jake Kelly, holding the ball with about 4 seconds to play and a chance to tie the game with a 3, instead hoisted a half-court shot that mysteriously failed. But Minnesota got back into the game by dominating the boards and jumping passing lanes while Iowa fruitlessly tossed the basketball back and forth around the perimeter, utterly devoid of an inside threat on offense.

Tate may or may not be back for the Hawks' next game against Purdue; God help us if he's not and his minutes go to Cole (who's basically Hot Rod Thompson with two more inches and one fewer knee) and Dr. Disaster, Andrew Brommer. Brommer may well one day be a serviceable big man in the league, maybe even by a year from now, but Good Jesus, the last Hawkeye I can remember getting major minutes while being so terrifyingly unsuited to be on the court was, like, Alex Thompson. So the question is, can Tate go from wearing a walking boot on Sunday to playing one week later? And speaking of questions, why in the hell is Iowa playing another Sunday morning game?! Is this enough to get Barta fired?

And then there's Anthony Tucker.

The Frozen Caveman Shooter is still on the bench, now recovering from mononucleosis, a particularly insidious disease for a basketball player. High-level guard play is usually based on shooting ability, usually based on ball-handling, and usually based on knowledge of the offense. It is ALWAYS, however, based on conditioning, which suffers in a bad, bad way with a case of mono. At this point, it's probably gravy if Tucker sees more than 5 minutes a game before March rolls around.

That's a shame, because as anyone who watched him play before the retardations set in knows, he has a gorgeous release on his jumper (that sounded Kincheny) and it was no accident that he was leading the team in scoring. There's a lot to be said for confidence in a shooter, and there isn't an ounce of panic in Tucker's game. Sure, Bawinkel's fine in replacement, but he's clearly not as good, especially with the ball in his hands. Tucker is a much more natural player overall, and like Tate, Iowa needs him back.

3) The team is sorely lacking at the point. One of the hallmarks of a good perimeter-oriented team is the ability to effectively distribute the ball, usually via the point guard. While we don't doubt Matt Gatens' basketball acumen, he's definitely not the kind of ball-handler (lol) you want bringing the ball up against a press, or trying to shake a good defender 1-on-1. He's not that athletic.

So while Gatens is probably your highest basketball-IQ guy, the point responsibilities go to Jeff Peterson, who as we discussed before, is not very good yet. Jermain Davis has also seen some time bringing the ball up the court, but he's definitely not a natural 1-spot and is at his most effective on the wing.

Peterson, to be sure, has shown some improvement; his shooting totals are way, way up across the board, and his steals have vastly improved as well. Of course, that's with 15 fewer BXI games than last year, but hush, folks, details. The one area where Peterson hasn't improved is turnovers; those remain at 3.1 per game, same as last year, and likely to rise now that there's no more superdirectionals or "Bryant" on the schedule. And having a point guard who can't effectively and smartly distribute the ball or at least set it in motion to eventually hit the open man on the wing is basically a guarantee of not making the tournament.

The one seriously glaring problem with this point guard situation is, um, Lickliter gave away a returning senior starter at that very position. Yes, Tony Freeman drove Lick insane, but it's not like World B. Freeman was the only thing keeping that team from sustained success. They were just plain bad, and without depth at the point (seriously, you couldn't tell Palmer or Lieutenant Angle that they "didn't fit into your vision for the team" instead?), this team might be just as bad when the dust settles on the conference standings in March.

Look, we're not saying "Iowa + Freeman = 17-0 in 08-09!!!", but this is a team that could desperately use his athleticism (especially now that he's not coming off a squeaky wheel) and his ability to hit contested shots. We understand that the Iowa offense is predicated on ball movement and getting guys open shots, and really, to that specific end, it hasn't been ineffective (check out that PPS). The problem is what happens when there's 5 seconds left on the shot clock, the man with the ball is covered, and there's no readily apparent 3-pass progression to get the ball to a wide-open shooter (or even if the guys are in place, defenders are laying back and praying for a pass through their lane). Freeman had a rather uncanny ability to get a good shot off under pressure, moreso than what most of the guys on this current iteration of Iowa Basketball have.

At the very least, keeping Freeman would have given Lickliter an opportunity to show potential recruits that he allows point guards to excel and put up stats in his system. Considering Lickliter's alternative course of action and the landscape of incoming commits, we're a little less than optimistic that this offense is fewer than 2-3 years away from really clicking. Hope Lickliter's got a Plan B, and soon.