Lindy's

[Taj79]

As teased by The Chosen One in the "Top 144" thread, Lindy's is out.

National picture: Lindy's has Michigan State as #1 followed by Arizona, Wichita State, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Villanova, Cincinnait, Louisville and Texas A&M as Top Ten.  Highest rated A10 is Rhode Island at #34.  Mizzou comes in at #37 and the only other opponent we have is Virginia Tech at #40.  Outside of the Rams, only the Bonnies make the dance from the A10.  We will face two of the top jump shooters/volume shooters in the nation in Chris Clemons from Campbell and Jonathon Stark from Murray State.  Other predicted tourney team on our schedule is Providence --- not Butler.  Top four-year transfer on our schedule s Isaac Vann coming to VCU from Maine.  A10 is ninth best rated conference behind ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12, American, Big East and WCC.  Valley is is #15 and is Juan bid with Missouri State predicted to win.  Randy Onawasur has landed ---- former Bill recruit who went to Texas Tech and then Southern Utah is a grad transfer at LSU for Will Wade.  Also getting props is former A10er Christian Sengfelder who goes to Boise State from Fordham.

Top players ranked in the country include point guards Jaylen Adams at the Bonnies (#8) and Jonathon Stark (#10) at Murray State; shooting guards Rob Gray at Houston (#7) and EC Matthews at Rhode Island (#19); top small forward Kelan Martin at Butler(#5); power forward #5 Terrance Miller at Murray State, Peyton Aldridge (#9) at Davidson and Rodney Bullock at Providence(#20); closing out with #20 center Rashaan Holloway at Umass.

In the A10, the predictedorder is Rhode Island, the Bonnies,Saint Louis, Saint Joesph's, VCU, Dayton, Davidson, La Salle, Mason, Richmond, George Washington, Umass, Duquesne and Fordham.  A10 first team is Matthews, Adams and Aldridge along with Jared Terrell (URI) and BJ Johnson (La Salle).  Second team is Matt Mobley (SBU), Otis Livingston (GMU), De'Monte Buckingham (Richmond), Justin Tillman (VCU) and Holloway.  Third team is Lamar Kimble (SJU), Pookie Powell (La Salle), Adonys Henriquez, Yuta Watanabe (GWU) and Chralie Brown (SJU).  POY is Adams.  Newcomer of Year is Jordan Goodwin.  Aldridge gets best shooter, Tillman gets best rebounder, Watanabe gets best defender, Admas gets best playmaker, Jaire Grayer (GMU) gets mostversatile, EC Matthews gets Best NBAprospect, and Admas closes our with Most Entertaining.

Saint Lousi has the "Best Group" of newcomers.  Goodwin gets Most Impact of Newcomers.  Hasahn French gets best incoming rebounder.  Jordan Davis gets best incoming shooter.  Daron Russell (URI) gets best playmaker and biggest surprise (as he is only 5'10").  Goodwin is most likely to wear an NBA uniform buit there are no one-and-dones.   Saint Louis has the #1signing group and the Biggest Miss was VCU losing Lavar Batts to NC State after Wade left.  Rhodey is getting chased by "three Saints" per the write-up. 

Saint Louis:  after another losing season, the Billikens are on track to be "one of the better teams in the A10."  Four starters return and the silver lining of lastyear was the team played better down the stretch.  Fueling that momentum will be Davell Roby; a healthy Jermaine Bishop will also make a difference; Elliott Welmer had a foot injuryover summer but is a solid shooter with shot-blocking ability; and mention made of Aaron Hines solid improvement.  The four transfers --- Henriquez, Bess, Grave and Foreman -- will be needed.  Henriquez is "dangerous threat from beyond the arc."  Rashed Anthony has potential to be sleeper; experience could be pivotal.  Goodwin and French get props as impact freshmen.  

Opponents:  Seattle #4 in WAC; Virginia Tech #8 in ACC; Washington #10 in PAC-012; Providence #4 in Big East; Detroit Mercy #5 in Horizon; Butler #5 in Big East; SIU #6 in Mo Valley; Houston #7 in American;  Murray State #3 in Ohio Valley;  Oregon State #7 in PAC-12; Campbell #4 in Big South and SEMO #12  (last) in Ohio Valley.

Fifty-four days until opening tip.  Tick, tick, tick .....

 

[HenryB]

Thanks for sharing!

[prebilliken]

5 hours ago, HenryB said:

Thanks for sharing!

+1

This is really good info. 

IF, and I mean IF, we somehow came out of non-con unscathed, I could see us nabbing a spot in the dance. 

[almaman]

if we come into conference with no losses we better make the dance. If we play 500 in conference we'd be 22-9 before A-10 tournament. Going into conference undefeated makes me think we'd do better than 500 in conference. 

[slu72]

Seriously doubt we come out of non con undefeated/or unscathed. Instead, if this team is hitting it's stride in early January and continuing thru early March the bigger question for us, re making the dance, is how we do in conference. If we can finish at least in 3rd for regular season then up in the conference tourney final game, I think we can make the dance. Here's the question, are St. B's and URI that dominant that we should concede them the regular season title?  

[3star_recruit]

Love the balance (potentially) our team has on offense but the top 3 teams in the conference are usually the ones with the best backcourts.  I don't think our team fits that description yet.

[TFord and TRavs]

Is it jaylen adams that makes St. Bonnie's so good? I feel like Goodwin can take him just fine. 

Wantanabe is picked 3rd team all A-10? Weren't they talking about NBA for him?

[slufan13]

2 minutes ago, TFord and TRavs said:

Is it jaylen adams that makes St. Bonnie's so good? I feel like Goodwin can take him just fine. 

Wantanabe is picked 3rd team all A-10? Weren't they talking about NBA for him?

Adams is a star. Best player in the conference 

[TheChosenOne]

@Taj79 thanks for posting, sorry to the board for not posting the info despite teasing it. My favorite quote from the article was concerning French "he'll lead the Atlantic 10 in rebounding, perhaps as soon as his sophomore season."

[Littlebill]

14 hours ago, slufan13 said:

Adams is a star. Best player in the conference 

Mobley is really effing good too. I think the tandem is what makes them so good. They could be considered the two best guards in the conference.

[kshoe]

17 hours ago, prebilliken said:

+1

This is really good info. 

IF, and I mean IF, we somehow came out of non-con unscathed, I could see us nabbing a spot in the dance. 

We won't come out of non-conference unscathed...but if we did we'd be ranked in the top 15 and would be only 1 of a few (if that) teams still undefeated in the country. This would include neutral court wins over V-Tech and Providence and a road win at Butler.

Not happening though.

[HoosierPal]

15 hours ago, slufan13 said:

Adams is a star. Best player in the conference 

Adams has scored 1,312 points, in three years and is a career 38% 3FG shooter.  He is a stud. 

It is good to see Seattle predicted at #4 in the WAC.  Last year's Pilots were an RPI killer.  Ditto with Oregon State at #7 in the PAC12.

Sticking with my 9-3 OOC prediction, with one L at the 2K, L at Butler and then a home hiccup against a TBD opponent.

[Taj79]

If you believe (as I do) that the college game is a guard's game, then you can easily see why Lindy's has gone the route they have.  Not that I disagree.  Rhode Island has four decent guards in Matthews, Terrell, Robinson and Dowtin who all scored a least 20 points in a game last year.  Then add in Russell as "the biggest surprise" and there's another piece.  Russell was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in Pennsylvania last year and led team to state title.  The Bonnies do have two good guards but not the luxury that URI has with four or five.  An injury to either (Adams has been known to miss games here and there) and they could be sunk.  There is not a lot of firepower or proven talent behind those two.  Saint Joe's is nothing but guards .... Kimble and Newkirk barely bust six feet and although Brown and Demery are listed at 6'6" each, they are more guard-like players than forward-like players at the 3/4.  Jai Williams is the only really big on their roster (yeah, the Spaniard will be back but meh) but don't forget a scant two years ago Phil won the autobid with guards and forwards just like this roster. 

I am not fully confident in our backcourt just yet and its ability to compete with these backcourts.  I base that only on the fact that until they start playing, I can't know.  It looks good from afar but is Goodwin the point?  Is Henriquez the two?  Is Roby the two?  Is Bishop a one or a two and how's his injury.  Graves isn't in the mix until second semester.  I think we'll be okay but just not as sure as the known things at URI and Bonaventure.  Lots of injury-recovery issues with the Joey's.

As for the rest, Dayton has no guards if only because Crosby wasn't that key last year.  VCU has Williams but I'd make him shoot the jumper and limit his drives.  Davidson lost Gibbs and while they have a four-star guard coming in, their only other help was the Icelandic freshman last year.  Who gets Peyton Aldridge the ball?  La Salle has a ton of guards but their problem has always been the fourth letter of the alphabet.  They don't understand what "D" is.  Mason and Richmond each have two decent guards but they are nowhere near the upper echelon despite what the national pundits are writing about Livingstone, Grayer, Fore and Buckingham.  Duquesne has Lewis and Fordham has Chartouny but not enough to matter.  Umass is a train wreck. 

Maybe Goodwin can take Adams.  He'll get two chances so we shall see.  Watanabe is okay in my book, but he's more of a cog, a fifth wheel, as opposed to a star.  He's a 6'9" guard so he causes matchup problems.  NBA?  I think Watanabe is like some of those old "great Asian hopes" much like Korean and Japanese baseball players that wanted the MLB.  Isn't he the banner carrier as the best Japanese basketball player currently on the market?  All I'll say there is we shall see.  I like his game as a contributor, I have yet to see him carry the load what with McDonald, Larsen, Savage, Garino, and then Kavanaugh.  This is his year.  One-man team wonders have happened before.  He'll have Steeves, Toro, and Boldin but I don't see that as enough. 

[Taj79]

OOC Schedule:  undefeated?  I don't think so.  Although stranger things have happened.  Virginia Tech is a toughie.  I am guessing given the pairing those folks are expecting a VaTech/Providence final on Day Two.  A split would be nice especially if we won game one.  The game at Butler will be tough.  That's another possible hiccup.  Who knows with Houston.  And heading to the West Coast will be difficult no matter where or who we play.  I think the real question mark for me will be Murray State.  A top-ranked high volume shooter and top point in Stark with a highly ranked power forward in Miller.  Plus, if memory serves, I think they also supposedly have a high ranked JUCO transfer coming in.  Might be the best home game on the OOC schedule. 

[slu72]

The thing I like about our guards is they are big body guys. Henriquez, Goodwin, Bess, Robie, and maybe even Bishop, w/ his new bulk, shouldn't be pushed around. Graves strikes me more as the typical A10 guard type; a little on the short side and smaller framed. If our guards can play decent D, they could make life a living hell for a lot of A10 guards.

I list Bess because Travis has said he's a versatile guy. I took this too mean he could possible play the 2 if the need arose. What does concern me a little is, other than Graves, I don't see a true PG like an Adams with this group. Hopefully, Goodwin can be that guy, but it will take some time. In a perfect world it would be great if we had a  Kwamain type at the point, who I think is the best pure PG we've had since H.  

Like Taj Mahal 79, it's show me time at SLU with all these new pieces. Won't be long until they get their chance.

[Glorydays2013]

Just now, slu72 said:

The thing I like about our guards is they are big body guys. Henriquez, Goodwin, Bess, Robie, and maybe even Bishop, w/ his new bulk, shouldn't be pushed around. Graves strikes me more as the typical A10 guard type; a little on the short side and smaller framed. If our guards can play decent D, they could make life a living hell for a lot of A10 guards.

I list Bess because Travis has said he's a versatile guy. I took this too mean he could possible play the 2 if the need arose. What does concern me a little is, other than Graves, I don't see a true PG like an Adams with this group. Hopefully, Goodwin can be that guy, but it will take some time. In a perfect world it would be great if we had a  Kwamain type at the point, who I think is the best pure PG we've had since H.  

Like Taj Mahal 79, it's show me time at SLU with all these new pieces. Won't be long until they get their chance.

How would you think Ford's OKState team with Marcus Smart would be in the A10 this year? Thats the kind of team I am thinking we have 

[Glorydays2013]

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/oklahoma-state/2013.html

 

This team looks really close to what our's does. 

Young team with the highest scorers being Fr or So

finished 3rd in Big12 

[ACE]

1 hour ago, kshoe said:

We won't come out of non-conference unscathed...but if we did we'd be ranked in the top 15 and would be only 1 of a few (if that) teams still undefeated in the country. This would include neutral court wins over V-Tech and Providence and a road win at Butler.

Not happening though.

I would be very happy coming out of non-conference with only two losses. Even games like Houston and Oregon State on the road are potentially difficult, and of course you always have to guard against some unexpected clunker.

[Littlebill]

29 minutes ago, Glorydays2013 said:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/oklahoma-state/2013.html

 

This team looks really close to what our's does. 

Young team with the highest scorers being Fr or So

finished 3rd in Big12 

If only we had two McDonalds AAs?

[Glorydays2013]

9 minutes ago, Littlebill said:

If only we had two McDonalds AAs?

I feel like the equivalent of a McDonalds AA in the Big12 are top 100 recruits in the A-10 if that is fair to say

[NH]

32 minutes ago, Glorydays2013 said:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/oklahoma-state/2013.html

 

This team looks really close to what our's does. 

Young team with the highest scorers being Fr or So

finished 3rd in Big12 

It's impossible to know if our team is similar to that team since we have no idea what we play like. Ok state also returned that exact same team the next year and went 8-10 in the big 12. Like those OSU teams, I would guess there is a wide range of possible outcomes for the Billikens this year. 

[brianstl]

39 minutes ago, Glorydays2013 said:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/oklahoma-state/2013.html

 

This team looks really close to what our's does. 

Young team with the highest scorers being Fr or So

finished 3rd in Big12 

That team would have finished 3rd in the A10 that season, too.

[NH]

1 minute ago, Glorydays2013 said:

I feel like the equivalent of a McDonalds AA in the Big12 are top 100 recruits in the A-10 if that is fair to say

I don't think that is fair to say. There is much higher variance in the A-10. I would guess the correlation between high school ranking and peak college performance is lower in the A-10 than it is in the Big 12.

[Glorydays2013]

22 minutes ago, NH said:

I don't think that is fair to say. There is much higher variance in the A-10. I would guess the correlation between high school ranking and peak college performance is lower in the A-10 than it is in the Big 12.

It is extremely disproportionate how many A10 top 100 recruits there are compared to Big12. SLU is the only team I believe with top 100 recruits this year, and two of them. 

How many NBA draft picks come from A-10 compared to Big12? 

Big12 is a top 3 basketball conference and A-10 just got ranked like 7th. 

My point is, Ford recruited a team in one of the most competitive conferences and performed very well that year, losing to the same team SLU did in 2013, by a lower margin. Point being, Ford can put together a team that can compete against the best, and now he has a very talented roster in a very poor conference

[NH]

3 minutes ago, Glorydays2013 said:

It is extremely disproportionate how many A10 top 100 recruits there are compared to Big12. SLU is the only team I believe with top 100 recruits this year, and two of them. 

How many NBA draft picks come from A-10 compared to Big12? 

Big12 is a top 3 basketball conference and A-10 just got ranked like 7th. 

My point is, Ford recruited a team in one of the most competitive conferences and performed very well that year, losing to the same team SLU did in 2013, by a lower margin. Point being, Ford can put together a team that can compete against the best, and now he has a very talented roster in a very poor conference

The A-10 is far from a very poor conference. I think you should keep an open mind for how recruits translate to wins at our level of college basketball.