Bilas Picks Billikens 5th in A-10

[SShoe]

Roy makes a lot of good points. The element of surprise is gone for our squad now. There are a lot of teams returning a lot of players in our conference. We don't know how good our freshmen are going to be. We don't know if we're going to have Kowal or if Remekun is going to redshirt. It's probably stupid to make predictions but it makes for good conversation, so I'll bite:

4. Dayton: I hate to say it, but they're not going 8-8 again. If they do, Gregory is a horrible coach. Wright is overrated, as most athletic wings with no jump shot are, but they return a ton despite graduating 6, and they're way better at PG with Staten. Just have too much talent to underperform...right?

5. SLU: It's more crowded at the top this year and we have a lot of question marks. I'm optimistic we can sneak into a higher finish if things pan out right but I've been a SLU fan for too long to count on everything going right. 1-5 in this conference this year could shake out in a lot of different ways. I'm just being cautious.

I agree with much of what you said. My issue with putting Dayton above SLU is that as of right now, I feel we still have far fewer question marks than Dayton. From everything I've read about UD this year, they're counting heavily on Staten being the next John Wall. And when push comes to shove, Majerus knows how to beat Gregory.

[Clock_Tower]

I think it is funny that of all the things they could have said about willie, they picked free throws..

Dayton will be very very good. the point guard they have coming in is legit. oak hill prep and he was ranked as one of the best pg's in the country in a very deep pg class. They also have the shooting guard coming in from simeon who is very good, and if we expect mccall to be a big part of our team, this kid will do the same for dayton.

Chris Johnson is a freak and I think chris johnson will come back as a player with a lot to prove. Add that with gregory and you will see them in the top 3.

i dont buy xavier being on top of the league. crawford was too good for them to rebound back to best team in conference in one year. richmond is good, but don't see them matching up with us after anderson. gonzalvez was a good player that will be missed.

Temple is going to be very good. I pick them to win the league. They have the experience and lavoy fake bake allen that will be very hard to beat. They will also have a chip on their shoulder after last years upsetting 1st round loss to cornell.

I pick us 3rd. We have the depth, experience, athleticism and now size to compete with anyone. We CAN NOT lose to junk teams this year. No more GW or Charlotte losses. If we get on a roll early in the pre-season hopefully it will carry over into the conference season. I believe we will come out with 4 losses this year (@x @dayton @temple @richmond) i know i said we are better than richmond but i also remember how bad we play on the road. 3 losses will win this conference this year because it is so deep and the teams at the top will have to win all the home games.

I pick Rhode Island to be the sleeper and finish 4th. The only lose 1 player, but I believe they have enough left to compete and will be over-looked by a lot of teams and that will play in their favor.

Temple

Dayton

SLU

R.I.

X

Richmond

It will be crowded at the top and I look forward to seeing how all of this plays out.

Roar. Are you sure you are on the correct board? Believe the board you are looking for is udpride.

Seriously, who is counting on McCall to be more than a back-up pg and/or spark off the bench? If he develops into more, then great. High school is high school. This is college and not many teams (especially those with a questionable bench coach) can bring in 2 freshmen (pg and 2 guard) and come in 2nd place in this year's A10.

McCall had very good reviews coming out of Chicago/high school but KM - a proven player/now Junior - is still our guy. For that matter, KM had very good reviews coming out of high school as well, was good his Freshman year playing with Seniors TL and KL, but even KM was nowhere as good/consistent as he is now. Freshman can come and make an immediate impact but it is alot to expect Freshmen to carry a team to be #2 in the A10.

Also, X has proven the ability to reload for 25 years now but UD has never shown that ability. IMO, I still expect X to be the better Ohio team.

[MB73]

first i want to state that all in all, i agree we should finish higher than 5th place. without seeing newcomers and seeing non conference results, i consider it silly to try to predict a conference standings at this point though. especially with our (the typical fan's) limited knowledge of all things to consider.

i am amused though with the indignant tone of some of the billikens.com posters that just assume "we finished 4th last year didnt lose anyone and recruited well so should win the world championship this year". first off, dont forget we snuck up on the conference last year. how many times did teams look past us to the next game? i would venture to guess we won 3 games in conference last year on surprise factor alone. second, while the likes of xu did indeed lose the top player in the conference, xavier has shown they have the ability to reload year after year. and while richmond and temple indeed lost players, they return their best players and also had decent recruiting classes. nobody was sitting around waiting for the billikens to take over the conference.

i think this year it will be just the opposite from last year. underdogs will be looking to make a mark against the touted billikens and i expect an unexpected loss somewhere. the richmonds and dayton's will be more prepared and wont necessarily look past us so those arent gimmee wins either. and last, just reading the other team reports at espn last night, it appears the conference only got better. granted this year we might offset the above with an unexpected win vs xu or temple, but we'll see how the overall shakes out. i hope we finish top 2 or 3 but it wouldnt surprise me to see a 500 conference record and finishing somewhere in the top 8 as well.

my point is any conjecture at this point is really akin to reading a nice novel imo. entertaining, but not necessarily the accurate picture of what's going to happen.

He's right, last yr we were very fortunate, some teams took us lightly (e.g. Richmond home game) and this yr we have a much tougher conference schedule, especially on the road. Road games in the A-10 / northeast are always a struggle for SLU for a lot of reasons.

This should clearly be our best team in a long time, but we will be challenged to make top 3 in A-10 and get to NCAA's. Top 4 might be good enough if everything else goes right.

[brianstl]

The conference road schedule is harder, but the two toughest additions on it are games we lost at home last year any way. Barring injury there is no reason this team shouldn't at least finish fourth again.

[slufanskip]

first i want to state that all in all, i agree we should finish higher than 5th place. without seeing newcomers and seeing non conference results, i consider it silly to try to predict a conference standings at this point though. especially with our (the typical fan's) limited knowledge of all things to consider.

i am amused though with the indignant tone of some of the billikens.com posters that just assume "we finished 4th last year didnt lose anyone and recruited well so should win the world championship this year". first off, dont forget we snuck up on the conference last year. how many times did teams look past us to the next game? i would venture to guess we won 3 games in conference last year on surprise factor alone. second, while the likes of xu did indeed lose the top player in the conference, xavier has shown they have the ability to reload year after year. and while richmond and temple indeed lost players, they return their best players and also had decent recruiting classes. nobody was sitting around waiting for the billikens to take over the conference.

i think this year it will be just the opposite from last year. underdogs will be looking to make a mark against the touted billikens and i expect an unexpected loss somewhere. the richmonds and dayton's will be more prepared and wont necessarily look past us so those arent gimmee wins either. and last, just reading the other team reports at espn last night, it appears the conference only got better. granted this year we might offset the above with an unexpected win vs xu or temple, but we'll see how the overall shakes out. i hope we finish top 2 or 3 but it wouldnt surprise me to see a 500 conference record and finishing somewhere in the top 8 as well.

my point is any conjecture at this point is really akin to reading a nice novel imo. entertaining, but not necessarily the accurate picture of what's going to happen.

couldn't you say the same (it's silly) about our preseason picks every year?

[bauman]

Roar. Are you sure you are on the correct board? Believe the board you are looking for is udpride.

Seriously, who is counting on McCall to be more than a back-up pg and/or spark off the bench? If he develops into more, then great. High school is high school. This is college and not many teams (especially those with a questionable bench coach) can bring in 2 freshmen (pg and 2 guard) and come in 2nd place in this year's A10.

McCall had very good reviews coming out of Chicago/high school but KM - a proven player/now Junior - is still our guy. For that matter, KM had very good reviews coming out of high school as well, was good his Freshman year playing with Seniors TL and KL, but even KM was nowhere as good/consistent as he is now. Freshman can come and make an immediate impact but it is alot to expect Freshmen to carry a team to be #2 in the A10.

Also, X has proven the ability to reload for 25 years now but UD has never shown that ability. IMO, I still expect X to be the better Ohio team.

Clock, agree with most of your post, except:

I have stated in a couple of posts that I expect MM to play major minutes this year, with most, if not all of them coming at the 2. I don't see him as competing with KM, but rather as his sidekick. Based only on what I've read, I see him as a 25 min/game player, at least at the end of the year. It sounds like JJ III will be the player most likely to pick up minutes at the 1 relieving KM for needed rest, unless KC takes those minutes.

Excited for SLU BB to begin.

[Clock_Tower]

OK. Since the trend appears to only talk about the 1/2 empty glass (surprise factor, et al.), let me add a few comments about the 1/2 full portion.

Just maybe, WR will add weight/strength and be a force the entire game and not just in stretches. Maybe BC will not spend so much time in the training room nursing his bad wheels like he did all season and actually have strength in the ankles to push back/jump. Maybe CE comes in this year knowing what to expect of the college game, in better shape, with added strength and shows us a more complete player. Maybe CR has developed in the off-season like we all hope he has so we don't hold our breath when WR comes out of the game. Maybe RL comes in an shows us why he commanded such interest in the recruiting circles and contributes right away. Maybe KC makes a similar jump from his Soph year to JR year like he did from his Frosh to Soph year. Maybe CS regained his confidence in the off-season and has added strength so that he can push/bump him while shooting and he still makes the shot, and with the added strength, can improve his accuracy in hitting 3 pointers. Maybe KM comes in ready to lead/carry the team in the 1st half and not just in the second half/down the stretch. Haven't even got to McCall and Evans -- 2 more potential stars/contributors -- who might show us alot this year. All of this while being coached by HOF coach - Majerus.

Remind me again about how great UD and Brian Gregory are?? Good stuff.

[Clock_Tower]

Clock, agree with most of your post, except:

I have stated in a couple of posts that I expect MM to play major minutes this year, with most, if not all of them coming at the 2. I don't see him as competing with KM, but rather as his sidekick. Based only on what I've read, I see him as a 25 min/game player, at least at the end of the year. It sounds like JJ III will be the player most likely to pick up minutes at the 1 relieving KM for needed rest, unless KC takes those minutes.

Excited for SLU BB to begin.

I hope you're right. IMO, shooting guard was our weakest area last year.

[BillikenROAR]

Roar. Are you sure you are on the correct board? Believe the board you are looking for is udpride.

Seriously, who is counting on McCall to be more than a back-up pg and/or spark off the bench? If he develops into more, then great. High school is high school. This is college and not many teams (especially those with a questionable bench coach) can bring in 2 freshmen (pg and 2 guard) and come in 2nd place in this year's A10.

McCall had very good reviews coming out of Chicago/high school but KM - a proven player/now Junior - is still our guy. For that matter, KM had very good reviews coming out of high school as well, was good his Freshman year playing with Seniors TL and KL, but even KM was nowhere as good/consistent as he is now. Freshman can come and make an immediate impact but it is alot to expect Freshmen to carry a team to be #2 in the A10.

Also, X has proven the ability to reload for 25 years now but UD has never shown that ability. IMO, I still expect X to be the better Ohio team.

ok. first of all. your "who is counting on mccall" remark was dumb. how many times last year did we need a scoring guard to compliment km? or did you enjoy the guaranteed 1 airball/clunker a game and passiveness of kc?

2- im not on any dayton bandwagon and the fact that you cant see that they will be good proves your ignorance as a basketball fan. X lost their 2 best players and are bringing in good talent, dayton kept theirs and also is bringing in good talent. add that to the NIT championship as a springboard for this season and all signs point to them being very good. idk why you are getting pissed about their attention. if they were not good, they would not be getting it. and why not let espn talk them up so that when we beat them it will look even more impressive?

3- the dayton pg will probably make a huge impact on their team. he played at OAK HILL! thats not a high school, its like juco. they are probably better than some college teams most years.

[SShoe]

I hope you're right. IMO, shooting guard was our weakest area last year.

Completely agree with this statement, although you could include SF as well. I was very disappointed in our wings last year. This year, I imagine our biggest jump in production will come from these positions w/ the continued improvement of KC and CS and the addition of MM.

[SShoe]

ok. first of all. your "who is counting on mccall" remark was dumb. how many times last year did we need a scoring guard to compliment km? or did you enjoy the guaranteed 1 airball/clunker a game and passiveness of kc?

2- im not on any dayton bandwagon and the fact that you cant see that they will be good proves your ignorance as a basketball fan. X lost their 2 best players and are bringing in good talent, dayton kept theirs and also is bringing in good talent. add that to the NIT championship as a springboard for this season and all signs point to them being very good. idk why you are getting pissed about their attention. if they were not good, they would not be getting it. and why not let espn talk them up so that when we beat them it will look even more impressive?

3- the dayton pg will probably make a huge impact on their team. he played at OAK HILL! thats not a high school, its like juco. they are probably better than some college teams most years.

Dayton lost 6 seniors and 3 starters. Sorry, they did not "keep" their talent.

Oak Hill has had it's fair share of busts. Can you say, Alex Legion?

[jimbofive]

Seriously, who is counting on McCall to be more than a back-up pg and/or spark off the bench? If he develops into more, then great. High school is high school. This is college and not many teams (especially those with a questionable bench coach) can bring in 2 freshmen (pg and 2 guard) and come in 2nd place in this year's A10.

If McCall doesn't get serious minutes, we're a tourney team no problem. Majerus himself has said that McCall is better coming in than KM was. And KM put up 16 a game last year for a low-scoring squad. He'll compete for A-10 player of the year the next two seasons. That's a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one. I think McCall will hit a lot of big shots for us. Next year is all roses right now.

[brianstl]

3- the dayton pg will probably make a huge impact on their team. he played at OAK HILL! thats not a high school, its like juco. they are probably better than some college teams most years.

Dayton leads the country is preseason championship banners.

[Clock_Tower]

If McCall doesn't get serious minutes, we're a tourney team no problem. Majerus himself has said that McCall is better coming in than KM was. And KM put up 16 a game last year for a low-scoring squad. He'll compete for A-10 player of the year the next two seasons. That's a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one. I think McCall will hit a lot of big shots for us. Next year is all roses right now.

Jimbo. I hope you are right. As mentioned, our team needs improvement at the guard position (2 and 3) and depth at the pg. KC, CS, last year's JJ, etc. just didn't get the job done for us to be a Tourney team. Not saying McCall won't move ahead of these guys but our strength this year will be the returning veterans: KM, WR, CE, etc. Just to add, I recall RM saying that McCall is ahead of where KM was an incoming Freshman, not as a college Sophomore.

[brianstl]

Jimbo. I hope you are right. As mentioned, our team needs improvement at the guard position (2 and 3) and depth at the pg. KC, CS, last year's JJ, etc. just didn't get the job done for us to be a Tourney team. Not saying McCall won't move ahead of these guys but our strength this year will be the returning veterans: KM, WR, CE, etc. Just to add, I recall RM saying that McCall is ahead of where KM was an incoming Freshman, not as a college Sophomore.

Jimbo took a dump in one of OAK HILL'S BATHROOMS! one time. So he knows what he is talking about on this.

[billiken_roy]

couldn't you say the same (it's silly) about our preseason picks every year?

i think i have.

[Clock_Tower]

ok. first of all. your "who is counting on mccall" remark was dumb. how many times last year did we need a scoring guard to compliment km? or did you enjoy the guaranteed 1 airball/clunker a game and passiveness of kc?

2- im not on any dayton bandwagon and the fact that you cant see that they will be good proves your ignorance as a basketball fan. X lost their 2 best players and are bringing in good talent, dayton kept theirs and also is bringing in good talent. add that to the NIT championship as a springboard for this season and all signs point to them being very good. idk why you are getting pissed about their attention. if they were not good, they would not be getting it. and why not let espn talk them up so that when we beat them it will look even more impressive?

3- the dayton pg will probably make a huge impact on their team. he played at OAK HILL! thats not a high school, its like juco. they are probably better than some college teams most years.

Roar. Re-read my posts. Sure, we need help at the 2 and 3 but just b/c KC clanked some shots last year does not mean McCall (MM) is the real deal. I don't get your logic. In short, I trust RM's judgment and hope that MM can step in and contribute - possibly immediately. At the same time, our team will be led by KM, WR and CE -- not by MM. If MM turns out to be a key player as well, then great. KC and CS will both improve and will now have guys like MM and JJ to push them. In contrast, though, your Flyers apparently will need to rely upon their incoming freshmen immediately. We graduated none and they graduated 7. Why do you ignore their large graduation class?

Oak Hill is NOT a JUCO. Now that's just plain dumb of you state that it is. For your information, it IS a highschool. I am not a graduate of Oak Hill and don't profess to know everyting about it, but it appears to be a high school (grades 8 to 12) which is probably being used as a "prep school." For your refercence. http://www.oak-hill.net/index.htm

I have not seen Juwan Staten play, but I'll take KM (and the experience, strength and maturity he brings) as my pg over Staten this year.

[GMan Alum]

I would also like to think that SLU will finish in the top 3, but one thing going against the Billikens this year are the tough road conference games. Temple, Xavier, Rhode Island, Richmond and Dayton all on the road at unfriendly venues - last year all those teams played AT SLU. I kow that SLU also gets to play Dayton and Xavier at home, but those games won't be a picnic, either.

[BillikenROAR]

Roar. Re-read my posts. Sure, we need help at the 2 and 3 but just b/c KC clanked some shots last year does not mean McCall (MM) is the real deal. I don't get your logic. In short, I trust RM's judgment and hope that MM can step in and contribute - possibly immediately. At the same time, our team will be led by KM, WR and CE -- not by MM. If MM turns out to be a key player as well, then great. KC and CS will both improve and will now have guys like MM and JJ to push them. In contrast, though, your Flyers apparently will need to rely upon their incoming freshmen immediately. We graduated none and they graduated 7. Why do you ignore their large graduation class?

Oak Hill is NOT a JUCO. Now that's just plain dumb of you state that it is. For your information, it IS a highschool. I am not a graduate of Oak Hill and don't profess to know everyting about it, but it appears to be a high school (grades 8 to 12) which is probably being used as a "prep school." For your refercence. http://www.oak-hill.net/index.htm

I have not seen Juwan Staten play, but I'll take KM (and the experience, strength and maturity he brings) as my pg over Staten this year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Hill_Academy_(Virginia)

check out the list of players to come out of oak hill brah. i said they were "like" a juco..which is a metaphor..because they recruit kids from all over the country to come in and play a national schedule (you are correct they are a prep school, but they are THE prep school)

i ignore their graduation class because the talent they have coming in will be enough to compliment the talent they already have. the players they have coming in are not like the players we are used to getting, these players are ready to compete and contribute right away at a high level. how can you ignore that fact?

go with christ brah

-dog

[udfan]

This is an interesting thread for me, especially listening to the thoughts on Dayton. I wouldn't quibble with anyone's take on the Flyers because I am not sure how we are going to be this year, honestly. I know our forwards are very good, but the rest of the starters will be in new roles, making for a very different look for us.

There is some debate about who will start at PG for us. Some think it will be freshman Juwan Staten, while others predict junior Josh Parker, the transfer from Drake who becomes eligible next year. The only thing that I have heard about Staten is that he is very quick with the ball in his hands. I heard that he won't be an offensive juggernaught, but someone who just disrupts a lot with his floor game and stop-and-go style. They say he is hard to keep out of the lane, but not a particularly good outside shooter. I saw Parker play in our pre-season scrimmage, and he looked very solid with the ball to me, but that was just one glorified practice. He put up good shooting numbers at Drake.

The starting SG will probably be Paul Williams. He has a strong body, but is not particularly dangerous off the dribble. He can shoot pretty well though. His back-up will probably be freshman Brandon Spearman who looks like a decent all-around player to me.

Center will either be Devin Searcy or Matt Kavanaugh. Neither seem like anything more than average A10 bigs at this point.

The place that we change the most is on defense. All the players who graduated were very good defenders. That was our identity last year. I think we will look very different on that end of the floor. It will take some time for our defense to come together, and we probably won't ultimately get as good at that end of the floor.

[TheA_Bomb]

Things I know about sports: The Cubs WILL choke; Dayton WILL underachieve

[JettFlight5]

I am getting my butt kicked on the A-10 board because dare I mention I think SLU is better than Dayton. Obviously, beating them twice didn't faze them one bit.

[Hawk]

I am getting my butt kicked on the A-10 board because dare I mention I think SLU is better than Dayton. Obviously, beating them twice didn't faze them one bit.

Buuuut the won the NIT over UNC!!

[JettFlight5]

Buuuut the won the NIT over UNC!!

Dayton fans keep telling me that H2H doesn't tell anything. Which is funny, because if Dayton beats SLU, it will be the barometer by which all things are judged. Darn shifting standards.

[Clock_Tower]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Hill_Academy_(Virginia)

check out the list of players to come out of oak hill brah. i said they were "like" a juco..which is a metaphor..because they recruit kids from all over the country to come in and play a national schedule (you are correct they are a prep school, but they are THE prep school)

i ignore their graduation class because the talent they have coming in will be enough to compliment the talent they already have. the players they have coming in are not like the players we are used to getting, these players are ready to compete and contribute right away at a high level. how can you ignore that fact?

go with christ brah

-dog

Roar. Your logic continues to impress.

Glad to see that you now admit that THE high school (not SLUH for those still reading) known as Oak Hill has had some good players. Juwan Staten went to Oak Hill. Therefore Juwan Staten will lead UD to 2nd place finish in the A10. Thanks for clearing things up!!

Also, maybe you are right in saying that UD's new recruits will be better than their graduating Seniors. Only time will tell. In the meantime, why post untrue statements - that UD is keeping last year's talent and adding to it?

Finally, I don't get why you slam SLU while telling us about how great UD's recruits are. Who are you referring to when you say the UD recruits "are not like the players we (SLU) are used to getting, these players are ready to compete and contribute right away at a high level"? Are you referring to KM, WR, BC, CE, CS, etc. or are you referring to player from the prior coaching regime? Last I checked our team of Frosh/Sophs beat UD (full of upperclassmen) twice last year. This year, we have our deepest/possibly best team in 60 years (3 straight really good recruting classes), players with experience, size and strength, a HOF coach compared to Gregory. If only we had an Oak Hill graduate!!!