WH's Preview

[SShoe]

WH, who is one of the most knowledgeable "fans" in the A-10, has been releasing his 2010 team-by-team previews over the last few weeks. His SLU preview is up and, as always, is quite good, though I do not agree with his projected record. That being said, he indicated that Majerus always does better than the preseason projections, which also includes his own.

WH Preview

[kappy96]

WH, who is one of the most knowledgeable "fans" in the A-10, has been releasing his 2010 team-by-team previews over the last few weeks. His SLU preview is up and, as always, is quite good, though I do not agree with his projected record. That being said, he indicated that Majerus always does better than the preseason projections, which also includes his own.

WH Preview

I think his record prediction is pretty much spot on. Maybe we steal 1 or 2 more games IF KM comes back.

[Cowboy]

-thanks WH (and SShoe for the link)

-i was thinking yesterday about KM coming back and with the LOI we received and the thought that next year we could have a really nice recruiting class, i would not mind KM being a sr point guard on that team so redshirting for this year, assuming he comes back, might make the most sense

-in any case, the season starts tomorrow, YIPPEE

[Billikan]

WH, who is one of the most knowledgeable "fans" in the A-10, has been releasing his 2010 team-by-team previews over the last few weeks. His SLU preview is up and, as always, is quite good, though I do not agree with his projected record. That being said, he indicated that Majerus always does better than the preseason projections, which also includes his own.

WH Preview

I am always very impressed by the detailed understanding WH has with regard to our team and the schedule. This analysis shows that our competition is very tough and some games our of conference will be more difficult than most folks would understand. The one thing he ignores, and I understand why he does it, is the fact that we have two bigs in Ellis and Loe who could really light it up one night from the three point line and give us some scoring that we have never had. Then if we can get the defense in order we might pull some upsets. On the other hand, if we go cold on some nights, we could be upset by lesser teams.

[cheeseman]

I think he is spot on about missing somebody who can score on his own. We all have gotten use to KM doing this when things go cold. I worry about scoring consistently but one way to offset that is to be a very good FT shooting team. If we can shoot 75% as a team from the field then that should be worth 8 points a game if not more if we can figure out how to get to the line - the key here will be to hit the front end of the one and ones. Also, we have struggled being consistent from the 3 pt line in the past for some games. If MM can hit a few and KC picks it up a bit, perhaps we will be more consistent in this area. I understand that RL and CE could be keys here but I am assuming CE will be like last year. How RL plays out is wild card. The defense is a real question mark - the players returning just have to be hard nosed in this regard and the new guys have to just suck it up when out on the floor. I worry about the team's overall record - and 8-6 non conf record will make being 500 once conf games start a real challenge in my opinion.

[dlarry]

I was suprised that he had us winning at Portland but I think they can beat IUPUI at home

[DoctorB]

16-14 is about right. but it may be optimistic. he is right about us lacking someone who can score in 5 seconds -- off the dribble; who will that be?? we might lose a few games in the last 90 seconds that way.

If we lose tomorrow to Austin Peay, which I expect we very likely will, it would be very inauspicious; and that loss should tell us a lot about how far we'll need to go this year. I also think we'll possibly lose to IUPUI, Jacksonville, & Portland, and am pretty sure we'll get slaughtered by Duke, Georgia, Mississippi State and Missouri State. That's tougher than it looked two months ago; and it adds up to 8 losses by Christmas, not counting other potential spills like a third game in cancun! ouch.

hate to say it but we may not even limp into conference games with a winning record, but I sure hope I'm wrong. tomorrow better be a win or it could be a long cold winter.

[b.hayes]

22-8, no problem.

[Bizziken]

Looking at our schedule this season, it is incredible to see how many teams made some kind of postseason tournament last season:

Duke- NCAA Tournament

Xavier- NCAA Tournament

Richmond- NCAA Tournament

Temple- NCAA Tournament

East Tennessee State- NCAA Tournament (possible Cancun game)

Dayton- NIT

Rhode Island- NIT

Jacksonville- NIT

Northeastern- NIT

Mississippi- NIT (possible Cancun game)

Duquesne- CBI

George Washington- CBI

IUPUI- CBI

Colorado State- CBI (possible Cancun game)

Missouri State- CIT

Portland- CIT

Southern Mississippi- CIT (possible Cancun game)

Appalachian State- CIT (possible Cancun game)

In my opinion, that's pretty impressive. Granted, a lot of these teams lost some of their key components, but if they can still hover around the 100-120 RPI range, we could benefit quite a bit...

[QUAILMAN]

^^^^ let's not forget about that duke team. I heard they made the post season last year. Not too sure though.

[Bizziken]

^^^^ let's not forget about that duke team. I heard they made the post season last year. Not too sure though.

Yeah, I think they may have won a game or two...can't believe I forgot to include them...

[kshoe]

16-14 is about right. but it may be optimistic. he is right about us lacking someone who can score in 5 seconds -- off the dribble; who will that be?? we might lose a few games in the last 90 seconds that way.

If we lose tomorrow to Austin Peay, which I expect we very likely will, it would be very inauspicious; and that loss should tell us a lot about how far we'll need to go this year. I also think we'll possibly lose to IUPUI, Jacksonville, & Portland, and am pretty sure we'll get slaughtered by Duke, Georgia, Mississippi State and Missouri State. That's tougher than it looked two months ago; and it adds up to 8 losses by Christmas, not counting other potential spills like a third game in cancun! ouch.

hate to say it but we may not even limp into conference games with a winning record, but I sure hope I'm wrong. tomorrow better be a win or it could be a long cold winter.

You think it is very likely we will lose to Austin Peay at home?!? Bills will likely be favored by 8 in Vegas so maybe you should make an investment...

The pendulum has swung to far if other people think Doc's predictions of a loss like that or 8 losses by Christmas should be expected.

Look, KM and WR were very good players and we will likely miss them this year to the tune of 4-6 victories, but saying we can't achieve a winning record without them is going way overboard.

[DoctorB]

shoe -- will you give me 8? or how about 7??

if so you are definitely on, sir.

I would not be shocked if we lose, and as I said IF we lose tomorrow -- I will be even more worried. I certainly think it will be close.

and like I said -- if we are down 2 with 30 seconds to go; who shoots the rock??

the defense I saw against Stritch was lousy by Simon Rec Center standards. it should improve by conference, but recall please that the game is tomorrow night.

[slufanskip]

shoe -- will you give me 8? or how about 7??

if so you are definitely on, sir.

I would not be shocked if we lose, and as I said IF we lose tomorrow -- I will be even more worried. I certainly think it will be close.

and like I said -- if we are down 2 with 30 seconds to go; who shoots the rock??

the defense I saw against Stritch was lousy by Simon Rec Center standards. it should improve by conference, but recall please that the game is tomorrow night.

why would you get 8 or even 7 points when you expect them to lose?

[cheeseman]

why would you get 8 or even 7 points when you expect them to lose?

I think he is talking about wins.

[Billikan]

shoe -- will you give me 8? or how about 7??

if so you are definitely on, sir.

I would not be shocked if we lose, and as I said IF we lose tomorrow -- I will be even more worried. I certainly think it will be close.

and like I said -- if we are down 2 with 30 seconds to go; who shoots the rock??

the defense I saw against Stritch was lousy by Simon Rec Center standards. it should improve by conference, but recall please that the game is tomorrow night.

I agree with your comments on the defense but I think the team will benefit from better rotations. The two exhibition games we played a bunch of weird combinations and the players seems out of sync. The starting 5 of KC, MM, CE, RL and BC has more significant scoring potential than most teams we have started over the past 15 years if our two bigs can hit a decent percentage from 3. I have no idea whether we can defend and rebound enough but I would be really disappointed if we lost tomorrow night. I am not a big optimist but we may be a bit better than some folks think.

[slufanskip]

I think he is talking about wins.

no, he said he expects they very likely will lose

KShoe said we were favored by 8 in Vegas and he asked for 8 or 7 points for a bet.

I'd think if you expected they would very likely lose, you'd think the bet was still a good one even as Austin Peay would very likely win.

[kshoe]

no, he said he expects they very likely will lose

KShoe said we were favored by 8 in Vegas and he asked for 8 or 7 points for a bet.

I'd think if you expected they would very likely lose, you'd think the bet was still a good one even as Austin Peay would very likely win.

Bingo.

Doc is talking out his ass when he said he thinks its very likely we will lose the game. If so, he should be thrilled to put a bet on at even odds. If so, I'd love to bet him, whatever amount he wants.

We won't lose to Austin Peay on opening night! Things aren't that bad people!

[doowop]

-thanks WH (and SShoe for the link)

-i was thinking yesterday about KM coming back and with the LOI we received and the thought that next year we could have a really nice recruiting class, i would not mind KM being a sr point guard on that team so redshirting for this year, assuming he comes back, might make the most sense

-in any case, the season starts tomorrow, YIPPEE

If KM redshirts this year he will be a junior next year, eligibility wise.

[dlarry]

Bingo.

Doc is talking out his ass when he said he thinks its very likely we will lose the game. If so, he should be thrilled to put a bet on at even odds. If so, I'd love to bet him, whatever amount he wants.

We won't lose to Austin Peay on opening night! Things aren't that bad people!

The least talented Bills team in the last 10 years could handle this Austin Peay team.

Its the OVC for crying out loud.

If we lose tomorrow SEMO is in some serious trouble when they travel to the Peay.

[DoctorB]

no, I'm saying give me Austin Peay and 7 points. shoe mentioned the spread, and I'll be happy to take that, even one less. who's taking that bet -- anyone?

yes, you heard it hear first -- I'm going with it, it is likely we lose the opening game. hope I'm wrong .... it's not my ass talking either-- I'm hot off of telling all my Tiger fan buddies that Missouri was going to get sucker punched by Texas Tech -- I'm hot!

[kshoe]

no, I'm saying give me Austin Peay and 7 points. shoe mentioned the spread, and I'll be happy to take that, even one less. who's taking that bet -- anyone?

yes, you heard it hear first -- I'm going with it, it is likely we lose the opening game. hope I'm wrong .... it's not my ass talking either-- I'm hot off of telling all my Tiger fan buddies that Missouri was going to get sucker punched by Texas Tech -- I'm hot!

In addition to winning the game tomorrow night I look forward to coming home and reading your "I'm an idiot" post for thinking the Bills would lose. Make sure you lay it on as thick as you did with your "I'm the only one smart enough to see that Dwayne Evans was good" post.

[WH]

Remember, Majerus has never had a losing season. I feel certain he won't have a losing season with this roster, either. Just give him a month or so and we'll see.

[Band Legend]

no, I'm saying give me Austin Peay and 7 points. shoe mentioned the spread, and I'll be happy to take that, even one less. who's taking that bet -- anyone?

yes, you heard it hear first -- I'm going with it, it is likely we lose the opening game. hope I'm wrong .... it's not my ass talking either-- I'm hot off of telling all my Tiger fan buddies that Missouri was going to get sucker punched by Texas Tech -- I'm hot!

Doc, I know you've seen the team as much or more than anyone on the board, but what makes you think that the Governors are in mid-season form themselves? It seems likely to me that you have fallen into Rickma's Lou Holtz spell that he always tries to conjure up on the Billiken fandom. His poor mouthing our team and talking up the other guys is nothing new. There is a lot of talent on this team, even if it is once again raw.

[Bizziken]

Remember, Majerus has never had a losing season. I feel certain he won't have a losing season with this roster, either. Just give him a month or so and we'll see.

We need to get Rickma 22 wins this year, which would put him at 500...