Mobile-iken Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 2003-04 C-USA COACHES PRESEASON POLL 1. Louisville 2. Cincinnati 3. Marquette 4. Memphis 5. UAB 6. Charlotte 7. DePaul 8. Saint Louis 9. Southern Miss 10. USF 11. TCU 12. Tulane 13. East Carolina 14. Houston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 What does DePaul have this year? Also, I think UC will once again rise to the top. My picks would be: UC UL Marquette Memphis Charlotte UAB SLU Depaul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLURadioBoy Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 I may just be overly optimistic, but I really think we'll finish better than 7th or 8th. We're picked to finish around there every single year and the last two years we've finished 5th (in 2002) and 4th (last year). This year's team seems to have a lot more talent and athleticism than those teams so I think AT WORST we'll finish 6th. Granted, I may be giving this team way too much credit, but you just have to have confidence after you saw what Brad can do behind the bench. He'll have his guys ready to play and we certainly won't be a team that ANY team in this conference can take lightly. "Praises we sing, to you our alma mater, Praise to the white and blue. Our hymn shall ring, in tribute strong to you, We hail Saint Louis U." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 I would say the same thing. We are always picked to be in the middle or lower half of the conference, but each year we have exceeded expectations. I would say that we have exceeded expectations every year. I mean I think (going off memory here), our seeds have been 2003 - 4 2002 - 5 2001 - 6 (maybe 5) 2000 - 9 (but we won the tourney) Each year I doubt we were ever picked higher than 6. Correct me if those seeds are wrong. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Law Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 DePaul has a good recruiting class with 4-5 top 100 kids and Andre Brown, who when he gives a damn is a great player. Plus, they're another year removed from Fat Pat's influence. Still, they lack a true PG (had Drake Diener playing it last year). My early predictions for the top 5: L-Ville Marquette Cincy UAB Memphis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 without seeing anyone play and based on press clippings and "expert" opinion, i think cincy is the class of the league. i think the only thing that could beat cincy, is cincy themselves. they sure have a lot of "interesting" stories on their team, but for sheer size, talent and depth, i'll take the bearcats. i think after that, there are 3 teams that will contend, in no particular order, give me uab, marquette and louisville for the other 3 first round byes. after that, flip a lot of coins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StlCardinal Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 I say let everyone think that we'll be bottom-feeders so we can possibly catch a few teams by surprise, although I'm sure the C-USA powers like Cinci and Louisville have learned their lesson by now to not take the Billikens lightly, especially when playing at Savvis. I believe it was Huggins that said playing us each year was like a trip to the dentist :-) I can see why the coaches may not think much of us now, especially since we do have a lot of unknowns on our team, but I suspect they'll change their tune once they actually get to play us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLURadioBoy Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Speaking of people taking us lightly, it's almost a guarantee that I'll be returning to my alma mater and attending the SLU/Arizona game with you. We need to get a count down going for that game because I smell another upset in the making on national tv! Just like I kept saying during the Louisville game last year (as well as our amazing run to end the regular season), "YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!!!" "Praises we sing, to you our alma mater, Praise to the white and blue. Our hymn shall ring, in tribute strong to you, We hail Saint Louis U." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobile-iken Posted October 23, 2003 Author Share Posted October 23, 2003 I think alot of people are giving UAB to much credit for their tourny run last year, I think the jury is still out on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billikan Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 UAB has almost everyone coming back and has several new recruits. I was very impressed by the scheme that they used and the intensity of the defense. However, teams have now seen the scheme so they may not "sneak up" on teams like they did late last year. Nevertheless, we play them on the road and it will be very difficult to beat them on their home court. I am amazed that Cinn. is not getting more respect. With Whaley and White the Bearcats have added two players that were top 10 nationally in high school and they have more experience now. I think they have to be the team to beat in the conference. Marquette is getting huge respect because of the final four run but I remain skeptical that they can so easily absorb the loss of Wade and Jackson. In particular, I think that Diener benefitted greatly from Wade's ability to penetrate and dish-- often he was double teamed leaving Diener open on the perimeter. Also, Jackson took up a lot of room in the middle which helped their other big men. Another issue is whether Novak can shoot like he did in the tournament with more attention and close guarding. He has numerous wide open shots because of Wade. I would never pick Marquette over Cinn. this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naticat Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 That'd be the smartest bet you ever made there Roy. King Whaley wont let you down! Its a shame the Bearcats wont be visiting the Savvis. However, it came out today that Chadd Moore is having surgery and may be taking a medical redshirt. Question now is, Who backs up Nick Williams at point? Theres always talk about how good Armein Kirkland is with the ball, but can a man that tall handle the pressure that opposing college points will give him? Tony Bobbitt could do it, but can he make all the right decisions required with the job? Theres always questions it seems. However, this team SHOULD be pretty darn good come January. One things for sure, that joke of a OOC schedule should give Huggins more than enough time to iron things out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I don't know why we don't schedule Cinci late ... you know after lights out and they have to be back in their respective cells. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 they sold me at the tourney. i thought they had the most speed and athleticism by far in the tourney. had they not been playing that tourney in louisville, i would have bet the farm they would have walked through the field. they lost the one guard, and brought in two bigger and supposedly better juco guards. williams is a nolan clone of a coach and 40 minutes of hell is back imo. i will be shocked if they arent in the thick of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 i dont think marquette is headed back to the final four, but they will not lose as much as everyone thinks. i saw their wade "replacement" at the shootout last year and he is a fine athlete. he wont give the game in and game out production that wade brought nightly, but i bet he wont be a slouch either. second, merrit was obviously blossuming last year and between his continued improvement and the other juco big that they are bringing in, i dont think jackson will be missed all that much. couple that with novak getting to shoot more (he looked like dale ellis in the ncaa tourney) and deiner being in charge, they will be in the upper group of cusa teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naticat Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 That was pretty good there skippy. I have never in my life heard anything even close to that from a fan of Xavier, Louisville, Memphis, Marquette, Kentucky or OSU fan. I guess I'll have to add St Louis to that list now. Youre one creative SOB. How long did it take you to think of that cute little line? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 To me Cincy and Louisville are the class of the league. It is a toss up all the way down to 8. Charlotte, UAB, Memphis, and Marquette are being overestimated I think. Iti will not solve all of Charlotte's problems, Memphis always has great guys coming in, but Calipari can't coach and get the top play out of his guys. UAB is not proven, and Marquette will not be in the top 4 without Wade. I think SLU has a definite chance at a finishing anywhere from sixth to third. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 i do agree that slu isnt necessarily a #8 team. i think they could finish as high as 5th with surprises, maybe higher. while i do think louisville will be a top 4 team, if i had to pick them in order, i would pick louisville 4th. gaines and stone gone and the likelihood that myles is sitting another season to heal says that is a lot to replace as well. however, i do think garcia will have a breakout season for the cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Thank you ... nice to know my work is appreciated. Obviously it was sarcasm due to Cinci's wonderful record both in the class and off the court. How many grads are there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
former_d1 Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 uab will win a lot of regular season games. the 40 minutes of hell works. don't think in the conference tournament they will fair as good as in the regular season. Nolan never won the sec but one time. The flip side of that is you can get hot and beat teams with better talent. Nolan won a ncaa championship with his second most talented team because they got hot (mayberry and day were better than corlis and thurman). uab may not win cusa but they will help decide it. they will put some loses on cini, memphis, or mu that will help decide the regular seaon. mu has lost a big time talent but crean is such a good. I still see them in the top three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naticat Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 How many grads are there? This year? Last year? Three years ago? Today? Tomorrow? Next week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 All together ... the last 10-15 years. Go ahead and count the next potential grad in 2010 also. Try this for a neat trick ... do it with both your soes on (no sandals) and one hand tied behind your back. Go ahead ... you can do it ... you still have enough fingers left on your remaining hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 actually skip, the few years huggy has been graduating a high percentage of his players. two years ago, cincy won the academic excellence award for basketball (of course slu won it last year and has won it for all sports every year of the conference.) i dont know what the answer to your question will be, but i assume it will be more than naticat can count on both hands and feet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I'll never forget that Louisville game because 1) My wife,who's never seem a win of that magnitude, missed it. and 2) My son, who's 4, was screaming "we won! we won!" as the teams left the floor at half time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I don't know the answer either ... as I'm not sure of the last few years ... my original statement was really in jest ... poking fun at Cinci ... as they are a rival of SLU and the big boy on the block we want to beat. Their reputation and record leaves them wide open for being harrassed a bit. I do know this up until a few years ago ... Hugins record for graduating players was horrendous ... I beleive that it was zero over about a 10 year period. I hope they have cleaned it up a bit and are doing a better job. I would suspect they are though as they are headed to the Big East not the SEC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Law Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 actually, Huggins and Cincy got a bad rap for grad rates because of the way the NCAA calculates them. They didn't get any credit for JUCO's who did graduate and if a player left early for the NBA or transferred and finished the degree outside of 6 years they didn't get credit for that either. When I went by the Cincy basketball office a few years ago the walls were lined with photos of all of Huggins's players who had graduated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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