MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

I saw the page number and got excited. Just to find out the CCIW needed more room to post. Oct. 15th is right around the corner Hopefan. Enjoy!

Nov 13 the real games start... was studying the schedule.... if SOMEONE wanted to, SOMEONE could see each SLIAC team play in the first 2 weeks and 2 days of the season... helped by the fact that Iowa Wesleyan is playing at Maryville, still would mean a trip far up north to see Eureka and a trip southeast to see Spalding...    hmmmm...  unfortunately, someone's wife would not appreciate that schedule....

[Dutch32]

No recent chatter on Eureka's gym renovation? This is going to be really nice for EC and the SLIAC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdHcvueFtdY
https://twitter.com/EurekaRedDevils/status/647142699456290816

[hopefan]

No recent chatter on Eureka's gym renovation? This is going to be really nice for EC and the SLIAC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdHcvueFtdY
https://twitter.com/EurekaRedDevils/status/647142699456290816

Looking forward to seeing it, though as I view the schedule, probably not until January... a shame the season opener vs Rockford is on the road... a light SLIAC schedule that night (11/13) would have presented a perfect opportunity to see it...

[hopefan]

Thursday, Oct.15... we get to work, for real....just a few days away.....

I expect a great season for the SLIAC... no one looks far advanced over everyone else... no one, especially if a little help arrives from new faces, looks like they enter the season out of it...

It should be an "amazing race" for the 4 conference tourney slots...

[Denny McKinney]

Hopefan. Didn't quite understand your second paragraph.

[hopefan]

Hopefan. Didn't quite understand your second paragraph.

People don't understand Shakespeare either!!!

I just meant that numbers 1-10 look pretty darned even... No one at initial glance appears to be a clear number one.. on the other hand, if some of the weaker teams get just one or two new faces that contribute immediately, there are no clear cut bottom 3 teams either....

[Denny McKinney]

I didn't realize you were talking bottom 3. My Bad.

[hopefan]

Oct. 15... and so we start... hoping rosters get posted so we can see all the new names, and any unexpected deletions...

[y_jack_lok]

Hopefan. Didn't quite understand your second paragraph.

People don't understand Shakespeare either!!!

I just meant that numbers 1-10 look pretty darned even... No one at initial glance appears to be a clear number one.. on the other hand, if some of the weaker teams get just one or two new faces that contribute immediately, there are no clear cut bottom 3 teams either....

Who are the "weaker teams" you refer to here that, without immediate help, would constitute the bottom three?

[hopefan]

Hopefan. Didn't quite understand your second paragraph.

People don't understand Shakespeare either!!!

I just meant that numbers 1-10 look pretty darned even... No one at initial glance appears to be a clear number one.. on the other hand, if some of the weaker teams get just one or two new faces that contribute immediately, there are no clear cut bottom 3 teams either....

Who are the "weaker teams" you refer to here that, without immediate help, would constitute the bottom three?

Off the top of my head.... Westminster (coming off a weak year), Eureka (graduation losses, and a 'surprise' loss), Prin (3 very good starters back, but very limited after that), Greenville (3 inside men gone)

[y_jack_lok]

So you think Blackburn will be okay this year even though they were a bottom three last year?

[hopefan]

It's funny, I saw BC play probably it's two best games of the year last season.. Can't get all my positive thoughts about them out of my head....

Funny thing is, any other SLIAC 'expert' could probably put a different 3 or 4  on the bottom list... and with good reason...

Maybe I should put a different spin on things... what ever program found recruits who could impact immediately could easily make it to the top 4..

hopefan's view is that this is going to be a great season because at least for now, teams appear to be so evenly matched..

My main question... how will teams stop Deavis Johnson of MacMurray.... if that ship tightens up a little, they are my very slight early favorites...

[y_jack_lok]

My main question... how will teams stop Deavis Johnson of MacMurray.... if that ship tightens up a little, they are my very slight early favorites...

It's always an interesting question as to how to beat a team when that team has a truly dominant player. Do you really try to stop the other four guys and let the dominant guy do his thing, or do you try to stop the dominant guy and hope, if you succeed, the other guys don't pick up the slack?

[hopefan]

I think the key thing about having a dominant player is that you have an available go-to guy in win or lose situations... and the better that go to guy is, the more likely something good might happen on the deciding possession of a game... it's up to everyone to get to the end of a game with a chance to win, but it's likely that the go to guy will be called on to play a major role in the decisive last minute.... 

[hopefan]

Starting to look at rosters that are posted...  to see if any expected returning players are missing... I'm not talking about last year's seniors, only last year's underclassmen whom I expected back.

Blackburn... We all knew that Chris A Davis was booted and wouldn't be back....  The only other underclassman's name of any consequence that does not appear is Andre Strayhorn, who was listed as a frosh last year, started about half the games as a guard, ave 5.5 pts per game.... there was pretty much a 4 guard rotation anyway..

MacMurray...  Everyone who really played and is expected back... is back

Eureka.... I mentioned in a previous writeup that EC had a surprise loss... now that the roster is up, the name can come out... Ian Saathoff did not return... at 6'6", strong, the program was likely going to revolve around him for the next 3 years, but he is gone..  11.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg as a frosh... Only Greg Kent, Parker Gibson return with real playing time, let's hope the j.c.r's poured in this fall...

Fontbonne, Greenville, IWC... roster not up yet

Principia....  Big 3 are back... Ball, Ross, Davidson... Plus surprise to some... Larry Patterson... Patterson has missed time in the past several years due to injury and academics, I know there were thoughts last season that he would have eligibility this year, but one semester or two?   He makes Prin MUCH better... Now then, do any of the new names (there are 3 frosh) have the ability to contribute? One, Kalin Hernandez Beiner, had decent numbers at Prin HS in his senior year..

Spalding...  5 Critical underclassmen not returning... wonder if it was before or after Coach Gray announced a huge recruiting class of 12 frosh and a transfer, that so many decided no more hoops... Expected back, but gone, are Donnie Lewis, a quick guard who saw significant playing time behind Goeing and Gabriel last year and who projected as the starting point this year;     Javonte Lavender, 2 guard, small Forward, streaky shooter, good player;  Chris Leon, big athletic kid, rotated in 4-5 spots with James Abrams, Renaldo Moore;  James Abrams also gone!!!   That means, as Renaldo Moore graduated, that all 3 of Spalding's big men are gone.  Finally Chad Sellers, a forward who played in every game last year as a soph, is not back.  That is 5 underclassmen, possibly 2 or even 3 potential expected starters not back!!!   HOWEVER, to note, Terez Smith, who started 23 games as a frosh two years ago, but did not play last year, is again back on the roster, along with Big Nick Trisko, 6'8" transfer from Geenville...

Webster...  Roster not yet posted, but recent conversation with Coach Bunch seemed to indicate everyone expected back is back....   the BIG question is ... will someone NOT expected back be back?

Westminster...Looks like everyone who played in a significant number of games last year as underclassmen are back this year with the exception of Mik Ebert, whose numbers were insignificant.  And wow, a lot of names on the roster!! (35 names!!)