[Th3rd]

Im sure Chris will be here to elaborate more on it but im going off what his tweet said

radford
unca
wu
gwu
vmi
hpu
liberty
coastal
csu
pc

Ru C Parakhouski preseason poy.

[ToTheLeft]

Ouch? I mean, I can see why we're down there, but still, I think that's a little drastic.

[Th3rd]

my biggest uh moment is HPU and GWU... really?? unless they just exploded and got great no way they are above us

i would still put us in the top 4 in conference right up there with Radford, VMI and UNCA

no offense to winthrop

[ballah09]

Radford
UNCA
Winthrop
Liberty
High Point
VMI
Gardner Webb
Coastal Carolina
Charleston Southern
Presbyterian

POY= Big Art

1st team Big South

Harris CC
Barbour HP
Kenon VMI
JLF RU
Big Art RU

2nd team

Sanders LU
Warren CSU
Flittner GWU
Williams UNCA
Trifunovic RU

[ToTheLeft]

I really think that it's RU and then everybody else all the way down to Chuck and Presby, who are the basement. UNCA and WU have talent, but is it really vastly superior to HPU and us?

Also, VMI is impossible to predict.

If I had to take a shot at the regular season standings...

RU
UNCA
HPU
LU
WU
GW
VMI
CCU
CSU
PC

with 3-6 basically being decided by tiebreakers.

[Realist]

Seems about right although I would have WU above UNCA since they lost Augst and WU lost no one of significance and will gain their center and pg back from injury last year.

I think VMI may be a little too high---don't see them having much success this year without the twins.

[ToTheLeft]

Seems about right although I would have WU above UNCA since they lost Augst and WU lost no one of significance and will gain their center and pg back from injury last year.

I think VMI may be a little too high---don't see them having much success this year without the twins.

Ahhh I forgot about your big guy...

Yeah, I'd have WU 2nd UNCA 3rd us 4th and HPU 5th then. I think WU will be pretty solid with their big guy back in the middle.

[LUconn]

A 7th place team should be ranked #2 because they didn't lose anybody of significance? Talk about your down years in conference.

[ToTheLeft]

A 7th place team should be ranked #2 because they didn't lose anybody of significance? Talk about your down years in conference.

Isn't that basically what Radford did from 07/08-08/09? Go from basement dweller to top of the league because they didn't lose anyone and brought in a center?

WU's center isn't the same as RU's, but it's still not that far out there...

[Realist]

Well, WU was tied for fifth (.500) in a conference that didn't have anyone dominant in it, plus lost multiple guys to injury over the course of the year.

Not to mention the massive defections (transfers) in addition to graduating players across the conference.

Plus, it's Winthrop. Their down year is .500 in conference. In 8 out of 10, it's 1st.

I'm going for the low prediction at 2nd.

[LUconn]

He's overrated. 3rd year JUCO, who was injured last year and spent his 1st year as a backup. Maybe he'll come in and be able to score a few baskets a game. Maybe he'll be Tyler Baker and break his foot again. I think they didn't lose anybody of significance because they don't have anybody of significance. They'll always be decent because they play good defense and that keeps them in games, but do they have anybody that can score this year?

[WinthropEagleFan]

I still haven't figured out how I'm going to sort everything out in my preseason picks...

RU will be first in my picks, WU wil likely be 2nd (maybe it's the homer in me, but I see last year as a hiccup), and PC will be last. Other than that, I'm still trying to figure things out.

I think I'll have HPU higher than most people do...I think a change in coach will re-energize Eugene Harris and I think Barbour will have a big year. UNCA will likely be solid, but I'm not sold on their frontcourt yet. I'm not really sure what I think about LU, VMI, and Coastal (that's where I still haven't made up my mind in the middle of the pack). I'm not very high on GWU (who's going to score besides Flittner) or CSU (who's going to score besides Warren)...

[Realist]

Hahahaha.

Interesting he was a back up two years ago. Could have fooled me being in the starting line-up every game. Also interesting that he made the first team all tourney team when WU won the conference.

Until someone proves that they can keep Winthrop out of the dance for more than two years, which is longest stretch anyone has done it in a decade, I'm just going to laugh at you.

Winthrop has the most talent in the conference by a wide margin over anyone except maybe RU----but their experience will graduate this year and then WU will most likely have another 2-4 year run, if it doesn't start this year.

[olldflame]

He's overrated. 3rd year JUCO, who was injured last year and spent his 1st year as a backup. Maybe he'll come in and be able to score a few baskets a game. Maybe he'll be Tyler Baker and break his foot again. I think they didn't lose anybody of significance because they don't have anybody of significance. They'll always be decent because they play good defense and that keeps them in games, but do they have anybody that can score this year?

I agree. Comparing Andy Buechert to Art Parakhouski is like saying Oprah looks like Beyonce.

[LUconn]

are we talking about the same guy? (seriously, maybe we're not). Andy Buechert. From the stats provided on the WU website it says he played in 32 games, averaged 16 minutes a game, started 2. Averaged 3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and Injured last year. I mean, he didn't really play enough to amass a ton of impressive stats but I don't see how we're supposed to draw any conclusions that he's going to push you to the top.

[jcmanson]

Just wondering if there's a "simulate entire season" button?

[olldflame]

And he was named all-tournament for the game he had against Kenny George in the final, when in fact he could have just as easily been charged with assault and battery.

[Realist]

Your stat check was right---I remember down the stretch when he was starting the last couple of games and in the tourney, where he was playing much better than in the beginning of the year (like most Juco's). He got the all tourney team for playing exceptionally well in the tourney, not just against George, who he shut down.

But I'm not basing my prediction on just one guy of course---but his presence will be a big factor in guarding legit big men from OOC opponents (he can shut down anyone defensively) and he also moves Corbin/Valentine into more natural roles as PF/SF. Of course, the St. Bonnie transfer may start over Buechert, so who knows. He is supposedly more gifted offensively (ROY the week in the A10 a few times) but don't know defensively.

Comparing Buechert to Art isn't a good comparison, but you also have to remember nearly every big man from the season before graduated or got hurt so Art faced virtually guys half his size last year except when they played HP.

Art is good, but not better than some other centers that have come through the league. Buechert is just as good defensively and on the boards.

[kdinva]

Seems about right although I would have WU above UNCA since they lost Augst and WU lost no one of significance and will gain their center and pg back from injury last year.

I think VMI may be a little too high---don't see them having much success this year without the twins.

That is what everyone said last October, that without Reggie Williams we would be middle of the pack. We'll know by Feb. 27th.

[gobluehose]

Why is everyone so sure PC will be in the basement....this is basketball not football this year. We went 9-9 in the conference last year as a first year still transitioning member....we graduated only one player who played significantly....LU had much more turnover.....we split the series with LU, UNCA, GWU, CSU and swept Coastal and HPU.

I would put PC in the 5-7 range because there is some talk of redshirting our 3 best players so that they will be eligible for post-season play their senior year....

This is not meant to be smack just wondering why everyone is assuming us at the basement with no reason.

[Chris Lang]

You just stated the reason, hose. Nibert is redshirting his best three players this year. If those guys are active, I would have put PC in the four-five range. With those three sitting out, I put PC 10th.

[WinthropEagleFan]

You just stated the reason, hose. Nibert is redshirting his best three players this year. If those guys are active, I would have put PC in the four-five range. With those three sitting out, I put PC 10th.

Yeah, I've seen PC's roster. Assuming they redshirt Coleman, Johnson, and Miller (and I haven't seen anything that says Nibert has changed his mind), that only leaves 9 guys on the team, and only 3 have ever seen college action. Chase Holmes averaged 22 minutes and 8 points a game last year as a freshman, and Kevin Davis averaged 5 minutes and 1 point a game last year as a freshman. The only other player with college experience is Walt Allen, who redshirted last year averaged 4 points/game two years ago as a sophomore and only played in half the games his freshman year, averaging 2 points/game (when PC was playing a D-II schedule). So it's hard for me to believe that PC wasn't picked as a unaminous choice to finish last given that they return only one productive player, have only a 9-man active roster, with six of those guys never having played a college game.

[Chris Lang]

I asked Nibert today about it, and he says the plan is intact. And, yes, he said there were only nine players on the roster. It's not going to be pretty for PC this year. But that's fine. If I were a PC fan, I'd rather have those guys around with a chance to play for an NCAA berth in a couple of years.

[gobluehose]

OK I see now. I didn't know if that was really his plan.....I'm cool with a 10th place finish given that...that being said, this will be a good year to give the underclassmen a chance to get some time under their belts against good competition.

I do think, then, that in 2010-11 and 2011-12 PC will be very good, at least for a mid-major type.

[krh44]

7th is better than one magazine I saw (Lindy's I think) they had us 1oth!!