SectionEE writers Hank and Brent along with the voice of the Crusaders Dick Harlan make their predictions for how the Horizon League's ten teams will finish up the season. As with any predictions, we will probably be able to look back at these and laugh at the end of the year. We will give it our best shot and try to give a short explanation for why we picked them the way we did. Big thanks to Dick for taking some time and helping us out! Leave your picks or make fun of ours in the comment section.
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| my bookie after another poor pick by me |
10) UIC - They lose their top two players in Robo Kreps and Paul Carter. It is going to be hard to improve having to replace your top guys.
9) Youngstown St. - They will manage to finish just ahead of UIC. They were just to far below the next tier of teams and I don't think we will see that much improvement. This team did not win a road game last season (but they did beat Butler at YSU, go figure).
8) Loyola - Too many good teams in this league to put Loyola higher up. They haven't been good the past few seasons and this year is not going to be much different.
7) Green Bay - I think Alec Brown is going to be tough to stop. He had a very good freshman campaign and I think he will improve this season. He needs more help.
6) Wright State -Losing Tabler, Evans, and Duggins will force someone to step up the scoring for WSU. I don't think they will be able to stay in the top half of the league.
5) Milwaukee - Last year's champs have some holes to fill with the losses of Anthony Hill and Tone Boyle. They will still finish in the top half the league.
4) Valparaiso - A lot of new faces on this year's roster. I think Valpo is one year away from doing something real special.
3) Cleveland State - Still a very good team despite the loss of Player of the Year Norris Cole. Teams in slots 3, 4, and 5 could have gone anyway in my opinion.
2) Butler - Losing Howard and Mack will be too much for Butler to overcome in the regular season. Marshall will emerge as the next great Butler player.
1) Detroit - I think they will win the league this year in spite of their coach. Too much talent with McCallum, Holman, Minnerath, and Simon. This talent along with not losing anybody puts Detroit on top of my list.
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| Brent is the guy on the left |
As with any new year after so many seniors and team leaders are gone the league is really going to come down to who steps up.
10) UIC: After only winning 2 league games and finishing last, things can only get better right? Sadly they'll be battling YSU and WSU for the bottom of the barrel this year.
9) Wright State: Losing your top four scorers is really going to hurt. I think Wright State is going into a rebuilding mode this year, but Darling, Pest, Pacher, and company should pose problems for the rest of the league starting in 2012-13.
8) Youngstown State: They have never finished above .500 since joining the league in 2001-02, I don't see them making any leaps or bounds on that trend.
7) Loyola: Averkamp, Hicks, and Gibler are going to need to step it up, but Hicks has injury concerns and they're going to need him.
6) Milwaukee: Two big subtractions who were the heart of the team is going leave this team in the bottom half of the league and certainly a repeat of their regular season title last year will not be repeated.
5) Valparaiso: This could be a surprise year for the Crusaders, but I suspect they are going to need a year to reorganize after the departures of Wood and Johnson and the implementation of a new system under new coach Bryce Drew.
4) Green Bay: I think they are really building something here, and will play this year without fear and be a tough play night in and night out for the entire league.
3) Cleveland State: Who's going to step up and take Norris Cole's spot? If that question can be answered then there is no reason this team can't win the league.
2) Detroit: The talent is certainly there for them to run away with this league, but could somebody please play defense?!
1) Butler: Another solid freshman class coming into the mix with the experience of two consecutive National Title games means that until someone (Ahem Detroit) knocks them off their perch they are the kings of the Horizon League.
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| Dick racking his brain. |
10) UIC: Just don't have enough and what they did have left. Will be a long year.
9) Loyola: New coach, not enough talent. Bad idea.
8) Wright State: Lost too much. I look for them to slide down the standings, even though I think their coach is a very good one.
7) Youngstown State: Last year's most improved team from start to finish. They seem on the way up and could be a factor.
6) Milwaukee: Last year was an apperation. They weren't that good and won't be this time either. They always give upper echelon teams trouble in conference, but just don't have enough guns in my opinion.
5) Cleveland State: They will still play that in your face physical defense, but without Norris Cole, not sure how much their offense will help.
4) Green Bay: Very physical again. They have a 7-footer who can dominate for short periods. If they get any offense at all they will be force to reckon with.
3) Valparaiso: The Crusaders has the most depth in the conference and if Van Wijk can play, and they get any help up front they should be a force.
2) Detroit: Their talent has to overcome their coaching, but they are loaded. By far the most talented team in the conference. Maybe this year it will show.
1) Butler: They're still Butler and until someone shows me differently they are the team to beat. Marshall will be a stud and they still have Nored and the big kid.
I'm going to love linking this when the Horizon League Tournament comes around.
ReplyDeleteI understand where you guys are coming from in terms of Milwaukee - Anthony Hill is one of the biggest losses for any team in the conference and Tone Boyle had nights when he won us games (27 at Niagara comes to mind). I don't expect you all to take our incoming players into account, even though three of them have legitimate collegiate statistics to fall back on.
I'm only going to pick a bone with Dick Harlan's assumption that last year was an "aberration" (not an apparition...unless I missed the ghosts). Since changing the name to the Horizon League in 2001, Milwaukee has won four of 11 championships, and been lower than fifth just once, seventh in 2006-07 after losing our top seven scorers from a team that won three NCAA tournament games in their junior and senior seasons. We finished fifth in the 2008-09, but besides those two seasons we've finished fourth or better in 9 of the last 11 years.
Sixth place, Dick, would be the aberration. I don't mean to assume, but reading the Valpo forum all offseason, there's still a lot of anti-Milwaukee sentiment that centers around Michael Rogers' inability to make a lay-up. I would point to a couple games in the ARC that we lost on bad decisions at the end (McPherson's inbound steal and layup), but in the end we lost the game then and we won it this time. Get over it.
If we just "weren't that good," then why did we do what no other team did - win AT Butler. Regular season sweep of the NATIONAL RUNNER-UP. Make no mistake about it, our team was just as good as the crowd you saw in the conference semi-finals at the Cell.
What it all comes down to is we're hanging up the championship banner of 2010-11, and if things go the way I think they will, we're hanging another one this year.
I can't see your incoming players, but I can see mine. I haven't picked Milwaukee to win the conference championship since 2005-06, my freshman year in college, and the last time we won both the regular season and tournament championships. So knowing that you see I don't take lightly putting Milwaukee in the top spot.
I know the JUCO player you have coming up from Florida is the real deal - I see the numbers and he's got them. But let's take a step back before we claim that Valpo is the deepest team in the conference.
Thanks for the comment Jimmy. It is good to hear from a supporter of a team outside of Valpo. I'm certain fans from almost all schools are excited about the guys they have coming in. I suspect the HL should come down to the final week with as many as 5 teams in the running. How would you rank the teams going by what you know right now?
ReplyDeleteI'm in the process of determining it right now. I'm going to seem like an idiot because I have Milwaukee at the top, but watching them all summer, I know that the newcomer class this season is the best I've ever seen by far.
ReplyDeleteI'm too weird about Detroit, because I know Ray Sr. can't coach worth a damn. Based on talent, I think they should win, but I doubt they will.