ATHLON SPORTS
[font=verdana][size=1em]1 UAB[/size][/font]
2 ODU
3 LA Tech
4 UTEP
5 FIU
6 WKU
7 Middle Tennessee
8 UTSA
9 Rice
10 Marshall
11 North Texas
12 Southern Miss
13 CHARLOTTE
14 Florida Atlantic
Preseason All-Conference Team
Robert Brown-UAB
Adrian Diaz- FIU
Trey Freeman- ODU (POY)
Alex Hamilton- LA Tech
Vince Hunter- UTEP
I get that we have completely overhauled our lineup…but in a Conference as weak as CUSA we do not need studs to finish in the top half of the league. We simply need a bunch of hard working and scrappy ball players that work their tails off, accept their roles and buy in to each other and the coach.
Gotta feeling that’s exactly what our team will be. With the extra added chip on their shoulder of being picked next to last in a dreadful league. Not saying we contend for a title but upper third of the league should be a realistic goal with a group of hungry kids and a real coach.
I like seeing a #13 prediction. Should be a fun year with little expectations. Price can focus on coaching without a huge amount of scrutiny.
it is way more likely to win the conference than finish 13th.
This makes my ol’ alum heart ache and my eyes water. :’( :-[
I think we finish better than 13th, but I can definitely understand why we are predicted so low. I think we’ll be just fine, and if not this year, definitely next year.
Athlon is all about glossy pictures and bad predictions.
[quote=“49RFootballNow, post:7, topic:29823”]Athlon is all about glossy pictures and bad predictions.[/quote] Especially considering that they put Vince Hunter on the preseason all-conference team after he just signed a pro contract last month. Not sure how seriously to take any predictions when they make an error that ridiculous.
Having said that above, 13th is not that unreasonable considering how poorly the team did last year, how the team lost most of their previous production, and the potential for transition pains with a new and inexperienced head coach. I also think the team will finish higher than that, but I don’t know how much higher I’d put the Niners until we see what the new guys can do.
This is why we play the games. I personally think we’ll surprise the prognosticators this season.
[quote=“Run49er, post:1, topic:29823”]ATHLON SPORTS
[font=verdana][size=1em]1 UAB[/size][/font]
2 ODU
3 LA Tech
4 UTEP
5 FIU
6 WKU
7 Middle Tennessee
8 UTSA
9 Rice
10 Marshall
11 North Texas
12 Southern Miss
13 CHARLOTTE
14 Florida Atlantic
Preseason All-Conference Team
Robert Brown-UAB
Adrian Diaz- FIU
Trey Freeman- ODU (POY)
Alex Hamilton- LA Tech
Vince Hunter- UTEP[/quote]
I refuse to believe that we will be this bad.
Call it green tinted glasses or whatever but I don’t buy it.
Go Niners!
13th is very fair… We have been really bad since our return to the league, on top of that we lost the top 5 players from last years team.
Hopefully the introduction of competent coaching will make a big difference this season and we are better than this. I think we will be, but this is a very reasonable pre-season ranking
[quote=“s9er, post:12, topic:29823”]13th is very fair… We have been really bad since our return to the league, on top of that we lost the top 5 players from last years team.
Hopefully the introduction of competent coaching will make a big difference this season and we are better than this. I think we will be, but this is a very reasonable pre-season ranking[/quote]
You think Braxton wasn’t one of our top 5 guys last year?
I sure hope we aren’t worse than S. Miss. That would be real bad.
[quote=“919R, post:13, topic:29823”][quote=“s9er, post:12, topic:29823”]13th is very fair… We have been really bad since our return to the league, on top of that we lost the top 5 players from last years team.
Hopefully the introduction of competent coaching will make a big difference this season and we are better than this. I think we will be, but this is a very reasonable pre-season ranking[/quote]
You think Braxton wasn’t one of our top 5 guys last year?[/quote]
No… He was at best the 3rd best guard on the roster.
[quote=“s9er, post:15, topic:29823”][quote=“919R, post:13, topic:29823”][quote=“s9er, post:12, topic:29823”]13th is very fair… We have been really bad since our return to the league, on top of that we lost the top 5 players from last years team.
Hopefully the introduction of competent coaching will make a big difference this season and we are better than this. I think we will be, but this is a very reasonable pre-season ranking[/quote]
You think Braxton wasn’t one of our top 5 guys last year?[/quote]
No… He was at best the 3rd best guard on the roster.[/quote]
I am with S. He was clearly behind Henry and Dorn. Probably behind Woods too.
If Ogbueze had been able to keep shooting like he did in his first few games, I’d probably have put him as 3rd or 4th best (Henry, Dorn, and maybe Thorne ahead of him). But he was really inconsistent after that, and in sum was probably our 6th best behind Woods and Williams.
I’m hoping he can regain his explosiveness and confidence this year, he’s clearly a talented scorer when he’s on. Maybe a different set of coaches can help him be more consistent.
All that being said- I think Brax really has a good year. I’m more worried about the post… But these are the lumps we needed to take to get better in the long run.
13th is fine on Sept 16th, but I’ll be stunned if we are 13th in March.
[quote=“9erken, post:17, topic:29823”]If Ogbueze had been able to keep shooting like he did in his first few games, I’d probably have put him as 3rd or 4th best (Henry, Dorn, and maybe Thorne ahead of him). But he was really inconsistent after that, and in sum was probably our 6th best behind Woods and Williams.
I’m hoping he can regain his explosiveness and confidence this year, he’s clearly a talented scorer when he’s on. Maybe a different set of coaches can help him be more consistent.[/quote]
No way in the world I would put Braxton behind Williams and probably not Thorne either.
[quote=“s9er, post:15, topic:29823”][quote=“919R, post:13, topic:29823”][quote=“s9er, post:12, topic:29823”]13th is very fair… We have been really bad since our return to the league, on top of that we lost the top 5 players from last years team.
Hopefully the introduction of competent coaching will make a big difference this season and we are better than this. I think we will be, but this is a very reasonable pre-season ranking[/quote]
You think Braxton wasn’t one of our top 5 guys last year?[/quote]
No… He was at best the 3rd best guard on the roster.[/quote]
OK, so who were the OTHER (atleast) 3 guys better than him since we lost the “5” best from the team?