Welcome to another exciting season in Phelan D3! I figured since 0nly might forget to do his preview, that I thought I would give a different insight on who the contenders are. The USA South looks very top heavy this season. They could very well make it an all USA South final 4 this season. On to my final four predictions:
Final Four Predictions
Cal Tech
I really like piman's team this season. He has good all around passing on this team and it is filled with shooters, and for the flex offense, that fits perfectly. I know piman likes to play his younger players during the season, but once the NT comes around, we will see the true stars in the starting lineup. Watson and Gardner are a great inside and out duo. I think what Cal Tech lacks in rebounding, will be made up with athleticism and speed. All of the perimeter players on this team have 70 speed or better. Not a lot of big games on the schedule. The toughest game will be at Colorado. Strength of schedule might hurt my prediction, but based on current talent, this team has the look of a contender.
Palm Beach Atlantic
What's not to like about this team? They are the defending champs, they have a majority of their core coming back, and they added a quality transfer that knows the offense and defense. irrev0cable found a great gem a few miles away from him in Michael Hardee. He may not score a bunch, but he will provide quality depth with his rebounding and passing. Dube and Evans give PBAU a great scoring boost with their excellent ball handling and shooting. Sasser gives them a solid anchor inside. he will make it very difficult for other teams to score in the paint. irrev didn't load up the schedule on the non conference side of things, but he does have 2 tough games with the SUNYAC at the end of non conference play. I look for PBAU to make it back to the final four and most likely, to the national title game.
Methodist
Last season was one to forget for taggl and Methodist. They had so many close calls in conference play. The good news is, they return everybody and should double last season's win total easily. They will have a great balanced scoring attack along with excellent speed and defense combination for the press. Mather and Katzen will give opposing coaches nightmares in the back court. Meraz will also be a tough match up in the post. If Coker has some potential left, I think he could be the key. He will likely be the 6th man on this team when postseason play comes around. This team could very well end up with the top rpi and sos. taggl loaded up his non conference schedule with several mainstays in the NT. I look for a 1 seed and final four from this team.
Averett
Back to back elite 8 appearances, the 2 best players are both back and great balance is what arss has on this team. Heath is a coaches dream at the 3 and Terrio is a monster in the paint. Averett is filled with great ball handlers and passers to get these 2 studs the ball. Interior depth could present an issue early in the season, but luckily arss scheduled a lot of easy games to get those guys ready before the big match up with Brockport in the USAS/SUNYAC challenge. Averett might have 6-7 losses before the tournament, but I expect arss to figure this team out, his bigs to develop and will make another great run this season ending up in the final four.
Other contenders that were given strong consideration:
Brockport
SUNY Oneonta
SUNY Potsdam
Endicott
Augustana
Emory
Centre
Southwestern
Greensboro
I know I may sound biased putting 3 teams from the USAS in the final four. I looked long and hard at the 2 other power conferences and at some of the other consistently great teams. I'm sure some of you in the SUNYAC and UAA have a few players who could blossom during the year. I will probably make a mid season prediction of the final four once that time comes. Thank you for reading and good luck to everybody this season.
3/10/2016 12:47 PM (edited)