MVC Thread Topic

Way late, but done nevertheless, here are the results of Season 61's MVC-Ivy Challenge.  The MVC emerged victorious in last season's iteration of the challenge by a score of 5 games to 3:

Boston U.    92  
Gardner-Webb 79

Yale  57
Western Kentucky  73

Duquesne  70
S. Illinois  82

Evansville  76
Dartmouth  64

Illinois St.  54
Princeton  89

Missouri St.  72
Harvard  60

Fordham 62
Bradley 76

Creighton  57
Cornell  67


10/13/2012 10:55 PM
MVC Strategy to recruit coaches for Season 62 and Beyond

While it is a real bummer to lose Brian and Yates, the MVC must move on.  The addition of twiddlebug, especially taking command and turning around the bottom-feeding Wichita St. Shockers, instantly lessens the blow and improves the conference.  Ensuring that the work done at Mo St. & ISU doesn't go down the toilet--that we can find coaches to take command of those respective teams--ought to be our immediate priority.

As Brad indicated on the Conference Corner, it has become increasingly difficult to recruit coaches from DII programs.  We should continue to target the best of the best from D2 and, of course, cultivate the MidAmerica legacy coaches.  But D2 isn't our best option any longer.   So what is?

Our conference track record is now become, without question, our biggest recruiting asset.  Four NT berths this season demonstrates our coaching skill, and our RPI-boosting, win-centered non-conference strategy (available for all to see on this message board) has started to show considerable results. 

The best way to build on our success is to carefully and thoughtfully identify the best coaches in D1 who may consider the MVC on the basis of our long-term strategy and short-term success, even if it means they have a couple down seasons.  To that end I've made some appeals to good coaches D1 in mediocre conferences to check us out, explaining a bit about who we are and providing a link to this page.  

Let's get this conference filled with 12 long-term coaches and make a run at the Big 6!

10/14/2012 3:50 PM
Good post, Shawn.  I'm confident that the group of coaches that we have now are long term guys.  With Yates and Brian leaving, it gives us the opportunity for prospective coaches to have a couple decent situations they could walk into without a total rebuild.

10/15/2012 4:34 PM
Southern Illinois (sillyjordan)

Are they going to be good or suck?
The Salukis should again be near the top of the East. Although they lost some key pieces, many of the lost minutes can be filled internally.
 
What they lost
The Salukis lost Conference Player of the Year, PG, Phillip Reinhold. Reinhold averaged almost 21 points per game. Starting SG, Robert Fuller, has also moved on.   
 
Key returning players

Replacing the lost backcourt production will be key for the Salukis. Assuming the rape charges do not stick, Lawrence Virgil will likely take over the starting PG duties and should do well. Frederick Fuller should be in the running for this edition of Conference Player of the Year.
Additional Note

A saluki is known as the Royal Dog of Egypt. It gets its name from the town of Suluk, Libya. 
 
Creighton (terps21234)

Are they going to be good or suck?

The Bluejays may get a little bloodied this season. With only six returning players and no seniors, this recruiting class will be very important. A key for Creighton will be getting as many wins in non-conference as possible.
 
What they lost

The Bluejays lost six to graduation. The trio of Charles Anderson, James Banks, and Bob Cedeno accounted for over 40 points per game.     

Key returning players

With most of their production having moved on to the ranks of the unemployed, there will be plenty of opportunity for playing time and for the backups from last year to take center stage.

Additional Note

A terrapin is not vicious at all. They eat mostly periwinkle snails. A bluejay is much more vicious, as they will peck your freakin eye out.

Evansville (goblue120)

Are they going to be good or suck?

The Purple Aces should take a big step up this season and be in the postseason mix. With good recruiting, goblue has turned this team around in short order. With only two Sim AI assbags remaining, next season should be even better. The Aces will have a hard time in non-conference with a very tough schedule, but should be a force come conference time. 
 

What they lost
The Aces lost Nathaniel Babb, who averaged 6 points per game. Whoop-de-do.     

Key returning players

With virtually all of their production back from last season, there will be a lot of experience in the lineup. Richard Eisenhart will be among the leading scorers, as he averaged 13 ppg last season and should go up a bit this season. 

Additional Note

Evansville was originally called “McGary’s Landing”, after the city’s founder, Hugh McGary. McGary renamed the town “Evansville”, after Colonel Bob Evans, in order to attract more settlers. Apparently, McGary thought the settlers would be attracted by Thanksgiving dinner every day and delicious breakfast sausage. Brilliant.

Bradley (bredden18)

Are they going to be good or suck?

The Braves should be near the top of the East. Like Southern Illinois, the Braves lost some key production but are hoping that the void can be filled internally.

What they lost

The Braves lost their best player, Cameron Tone, who averaged nearly 18 ppg. Starting SF, Robert Howard has also moved on to graduate school at MIT.     

Key returning players

The Braves will be looking for solid production from Harold Hartman in the low post. Maurice Jagger and james Perkins will be splitting the PG duties, so they will be heavily relied upon to replace Tone.

Gardner-Webb (daveredden50)

Are they going to be good or suck?

The Runnin’ Bulldogs return six key players from their national tournament team last season. With six newcomers, there will be a lack of depth. This should be managed pretty well, though, as many of the minutes will be used by the top six as the Bulldogs will benefit from the extra minutes that can be played with the zone defense. Lack of depth down low will be a problem. 

What they lost

The Bulldogs lose six, including first team All-Conference player Travis Byrnes, who averaged 21 ppg. Along with Byrnes, the Bulldogs lost senior C, Clinton Morrison.      

Key returning players

Although no returning player was a major scorer last season, there should be enough offensive firepower on the team. Al Rankin will be a primary scorer down low, and there are several returning players that could make an impact on the perimeter. 

Additional Note

Spud Webb actually went to NC State. What a slap in the face!!!

Western Kentucky (westcoast22)

Are they going to be good or suck?

The Hilltoppers are very similar to the Bulldogs in that they lost six players, but return some very nice pieces. Depth will be a concern as well, as they do not have the advantage of masking their lack of depth by playing zone defense. The roster for the Hilltoppers is more balanced, though, so it will only be necessary to fill the backup spots.

What they lost

The Hilltoppers lose six, including All-Conference players Shawn LaCoste, Anthony Wells, and Maximo Romano. Now that Anthony Wells no longer has to worry about basketball, he is free to spend his time on his first love – monster trucks.

Key returning players

Steve Phillips, when not hitting on chicks at the All Star Game (http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/jilted-mistress-brooke-hundley-22-cost-steve-phillips-espn-analyst-ex-mets-gm-career-article-1.383517), should be the offensive leader for the Hilltoppers.

Additional Note

If anyone sees someone dressed as Big Red on Halloween, it is westcoast. (http://www.thenextgreatgeneration.com/2010/11/mascot-mania-part-one-the-worst-college-mascots/).
 
Northern Iowa (jesseerdmann)

Are they going to be good or suck?

The Panthers have a good chance to surprise and challenge for the West Division. They are a team that returns eleven players. They should improve a lot over the course of the year as the sophomores get more PT and better IQs.

What they lost

All-Conference PF, James Osborne, and his 13.6 ppg, have moved on. He has joined the Arena League in hopes of becoming the next Kurt Warner.

Key returning players

Fred Mick should be beastly this season. He should get a touch on every possession and shut other teams down on the low post. 

Additional Note

I’m losing all creativity.

Wichita State (twiddlebug)

Are they going to be good or suck?

Wow, they are going to suck. The Shockers return a couple of good offensive players, but this is a team that may set a record for most points scored against. The good news is that our newest coach to the conference, twiddlebug, will have this program turned around in no time, just like goblue and jesseerdmann have with their squads.

What they lost

There were a couple ugly offseason incidents that occurred this offseason, resulting in three players no longer being with the team.  Bo Chin and Peter Endo are currently awaiting trial as the ringleaders of an international sex trafficking ring. They are set to go on trial in March and will likely be looking at upwards of fifty years in prison. Ronald Ptaszynski was pecked in the eye by a bluejay and then eaten by a terrapin.

Key returning players

Daniel Arrey should be able to fill it up. Russo and Lheureux should be serviceable players as well. 

Additional Note

The long term success of the Shockers will hinge on whether or not twiddlebug can stay away from the Rolla girls and his calculus text book for enough time to make the team competitive. 
Don’t worry about the limit of a function as x approaches infinity. Instead, worry about your team rebounding rating.
If you find yourself doing logarithmic differentiation, such as D{x(2x+3)}, realize that is doing nothing for the Shockers.
10/26/2012 1:19 PM (edited)
Once WKU beat me to the punch on my #1 target (kudos to him), Cincinnati trampled me on my top juco transfer (a sub-150 PG/SG) for the second season in a row, and Tennessee grabbed a third, I decided to take what was given and keep my powder dry.  The $35,000 remaining in the bank, along with a class that fills in some gaps for me, ought to help me fight some battles next year and beyond.  


Name Pos. GPA FG% FT% A SPD REB DE BLK LP PE BH P WE ST DU TOT
Anthony Beasley SG 3.25 60.5 72.4 47 63 15 52 1 16 61 67 52 99 68 40 581
Kenneth Stephens SF 3.23 59.5 71.3 70 49 29 57 13 32 65 35 43 53 74 23 543
Robert Turner PG 2.58 57.1 72.0 49 56 1 65 1 11 60 59 64 51 58 34 509
10/20/2012 2:07 PM (edited)
Four MVC Spots Open for Season 63

Both Illinois St. and Missouri St. are one season removed from excellent coaching.  With 10 human-recruited upperclassmen, Illinois St. will be a NT team immediately. Missouri St. will be a better squad in Season 62 but lose a bunch of seniors.  The coach who takes over this program will get a bunch of scholarships and a C/C+ prestige.

Both Indiana St. and Drake will be long-term projects of teams with C-/D+ prestige.  In the context of a conference fin to blow up, that's an undertaking worth your while.
10/23/2012 9:19 PM (edited)
      A SP REB DE BLK LP PE BH P WE ST DU FT  
Jeremy Fitzwater So. PG 48 82 15 39 13 15 43 76 56 34 74 43 B+ 538
                                 
                                 
Howard Sherburne Jr. SG 55 57 10 60 1 1 82 55 79 73 64 50 C+ 587
                                 
Charles Jones Fr. SF 64 45 37 63 14 57 39 45 62 80 79 53 D- 638
Rex Hawkins Jr. PF 73 42 70 74 69 46 69 61 71 45 57 60 C 737
Craig McKlveen Fr. PF 51 42 63 60 62 41 1 18 49 43 74 46 C+ 550
James Music Fr. PF 42 42 56 59 54 74 49 32 17 48 67 69 C- 609
                                 
                              -  
                                 
10/25/2012 5:02 PM
I forgot to pull my recruits before it was over so I had to copy and paste my roster and remove my older players.  Wouldnt let me delete rows.  All well.

Suck it gentlemen.
10/25/2012 5:03 PM
Season 62 Preseason Coaches Poll:

East Division:

1. Bradley 48 (8)
2. S. Illinois 38 
3. Evansville 33
4. Creighton 25
5. Drake 14
6. Indiana St. 10

West Division:

1. W. Kentucky 42 (4)
2. Illinois St. 38 (3)
3. Missouri St. 29 (1)
4. No. Iowa 26
5. Gardner Webb 25
6. Wichita St. 8

10/25/2012 5:09 PM
Hey MVC coaches...

On the brink of Season 62's Ivy-MVC Beatdown, here are some thoughts on matchups for Season 63.  I tried to match up teams that were equally good (or equally bad) based on how I think they will do NEXT season (not this season), and here's what I'm thinking.  Those in Bold are human coaches, and those in italics are Home teams.  Ivy's only got 6 human coaches these days, so we'll need to make a few Sim matchups work.  5 Ivyers are at home, 5 MVC, so we're balanced in that regard.  I'm open to suggestions to change for good reason.

- JBloking (Cornell Coach)

Illinois St - Princeton
Evansville - Brown
S. Illinois - Cornell
Drake - Duquesne
Gardner-Webb - Dartmouth
Bradley - Fordham
Wichita St - Yale
Creighton - BU
W Kentucky - Bucknell
N Iowa - Columbia

10/26/2012 5:58 PM
Looks good to me.  Thanks, JBlocking.
10/26/2012 11:01 PM
Excellent work, JBlocking.  Meanwhile, this year's challenge is going to be legit.

Four games are on the agenda on Day 1 of our MVC/Ivy challenge:  in the first two, Fordham takes on Creighton and ISU goes against Cornell.  The other two matchups feature pairs of undefeated squads:  in Providence, undefeated Bradley battles undefeated Brown.  Meanwhile WKU matches up at home against Princeton.  
10/27/2012 12:43 AM
Silly's extended a challenge for me so I take it the matchups look alright. I'll accept. Ivy definitely took Round 1. We can play some ball!
10/27/2012 3:19 AM
Love the conf preview
10/27/2012 10:22 PM
Wow, we got a beatdown on Day 1 of the Challenge.  Not so good.
10/28/2012 12:10 AM
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