Post by cuphan on Jun 5, 2008 22:56:57 GMT -5
I know a lot of you guys have really dissed the WHAC on here in the recent past. And in a lot of ways, it has been deserved - this past year, the WHAC's record against the MCC was once again pretty abysmal. I also know it's pretty weak to base an evaluation on recruiting alone, and it is also very, very early - a lot can happen between now and November. But I offer the following insights.
1. Aquinas - the Saints gave Bellevue all they could handle in the Sweet 16 last year - the game was tied with under a minute to go, and AQ had the ball before turning it over. AQ's glaring issue last year was a notoriously weak bench, and Coach Dave Hammer has aggressively tried to address that issue by signing 5 talented freshmen for next year.
www.aquinas.edu/athletics/mens_bball.html#roster
Surf down through the roster and coaches to see the list of new signees.
2. Indiana Tech - Tech loses only one senior starter (A. J. Jones, their leading scorer last year), and they finished the year strongly, winning their last 10 games, including the WHAC tournament, and lost a very close game to #3 seed Morningside in Branson (73-67). They, too, have added some recruits that look very promising.
athletics.indianatech.edu/MensBasketball/News.aspx#1589
www.sentinel-standard.com/articles/2008/05/31/sports/sports01.txt
www.mlive.com/forums/whac/index.ssf - check post 2165 and subsequent posts.
3. CU - Although Scott Jungling has chosen to transfer to Hope College, the addition of Dan Possehl and Justin Yoder should help in a couple of areas - one more big man who can also shoot from outside, and another shooting guard - CU's 3 point shooting last year was its offensive Achilles Heel. One or two more recruits might be added well - I don't want to mention any names, but if these two sign with CU, it will address both point guard and shooting guard issues as well.
4. Siena Heights - Siena struggled most of last year again, but began to play better late in the year, winning on the road at CU, and nearly knocking off a tough Madonna squad in the WHAC tournament. The addition of Chris Lemm and Peter Sarnacki (who has drawn favorable comparisons to CU's Matt Kingshott) should help make them even better, though outside shooting, especially from 3, is an issue they need to address. They may very well be the most improved team in the WHAC next year. The only senior on the squad last year was William Ashworth, a role player at best.
www.sienaheights.edu/PreviewAthleticsNews.aspx?NewsArticleID=1984
www.sienaheights.edu/PreviewAthleticsNews.aspx?NewsArticleID=1980
5. Davenport - a team that has gotten incrementally tougher each year for the last 4-5 years, and they will likely make some noise in the WHAC this year. Kale Waaso and Nathan Cox were outstanding freshmen last year, and Sai-Quan Griffith is a tough, aggressive, physical point guard. The addition of Tyler Moreland, Randolph Shaw, and Lonnie Fairfax should make them even tougher. DU has a new coach as well, so that may mean a time of adjustment.
dupanthers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/dave-m-baskbl-spec-rel.html
6. Madonna lost some significant seniors (Charlie Henry, D. J. Bridges, Jon Battle, Karvens Pailliere, and Mike Rashad), but they have also signed Jon Jaciuk and Kevin Henry, among others. It remains to be seen how they will do, but I think they will be the CU of 2008-2009 - talented, but relatively inexperienced.
ww3.madonna.edu/crusaders/2004%20Site/mens%20basketball/07releases/052708_K_Henry_sign.htm
7. Concordia - hard to say with CUAA, since they have no recruits listed on their web site. Anthony Bates will be a big loss. I don't have a clue who will be coming in next Fall, but I think the'll have their work cut out for them. I predict it will be between CUAA and UMD for last place in the WHAC.
8. UM Dearborn - Seniors John Travis, Scott Rudder, Brandon Franklin, and Steve Banks leaving the program will hurt them, and UMD has shown an inability in the past to keep players in the program (Michael Young a recent example - discipline situations? transfers? don't know!). Hard to believe a University as large as UMD can't have consistently good teams. CU won twice vs. UMD last year, but at CU UMD overcame a 17 point second half deficit, and actually took a brief lead before CU won in the final seconds.
I think some of the parity in the WHAC will disappear this year - but teams 1-5 will overall be better, and will give MCC and other opponents some good games, and will no doubt pull off some upsets.
1. Aquinas - the Saints gave Bellevue all they could handle in the Sweet 16 last year - the game was tied with under a minute to go, and AQ had the ball before turning it over. AQ's glaring issue last year was a notoriously weak bench, and Coach Dave Hammer has aggressively tried to address that issue by signing 5 talented freshmen for next year.
www.aquinas.edu/athletics/mens_bball.html#roster
Surf down through the roster and coaches to see the list of new signees.
2. Indiana Tech - Tech loses only one senior starter (A. J. Jones, their leading scorer last year), and they finished the year strongly, winning their last 10 games, including the WHAC tournament, and lost a very close game to #3 seed Morningside in Branson (73-67). They, too, have added some recruits that look very promising.
athletics.indianatech.edu/MensBasketball/News.aspx#1589
www.sentinel-standard.com/articles/2008/05/31/sports/sports01.txt
www.mlive.com/forums/whac/index.ssf - check post 2165 and subsequent posts.
3. CU - Although Scott Jungling has chosen to transfer to Hope College, the addition of Dan Possehl and Justin Yoder should help in a couple of areas - one more big man who can also shoot from outside, and another shooting guard - CU's 3 point shooting last year was its offensive Achilles Heel. One or two more recruits might be added well - I don't want to mention any names, but if these two sign with CU, it will address both point guard and shooting guard issues as well.
4. Siena Heights - Siena struggled most of last year again, but began to play better late in the year, winning on the road at CU, and nearly knocking off a tough Madonna squad in the WHAC tournament. The addition of Chris Lemm and Peter Sarnacki (who has drawn favorable comparisons to CU's Matt Kingshott) should help make them even better, though outside shooting, especially from 3, is an issue they need to address. They may very well be the most improved team in the WHAC next year. The only senior on the squad last year was William Ashworth, a role player at best.
www.sienaheights.edu/PreviewAthleticsNews.aspx?NewsArticleID=1984
www.sienaheights.edu/PreviewAthleticsNews.aspx?NewsArticleID=1980
5. Davenport - a team that has gotten incrementally tougher each year for the last 4-5 years, and they will likely make some noise in the WHAC this year. Kale Waaso and Nathan Cox were outstanding freshmen last year, and Sai-Quan Griffith is a tough, aggressive, physical point guard. The addition of Tyler Moreland, Randolph Shaw, and Lonnie Fairfax should make them even tougher. DU has a new coach as well, so that may mean a time of adjustment.
dupanthers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/dave-m-baskbl-spec-rel.html
6. Madonna lost some significant seniors (Charlie Henry, D. J. Bridges, Jon Battle, Karvens Pailliere, and Mike Rashad), but they have also signed Jon Jaciuk and Kevin Henry, among others. It remains to be seen how they will do, but I think they will be the CU of 2008-2009 - talented, but relatively inexperienced.
ww3.madonna.edu/crusaders/2004%20Site/mens%20basketball/07releases/052708_K_Henry_sign.htm
7. Concordia - hard to say with CUAA, since they have no recruits listed on their web site. Anthony Bates will be a big loss. I don't have a clue who will be coming in next Fall, but I think the'll have their work cut out for them. I predict it will be between CUAA and UMD for last place in the WHAC.
8. UM Dearborn - Seniors John Travis, Scott Rudder, Brandon Franklin, and Steve Banks leaving the program will hurt them, and UMD has shown an inability in the past to keep players in the program (Michael Young a recent example - discipline situations? transfers? don't know!). Hard to believe a University as large as UMD can't have consistently good teams. CU won twice vs. UMD last year, but at CU UMD overcame a 17 point second half deficit, and actually took a brief lead before CU won in the final seconds.
I think some of the parity in the WHAC will disappear this year - but teams 1-5 will overall be better, and will give MCC and other opponents some good games, and will no doubt pull off some upsets.