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Post by Big D on Feb 12, 2017 6:46:10 GMT -5
Don't disagree with you at all on what you said Big D. If we were to get Davis and Alstork back playing next year and having Mitchell and Benzinger with a point guard next year I can see us ruling the Horizon next year. It could be one of best teams we have had at WSU. Scheduling good teams next year could be even tougher with 4 senior starters back. We are probably over ninety percent done with next years schedule already and the teams we are still trying to schedule know nothing about Davis possibly being back next year. He is listed on our roster as a senior. Those schools probably see us as an easy win next year. We return 3 senior guards that can score but have very little size or depth inside next year without Davis. I agree about next year. If we get Davis back and can somehow squeeze another serviceable big man into this years class, we can be very very good next year.
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Post by twizman on Feb 12, 2017 19:58:42 GMT -5
All this talk about Alstork perhaps leaving. I don't get it. He's a Dayton kid who already transferred once. He's now playing in a offensive-minded system that features him as the go-to scorer. Has the chance to come back next year and average 20+ and really make his mark on college basketball. A transfer is possible since he would be eligble immediately (if he graduates this spring) but I doubt it will happen. WSU is where Mark needs to be. At the very least, he will turn himself into a professional player in Europe after one more season working on his craft at WSU. Did you notice in all of the stuff you just mentioned, you never talked about his chance to win here next year. Mark is a competitive guy who sees himself as a pro player. If he thinks Davis is coming back and the recruits we are bringing in give WSU a chance to go to the post season next year I think Mark will decide to stay. If he doesn't think we can win next year I think he transfers somewhere that can make it to the Dance and give him more exposure and help his pro chances. Mark doesn't see himself as a European player. He thinks he can play in the D league and eventually the NBA. I hope he comes back next year. We will all have to wait and see what he decides to do. Well, we have 17 wins and counting in a so-called "rebuilding" year ... so I'm sure Mark knows that the 2017-18 Raiders will win big. Especially with him around averaging 20+ per game.
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Post by Big D on Feb 12, 2017 20:09:07 GMT -5
We have 15 D1 wins, our RPI is in the 120s and we are currently in 5th place in the 18th rated conference in the country? That doesn't equal going to the post season by any stretch of the imagination. He wants a chance to play in the NCAA tournament. Take off your green and gold glasses and look at it with some perspective.
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Post by twizman on Feb 12, 2017 22:03:09 GMT -5
We have 15 D1 wins, our RPI is in the 120s and we are currently in 5th place in the 18th rated conference in the country? That doesn't equal going to the post season by any stretch of the imagination. He wants a chance to play in the NCAA tournament. Take off your green and gold glasses and look at it with some perspective. I'm being intellectually honest about it. I realize there is a chance he could leave. I think there is a much greater chance he will return to WSU and would be willing to bet he will come back. As I've said, he's playing for an offensive-minded head coach ... and he's the go-to scorer on the team. Plus, he's a local kid. This team will be excellent next year if he sticks around.
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Post by Retired Coach on Feb 12, 2017 22:41:04 GMT -5
If Davis isn't able to come back, I don't expect to see a Mark here next year.
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Post by oldfan on Feb 12, 2017 22:44:01 GMT -5
I agree with you totally. Mark is a very good basketball player, but he can certainly improve his ball handling, his emotional reactions when things aren't going his way, and his shot selection. He can play tons of minutes at WSU. That may not be the case at many schools in higher rated conferences.
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Post by Nutt House on Feb 12, 2017 22:54:58 GMT -5
I agree with you totally. Mark is a very good basketball player, but he can certainly improve his ball handling, his emotional reactions when things aren't going his way, and his shot selection. He can play tons of minutes at WSU. That may not be the case at many schools in higher rated conferences. Who says he would transfer to a higher rated conference? As Big D pointed out, Mark wants to go to the post season. He could transfer to Valpo and have a better chance at getting there next year. We have 2 big deficits keeping us from being a legit contender: pg and post player. We have 2 PGs coming in next year so we have shored up that deficit, but we haven't done anything to improve our inside play. We might actually be worse on the inside next year if Davis isn't back. Parker is a serviceable big man. Lou wasn't even good enough to play this year and Custer leaves a lot to be desired. I don't understand how anyone can think we are going to be exceptional next year with those 3 as our entire inside game next year.
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Post by Big D on Feb 13, 2017 7:45:09 GMT -5
Drop, did you watch us play at all last season? We had multiple seniors that were scorers. Mark was our 1-5 scoring option on the court on any given game. Don't act like Mark is some egomaniac that has to be the top scorer every game or he is some kind of cancer to the team. He he wasn't a cancer for us last year. He isn't this year when his teammates outshine him in a game and he won't be wherever he plays next season. He wants to win. Sometimes too much which leads him to feel like he needs to carry the team on his shoulders. That is his biggest downfall as a player. He tries to do too much at times.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2017 10:46:49 GMT -5
Drop, did you watch us play at all last season? We had multiple seniors that were scorers. Mark was our 1-5 scoring option on the court on any given game. Don't act like Mark is some egomaniac that has to be the top scorer every game or he is some kind of cancer to the team. He he wasn't a cancer for us last year. He isn't this year when his teammates outshine him in a game and he won't be wherever he plays next season. He wants to win. Sometimes too much which leads him to feel like he needs to carry the team on his shoulders. That is his biggest downfall as a player. He tries to do too much at times. Agreed! He plays with alot of passion which can be a great asset at times and can also cause him to make bad decisions at other times. I don't know Mark personally, I've only even seen him on campus a few times, so I don't know his motivations are future aspirations, but if his mindset is to play D League, I think obviously his first goal is to make NCAA Tourney appearance. But even if he gets there, he has to get noticed, so being third or fourth star on a team wouldn't probably benefit him much. If he were to go to Valpo he would have to compete with Hammink and Walker for the spot he is already guaranteed here. Valpo probably has a better chance at going to the tourney, but they would have to go through Oakland and us (and green bay but they are graduating a ton of players this year) in the conference tourney. We saw last year that Valpo isn't guaranteed an at large bid, even with that 30 win season. I won't re-harp on the points about offensively minded system at WSU because other's already have. My question: to anyone who knows Mark or have heard from people who know him, do you think he would be satisfied with winning a game or two in the NIT if they did end up missing NCAA next year without Davis?
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Post by paulkris on Feb 13, 2017 11:10:13 GMT -5
With all due respect to Davis, I think it would be a mistake to base next year's performance on whether he is or is not eligible. There are too many variables and we don't have enough information to make any meaningful predictions. Mark can be an asset but he can also be a liability. The other teams in the conference have now latched onto the fact that he can be messed with during a game and they aren't hesitant to use that knowledge. Look at the T that he got vs. GB. He can count on that getting even more extreme through the rest of the season and into the tournament. It all depends on whether the attention he gets motivates him or makes him throw the ball away.
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Post by OldSchoolHensley on Feb 13, 2017 16:08:38 GMT -5
Mark could take his game to another level with improved ball handling and better defense.
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Post by Dr J on Feb 13, 2017 21:42:30 GMT -5
I'm not sure we can say good. But we are doing much better than most expected. Current RPI of 126 one spot above Northern Ky.
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Post by mrose on Feb 13, 2017 22:25:15 GMT -5
I'm not sure we can say good. But we are doing much better than most expected. Current RPI of 126 one spot above Northern Ky. Sagarin has WSU at #163. 5th in the HL. Next year the NCAA selection committee will employ other statistical metrics in addition to the RPI. Sagarin will be one of those metrics.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2017 11:28:50 GMT -5
Does anyone think any of the Raiders are going to be First Team All-Horizon this year?
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Post by BasketBallJones on Feb 15, 2017 11:37:57 GMT -5
Justin Mitchell should, but not sure if he will be voted in. He's 3rd in team scoring at 12.8/game, first in rebounds at 9.5/game, first in assists at 65. And he is shotting 55.5% from the field. These are league stats through 13 games. Alstork gets a lot of press for his scoring, but Mitchell is the glue that keeps the team together.
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