The messageboard has been very quiet the past several months. My fault in large part due to lack of content on front page, not much in recruiting or any controversies.

I watched just about all the Loyola-related A-10 media day interviews and footage, and a good chunk of other teams. Am I a Drew Valentine Kool-Aid drinker? Maybe. A the beginning of last year I thought we had depth, based on previous performances by transfers and expected advances by returning players. That was not the case at all. I think there were serious, demonstrable chemistry problems last year for the first time in a decade. I was a bit concerned that some promising players in the starting lineup had below-average defensive skills. The turnover situation was off-the-charts bad.

After watching the media day interviews, I'm 75% satisfied the problems have been recognized and taken care of. I'm 85ish% sure Drew Valentine has a good idea of what it takes to succeed in the A-10. I'm 70% sure our underclassmen in the backcourt are going to be a big plus this year. The player I most want to succeed is Miles Rubin, without a doubt-- Chicago kid, from a great program, a great coach, enormous upside, playing a position that's a big need for us, and possibly (if we play our cards right) here for FOUR years. If Miles does well and gets a taste at the NBA like his pedigree suggests he might, it would be another legacy plus for the program. Make Miles Happy And Successful.

Dolan and Des are going to be important, wise, and solid (along with Norris) this year. Based on what I saw when he was with Davidson, Des Watson can play the 2-3 on offense and defend effectively against 1-4-- really good speed, length, and leap. Watson will be here next year, too, when he's a senior and we lose 5-6 players to graduation. I have only seen stats and opinions on Dolan, but he's experienced and has good length-- my only concern is defense, especially against supremely athletic teams like Dayton and GW. Who knows what George Mason and VCU will look like with new coaches and almost all new players. The Grad Seniors might just be here for a last go-round at an NCAA or NIT run, but we need to impart every bit of their knowledge and wisdom to the underclassmen.

The backcourt sophomores are going to be a pair I watch a lot-- Dawson and Quinn will take over next year as the primary leaders of this program. They'll need to get a lot of high-impact decision-making minutes this year to have a foundation for leadership going forward.

What does everyone else think? We need some discussion on this board. Being in the dark and depending mostly on non-fan (or worse, Super Fan) X content is a pretty awful arrangement.

I pretty much agree with your assessment, though my confidence is a little higher.

I've talked with Coach Drew several times since the end of last season. I am confident he understands exactly what went wrong last year and has made several changes to correct things. I believe the transfers are going to more than live up to expectations. Coach was very clear about what kind of players he wanted in the program.

Braden will return to form this year. In fact, I expect him to have his best year ever.

Phil Alston has depended mostly on his athletic ability in past years. He has diligently worked on his game. We will once again be surprised by how good he is as a basketball player.

Jaden & Jalen will turn a lot of heads in the A10 this year.

Ben will continue to get better and better.

Tom is going to make strides this year. He shows flashes of Krutwig.

Miles will take a while to adjust to D1 college speed and skill, but he will make the highlight reel for every game.

Sheldon should make strides this year.

Trey Lewis will be surprisingly good.

Every one of the transfers will make a solid contribution to a successful season.

I'm excited about this season.

Of course, I was optimistic last year. But this time feels different.

Rod Pickett

I think Dawson getting hurt last year was bigger than I thought it was when it happened. He was really starting to come into his own. On the flip side, it might’ve helped Quinn develop more than he would’ve otherwise. They could both take pretty big steps this year, and I’m looking foward to watching it.

Miles Rubin has the most potential of any incoming freshman we’ve had in a while. Potential doesn’t always blossom right away…but sometimes it does.

I’m also looking forward to seeing the apparently new big video board on the west side of the arena. Always thought that area could use something extra. Always seemed kinda dark in an otherwise bright and flashy gym, and not many people ever stand up there anyway.

Really interested to see the guard rotation this year. On paper it’s deep…Norris, Dawson, Quinn, Dolan, Edwards, potentially even Lewis? 2 of those will likely be pushed out of the major rotation. I thought Edwards showed some real flashes at the end of last year, but off-season talk has been pretty quiet about him…it’ll be interesting to see.

Also curious to see who starts at the 3 this year. Will it be Schwieger or Watson? Both will get plenty of minutes, but not sure if Valentine will prefer Schwieger’s shooting or Watson’s play making more.

In terms of the 5, fair to assume Adelekun starts, right? He’s the major swing piece for me. If he can be a slightly above average A-10 big, we’re in business. We got bullied by bigs way too much last year offensively and defensively.

Thanks, guys. It's tough around here with our chief insider, streak, and chief pot-stirrer, swella, both AWOL.

I'm sure Drew knows better than I do what went wrong last year. I just know I can't take a 20% turnover rate again. Some of the main culprits are gone. Transfers seem stronger on that front. But the freshmen have to be way better than they were. Welch had too many turnovers which is worrisome since it was his fourth year and he's a forward.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

I think a middle of the pack showing this year is a fine outcome and the most likely one. I am hopeful to see some of the new(er) faces making a bigger impact particularly if the Wins and Loss column gets upside down at some point. My biggest issue with Drews job last year was the insistence on playing the upper classman so many minutes instead of developing the younger guys once it became apparent that the season wasnt what we had hoped it would be.