BartTorvik.com has put out their preseason projections for the 2021-22 season and they have Loyola at #36. There are FOUR MVC teams in the top 83 teams... Loyola at 36, Drake at 58, Missouri State at 82, and UNI at 83.

The Torvik preseason projections have been done with player stats (rather than team stats) for the past several years. Curiously, though, they don't have Jacob Hutson listed among the major contributors, but they do have Chris Knight, Ryan Schweiger, and Damezi Anderson. I really think Hutson showed late last season that he's going to be playing 18 minute a game or so. In the six games played in the MVC and NCAA Tournaments, Hutson averaged 7.8 minutes per game, 3.8 points, and 1.5 rebounds.

I do agree that the Valley is going to be strong this year.....but sometimes these guys have no real idea who is going to be playing etc. and with so many transfers and new JUCO guys it really hard to project. I think Valpo has really re-loaded with 3 players from U. of WIsconsin and one from Michigan State...They have basically brought in a BG10 team....but great to see the discussions begin...
Although Coach Valentine did mention on the Coaches Conference call that it would take a lot of guys to replace Krutwig. He mentioned Knight, Hutson, Anderson and Welch as the players that would do that..
The Coaches Conference call was interesting. All the coaches talked about their teams. It is on the Missouri Valley Conference site.
https://mvc-sports.com/news/2021/7/1/mv ... -2021.aspx

Thanks for sharing Nate. Interesting to hear what he said about Anderson.

thought so as well...did it sound to you that he just hadnt picked up the system? besides the physical stuff?

I listened to the MVC coaches phone conference and i was impressed and happy with Drew and how he's settling into the job. i also was very interested in what Dana Ford had to say. Did anyone listen to him? He seemed extremely disenchanted with talking about basketball, the NIL issues, or anything else for that matter.

What i found particularly interesting was that he made it very clear that the NIL issues are not going to concern him, he doesn't' want to talk to the players about it (and apparently hasn't), and he preemptively placed blame on "the administration" should there be any issues and problems. It really had the feel in that interview that he's extremely fed up about something.

The Athletic ranked mid majors and has us as #3 in the pre season. Drake checks in at 7

https://theathletic.com/2644748/2021/06 ... ed_article

With the team's first practice taking place today, I was inspired to spend the evening rewatching the Round of 32 game against Illinois, and it got me even more excited for the season (if possible). Our team defense in that game was absolutely incredible upon second watch. Tate, Lucas, Quise, Aher, Norris, Keith...everyone played spectacular defense against one of the best teams in the country. And we get them all back! Obviously Krut is a huge loss; he was amazing that game in all facets. But Hutson did some really great things and more than held his own against Cockburn (who is now a consensus preseason First-Team All-American this year). With everyone minus Krut coming back this year, plus Knight and Hutson to hold down the middle (not to mention improvement and contributions from Damezi and Ryan S to name a couple), I really think we can make another deep run. Coach Valentine has been a defensive guy his whole career, and I see no reason why we can't replicate having another elite top-5 defense again.

Offensively I worry a little more. Krut was the center of our whole offense last year and that was especially evident in this game. I still think we will be fine, but there may be some early-season growing pains. Personally, I would love to see more of the offense run through Williamson and Kennedy specifically---they seem like the 2 guys who can really create their own shot. I also am curious to see how much of the dribble hand-off offense we see this year. Krutwig was a generational passer from the post, and I'm not sure how great of passers Hutson/Knight/Welch are. That was a huge part of our offense, and I'm interested to see how Drew will mix it up.

Basically, I cannot wait for this season, and am really optimistic for another great run. Would love to hear others' thoughts, especially on some of the schematic/personnel differences we may see this year. Go Blers!

This is total conjecture based on some stuff that's been shared over the offseason, interview snipets and reading between the lines on player movement & recruiting...but I believe our offense this year is going to feature a lot more pick and roll. Specifically I believe that Kennedy will be given more freedom to create for himself and others. I think this is one of the reasons he didnt transfer, because Drew share his vision with him. We also saw shades of Hutty being able to keep defenders honest with a jumper when he played last year, this is critical to a PnR offense and something for all his greatness that Krut really didnt bring to the table. I also think this plays really well with our excellent spot up shooters on the roster. While NBA ball isnt my favorite aesthetically I think we're going to see a more professional style offense this year. That is a good thing, because it seems to be adapting to the talent the roster has vs. trying to force them to play a specific way. Obviously we'll know more in a few weeks after open practice but this is my pre-season prognostication.

Guess this fits here as well as anywhere. Very nice article from The Athletic ($) on the returning seniors.

It's been said a few times on this board, but the Athletic subscription pays for itself with the great mid-major content they put out. This was an awesome article with some cool insight on the four seniors making their decisions to return and some cool stuff on how Valentine leans on his seniors to coach up the freshmen.