CBS preview of the valley

[Southgrad07]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/conferences/previews/missouri-valley


We come in at Number 3, Odum on the first team. They think the valley is the 12th best conference in the nation right ahead of the horizon league and that 2 teams (WSU and CU) will be dancing.

 

[Sycamore Proud]

Seems like we will prove that Gary Parrish doesn't know a whole lot about Valley hoops.

 

[Bally #50]

I'd be surprised if any sports writer put us in the top 2. I am sure a few will but the easy answer is to put CU and WSU ahead of us. Top 3 to me is showing some respect. Yes, we could end up in 1st or 2nd but one run at the end of the year does not automatically convert to instant respect. Our history says that we consistently do not end up in the top two of the league and those two teams ahead of us do. That is all that really means. Do we have more talent than last year? Yes. But so do the other teams. I never get bent out of shape about others say, anyway. It is where we end up at the end of the season that matters.

 

[Sycamore Proud]

True Bally; I can't disagree with what you say, but I do believe that with ISU football and basketball history of the past several years is just that--history. It's not where we want to be; it's not where we will be satisfied with; It's not where we will end up. I believe a 3rd place finish in the Valley would not be a bad finish, but I think we can/will do better. It's way too early to tell how injuries will play into the mix. If one of our leaders should go down, we would be in trouble. But we survived that last year. How would other teams handle that? I don't know.

The bottom line is we are not the Indiana State of the past. And I think the future is bright. We will have to prove that to much of the sports world on the field and on the court.

 

[Bally #50]

One thing I remember so distinctly from last season. That is the total shock on here when we started out 1-3. (particularly after the BSU loss). I almost jumped off the Sycamore Pride "ship" with some of those reactions from many of you on here. It is ALL about expectations and if you put the team up there in the top or runner-up slot, you are setting yourselves up for failure and disappointment. You guys have heard me bellyache about losing to Ball State because they will ALWAYS be my arch rival because that is who I hated when I was school. So I was furious, but as long as I see improvement, I can deal with it. After that game, we did improve and virtually every game, they improved more. When we won the MVC tourney, I was ecstatic but that is because I didn't give us a chance in hell of winning it. That may not be totally true, but I didn't think we would be "dancing" that's for sure.

Until we win 2-3 Arch Madness tourney's over a few consecutive years, it is only a wish, not a requirement for me. Like football, first you HAVE TO CHANGE THE CULTURE. They have done that. We now have a coach I can get behind 100% that I truly believe in and one I know can do amazing things with less. Now as our team becomes more experienced and more talented, those expectations will change and become tougher to accomplish but for now, I can sit back, kick my shoes off and watch how they continue to show progress. It's about the same in football for me as well.

 

[hans1950]

The fact that we are being ranked near the top of the league is a wonderful change from the past several seasons.I agree that we haven't really proven anything yet as far as long term success is concerned ,that will come if we continue in the direction that it appears we are going.If we do,we can expect more respect in the future.It's a long road to consistent success as we well know but it seems we have the right combination of administration,coaches and others in place to get there.Only time will tell,but both basketball and football should be enjoyable to watch for quite some time.