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I just read on CU's board that ISU is picked 7th by the MVC...honorable mention all MVC picks are Harry and Jake K.

Being picked 7th sounds like good motivation for a hungry team...
 
Honorable mention for Jake and Harry both is a slap in the face - it's goes beyond something that motivates you, it's total disrespect... I mean Jake Kelly was honorable mention all Big Ten, that's a total lack of respect for what he was able to accomplish at Iowa.

Best thing about pre season awards like this is they are just that pre season awards and they are worth zilch. You can't put to much stock into such nominations - I guess we will just see how things play out. If you are telling me that the Sycs won't have one player on the 1st or 2nd team I will take the over on that...
 
I hope the team takes this as a sign of total disrespect, and plays with a chip on their collective shoulder this year. It's a sign that no one in the conference has any respect for ISU at all.

That said, we haven't exactly given them anything to respect us for in the last eight years. This is the year we can start to change that. A burning desire to right a perceived wrong can be powerful motivation.

There you go, guys - time to get mad! To borrow a phrase from my favorite drum and bugle corps - SUTA! Every time you go on the court - SUTA! Live by SUTA, and you will have the last laugh!!!

Shove it
Up
Their
A--

:censored::sycamores::censored::sycamores:
 
Prove it on the court! The Sycamores will not be a 7th place MVC team this season but to get any respect they have to show it every time out, beginning in the pre-season. As if this team needed any more motivation this should do the trick.
 
So the all-conference team is five guards and a forward? Boy, that says a lot about the style of play in the valley.
 

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IndyTreeFan said:
That said, we haven't exactly given them anything to respect us for in the last eight years. This is the year we can start to change that. A burning desire to right a perceived wrong can be powerful motivation.
Click to expand...

I think you have a point here...ISU has made additions that, on paper, should boost them up higher than 7th. However, games need to be played and players need to play up to their potential...it's not just gonna happen magically.

Also...other teams around the league haven't stayed exactly stagnant...others around the league seem to have improved talent-wise as well. And it's not as though one team is out-working the other during the off-season. You just don't get to go thru the motions during the off-season anymore unless, of course, you don't feel the need to keep up w/ the Joneses (or in our case, the CU's, SIU's, ISUred's, UNI's...etc). I know that CU has really been upbeat about their off-season strength and conditioning...all of the players feel they're much stronger than they ever were.
 
Something I read on gosycamores.com...

"The Sycamores' seventh place predicted finish is its highest since the 2001-02 campaign when Indiana State was picked to finish third."

:naughty:
 
What I can't figure out is why Tony Freeman got All-Conference honors over Jake Kelly? Neither has played a game in the MVC, and frankly, neither should be on the list. They should have to prove themselves over the course of the season before we start throwing roses at their feet. I stilll wonder - why Freeman and not Kelly?

Back to that SUTA thing again...
 
Prove themselves... What does Jake Kelly have to prove? He has proved he can play at a high level and it does not take an Indiana State fan to recognize that, just ask the Big Ten what they think of Jake Kelly... The dude is a PT player - he is going to light up the Mo Vally... Honorable Mention, what a joke.

I don't care if he is a Valley newcomer - take Jordan Crawford (Xavier) for example who actually sat out last year after transferring from IU - well he was selected to the A-10 3rd team.

That's just one example.

Here is what Doug Gottlieb on ESPN Insider says about Tony Freeman:

Tony Freeman, Southern Illinois: After the first down year in Chris Lowery's tenure at his alma mater, the former leading scorer for Iowa is ready to take the Salukis back to the postseason. Freeman never bought into the Hawkeyes' system, but with nowhere left to go and a no-nonsense, defensive-oriented coach, Freeman must buy in for SIU to get the most out of his potential. Freeman is a talent and his scoring skills from either guard spot should jibe well with Kevin Dillard.
 
In respone to IndyTreeFan:

Maybe they are utilizing their actual stats from Iowa - which are comparable. Freeman made 3rd Team All Big 10 in his final season; Kelly made Honorable Mention All Big 10 in his final season

Here are Freeman's numbers in his last season there:
Points per game = 13.8
Minutes per game = 35
Assists per game = 3.23
Rebounds per game = 3.1
Turnovers per game = 3.23

Here are Kelly's numbers in his last season there:
Points per game = 11.6
Minutes per game = 30.8
Assists per game = 3.06
Rebounds per game = 3.3
Turnovers per game = 2.75

Fairly similar numbers, but as numbers go probably a slight edge to Freeman based only on those numbers. Add in the fact that Freeman has had an entire year to be a part of the SIU system, and I can understand why they would give him the edge on paper. Now - if you've seen both play - I think Kelly is a better player - but none of these things matter. It's the standings at the end of the season that actually count.
 
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I'm quite sure these guys are going to be as good, or better, than advertised. My point is that putting someone on a preseason all-conference team when they haven't played a single, solitary minute for their team is stupid. I'm sure that both have an excellent chance to be on the final all-conference team, but by then everyone has seen them play for their current team. At this point, it's pure conjecture. And if Tony Freeman had ended up here, would he have made the preseason team? Just wondering...:rolleyes:

It's really just a discussion point, since as you so aptly pointed out, Morgan, preseason anythings mean NOTHING! Just my two cents...
 
Figured Kelly would be at least second team. Wonder if some didn't know too much about hIm with the quick transfer. Media and SIDs had all last year to hear about Freeman.
 
SycEm said:
In respone to IndyTreeFan:

Maybe they are utilizing their actual stats from Iowa - which are comparable. Freeman made 3rd Team All Big 10 in his final season; Kelly made Honorable Mention All Big 10 in his final season

Here are Freeman's numbers in his last season there:
Points per game = 13.8
Minutes per game = 35
Assists per game = 3.23
Rebounds per game = 3.1
Turnovers per game = 3.23

Here are Kelly's numbers in his last season there:
Points per game = 11.6
Minutes per game = 30.8
Assists per game = 3.06
Rebounds per game = 3.3
Turnovers per game = 2.75

Fairly similar numbers, but as numbers go probably a slight edge to Freeman based only on those numbers. Add in the fact that Freeman has had an entire year to be a part of the SIU system, and I can understand why they would give him the edge on paper. Now - if you've seen both play - I think Kelly is a better player - but none of these things matter. It's the standings at the end of the season that actually count.
Click to expand...

Believe Freeman was a junior and Kelly a sophomore in those comparisons though, right?
 
That is true - that is Freeman's junior year numbers (2007-2008 season) to Kelly's sophomore year numbers (2008-2009 season).
Also, it is relevant to remember that the pre-season teams consist of a five member 1st Team and an Honorable Mention Team - there is no 2nd Team.
 

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How does a guy like Jake Kelly only get honorable mention, he is one of the best players in the Missouri Valley.
 
In my opinion, Jake was an entirely different player when he switched to point guard for the last 7-8 games of the season, and all of his stats sky-rocketed at that point. While his stats over the course of the year weren't earth-shattering, check out JK's stats once he switched to point guard. (20.4 PPG and improved numbers across the board). The B-10 announcers were saying that no one was playing better, thus the repeat Player of the Week awards. I am convinced that, barring injury, JK, playing point in an up-tempo offense, will be dynamite. Let the games begin!!!
 
I'm honestly shocked about the 7th place selection but I agree with there still being alot to prove for this team. We know Jake is going to be very good by judging what he did against B10 talent but this team has to gel together before we can make the huge leaps we all believe we will make this season. Jake should have been 2nd team at worse but they are going by the fact he hasn't played a game yet and alot of the media think we are still a season away from a major turn around. Overall I'm not worried about preseason press and I doubt the boys are either. Where you are ranked at the end of the season is all that matters.
 
SalukiMan said:
Figured Kelly would be at least second team. Wonder if some didn't know too much about hIm with the quick transfer. Media and SIDs had all last year to hear about Freeman.
Click to expand...

Oh I know they new about him! They all know he was HM all Big 10 last year and new he was eligable now. The media just refuses to believe we can be that good this quick....we'll see! :sycamores:
 
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