Way too early SoCon picks 18-19

[Paul C]

One thing is very probable...there won't be such a clear delineation between the top 5 and bottom 5 next year. UNCG and Wofford will be the favorites, the cellar dwellers (UTC, VMI, Citadel) return all 15 starters and disappointing Samford gets a couple big man transfers eligible. Meanwhile ETSU and Mercer get decimated by "graduation" (I use that term loosely regarding ETSU), and Furman clearly has holes to fill. Of course JUCO's and maybe some graduate transfers could muddy the water, as the spring/summer progress.

1. UNCG - Should be formidable, returning Alonso, Dickey and Troy, their core players.
2. Wofford - Everyone who matters comes back including their starting 5.
3. ETSU - They lose 4 starters and 6 of top 8. But Hodges, Armus and some new mercenaries will help.
4. Samford - They lose 3 starters including Denzel-Dyson, and Wyatt Walker is transferring. But Coleman and Chambers are good and an Alabama transfer at F and a 7-0 C transfer from USF will be eligible.
5. Furman - The loss of 3 starters that were the core of the team hurt but they will reload with major talent upgrades
6. WCU - Core of the team returning but new coach will be wild card. Could be better. Could be worse.
7. Citadel - Everyone is back, literally. Some consistency could land them in the top half of the league.
8. Mercer - 4/5 starters gone (not including Holland) but they have some experienced depth.
9. UTC - Should improve as everyone returns but their 6th man. Is that good though?
10.VMI - Should improve as everyone returns but a part time starter/6th man. Same as UTC, is that a good thing?

[The Jackal]

Where did the Citadel kid end up? Parks?

[DungeonRealm]

Agree with you on most of this but no way will Samford be any good next season, they will continue their free-fall

[Paul C]

Preston Parks is at UT-Martin, I think.

And yeah, on Samford, I get it. Maybe I gave them the benefit of the doubt because that 7-0 C who transferred from USF averaged 5ppg at USF, and the last transfer into the SoCon that avg'd 5ppg at USF was Amu Saaka Also the transfer from Alabama is a 6-5 wing who was the #2 overall ranked HS Sr in Alabama and had some injuries derail his career at Bama. Has a ton of potential.

[AllKnighter]

Paul C your evaluation of the 2018-19 SoCon looks spot on. Samford also signed Steven Fitzgerald, an athletic 6-4 SG out of Kentucky who is rated a 3-star (our Andrew Taylor is a 2-star). Look for him to contribute immediately. We could see Wes Miller leave UNC-G for a bigger job in the next two weeks. I believe his departure would have a significant negative impact there, as Niko's departure did at Furman.

[gman]

Paul C your evaluation of the 2018-19 SoCon looks spot on. Samford also signed Steven Fitzgerald, an athletic 6-4 SG out of Kentucky who is rated a 3-star (our Andrew Taylor is a 2-star). Look for him to contribute immediately. We could see Wes Miller leave UNC-G for a bigger job in the next two weeks. I believe his departure would have a significant negative impact there, as Niko's departure did at Furman.

Niko’s departure did not have a significant negative impact.

[AllKnighter]

Well gman, you were right about us beating Wofford in the championship game so I'll stand down and watch you drink the BR Kool-Aid. Enjoy!

[The Jackal]

Well gman, you were right about us beating Wofford in the championship game so I'll stand down and watch you drink the BR Kool-Aid. Enjoy!

Unless I missed something, Furman just tied its all time win record under Bob Richey. So, if there’s a negative impact, I guess I missed it.

[soconjohn]

1. UNCG
2. Wofford
3. ETSU
4. Furman
5. Chattanooga
6. Samford
7. The Citadel
8. Western Carolina
9. VMI
10. Mercer

[raleigh fan]

Not sure what "big jobs" will open and if he would want any of them...if ECU doesn't keep its interim...maybe. This year there will not be a large number of big jobs unless the FBI really gets specific and reveals a lot of info...major conferences right now only Miss is open, and Louisville is open for debate (would you want that job right now?)

[AllKnighter]

Are regular season wins the true measure of a program? I'm happy that we won 23 games and yes, I vividly remember seasons recently when we lost that many. But to fail to acknowledge that we won one less conference game and finished lower in the conference this year, with an outstanding senior class that was expected to do more, is a failure to be objective. My strongest objection is to the "all-time win record" reference. I challenge you to review the results of the '73 -'75 teams and see the teams that they beat to add some context to the comparison. You'll find Florida, Houston, Minnesota and other quality opponents among them. The '74 team lost 9 games and that included 2 losses in the NCAA tournament! We need to stop playing Bob Jones, North Greenville, Montreat, Allen University and Piedmont International. Let's be fair and respectful of the great basketball tradition that we have at Furman and refuse to settle for mediocrity. It is clear that many of members here are delighted with the results from this season, and I respect that. However, it failed to meet my expectations.

[AllKnighter]

Not sure what "big jobs" will open and if he would want any of them...if ECU doesn't keep its interim...maybe. This year there will not be a large number of big jobs unless the FBI really gets specific and reveals a lot of info...major conferences right now only Miss is open, and Louisville is open for debate (would you want that job right now?)

I agree with you about the Louisville job. I think Pitt will fire Kevin Stallings and UConn will fire Kevin Ollie before the NCAA tourney starts. While I'm not sure Wes is ready for those jobs, he is ready to move up. Matt McCall got out of Chattanooga after just two years and he did not have the pedigree that Wes does.

[Paul C]

At least BR won a game in Asheville with this team. Last year was a bigger crash and burn under NM.

love Niko but when you come at Br with bizarro logic I’m gonna give it right back.

[Paul C]

1. UNCG
2. Wofford
3. ETSU
4. Furman
5. Chattanooga
6. Samford
7. The Citadel
8. Western Carolina
9. VMI
10. Mercer

I can’t see UTC making that big a move without some added talent. While they return everyone, they weren’t necessarily a young team.

[The Jackal]

Are regular season wins the true measure of a program? I'm happy that we won 23 games and yes, I vividly remember seasons recently when we lost that many. But to fail to acknowledge that we won one less conference game and finished lower in the conference this year, with an outstanding senior class that was expected to do more, is a failure to be objective. My strongest objection is to the "all-time win record" reference. I challenge you to review the results of the '73 -'75 teams and see the teams that they beat to add some context to the comparison. You'll find Florida, Houston, Minnesota and other quality opponents among them. The '74 team lost 9 games and that included 2 losses in the NCAA tournament! We need to stop playing Bob Jones, North Greenville, Montreat, Allen University and Piedmont International. Let's be fair and respectful of the great basketball tradition that we have at Furman and refuse to settle for mediocrity. It is clear that many of members here are delighted with the results from this season, and I respect that. However, it failed to meet my expectations.

But that's not what you said. You said that Medved's departure would have a "significant negative impact." Based on all the evidence we currently have, that is objectively not true.

No one is satisfied with being mediocre. Most of us, though, can realize that we play in a 1 bid basketball league and single bad night at the wrong time can eliminate any shot at the NCAA tournament.