2008-2009 Predictions

[Just in the crowd]

Do your predicting on final record?


San Jose State -
Mayville State -
at VCU -
at Drake -
Upper Iowa -
vs Cancun -
vs Cancun -
Centenary -
Oral Roberts -
at Minnesota -
at Denver -
CSU-Bakersfield -
at Northern Iowa -
at Iowa State -
at Oakland -
at IPFW -
Western Illinois -
IUPUI -
at UMKC -
at Southern Utah -
North Dakota State -
IPFW -
Oakland -
at IUPUI -
at Western Illinois -
Southern Utah -
UMKC -
at NDSU -
at Oral Roberts -
at Centenary -

WINS -
LOSSES-

[filbert]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

Right now, I'm expecting "more" wins than last year. I'm kinda taking a wait-and-see approach . . . I want to see the new offensive philosophy and how the guys adapt to it.

I'm hopeful, but not yet ready to think about how many w's and l's the guys will get.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

I think our success will be predicated on what kind of post presence we have or don't have. Losing Berte and Beran was huge. We don't have a lot of size or depth in the SF and center position.

[jackwatcher]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

8 wins, one and done in the postseason tourney.

I hope I am way off. I agree with JGII. If we end up relying on Cordova down low, it will be a long season. He is a good player but will need a lot of help.

[jacks1]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

8 wins won't even get us to the Summit League Tournament....but your win total may be correct unfortunately.

8 wins, one and done in the postseason tourney.

I hope I am way off. I agree with JGII. If we end up relying on Cordova down low, it will be a long season. He is a good player but will need a lot of help.

[91jack]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

I think our success will be predicated on what kind of post presence we have or don't have. Losing Berte and Beran was huge. We don't have a lot of size or depth in the SF and center position.

I look for good things out of Davis. I did hear that he's been fighting injuries this summer, though. He is taller than the outgoing post players and he has some size. He has been out of High School for a couple years so he has some strength and experience.
Berte came in like Davis is but he was shorter and not as heavy. Berte held his own until he got injured. He missed enough of the season that the team had to adapt to him not being there. The team would have been better with him but injuries happen.
Rader and Cassaday are 2 guys I'm interested in. They probably won't be physical enough right away just because of lack of weight room time. Cassaday probably is quite a bit stronger than he was last year. These 2 guys are already the size(6'7" and 220) of Berte and Loney. They're not 6'10" and 240 but they are as big as the outgoing guys. Experience is where they will be behind the outgoing guys. I don't really know if these guys like playing in the post better and the perimeter but Beran liked the mid-range jumper more than the post, too. If 1 or both of these guys can become a (little) more athletic Beran, I don't think we will be disappointed.
The outgoing guys will be missed. They were fine young men. I just have hope that the team is moving in the right direction. I guess, my glass is "half full" when it comes to the team. I just want to see a few more W's(soon).

[Just in the crowd]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

filbert said in a different thread:

It's early, but:
San Jose State - W
Mayville State - W
at VCU - L
at Drake - L
Upper Iowa - W
vs Cancun - L
vs Cancun - W
Centenary - W
Oral Roberts - L
at Minnesota - L
at Denver - W
CSU-Bakersfield - W
at Northern Iowa - L
at Iowa State - L
at Oakland - L
at IPFW - L
Western Illinois - W
IUPUI - W
at UMKC - W
at Southern Utah - W
North Dakota State - W
IPFW - W
Oakland - L
at IUPUI - L
at Western Illinois - W
Southern Utah - W
UMKC - W
at NDSU - L
at Oral Roberts - L
at Centenary - W

17-13, 11-7 Summit. Oh, yeah, we win the tournament in Sioux Falls, too.

I freely admit however that I'm an incorrigible optimist.

[filbert]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

My predictions are highly correlated to blood alcohol level . . .

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

San Jose State - Win -Played them extremely tough on nuetral court last year, this time its in our house
Mayville State - Win
at VCU - Loss
at Drake - Loss
Upper Iowa - Win
vs Cancun - Win
vs Cancun - Loss - I think if we can win 1 game here, its a success. Even the last few years we have played fairly well in tourney format, just haven't won a lot of games..
Centenary - Win
Oral Roberts - Loss
at Minnesota - Loss
at Denver - Loss
CSU-Bakersfield - Win - First home game after a couple road games
at Northern Iowa - Loss - even though we beat them last year, this time its played on their home court
at Iowa State - Loss
at Oakland - Loss
at IPFW - Loss
Western Illinois - Win
IUPUI - Win
at UMKC - Win
at Southern Utah - Win
North Dakota State - Win
IPFW - Win - At home, we need this one
Oakland - Win
at IUPUI - Loss
at Western Illinois - Loss
Southern Utah - Win
UMKC - Win
at NDSU - Loss
at Oral Roberts - Loss
at Centenary - Win

WINS -16
LOSSES-14

This is probably a pretty optimistic view, but last year we won 8, I would hope we could at least match that number. Throw in an improvement of 5 wins, plus 3 "cupcakes" and we get to 16.

I'm not that concerned with post play, offensively it sounds like we have changed our scheme. Rebounding wise, I think it's more about effort than size, and we always seem to rebound pretty well. Defense could be a bit of a challenge, but if we can control the tempo of the game it should neutralize most of the bigs we will see. We won't see that many based on the conference we are in and the level of competition we are seeing.

[Grizzled_Jack]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

San Jose State -W
Mayville State -W 2-0
at VCU -L
at Drake -L 2-2
Upper IowaW -
vs Cancun -W
vs Cancun -L
Centenary -W 5-3 /1-0
Oral Roberts -L
at Minnesota -L
at Denver -W
CSU-Bakersfield -W 7-5
at Northern Iowa -L
at Iowa State -L
at Oakland -L 7-8 /1-2
at IPFW -L
Western Illinois -W
IUPUI -L
at UMKC -L
at Southern Utah -L 8-12/ 2-6
North Dakota State -W
IPFW -W
Oakland -L
at IUPUI -L
at Western Illinois -W
Southern Utah -W 12-14/ 6-8
UMKC -W
at NDSU -L 13-15
at Oral Roberts -L
at Centenary - L 13-17/ 7-11

[rabbit_boy]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

I am hoping for a 500 season again this year, but I am less optimistic than last. Hopefully at least 10 wins.

[jackmd]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

I am hoping for a 500 season again this year, but I am less optimistic than last. Hopefully at least 10 wins.

Similar expectations here. A .500 record would be great. More important, we need wins against conference foes. Nagy will put the focus on the conference season. Winning on the road in the Summit League is tough and we can defend the court at Frost. I plan to get out and support the Jacks as much as possible.

[SDHoops]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

Last season, everyone was so high on the team and predicting big things. When the exhibition games were close, everyone was in denial, saying the team was "saving" it for the big games. However, those "savings" never fit the bill during the regular season. Could it be reversed this time around? Are people so low on their expectations for the team that they are in denial that good things are about to happen?

Are you forgetting that the Georgia Bulldogs went into the SEC tournament as the worst team and won the tournament in four days? Or how Washington State went from the worst in the PAC in 2006 to one of the best in 2007? Looking into those recent teams, both used their bad experiences as positives. They stuck together and learned from their mistakes. You guys on here talk about wanting the best athletes to come here and to have the accomplish their dreams that the other colleges could give them (winning a conference title and making the NCAA tournament).

Yes the women have the best shot at the NCAA but do not count out the men. I'm tired of reading "my hopes say I want the men to win but I know they won't". That's like saying "I really want to eat another burger but my throbbing left thigh is telling me otherwise". Don't get it? Exactly! Show your support!

[jackmd]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

Yes the women have the best shot at the NCAA but do not count out the men. I'm tired of reading "my hopes say I want the men to win but I know they won't". That's like saying "I really want to eat another burger but my throbbing left thigh is telling me otherwise". Don't get it? Exactly! Show your support!

Not sure who you are referring to when you say "you guys on here" but I doubt there are many people who support the Jackrabbits more than some of the forum members here. That said, I do believe there were some unrealistic expectations for the men's BB program the last couple of years. Why? Because we had so much success at the DII level. Some mistakenly expected that to translate to the DI level. Could have it? Maybe, but it didn't and when I see Udot supporters using the same flawed logic it makes me cringe.

As for the men's team this year, as I said before, focus on the conference season. I think qualifying for the post-season tourney is a great and realistic goal. Once they are in the talk about a birth in the big tourney can begin.

[JackrabbitGuy]

Re: 2008-2009 Predictions

Looking back over the past several seasons, it has been difficult in my opinion to judge expectations because the team has had difficulty holding on to players for various reasons but also because not until last season did the Jacks men get a true picture of what it takes to win at their level of Division I basketball.

I think they and we as fans have had to struggle through the unknowns of first just scheduling any team that would take our game in the non-counter year, then spending a few year stuck between either getting whooped by large conference foes or playing other independent DI teams. Then last year we found out how much difference there is between playing against a loose alliance of independent division I foes and playing in a real established conference. I think most if not all of us were a little surprised at how much the bar was raised when Summit League play began last year and had hoped the team would win a few more conference games.

But now the team can say that we have actually climbed most of the mountain, we can finally see The Summit (conference name pun intended) and have had an off season with little team turnover. The point being that we can actually see the top of the mountain now, even though we're not close to being there yet. This year is a great chance to see what this group can do, and if they can come together and match the intensity that we found in the Summit League.

I agree with jackmd that this means a strong focus on the conference season and preparing to first and foremost defend your homecourt and build from there. This season might not see the Jackrabbits yet have a winning record, but it could and I think there really is a good chance of moving up from the bottom of the conference standings.

We need one of those "we'll be a pretty good team by tournament time" seasons. This team should know enough about what it takes at this level by now to build slowly throughout the season rather than to appear kind of overwhealmed and tired by the season's end.