Summit Preseason Picks

[tmh8286]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Interesting discussion, guys. I like the way that FargoBison ordered the teams - I think he's got them ranked pretty well - although, I have a feeling that when the dust clears at the end of the season the Eagles will be higher than fourth.

[zooropa]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

I think Kampe & Co. sweep quite a few teams this year.

SDSU gets Oakland at home as part of a doubleheader again.

They might be able to split with the Grizzlies because of that--last year's SDSU/OU doubleheader had about 5k people at it, and (barring weather) I expect even more this year. Anything over 4k at Frost is quite intimidating, due to the size of the venue.

[Kemo]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Kemo: Gotta give it up to your optimism. But then again, everyone's an optimist this time of the year. Every team is still undefefated.

Hey, as a Bears fan, I've been waiting for a legitimate QB to come to Chicago since I first started watching football, so I am kind of excited about Cutler!

[zooropa]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Hey, as a Bears fan, I've been waiting for a legitimate QB to come to Chicago since I first started watching football, so I am kind of excited about Cutler!

Imagine how excited you'd be if a legitimate QB really was coming to Chicago.

(cue rimshot).

[Kemo]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Imagine how excited you'd be if a legitimate QB really was coming to Chicago.

(cue rimshot).

Probably as excited as I was during the 2006-7 season when Rex Grossman was ripping up the league for the first 5 games... and then Rex was who Denny Green thought he was

Of course he did let him off the hook!

[zooropa]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

he did let him off the hook!

As a Vikings fan, I got a particularly special kind of satisfaction from watching the Denny Green meltdown.

Turns out Denny Green was who I thought he was.....

[NoVaJack]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Hey, as a Bears fan, I've been waiting for a legitimate QB to come to Chicago since I first started watching football, so I am kind of excited about Cutler!

Bobby Douglass wasn't a legitimate quarterback?

[Kemo]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Bobby Douglass wasn't a legitimate quarterback?

Since he retired before I was born, I can't say he wasn't legitimate, but I can say he wasn't relevant when I started watching NFL football in '91 at the ripe old age seven.

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Back on topic....don't for a second count out IUPUI for that #2 spot. I think, realistically, the #1 spot is out of reach for everyone save Oakland, but IUPUI returns some solid players and could easily have a nice season.

How far can ORU fall? They've never finished lower than 3rd in the MidCon/Summit and I can't possibly see that happening this year. If all goes wrong they still probably slide in at #3 simply b/c after 1 and before 8, 9, 10 it's all so even and they stand out amongst the 2-7 group.

I'm doing my homework and soon I'll have a full breakdown of the Summit....

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Good work on the SUU stuff. I didn't know they were in such shambles and it has prompted me to get up to speed on the Summit.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

I'm a little puzzled by the "Oakland walks away with it" theory. Are they going to be good? Sure, but do they lose 2 games or go undefeated? Maybe, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[Old Titan]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Proof positive that you've arrived late to the discussion: when the debate has shifted to the merits of Bobby Douglas as Bears' QB.

So - for what it's worth - here's the simple reason why ORU is always in the top three of the conference year in and year out: team defense.

And, when they have the offense to go along with it, they win the darn thing.

This season? Top three finish again, for the same reason, with IUPUI edging out the Golden Eagles for runner-up. Oakland wins the regular season crown by at least a couple of games.

SDSU is the dark horse at #4. Looking forward to the potential match-up of #1 seed Oakland vs. the #4 seed Jackrabbits in the tournament semi's in Sioux Falls. The winner of that wild one gets #3 ORU (a last-second winner over hard-luck #2 seed IUPUI) in the finals on ESPN. The eventual tournament champion: Oakland (but the Golden Eagles earn preseason favorite status for '10-'11 with eight of their top nine players returning).

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

Welcome to the board Old Titan...stick around for awhile, or come back when we're in basketball season. We had a huge win over Georgia Southern Saturday (44-6) so the focus now is fball, but that will change soon.

I think alot of people aren't giving IUPUI enough credit (nice to see you have them at #2). I think ORU could easily finish #2 but IUPUI is looking real solid and a bit more seasoned than ORU. I'm planning on doing a rundown on them and everyone else once the season gets a little closer.

I think the two current Dakota schools have solid futures and that the top 5 of the Summit could and should be pretty solid for awhile.

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

I'm a little puzzled by the "Oakland walks away with it" theory. Are they going to be good? Sure, but do they lose 2 games or go undefeated? Maybe, but I'll believe it when I see it.

I'm not going to be 100% accurate, but don't have time to look up official stats right now....

OU returns everyone but Kangas. Jones led the nation in assists and Benson was 4th in FG% and 10th in blocks. They also add Reggie Hamilton who averaged 12ppg at UMKC for 2 years. They bring back Nelson who would've been a POTY candidate last year had he not been hurt. He was first team Summit the year before averaging 17 PPG and 7 RPG. They also add Larry Wright who averaged 9 PPG at St. Johns as a sophmore. Their bench is strong. They have three very solid players that could all start. Hudson in 6'9 and started for them all last year and averaged something like 7 ppg and 5 rpg. Cushingberry and Maynard are both big (6'5 and 6'7) G/F types who can both stroke the trey and both averaged around 7 PPG game last year. They have 7-footer on the bench and a decent looking 6'9 rs freshman. Any of their top 8 could drop 25 any given night. Benson, Jones and Nelson are POTY candidates and Hamilton and Wright would be considered if only they were on other teams. Their first three off the bench could and most likely would start for every other team in the league.

[Rabbit74]

Re: Summit Preseason Picks

I picked up a copy of Lindy's College Basketball magazine 2009-2010. They pick the Summit as follows.

1. Oakland
2. IUPUI
3. SDSU
4. ORU
5. SUU
6. NDSU
7. IPFW
8. W. Ill
9. UMKC
10. Centenary