#12 - Little Rock

I'm sorry, Trojan fans, but the numbers just are not there to justify picking us any higher. Do I think we will end up here? No, I don't. But I try to be consistently by the numbers on these guesses, with just a little dose of gut feel, and there is just no other place to put us

POSITIVES: There is a ton of potential on this roster. IF, if, if things come together this could be a first division team. Mompremier is a proven interior defender and rebounder. Oliver Black has tons of upside. Together they could be one of the better inside tandems in the Belt. Deondre Burns came on strong at the end of last season. Some of our recruits sport some nice numbers. Andre Jones is a tremendous athlete. There are a lot of things here upon which Flanigan can build, and yes, there are reasons to be encouraged.

NEGATIVES. Zero returning starters from a sub-.500 team. That one statement hangs like a cloud over this prediction. Most of those positives listed above are "maybe" positives. There are going to be a ton of minutes played this season by players who have not had a single minute of D1 experience. Plus, this coaching staff has yet to prove that they can get the job done.

I tried hard to convince myself that we ought to go a notch of two higher, but just could not. Again, I do not think we will end up in the cellar, because some of the positive factors will indeed happen. Until they do, however, it was the only thing I could do. Obviously, this is one prediction where I want to be very, very wrong.