EMU's own Daylen Harrison gets the countdown going at #25.
http://www.hustlebelt.com/2013/10/13/483...n-harrison

Funny...I don't even think he ends up starting on this year's team.

I do think he'll have a big role though. He's too good of a rebounder and free throw shooter. I'd say he's both the backup 3 and 4.

(10-13-2013 08:14 PM)EagleSam Wrote:  Funny...I don't even think he ends up starting on this year's team.

I do think he'll have a big role though. He's too good of a rebounder and free throw shooter. I'd say he's both the backup 3 and 4.

Maybe we'll be scary good this year?

Not gonna go that far until I see the new guys actually play, but we will be much deeper than last year, to say the least.

Our two biggest issues last year were pretty obvious: scoring consistently and taking care of the ball. Our four newcomers, plus a year of growth from the returnees, should help to somewhat correct those issues. There is so much to say about this team and I'll probably end up writing a far-too-long "preview" at some point, but I'm glad there is some excitement about the team. With the way the football team has looked, this can't come soon enough.

very unexpected. Like Sam, i don't expect Harrison to start. i actually don't think he'll get much playing time at all, but maybe i'm missing something about Harrison. i see him as a nice defender and very limited offensively, but perhaps that will change this year. And Sam, PLEASE write up that preview. i'm dying for conversation about the basketball team.

I'm curious about the three junior college transfers how good is Combs and could he start at guard? How talented is our JUCO center? I believe Ward is good enough to start at either guard or small forward. I see a starting five of Talley, Ward, Bryant, Riley with either Lee, Sims or Combs at the shooting guard spot. I see Harrison as the sixth man.

(10-14-2013 01:11 PM)emu79 Wrote:  I'm curious about the three junior college transfers how good is Combs and could he start at guard? How talented is our JUCO center? I believe Ward is good enough to start at either guard or small forward. I see a starting five of Talley, Ward, Bryant, Riley with either Lee, Sims or Combs at the shooting guard spot. I see Harrison as the sixth man.

I agree. I see Harrison as a 'short 4'.

My hair stood up when I saw him start at '2' last year. He isn't a '2'.

(10-14-2013 01:22 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(10-14-2013 01:11 PM)emu79 Wrote:  I'm curious about the three junior college transfers how good is Combs and could he start at guard? How talented is our JUCO center? I believe Ward is good enough to start at either guard or small forward. I see a starting five of Talley, Ward, Bryant, Riley with either Lee, Sims or Combs at the shooting guard spot. I see Harrison as the sixth man.

I agree. I see Harrison as a 'short 4'.

My hair stood up when I saw him start at '2' last year. He isn't a '2'.

Not to but I disagree.
I think Daylen is a 3/2 kind of player who rebounds better than most 3's and 2's. After watching him in the first game of the season last year, my thought on his offensive game was that he played like a massive Rip Hamilton. The young man has game!

I believe Glenn Bryant is on the Hustlebelt list what kind of year should we expect from him?

(10-17-2013 10:12 AM)emu79 Wrote:  I believe Glenn Bryant is on the Hustlebelt list what kind of year should we expect from him?

IF he can manage to keep himself out of jail, I expect him to be 2nd team All-MAC.

(10-17-2013 10:12 AM)emu79 Wrote:  I believe Glenn Bryant is on the Hustlebelt list what kind of year should we expect from him?

Last year it seemed to me like Bryant took too many bad shots. He an average-at+best shooter that took too many 3-pointers.

Wondering if the presence of the newcomers will make him less inclined to jack up shots. Would rather see him within 15 ft of the rim where he is strong.

(10-17-2013 12:58 PM)TheWoodenNickle Wrote:  

(10-17-2013 10:12 AM)emu79 Wrote:  I believe Glenn Bryant is on the Hustlebelt list what kind of year should we expect from him?

Last year it seemed to me like Bryant took too many bad shots. He an average-at+best shooter that took too many 3-pointers.

Wondering if the presence of the newcomers will make him less inclined to jack up shots. Would rather see him within 15 ft of the rim where he is strong.

Good point.

If Ward can jack up the three, and Riley gets more shots inside and a few more ifs, then GB doesn't need to try and do too much.

Sometimes players try to do too much out of necessity rather than pure desire to be the man.

Glenn's mid-range jumper was terrific last year. It looked like he could get it at will too, but like you guys mentioned, he settled for too many 3's. I cringed every time he pulled up for one...he's just not that good out there. Having Ward and Talley (and Lee...don't sleep on him) will help shoulder the scoring load, so I don't think Bryant's ppg will increase, but his shooting percentage should. Hoping for more 15 footers and dunks this year. That's his game.

in my opinion, Bryant looks best on offense when he's cutting to the hoop without the ball. he takes a good path through the paint and finishes well. He can also hit a 10-15 ft shot when he's squared up to the hoop, but he had a lot of possessions where he was posting a man up from that distance and would then put up an ugly turnaround shot. i'd really like him to take that out of his repertoire.

GB is #10 on the list.

Where is Riley?

My guess is that it would be foolish not to have him on that list.

Murphy thinks Riley could be a top MAC center and a top MAC center belong in... (YOU fill in the blank. I'm not leaving myself wide open on this one... ).

Considering previous production, I understand why Riley didn't make the list. Not exactly eye-popping numbers. It's pretty obvious that Bryant made the list because A) he's our top returning scorer, and B) we know what to expect from him, whereas we aren't entirely sure what Ward and Talley will do. I still think Ward will lead the team in scoring and will be our top vote getter in terms of "All-MAC" accolades.

By the way, our first game (albeit an exhibition) is only a week away!!

Our first 3 games are going to be extreme blowouts/dunk sessions. I think the first real indicators are going to be the 3 games after that. Not expecting much from the UK game but UMass and Purdue should also be some good winnable games.

Yep, I think the Robert Morris game will be our first gauge at what kind of team we really are. Murphy set up a tougher than usual OOC schedule. Forget the paycheck games (Duke, Cuse, UK), even the others are pretty tough. UMass, RMU, Green Bay, Oakland, Clevelad State...none of those will be easy. I like that. This team will be well-tested by the time MAC season rolls around.

(10-28-2013 11:17 AM)EagleSam Wrote:  Considering previous production, I understand why Riley didn't make the list. Not exactly eye-popping numbers. It's pretty obvious that Bryant made the list because A) he's our top returning scorer, and B) we know what to expect from him, whereas we aren't entirely sure what Ward and Talley will do. I still think Ward will lead the team in scoring and will be our top vote getter in terms of "All-MAC" accolades.

How does one assess Riley's abilities?

The player who put up miniscule offensive numbers for most of the season OR the player who was an impact player in the MAC tourney?

I'm 'betting' that if the team's offense isn't constipated that we'll run more and that Riley won't get stuck with the ball 10 feet from the basket and try to make 'chicken salad out of chicken (... )'.

We just can not play such an ugly half court game which might have been good for Wilt or Shaq but not Da'Shonte.

I look for him to be one of the big surprises on the team with Ward and probably Talley.

In Vegas at the beginning of Sept EMU FB was 100:1 to win the MACC (they won't go higher than that, no 10,000:1).

IF Vegas would give me EMU to win the MAC tourney at 10:1 I'd take that in a heart beat.

I'd set odds on teams at say 4 or 5:1, 6:1, 7:1, etc. for the various teams and I still don't know who the favorite is.

I see no favorite at all. Wide open. It could be any of 4 or 5 teams, including EMU.