With MAC basketball teams loaded with Portal Transfers picking the best is really going to be a crap shoot.
Lots of changes to Especially last years bottom teams with 6,7 or 8 new scholarship players and some all new coaching staffs.
MAC certainly had some good players move elsewhere however there are several new exciting faces to greet fans that can actually attend games again this winter.
CMU looks to have added several quality transfer portal players including former Detroit prep standout Jermaine Jackson Jr., an Australian shooting guard, what looks to be a stretch 5 and a PF with high accolades but not much production at the college level. Haven’t seen much about EMU. I did see NIU added a nice transfer from MN I think. Will be interesting.
(05-29-2021 08:00 AM)okgc Wrote: [ -> ]Just a reminder how the Covid year ended.
https://getsomemaction.com/standings.aspx?path=mbball
Any predictions for last years true bottom teams CMU, EMU, WMU & NIU next year?
portal has been pretty kind to the MAC so far. Of the bottom teams I'd point to NIU improving the most. Their new HC brought in transfer forwards from Minn and Arizona St whose size and athleticism will be high level for the MAC. They got a talented local kid to come home from Tulsa at pg and a veteran sg transfer to go with some returning capable role players on the wings and inside.
Barbee at CMU seems to have a short term plan with a lot of new transfers who have experience and should be decent MAC players right away, but the emphasis was on low major guys moving up a notch to the MAC so we'll see how they adjust. They got an Australian guard Cam Heely from an east coast team that was dynamite early in his college career but had an injury and cooled off. Not sure which version will show up in mt pleasant. barbee has added great interior depth as they got 4 guys in the 6-9 to 6-10 range and none are stiffs or 1st year freshmen (the 5th one is a stiff, imo). transfer jermaine jackson jr will play a lot of pg for them, his 3rd team. chemistry?
emu is rebuilding a bit more slowly. stan heath has slowly put together a pretty good staff and started to fill out the roster. they got a 6-9 center prospect today from ohio, by way of prep school, named mo njie, whom toledo recruited for a while in 2018-19 when he had MAC A10 Big East offers. his recruiting cooled off late and he ends up at emu, but a big guy with some talent. they got some solid veteran transfers at forward and shooting guard. got lucky when talented 6-4 pg luka savicevic, asked for a release when hc wes miller left unc-greensboro and reopened his recruitment at the height of the portal. with more immediate help out there for most teams heath snuck in and sold lil luka on being their pg of the future. talented frosh. and long term heath keeps adding young big guys who may need time to develop. if his transfer recruits provide enough immediate scoring help to allow a couple of the returning veterans to relax into more natural roles, and a couple of the big freshman group are good I wouldn't be shocked if emu doesn't look tough for a stretch at some point of the season. not sure when that might be. or if it's enough to move out of the bottom, in a more middle heavy mac.
wmu has interesting frontcourt transfers who have some injury history. if both are at the top of their game they could have a solid frontcourt w wright coming back. overall success prob depends the most on how much b artis white improves because he will make a lot of decisions with the ball and take a lot of shots. i like lobsinger's potential. overall, i'd say wmu improved in the transfer wars but i don't see any all mac players on the roster. wmu was the best of the weak mac programs last yr and prob is back towards the middle.
ball state looks most likely to drop i the standings. kent has some holes to fill in recruiting still.
ohio, toledo, bg and buffalo are all pretty loaded and have the most proven talent. i'd keep them as the top tier and keep an eye on akron and miami (the most stable roster in the mac with a lot of their top players now upperclassmen).
Thanks for the great input!
Ohio and Miami look to have maintained or added to.
KSU, Akron, and the Western Division took the biggest hits.
WMU trimmed and pruned less productive branches and shored up critical positions.
In all the questions is how will it play out. Alchemy and injuries will impact.
For WMU inside play is the question mark. Primarily health and improving the use of Titus.
For WMU, as much as I hate going small in this league you can get away with it and I think WMU has the quality depth needed to pull that off. But take it outside the league and squish.
This staff must win this year. A significant and meaningful jump.
I expect Norman and White to man the backcourt with Freeman at the wing. MacMillian and Wright inside.
Martin and Miller backing up with Hastings and Kolp doing the same. Martin can slide to the wing pushing Freeman to the 4 to go small.
(05-30-2021 10:00 AM)gobaseline Wrote: [ -> ]Ohio and Miami look to have maintained or added to.
KSU, Akron, and the Western Division took the biggest hits.
WMU trimmed and pruned less productive branches and shored up critical positions.
In all the questions is how will it play out. Alchemy and injuries will impact.
For WMU inside play is the question mark. Primarily health and improving the use of Titus.
For WMU, as much as I hate going small in this league you can get away with it and I think WMU has the quality depth needed to pull that off. But take it outside the league and squish.
This staff must win this year. A significant and meaningful jump.
I expect Norman and White to man the backcourt with Freeman at the wing. MacMillian and Wright inside.
Martin and Miller backing up with Hastings and Kolp doing the same. Martin can slide to the wing pushing Freeman to the 4 to go small.
Is Miller AKA Mack Smith?
(05-30-2021 01:21 AM)pono Wrote: [ -> ] (05-29-2021 08:00 AM)okgc Wrote: [ -> ]Just a reminder how the Covid year ended.
https://getsomemaction.com/standings.aspx?path=mbball
Any predictions for last years true bottom teams CMU, EMU, WMU & NIU next year?
portal has been pretty kind to the MAC so far. Of the bottom teams I'd point to NIU improving the most. Their new HC brought in transfer forwards from Minn and Arizona St whose size and athleticism will be high level for the MAC. They got a talented local kid to come home from Tulsa at pg and a veteran sg transfer to go with some returning capable role players on the wings and inside.
Barbee at CMU seems to have a short term plan with a lot of new transfers who have experience and should be decent MAC players right away, but the emphasis was on low major guys moving up a notch to the MAC so we'll see how they adjust. They got an Australian guard Cam Heely from an east coast team that was dynamite early in his college career but had an injury and cooled off. Not sure which version will show up in mt pleasant. barbee has added great interior depth as they got 4 guys in the 6-9 to 6-10 range and none are stiffs or 1st year freshmen (the 5th one is a stiff, imo). transfer jermaine jackson jr will play a lot of pg for them, his 3rd team. chemistry?
emu is rebuilding a bit more slowly. stan heath has slowly put together a pretty good staff and started to fill out the roster. they got a 6-9 center prospect today from ohio, by way of prep school, named mo njie, whom toledo recruited for a while in 2018-19 when he had MAC A10 Big East offers. his recruiting cooled off late and he ends up at emu, but a big guy with some talent. they got some solid veteran transfers at forward and shooting guard. got lucky when talented 6-4 pg luka savicevic, asked for a release when hc wes miller left unc-greensboro and reopened his recruitment at the height of the portal. with more immediate help out there for most teams heath snuck in and sold lil luka on being their pg of the future. talented frosh. and long term heath keeps adding young big guys who may need time to develop. if his transfer recruits provide enough immediate scoring help to allow a couple of the returning veterans to relax into more natural roles, and a couple of the big freshman group are good I wouldn't be shocked if emu doesn't look tough for a stretch at some point of the season. not sure when that might be. or if it's enough to move out of the bottom, in a more middle heavy mac.
wmu has interesting frontcourt transfers who have some injury history. if both are at the top of their game they could have a solid frontcourt w wright coming back. overall success prob depends the most on how much b artis white improves because he will make a lot of decisions with the ball and take a lot of shots. i like lobsinger's potential. overall, i'd say wmu improved in the transfer wars but i don't see any all mac players on the roster. wmu was the best of the weak mac programs last yr and prob is back towards the middle.
ball state looks most likely to drop i the standings. kent has some holes to fill in recruiting still.
ohio, toledo, bg and buffalo are all pretty loaded and have the most proven talent. i'd keep them as the top tier and keep an eye on akron and miami (the most stable roster in the mac with a lot of their top players now upperclassmen).
Fairly good analysis with EMU who I agree is looking at foundational players like Njie and Randle as bigs. I like Rice who will have four years after one juco year.
We have one more to give. Having Binelli back will be,a plus. Bowling Green has hit the portal hard with at least 5 transfers. Really agree about NIU who could have a breakout year. Ball St didn't need much and I still see them second in the West behind Toledo.
