Predictions!

Well, the season starts tonight, so I suppose it’s time to resurrect the ol’ blog for one more year. To those of you who are still reading this thing (by my estimations, there are roughly 4 of you after Beej’s farewell post), thanks for sticking around. For anyone new to the blog, welcome. If you’re looking for news or legitimate, meaningful analysis, you’re in the wrong place. Go check out Friarblog or Friar Basketball, two blogs that are way better than me at this stuff. If you want snarky and/or obscenity-laced rants about the shortcomings of the team, this is the place for you. Anyway, since the season is getting underway with the matchup vs. Dartmouth at the Dunk tonight, I think I should get some predictions for the season out there so I’ll look brilliant when they turn out to be right.*

Overall Record- 15-16. Most of those wins are going to come out of conference again this year. I can talk myself into a 9-4 nonconference record considering some of the cupcakes we have scheduled. Prairie View A&M might not even be a real school. That said, I’m sure there will be one ugly loss in there, given the team’s track record in recent years. Northeastern always gives the Friars fits, so I’m looking there. Also, expect losses to Alabama, Mizzou, and BC, none of which are exactly stellar programs, but are at least good enough to take care of business against us.
Big East record- 6-12, good for 12th place. Actually a slight improvement on last year, and possibly too optimistic. Having Rutgers on the schedule twice certainly helps. I’m also penciling in wins vs. USF (at the Dunk), DePaul, and Cincy, along with an upset vs. Louisville in the first game back after Christmas break. I’m expecting a large turnout for that game due to the two promotions going on that night: Mr. Potato Head Night and Yell Premature Ejaculation Jokes at Rick Pitino for 3 Hours Night. On the other side, look for a lot of ugly losses, particularly on the road where some of the young players on this team may be rattled by opposing fans. Seton Hall and the very evenly matched USF feel like losses, along with the expected losses to the top tier Big East teams such as Nova, Pitt, and Georgetown.
Postseason- Still don’t know how the CBI selection process works. Or even if the CBI still exists for that matter. I’m definitely not seeing the NIT in our future, though.

Best home win- They always pull at least one upset out of their ass. Louisville looks like a good candidate. The following game against Nova may be closer than you’d expect too, especially if Nova finds the top 5 in the polls and the student body shows up. …Alright, fine, we’ll probably lose that game by 30. Whatever.
Worst home loss- Like I said, Northeastern always makes me nervous.
Best road win- Road wins are going to be hard to come by with such a young cast. Rutgers actually might be our only road win this year, not counting the first Cancun game, unless we find a way to stick it to the Superfrauds up in Chestnut Hill. Conte Forum is our house, after all.

Worst road loss- USF or Seton Hall. The Hall at least still has Jeremy Hazell, so I’d say USF is probably going to be the worse of the two.

Scoring leader- Has to be Marshon Brooks. It’s finally his turn to be the best scorer on the team. He’s wanted the spotlight his entire career here, and now he’s got it. He’s got one last shot to have a good consistent full season instead of lighting up the nonconference cupcakes and disappearing in the Big East schedule.
Rebounding leader- With Greedy gone for doing God knows what with 15 year olds, Bilal Dixon is going to need to take over the glass duty. He’s now the elder statesman of a very young frontcourt, and is going to have to take on a lot of the rebounding load, especially in the Big East schedule where the younger, less developed big men are going to be overwhelmed at times.
Assists leader- Vincent “The Shining Beacon of Hope” Council. If the Friars are going to have any success this season, it will be directly due to the efforts of VC. He showed flashes of brilliance throughout last year, and is expected to step up to the next level this year. With Sharaud Curry gone, he’s got the car keys. Expect a more uptempo transition offense with some of the more complacent (read: LAZY) older guys gone and the much more dynamic Council running the show.

Blocks leader- Again, has to be Bilal Dixon. He brings a lot of intensity to the table, and can only get better on the defensive end. In fact, the rest of the team will be better on defense this year as well. Primarily because it’s impossible to get worse without playing 4 guys instead of 5 at a time.
Steals leader- Marshon Brooks. Allegedly he’s been putting a lot of time into becoming a better defensive player over the offseason. I’ll believe it when I see results on the court, but for now I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
FG% leader- Ray “The Fucking Ostrogoth” Hall. He’ll take 7 shots this year and hit all of them. He will then celebrate by killing and eating a god damn rhinoceros.
3FG% leader- Duke Mondy, hopefully. Providence has been a team that has relied heavily on the 3 ball under Keno Davis, but enters the season with a huge chunk of their three point production from last year out the door due to graduation and/or smoking dope with minors. Mondy has to fit into a role as a sharpshooter who can provide some instant offense off the bench for this team to be successful on the offensive end.

Team MVP- Council. He consistently made his teammates better when he was handed the reins last year. Look for him to repeat that this year, acting as the floor general for the inexperienced Friars.
Best newcomer- Gerard Coleman. There’s a reason he was a top 60 recruit, and there’s a reason he’s starting tonight in his first game. His performance this year will be vitally important to the Friars, both this year, and for the next several years to come. After Keno’s recruits imploded in a big way last year, Coleman could be the key to turning the program around and potentially saving Keno’s job.

Good to be back. See you in the student section tonight.

-SM

*Disclaimer: All predictions wrong or your money back. Hell, I don’t even know who half the players on this team are.