vtbballfan

I think its a bit early due to transfers, recruits, injuries etc but I just saw this article
http://basketballpredictions.blogspo...nferences.html

SaltySeawolf

Pretty good analysis by someone who obviously never saw an AE game the past season. I like how he characterizes Tommy Brenton as "not a true point guard." No crap Sherlock. With incoming freshman, Vin Baker, errrr I mean Jameel Warney, I have SB struggling a bit early but coming of age down the stretch. Vermont and Albany fight it out for the regular season crown. SB beats two seed Vermont in the semi's and four seed Hartford beats one seed Albany in the conference tourny. SB hosts Hartford in the AE championship game on the campus of stately Stony Brook U.

1 - Albany
2 - Vermont
3 - Stony Brook
4 - Hartford
5 - Boston U
6 - New Hampshire
7 - Maine
8 - UMBC
9 - Binghamton

NotDeadYet

My crystal ball is a bit hazy right now. For some reason I'm seeing Vermont running the table in conference and then winning 2 games in the NCAA tourney.

I'm also seeing a couple of goldfish and some green gravel.

Patch

NDY - sounds pretty good!!!

WrenFGun

1. Vermont
2. BU
3. Albany
4. Stony Brook
5. Hartford
6. Maine
7. UMBC
8. New Hampshire
9. Binghamton

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farfromtheshow

I don't see it with BU at all... Who is going to actually score? JOB hasn't played in a year and a half, so who knows what he has at this point. Irving fell off the face of the earth down the stretch. Dom Morris looks more and more like he will never reach his potential, and while he will be a serviceable Big, he will never be an impact player... after that it is role-players and un-tested freshmen...

usslider

You mean we might not be picked #1 in the coaches poll this year??? Sweet! We're a lock for first place then!

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usslider

Kidding aside, I'm a little more optimistic about next year and see us finishing Top 3

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farfromtheshow

I'd like to believe that, but someone has to step the !$!##%!@# up

UVM Hoop Cat

Obviously a lot can change and rosters aren't even complete, but if season started tomorrow I think the same teams that were in the top 4 this past season will finish top 4- with Hartford having the best chance from the rest to crack top 4.

Most interesting teams to me will be BU and SBU, who lost a lot but still have a number of key guys returning and some strong newcomers on paper.

I'm real curious to see what BU will be like next season.

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WrenFGun

Just compare them to the teams below them ... do you really expect a team with Suero, Black and Aronhalt to make the leap next year? I don't. I think they'll be good, possibly a little bit better than last year, but largely inconsistent. BU has O'Brien, Morris, Irving, Robinson, Thomas and some talented newcomers. There's a lot of talent there and I think they may actually be better without having to just allow Partin to take a lot of shops. Irving with the ball more seems generally like a good idea.

I think the only team that can touch the top 4 this year is Hartford, though I see Hartford and Maine as clearly the next two teams outside the top 4. The only reason I picked Binghamton below UNH is because the uncertainty of the transfer situation. UNH has one player on their roster who can score consistently right now, a bunch of players who shouldn't see the floor and some freshman. Might be a reverse homer here, but I couldn't be less excited about the current roster makeup.

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Please fire Bill Herrion.

oceandogs

I'm cautiously optimistic about next year for Stony Brook. I think having Brenton coming back for a fifth year is HUGE for Stony Brook. His ability to play as a point forward should help ease the transition for whoever wins the starting job at point guard and his presence on the glass will take some pressure of the new bigs (Mayo, Warney, King). I think the team will be more talented next year; it's just a matter of whether they can play with the iq and composure as guys like Dougher and Joyner

farfromtheshow

I was never a Darryl Partin guy... but, BU without him literally has ZERO known commodities scoring the ball... If everyone pans out and plays up to the dreaded word "potential" then, sure, they could be great. But how often does that actually happen in the America East.

Their two best players are Irving and O'Brien.
-Irving was wildly, WILDLY inconsistent. I'm probably the biggest DJ Irving guy around, but he completely disappeared in the 2nd half of the conference slate: He was tentative, nervous, and just stopped attacking the hoop... That is a scary thought. He has never been a primary scorer, so to expect him to suddenly become one is really difficult to do... and when you look at the people around him, it is just as difficult to feel confident that someone else will step up.

-O'Brien (another guy I am a huge fan of) literally has not played basketball in a year and a half, and is coming off of two major surgeries on his ankle/foot. Once again, the talent is there to be the best big in the conference, but we have no clue what he is going to be able to bring to the table after such a long lay-off... Look how rusty Tommy Brenton was for the first half of this year, and Brenton only missed a year. O'Brien is coming off of a significantly longer lay-off. Once again, very hard to expect him to step in and be the go-to guy.

Dom Morris? Really? Dom Morris? A kid who - no disrespect - but looks like the biggest bust to wear the Scarlet and White in a very, very long time. A guy who scored in double figures all of three-times last year. Don't get me wrong, Morris is definitely serviceable, but he is still lacking what has always been the most important ingredient in being a good - let alone great - America East player: Heart and Desire. He is far from a cornerstone, or someone whose production you can hang your hat on.

Travis Robinson is a spot up shooter and solid but unspectacular defender. Every team needs one guy who can shoot (at least one), and he can knock down the uncontested three... but he's a bit-role player right now.

Malik Thomas is still very, very raw and very, very skinny. He's a huge unknown. Could be good (heck, even great down the road), but right now, he is so far from a sure thing...

My point is this, BU has far, far too many question marks for me to project them in the top 2... maybe even top 3. They lost a heck of a lot more than Vermont did, and Albany has a ton more "known commodities" on their roster as well. I just think there are far too many variables to project BU as the preseason champ... but that's just me.

i saw a seawolf once

50% agree

BU will be a solid group next year. i see them in the top 4. But Albany on paper should be the team to beat in my eyes. If will brown can get suero to play D and play 100% all the time albany will only lose 1 or 2 games. That should be Will Brown's main focus this off season. Black will be black, aronhalt will be aronhalt and the rest will get better. Aronhalt also needs to be healthy. I guess we will see.

#1 - Albany - brings back the biggest 3 threats in the league
#2 - Vermont - returns everyone except glass off a 20+ win season. glass hurts
#3 - Stony Brook - brings back coley and tommy two guys who helped lead the team last year. hopefuly coley gets better like he did from his freshman to sophmore season. Warney is the best recruit coming into the AE. McGywnn carried Vermont hopefully warney can do the same.
#4 - Boston U

farfromtheshow

That is a huge statement to make considering how highly Watson is ranked for BU and the kind of season O'Day had at the highest Prep level on his way to UVM... I don't think you can be that definitive.

It is worth noting that only 2 times in the last 11 seasons has an America East freshman led a team in either scoring, rebounding, or blocks and that team went to the NCAA tournament: 2002 BU (Chaz Carr led the team in scoring) 2012 Vermont (Four McGlynn, scoring)... The point being, freshmen almost NEVER carry their team to the NCAA's at the America East level.