S35 Conference Preview
Keys to Conference 16 play:
Projected order of Finish:
North:
1. Cinci
2. Dayton
3. Sioux City
4. Peoria
South:
1. St. Louis
2. Youngstown
3. Milwaukee
4. Pontiac
Conference Tourney Champs: St. Louis
NTT Teams: St. Louis, Cinci, Dayton?
Key Players:
Cinci: Eric O’Connell: Has to shoulder the load Outlaw carried for Cinci in conference play. He’s definitely got the talent to be that inside force, maybe without the scoring numbers. His play as a sophomore will be the deciding factor in whether or not Cinci can hold onto the north title.
Dayton: Cody Dollard- Has to be a huge force as an undersized 6-8 center. A very, very capable scorer, needs to average around 16pts and 6 boards while playing his best D against players like O’Connell. He has been inconsistent in the past, but Dayton we’ll need him to be rock solid to take control of the North.
Sioux City: The simpletons still have a very good chance at beating Dayton this year, if SG Claude Muse can be huge and take his team on his shoulders. He has shown signs of being a dominate player in this years first two games.
St. Louis: Dan White: A guy who has not shown up very much for St. Louis in terms of stats and in their last game really never showed up at all. However when St. Louis plays Cinci they’ll probably need some production from White to break Cinci’s hold of power in this conference.
Youngstown: I love the trio of guards they got: Ryan Koch, Bruce Spain, Jerry Peacock. These guys, all upperclassmen, can flat out score… they may not play D or pass the ball, but they’ll shoot lights out. They really have absolutely no one else around them to support, so if they are going to get a big upset its gonna have to come from lights out play by these three. I’m kinda of excited/scared about playing these guys cause they really can lights up the score board.
Games to Watch:
Game 9 and 10 for St. Louis are going to be huge: Cinci vs. St. Louis game 9 and Dayton vs. St Louis in game 10
Both game 6 and 15 will be huge as Cinci and Dayton will battle it out for North Division Supremacy. Also the games between Sioux City and Dayton will be interesting and the Dayton-Youngstown game will be all about revenge as last year Youngstown derailed Dayton’s season with a big upset win.
Summary
This Conference will likely be a three team struggle, but I really don’t see any way St. Louis loses it. The Youngstown and Sioux City teams will be pretty decent and could be set for an upset this year; I’m hoping this conference can sneak three teams into the NTT and maybe both Youngstown and S.C. will get to the PTT. We have 4 teams undefeated + a 1-1 St. Louis team that has played two very difficult games in OOC play so that has to bode pretty well for the conf.
