Where are all the Sycamore fans?

[SycamoreBLUE02]

This is true, but weren't they all on here last year at this point in time predicting that Odum would be all everything short of president of the United States?

Yeah...there was a lot of us on here last year pumped and excited for a stellar season by our Sycamores led by Jake Odum. Jake is a very special talent and has capabilities within his game that you cant teach. He was poised to have a fantastic season but with his injuries (plantar fasciitis in both feet and lower leg stress fracture) he was limited in his athletic ability, foot speed and explosiveness. Even with these problems he still managed to average 10.8 PPG 5.9 RPG and 4.8 APG.....not bad if you ask me.

By all accounts Jake's feet feel great again and according to Coach Lansing he has been impressive to watch in practice and during the summer tour in the Bahamas.

In regards to the opening comments, Yes, Manny Arop has been very impressive with what i've seen and heard. He is a lights out shooter at times and very athletic. This Sycamore team is full of speed and athleticism, the big question mark is how well they gel together and the new guys pick up the system. I would have felt better about our Inside game, especially defensively, if big Mike Samuels (6'11" 285 lbs.) was healthy, but I feel okay about what Kitchell and Gant bring to the table. All in all i think the Sycamores will be a good team come tournament time in Saint Louis, but if things go well and the new guys step up right away perhaps we could be a top 5 team in the Valley.

[Ali]

This is true, but weren't they all on here last year at this point in time predicting that Odum would be all everything short of president of the United States?

Yeah...there was a lot of us on here last year pumped and excited for a stellar season by our Sycamores led by Jake Odum. Jake is a very special talent and has capabilities within his game that you cant teach. He was poised to have a fantastic season but with his injuries (plantar fasciitis in both feet and lower leg stress fracture) he was limited in his athletic ability, foot speed and explosiveness. Even with these problems he still managed to average 10.8 PPG 5.9 RPG and 4.8 APG.....not bad if you ask me.

By all accounts Jake's feet feel great again and according to Coach Lansing he has been impressive to watch in practice and during the summer tour in the Bahamas.

In regards to the opening comments, Yes, Manny Arop has been very impressive with what i've seen and heard. He is a lights out shooter at times and very athletic. This Sycamore team is full of speed and athleticism, the big question mark is how well they gel together and the new guys pick up the system. I would have felt better about our Inside game, especially defensively, if big Mike Samuels (6'11" 285 lbs.) was healthy, but I feel okay about what Kitchell and Gant bring to the table. All in all i think the Sycamores will be a good team come tournament time in Saint Louis, but if things go well and the new guys step up right away perhaps we could be a top 5 team in the Valley.

Welcome to the board. Good assessment.

[mvcfan]

This is true, but weren't they all on here last year at this point in time predicting that Odum would be all everything short of president of the United States?

Yeah...there was a lot of us on here last year pumped and excited for a stellar season by our Sycamores led by Jake Odum. Jake is a very special talent and has capabilities within his game that you cant teach. He was poised to have a fantastic season but with his injuries (plantar fasciitis in both feet and lower leg stress fracture) he was limited in his athletic ability, foot speed and explosiveness. Even with these problems he still managed to average 10.8 PPG 5.9 RPG and 4.8 APG.....not bad if you ask me.

By all accounts Jake's feet feel great again and according to Coach Lansing he has been impressive to watch in practice and during the summer tour in the Bahamas.

In regards to the opening comments, Yes, Manny Arop has been very impressive with what i've seen and heard. He is a lights out shooter at times and very athletic. This Sycamore team is full of speed and athleticism, the big question mark is how well they gel together and the new guys pick up the system. I would have felt better about our Inside game, especially defensively, if big Mike Samuels (6'11" 285 lbs.) was healthy, but I feel okay about what Kitchell and Gant bring to the table. All in all i think the Sycamores will be a good team come tournament time in Saint Louis, but if things go well and the new guys step up right away perhaps we could be a top 5 team in the Valley.

Welcome to the board. Good assessment.

So, from your own assessment that Odum had a nice year (in spite of his injury), he wasn't the reason for the Sycamores sub-par year. If so, then just what was the reason for falling short of expectations?

[SycamoreBLUE02]

I am not sure of any one thing that kept the sycamores from reaching expected levels. I think a lot of it was poor attitudes and non meshing personalities. If you noticed we had a player transfer (Mcwhorter) and a player quit the team before our last game (Carl Richard)....those two things tell me there were issues amongst the team. Lastly, I think the MVC was pretty dang good 1 - 8. It was so tightly pack and competitive that if we would have beaten Creighton the last game we finish 3rd.

[BEARZ77]

Alot was made of Odum's physical problems, but I think as much as anything the league adjusted to what he does and what he can't do. The book is pretty much put a big guard on him, play off him and make him shoot, and when he drives don't come off your man and make him make shots. That philosophy resulted in him shooting 28% from the trey line, 42% from the field and having close to 100 turnovers. Add a mediocre 72% ft conversion and he looks like a good[ based on assists/steals/rebounds] but not special player. Now quality players are defined by how they adjust after the league adjusts to them, so he'll have his chance this year to re-establish himself as a possible elite player, but to do so he has to shoot better and show better judgement with the ball. It'll be interesting to see how he's advanced his game and how much was injury vs team's defending him better last year.

[SycamoreBLUE02]

I think some of his struggles came from the league adjusting and trying to take away his strengths and i didn't mean to portray an idea that the defenses had nothing to do with it. However, I promise you the young man was struggling most of the time to be prepared to take the floor come game day. I have seen this young man play since he was a freshman in high school and his dedication and fortitude are second to none that i have witnessed. (Read: I am sure there are others who are like him but i haven't witnessed them.) He is capable of overcoming the adjustments that teams show him I just hope that he isn't hampered the rest of his career with nagging feet problems....but as i mentioned earlier Coach Lansing said he is back to full health....I just hope it stays that way.

[glm38]

I hope Odium is healthy too. But if I was a sycamore fan I would be worried. Plantar fascitis is often a chronic condition.

[Altheexpert]

I'm looking forward to the season. I hope the local expectations have returned to realistic levels. It's nice not to read so many crazy posts! Last year wasn't that bad of a year when you look at the big picture for ther Sycs. We had a real shot for third despite turmoil and off court issues. As described those boiled over late.

The conference is very good. I'm hopeful for a top half finish. If we can get that (and I think we can), we can then set more loftier goals.

I think we'll play more as a team, but only time will tell. We have some really intriguing new pieces to the puzzle, but our new "big" is already hurt. I don't think anyone knows who will play other than Jake. There are lots of guys to pick from though. The red shirt from Indy is my sleeper to have a nice year. It does seem that the guys bonded well in the Bahamas. The question as usual is who will rebound and defend the post?

Jake is a very solid point guard, but some of our fans have made it nearly impossible for him to play to their expectations. The breakdown earlier here on him is pretty solid. I hope he's healthy, but foot injuries are hard to ever get over. If he becomes a solid shooter, he'll really be a force.

Best of luck to everyone.