Early Season Review/Preview

[beauspencer]

After watching the amazing win at Wisconsin, I held off anointing this team a Summit League contender. Following the second game I still didn't know enough to offer a decent review against the competition faced. Three games in, I feel I have a decent amount of info to offer a careful preview of the season after reviewing the first three games. A review/preview if you will...

1) It starts with the quarterback at point guard, Jabari Sandifer. Since he stepped foot on campus he's been expected to be the leader of the team on the floor. For the most part he's a 3-year starter and is a savvy veteran. He showed that on Tuesday night against UIC flashing a Ceola Clark-like stat line. He continues to grow as a player and any team that expects to contend must have a leader at the PG. The Leathernecks have that in Jabari Sandifer.

2) Scoring. Garret Covington has basically been the go-to scorer for the Leathernecks the past couple seasons. It's not a good thing when a team has one man to lean on offensively. J.C. Fuller began to take on a scorer's role last season, and in a small sample size through three games this year he looks to be a potential breakout player in the Summit League. Western has used some balanced scoring in three games. Three players (Covington, Fuller, and Sandifer) are averaging double figures, and Jalen Morgan is right behind at 8 ppg.

3) Covington's All-Around Play. As mentioned in #2, in his freshman and sophomore seasons the team leaned on Covington to be the offensive output. That's not the case as he has developed a more well-rounded game. His scoring is down a notch, but his assists are up, and more importantly it makes opposing teams not solely focus on one scoring threat in a Leathernecks jersey.

4) Depth. This may be the most important change from years past. Not only does this roster have numbers, it has quality numbers. Take for example neither Mike Miklusak nor Jamie Batish played against Wisconsin. A big upset win.

5) Forecast: I'm not saying you should pencil WIU into a NCAA Tournament bracket in a few months, but I'm also not saying this team is the ninth best team in a nine-team Summit League. Watching two of the first three games I really like what I've seen. The Eastern Illinois game will give me a much better idea about this team. This past Saturday I would have told you the win over Wisconsin was a fluke. Then I watched the UIC game. Admittedly, UIC looked really, really bad....but is that because WIU is really, really good? We'll see.

[sealhall74]

Good analysis, Beau. Agree, our #1-#3 guys are very good and should keep us no worse than middle of the pack in Summit League. You did not say much about our bigs so I will throw in my 2cents worth. The #4 and #5 guys will need to step up their games if we are to become better than middle of the pack. My first impressions, we are weak literally and figuratively and fouls are likely to become an issue. Evidence: Fuller leading the team in rebounding not by a little but by a lot. We do have a little depth there, but not much. Summit League is very physical in the paint. When push comes to shove, will our bigs be able to shove back?

[Necks2003]

Good analysis, Beau. Agree, our #1-#3 guys are very good and should keep us no worse than middle of the pack in Summit League. You did not say much about our bigs so I will throw in my 2cents worth. The #4 and #5 guys will need to step up their games if we are to become better than middle of the pack. My first impressions, we are weak literally and figuratively and fouls are likely to become an issue. Evidence: Fuller leading the team in rebounding not by a little but by a lot. We do have a little depth there, but not much. Summit League is very physical in the paint. When push comes to shove, will our bigs be able to shove back?

I like that we get to ask the question this year about how our bigs are going to be able to handle things. We haven't had any real defensive or offensive threat down low in years. Gilbeck is young and learning, but I like what I see in limited minutes so far. He will only get better and is already blocking and midirecting shots down low. Stensgard seems to match up much better at the 4 position as well.

[wiu2008]

I think this group has a chance to be very formidable.

I'll go with a prediction of 8-3 non conference and 8-8 in conference. for a 16-11 record going into the conference tournament.

That would be enough for this team to qualify for some kind of postseason for the 3rd time in 5 years.

And definitely a group that would be a tough out in South Dakota

[WIU0812]

I think this group has a chance to be very formidable.

I'll go with a prediction of 8-3 non conference and 8-8 in conference. for a 16-11 record going into the conference tournament.

That would be enough for this team to qualify for some kind of postseason for the 3rd time in 5 years.

And definitely a group that would be a tough out in South Dakota

This is a believable prediction for sure, I am trying not to get excited about the quality wins so far as I remember last year we started out halfway decent and then just tanked and were terrible after a few injuries. Hopefully we can keep healthy all year.

[cubsflag]

Good analysis, Beau. Agree, our #1-#3 guys are very good and should keep us no worse than middle of the pack in Summit League. You did not say much about our bigs so I will throw in my 2cents worth. The #4 and #5 guys will need to step up their games if we are to become better than middle of the pack. My first impressions, we are weak literally and figuratively and fouls are likely to become an issue. Evidence: Fuller leading the team in rebounding not by a little but by a lot. We do have a little depth there, but not much. Summit League is very physical in the paint. When push comes to shove, will our bigs be able to shove back?

are there any quality big men in the summit?and how physical will play be with new rules and circle a foot further out.its a good time to have 3 good guards.

[sealhall74]

Good analysis, Beau. Agree, our #1-#3 guys are very good and should keep us no worse than middle of the pack in Summit League. You did not say much about our bigs so I will throw in my 2cents worth. The #4 and #5 guys will need to step up their games if we are to become better than middle of the pack. My first impressions, we are weak literally and figuratively and fouls are likely to become an issue. Evidence: Fuller leading the team in rebounding not by a little but by a lot. We do have a little depth there, but not much. Summit League is very physical in the paint. When push comes to shove, will our bigs be able to shove back?

are there any quality big men in the summit?and how physical will play be with new rules and circle a foot further out.its a good time to have 3 good guards.

I dont foresee any prolific scorers in the paint but I do see a few space eaters. It is a guard-dominant league for sure (9 of 10 preseason team picks are Gs).

[Neckfansince71]

IMO, big men do not arrive in "mid major land" fully developed and often not ready for primetime as freshmen. I like what Brandon Gilbeck brings to the table and he is only going to get stronger and more polished. Jordan Hughes obviously needs more work or we would have seen more of him at this point. But they both need significant time in practice and the weight room. If I am the HC, I've got my big boys working on "big man drills" each and every day as a group and individually. That would include Mikans, powerups, tips, pin and spin, along with 1 on 1 and 2 on 2 to work on both high low and defense. I really don't think red shirting Jalen Morgan really hurt him as far as development is concerned even though the Necks could have used him last year. He has some ability at the rim, can tip the ball and shoot it too. Jalen Chapman actually looks like he knows what his role is this year and he has filled the post sub role so far. I really felt last year that he was pretty rough as far as ability and body control. He looks much better at this point. A healthy Tate makes all the difference in the world. I really like his attitude and his "non stop" motor on defense and offense. He and Jalen M. are really supplying a 1-2 punch so far at the 4 spot . Coach Wright hired Mark Vershaw to tutor our “bigs” and I think this is really going to help. An off season with individual instruction and the weight room will really help too! Just my take on things. Seal, it is a Guards conference at the present time. I like how things are developing with our 1's, 2's, and 3's also! jc

[beauspencer]

I'll echo what Neckfansince71 said and add that the addition of Mark Vershaw to the coaching staff is big...pun intended. After watching him coach in practice the night before the Wisconsin game, I came away very impressed with how he taught the game during drills he ran. Tate is a 4, and I am impressed with Gilbeck's play as a true freshman to this point. He only gets better. Being a little weaker in the post is much less detrimental to a team at this level.

[cubsflag]

mark vershaw was a fantastic addition.not only can he coach but i bet he finds a couple good players too.this program is looking up.and with ill. and ill. st taking their lumps wiu could be number one program(besides simeon) in illinois.