MVC Pre-Season: Panthers Picked First, Green, Phyfe and Berhow named All-MVC

[ronfitch]

"The UNI men's basketball team has been picked to finish first in the Missouri Valley Conference as voted by coaches, sports information directors, and media.

The Panthers finished with 30 first place votes followed by Loyola with 13 and Bradley with one vote. The last time the Panthers were selected as the preseason favorite was prior to the 2009-10 season, that year the Panthers won the MVC Tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with victories over UNLV and Kansas."

Green named pre-season PoY. Green and Phyfe named pre-season first team All-MVC and Berhow named pre-season third team All-MVC.

Release:

https://unipanthers.com/news/2020/10/15/mens-basketball-panthers-picked-first-green-phyfe-and-berhow-named-all-mvc.aspx

[GoPanthers85]

The real question is, who voted for Bradley as the Pre-season #1 team?

[sevelev711]

I appreciate that Mullen finally stopped voting ISUr out of principle, mainly because it was a dumb principle.

[sevelev711]

Using this as kind of a catch all for preseason awards, Andy Katz has AJ as his #2 pick to win the Jerry West award (best shooting guard), just behind BJ Boston of Kentucky. If AJ has that kind of season, it'd be very bittersweet. Sweet because, well, him having that kind of season would mean that UNI would be having a ton of success. Bitter because it would likely mean that AJ would be gone, heading to the NBA...Which is also sweet, so it's more like sweetbittersweet.

[Wxcpanther]

Using this as kind of a catch all for preseason awards, Andy Katz has AJ as his #2 pick to win the Jerry West award (best shooting guard), just behind BJ Boston of Kentucky. If AJ has that kind of season, it'd be very bittersweet. Sweet because, well, him having that kind of season would mean that UNI would be having a ton of success. Bitter because it would likely mean that AJ would be gone, heading to the NBA...Which is also sweet, so it's more like sweetbittersweet.

I would be shocked if AJ didn't come back for his senior year, regardless of how good his is during his junior year.

[sevelev711]

I disagree, but only because this is the first year that high schoolers can get drafted again, so if he has only a "great, not all-American" season, I don't think he'd even be drafted, let alone drafted early enough to forego the last year of repping the home team.

And I'm saying that as someone who thinks that sending AJ to the NBA is cooler than anything before an Elite Eight finish.

[CyCarp]

The only thing that really makes me think he may leave after this season is that he went through the draft prep stuff this summer. I don't think he had any intention of going this year, but I do think it would have been more beneficial for him to go through that process next year. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe with COVID, there wasn't any in person stuff. Also I'm pretty certain a player can only do that and come back once. Regardless, I still think it's very likely that he's still here in a year.

[panther-state]

Is he not allowed to go through it again next year?

[sevelev711]

I believe he is, I don't know why that wouldn't be the case. Whether scouts take a look at him again (they will) is a different matter, but I don't think there's anything that says he can't.

[CyCarp]

I believe he is, I don't know why that wouldn't be the case. Whether scouts take a look at him again (they will) is a different matter, but I don't think there's anything that says he can't.

I guess you're right, I had thought players could only declare twice, but apparently I was wrong - they can withdrawal twice and declare three times.