Seawolves Fans

The time has come. We are only one week away from the opening game of the 2011-12 College basketball season. Stony Brook @ Indiana. Lets get ready!!!!!!

  This is a very winnable game for SBU.   Had to get the Big Ten Network  on cable to watch it-Channel 720  anyone has it.

Yeah I have my doubts over this game being winnable. Its going to be closer than Uconn vs SB last year for example, but I am not sure if we going to win it. Important thing is to compete and get ready for the more important part of the season.

  We went out a beat Penn St  a few years  ago with a much less talented team.  We also gave Illinois fits in the NIT  Opener losing 78-68.   Illinois is far better  that Indiana I like our chances  for the upset. No  dumb turn overs or  careless fouls.

I think this game, like all four of our games against high major schools, is winable. With that said we are definite underdogs heading into the game. Indiana has had a couple weak years, but like someone said earlier, they still recruit at a high level and have a good coach. I'm thinking we'll have one upset in our games against Indiana, Northeastern, Boston College, and Rutgers. We should be good enough that we'll get enough bounces on one of those nights to pull off the upset. At least that's I'm hoping for heading into the season.

The Stony Brook Statesman released a good preseason basketball preview today in the printed version. Those that have access to a copy should check it out

It includes one of the best news in a while: the stony brook arena

"Anyone hanging around the Sport complex is used to seeing an abandoned-looking facility with dim lighting and rows of bleachers stacked up on the side. The Stony Brook University arena, which has been technically closed for more than three years, might be coming back to life at last"

"The funding for the 4,000 seat arena renovation has finally been approved, but Stony Brook is currently taking care contracting rules before construction bidding begins, university officials said"

"In her most recent facilities report, vice president for Facilities and Services Barbara Chernow announced the approval of the funding, saying the project would 'reconfigure the layout of the arena, and add lighting and air conditioning'"

Brook is getting its newly renovated arena. at last.

I just went back and looked at his offer list and it's really impressive (Utah, Missouri St., Western Kentucky). I thought we were over hyping him a bit, but he might be a real solid pick up for us.

Hello Seawolves, I promise that I come as a good natured fan/alum of your first opponent this season.  I saw a post from someone from this board on our Scout site, and decided to drop by to learn more about Stony Brook.

First, a little bit about Indiana and the different places for information on the team.  The scout.com site is probably the best place to go for free access to talk basketball.  I believe you'll have to request access, but it should happen somewhat quickly.  The best overall site with the most discussion is probably the Rivals.com site, but the free board (most discussion is on the premium/pay board) there is a complete zoo in my opinion, so enter at your own risk.  Right now the hot topic of conversation everywhere is the great 5 man recruiting class signing today and the potential addition of the last target, Gary Harris (I think he's probably going to Michigan State).  Just ignore that soap opera of Purdue, Indiana, MSU, and Kentucky fans.  Trust me, this isn't a slight to our first opponent, it is like this every year with recruiting and especially this year as most IU fans think the last class of recruits and the ones next year can get Indiana back to the top of the Big 10 (12).

Now, some discussion about this year's Indiana team.  My best guess at a starting lineup is as follows:
PG-Jordan Hulls, 6'0 Junior
SG-Verdell Jones, 6'4 Senior
SF-Will Sheehey, 6'5 Sophomore
HighPost-Christian Watford, 6'8 Junior
LowPost-Cody Zeller, 6'11 Freshmen

Key Reserves:
Wing-Victor Oladipo, 6'4 Sophomore
Post-Derek Elston, 6'8 Junior
Post-Tom Pritchard, 6'9 Senior

Might see: Walkon PG Danny Moore (senior), wing: Austin Etherington(frosh), guard: Remy Abell (frosh), 3pointspecialist Matt Roth (senior).

Christian Watford is the best returning player and IMO is a perfect college PF, but he seems to want to be a SF which is probably what he'd be if he has any pro aspirations.  He can knock down the 3 and score inside.  He has been slowed with a minor injury and last Saturday did not start likely due to conditioning.  Cody Zeller was the big recruiting prize and most think he'll help inside which has been sorely lacking.  Early returns seem positive - he can rebound well, hit a jumper, and just watch the big guy run the floor, he'll be the first one down the court most plays. Verdell Jones may go down as a top 15-20 scorer in Indiana's storied history.  Unfortunately that's mostly due to the fact that when he came in as a freshmen he was joining a team completely decimated by Kelvin Sampson (only 2 walk on players remained in 2008-2009).  The kid has a great mid range game but is not much of a 3 point thread and has been prone to turning the ball over.  Will Sheehey is who everyone thinks will be the team's most improved player - he plays with confidence and is sort of a jack of all trades out there.  Jordan Hulls is the team's best shooter, but undersized and sometimes has trouble on defense, but he is emerging as the leader.  He's hit 47 straight free throws in game play (knock on wood). 

Overall, many people aren't sure what to expect.  Fans are hoping for an increased post presence with Cody Zeller as well as better team defense especially on the perimeter.   I think most fans and experts think this team will win somewhere between 17-19 games and if things bounce the right way, maybe slide into the back of the dance or the NIT.  That would be a huge improvement over the last couple seasons obviously.  So we will see.  Coach Crean, IMO, is a solid coach with a proven track record, but he's entering his 4th season and the fan base will start to grow impatient if there isn't a ton of improvement on the court and in the win column.  I did notice someone highlight Mo Creek as the team's best player.  That probably would be true had he not had his first injury 2 years ago. Unfortunately the young man injured his other knee last year and now his achilles this year.  Even before the achilles injury, most people were pegging him as the 8th/9th man on this year's team.  He's a great kid though and I really hope he'll be able to suit up again at some point in his career.

A lot of people speculated that of the non BCS out of conference opponents, Stony Brook may be one of the tougher tests for the Hoosiers.  Admittedly, I know very little, so now I'll finally shut up and listen.  Sorry for the long post, but I am just excited college basketball is finally here.  Good luck this season!