Sun Belt

The Western Kentucky boys are legitimate threats to make the tourney as an at large or by winning the conference tourney and could make a deep run in the BD when they get there.  They are that good!  Legendary Coach EA Diddle has put together one of the best programs in the country and though they play in the shadows of big dogs Kentucky and Louisville they are every bit as dominant where they play as those blue blooders!  The Hilltoppers are prohibitive favorites to win this league but are also on the national map as they are listed as 27 in the preseason rankings which makes them the 4th highest ranked non-power conference going into the season.  They most definitely deserve that as Diddle has two studs to build his team around in junior big man Jim McDaniels and senior team leader Clem Haskins.  Haskins is not the most talented played in the country but he just might be the most competitive and he does everything like it is the last thing he will do on this planet.  Few programs have a leader who sets the example every day like Haskins and he lives and breathes the Hilltopper way.  McDaniels is the opposite end as he brings the kind of talent up front as a dominant almost seven footer every team has to have to get to this kind of level. He does not get the recognition he deserves playing next to Unseld and Groza but he has as good of a low post game as anyone in the Sun Belt for sure and perhaps as good as anyone not names Hayes or Alcindor.  The only downside to Big Mac is that he knows he is good and sometimes does not put the effort in as much as his teammates on the defensive end especially someone like Haskins who would knock down a wall guarding his opponent.  Still, the Hilltoppers got to have him if they are to show the world there are three super programs from the Bluegrass state though with their unwillingness to play WKU both Louisville and Kentucky themselves have made it clear that they do not want any part of this undiscovered superb program from the real Bowling Green.  That will change some this year as the Hilltoppers do finally get a shot at the Cardinals in game 10 (and the other Bowling Green in game 9) but this is not the type of schedule that features many big time programs primarily due to the fact that like the mighty Wildcats nobody wants to play these guys! 

The battle for second in the Sun Belt is wide open with at least four teams all having legitimate shots at getting to the post season and who knows upsets can happen in any conference tourney game.  Both Louisiana Tech and Lafayette are going to be in the mix but for vastly different reasons.  The Bulldogs feature an awesome front line of talented and physical players that include junior Mike Green and sophomore stud Karl Malone.  Green is a six ten beanpole who can play and Malone is a six nine chiseled phenomenon who has all of the physical attributes to be great if he figures out something more than a power game.  It seems they grow them like that down in the Bayou as there have been many great power forwards come from Louisiana with which Malone is next in line and the Bulldogs have a slew of this prototype on their roster right now including Malone clone and fellow sophomore Randy ‘Mailster’ White.  They will rely on this front line to compete and will try to manhandle teams with their physical defense.  The Rajun Cajuns, on the other hand, will play at about as fast of a pace as any team in the country.  Dependent on a group of wings (juniors Bo Lamar and Andrew Toney) that can flat light it up with anyone in D-1 Coach Beryl Shipley will look to outscore their opponents in every game.  The most essential player on the roster could be junior center Roy Ebron who is the only legitimate big man on the team and will relied on for all the lost post scoring, defense and especially rebounding to get the vaunted Cajun break into motion. 

The New Orleans Privateers also have some talent and might be more complete but the Big Easy team has had some issues off the court and are looking to just get back into the running.  Coach Ron Greene has much work to do but there are some who have around after the insurrection including juniors Wayne Cooper (a terrific shot blocker) and forward Mel Henderson who can score and board.  Greene has brought in a recruiting guru of an assistant in Tim Floyd who has all kinds of connections at the junior college level.  The Privateers are bringing in some real Juco studs and might surprise. 

The South Alabama Jaguars are trending up as Coach Cliff Ellis had put together a nice little unit in Mobile but as of printing there are many suitors for the Beach singer including some big schools from the power conferences.   That could change everything here as Ellis has done a terrific job of recruiting some studs nobody else wanted and gelling this undersized group into a formidable team.  South Alabama is the only program that has been here since this league’s inception (New Orleans took some time off) and look to be on the verge of bigger and better things.  The Jags have an incredible sophomore class all of whom Ellis brought in who could compete with any in the country and will be the basis to take this program to new heights.  That, of course, is if Ellis stays around or if the call of the Beach is too strong?  Just announced: Ellis is leaving for the ACC and will coach Clemson this year.  Junior college super coach Ronnie Arrow will be taking over and is bringing in a bunch of his kids from San Jacinto in Texas where he won a couple of national titles. 

The last three teams are just that.  The last three!  The two Arkansas schools, State and Little Rock, both came into the Sun Belt the same time as LA Tech and Lafayette but are nowhere near the talent level of those two schools and Florida International is completely new to the league as a late addition after Texas-Pan American decided to rejoin the Indy ranks at the last minute.  The Red Wolves have a chance of competing with a senior stud on the wing in Jerry Rook and a beefy front line reminiscent of Louisiana Tech but not as talented but a weak back court will hinder them. The three John’s (they are doing a contest to find a nickname for this similarly named trio of big men) have real size and toughness, enough to compete with Hilltoppers.  Dickson the senior, Belcher the junior and Tate the sophomore give the Red Wolves as much beef up front as a beef packing company. 

UALR is not even close to having but they both need to find a point guard who can run the team and shoot threes.  But doesn’t every team in the country.  The Red Wolves are actually picked 4th in this league but their brethren from Arkansas-Little Rock are picked 7th with only a handful of returning players who can hang at this level.  New coach Mike Newell was the right hand man of Billy Tubbs in Oklahoma and is hoping to emulate his former coach’s run and gun style.  You better have some studs to make that work and Newell has admittedly stole some kids off some Juco rosters before they even played for their programs. 

The Golden Panthers are penciled in for the basement as FIU is not just new to the Sun Belt but new to D-1 and have only been a college in Miami since 1965.  If the Hurricanes would not have shut down for a minute then Florida International might have never become a program.  And for sure would not have advanced up the different levels and ended up in a high standing mid-major before getting their feet wet in a lesser league.  The bottom of this league is not good but the middle is solid and those Hilltoppers can play with anybody on a given night.