2022 Preseason Conference Preview: Sun Belt

[Ezaco]

SUN BELT CONFERENCE

 

Sun Belt in the limelight... this might be the best conference in all of college basketball right now.. or at the very least has some of the best teams.

 

APPALACHIAN STATE MOUNTAINEERS

Look it literally only goes down from here, because the Mountaineers might absolutely be the best team in the country. David Boulay and Randall Howard could be starting in the NBA right now... and Boulay is only a junior. Mohamed Stacy could be coming off the bench in the league right now, and William Mclean is an elite defender with a sweet post game. That's just the best guys, because there's also the two four star recruits James Stanley and Lee Wallace who step onto campus for the first time this season and could be legit starters on any team in the country. The Mountaineers are absolutely stacked. Great defense, elite-level rebounding, and smooth ball movement are all side dishes to a team who can dominate in paint scoring and smooth strokes from the midrange and beyond the arc. Appalachian State is dangerous, they're scary, and I want no part of them.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Final Four

 

ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES

It goes down quickly in this list, but it's not fair. The Red Wolves are not a bad team compared to the rest of college basketball... they just might not be a good team in the Sun Belt. They're a good defensive team with great rebounding skills. Arkansas State has some great scorers, but they also have some guys who really shouldn't be looking at the basket at all.. and that's from the full range of distances. Jerry Fields steps onto the court this season as a freshman poised to some dangerous things. He's a legit prospect for the NBA and will do all he can to will the Red Wolves forward... I'm just concerned the rest of the league is too much.

 

Season prediction: Bubble team

 

:coastalcarolina:COASTAL CAROLINA CHANTICLEERS

For every great player on the Chanticleers (what?) there's a bad player as well. Frederick Taylor and John Ott are absolute monsters and should be in the NBA now. Vincent Kimball has developed over his four years to an excellent, well-rounded player, and Daniel Sanchez is right behind him as a junior. All four of these guys are NBA caliber players. But after that... the talent drop-off becomes pretty stark. So are these four guys (and Marvin Denny) enough to propel Coastal through the Sun Belt? Well... possibly, because they really are just that good. But it's going to be tough, especially with another NBA-caliber team in Appalachian State already poised to demolish everyone.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Sweet 16

 

 

FLORIDA GULF COAST EAGLES

The Eagles don't belong. I say that not just because they're an add-in to the conference, but because they're a decent team who shouldn't be in the conference, and because of it they're going to get smoked, even though they don't deserve to. Brian Pye was an underrecruited 3-star prospect four seasons ago, and now entering his senior year he's poised to make a splash as one of the best players in the conference. Defensively the Eagles are a very good team, able to match up with almost anyone. They can rebound the heck out of the ball as well. Scoring, though, is where the Eagles begin to falter, at least outside of the paint. Inside they are a pretty good team, but once they step outside it really begins to fall apart.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:georgiasouthern: GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES

Another Eagles team unfortunate to play in the league that they do, Georgia Southern is going to have a tough time succeeding this year. Clarence Buckley is an elite-level talent already at only a sophomore, and he's going to be the focal point of yet another decent defensive team that can dominate close-to-the-basket scoring. The Eagles unfortunately are not a great shooting team, especially from behind the arc. It's unfortunate for them, but it may be possible for them to leverage this season's experience, and a breakout season from Buckley, to land some additional help for next season.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:georigiastate: GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS

Georgia State is a conundrum. They're not going to be a great team this year, but they have NBA talent on their team. David Peter is entering his senior year and dominates the mid-range game and inside, as well as being an elite rebounder and great defender. Jerry Ferguson is a seven-footer senior who not only is an absolute roadblock in the postgame, but he can also step outside and sink a three pointer. Michael Valerio is entering his junior year as an elite defender who can do it all. And then there's the new five star recruit John Bona who is going to be super scary not just this year, but in years to come. So what's the Panther's problem? Well... that's about all they have. Beyond those four the defense of the team is quite bad, and they get beat on the rebounds as well. As a team they shoot decently, but not to the level they need to. It's simply not enough surrounding these young men to be enough in a league this tough.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 32

 

JAMES MADISON DUKES

The Dukes are less of a question. Defensively they are not very good, rebounding-wise they get bullied, and shooting-wise they're simply average. Allen Habben and Larry Kim are very good ballplayers, but they don't have enough to drag this team around alone, and the rest of the team is too much deadweight to be dragged anyway. It's unfortunate, it's rough, it's tough, but it's also the truth.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:louisiana LOUISIANA RAGIN' CAJUNS

It doesn't get much better here... in fact it gets worse. Because Jeffrey Rogan is a great player who could make it in the NBA after he graduates this season, but the absolute lack of talent on the rest of the Cajuns is going to drag him down and cost him to be overlooked by NBA teams. That sucks, and is unfortunate, but it simply is. The Cajuns aren't particularly good at anything, as a team. They're a decenter under-the-basket scoring team, but so are a lot of teams in this league, and they're much better at defense.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

LOUISIANA-MONROE WARHAWKS

The Warhawks can be a good team if they want to be. Conversely they can be a bad team if they want to be. They are going to have to decide, and it's going to be a tough league for them to take a while to decide. The Warhawks are a great post-scoring team who can step outside and shoot a little as well. On the defensive end they could be better, but definitely not bad. So can seniors Joshua Kennedy and Oswaldo Reyes will this team forward to the next step? Or will their last season in Monroe be the last good season for them in a while?

 

Season prediction: Bubble team

:marshall: MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD

Marshall has potential here. Five star recruit Eric English is entering his junior year still being somewhat disappointing, but he's also still a great talent. His classmate Yin Nguyen has, on the other hand, exceeded all expectations and is ready to lead this team to the forefront. So can they do it? Maybe. They Herd aren't a great defensive team, but they could be worse, which is the same to be said for their rebounding. From a scoring standpoint Marshall isn't going to be setting any 3-point records, but they are pretty good at the midrange jumper and inside the paint. So... again, there's potential, if they can mesh together well as a team.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 64

 

:olddominion: OLD DOMINION MONARCHS

Gosh this is a tough one to see. Thomas Pezzi has had an incredible career and growth, and I really hope to see him at the next level. Thomas Hassler and Juan Reyes have had just as good a career and development, and the junior Timothy Franke has lived up to his own hype to be a really solid player. But the talent disparity between these four and the rest of their team is simply atrocious - most of them would have a tough time being a roleplayer or rotation player on another other midmajor team, and the Monarchs have a team full of them. So that's.... not great, and it's likely to cap off as a disappointing season for some really exciting guys.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

 

SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS

The Jaguars are not a team I would want to face. Barry Weder and Sergio Ventura headline a team that may not be very good defensively, but they can crash the boards and shoot the ball from anywhere on the court. It's going to be tough for them to survive in such a loaded Sun Belt Conference, but with their level of talent and potential there's just so much to be wary of.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Round of 64

 

:southernmiss: SOUTHERN MISS GOLDEN EAGLES

Southern Miss is similar to South Alabama, just not quite as much. It's not a very good defensive team, but unfortunately they can't back it up with great shooting. Under the basket they are just as good as anyone in the Sun Belt, but stepping outside of it becomes difficult. That's not a good recipe to head into Henry Scott's senior year, and I'm afraid his teammates are simply going to let him down in this regard.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

 

:texasstate: TEXAS STATE BOBCATS

Fresh off their football field success, the Bobcats basketball team is poised to make a splash for Texas State as well. Five star Richard Nave is entering his sophomore season as an NBA-ready-now talent, and he's backed up by some teammates with NBA potential as well. The Bobcats are a decent defensive team who can fill it up from range as well, and grab their rebounds for any missed shots. If anyone is going to challenge Appalachian State, it's going to be the Bobcats.

 

Season prediction: NCAA Tournament - Sweet 16

 

:troy: TROY TROJANS

Troy, however, will not be challenging much of anyone. Now they are a pretty good team, don't get me wrong... but there's still a lot to be desired. Defensively they are passable, but there's some more to learn. The rebound game is not great for the Trojans, and shooting doesn't get much better, especially at range. Robert Kellum is likely to be the lone brightspot of a team that otherwise will be entirely missable.

 

Season prediction: Misses NCAA Tournament

[Ezaco]

Pick to win conference: Appalachian State