RTJ

There have been teams from very good "mid-major" conferences that had RPI's in the 30's that got left out the last 2 years (Missouri State was one I think). Before we start talking 2nd bid we need to have at least 3 teams that go through the season with single digit losses and some good wins against major conference opponents and RPI top 50 teams. Even with that, I don't think the Sun Belt will get another at-large bid until the automatic bid wins a game in the tournament.

The story on Little is that he's a good kid with some really bad friends and family. I've heard that there may have been some extenuating circumstances and his original police problem likely would have gone away but that was before he and a buddy decided to try and rob a hotel and run from the cops. It's a shame too because he had so much potential. If you saw the Syracuse game in the NIT you know what I'm talking about. Nobody expects Douglas to do anywhere near what EL was able to do offensively. His points will probably be limited to putbacks and dunks. Rebounding and defense are where he will make his mark. His game is alot like Ben Wallace I think. We should be very well rounded offensively though because Merritt is clutch when it matters, Bennett is a great outside shooter, Hayles can attack the basket and Coleman will be our primary inside offense. I've read several stories about Coleman that said he can flat out score in the paint. We can only have 12 on scholarship because our center before EL, Jason McGriff, dropped out of school after his junior year in horrible academic standing, thus killing our APR. He also left under questionable circumstances, but nothing like Ernest. By the way, Brooks Taylor was recently arrested for possession of the wacky weed near his hometown. Hopefully we've gotten rid of all of the rotten apples and all of the guys currently on the team will keep their noses clean.

Censored by Laurie, I've enjoyed reading your previews but your USA preview has some bad information. Ernest Little is no longer at USA because of his legal problems. Trajinski Grigsby, Brooks Taylor and Darren Cloud have also left the team. Jamar Moore and LaDarius Hall both didn't make their grades. To replace EL, Ronnie Arrow has brought in Ronald Douglas, a 6'9", 230 lb. Jr. from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Douglas is supposed to be a better defender, shot blocker and rebounder than Little but he doesn't have EL's offensive skills. For offense we have also brought in DeAndre Coleman, a 6'8" 225 lb. Jr. from Bevill State CC who started his career at Cincinnatti. Coleman averaged 13 and 9 last year at BSCC and is supposed to be a great scorer down low. The fact that we got Coleman means one of our other signees didn't make the grade and I'm guessing that's Tilford because Hayden and Ross have both been seen on campus playing pick-up games with the team this summer. Revised projected depth chart: PG - Merritt, Ross SG - Bennett, Hayden SF - Hayles PF - Coleman, Davis, Hooks C - Douglas, P. Tabet, C. Tabet, Nweke (may redshirt) We'll be depending on unproven freshmen to provide depth in the backcourt and it may take some time for all of the new kids to gel, but we should have one of the deepest frontcourts in the conference. I also think we'll be a much more versatile team with the ability to score from outside, inside with the big guys, attacking the rim and at the FT line. I think we relied on the 3 point shot a little too much under Pel because we only had 1 real inside option, a ton of guards and a 4 who loved to shoot the 3.