Iup basketball

[Ship69]

I'm actually a little concerned for IUP -- in particular during this first stretch. They have to get healthy by next Saturday. As of today, they have 3 key subs injured (and Joe only plays, at most, 8 guys).

So, if they start the season with players 9, 10 and 11 suddenly becoming players 6, 7 and 8 ... that's a problem.

Looking at their 'first half'

Concord (neutral floor) - They always play IUP pretty tough and have several key upperclassmen back

Winston-Salem State (neutral floor) - Picked high in the CIAA preseason poll. Big and athletic.

Bowie State - Always seems to be a war between these two.

(at) Walsh - Ranked in Preseason NABC Top 20

New Haven - Rare match-up but a solid program

That leads to what should be a light three-game stretch with (at) Mansfield, (at) Bloomsburg and Penn State-Altoona.

The final two games prior to XMAS are home games (back to back) with Kutztown and West Chester.


I'd say 7 of the 10 games in the 'first half' will be challenging.

Sounds like Winston-Salem could be a tough one if their performance in a scrimmage with Wake Forest is any indication. Bowie and the CIAA teams can always be dangerous on a given night, even when they're having a down year. Ship had that weird 47-39 game with Bowie last season that still is a head-scratcher to me. Kutztown and West Chester have had a lot of roster changes — hard to read them. I can understand your worry about principal reserves being out because then if one of the starters is injured you're really going deep into the bench for depth. Although Ship didn't have a ton of injuries last year, they didn't have a lot of experienced depth and it was really hard for them to work around the Biss and Nedrow injuries at times.

[IUPalum]

I'm actually a little concerned for IUP -- in particular during this first stretch. They have to get healthy by next Saturday. As of today, they have 3 key subs injured (and Joe only plays, at most, 8 guys).

So, if they start the season with players 9, 10 and 11 suddenly becoming players 6, 7 and 8 ... that's a problem.

Looking at their 'first half'

Concord (neutral floor) - They always play IUP pretty tough and have several key upperclassmen back

Winston-Salem State (neutral floor) - Picked high in the CIAA preseason poll. Big and athletic.

Bowie State - Always seems to be a war between these two.

(at) Walsh - Ranked in Preseason NABC Top 20

New Haven - Rare match-up but a solid program

That leads to what should be a light three-game stretch with (at) Mansfield, (at) Bloomsburg and Penn State-Altoona.

The final two games prior to XMAS are home games (back to back) with Kutztown and West Chester.


I'd say 7 of the 10 games in the 'first half' will be challenging.

I understand all your concerns. IUP doesn't have the easiest first 7 games but I'm not as worried as you are. Ethan will shoot at a much better percentage and Tomiwa most likely won't be in foul trouble like against the ACC opponents. IUP's depth will be better will Dallis coming back and the team hack Diop at the helm. I think they'll be just fine and some good D2 games will fine tune this machine.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

That it is. If our largely youthful backcourt doesn't come together pretty quickly we could be on the borderline for playoff contention before we even hit the PSAC schedule. Ship fans will hope the veteran forwards will help pull us through. We shall see.

I'm actually a little concerned for IUP -- in particular during this first stretch. They have to get healthy by next Saturday. As of today, they have 3 key subs injured (and Joe only plays, at most, 8 guys).

So, if they start the season with players 9, 10 and 11 suddenly becoming players 6, 7 and 8 ... that's a problem.

Looking at their 'first half'

Concord (neutral floor) - They always play IUP pretty tough and have several key upperclassmen back

Winston-Salem State (neutral floor) - Picked high in the CIAA preseason poll. Big and athletic.

Bowie State - Always seems to be a war between these two.

(at) Walsh - Ranked in Preseason NABC Top 20

New Haven - Rare match-up but a solid program

That leads to what should be a light three-game stretch with (at) Mansfield, (at) Bloomsburg and Penn State-Altoona.

The final two games prior to XMAS are home games (back to back) with Kutztown and West Chester.


I'd say 7 of the 10 games in the 'first half' will be challenging.

[Ship69]

That's a tough 'first half'.

That it is. If our largely youthful backcourt doesn't come together pretty quickly we could be on the borderline for playoff contention before we even hit the PSAC schedule. Ship fans will hope the veteran forwards will help pull us through. We shall see.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Cool. Ship opens with VUU and Virginia State, gets Cal on Dec. 2, Fairmont State on Dec. 13, and then a lovely trip to Erie to face Mercyhurst, lurking just under the top 25 rankings, and Gannon. Shouldn't take long to find out if we can play this year or not.

That's a tough 'first half'.

[Ship69]

Don't forget VUU, who also made it into that opening top-25.

Cool. Ship opens with VUU and Virginia State, gets Cal on Dec. 2, Fairmont State on Dec. 13, and then a lovely trip to Erie to face Mercyhurst, lurking just under the top 25 rankings, and Gannon. Shouldn't take long to find out if we can play this year or not.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Don't forget VUU, who also made it into that opening top-25.

My fault. I'm still in football mode and in football we don't look at the CIAA in SR1.

[Scrub]

NABC Men's Top 25 was released today.

From the Atlantic:

3. IUP
8. West Liberty
19. Fairmont State


1 and 2 went to NWMS and Augusta

Don't forget VUU, who also made it into that opening top-25.

[Ship69]

Unfortunately (and, amazingly) they already have 3 guys banged up.

Jalen Stewart, the Seton Hill transfer guard, is dealing with something and didn't dress for either exhibition game. I assumed that was a sign he'd redshirt but I've been told that isn't the case.

Kyle Polce is likely in concussion protocol and will probably miss this week (at least). He had a nasty collision against Miami.

Ousmane Diop is also on the shelf per reports. Time frame unknown.

Dallis Dillard missed both exhibitions but I don't think that was injury-related.

Luckily, they have about 10 more days until things get real.

It's getting hard to remember the last time Joe played a game at full strength. It's been a long time.

I noticed Mike Smith, the Kutztown transfer who was supposed to help give Ship a veteran presence at guard this year, was not in the lineup for the scrimmage with VCU. I'm hoping that is nothing significant.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Will be surprised if Walsh keeps it close, even though they are picked to win gmac. They lost to d3 Carnegie Mellon last year. PSAC much stronger conference.

A lot changes in a year. We'll see.

[Columbuseer]

Of note, Walsh came in at No. 20 in the NABC Top 25.

IUP plays at Walsh on Nov. 19 (likely at same time as IUP first round football playoff game).

Will be surprised if Walsh keeps it close, even though they are picked to win gmac. They lost to d3 Carnegie Mellon last year. PSAC much stronger conference.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Injuries are about the only thing that could derail IUP in the PSAC this season, as I know you guys are well aware of after the Jones injury last season. Ship's 3-3 start with Biss on the bench was one factor in keeping the Raiders out of the playoffs last year, although certainly not the only one. Looking at this year's schedule, we could be healthy and still possibly get off to a slow start.

Unfortunately (and, amazingly) they already have 3 guys banged up.

Jalen Stewart, the Seton Hill transfer guard, is dealing with something and didn't dress for either exhibition game. I assumed that was a sign he'd redshirt but I've been told that isn't the case.

Kyle Polce is likely in concussion protocol and will probably miss this week (at least). He had a nasty collision against Miami.

Ousmane Diop is also on the shelf per reports. Time frame unknown.

Dallis Dillard missed both exhibitions but I don't think that was injury-related.

Luckily, they have about 10 more days until things get real.

It's getting hard to remember the last time Joe played a game at full strength. It's been a long time.

[Ship69]

Joe better get some guys healthy very quickly. That team has more injuries a year than most football programs (per capita).

Injuries are about the only thing that could derail IUP in the PSAC this season, as I know you guys are well aware of after the Jones injury last season. Ship's 3-3 start with Biss on the bench was one factor in keeping the Raiders out of the playoffs last year, although certainly not the only one. Looking at this year's schedule, we could be healthy and still possibly get off to a slow start.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

UNLESS, IUP steals the bye!

Joe better get some guys healthy very quickly. That team has more injuries a year than most football programs (per capita).

[IUPalum]

Of note, Walsh came in at No. 20 in the NABC Top 25.

IUP plays at Walsh on Nov. 19 (likely at same time as IUP first round football playoff game).

UNLESS, IUP steals the bye!