It’s starting to be that time again. Well, a little early perhaps, but previews are finding their way out nevertheless. This includes my perennial favorite, the Three Man Weave:
We also have Won & Done which is not my perennial favorite but worth a listen for completionists who must–like me–consume all previews regardless of quality:
Lastly, while not a WCC Preview exactly, Weekend Under Review (a separate product that’s part of the same network as the 3MW guys with different personalities) did a “best of the mid-majors” podcast episode this week with a favorable mention of SCU, including some glowing reviews for our Bronco-for-Life Jake Ensminger and his idiosyncratic but highly effective style of play:
Yeah, the Three Man Weave guys do an a amazing job. That being said, I think they will find out soon enough that we successfully developed another redshirt star which will completely change the ceiling of this team.
3MW picked St Mary’s to win the conference, with Broncos coming in second. They also see the WCC as a one bid conference. They had one caveat - if Mahi comes back, all bets are off.
The WCC released their schedule today tho exact game dates aren’t finalized. SCU finishes the season at home against the Gaels with hopefully the conference on the line
Sounds like they are saying the games will be on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with possible flex to the day before/after for national TV broadcasts. So not entirely worthless. SCU @ USD is on my calendar!
It also says that the WCC tourney will return to the Orleans. I’m not sure if that had been confirmed until now, since there will be much fewer fans attending now that Gonzaga is gone. Get ready to hear the sound of squeaky sneakers and echoey dribbles on the TV broadcast. I wonder if they’ll rope off the upper level on one side like they did when SCU hosted it from '94-'96.
He goes on to talk about a Saint Mary’s player who isn’t there anymore in their segment, so maybe a grain of salt is in order… that said, what he says out our infrastructure being very nice is probably true - I’m sure he’s visited tons of schools.
The former projects the Broncos bizarrely low…at 6th in the conference! Credit to them for having a unique opinion, though. The latter has a more conventional outlook that’s reflected across many of these previews: folks aren’t sure whether to place money on SMC’s pedigree carrying over to McConnell or Santa Clara as the rising power.
One thing that Bronco fans can celebrate (for now): this will be the first off-season in a while in which the Dons will not be projected ahead of SCU by the general consensus. In fact, most outlets seem unsure of what to make of our rivals in the City.
This is an awful take. Barring injuries to key players, this SCU squad should finish no lower than 2nd. As a betting man, I’d put money on SCU finishing 1st. But I suppose folks are looking at the loss of Graves as major hit (it is) but not accounting for some very good players to fill the void.
They just don’t know what they don’t know. I doubt any of these guys other than maybe Rothstein even know who Longcor is let alone that Quincy has the best pre-game ceremony in basketball in the US at any level. Seriously, just look it up. It’s awesome.
Even if Mahi doesn’t make it back, there are so many ways the returners on this team can get better – and that’s what I think the pundits don’t account for very well. They’re probably not expecting much out of guys like Cochran and Darlan. Both of them are very talented.
