After years of unprecedented stability and growth, last year half of the Valley schools hired new coaches (Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State and Wichita State) and almost added a sixth to the list when the Creighton job sat vacant for 24 hours. Once the season started, two teams that had been the conference bellwethers -- Creighton and Southern Illinois -- struggled to earn NIT bids. Meanwhile, perennial doormat Drake had a once-in-a-generation year and won the league.
Like it or not, the league took a public relations hit last year. That's a heckuva lot of turnover in the coaching ranks, although anyone who took more than a cursory glance would notice that only one of the departing coaches left of his own volition. Royce Waltman had a good run at Indiana State but had struggled in recent years. Steve Merfeld was never able to turn around Evansville after replacing longtime coach Jim Crews. Porter Moser ran out of time in Normal before reaping the benefits of his solid recruiting. And Dr. Tom Davis retired at Drake after breathing life back into a lifeless program. Only Mark Turgeon at Wichita State left to take a "better" job.
So while the league had five new coaches, four of the five were in the bottom half of the conference. The perception was much worse than the reality.
And while Drake winning big was a nice story, having them dominate the league while stalwarts Creighton and SIU struggled gave national pundits an easy excuse to write off the league. If Drake -- DRAKE! -- dominated the league, obviously the talent level must be down. And come March, the league got just one NCAA bid, the first time the Valley wasn't a multi-bid league in almost a decade. But the league still had talent and numerous good teams, it was just young. Illinois State had a great year, and although they weren't dominant as in years past, Creighton and Southern both had nice years. Again, the perception was worse than the reality.
This year, the conference breaks in two more new coaches (Drake again, Missouri State), but the traditional powers look to be again favored. Will that help bring the Valley to the top of the non-football conferences? Or will the damage from one "down" year hamper the league's reputation in 2008-09?
Over the next three days, I'll break down the conference team by team. Thursday, I'll cover the contenders. Wednesday, I'll look at the teams looking to make a move. But first up, a look at the teams that will be playing the "Play-In" games in St. Louis -- or simply put, the teams that will be in the bottom of the standings come March.
