Originally Posted by ud2
I totally agree. I view the last 4 years not as an aberration, but instead, I view the last 4 years as being how things should be at UD all the time: constant improvement and constantly moving up the ranks in college basketball.
I too greatly fear how much of a setback we will suffer if AG does not work out. Any sort of prolonged NCAAT appearance drought would be absolutely disastrous for our program, what with the BE tv contract expiring in around 5 years. And right now, I think we will be lucky to even make the NIT this year.
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I absolutely think we will be lucky to make the NIT but that was my expectation going in. I would love it if this was not a rebuilding year, but that is just not reality. The class balance was all jacked up! Without blaming anyone, (we have had injuries, suspensions/expulsions, tragedy, etc...). The end result was we graduated four senior starters and the backfill is not a couple seniors, a couple juniors and some sophomores who all have experience. We have one senior with experience, a junior PG who hasn’t played a ton and who’s play has been a lighting rod for criticism, a junior PF/C who played like 9 games last year, a junior SF who is streak shooter and has struggled thus far, and a bunch of new guys who have never played college ball or almost none if you want to throw Trey in that group.
I think you have a group of talented players that need to learn to play together and in a new system, (I remember a play in the Hofstra game where JC drove the lane a threw a little lob to the rim for Kostas, Kostas turned around to rebound, Hofstra ended up with the ball and I thought to myself, “that will bring the house down at the Arena in February). There are going to be growing pains. I honestly think that what looks to some people like no offense may just be poorly executed offense. I thought the offense looked fairly good on Friday night. I will go out on a limb and assume that AG didn’t tell the guys “just play it like a pickup game tonight fellas” before yesterday’s game. Now should he have called a time out and said nobody shoots a three until the ball goes into the post? Probably, and I hope (and expect) he will learn something as well.
This year is going to be up and down and hopefully at some point things will come together, the game will slow down for the new guys and we’ll see what the future holds.
