And I hate to join you, but this is a good for a first year coach regardless of what the expectations were. Yes, he has worlds of talent on the team, but, and especially if they win the ACC Tourney, I think people have to acknowledge that he has done a decent job starting out.
FamILLy!
Not saying that felt good..by any means
Heck, at the time the game we lost to OSU was a quad 1 game I believe. That seemed crazy to me.
Thirding this. I know he broke our collective heart during the Weber years, but I can't help but wish him well. Not everybody can make ir in the NBA, and he has had some pretty big shoes to fill.
The ‘98 conf champs represented the best of this
100% agree with this. We added two guys with NBA aspirations who both want to be the alpha dog. Most teams can only handle one alpha dog, so taking both TSJ and Mayer was bound to cause culture and chemistry problems. We would have been better off taking TSJ and a role player who may not have been quite as talented as Mayer, but who would have understood his role better.
The flip side is that Curbelo and Podz left who were expected to be anchors of your backcourt. Trying to replace with star freshman talent is really difficult late in the recruiting game. I think the reality is that most years you're gonna have to raid the portal because it's evermore a win now mentality. Ideally you get someone like an Altmeyer in football. Someone with a lot of talent that wasn't happy with their situation but has 3 years remaining to play. Could be a bench rider at Duke or a mid-major trying to prove they are Power 5 material. Easier said than done.
Maryland is an example of a team that has consistently had strong point guards, most recently Anthony Cowan, and suddenly last spring had none and no prospects. They had three strong returners this season in Donta Scott, Hakim Hart and Julian Reese, but lost wing Eric Ayala to graduation and PG Fatts Russell, who had transferred to the Terps from Rhode Island via the portal in '21.
Speaking only for myself, I am looking for specific names.
Hawk needs to work on trajectory on his jumper and FT to make that jump. Cook could shoot in and IMO Hawk should return because as an 28 percent three point shooter from collegiate distance that’s an area that needs some off season work and adjustments. I hope everyone we add in the portal can provide much needed perimeter shooting.
Rockridge alum here...I guess I will take this opportunity for my first post (long-time stalker, er follower) and say that I hope he does terribly in his first game on Thursday, or at least just well enough for them to still lose. Just put things together reading the board that this who we are playing against. Will be down there for the game...should be a good one. The super-sectional game last night was probably one of the best HS games I have ever seen.
Sleeper Alert...Certa is good
And Extra-Firm. Not Charmin soft like some products we've sampled.
And Lieb has both his senior year AND his COVID year. However, I don't think Illinois is obligated to give him a scholarship for that fifth year.
My understanding was that both Curbelo and Podz were "encouraged" to look elsewhere if they wanted to see any playing time this season.
Most of Hawkins 3 point shots in the second half of the season seem to be from 3-5' behind the arc. That is NBA distance. I agree that the percentages need to improve to make an NBA team.
Yes. Makes long threes
