Assuming we stay healthy/no suspensions

[CorduroyG]

would you consider this season a disappointment if we do not make the final 4? i dont care if we go undefeated and lose our 1st game in the elite 8 on a half court buzzer beater, id consider it a disappointment. its final 4 or bust!!

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Final 4 or bust is awful criteria.

Putting a stake in the ground on what's success or not based on a single elimination tournament means you're always unhappy.

 

[CorduroyG]

Final 4 or bust is awful criteria.

Putting a stake in the ground on what's success or not based on a single elimination tournament means you're always unhappy.

we havent made a final 4 in 10 years. we've had top recruiting classes the last 5-6 years. we've had bad luck 2 of the last 3 years losing our center right before the tourny. but enough is enough. if we like to think of ourselves as elite we need a final 4 run.

 

[moqui]

two things here:

First, I predicted pre-season that this would be a Final Four year if MCW and BT stayed healthy

. . . but, it is too soon to get excited about what we have seen on the court. We have played a fluky outdoor game that played to our advantage, and faced three overmatched opponents. I suspect that there are 15 teams in the nation who would have looked just as impressive in those four games

 

[Marsh01]

would you consider this season a disappointment if we do not make the final 4? i dont care if we go undefeated and lose our 1st game in the elite 8 on a half court buzzer beater, id consider it a disappointment. its final 4 or bust!!

Yeesh. Enjoy the ENTIRE season. If it happens, then celebrate.

I have made it pretty clear that i absolutely live for college basketball and thoroughly enjoy the regular season. Maybe its that i have mellowed out as i have gotten older (i still am a psycho at times) but college basketball is absolutely completely without question different than it was 20 years ago. Call it parity, call it players leaving early, whatver. It is 100% harder to make a final four today than it was IMO 20 years ago.

After Arinze went down derailing our season 3 years ago and watching kemba take his mediocre ass team to the nc 2 years ago i just root like hell, hope we stay healthy and hope for the best come March.

If we lose in the elite 8 on a halfcourt buzzerbeater i will be devastated, not disappointed.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

Yeah, its time...

We've basically been the equivalent of Georgia football the past decade. Tons of recruits and nothing to brag about- post season wise.

 

[sufandu]

It's too soon to tell. There are too many pieces in new roles are new to the team. If Coleman doesn't provide the inside scoring we're hoping for against real competition or MCW looks different against Big East defense we simply may not be good enough. If DC continues to settle down, Rak continues to show offensive moves, JS continues to shoot it, and MCW looks as good against Louisville as he did against Colgate, I'll be greatly disappointed. This team is more unpredictable with more upside than the teams we've had the last few years.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I dont like to draw a ine in the sand either, but this is the second longest final four drought in the JB era...for whatever its worth.

 

[stuckinbig11]

considerable work to do before those expectations should be considered

 

[armory]

Considering this year's level of competition, I'd say yes. I do not see more than 3 teams being noticeably better than us.

 

[br801]

would you consider this season a disappointment if we do not make the final 4? i dont care if we go undefeated and lose our 1st game in the elite 8 on a half court buzzer beater, id consider it a disappointment. its final 4 or bust!!

Oh, man. It was inevitable, but I didn't expect to see this thread before December.

 

[cusetown1]

It's time,this is the year.

 

[cusetown1]

Oh, man. It was inevitable, but I didn't expect to see this thread before December.

This thread reminds me of that fantasy football commercial a few years ago. They are doing their draft and the one nerdy guy drafts TJ Houshmanzadeh and can't pronounce it correctly and says Championship. I don't know why I just thought of that.

 

[tbonezone]

Assuming we stay healthy/no suspensions :



problem i see is michael carter williams avg. 37+ minutes and wearing down come spring ala jonny flynn.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

I would never consider a college basketball season in which the team goes , say, to the elite eight, and then loses in a well played game a disappointment. the random nature of single elimination tourneys when you are dealing with kids barely old enough to drive should eliminate the concept of such lofty standards for success. sure, you can hope and hope realisitically some seasons more than others, but frank disappointment, not me..perhaps im too old.

 

[cusetown1]

I pray everybody is healthy going into the tourney and academically eligible. I would also like to make 2 requests to the NCAA refs. No the rules ( we got screwed in a bogus call against Marquette 2 years ago) also don't decide the game like last year. Also one last thing, please Vern Lundquist would you retire? Thanks a bunch.

 

[IthacaMatt]

would you consider this season a disappointment if we do not make the final 4? i dont care if we go undefeated and lose our 1st game in the elite 8 on a half court buzzer beater, id consider it a disappointment. its final 4 or bust!!

I haven't seen enough basketball yet to say we are definitely among the 4 best teams this year. But we have a lot of potential. Our defense should be consistent. We are very deep in big men. I think Southerland gives us huge production and that offensive explosiveness that you need to lay a run on the other team.

The missing pieces right now are (1) Trevor Cooney finding his shot and not letting this slump drag on to the point that it compromises his season and gets his head all screwed up., and (2) Fair finding his niche in the offense and getting comfortable again. We need his slashing from the wing. Not a lot of dribble drive capability on this team, and his movement attacking the rim is a key for us.

I am a believer in Coleman. He is going to be very solid for us in about a month. Rak seems to be improving his game by leaps and bounds, too.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

All the talk about Cooney, I never thought he'd be a guy who could miss 10 3's in a row...with only one being remotely close to going in.

 

[igor]

Yeesh. Enjoy the ENTIRE season. If it happens, then celebrate.

I have made it pretty clear that i absolutely live for college basketball and thoroughly enjoy the regular season. Maybe its that i have mellowed out as i have gotten older (i still am a psycho at times) but college basketball is absolutely completely without question different than it was 20 years ago. Call it parity, call it players leaving early, whatver. It is 100% harder to make a final four today than it was IMO 20 years ago.

After Arinze went down derailing our season 3 years ago and watching kemba take his mediocre ass team to the nc 2 years ago i just root like hell, hope we stay healthy and hope for the best come March.

If we lose in the elite 8 on a halfcourt buzzerbeater i will be devastated, not disappointed.

kemba took his man smothering team all the way. they dictated the outcome rather than pray they miss

 

[moqui]

kemba took his man smothering team al,l thr way. they dictated the outcome rather than pray they miss

if all JB does is "pray they miss," then he must be right with the Lord, because he is working on his 4th straight year of a top 20 defense.

 

[igor]

there are few teams ever with more defensive aptitude than this cuse team. theyd be better in man. not jb man. that is awful.

 

[Marsh01]

kemba took his man smothering team all the way. they dictated the outcome rather than pray they miss

Save it old man. Florida...

 

[bozophobe]

All the talk about Cooney, I never thought he'd be a guy who could miss 10 3's in a row...with only one being remotely close to going in.

I thought his shots were getting progressively closer, including a few in-and-outs, like Southerland's misses.

 

[bozophobe]

I haven't seen enough basketball yet to say we are definitely among the 4 best teams this year. But we have a lot of potential. Our defense should be consistent. We are very deep in big men. I think Southerland gives us huge production and that offensive explosiveness that you need to lay a run on the other team.

The missing pieces right now are (1) Trevor Cooney finding his shot and not letting this slump drag on to the point that it compromises his season and gets his head all screwed up., and (2) Fair finding his niche in the offense and getting comfortable again. We need his slashing from the wing. Not a lot of dribble drive capability on this team, and his movement attacking the rim is a key for us.

I am a believer in Coleman. He is going to be very solid for us in about a month. Rak seems to be improving his game by leaps and bounds, too.

Yeah, it would be great if both Rak and DC developed a fairly efficient shot from within 6 feet or so. I remember a couple of years ago when for the longest time Onuaku and Jackson were both in the top 5 in the BE in FG%. And Rak and DC could make more free throws!