I haven’t been afraid to lay my criticism when I felt it was warranted.
When things have improved you better give credit.
Not many if any fans had real expectations this year.
We are better than I thought and losses suck but this team is a year away.
Their is reason for optimism for the future. I didn’t see it earlier this year but I see it now.
Obviously we have flaws that need to improve but the pieces are there and developing.
Just be consistent. People remember.
I think you're wrong on a few levels.
I thought the pre-season predictions were fairly optimistic. Not sure what you consider "real expectations," though.
"When things have improved?" "Give credit?" Here's the thing... A lot of people had their chests puffed-out when we were beating middling teams by 3 points. When we were
approaching being 4th in a down conference, after a soft schedule, still with the most difficult games to come. And i guess the "critics" to which you refer kinda kept their mouths shut, not wanting to poo-poo it all and rain on the pollyanna parade. But, that's how it works. The pep rally crowd gets to say "I told ya so" with any semi-positive outcome. They get to say "JB's a genius!" for doing basic basketball stuff... And here's the other kicker: the genius stuff is all just the same stuff "the critics" have been calling for for years. But, it's like religion. When something good happens, god is great. When something bad happens, god had nothing to do with it and just 'didn't intervene.' A player develops mid way into the season—a season we started earlier than everyone else—and it's "look how JB benched him earlier and robbed him of his dignity and confidence, but now he's shining—all part of his great plan!"
Can't be "consistent," because the context and circumstances change every game, every day. The comments you don't like come in response to things that happen, or to people who post contrary comments. Consistent? That can only mean one thing, realistically—'rah-rah, all is good. Shut yer dirty mouth if you think otherwise.' Those guys
are consistent.
I wish i could say "we're a year away." But, next year will have a new dynamic. If Eli returns, we have a chance to move up in the league. I don't expect him to return, though. Then, we're back a step, hoping for significant contributions from unexpected sources and saying we're a year away again.
I'm really curious about Jon Bol Ajak. I hope Jesse Edwards can maybe play some summer games overseas or something. I hope Quincy continues his upward trajectory, but i'm fearing we might have seen glimpses of the ceiling in these latest games. He'll improve his 3-ball, and be better, but i'm finding it hard to imagine him being
the focal point. Someone likened him to Jerome Williams. I think that's appropriate. Which means we really need more—a more dynamic scorer, in the Eli mould.
Can Buddy get better? Joe will improve his percentage and shot consistency, but can we be productive with him being
the man?