Do we have clouded judgement?

[bballbeadle]

Good question. I feel that we were young and inexperienced and came back and won many games on sheer will, being fierce competitors, team cohesion, and the guts to make big plays as needed. A selfless team playing for the good of all. Zero divas.

Now they return experienced with reinforcements and a chip on their shoulder. You can feel their confidence.( note players like Oshae and Tyus putting index finger on lips going shhhhhhh, don’t tell them yet)

Optimism must be tempered with caution as stated by coach but:

As a diehard fan I am extremely optimistic and I’m all in on this team

GooseMutt, ZERO DIVAS. This is what I like best about the team. Many people have said that the team last year became so cohesive when everything clicked in. They understood during the tourney what it took to win. They were bitterly disappointed when they lost to Duke. Their mindsets during this season will be the driver of their play. Battle is not a diva, and so far I don’t see anyone else that is, either. In my estimation, this is a huge factor for hoped-for success.

I love the season in its entirety. Of course, I want to win many games in the tournament, but the season itself provides me with (usually) great gratification. I love the agony and the ecstasy. I don’t enjoy the “agony” but understand it comes with the territory. The ecstasy is what keeps me going, like those rats that press the lever over and over to get cocaine or whatever drug the FDA is testing on the poor slobs.

And I love this forum. The wackier it gets, the better I like it.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Of course the other aspect of this is that we could indeed be world beaters this year and wind up with less tournament success than we had with last year’s “bad” team. Think MSU from 2016 and last year. That would be the thing that would spawn major disappointment. My own confidence for this upcoming year is based on last year’s defensive performance. We know this team can win with defense alone, so to me the floor for this year should be at a minimum what we got last year. Add even a marginally improved offense and it should lead to at least 2 or 3 more wins. That starts putting us in good seed range and so on. I feel it is totally reasonable to expect the same defense and at least a 10% better offense. If I am wrong I am more likely to be estimating low than high.

 

[GooseMutt]

GooseMutt, ZERO DIVAS. This is what I like best about the team. Many people have said that the team last year became so cohesive when everything clicked in. They understood during the tourney what it took to win. They were bitterly disappointed when they lost to Duke. Their mindsets during this season will be the driver of their play. Battle is not a diva, and so far I don’t see anyone else that is, either. In my estimation, this is a huge factor for hoped-for success.

I love the season in its entirety. Of course, I want to win many games in the tournament, but the season itself provides me with (usually) great gratification. I love the agony and the ecstasy. I don’t enjoy the “agony” but understand it comes with the territory. The ecstasy is what keeps me going, like those rats that press the lever over and over to get cocaine or whatever drug the FDA is testing on the poor slobs.

And I love this forum. The wackier it gets, the better I like it.

Agree 100 percent! The mentality of playing as one is powerful. I’m drinking the juice with you! Let’s go!

 

[Col. Bleep]

" We played good for a week. We didn't play good for the whole year last year.''

The coach's quote is largely accurate.
But it's also possible that the team finally found a way to adapt and win under the extraordinarily difficult circumstances of basically having only 6 (relatively) healthy players: the team jelled just in time for the tournament.

With the tremendous experience the returnees obtained, their undeniable talent and improvement plus the new additions, SU fans' elevated expectations are not unreasonable.

That said, let's just destroy G-town and UConn and go from there into ACC play.

 

[SoBristol]

My indicator will be the play of Marek. Our tourney success came from his new found offensive contribution. ….

Agree, and I would expand on that. Team needs to stay healthy. My key is the development of our inside play (Chukwu, Sidibe and Marek) to complement our returning scorers. Those 3 were raw. If each of the 3 has improved, there is plenty of justification for optimism, even if JB isn't going there pre-season.

 

[721Comstock]

JB is right. However...

The team that gelled late last year, is the team he's returning this year to start.
Now, with all that experience under their belts.
And without the need to play 40 every night.

Plus Chewie and Dib are healthy/healthier this year.

Plus Hughes, who had the whole year to practice in our system.
Plus Carey, who should be the dynamic, attacking guard we need to get some easy transition buckets that we had almost none of last year.
Plus Buddy, a lights-out sniper.
And Braswell - more depth that's actually on scholarship.
And HoWash - if he can get healthy in time to contribute.

 

[Newhouser]

start of the year the line is the tournament results from the previous year don't matter, end of the year, regular season doesn't matter, it's all how you do in the tournament.

 

[moqui]

do we have clouded judgement? yes, of course
does that mean our judgement is necessarily wrong? no
i am very optimistic about this season. i think this is a top 4 acc, 2nd weekend squad. and any team that is that good is a reasonable final four contender

 

[bballbeadle]

JB is right. However...

The team that gelled late last year, is the team he's returning this year to start.
Now, with all that experience under their belts.
And without the need to play 40 every night.

Plus Chewie and Dib are healthy/healthier this year.

Plus Hughes, who had the whole year to practice in our system.
Plus Carey, who should be the dynamic, attacking guard we need to get some easy transition buckets that we had almost none of last year.
Plus Buddy, a lights-out sniper.
And Braswell - more depth that's actually on scholarship.
And HoWash - if he can get healthy in time to contribute.

Uncle! Uncle! You made your case!

Ha ha!

 

[sugrad68]

I love the potential of this year's team but I want to see them perform on the court against quality opponents before I pass judgement. Last year's team was pathetic offensively, even after Marek became a 4th scorer late in the season. I have to be convinced we don't have a donut offense -- a hole in the middle with Chukwu and Sidibe, although Sidibe did show some offensive talent. Last year we played 3 on 5 most of the season, then 4 on 5 when Marek came to life. There were games when the team could not get 5 assists in a game. Here's hoping the additions and the player improvements do happen.

 

[Brooky03]

The argument could be made that the upperclassmen are what they are. Frank and Battle and Chewy could be maxed out. Could be.

The expectations come from the younger/new guys. We have a good grasp of this team's floor; 19-ish wins. Return some freshman who played about a thousand minutes per game, bring in a transfer who is ready to contribute by all accounts, couple it with some stud recruits (at least one) for depth and add the zone. That all results in a pretty darn high ceiling.

 

[jordoo]

View attachment 142148View attachment 142149

Watching that happen was mind boggling in a great way!!!!

 

[CousCuse]

Watching that happen was mind boggling in a great way!!!!

I like razzing Hoo, he actually has a sense of humor, which is rare these days.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I would describe my judgment as more murky than clouded.

 

[jordoo]

Both sides have been covered well. To me we are more the team we finished as but healthier with added depth and offensive potential. I think we go into the season far ahead of the majority of college b-ball. The key to the season for me is that the team continues to improve throughout the season. Which IMO is the exact thrust of JB’s quotes as General20 pointed out.

That said I expect a NC every season so yeah I’m a delusional fan but I like it that way.

 

[Hoo's That]

I like razzing Hoo, he actually has a sense of humor, which is rare these days.

I'm a really an all-around great guy. Just ask me and I'll tell you.

 

[SWC75]

I have argued for years that the regular season, especially the conference season, is a better measure of a team's strength than the single elimination post season. I always got told that the post season, specifically the NCAA tournament was all that counted.

If we are now going to acknowledge that the regular season is the better measure of a team, then we should learn to appreciate regular season accomplishments. if we can win a conference regular season title, (even if it's unofficial), win 30 games, get ranked #1, we should remember the teams that did that as fondly as teams that had good post season runs.

As far as predicting how far a team will go in the tournament, all i want is to be curious, rather than nervous on selection Sunday. The regular season can get a you a good seed but that's all it can do. The rest is a spin of the roulette wheel, (as Virginia found out last year).

 

[cuseattle]

The rotation will determine our success this year. It's great to have all these parts, but we need to have an identity going into ACC play.
The closer we get to our best players averaging only 32 minutes, the better the team will be imo.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

For me, part of the excitement this year, is the return to the old SU team construction. The very good program developmental players are now in the pipeline. There is Buddy, JG3, Hughes, and even to a lesser extent Sid.

Starting this year and for several more years now, I don't see having to plot out the needed wins for a winning season, or even much sweating for a NCAAT selection.

I think this year starts a run of several years, maybe until JB retires, of 25-30 wins per year and back into the upper tier of ACC teams. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Nope. We are going to be good. If some of you want to be negative nancies that's on you.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I'm in the same boat. I'm cautiously optimistic. It's been five calendar years since we were a Top 25-level basketball team. I think we absolutely could be that this year, but I want to see it.

We finshed the season ranked 10th in the Coaches Poll 2 years ago.
4 years ago we were as high as one in the country and were in the top 25 all year.

 

[Eric15]

We finshed the season ranked 10th in the Coaches Poll 2 years ago.
4 years ago we were as high as one in the country and were in the top 25 all year.

By "Top 25 level basketball team" I mean consistently winning week after week, with a strong regular season non-conference and conference record. 2016 was awesome, but it was a flash in the pan at the very end of the year.

And we're in agreement that the 2014 season was the last time we were genuinely good.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I have argued for years that the regular season, especially the conference season, is a better measure of a team's strength than the single elimination post season. I always got told that the post season, specifically the NCAA tournament was all that counted.

If we are now going to acknowledge that the regular season is the better measure of a team, then we should learn to appreciate regular season accomplishments. if we can win a conference regular season title, (even if it's unofficial), win 30 games, get ranked #1, we should remember the teams that did that as fondly as teams that had good post season runs.

As far as predicting how far a team will go in the tournament, all i want is to be curious, rather than nervous on selection Sunday. The regular season can get a you a good seed but that's all it can do. The rest is a spin of the roulette wheel, (as Virginia found out last year).

People still poo poo the seasons we win 25 plus games and lose in the first or second round.

I don't think people remember great regular seasons as much as they say they do unless you deal when unfortunate circumstances in 2010 and 2012 due to injury and suspension.

Virtually nobody remembers the or says how good we were when we won BET in 2005 because we lost to Vermont. The same could be said for 2014 when we lost to Dayton.

Any way I think JB knows what he is doing when it comes to winning in the tournament the past 5 or 6 years. It's not luck as much as some people want to claim. Teams struggle significantly against our zone OOC.

 

[Townie72]

I have argued for years that the regular season, especially the conference season, is a better measure of a team's strength than the single elimination post season. I always got told that the post season, specifically the NCAA tournament was all that counted.

If we are now going to acknowledge that the regular season is the better measure of a team, then we should learn to appreciate regular season accomplishments. if we can win a conference regular season title, (even if it's unofficial), win 30 games, get ranked #1, we should remember the teams that did that as fondly as teams that had good post season runs.

As far as predicting how far a team will go in the tournament, all i want is to be curious, rather than nervous on selection Sunday. The regular season can get a you a good seed but that's all it can do. The rest is a spin of the roulette wheel, (as Virginia found out last year).

After watching almost every SU game last year, I and many others had to be beyond surprised at the success in the Tourney. Su was lucky to even get in to the Tournment. But there are SU fans and others that think SU was actually one of the best four teams in the country which is what the Final Four seems to demonstrate.

Actually, I think it's two different things that are being measured here.

The minority or the involved, interested and knowledgeable fan knows it's the regular season that really gives us the measure of the quality of the team.

The Majority or the others who might only watch these teams in the Tourney (or watch very few games until the Tourney), how you do in the Tournament becomes the only measure.

When JB says only the Tourney is important, he's talking about for the great unwashed masses and for the sports columnists and TV talking heads that want an easy measure.

 

[Townie72]

People still poo poo the seasons we win 25 plus games and lose in the first or second round.

I don't think people remember great regular seasons as much as they say they do unless you deal when unfortunate circumstances in 2010 and 2012 due to injury and suspension.

Virtually nobody remembers the or says how good we were when we won BET in 2005 because we lost to Vermont. The same could be said for 2014 when we lost to Dayton.

Any way I think JB knows what he is doing when it comes to winning in the tournament the past 5 or 6 years. It's not luck as much as some people want to claim. Teams struggle significantly against our zone OOC.

As I watched SU win those first 25 games, I very frequently said to myself, "How is this happening? This team isn't that good."

I liked it, of course, but it seemed unreal.

We then went on to collapse in the last nine games losing six of them starting with Boston College (!).

That team was no where as good as some were thinking when they tipped the ball off against BC.