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Message: [QUOTE="RF2044, post: 5325421, member: 40"] Sobering. The thing about 2016, I think, that often gets lost in the discussion is that 2016 happened on the tail end of the program having a resurgent period of [U]sustained excellence[/U]. [LIST] [*]We were a #1 ranked / #1 seed in 2010. [*]We only lost 1 regular season game in 2012, en route to an extended #1 ranking / being a #1 seed again. [*]We went to the Final Four in 2013 [*]We started out 25-0 in 2014, with an extended #1 ranking [even though we faded, and the team was flawed, it felt like an extension of the previous years' success]. [*][COLOR=rgb(184, 49, 47)]2015 was a lost year[/COLOR] -- we were down, but the NCAA investigation led to us self-banning. [*]2016, we were up and down, but still made the F4. [/LIST] So, the NCAA stuff felt like an outlier blip [at the time], which seemed "supported" by us bouncing back the next year and STILL made the Final Four. It was something that the fanbase could rally around, and a sign that we might not experience the drop off that the NCAA sanctions / scholarship restrictions implied. Back then, it felt like we'd already bottomed out, and STILL made the Final Four. Unfortunately, in actuality, it was the beginning of the decline. The next few years had limited depth, due to the scholarship restrictions. The talent level dipped [Battle, Hughes, Buddy, and a bunch of pretty average supporting cast otherwise]. We got ransacked by injuries. And Boeheim lost a little off his fastball with respect to recruiting. Lots of reasons for the decline, but I associated 2016 with the preceding era, more than the decline. That was the tipping point, after which things were not the same afterwards. None of which has anything to do with your post, Scooch -- just thinking about this aloud using your post to think it out. [/QUOTE]

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