Run it back is the craziest thing I have seen. Like we didn't just sit through an entire season where outside of one game anyone ranked just overwhelmed us with talent.
The second half of the season was completely different. We did manage to beat UNC in spite of our size deficit.
I think we could run it back with almost all of our existing team and be really good, with one big exception:
5: Portal Center, McLeod, Patterson
4-5: Brown, Carey
3-4: Freeman
3: Bell
1-3: Westry, Copeland
2: Starling, Cuffe, Moore
1: Mintz
Essentially we would be trading Taylor for Freeman, Hima for a portal center, and a healthy Westry, Carey and McLeod for their injured versions. Every player would be a year older and a year more acclimated to the system.
Red would be one year more experienced as a coach.
Our biggest problems after Williams left the program and McLeod was injured was lack of rebounding and interior presence. Brown is a good rebounder, but can't do it himself, and he is an ok rim protector for a forward, but not good for a center.
Having Brown play most of his minutes at power forward next to a true center will solve that biggest problem. Having a power forward like Freeman instead of Taylor will also help. Bell still needs to be more committed to rebounding than he was most of the season.
I think we could run back most of the same roster and be really good.
This is highly unlikely to end up this way. Maybe McLeod transfers after we get another center, maybe Taylor stays and Carey doesn't, etc. So many variables can come into play.