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[QUOTE="moqui, post: 2219700, member: 214"]
oh, so much uncertainty:  a lot of new faces; a lot of familiar faces in new or expanded roles.

so what?  that's college basketball; nothing really new there.  and as others have pointed out, JB has often fielded very strong teams coming off of years when he has seemingly lost too much talent.

the players are not the key issue this year.  it is the coaching staff.  2017-18 will mark the most significant change in program culture since JB replaced Danforth.  That's how entwined Mike had become with the program over the last decade.  yes, Bernie was Associate Head Coach for a longer period, but he never had either the breadth or the depth of responsibilities that Mike had; few assistants ever do.  some might think I'm overstating this, but I really don't think so:  this is as close as you can get to having a new head coach without actually having made that change.

so far, the change has been positive.  Red moving up and Griff stepping in has brought a new energy to the program, a program that has gone stagnant since the sanctions were handed down (exactly as the NCAA intended, BTW).  I have confidence in those two being able to excel at their jobs, but the key to the next 3 years is going to be whether JB can fully re-engage his talents - which are formidable - again.  His track record says yes, he will, and I wouldn't bet against him, but I have to acknowledge that basically re-launching a top tier program is a tall order for a man of his age.
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