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Message: [QUOTE="BurgundyOUT, post: 3776453, member: 8058"] #Aztec4Life Tron Burgundy. There are countless Aztec alumni like myself who still throw up in our mouths a little every time we think of that abomination of a game on a boat nearly a decade ago. We call it the Shite on a Ship (no one calls it that). I'm sure you guys remember it differently, but as far as I'm concerned, the best thing to come out of that game was this t-shirt. [IMG]https://i.ibb.co/YBGgqvb/TShirt.jpg[/IMG] So I can't tell you how stoked I am that we get a shot at payback - on land - and a possible first W against the Cuse in three games. I can't say I've watched much ACC ball this year, but everyone knows how storied your program is and I know our kids are stoked to play you guys as opposed to some podunk school from BFE - when we dance, we [I]want[/I] a shot at schools like Syracuse and legendary coaches like Boeheim. He is a dying breed. Coming from a program that worshipped Steve Fisher until and through his retirement, I hope you guys cherish each and every season you have with him at the helm. But enough with the flattery. I thought I'd share a few insights into Aztec hoops. Don't let the low-ranked tempo fool you. We like to get out and run, and this year became only the fourth school in the last quarter-century to win four games by a minimum of 25 points while scoring at an average of 90+. The reason our tempo ranks so low is because we defend for the full 30 seconds on the shot clock. We basically run a 4-guard offense, though MWC PoY Matt Mitchell was 260 lbs before going lean and can play like a big. Fun Fact: His favorite team growing up was the Cuse and Melo was his favorite player. Some of you remember our 30-2 record last year and #1 NET ranking we maintained until the very endow the season. And those of you who do also know we lost an NBA 1st Rd draft pick in Malachi Flynn. Malachi was a special talent and you simply don't replace someone like that. But Malachi's backup from last year, Trey Pulliam, is capable of running the point and gets downhill right quick. We also lost two other starters, 5th-year transfers Yonni Wetzel (from Vandy) and PG KJ Feagin. Yonni was one of the smartest post players Ive ever seen (there's a reason Chris Beard was recruiting him as heavily as we were a year off their Final Four appearance). And he was a surfer so he had incredible balance and the combination similarly made hi a unique talent. But our starting 5, Nathan Mensah, missed a lion's share of the season with a medical condition, and he's back to full speed this season. We added another 5th-year senior transfer big, Maryland transfer Joshua Tomaic. While Tomaic gives us about 85% of what we had with Wetzel, Nate's return and the development of another bench stretch-4 type more than make up for the loss of Wetzel. I see a lot of people referencing TGo, the 5'8 senior transfer who's a lights out shooter, though I expect he'll have issues getting looks over the length of our guards. Speaking of lights-out shooter, that leaves us with Jordan Shackel, senior guard and [URL='https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/individual/143']according to NCAA[/URL] the 3rd-best 3-pt shooter in college hoops. That rounds out our starting 5, plus Tomaic off the bench. But as I see has been covered, Dutch goes a true 10-deep, often with wholesale subs. Keep an eye on #0, Keshad Johnson. The kid can jump out of the gym and is the best athlete on the team. Also keep an eye on the only frosh you'll se get PT, #5, Lamont Butler. He broke Reggie Miller's HS scoring record and he's gong to be something special on the Mesa. Overall, I would rate our depth as superior to what it was last year. I know Syracuse's zone is the singular zone D people associate with college hoops. And I know it will be unlike any zone we've faced this year. I also think we have the right tools to score against it; time will tell. So let's hope all the kids stay COVID free so we can all give the nation a good showing Friday night. Burgundy OUT [/QUOTE]

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