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[QUOTE="El Jefe Syr, post: 1018428, member: 1301"]
I'm very much of the "things aren't as great as they seem in the best of times and things aren't as bad as they seem in the worst  times.." camp.   Coming out of last year, we were in a similar boat- personnel-wise.  Our PG went to the NBA, our stud 3-pt. shooter graduated, as did our solid, 4-year veteran.  Yet we'd just been to the final 4 so that influenced our perspective on this year.

Conjecture but  - This year, if we'd had one or two more shots fall against Dayton, we may have beaten Stanford and maybe our zone would have given Florida some trouble...etc  If these- or even one of them - happened a fan's outlook would be better.

For next year - I strongly believe that both Gbinije and Roberson will make significant leaps, Cooney will loosen a bit and hit a better %, Christmas will be a more consistent (but not flawless) 8 & 8 guy.  I also think that we'll sacrifice a bit (but not all) of our stifling defense of the past 2-years for a higher-scoring, up-tempo offense.

Less certain, but very possible developments could also include (1) Joseph growing into another good-great freshman PG, (2) McC being a 10 & 8 player, (3) BJ having a Southerland-like impact off the bench... (there are more that I can't think of right now).  So while we don't have a Jabari Parker or Embid coming through the door, there's quite a bit of raw materials here for a very good team.

I'm not expecting a NC run next year, but who knows, college B-ball teams tend to gel and get hot in unexpected ways and the sport becomes more unpredictable every year.
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