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Message: [QUOTE="Townie72, post: 2858132, member: 780"] Here's the problem with the idea of "The Team We Were Expecting". The imaginary Team We Were Expecting was a figment of our imagination or at least the imaginations of those who were expecting a much better team in the beginning part of the season. It's easy to see how this comes about if you just dissect some of these pre-season and early season posts in which these high expectations are set. First, the optomists usually set the best part of the past season as the floor they expect in the upcoming seaason. For example, the SU defense at the end of 2018-19 becomes a new baseline. Second, they assume that all the returning players will improve, especially in their areas of relative weakness. They believe Marek will gain 20lbs of muscle, Chewy will develop and inside offensive game and Oshae will figure out how to finish. That these players might not change or improve or even regress isn't part of their calculations. Third, they look at the incoming players from video clips, or press snippets or"star" ratings that are based on some pretty flaky judgements. So, it's all pretty logical. Improved returning players (playing fewer minutes) + Great incoming players = A better Team. When that doesn't happen, disappointment sets in and blame starts being assigned with the coaching being the usual target. Beyond that a lot of attention is paid to coming up with explanations as to why their optimism hasn't panned out. This year it's Frank's injury. Little attention is paid or weight given to team chemistry or how this particular set of players is going to operate together. To the extent that the team we saw against ND is better than the one we saw against UConn, the explanation is not in individual players getting better but in the players and JB better understanding what works and what doesn't with this particular group. Optimism is fine, even fun. But when it leads to mood swings, frustration and vitriol, it ain't. [/QUOTE]

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