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Message: [QUOTE="Hans Sprungfeld, post: 3807059, member: 181"] I second your sentiment, including couching it as a hope rather than a prediction. This thread has so much of what I saw and thought and felt last night. Without solid point guard play - and we really do not have it right now- last night was a very uneasy game to watch. But we do have a roster filled with options and alternatives, and as noted in the opening post here, except for the dunk right after we took the lead, [B]we pitched a shutout to end the game[/B]. We didn't even hit the free throws that will be necessary in upcoming games against better competition. That is hugely hopeful. Coaching and chemistry will be essential for this season. Not really a surprise, but it will be the difference between disappointment, Top 25, Top 10, or dreams of anything higher. And all are imaginable. Last year, when we could not yet capture and keep the lead, there were the panicked complaints about lack of leadership and smarts that lasted up until Whaley started to flower, and Bouk grew, which led to a more properly proportioned Vital. What I'm most hopeful to see developing is a collective, "Team IQ" that will result in adjustments to hot hands, foul trouble, injuries, schedule disruptions, COVID stuff, etc. Confidence in alternatives, and essential resilience that combines experienced seniors (whoda thunk that two - or even one -year ago), well-chosen transfers, and a significant upgrade in recruited talent. In sum, it's "Year three of a rebuild," mid-January with only 8 games played The coaching staff has point guard experience, but until that bears greater fruit, savor the fact that DePaul did not score in the final 4:27. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach