Enjoy this season, this is just the beginning

[Kitaman]

Not a directive but a suggestion. New players, new coaches and plenty of young'uns.

This is rebuilding year preparing our future. Last year I would not have stayed up till 2am, but this squad excites me. There is a lot of promise. Come February I expect us to be very pleased about what is trams forming.

Carlton and the others were overmatched but no one backed down or was intimidated. They also can rebound like we haven't seen in awhile.

I saw two things that I hope get fixed for us to get 20 wins:

First, Jalen only needs to be more of an effective leader, I hope he's capable. I'm saying be calm, encouraging, get everyone involved (including mentally) and take over when the team needs you. That floater was displayed too late and the youngsters clearly needed some encouragement. Ollie also should make sure his minutes are managed, at least so he can respond to runs with energy and clarity in the 2nd half.

Just saying Jalen a lot of times will be the best player on the court, he needs to be consistent and lead or defer to someone who will. He's too good.

Secondly, We have a shooter in Larrier. Use him in Rip fashion. He's deadly mid range. Needs to get the ball in his spot and 'catch and shoot'. I not confident a 3 point assassin will emerge but let's shoot closer in guys.

So far no one looks NBA ready and that bodes well for us fans and the future. The good news is this is the best team we've has in years and they are young, developing, learning and improving.

I call them 'popcorn ready' because a script is playing out for next season.

 

[willie99]

how dare you!!!!!!!!

 

[Jay-Bone]

The only one I'm concerned about right now is Vital. Seems really dogged the last two games. Not sure what it is, hopefully doesn't feel he's getting pushed out, I mean he scored 30. But he and Anderson can become two big time x-factors after the scoring 3 headed dog. I'm not even all that worried about Diarra. The kids need some time against mediocre competition to figure things out and the post will improve. Plus we'll add Cobb back into the mix. I'm optimistic. We don't need the kids to do what Bridges and Jackson do, we just need them to be serviceable against high level comp. MSU is a well rounded team with multiple 5 stars and we disrupted them quite a bit. Take away the beginning of the 2nd half and Winston going nuts and we were right there running with the big boys. Improve shot selection, move the ball a bit more and without the ball and get them all to make a 3 now and then and we'll be a force to reckon. Remember Ollie (and Calhoun) always focused on defense first. The O will come. Uconn runs on not just 5 stars, we're not the biggest dog ,but the one with the biggest bite

 

[tzznandrew]

The good news is this is the best team we've has in years and they are young, developing, learning and improving.

Gibbs-Adams-Purvis-Hamilton-Miller-Brimah is almost certainly better than this team. I wish that team had more than one year to play together. Took them the year to round into shape as well, and by that time they were a 9 seed rather than the 4 or 5 seed-level they were playing at.

This team looks fun though. Gilbert is the key: not just this year, but the future. We have very little time left with Larrier and Adams as our best players; if Gilbert can become who we know he can, we can mix and match in other strong players in the coming years and be the consistent Top 10-15 team we once were, and should be.

But if Gilbert gets hurt and we lose Larrier and Adams?

 

[jibsey]

How do you hang with a big strong team when your center and power forwards score zero? 3 small guards going against that is OK for awhile but it gets tough. MSU is one of many teams that have strength down low. The idea that we can gut and effort our way to beat these elite teams is crazy. We have 3 guards that drive the paint and take circus shots. That’s our offense. It will be enough to win some games but ther’s a ceiling.

 

[upstater]

Gibbs-Adams-Purvis-Hamilton-Miller-Brimah is almost certainly better than this team. I wish that team had more than one year to play together. Took them the year to round into shape as well, and by that time they were a 9 seed rather than the 4 or 5 seed-level they were playing at.

This team looks fun though. Gilbert is the key: not just this year, but the future. We have very little time left with Larrier and Adams as our best players; if Gilbert can become who we know he can, we can mix and match in other strong players in the coming years and be the consistent Top 10-15 team we once were, and should be.

But if Gilbert gets hurt and we lose Larrier and Adams?

If you're not getting a top lottery pick player, you definitely want a kid who won't bail on the school before they're ready for the pros. Daniel Hamilton leaving really hurt. I was surprised when he didn't come back--couldn't believe it.

 

[tzznandrew]

If you're not getting a top lottery pick player, you definitely want a kid who won't bail on the school before they're ready for the pros. Daniel Hamilton leaving really hurt. I was surprised when he didn't come back--couldn't believe it.

Yup.

If you think about players who left and weren't first round picks, Hamilton leaving hurt more than either Daniels or KEA. That's not a shot at him; he's happier doing what he's doing.

But 2014-2015 could have been:

Sr. Boatright
So. Purvis
Fr. Hamilton
Sr. Daniels
So. Brimah

And 2016-2017, even with injuries, would have been much better. Whole different feel and course. Maybe even avoided the freak Larrier injury. And a decent 2017 season probably means MAL still shows up.

 

[MadDogRevival]

Gibbs-Adams-Purvis-Hamilton-Miller-Brimah is almost certainly better than this team.

Well, it's certainly an interesting hypothetical. Much of it depends on your opinion of the various guys. Also depends on when in the season. Game 4? I pick your crew. But I'm not sure I will after game 25.
I was lukewarm on Gibbs, not a fan of a hot/cold player like Purvis, loved Brimah's heart, but he was severely limited, Miller was a rock, but limited, and Adams was younger. Team chemistry was iffy. Unranked after week 10. Finished 6th in the AAC with only one ranked team above them - SMU at 24. They also needed a miracle 4/5 court shot to win the 1st game of the AAC tourn to make the big dance, IIRC.
I think we can do better than that this year, really.
The current team seems to have much better team chemistry. Also, we haven't seen Cobb for 2 games, and his presence last night may have helped - hard to say - n number too small.
But give this time.

 

[tzznandrew]

They also needed a miracle 4/5 court shot to win the 1st game of the AAC tourn to make the big dance, IIRC.

They were in the tournament regardless. Sigh. I have no idea how anyone can look at their metrics and not recognize that. That was the same year Tulsa made it in. Compare UConn to Tulsa.

That particular team starting figuring it out later. This team can be better than them, no doubt, but they don't have the depth, I don't think.

That team won 25 games, and played a good OOC schedule as well (Michigan, Texas, Syracuse, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Georgetown, Maryland). The AAC was good that year as well, since UConn, Cincy, Temple, and Tulsa all went to the NCAAs, and SMU would have if they weren't banned.