Expectations

[HuskyBaggins]

We are an eclectic bunch.

I read in one of your other posts you left scout because of all the vitriol directed at the 2006 team by posters. You may want to be prepared that some people can get nasty on this board. I'm not of fan of posts that are venomous to players or teams. But there is no way of stopping it. Just know that most posters are reasonable.

yeah, that kind of sentiment scares me. how many "lamb is just thinking about his position in the draft" posts are we going to see if they lose to a mid level BE team in january ?

you would think at this point, after 3 national championships and 4 final fours that they could get the benefit of the doubt

 

[emac]

el amin won it all his second season. just sayin

El Amin was BE rookie of the year and starter as a frosh. Bad comparison. He WAS in his second year though. He was a exception. Hopefully, Bazz is just like him.

 

[ctchamps]

yeah, that kind of sentiment scares me. how many "lamb is just thinking about his position in the draft" posts are we going to see if they lose to a mid level BE team in january ?

you would think at this point, after 3 national championships and 4 final fours that they could get the benefit of the doubt

The only logic to this is that we are who we are. Some people are more forgiving. Some are less forgiving. Some are more demanding. Some are less demanding. Some people are laid back and happy no matter what happens. Others are miserable unless things go their way. And some poor critters are miserable no matter what. My advice is learn to ignore people who see the world differently than you do.

Words can hurt, but only if we allow them to hurt. Since the other guy isn't likely to change, the only option is to change ourselves. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Waquoit]

This team should start at least 15-0 with that schedule. 15-0 will get those expectations going.

 

[Scot-e]

I agree we should start 15-0 or somewhere close if we have a WTF game and someone gets super hot- but looking at those games I see no one until BE play that can do that.

As for all this talk of NC or bust- I recommend you go back and watch ANY Uconn game from last year and see what we are missing this year with Kemba in the NBA. His hand was in 60% of all our offense. Add to that what he did on the D side- his leadership and you have something that is way out of the ordinary- just like our 11-0 run last year. We did not lose our best player- we lost the guy who made just about everything happen and made everyone better.

AD is the type of player that will make everyone better as well- in a different way - but much better. His addition certainly should help us have a chance to get through the first couple of rounds of the NCAA- once that happens - who knows. But this year there are teams that are going to play on a much higher level then last year. UNC is stupid good, Uk will be better for the sole reason a few players stayed in school for once and they reloaded, OSU is balanced and very good, Lville is about as deep a team as I have seen outside of this years UNC team in some time and they have maybe the best point guard in the BE this year, Quse has all the pieces to beat us- PITT is there to= the list goes on and on this year and those are just the big boys.

If everything works out the way we hope it will-meaning- the sophs all improve dramatically- SN is steady and makes great choices at the PG spot and can drain the open JSs, RS has added a bit more O to his game and continues to be a stopper on D, NG gains confidence and also can now be a steady shooter form the outside, TO can play solid minutes and score 4-6 a game and help hold done the middle, JL is the beast we have been hearing about all summer and can pull it off with teams keying on him. Ad to that AO having a monster year looking toward joining Kemba in the NBA and plays like he did in the NCAAs, RB is a capable sub at PG, DD is a stud and no one gets hurt. We have as good a shot as any at making the FF.

Sound like a lot? It is.

WE ARE SO DOOOOMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tykurez]

Not sure about anyone else, but I was hoping for a shot at the NIT title last year ... maybe an NCAA berth but wasn't counting on it. Maybe it was just a bad taste from 09-10 in my mouth, but all I really wanted was to see the young kids play and show some improvement. Never in my wildest dreams did I consider them having a shot at the title. I was fully ready to enjoy a .500 season just having fun watching young kids grow and learn.

That said, my expectations are slightly higher this year. They should absolutely make the NCAA tournament, and I'd like to see them win a couple games there. But I can't forget that they lost arguably the best leader they've had in a Husky uniform. And that they are playing with 1 upperclassman. Sure the schedule looks easy, but I've learned throughout the years to never take any of these teams for granted. I'm excited (again) to watch a bunch of young kids having fun and (hopefully) improving throughout the year.

 

[gibhunter]

Bazz and Boat should be very good guards. They won't be KW, but they don't have to be. Last year KW carried the team and needed double/double from AO to beat top 20 teams. This year our guards just need to distribute and make open shots which both guys can do and then some. We have JL, RS, DD on the wings and AO doing his thing and a great passing big man in AD. There is plenty of scoring to go around, all we need is a point that can distribute. This team is loaded and that's why to me anything less than another FF will be a disappointment.

 

[Waquoit]

My only worry, and it isn't much of one, is that the team doesn't play team ball and forgets the great defense they played in the post-season. That defense wasn't just Kemba.

This team should have high expectations. Bazz was the PG for much of the Final Four, AO was the best big man and Lamb was money from outside. That's a good team right there. Add the most explosive recruit with two other blue chippers to the returning role players with rings and your HOF coach is primed for another run. I won't be disappointed if we don't win again, winning championships is hard. I will be disappointed if we don't give it a good run.

 

[jibsey]

How many minutes total do we need to get out of Bradley and Wolf now that we have Drummond?

 

[ctchamps]

How many minutes total do we need to get out of Bradley and Wolf now that we have Drummond?

20 minutes

Bradley and Tyler will probably get 5-15 minutes between them depending on AD getting into foul trouble.