Pre-Season Prediction Thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Pre-Season Prediction Thread

19-12. Two wins in aac tourney. Three wins in Nit. Set up for years to come.
 
Stinger92860 said:
+Wilson,Adams, Yankees and Gilbert. It’s not the same team. Throw in an improved Cobb, plus a step up for the rest, I think we are looking at 20+ wins.
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I don't understand this enthusiasm about Cobb. What did he do last year to distinguish himself from are other bigs? He was a big that hit a 3 and try to dribble like a guard who couldn't guard anyone. I'm glad he has worked hard to keep the weight down but I just see him being a good bench player. Remember he this is the same player who was a rarely used Freshman at South Carolina. This isn't football.

Also, until Gilbert has played more than 10 games I'm not counting on him. Lots of question marks with this team but at least we have a Captain at the wheel this year. I think 20-22 wins is the high mark for this team. Anything else would be gravy.
 
3rdbass said:
I don't understand this enthusiasm about Cobb. What did he do last year to distinguish himself from are other bigs? He was a big that hit a 3 and try to dribble like a guard who couldn't guard anyone. I'm glad he has worked hard to keep the weight down but I just see him being a good bench player. Remember he this is the same player who was a rarely used Freshman at South Carolina. This isn't football.

Also, until Gilbert has played more than 10 games I'm not counting on him. Lots of question marks with this team but at least we have a Captain at the wheel this year. I think 20-22 wins is the high mark for this team. Anything else would be gravy.
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Well, for one, Cobb has a completely new, athletic build.
 
Dove said:
28-3.

Finish season Top 10

AAC Regular season champs and Tourney runner-up, tho.

#5 seed in NCAAs

Win championship over Duke...80-76
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It's pre-season. Can't you be a little optimistic?
 
HuskyHawk said:
Is it the same team?

  • Adams: senior guard, stronger, different mindset, not having to be only ball handler.
  • Vital: Junior (often a big leap), different mindset, reduced role limits bad shots because there was nobody else
  • Gilbert: not a question mark. He is fine. 5* McD AA PG, with two additional years of mental experience and wisdom. Healthier than in High School.
  • Carlton: no longer a freshman, stronger
  • Polley: started hitting shots late, shot over 40% from 3. Now more experienced
  • Diarra: Health is a ?? but KO never played him
  • Whaley: Older, stronger, not a freshman
  • Williams: Older, learning the game, more experienced
  • B. Adams: New player, combo guard with a solid all around game
  • Wilson: New player...as a Sophomore age wise, explosive athletic wing. Additional ball handler. Had nobody like this last year.
  • Yawke: New player. Experienced senior. Rim protector on D. Had nobody like this. Huge upgrade over DO.
  • Smith: New player. Experience senior. Scorer, ball handler, more size. Upgrade over Anderson.
That doesn't even count the coach. I think Ollie was good for at least mins 4-5 games by himself. His offense was atrocious. His playing time decisions were inexplicably bad. His teams didn't hustle, they played hard on defense for one game that I saw, SMU. This team has vastly more depth. From 3 ball handlers to 6. They will press. They will attack on defense and offense. They will hustle or be pulled.

The talent is much improved. The depth is improved. The coaching is improved.
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You left off the X-factor. Cobb. Seventh ball handler, dunking and rebounding machine and three point specialist.
But, to be serious, he sure seemed determined in the off-season to make himself a better player, so he just might surprise us all.
 
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Scrutiner said:
How about a team that went 31-6 the year after they were 18-13?

1988-1989 and 1989-1990 UConn.
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UConn has done it a couple of times and in recent years. UConn went from 18-16 in '10 season to 32-9 in '11 season (winning the national championship).

In '13 UConn went 20-10 and then in '14 UConn went 32-8 (winning the national championship).
 
HawkHusky said:
Well, for one, Cobb has a completely new, athletic build.
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But there are no reports from practice that he has distinguished himself from the others. I only hear about Carlton showing upside in practice. I just think people need lower their expectations about Cobb as there is no track record that he is going to break out his Sr. Season. Now with Gilbert there is a track record so if he stays healthy he will definitely have a huge impact and take a lot of the pressure off Jalen.
 
Scrutiner said:
You left off the X-factor. Cobb. Seventh ball handler, dunking and rebounding machine and three point specialist.
But, to be serious, he sure seemed determined in the off-season to make himself a better player, so he just might surprise us all.
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If he can give us rebounding and 5 more fouls down low, that’s helpful. Add a few points and it’s a marked improvement. I’m hoping he is more athletic and better defend. Anything else is gravy.
 
Scrutiner said:
You left off the X-factor. Cobb. Seventh ball handler, dunking and rebounding machine and three point specialist.
But, to be serious, he sure seemed determined in the off-season to make himself a better player, so he just might surprise us all.
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Huge omission and unintended! He has probably made the biggest change of anyone. He looks amazing physically, and he always had skills.
 
GetTheFacts said:
You made a positive assumption on almost all of these players. I'm all for optimism but thinking that we're going to see a significant improvement from all of these players is very wishful thinking.

Ollie wasn't a good coach, we know that. But I think it's important to keep in mind that the recruiting classes he was pulling in towards the end of his tenure were not very good. Gilbert, Adams and Wilson are the only four-star recruits we have, according to ESPN. And I'm not sure how you declare Gilbert as a non-question mark when he's had surgery on his shoulder three times since arriving on campus two years ago.

The depth and coaching are improved, or at least they should be, but I wouldn't say the talent is 'much improved'. Just because we are returning players does not mean we are returning production.
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  • It is almost universally true that college players improve over their careers. It's why senior laden teams with lower level talent can still be very strong (see: Wichita State)
  • Gilbert's surgery was entirely different. A permanent fix this time. Not sure why people aren't aware of this.
  • Gilbert was a 5*, J Adams a 4-5*, Wilson a 4*, Diarra a 4*
  • Carlton, Vital and Polley are solid 3* players so far.
Go count the 4* players on other teams in the conference. Memphis has 3 coming in, Houston one.
In 2017 there was one, to Cinci (Cumberland)
In 2016 UConn had 4 (3 transferred out), Cinci 1. No others.
In 2015 UConn had a 5* and a 4* Memphis had 3 4s, SMU had 2, USF 1, Temple 2, Cinci 2. (good year, right after UConn won a NC)

UConn and Memphis have the most talent in the league by recruiting metrics. Wichita State brought in 7 3* players last year. That's what they win with. Veteran 3* guys. Guys like Vital, and Smith and Yawke.
 
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intlzncster said:
Without question. I think we'll play hard and be a team to be reckoned with night in and night out, at the very least.

Last year, it felt like we were walking into the ring with a heavyweight champ every game, just waiting to get knocked out.
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We got knocked out by some featherweights too
 
HuskyHawk said:
  • It is almost universally true that college players improve over their careers. It's why senior laden teams with lower level talent can still be very strong (see: Wichita State)
  • Gilbert's surgery was entirely different. A permanent fix this time. Not sure why people aren't aware of this.
  • Gilbert was a 5*, J Adams a 4-5*, Wilson a 4*, Diarra a 4*
  • Carlton, Vital and Polley are solid 3* players so far.
Go count the 4* players on other teams in the conference. Memphis has 3 coming in, Houston one.
In 2017 there was one, to Cinci (Cumberland)
In 2016 UConn had 4 (3 transferred out), Cinci 1. No others.
In 2015 UConn had a 5* and a 4* Memphis had 3 4s, SMU had 2, USF 1, Temple 2, Cinci 2. (good year, right after UConn won a NC)

UConn and Memphis have the most talent in the league by recruiting metrics. Wichita State brought in 7 3* players last year. That's what they win with. Veteran 3* guys. Guys like Vital, and Smith and Yawke.
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Ollie's subpar classes were still outpacing the rest of the conference. There's no reason Hurley shouldn't be able to experience success with the players he inherited, although maybe not to the degree some here are predicting.
 
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Stainmaster said:
Ollie's subpar classes were still outpacing the rest of the conference. There's no reason Hurley shouldn't be able to experience success with the players he inherited, although maybe not to the degree some here are predicting.
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What a balanced and reasonable take!
 
Guapo said:
We’re starting with a team that, for the past two years hasn’t been able to score, defend or rebound.
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But nevertheless won 16 and 14 games.

Now they have better talent, better coaching, and they'll score, defend, and rebound.

So 20 wins should be easy.
 
I'm looking forward to a twenty five win season and students camping out in front of Gampel.
 
polycom said:
5 games over .500
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The impossible question. I'm really hoping for 20 wins....and whatever amount of losses that equals.

I'll be satisfied with 5 games over .500 though, after finishing as we did last year.
 
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KSC94 said:
Don't we have 31 regular season games? By my count I'll guess 21-10 in the regular season
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Right, the schedule I was counting based off doesn't have the 2nd tournament game because there is no opponent yet. I'll say 20-11.
 
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