Pretty Good Start To Season

[Umami Zen]

8-1 soon to be 9-1 heading into Gonzaga game. Haven't had our starting five together and be 100% healthy yet. Role players-esp. Johnson/Diarra/Ball- playing solid BB.One three pointer going down from beating Kansas at Kansas.

Noticed how smooth offense flowed with Castle in game vs UNC despite being "rusty"/limited minutes and still getting back into game shape. Solo starting to see the ball go into the hoop.

Gonna be a fun ride.

 

[DC-Husky]

Pretty good? Outstanding in my opinion but we have been spoiled.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Pretty good? Outstanding in my opinion but we have been spoiled.

It hinges on the Gonzaga game.

Beating cupcakes and mediocre-to-good OOC opponents at home (or MSG, basically home) is holding serve.

If we lose both of our top 10 road (or semi-road) games, it'll feel like we could have done more. I'd consider:

Beat Gonzaga: 80-90th percentile OOC
Lose to Gonzaga: 50-60th percentile OOC

 

[InKembaITrust]

A healthy Cam Spencer against KS we're undefeated.

 

[CL82]

A healthy Cam Spencer against KS we're undefeated.

A healthy Cam Spencer, a healthy Karaban, a healthy Clingan, or a healthy Castle would have been enough for the win. When you think about it, it's amazing we came within an inch of winning.

 

[Gutter King]

A healthy Cam Spencer against KS we're undefeated.

A healthy Castle, a healthy DC. We just needed a bit more to drag our tattered group across the finish line.

Following up last season with this start shows that Hurley didn't strike it lucky with alpha males last year, like some would say 2014 was. He has the perfect combo of building a rigid structure/culture, while being malleable to the specific talents of this particular team.

It should be qualified that this success is very unlikely without the assistant coaches, though their hires was Hurley's doing as well. Here's hoping the band stays together for a couple more runs.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Really struck me how different a guy Castle is athletically than everyone else on the team. He had a baseline drive along the baseline against UNC where he was just gliding and it looked completely effortless. Can’t wait for him to get fully back in the mix. Glad we have a cupcake and he has another 7 days to recoup heading to Seattle.

 

[Sibeerian]

A healthy Cam Spencer against KS we're undefeated.

Yes, and a good night at the free throw line would have done it too.

 

[HooperScooper]

Pretty good? Outstanding in my opinion but we have been spoiled.

And arrogant

 

[Jaydumo20]

It's hard for me to agree with DH that last year's team was better than this year's team *at this time of year. I don't think this team would have to claw back against GTown at home.

 

[dingaling]

It's hard for me to agree with DH that last year's team was better than this year's team *at this time of year. I don't think this team would have to claw back against GTown at home.

He doesn't necessarily mean it but what else could he say.

 

[JohnnyJr]

If we can win the Gonzaga game our Big East schedule is pretty light in the beginning, we could go on a good run.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yes, and a good night at the free throw line would have done it too.

Even an average night at the line. We were putrid. But that crowd does affect those. Students behind both baskets.

Agree with others, I'd like to see a big true road win.

 

[superjohn]

A healthy Cam Spencer, a healthy Karaban, a healthy Clingan, or a healthy Castle would have been enough for the win. When you think about it, it's amazing we came within an inch of winning.

From a Kansas fan, "We got you guys on the right night at the right place...Where you guys are now isn't where you'll be at the end of the season. We are who we are already."

 

[HuskyHawk]

From a Kansas fan, "We got you guys on the right night at the right place...Where you guys are now isn't where you'll be at the end of the season. We are who we are already."

That's not true either. Jackson is going to get a lot better. Timberlake might, but who knows. No team is what it will be later in the year. I'd say Marquette is one team that doesn't really feature any young guys that can make major leaps, they may be closest to "done".

 

[Huskybass]

Really struck me how different a guy Castle is athletically than everyone else on the team. He had a baseline drive along the baseline against UNC where he was just gliding and it looked completely effortless. Can’t wait for him to get fully back in the mix. Glad we have a cupcake and he has another 7 days to recoup heading to Seattle.

My biggest observation regarding Castle is how easily he gets wherever he wants to go while handling the ball. I don't even think what I'm referring to is based on his athleticism. His feel for the game is tremendous and his handle seems rock solid.

 

[superjohn]

That's not true either. Jackson is going to get a lot better. Timberlake might, but who knows. No team is what it will be later in the year. I'd say Marquette is one team that doesn't really feature any young guys that can make major leaps, they may be closest to "done".

His point is he knows Kansas got away with one and UConn has a lot more upside than Kansas does. He knew Spencer was hurt, he knew Clingan was hurt, he knew UConn didn't have Castle.

Both teams will get better, UConn has significantly more upside.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

It's hard for me to agree with DH that last year's team was better than this year's team *at this time of year. I don't think this team would have to claw back against GTown at home.

That's a pretty weak barometer.

 

[DennieEddy]

I watched the last men's game through ESPN on my computer, and at the same time followed the ESPN APP gamecast on my phone to follow the box score.

You know, the APP was 7-8 seconds ahead of the live game.

I would have figured, maybe the other way around.

 

[Jaydumo20]

His point is he knows Kansas got away with one and UConn has a lot more upside than Kansas does. He knew Spencer was hurt, he knew Clingan was hurt, he knew UConn didn't have Castle.

Both teams will get better, UConn has significantly more upside.

This is exactly how I feel about Texas. I say we still beat them with Disu and Shedrick but they have similar upside.

 

[HuskyHawk]

His point is he knows Kansas got away with one and UConn has a lot more upside than Kansas does. He knew Spencer was hurt, he knew Clingan was hurt, he knew UConn didn't have Castle.

Both teams will get better, UConn has significantly more upside.

I wouldn't say significantly more, but I generally agree we have more room to improve. Newton has a lot of downside from the way he played in that game. Great player, but he was making unbelievably tough shots and scoring at a level we won't normally see. He bailed us out.

 

[AntG168]

I wouldn't say significantly more, but I generally agree we have more room to improve. Newton has a lot of downside from the way he played in that game. Great player, but he was making unbelievably tough shots and scoring at a level we won't normally see. He bailed us out.

I disagree on newton. That’s the player he’s been for a while now

 

[Waquoit]

Pretty good? Outstanding in my opinion but we have been spoiled.

Y'know why it's not outstanding? Because we coulda beat Kansas. But knowing that we got those guys will pay dividends.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I wouldn't say significantly more, but I generally agree we have more room to improve. Newton has a lot of downside from the way he played in that game. Great player, but he was making unbelievably tough shots and scoring at a level we won't normally see. He bailed us out.

Yeah I don’t agree with that. We have a lot of weapons. When they’re not firing Newton takes on more of the scoring load. But I don’t think his performance against KU was some kind of freak thing. He could score a hell of a lot more night in and night out if we needed it.

 

[Waquoit]

It's hard for me to agree with DH that last year's team was better than this year's team *at this time of year. I don't think this team would have to claw back against GTown at home.

"At this time last year" we smoked the team that everyone ended up thinking was the best team for the majority of last year. We were freaking great "at this time last year". This team hasn't even hit their stride yet and we barely lose at Kansas. That guy who has us at the top of his Power Ratings is correct.