The 7 most disappointing teams in college basketball

[HooperScooper]

Next year I expect UConn to make this list.

The 7 biggest surprises in college basketball this season | FOX Sports

Because after this season I doubt they're ranked in the preseason.

 

[Horatio]

Injuries are an excuse for bad team management. Ollie should have looked at his roster and said what if.....
If Ollie had even brought in a graduate senior as good as RJ Evans UConn could be 11-6. Ollie left unfilled scholarships on the table and this is why this season is not successful to this point. He could have found someone to be the third point guard, rebound or shoot a three. Hopefully, he will never go into another season without a full quiver of arrows.

And this is why we'll have a full roster next season.

 

[Mr. French]

About next year:

I want to see Adams and Jackson get to play on the floor with Larrier and Gilbert first. If only one of a potential center rotation of Enoch, Durham, Diarra, and Carlton emerges... I think they make a serious leap next year. Best offseason continuity and talent combination since 2014.

I've written this year off to the "Years Ending In 7" curse that we've suffered since Calhoun's first year.

Interesting -- I didn't think of 7 but I feel that way about 0 and 2 -- other than 90 I guess but I wasn't even a fan yet ... 00, 02, 10 and 12 were all weird years.

But you have a 4 decade sample size that I never really thought of before today.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

About next year:

I want to see Adams and Jackson get to play on the floor with Larrier and Gilbert first. If only one of a potential center rotation of Enoch, Durham, Diarra, and Carlton emerges... I think they make a serious leap next year. Best offseason continuity and talent combination since 2014.

I've written this year off to the "Years Ending In 7" curse that we've suffered since Calhoun's first year.

I disagree. You can "play small" at times, but neither Jackson nor Larrier are capable of handling on defense front court big men like, oh, I don't know, maybe Georgetown's guys. There would be a lot of doubling down, and a lot of open 3's. That lineup may have a lot of spread the floor, drive and dish appeal, but defense would be a real problem, particularly without, oh, I don't know, a 7 ft shot blocker guarding the rim. You've got a short PG, a 6'3" combo who likes and needs the ball, and 2 SF on the floor, one of whom is coming off reconstructive knee surgery as your principal lineup.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The problem is that you are mixing parts of the developments of players over the course of this season with how to view things prior to the season starting. Jalen was recruited as a combo guard and Gilbert as a point guard. Vital was the backup for both positions and Rodney for the 2g. You also seem to forget that the light went on for Kentan well after those first two games with many posters angry that he wasn't riding pine and retracting their statements only after he showed consistent positive play. But that wasn't until after Maui.

Early in the season KO was trying a variety of line ups. The advantage to this is that if different line ups click it allows the coaches to put on the floor a team that is situational. IMO it's that process that was significant in championship #4. The disadvantage is that there can be a miss on getting the optimal line up enough playing time with this type of experimentation.

Most of us felt that between the need to incorporate so many new elements and the loss of pivotal players this was a year to build for next season. Coaches don't have a long preseason to work things out so they need the early season to find things out. And players need time together to work things out. Unfortunately between a difficult early season and injuries, the season turned into a catastrophe.

I just see it differently. Jalen was, in his mind at least, the PG and leader of this team. He was recruited as a PG and played 100% PG at Brewster. That's the role he needed. Gilbert is a PG, but as you said he needed time behind someone else, that someone was Adams. Purvis is a SG, so his role was made unfamiliar as well. Facey has had underutilized talent for four years. He put on muscle in the offseason and should have been given a greater opportunity. It's Ollie's job to find out what has has before the games start for real. I think he probably let his own biases towards small lineups impact his decisions and it cost the team. The team was ranked #18, and this was no "transitional" year. Kentucky has those kinds of years every year. It's on the coach to figure it out and quickly, before you lose games to lousy teams, at home. To start the season everyone but Gilbert and Brimah were playing out of position, and Gilbert should have seen more bench time and Facey more floor time. It showed and we looked awful.

I'm no "fire Ollie" guy...hell no. But I suspect even he would tell you he did not do a good job in getting the team ready for the season or in utilizing what he had.

 

[ctchamps]

I just see it differently. Jalen was, in his mind at least, the PG and leader of this team. He was recruited as a PG and played 100% PG at Brewster. That's the role he needed. Gilbert is a PG, but as you said he needed time behind someone else, that someone was Adams. Purvis is a SG, so his role was made unfamiliar as well. Facey has had underutilized talent for four years. He put on muscle in the offseason and should have been given a greater opportunity. It's Ollie's job to find out what has has before the games start for real. I think he probably let his own biases towards small lineups impact his decisions and it cost the team. The team was ranked #18, and this was no "transitional" year. Kentucky has those kinds of years every year. It's on the coach to figure it out and quickly, before you lose games to lousy teams, at home. To start the season everyone but Gilbert and Brimah were playing out of position, and Gilbert should have seen more bench time and Facey more floor time. It showed and we looked awful.

I'm no "fire Ollie" guy...hell no. But I suspect even he would tell you he did not do a good job in getting the team ready for the season or in utilizing what he had.

The only point I can stretch and agree with you is to have had Jalen run the point, Rodney the off guard and have Gilbert come off the bench. And he employed that at times. But the reason UConn won the NC championship was that teams in the tournament struggled with UConn when we went small. Most of us were drooling about next season with the Bazz - Boat combo of Gilbert - Adams and then Alterique screws things up getting hurt (which could impact the development of the team next year).

I'm sure KO was as shocked as the rest of us that the team shot so poorly. It was far worse than their historical averages. Had he known perhaps he would have started the players as you suggest sans Kentan. But what if he did and the same results happened. I'm wondering how much people would have been critical of playing that lineup and not starting Alterique alongside Jalen. Backseat coaching will always win.

As far as Kentan goes KO got his wings playing for JC and JC emphasized DEFENSE first and foremost. He had a playbook and offense was only rudimentarily practiced until the defense was at the level he insisted. Kentan never got into the line up because his defense was poor. Same with Steve even though both Steve and Kentan could do more on the offensive end.

If you want offense you seek out teams like Kansas and Duke. UConn won its NC's on the basis of emphasizing defense. And bringing up Kentucky as an example for modeling is an outlier. There is always some program in any sport people can point to and say look at them. How about looking at the predominance of programs that struggle when major changes occur. And even Kentucky was an 8 seed in 2014. It took a while for that team to gel.

 

[gtcam]

Well you might wanna examine that personnel and the depth of that personnel after the injuries.

You took the words right out of my mouth
Thanks

 

[gtcam]

Injuries are an excuse for bad team management. Ollie should have looked at his roster and said what if.....
If Ollie had even brought in a graduate senior as good as RJ Evans UConn could be 11-6. Ollie left unfilled scholarships on the table and this is why this season is not successful to this point. He could have found someone to be the third point guard, rebound or shoot a three. Hopefully, he will never go into another season without a full quiver of arrows.

Can you name a few that are out there that were left unclaimed or picked up late that would have helped?