All of those coaches that voted have all played PC and it's players twice every single year for 7 years now. They have all not played UConn. PC has the 2nd best conference record since the BE was reconstituted. If UConn plays better than PC they will finish above them if they don't they won't. This coaches poll means nothing.
We may not have any individual player who is as good defensively as Vital, but we have a full team of players who fit Hurley's defensive philosophy now. I'm not worried about the defense at all to be honest. I get the skepticism after being burned the past few years, but I think you're being way too pessimistic about this team. A 5th-7th place finish would be a pretty big disappointmentA LITTLE better? Lol, come on. Relative to our team last season, he was a big time defender for us, despite the flaws. You’re right he didn’t match up well to much bigger guards.
Either way, my only point is that I think AG and CV’s void will be felt a little bigger towards the beginning of the season (particularly the Big East slate) as we try to get players to settle into roles they haven’t had before.
Cole was not known for his defense and will have a different role offensively compared to Howard 2 years ago.
Gaffney looked poised offensively as the season grew on, but he takes on a bigger role this season.
Bouknight has a lot of weight on his shoulders this season. I don’t see any reason why he won’t live up to the hype offensively, but he was very shaky defensively (but was improved quite a bit towards the end of the season).
BAdams will have a bigger role this year too. I think he and Tyrese will be our most reliable defensive backcourt players at the start.
Still, a lot of players are adjusting to new roles on a new team in a new league. 4th would be great, but I’m not convinced that will happen. 5-7 feels more realistic, which is still good enough for an NCAA spot probably.
Freshman typically struggle on defense. Gaffney and Bouknight aren't freshmen anymore. Not to mention Akok and Whaley might be the best defensive front court in the conference.We may not have any individual player who is as good defensively as Vital, but we have a full team of players who fit Hurley's defensive philosophy now. I'm not worried about the defense at all to be honest. I get the skepticism after being burned the past few years, but I think you're being way too pessimistic about this team. A 5th-7th place finish would be a pretty big disappointment
I don’t think finishing 5-7 in maybe the best conference and getting an NCAA spot with as good a shot to make a run as anyone coincides with “pessimism”.We may not have any individual player who is as good defensively as Vital, but we have a full team of players who fit Hurley's defensive philosophy now. I'm not worried about the defense at all to be honest. I get the skepticism after being burned the past few years, but I think you're being way too pessimistic about this team. A 5th-7th place finish would be a pretty big disappointment
Yeah you don't know anything about our team. Our transfer PG from St. Joe's who we had sitting is better than the one we lost. Diallo was a ball hog and during a period when Cooley sat him for his attitude the team played better. The only player that we will miss we lost is our backup center Kalif Young. We add 6'9" Noah Horstler as a transfer as well after averaging a double double at N. Florida and practicing all year with the team word is he is going to be very good. I could care less about freshman because short of a player like Bouknight they struggle in this conference with how physical it is. We did land the most highly awarded player in the history of the State of Delaware who was a top 30 player nationally before he missed 2 AAU seasons with injuries. The only 4 year 1st team All-state ever in that state, so that's a bit better than non-existent. This PC team is better than last year's squad, but I'm sure you know much more than 11 BE coaches.You graduated 5 of your 8 rotation guys (guys that played 33+% of minutes) from a fringe NCAA tournament team. Your recruiting class is non-existent, and you added a solid transfer PG, a guy who couldn't get minutes over Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard, and a mid major stretch 4 who shot 30% from 3.
Fringe, we were the hottest team in the country last year and finished 4th behind Hall, Nova and Creighton who all tied for first at 13-5 and pc 12-6. The coaches voting for PC says alot despite losing what they had.You graduated 5 of your 8 rotation guys (guys that played 33+% of minutes) from a fringe NCAA tournament team. Your recruiting class is non-existent, and you added a solid transfer PG, a guy who couldn't get minutes over Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard, and a mid major stretch 4 who shot 30% from 3.
Fringe, we were the hottest team in the country last year and finished 4th behind Hall, Nova and Creighton who all tied for first at 13-5 and pc 12-6. The coaches voting for PC says alot despite losing what they had.
LOL, How many quad one wins did you have? I think there were 5 whole teams in the country with more than PC. That's it.You were 46th in Wins Above Bubble. Your resume was not strong.
LOL
TrueYeah you don't know anything about our team.
There's been like 4 ranked kids from Delaware in the last decade only 1 of which was top 100 ('19 kid going to VCU) so I don't think this is quite as impressive as you think it is...story does sound similar to bouknight though so I'll concede there's potentialWe did land the most highly awarded player in the history of the State of Delaware who was a top 30 player nationally before he missed 2 AAU seasons with injuries. The only 4 year 1st team All-state ever in that state, so that's a bit better than non-existent.
We'll have to agree to disagree, there's not 6 teams better than UConn regardless of whether they start off slow the first few games (which I don't expect). We're not coming in playing the 1st game together in the Big East. They've been on campus together for 4 and a half months, and we'll have at least 4 or 5 games to work out roles before starting conference play.I don’t think finishing 5-7 in maybe the best conference and getting an NCAA spot with as good a shot to make a run as anyone coincides with “pessimism”.
I said I think we’ll be a very good team by years end, and probably a good team in all facets of the game because of our sheer talent, character, coaching, physicality and athleticism. I’m excited for this team, for the first time in a while.
I just don’t think we’re going to come out of the gates swinging in the Big East and finish top 4. I’m worried our front court is young, and Whaley and Carlton will get a bit of a wakeup call in this league to start the season. Hope I’m wrong.
Yep, they have petrified. Like a million year old tree.PC is solidified in this new BE, have you not watched the last 5 seasons.
Ben Bentil was from Delaware, I know you guys were probably not paying attention to our squad then but he was a hell of a player.True
There's been like 4 ranked kids from Delaware in the last decade only 1 of which was top 100 ('19 kid going to VCU) so I don't think this is quite as impressive as you think it is...story does sound similar to bouknight though so I'll concede there's potential
We did land the most highly awarded player in the history of the State of Delaware who was a top 30 player nationally before he missed 2 AAU seasons with injuries. The only 4 year 1st team All-state ever in that state, so that's a bit better than non-existent.
Yeah you don't know anything about our team. Our transfer PG from St. Joe's who we had sitting is better than the one we lost. ... We add 6'9" Noah Horstler as a transfer as well after averaging a double double at N. Florida and practicing all year with the team word is he is going to be very good.
Don't make me regret buying your book!Yep, they have petrified. Like a million year old tree.
This poll means ess than nothing.
Like I said, you know better than the coaches, this board is lucky to have you.Time for me to LOL right back at you on this one.
I said Bynum was solid. He's not going to be an all-conference guy, but he's fine.
I don't know anything about your team, but you can't even spell your "very good" guys name. Horchler can rebound a bit, and he's fairly crafty in the paint, but he's going to get bodied out of the paint by Big East big guys. Which would be great if he was an actual stretch 4, but he can't shoot. He can protect the rim a bit, but he was worse at that against real competition.