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Message: [QUOTE="Storrs South, post: 4251546, member: 7275"] Marginalizing any success this team had while emphasizing the failures doesn't accurately summarize the season. Sure they had to thread a needle and get a break on a 50/50 call vs. Nova, but this team also got a bad shafted by the refs against Michigan State, even add the touch fouls @ Nova and @ Xavier. Should we just talk about the first part and ignore the latter? They protected home court going 14-2 at home while also having some let downs away going 5-5 in such contests, but also went 3-1 during neutral contests prior to the BET (1-2 thereafter). They swept Marquette who swept Nova. They beat Auburn. They beat Nova for the first time in 8 years. They beat a lot of good teams on their home floor. These were successes. No need to pretend they didn't happen or don't count or carry any significance. They were an excellent shot blocking and offensive rebounding unit, but inconsistent from 3-point range and inefficient at the rim (again). It isn't mutually exclusive to say it was a good season and they beat good to great teams from November to February while also acknowledge this team had some shortcomings that were easy to exploit and opponents got better at figuring it out by February / March. Some of those shortcomings include that after Tyrese the next two highest volume 3-pt shooters on the team went 33-35% from distance on the season. That isn't going to get it done in 2022. That's partly on the staff for roster construction, partly bad luck due to injuries, and partly players not executing (how many wide open 3s were missed v. NMSU?). The defense is so focused on shotblocking it leaves vulnerabilities to opponent offensive rebounding. It crushed them all season. There needs to be a happy balance or better recovery by weakside defenders to help on the glass. Silly turnovers in transition and inconsistency on press breaks due to not enough strong ball handlers on the roster and too high an appetite for risk. At end of day though staff needs to take care of business in March: make a BET championship, get to the second weekend of NCAAT. And soon. I am optimistic for next year when you are talking about a starting 5 that should include foundational pieces like Andre, Sanogo, and Hawk. Add Akok to that bunch, too. That's shooting, passing, rim protection, rebounding, and post play all covered. Add some ballhandling and more shooting and this team could be pretty good again next year. You know Hurley coached teams have a minimum standard of defense and another season of Luke Murray in the building for offensive scheming going into Year 2 with some guys should pay massive dividends, but continued development like saw from Andre and Sanogo Year 1 to year 2, next year could surprise. But back to the original point: Let's not warp reality for the sake of beating the same points over the head, long way to go to November. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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