Is there too much focus put on athleticism?

[Cerebus]

Look. The benchmark for lights-out shooting, lunchpail-carrying, high-basketball-IQ guys is Mark Price.

Where is our Mark Price?

*cough* Reggie Miller *cough*

[MeanGreenTexan]

*cough* Reggie Miller *cough*

You're kidding me?!?!

Reggie Miller spent all his time hot-dogging with Spike Lee and playing streetball. He didn't carry a lunchpail!!

[Green Otaku]

It'd be one thing if it was just us. But we were on all sorts of "teams to watch" lists this summer and fall.

Which is nice, but people should be rational and know that doesn't mean jack. You have to actually play the games, or Duke should have gotten the W vs. Lehigh by just their national perception. People were already talking about undefeated seasons without a game yet. Just the same way people are overreacting about Benford after 2 games. Its perfectly understandable to question his coaching, but asking for his head at this point is knee jerking at its finest. We need to pressure him and ask for improvement, he knows it and we know it.

[Green Otaku]

But we have actually been good at basketball. We don't have any football players as top 10 draft picks on our team. We didn't have one of the best recruiting classes in the country in football. Plus, many writers created this wagon we jumped on.

Have ben. That was last year, different team, different players, different chemistry, different coach, different teams we are playing. That's your fault for believing what they said. People make predictions based on unproven incoming classes, and even returning players can have off years. Its just a guess.

I have been optimistic that we would have a breakout year. But I have to see it on the floor first, the players have to go out there and want it, and the coach has the ultimate responsibility for getting them ready.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Have ben. That was last year, different team, different players, different chemistry, different coach, different teams we are playing. That's your fault for believing what they said. People make predictions based on unproven incoming classes, and even returning players can have off years. Its just a guess.

I have been optimistic that we would have a breakout year. But I have to see it on the floor first, the players have to go out there and want it, and the coach has the ultimate responsibility for getting them ready.

Hmm. I seem to only see 1 portion of your list that is really different.

This team is back from last year basically in it's entirety, sans Hogans, Zo, and Hall (well, there's also another PG we're missing). Those guys were replaced/upgraded. We're still in the SBC and playing the same ol' non-conference schedule, with the exception of a chance to prove something in a pre-season tourney that we fumbled.

Were our guys looking past AL-Huntsville to KS St? Who knows. All we know is that this game should not have been close with the talent gap on the floor.

[Green Otaku]

Hmm. I seem to only see 1 portion of your list that is really different.

This team is back from last year basically in it's entirety, sans Hogans, Zo, and Hall (well, there's also another PG we're missing). Those guys were replaced/upgraded. We're still in the SBC and playing the same ol' non-conference schedule, with the exception of a chance to prove something in a pre-season tourney that we fumbled.

Were our guys looking past AL-Huntsville to KS St? Who knows. All we know is that this game should not have been close with the talent gap on the floor.

That's 4 different guys. Which means different atmosphere around practice, different chemistry, and a different playing style because what those guys did for us we don't have anymore. Replaced and upgraded? Why? Because some site puts a few stars next to their names? Or some number ranking? They will show us who they really are on the floor, those merits go them here but they have to prove themselves now not what they did in the past.

Your talking about perception and how you perceive that our team should be better/better than last year. There is no "should" in sports. Either we played down to them, or they played up to us, or we are equal. That will be seen as the season progresses, but on that night they beat us. We had the ball and missed shots, we could have tied it up but we didn't. The chances were there and we didn't take them. That was the reality, not what we "should" have done but what we actually did.