Prior to the season starting I was really high on our forwards....Kris, Payton, and Pmac. I thought that they would carry this team pretty well while being slightly concerned about PG play...slightly. I also thought that Rebraca would be somewhat improved over last year and thought and hoped that Connor would be a better shooter based on his finish to last year along with being healthy and concentrating on one sport. So, here are where I see things now.
1) Kris M was out for a significant period of time (I don't know the actual number of games) but during that stretch there were some important games...and I think maybe it was Duke where he played but was clearly not 100%.
2) Payton was off his game.....for 12 games according to him. We are currently 11-6....so over 2/3rds of that time he was off....every fan knows how bad it was.
3) Ulis (the starting PG) missed games with injuries and I think he's still dealing with some ailment of some type.
4) We're currently missing PMAC.
5) I was not planning on or thinking that we were really depending on any freshman to be significant help this season....thinking that Bowen might surprise and play himself into a significant part of the rotation.
6) I thought Tony was going to be really good.
7) I thought Connor would be a solid utility guy that could fill in different spots at different points......and there were others who thought he should just graduate and leave.
So, when comparing my preseason thoughts and expectations with how things have actually played out, there are some real highlights (I tend to be an optimist)!
1) Josh Dix.....really thought that we would be lucky to see him provide any significant this year...thought he should probably redshirt. WOW, he was impressive last night. Still hard for me to believe after that injury that he is playing this well.
2) Rebraca has made a huge leap in his performance....I expected that he would be better, but not this much better. Good job FR!
3) Connor, his value to this team is just unreal.....think of where we would be without him? Just think if he got fed up and decided to hell with it and was done playing.....
To continue with my optimism.....I really still see the potential for this team.
*Just think if we can get everyone reasonably healthy and in the groove....
Let's say TP returns to form of where he was last year (still possible and he has the best head coach to help that happen). Patrick gets back in the groove and plays to his potential. Kris, Payton, and Rebraca continue to perform the way they are capable of playing.
Mulvey continues to give short productive segments to give FR some breaks during the game....didn't mention that but I had hopes that either he or Josh O could be counted on for that prior to the season.
Ulis gets healthy, plays good defense, doesn't commit turnovers and provides steady PG play without scoring a lot......Bowen and Dix continue to show improvement and are now significant contributors...
I think all of that is possible....the question is can we get everyone healthy and in the groove at the same time??? Maybe the basketball gods will allow that right as the NCAA tournament starts!!!
1) Kris M was out for a significant period of time (I don't know the actual number of games) but during that stretch there were some important games...and I think maybe it was Duke where he played but was clearly not 100%.
2) Payton was off his game.....for 12 games according to him. We are currently 11-6....so over 2/3rds of that time he was off....every fan knows how bad it was.
3) Ulis (the starting PG) missed games with injuries and I think he's still dealing with some ailment of some type.
4) We're currently missing PMAC.
5) I was not planning on or thinking that we were really depending on any freshman to be significant help this season....thinking that Bowen might surprise and play himself into a significant part of the rotation.
6) I thought Tony was going to be really good.
7) I thought Connor would be a solid utility guy that could fill in different spots at different points......and there were others who thought he should just graduate and leave.
So, when comparing my preseason thoughts and expectations with how things have actually played out, there are some real highlights (I tend to be an optimist)!
1) Josh Dix.....really thought that we would be lucky to see him provide any significant this year...thought he should probably redshirt. WOW, he was impressive last night. Still hard for me to believe after that injury that he is playing this well.
2) Rebraca has made a huge leap in his performance....I expected that he would be better, but not this much better. Good job FR!
3) Connor, his value to this team is just unreal.....think of where we would be without him? Just think if he got fed up and decided to hell with it and was done playing.....
To continue with my optimism.....I really still see the potential for this team.
*Just think if we can get everyone reasonably healthy and in the groove....
Let's say TP returns to form of where he was last year (still possible and he has the best head coach to help that happen). Patrick gets back in the groove and plays to his potential. Kris, Payton, and Rebraca continue to perform the way they are capable of playing.
Mulvey continues to give short productive segments to give FR some breaks during the game....didn't mention that but I had hopes that either he or Josh O could be counted on for that prior to the season.
Ulis gets healthy, plays good defense, doesn't commit turnovers and provides steady PG play without scoring a lot......Bowen and Dix continue to show improvement and are now significant contributors...
I think all of that is possible....the question is can we get everyone healthy and in the groove at the same time??? Maybe the basketball gods will allow that right as the NCAA tournament starts!!!
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