We were voted 4th in the pre-season ACC poll. Most pre-season polls and rankings had us in the top 25. We weren’t thinking about the NIT at all until after the JMU game.
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If CTB had giving the M’s more playing time in the early season they would have had the experience to be great in the late season. I could be completely wrong though and I’m sure there is more to it than that.
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No, many writers and analysts had us 8th in the conference, missing the pre-season, but they said don’t bet against Bennett and moved us up They missed by just a hair, which at the end of the day is a tribute to just how good Tony is as a coach.
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Tony played Guy Jerome London Justin Kihei JoeHarris Brogdon etc. all their first year heavy minutes. If they were good enough they would have played. I am frustrated with lack of Taine but the others I slowly understood over the season.
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I’m talking specifically about this one. Duke Selected as Preseason ACC Men’s Basketball Favorite - Atlantic Coast Conference
We even got 9(!?!) first place votes.
Watching his postgame press conference, he’s not comfortable rolling back the same 5.
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I gotcha I’m just saying it’s all relative. He’s not going to become Keven Keatts. Tony losing it just means not competing for another national title. Maybe 7 tournament appearances in the next 10 years instead of 9. It’d still be as good as anyone else in the ACC, outside of Duke and UNC (and maybe Louisville), could reasonably expect.
Sad we lost.always a bummer when the season ends except for ‘19. But truthfully, the season never ends. The soup is simmering on medium and will boil over shortly. And we will all still be here to talk about it. Some announcements headed our way shortly…. Buckle up!
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We still need the transfer podcast from you and @DFresh11. First episode about you guys maybe wanting to transfer, where to, what you would be giving up and gained etc. Future guests can be transfers like Shayock and Reuter, or DeAndre Hunter’s brother who was spreading rumors of Hunter wanting to transfer LOL
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Done. But we will have more to talk about before Fresh and I review 1991. Let’s pencil it in for late July when you guys are on summer vacation.
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You’re actually completely correct
If you are still down this am, duh, of course we are. Lost in the bball day was it was first day of Spring Practice. Watch Coach E’s presser, it’ll pick you up
FOOTBALL: Spring Practice #1 - Tony Elliott Media Availability - YouTube
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I almost just uttered the words “I’m excited for football season”
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Im not even really down about the loss. Im down about the fact that there is a possibility we are going to run back the same team next season while every other team gets better.
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This. Way more down about possibly running back the same starting 5 next year. The rumors Kihei is coming back have me down bad. Just feel like it will be another year of me hate watching something I love so much.
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What was the point of Senior Night and making a goodbye video?
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Kihei led each of the past two teams in minutes played and turnover rate while being dead last in defensive rating among rotation players (well, he was .2 minutes behind Hauser in 2021 due to being suspended). In 2020, he had a better defensive rating but was still first in minutes played and turnover rate. He’s shot above 40% once in his career.
I completely understand fans’ frustration with Kihei coming back in this vent thread. But those statistics, to me, are really indicative of mishandling of Kihei. No player should be put in a position to shoot that poorly, turnover the ball that much, while sacrificing defense to play 40 minutes a game.
I don’t see a scenario where, if Kihei returns, the team doesn’t mirror his inefficiencies all season again. It will impossible for him not to be the de facto leader and most important player, and none of that is Kihei’s fault. He was just never put in a position to really succeed.
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25 mpg Kihei would be SO MUCH BETTER per minute than 40 mpg Kihei. But those of us who say it, get accused of hating on Kihei, etc.
Did we have a better option? I don’t know, and I suspect most posters don’t know. Unless you saw practice, or heard from folks who did who accurately conveyed what they saw (and even there, don’t forget the Rashomon issue), then there’s no good way of knowing if there were better options. Maybe we will get info in a few years…
And that’s frustrating. But hoops is still fun. And that’s good.
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From my vantage, if a team is going to entrust someone with “making a play” as the shot clock winds down, that player can ideally score and distribute the ball at multiple levels. The mid-range jumper is ideally part of the arsenal, a la Ty Jerome hitting pull-up jumpers at the foul line.
Kihei’s limitations would have been much less noteworthy if he hadn’t been asked to fill that role so often. (And my hunch is that the FG percentage and turnover rate for Kihei is negatively impacted by being asked to make plays in that scenario.)
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