Yeah, I didn’t interpret Tony’s comments as saying there was a lack of leadership, it just happened to make me start thinking about the one the court leadership situation. Just something I think will be interesting to see unfold.
I will say though, I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the team that won it all was the one being led by a guy like Ty. I think we’ve had a lot of amazing leaders, including the guys you pointed to, but I think we needed somebody with that hyper-competitive edge and willingness to aggressively hold other guys accountable on the court. Brogdon might be the single best player of the Bennett era, but if a gun were put to my head and I was forced to critique anything from his time here, it might be just how calm his demeanor was at all times. That was a tremendous asset on many occasions, but sometimes with those UVA teams, it felt like we needed somebody to get fiery and kick us into the next gear on the very few occasions that our Plan A wasnt working. But that’s not really that much of a critique since what they achieved was amazing and they did manage an elite 8 and ACC tournament title - just something I think about sometimes (e.g. in that Syracuse game).
Regardless, will be interesting to see what our youngsters are like personality wise on the court and what type of leaders they end up being.
I’m into it - love the respect - but hope folks don’t find it shocking if we struggle a little out the gate while we are figuring things out. But if the shooting rebounds from its depths last year and the guys figure the defense out by tourney time, maybe fourth won’t seem so high.
Feels right to me. HGN said it a while back, but everybody has unknowns. We have the intangibles that others don’t and the potential for breakout years from a bunch of guys. If we flop we flop but this is a top-5 preseason team.
Funny to see UVA and Iowa next to each other in the rankings given they were opposites last year. Terrible offense/amazing defense vs great offense/bad defense. We know Tony will improve his squad’s weak side of the court. Can the same be said for Fran?
I respect the caution, but I continue to be very bullish on this year’s prospects. If Sam Hauser had been in the program for 3 years and was a rising 4th year, I honestly think the assessment would be overly optimistic (“why aren’t the Hoos ranked ahead of Nova, Baylor, and Gonzaga??”).
On O- should have multiple ++ shooters, diversity of approach, guards who can get into the paint, mismatches. Should be one of the better offensive groups we’ve had, taking into account prior to 2018 ball screen O was no utilized.
On D- two all conference defenders (KC and Huff), plus returning smart players who either have significant potential (Morsell) or play positionally well (Hauser, Woldo, Stattmann). Young guys will take time here. Huff is also elite + at rim protection, and Hauser is an excellent rebounder. Maybe won’t be at the level of last year, but should at least match 18-19.
I think all the optimism makes sense. On paper all the pieces are there for a great team. But in reality we are hoping for/expecting some small to large leaps from guys and that’s not an exact science.
The way I see it the 20/21 team is returning essentially one starter in Kihei. Casey started but was in and out, same with Wolentensae and Huff.
To reach max potential, the Hoos need Kihei to have an improved shooting presence from outside, Casey to to have a massive improvement on offense, Tomas to find his stroke early, Sam to improve on his performances in the Big East and live up to lofty expectations and pressure, and Jay to take the next step and become a double double machine. Trey Murphy needs to vastly improve over being a Conference USA standout and become an ACC stud. That list doesn’t include needed contributions and improvements from Papi, Cody and Justin.
I’m not even touching the 3 first year’s who will need to jump right into NC2A championship level play, which is difficult for almost all first years.
Now in my heart do I believe everyone on that list is capable of making the jumps I mentioned? Yes it’s possible. Do I expect all of them to make the jump and nail it? Doubtful, that’s just the reality. Especially coming out the gate. Guys need time to grow and learn, and when you’re ranked 4th in the country you don’t get a long leash to grow and learn. You are expected to be a polished product, rather that is right or wrong is a whole different story.
This is all a take that I would be ecstatic if I’m wrong and the fire out the gates and go 30-0 and make a Final 4 run.
Thing is all of the teams below UVA have tons of questions too. I don’t know that this team would be ranked as highly in a season like 14-15 but it makes sense this year. I mean look at the teams behind UVA. Wisconsin is discount UVA. Iowa has Fran to avoid teaching defense. Duke has an all new backcourt. Creighton lost their best perimeter defender and have major questions inside. Kansas doesn’t have any returning proven scoring. About the only team I see with fewer roster concerns is Illinois but they don’t have program bump/established winning culture that we do. I wouldn’t have a problem if we were closer to 10-12 range but I think all of those teams have flaws so I don’t fault voters for putting the Hoos at the top of that group after the Gonzaga/Nova/Baylor tier.
No doubt. Everyone has flaws and unknowns at this time of year, and part of the reason I’m opposed to pre-season polls. I also have zero concern about how other teams feel or react to rankings.
Part of my distain for the high ranking also comes from my preference to come from underneeth and being an underdog. I rather hunt than be hunted.
In the end, rankings don’t mean much in basketball since 60+ teams make the tournament and it’s all re-seeded.
Back in the day it felt like rankings somehow meant something now that it changes 100 times during season now think it means lot less. And agree would rather be around 10 or whatever but if we are Top 5, F it, will take it
I believe Kenpom did an analysis in 2010 showing that the preseason AP poll was a better predictor of NCAA tournament success than the final AP poll. That analysis probably needs to be updated to add in the last 10 years, but it’s nice to think that we’ve got that going for us this season if we hit a rough patch in the beginning.
