Honestly, kind of a cool way to do it. Crazy we have performed this well against top 100 comp SINCE 2018. Would love to see the last 10 years.
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Dunn is going to be a beast this year. I can see a lot of improvement in him watching him shoot the ball despite the wide stance on the 3s. ITâS ALMOST TIME!
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This canât be true. Iâve been led to believe that weâve sucked since 2019.
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Also just a couple clips but his follow through and rortation on the ball look really good compared to last year
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Led to believe by who? The media that rubs in the fact that we havenât been past the 1st round since 2019?
How you should think about each of those years, from a very pessimistic person:
- 17-18 - great! But whoa, what happenedâŚ
- 18-19 - I mean, pretty good I guess (okay, fine, amazing)
- 19-20 - Amazing defense, atrocious offense, and the season never ended, so kinda weird
- 20-21 - Very good; disappointing ending, considering both the covid pause and the disappointing ending, even considering the covid pause
- 21-22 - Very meh. You look up meh in the dictionary and you see that season
- 22-23 - Pretty good. The ACC was trash, but we did tie for the reg season crown, which is better than finishing 3rd or 4th in a trash conference; another disappointing ending**
So, feel free to feel about those seasons any way you all would like, provided the way you feel matches the way I think you should feel. Also, if you want to feel more fondly about the 19-20 season than I do, then you have to come to my apartment and watch the entire Wake Forest game with me, and THEN tell me all your fond memories of that season, because if you can watch that entire game, and still tell me nice things about that season, then youâre a true Sicko, and I will relent.
** the thing about a graphic like this is it just wipes away UMBC, Ohio, and Furman. Which is nice. If someone could do that to my brain, that would also be great.
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Just train your Western brain to hold multitudes, my friend.
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Ha⌠I was there with my whole family. Remember fondly the go ahead 3 by Huff in the corner with 39 seconds left and then Morsell fouling their shooter on a 3 with one second left and UVA up by threeâŚand then the clinching putback by Diakite in OT followed by the game clock violation at the end by Wake as they couldnât get a shot off against the suffocating D. Great conversation with some UNC fans who were there because their daughter went to Wake.
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Mostly by folks like Haney, who was kind enough to reply to my post and help show why. (Iâm teasing. I love Haney.)
I donât deny that there have been disappointments, and three first-round NCAA losses are legitimate targets for criticism. But they also tend to obscure how successful the program has been overall, and I think sometimes we dwell so much on the former that we fail to appreciate the latter.
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I think a lot of the frustration also stems from the fact that you would expect a program to take off after winning a national title. But instead weâve really seen a dip
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âReally seen a dipâ based on what metric? We are still one the winningest programs in CBB, have continued our ACC dominance, won over 20 guys consistently and made the post season. Yes, our tourney success clearly hasnât been where would like it to be, but as a program we have not really seen a dip. I think 95% of programs in CBB would take that âdipâ in a heartbeat.
The only real bump I thought the natty would bring that it hasnât is landing 5 stars.
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I mean in the years leading up to and including the national title, we were a 1 seed, 2 seed, 1 seed, 5 seed, 1 seed, and 1 seed. In the succeeding years, we were a 4-6 seed (Covid), 4 seed, NIT team, and a 4 seed. Iâm not going to pull up the KenPom numbers, but they would certainly show a big dip too
I donât really see how you argue that the program hasnât taken a dip
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The same attributes that brought a Natty to UVA are what makes UVA an unlikely destination for 5 stars.
It doesnât matter where the recruitâs head is at when UVA begins recruiting them, by the time all the Duke and Kansas and Kentucky and UCLA, etc., recruiters and the kidâs fill their head with how theyâre just going to burnish their brand and feature them, they have no interest in coming to UVA to embrace the grind. Itâs the way it is. Itâs not going to change.
Iâm fine with that, but we need to do very well in recruiting that next level down, kids that have the potential but need the process and know it.
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Slightly on topic: been reading a lot about what makes Matt Painter tick and his quirks. @dave92 framed Tonyâs main orientation as being âdo no harm.â Basically, prioritize not making mistakes instead of being open to letting guys experiment and fail. Itâs all a spectrum but Bennett definitely errs on the do no harm side. Painter seems to as well.
My working theory is that there are substantive and psychological ways that mentality trickles down to the team, which is why youâve seen Purdue crap out in the tourney early. Arguably theyâve had less talent so itâs even more pronounced.
The solution imo is for Tony to have 2-3 NBA caliber dudes who are 2nd and 3rd years. You give them a long long leash, then surround them with young talent and a sprinkle of vets you give you a solid rotation (super easy right?). Those dudes can feel the wrath of risk averse Tony.
I think that building a roster through that lens is super important especially with Tonyâs tendencies, alongside the traditional way of skills and positions.
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Both Ohio and Furman finished the year in the top 100.
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Ok, there you go
Big news for one of our OOC opponents:
https://x.com/JonRothstein/status/1720548087595204738?s=20
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At least they let him/them know before the season.
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This way the Tenn. Attorney General has plenty of time to send the NCAA a nasty-gram, forcing them to reverse the decision with plenty of time to spare before conference play.
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For the lawyers on the forum: could these student athletes start suing for damages? Lost NIL money due to ineligibility?
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