Post by theneumann64 on Nov 6, 2013 15:29:46 GMT -5
(This is the first of two lengthy posts from me, one more as poster- this one, and another which will be Moderator-ish)
So, here we are, another season about to begin. Almost certainly the most anticipated La Salle basketball season in at least 20 years. The general feeling on this board seems to be huge optimism, and no fanbase deserves that optimism more than us.
A few weeks ago, a new poster to the board PMed me and asked for my thoughts on this year's team. Here is what I wrote back, and then I'll expand on it below that:
I think they will be good, but I think many on here are underestimating the impact that losing their best player from last year (Galloway) is going to have. The pessimistic way of looking at it would be that they were one of the last teams in to the tournament last year, and lost their best player. Anything that happened after the tournament began last year (the Sweet 16 run) is kind of incidental to this year. They'll have a bit higher of a national profile and some more experience, but that won't help in terms of RPI, Strength of Schedule, etc.
The re-shaped league has its positives and negatives. There's fewer opportunities for signature wins, but it should be easier to win more games and finish higher in the standings, maybe actually make some noise in the conference tournament, which we haven't done in a long time. VCU and St. Louis seem to be clearly the upper echelon, but I'd like to think La Salle can be the top team on the next rung down.
In terms of players, I expect it to be the usual guys. Duren will be the key facilitator, with Garland right behind him in terms of offense. They were at their best last year when they had multiple guys hot at the same time, and Galloway was always one of them, so they will struggle to replace that offense. Hopefully more of it can come from the front-court of Wright and Zack this year.
In terms of expectations, I think they'll be right where they were last year, right on the bubble coming down the stretch. Gun to my head, I say they end up in the tournament again this year, but I don't think they end up ranked throughout the year or anything like that. Fun, exciting year, and I'm pumped, but I'm sure there will be a few "bad" losses that send people in to a panic. But they should be damn good, and I'm optimistic overall.
That's still how I feel on the eve of the season. I'm excited, but like I said, you really have to take everything that happened after March 17 out of the equation for just a minute. That was a phenomenal run, and one we'll all remember forever. But outside of giving guys some residual confidence and the program more exposure, it doesn't retroactively change what we were last year: one of the last few teams in the tournament. And we did lose our best player. So I can't just automatically pencil us back in for another Sweet 16 berth, that's setting us up for disappointment.
That said, this is a very good team, in a league we can do some damage, and plays what I think is a near perfectly balance OOC. Not only are they good, they are damned exciting to watch. I see this being another great year, a fun year, and with the added bonus of actually being relevant locally, and getting some attention nationally. Whether or not they duplicate last season's success in March, I think we could be looking at an equally fun year as fans.
So let's get some predictions. I'm not looking for polyanna's here, let's get honest thoughts. Please don't criticize others for being overly positive/negative. That said, don't post 29-1, National Champions, unless you really believe that's what's going to happen. Feel free to follow my template (which we've used in the past) or do it however you'd like.
(By my count, we play 30 games, 16 A-10, 14 OOC).
Overall Record: 21-9 (10-4 OOC)
Atlantic 10 Records: 11-5
A-10 Finish: 3rd
A-10 Tournament: 1st Round Bye. Actually win a game at the tourney site this year, lose in Semi-Finals.
Postseason: NCAA- One of the last non Play-In teams.
...I won't go beyond that and speculate on how we fare in the tournament, that's one too many hypotheticals for me. But I'm super excited. Fight on EXPLORERS!
So, here we are, another season about to begin. Almost certainly the most anticipated La Salle basketball season in at least 20 years. The general feeling on this board seems to be huge optimism, and no fanbase deserves that optimism more than us.
A few weeks ago, a new poster to the board PMed me and asked for my thoughts on this year's team. Here is what I wrote back, and then I'll expand on it below that:
I think they will be good, but I think many on here are underestimating the impact that losing their best player from last year (Galloway) is going to have. The pessimistic way of looking at it would be that they were one of the last teams in to the tournament last year, and lost their best player. Anything that happened after the tournament began last year (the Sweet 16 run) is kind of incidental to this year. They'll have a bit higher of a national profile and some more experience, but that won't help in terms of RPI, Strength of Schedule, etc.
The re-shaped league has its positives and negatives. There's fewer opportunities for signature wins, but it should be easier to win more games and finish higher in the standings, maybe actually make some noise in the conference tournament, which we haven't done in a long time. VCU and St. Louis seem to be clearly the upper echelon, but I'd like to think La Salle can be the top team on the next rung down.
In terms of players, I expect it to be the usual guys. Duren will be the key facilitator, with Garland right behind him in terms of offense. They were at their best last year when they had multiple guys hot at the same time, and Galloway was always one of them, so they will struggle to replace that offense. Hopefully more of it can come from the front-court of Wright and Zack this year.
In terms of expectations, I think they'll be right where they were last year, right on the bubble coming down the stretch. Gun to my head, I say they end up in the tournament again this year, but I don't think they end up ranked throughout the year or anything like that. Fun, exciting year, and I'm pumped, but I'm sure there will be a few "bad" losses that send people in to a panic. But they should be damn good, and I'm optimistic overall.
That's still how I feel on the eve of the season. I'm excited, but like I said, you really have to take everything that happened after March 17 out of the equation for just a minute. That was a phenomenal run, and one we'll all remember forever. But outside of giving guys some residual confidence and the program more exposure, it doesn't retroactively change what we were last year: one of the last few teams in the tournament. And we did lose our best player. So I can't just automatically pencil us back in for another Sweet 16 berth, that's setting us up for disappointment.
That said, this is a very good team, in a league we can do some damage, and plays what I think is a near perfectly balance OOC. Not only are they good, they are damned exciting to watch. I see this being another great year, a fun year, and with the added bonus of actually being relevant locally, and getting some attention nationally. Whether or not they duplicate last season's success in March, I think we could be looking at an equally fun year as fans.
So let's get some predictions. I'm not looking for polyanna's here, let's get honest thoughts. Please don't criticize others for being overly positive/negative. That said, don't post 29-1, National Champions, unless you really believe that's what's going to happen. Feel free to follow my template (which we've used in the past) or do it however you'd like.
(By my count, we play 30 games, 16 A-10, 14 OOC).
Overall Record: 21-9 (10-4 OOC)
Atlantic 10 Records: 11-5
A-10 Finish: 3rd
A-10 Tournament: 1st Round Bye. Actually win a game at the tourney site this year, lose in Semi-Finals.
Postseason: NCAA- One of the last non Play-In teams.
...I won't go beyond that and speculate on how we fare in the tournament, that's one too many hypotheticals for me. But I'm super excited. Fight on EXPLORERS!
