(11-18-2014 11:57 PM)tharmon15 Wrote: What is a REALISTIC expectation for the University of Memphis Tigers' basketball program year in and year out? I think some have way too high expectations, but not all. What do all of you all think? For a lot of schools, the wins Josh has gotten each season would be amazing. For the upper tier programs, not so much. So where do we classify ourselves as a program, REALISTICALLY!
A lot of it depends on who's on the team.
The expectation is that every year this team should (at the least) be in play for an NCAA bid. As 3601 has properly noted in past posts, a S16 every 4 or 5 years and a deeper run every 8 or 10 years is where the program is.
However,
singular yearly expectations are different from macro expectations.
The past 4 years this team has had at least two McD all-americans and other top 20 recruits, so the expectations for ANY of those years isn't reliant on the macro picture.
Last year Memphis had 2 McD's AA, a Top 20 recruit, a senior Big XII all conference player and a JUCO standout. That team did not meet expectations.
This year, Memphis has two players on the AAC preseason 1st team. That alone, puts them at a better talent level than most teams they face. They have two other players with at least 2 years D1 experience (Johnson and Godfrey) and
supposedly some decorated JUCO's ready to take the next step. Add to that immensely talented Nick King along with other 4* recruits Magee, Iverson, Powell and Crawford. The later two having a year to redshirt and familiarize themselves with the players, system and coaches.