When our roster fell apart earlier in the season, it became obvious that we would not know how good this team could be until late in the season. So how good could we be? Could this end up being one of those teams who could slip up on someone if we should be lucky enough to make the dance?

I have little doubt that if Markquis Nowell were three inches taller, he would be playing for a power conference team, maybe starring for a power conference team.

We have four players who are 6-10 and taller. A lot of power conference teams don't have that. And Maric has not yet really gotten his game back. And no one yet knows just how good Monyyong can be, but I certainly am not ready to set a ceiling on his ability.

Marko Lukic just got back and is making 3s at a high rate of speed.

Ben Coupet is another of those players who has a ton of talent, but who had not gotten to spend a lot of time on the court before this season. Who knows just how good he may be?

And with the roster only recently getting anything like set, Coach is probably still feeling his way as to the best combination of players.

What I am saying is that IF this team should win the SBC tournament (and of course that is a huge "if"), the talent is here to pull one of those high-profile upsets in the first round of the NCAA. This team just might get to be that good (not there yet). Hey, I know it is a long shot, but until we get all the pieces settled into place - together - I don't think we know just how good this team might be.

And - lest we forget:

Nowell 3.5 star
Lottie 3 star
Coupet 3 star
Palermo 3 star
Monyyong 3 star

We really could put a starting lineup on the floor of nothing but players who were (at least) 3-stars.

(01-25-2020 10:13 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  And - lest we forget:

Nowell 3.5 star
Lottie 3 star
Coupet 3 star
Palermo 3 star
Monyyong 3 star

We really could put a starting lineup on the floor of nothing but players who were (at least) 3-stars.

There is no doubt in my mind that at full strength and playing well we can win a game in the NCAA. We have size, speed, shooting ability and we defend. We have played Memphis, NC State and Arkansas tough no where close to full strength. We are very talented. However we are also vulnerable to the loss in the Sun Belt tournament that kills our bid. I would like to see us win conference so we are guaranteed an NIT bid. At this point I will be disappointed if we don’t go to some sort of post season. I too have gulped the Kool Aid but as Mickey says, it’s much better than complaining about 20 loss seasons! It’s fun to be a Men’s basketball fan again!!!

We have had some interesting discussions on this board over the years about what is a reasonable expectation for this program year in and year out. I think getting 20 wins as often as not is reasonable and achievable, and if we do that, we will be in post-season with some degree of regularity.

We have 11 games left, counting the first game of the tournament, so we would have to win 6 of 11 to make the 20-win mark. RealtimeRPI projects us to finish the regular season 19-12. Sagarin has us at 20-11. So unless we start to sputter, there is a very good chance we will get there this season.

As I pointed out on another thread, we have won 20 games only eleven times in our history.