Expectations Day Before Season Tips off

[jd82tide]

Last year was truly a pleasant surprise. After starting off last year 4-3 and barely beating Furman I thought we were heading for another NIT season. Oats has done a tremendous job of changing the culture and recruiting elite talent. So what would you realistically consider a "good" season this year.

Disappointing - missing the NCAA tournament and not beating au at least once.
Expected - top 4/5 in the SEC and a top 8 seed or better in NCAA
Very Good- get past the sweet 16
Off the Charts - making first ever final 4

Just my thoughts as I've had have unrealistic expectations stomped on for most of the last two decades. Really do feel like if this team stays healthy it'll be a great season.
Fully expect this to be a 20 plus win team

 

[rsaxoniii]

My expectations for this year are lower than last. Last year I thought if everything came together we'd be an elite 8 or final 4 team. This year I'm not so sure.

I think we're missing a shooter so everyone needs to be better or someone else needs to step up imo.

Alot will depend on how shackleford meets my expectations and what someone like Miles does if needed.

 

[BamaLegacy]

My expectations for this year are lower than last. Last year I thought if everything came together we'd be an elite 8 or final 4 team. This year I'm not so sure.

I think we're missing a shooter so everyone needs to be better or someone else needs to step up imo.

Alot will depend on how shackleford meets my expectations and what someone like Miles does if needed.

I tend to agree. Losing Burnett for this year was a big loss IMO and despite their limitations, losing those 4 seniors is a lot (plus a 1 and done lottery pick). Herb and Jordan Bruner were massively important to that squad.

Bama gets a bit smaller at guard this year, and maybe the biggest change, Bama only has Gurley as a smaller stretch 5 when last season they had 2 bigger guys able to play inside D and still threaten from deep and keep the floor spaced.

Davison, Gurley and Bediako are nice players (really not sure about Holt) but they have some huge holes to fill. No doubt some returning players will need to step up.

 

[wtw82]

I say as expected but wouldn’t be surprised if they exceeded that. The OOC schedule is ridiculously tough and I feel like the SEC as a whole will be better. UK sounds like they might be extremely formidable and Hawgs will be damn tough. Throw in both cheating Tigers programs (not you Mizzou, I think) and it’s gonna be tough. But all that’s to say we should be battle-tested by the time March rolls around. JQ is great at penetration (phrasing/TWSS) and I hope we can find a second shooter like they’re set up on Dealey Plaza. Not gonna be easy, but I think the team is hungry and looking to prove last year wasn’t a fluke.

 

[Bocat69]

I say as expected but wouldn’t be surprised if they exceeded that. The OOC schedule is ridiculously tough and I feel like the SEC as a whole will be better. UK sounds like they might be extremely formidable and Hawgs will be damn tough. Throw in both cheating Tigers programs (not you Mizzou, I think) and it’s gonna be tough. But all that’s to say we should be battle-tested by the time March rolls around. JQ is great at penetration (phrasing/TWSS) and I hope we can find a second shooter like they’re set up on Dealey Plaza. Not gonna be easy, but I think the team is hungry and looking to prove last year wasn’t a fluke.

Are you sure Kentucky is going to be that good? Watched the Kentucky vs. D2 Miles College game and Miles was up at the half, led by double digits for most of the game until Kentucky eventually wore them down with there size inside?

 

[winin11]

Just about all the KY players are new to the program. They are highly rated but will take them a while to come together. Bama doesn't play them until Feb 5th at home and Feb 19th away. We will need to play well and be sure to get that win at home.

 

[frazor]

No worse than a 5 seed in the tournament which means we've been pretty competitive in the SEC. I havnt looked in to it but I don't think anybody in the SEC is just leaps and bounds better than the rest of the conference.

 

[Codie B]

If we had Burnett and Primo - a 1 or 2 seed, and legitimate challenger for the title.
if we had one of the two above - top 4 seed. Should be in the sweet 16, and then who knows?
Now - I am expecting a top 4 SEC finish. 5-7 seed.
The loss of Burnett was crushing (especially after Primo left early). The only way I see us picking up that slack is if Shack shoots A LOT better than last year (he could help himself by taking better, less contested shots). He, also, needs to turn the ball over less. This, additionally, means that Ellis and Q shoot well too(which I am expecting). We should have two really good PG’s to help spread the floor, assuming we can capitalize by making the shots. When is the last time we can say we had two really good PG’s? I feel we will be fine under the basket. I think Gary will only get better, I think Gurley fits better than Reese, and Bediako can bring a different dimension with his shot altering presence, and hopefully rebounds.
A lot of whacky things can happen in the tournament. Most people didn’t pick UCLA to even win their play in game, and they went to the Final 4. Illinois was hot coming in and lost in the 2nd rd. That said, the top 2 ranked teams did play in the finals.

 

[frazor]

A lot of whacky things can happen in the tournament.

Yep. Just make the tournament. Ideally better than a 5 seed

 

[jtr4dad]

I think top 4 SEC and top 20 nationally are realistic goals for this team. If we had Burnett and Primo I think we would be a legitimate Final Four contender. I was actually so confident last spring that I made hotel reservations in New Orleans for this season's Final Four. I have high hopes for this team, so I'm still hanging on to those rooms.

 

[wtw82]

Are you sure Kentucky is going to be that good? Watched the Kentucky vs. D2 Miles College game and Miles was up at the half, led by double digits for most of the game until Kentucky eventually wore them down with there size inside?

I think they will be, especially by the time conference play rolls around. They always have new guys; talented, but new. Once they get cohesive they’ll be tough to beat.

 

[winin11]

Whatever they do under Nate Oats, I'll be good with that.

 

[fatman47]

Last year was truly a pleasant surprise. After starting off last year 4-3 and barely beating Furman I thought we were heading for another NIT season. Oats has done a tremendous job of changing the culture and recruiting elite talent. So what would you realistically consider a "good" season this year.

Disappointing - missing the NCAA tournament and not beating au at least once.
Expected - top 4/5 in the SEC and a top 8 seed or better in NCAA
Very Good- get past the sweet 16
Off the Charts - making first ever final 4

Just my thoughts as I've had have unrealistic expectations stomped on for most of the last two decades. Really do feel like if this team stays healthy it'll be a great season.
Fully expect this to be a 20 plus win team

Good post, I agree.