Nwora is back and I am pumped! We will have a great team next year and it will be the return of Cardinal basketball to the national stage where we belong. Ranked and in the hunt for a 1,2,3,4 Seed. But, not to be a wet blanket, we will be good but I think the national media is doing us a disservice by putting such high expectations on us right now.
The good?
We will be very experienced. We have probably the best returning player in the ACC in Nwora. We have a fresh crop of talented freshman coming in to add depth that we did not have last year. The ACC will be down, while we return almost everything. Mack and this roster finally have continuity in their 2nd year after having 3 different coaches in 3 seasons the past few years.
The bad?
We still are not strong at the point guard position. We lose CC and Fore, add in another grad transfer and some freshman that are not really ball handlers, a push. Kimble, Williamson, Perry, and Johnson are deep and have potential, but not as confident in that group on paper until they show.
We overachieved early last season, but we were not a good team down the stretch once the schedule toughened up and more film got out on how to guard us. We lost 10 of our last 13 games. We were a 7 seed that got run off the floor by a 10 seed. We had bad losses to Boston College and Pittsburgh, who both had losing records. We struggled to close game after game after game.
This team also still isn't Coach Mack's guys. Remember Rick's early teams? They played well, but once Rick got his guys fully on the roster, we got to the final 4 in 2005 and then never looked back. This is still a mix of patchwork transfers, Rick's guys, and a new group of freshman who are the first group of Coach's guys.
The final take?
I see this as a 3-4 seed team, maybe a 2 seed at best. I see us in the hunt for winning the ACC title all year, and we have a great chance to win it this season. Which is a great season.
As I said above, we will be a better team because we return everyone. We were a 7 seed that was gassed down the stretch that is adding in a consensus top 10 recruiting class. No game changing stars in that class, but plenty of talented depth. A team without a true point guard, but plenty of solid depth in the backcourt.
We will be a great team, but remember what title contenders look like and what it took for them to get there at those points in time. Those teams with Siva, Russ, Wayne, Trezl, etc. just had that look of a team that no one wanted any part of from 2011-15. Even the years we didn't win and got knocked out early (2011), we still looked great in the regular season. Those guys improved over time and were fully integrated and recruited for Rick's system. I don't see this team on that level. I can see us competing, but I'm just not sold on this group being able to be among the elites in March. I see us as just a hair below.
Now is it fair to compare them to those teams? No. And just because they aren't on the level of those guys doesn't mean they won't be a great team. I know the hype is going to be really high, but just appreciate the work "Vince" and Mack have done to get us to this point. Knowing our fan base, if we fall a little short and are ranked like 18th at the end of the year and are a 3 or 4 seed, we will chirp that Mack just isn't Rick (which he isn't and isn't fair to expect anyone to live up to Rick)
Don't rag me, this is just my opinion. I see 2022 and 2023 tournaments as the time we are competing for the title as one of the favorites, once Chris has his full team and system installed. I think this 2020 team will be the team that gets us to fall back in love with the program and show the city, donors, national media, and etc. that we are back! Though this had a negative tone, I am very positive about the future of our program under Coach Mack!
Go Cards, beat everybody!
The good?
We will be very experienced. We have probably the best returning player in the ACC in Nwora. We have a fresh crop of talented freshman coming in to add depth that we did not have last year. The ACC will be down, while we return almost everything. Mack and this roster finally have continuity in their 2nd year after having 3 different coaches in 3 seasons the past few years.
The bad?
We still are not strong at the point guard position. We lose CC and Fore, add in another grad transfer and some freshman that are not really ball handlers, a push. Kimble, Williamson, Perry, and Johnson are deep and have potential, but not as confident in that group on paper until they show.
We overachieved early last season, but we were not a good team down the stretch once the schedule toughened up and more film got out on how to guard us. We lost 10 of our last 13 games. We were a 7 seed that got run off the floor by a 10 seed. We had bad losses to Boston College and Pittsburgh, who both had losing records. We struggled to close game after game after game.
This team also still isn't Coach Mack's guys. Remember Rick's early teams? They played well, but once Rick got his guys fully on the roster, we got to the final 4 in 2005 and then never looked back. This is still a mix of patchwork transfers, Rick's guys, and a new group of freshman who are the first group of Coach's guys.
The final take?
I see this as a 3-4 seed team, maybe a 2 seed at best. I see us in the hunt for winning the ACC title all year, and we have a great chance to win it this season. Which is a great season.
As I said above, we will be a better team because we return everyone. We were a 7 seed that was gassed down the stretch that is adding in a consensus top 10 recruiting class. No game changing stars in that class, but plenty of talented depth. A team without a true point guard, but plenty of solid depth in the backcourt.
We will be a great team, but remember what title contenders look like and what it took for them to get there at those points in time. Those teams with Siva, Russ, Wayne, Trezl, etc. just had that look of a team that no one wanted any part of from 2011-15. Even the years we didn't win and got knocked out early (2011), we still looked great in the regular season. Those guys improved over time and were fully integrated and recruited for Rick's system. I don't see this team on that level. I can see us competing, but I'm just not sold on this group being able to be among the elites in March. I see us as just a hair below.
Now is it fair to compare them to those teams? No. And just because they aren't on the level of those guys doesn't mean they won't be a great team. I know the hype is going to be really high, but just appreciate the work "Vince" and Mack have done to get us to this point. Knowing our fan base, if we fall a little short and are ranked like 18th at the end of the year and are a 3 or 4 seed, we will chirp that Mack just isn't Rick (which he isn't and isn't fair to expect anyone to live up to Rick)
Don't rag me, this is just my opinion. I see 2022 and 2023 tournaments as the time we are competing for the title as one of the favorites, once Chris has his full team and system installed. I think this 2020 team will be the team that gets us to fall back in love with the program and show the city, donors, national media, and etc. that we are back! Though this had a negative tone, I am very positive about the future of our program under Coach Mack!
Go Cards, beat everybody!
