This team will surprise some

[g0lftime]

I think this year will give us an indication of the coaching staff and their ability to develop players within a team concept because they don't have the horses to be a competitive team in the ACC. This board has discussed a lot about offense but not much about defense. It will be interesting to see how Pastner coaches defense with this group. This year will be a real chance to see just how well he can coach rather than just out recruit his opponents. I am all in as for his recruiting ability if he can get the top skill kids to come to GT and then he proves he can coach them at the ACC level once they get here. We will find out a lot about just plain ole coaching this year even if he doesn't win many ACC games. It should be obvious if basic coaching and game management is there. I wasn't that impressed with the last two we have had. We lost some games that we shouldn't have lost and a lot of them by very small margins.

 

[AE 87]

I think this year will give us an indication of the coaching staff and their ability to develop players within a team concept because they don't have the horses to be a competitive team in the ACC. This board has discussed a lot about offense but not much about defense. It will be interesting to see how Pastner coaches defense with this group. This year will be a real chance to see just how well he can coach rather than just out recruit his opponents. I am all in as for his recruiting ability if he can get the top skill kids to come to GT and then he proves he can coach them at the ACC level once they get here. We will find out a lot about just plain ole coaching this year even if he doesn't win many ACC games. It should be obvious if basic coaching and game management is there. I wasn't that impressed with the last two we have had. We lost some games that we shouldn't have lost and a lot of them by very small margins.

Fwiw, we've seen his record at Memphis with top talent vs top25 opposition.

You are right though. We'll see.

 

[g0lftime]

His assistant coaches seem to have really good resumes and the assistant coaches are where most of the day to day development takes place. Head coach will be in charge of offensive and defensive schemes plus game management. A good assistant will be invaluable to help with insights into how players are performing during games. It should be interesting to see how some of the players are developed this season because none of the current players was asked to take a leadership role or provide significant offense in the past. I am anxious to see how Lammers, Tadric, Q, and Heath will perform since their roles will be very different this year.

 

[MWBATL]

You know, every time I see this thread, I think to myself that surprises can go both ways...they could be better than expected....or worse. Just saying'......

 

[kg01]

You know, every time I see this thread, I think to myself that surprises can go both ways...they could be better than expected....or worse. Just saying'......

Nah, looking at some early projections, no one and I mean no one is expecting anything positive from us. No way we can disappoint and be 'worse' than anyone's expectations.

 

[ESPNjacket]

Nah, looking at some early projections, no one and I mean no one is expecting anything positive from us. No way we can disappoint and be 'worse' than anyone's expectations.

Even given the extremely low bar of "some" being surprised, I think it would take a true disaster, less than 5 overall wins for even some to truly be surprised.

 

[AE 87]

Nah, looking at some early projections, no one and I mean no one is expecting anything positive from us. No way we can disappoint and be 'worse' than anyone's expectations.

Well, if you think we're gonna surprise those folk, you'll be surprised if we don't.

 

[YlJacket]

Well, if you think we're gonna surprise those folk, you'll be surprised if we don't.

I am kind of surprised that you are surprised that we would surprise people if we surprisingly only win about 5 games. Does that surprise you?

 

[AE 87]

I am kind of surprised that you are surprised that we would surprise people if we surprisingly only win about 5 games. Does that surprise you?

No.

 

[awbuzz]

 

[Peacone36]

"What's our record Larry?"

"8-16"

"8-16, how'd we ever win 8?"

"It's a miracle."

 

[coolhaji33]

Josh Heath alone equates to 8 wins...watch him be the most improved player in the league.The kid flat out takes care of the ball...I've always liked his offensive decision making.He'll score it next year,something he did late last year.Becoming "the go to guy" for some is a process...Tadric has all the tools...it's just taken him a little time to figure out what a good shot is and when to take it..don't be surprised if he handles the ball more this year and finally finishes.Q could really turn the corner...I predict a major upgrade physically...unwrapping some of his natural gifts of agility and length...we all know he can stroke it from varrying ranges and with the ability to attack the basket? = big senior year.Lammers will not be overmatched by any big in the league...he'll hold his own and then some.I think Jodan Price and Kellen McCormack aren't game breakers by any stretch but have experience and can shoot the ball.Right there you have 4 seniors and 2 juniors...all have played under the brightest lights whether it be in the ACC or on the road against some of the big 10's best...these kids won't be intimidated...maybe even play with a chip.In my eyes this group could be viewed as the nucleus...not an overwhelming one but definitely something to build off of.You add Okogie to the mix...a kid who can play a few positions...is very athletic and talented if he could be better than the scouting services think.We have frontcourt depth with Sly and AD...two unproven kids...both might not be ready...or they might come in and be able to use there physical gifts and be adequate role players.I think AD will actually be the guy who comes out of nowhere and really do a lot of different things for us on both ends and be better offensively than most think.Hopefully Obongba adds some muscle and rim protects.CMat will be a nice player...like Okogie he might be a little better than the scouting services thought...once he fills out all the potential will become more obvious...though he's slender now...he actually has a big frame with long arms...he has no conscious offensively and is confident in his ability.Another guy who could emerge as a big contributor.Justin Moore adds depth in the backcourt...although I think he's a year away from really doing anything...he's game,quick and relatively skilled as a shooter/scorer/distributor...all in all there's a ton of if's and ??? But I have a feeling that this team will equal our performance over the last two years finishing better than most folks think...basically it'll comedown to BC,VT and us at the bottom of a conference where there's no clear powerhouse team throughout the league...we'll be capable of playing with everyone...Will we be able to make enough plays to win...that's the question.

 

[mstranahan]

Agreed. If every player comes back wildly better than anything they've shown before and all the recruits play far better than their scouting reports, we could win some games. Without that miracle, I think 2 conference wins is a likely outcome.

As far as no powerhouse team in the league , I'm puzzled. Duke is ranked #1 in the country by most. UNC and UVA are top 10. Miami and Louisville are in top 25. Sounds pretty loaded to me, and that ignores NC State (they'll be very good).

Lammers had moments last year, especially in the last 8-10 games. I would not say he stacks up evenly with UNC's bigs, Abu, or Blossomgame. I would put him on par with Bojanovsky...similar body type and limitations.

If this team wins 21 games next year and goes to the NIT (equaling last year's team), we should build a statue of CJP on 10th St and rename the arena

 

[coolhaji33]

College basketball will be very "young" next year...nationally straight across the board...what I meant by powerhouse was more inter conference...the power is spread evenly...I feel unc won't be a world beater,duke is young...I think Miami,Clemson,fsu and state will be in good shape relatively speaking...Virginia loses a lot of experience and firepower but still will be in the top half of the division...like I said...I think with the talent we have we'll be able to run up and down with most of those teams...do we have blue chip talent to close games...no...do we have a handful of battle tested guys with upsides who'll keep things interesting...hell yeah...I'm hedging toward us competing rather than laying down...that's just me...to be honest I've never seen a tech team under any coach lay down and get smashed.Yes we've been down...had some vanilla years under cbg...but what he did was instill a work ethic in regards to player development and comprehension of the game....the returnees know how to play the game...especially Heath who'll predominantly have the ball in his hand.They most likely won't see post season play but will be far more competitive than there final record.

 

[Peacone36]

Cmon man.


You sound absolutely ridiculous. We get it, you're a fan and the only way to be a real fan is unbridled optimism.

 

[Connell62]

Cmon man.


You sound absolutely ridiculous. We get it, you're a fan and the only way to be a real fan is unbridled optimism.

Damn..Never thought I would be on this side of the coin. Best for everyone here to "pump the brakes" on inflating expectations for next season.

In the segment that Coach Pastner did yesterday on Facebook, he did everything possible to set expectations at the ground level. Saying several times that we were a completely new startup.

I'm as much of a glass half-full guy as you will get, but saying that Josh Heath is going to be the Go-To guy makes me shiver in fear. Not meant to knock Josh, but he avg. 2.7 pts in over 17 minutes per game.

I think that we need to be realistic in our outlook on next season. Whats the old adage.."Hope for Best, Prepare for the Worst"

 

[McCamish Maniacs]

Damn..Never thought I would be on this side of the coin. Best for everyone here to "pump the brakes" on inflating expectations for next season.

In the segment that Coach Pastner did yesterday on Facebook, he did everything possible to set expectations at the ground level. Saying several times that we were a completely new startup.

I'm as much of a glass half-full guy as you will get, but saying that Josh Heath is going to be the Go-To guy makes me shiver in fear. Not meant to knock Josh, but he avg. 2.7 pts in over 17 minutes per game.

I think that we need to be realistic in our outlook on next season. Whats the old adage.."Hope for Best, Prepare for the Worst"

Re: what you said about Pastner, I think that's a pretty telling sign. I was optimistic that maybe, just maybe we could have a decent season (maybe get to .500, but the way Pastner is talking has me pretty certain it's gonna be a rough year.

 

[YlJacket]

If we try to run up and down with most teams in the ACC it will be like those Aztec priests who cut the captive's heart out and showed it to them before they could mercifully die. We don't have the kind of athleticism required to do that. Heath's game is controlling tempo, taking care of the ball and trying to start an offense. He is not a "scorer" and if we look for him to score double digits I guess I am shivering too.

Our shot (such as it is) is to go all UVA next year, play the hell out of the defensive end and try to manufacture enough points out of thin air to stay competitive - and hope for the best at the end. Tadrick and one of the freshman are going to have to be the double digit scorers. Q in double digits would be a blessing though I do think he will rebound the 4 slot better than most do.

I didn't see the facebook thing yesterday but curious if CJP talked about style of play? For competitiveness this year we need to play in the 70's or lower if we can. But that isn't his style and I don't know if he is going to play for this year or try to set a tone for future years?

 

[ESPNjacket]

Damn..Never thought I would be on this side of the coin. Best for everyone here to "pump the brakes" on inflating expectations for next season.

Same here. There simply is no ACC level talent on this team. Spin isn't going to change it. Recruiting is the only thing that can change it.

 

[orientalnc]

Our shot (such as it is) is to go all UVA next year, play the hell out of the defensive end and try to manufacture enough points out of thin air to stay competitive - and hope for the best at the end.

This is very amusing. Our defense is perhaps the weakest link in the chain unless several miracles.