Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

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Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bluegrouse » May 11th, 2018, 2:12 pm

From Eli Boettger at MWWire:

Five-star freshman forward Jordan Brown has committed to Nevada. He’s first major recruiting pickup for Musselman in Reno. Wolf Pack could start as a preseason top 7-8 squad.


Musselman has been very impressive. His recruiting has been outstanding. They will be a force to be reckoned with on a national level - with or without the twins coming back.

Maybe Dwayne Casey would like to be our third assistant coach.....! (Seriously ridiculous that he got fired. In the running for coach of the year. Players have to take some responsibility for how poorly they played against Cleveland, right?)
Last edited by bluegrouse on May 11th, 2018, 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by Roy McAvoy » May 11th, 2018, 2:17 pm

Not to mention they'll be adding in 3 good players who had to sit out last year after transferring to nevada. They've also landed 3 more transfers this year.

Ehab Amin is a grad transfer from Texas a&m CC. He averaged 17 ppg last year.
Trey Porter is a 6'10" grad transfer from Old Dominion. He averaged 13 ppg and 6 rpg last year.
Jalen Harris will have to sit out a year, but he averaged 15 ppg for La Tech as a sophomore.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by ChicAggie » May 11th, 2018, 2:18 pm

Is there some suggestion that the twins might not come back?


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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bluegrouse » May 11th, 2018, 2:19 pm

Yep. Gonna be scary good. I’m jealous.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bluegrouse » May 11th, 2018, 2:19 pm

ChicAggie wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 2:18 pm
Is there some suggestion that the twins might not come back?
This signee puts them at 15 so there is some speculation that they are not coming back..

Last edited by bluegrouse on May 11th, 2018, 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bluegrouse » May 11th, 2018, 2:21 pm

swishh_15 wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 2:17 pm
Not to mention they'll be adding in 3 good players who had to sit out last year after transferring to nevada. They've also landed 3 more transfers this year.

Ehab Amin is a grad transfer from Texas a&m CC. He averaged 17 ppg last year.
Trey Porter is a 6'10" grad transfer from Old Dominion. He averaged 13 ppg and 6 rpg last year.
Jalen Harris will have to sit out a year, but he averaged 15 ppg for La Tech as a sophomore.
Nevada seemed to be on the short-list of every recruit I saw on Twitter this year. Massive recruiting effort. Have to be impressed.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bluegrouse » May 11th, 2018, 2:24 pm

Fresno State has a couple of nice pick-ups too...

From Eli Boettger:

It’s evident early that Justin Hutson and his staff and are dedicated to recruits with length and versatility. Other 2018 newcomer is 7-1 Assane Diouf, who also shares similar traits.

Fresno State has signed class of 2018 recruit Aguir Agau, per release. Agau is a 6-7 guard with a seven-foot wingspan. Offers included Washington State, Oregon State, others.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bluegrouse » May 11th, 2018, 2:29 pm




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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by ineptimusprime » May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm

We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bluegrouse » May 11th, 2018, 4:10 pm

ineptimusprime wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm
We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.
Yep. I expect next year will be rocky. Love Smith so far but we have a pretty big hill to climb.....



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by thansen » May 11th, 2018, 6:24 pm

I'm just happy that we have a good Tennis team.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by nswaggie » May 11th, 2018, 7:10 pm

bluegrouse wrote:
ineptimusprime wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm
We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.
Yep. I expect next year will be rocky. Love Smith so far but we have a pretty big hill to climb.....
I’m not sure what you would define as rocky, but I expect a better record than last year, and I don’t think that is asking too much. I also expect some MW level recruits to be signed during the early signing period.


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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bluegrouse » May 12th, 2018, 12:40 am

nswaggie wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 7:10 pm
bluegrouse wrote:
ineptimusprime wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm
We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.
Yep. I expect next year will be rocky. Love Smith so far but we have a pretty big hill to climb.....
I’m not sure what you would define as rocky, but I expect a better record than last year, and I don’t think that is asking too much. I also expect some MW level recruits to be signed during the early signing period.


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I really hope you’re right - on both counts. I would be pleasantly surprised if that is the case but I’m not holding my breath. Again, Smith was my first choice, I’m very happy we landed him and I think he’ll be a good coach for us. I just think we may get worse before we get better (and I’m okay with that).

I would say my definition of rocky would be ending the season as equal to or as a lower seed than this year.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by utaggies » May 12th, 2018, 12:52 am

nswaggie wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 7:10 pm
bluegrouse wrote:
ineptimusprime wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm
We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.
Yep. I expect next year will be rocky. Love Smith so far but we have a pretty big hill to climb.....
I’m not sure what you would define as rocky, but I expect a better record than last year, and I don’t think that is asking too much. I also expect some MW level recruits to be signed during the early signing period.


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I'd be interested in knowing your rationale of why "it wouldn't be asking too much" to have a better record next year than this. The MWC was down last year and very close to being a 1-bid league. Nevada will be even better (but we won't have more than two league losses to them next year anyway); we are unlikely to go 6-3 against BSU, NM, UNLV and FSU next year; and we lose Koby, Henson, Pearre, Dargenton, Janicek, and Isby to graduation or transfer (3 of which were essentially starters when they played and one was all-conference) and likely another big, Groot, before he even steps onto the Spectrum floor. The only two upsides I see are that we are now led by a coach not named TD and Miller will be back from his injury. Those improvements won't offset the negatives.

That's a production loss of 45 points and 18 rebounds a game, yet you believe we'll have a better record next year??? I'm not seeing it unless magically Smith is able to pull a very, very large rabbit out of his hat.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by ChicAggie » May 12th, 2018, 10:44 am

utaggies wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 12:52 am
[Y]et you believe we'll have a better record next year??? I'm not seeing it unless magically Smith is able to pull a very, very large rabbit out of his hat.
Size doesn't matter. Nor does it have to be magical. All he needs to do is pull a rabbit out of his hat. I think he can do it.


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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by oleblu111 » May 12th, 2018, 11:23 am

ineptimusprime wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm
We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.
Those summit league dudes are likely much better than Norby, Crew, Isby or Hensen. USD would beat USU with ease last season.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by trombone_ninja » May 12th, 2018, 11:26 am

I agree that next year might be rocky before we really see what Smith can do, but I’m optimistic. I think we might be surprised at how much more a good coach can do with the same group of people than a bad coach ever could.

I saw this firsthand in a music classroom while I was student teaching, and I’m hoping the principle also applies to basketball....


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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by Blitz79 » May 12th, 2018, 2:52 pm

oleblu111 wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 11:23 am
ineptimusprime wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm
We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.
Those summit league dudes are likely much better than Norby, Crew, Isby or Hensen. USD would beat USU with ease last season.
The summit league dudes were not on USD's team last year, so whether or not USU would lose to them last year is irrelevant.
The best USD player is somewhere else now.

I'd take Koby and Henson over who we have coming in. But that's water under the bridge now. I believe the team will struggle next year. I hope the last scholarship goes to to a grad transfer at this point, or save it for good talent next year.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by Pacobag » May 12th, 2018, 5:32 pm

Last year our starting lineup was mostly Merrill, McEwen, Brown, Taylor, and Brito. Four of the five will be back and I anticipate they will be further along at the start of next season than they were at the beginning of this past season. With the added experience and a new staff, hopefully they can show improvement from last season. It remains to be seen if Knight III can contribute as much in Smith's system as McEwen did under Duryea.

IF Stall and Miller can stay healthy and some of these other pickups can be regular contributors, I'm optimistic that we may not be as bad as some are anticipating. Dargenton and Pearre were injured much of the season and Janicek didn't play. Henson contributed some and had at least one notable game but his stats don't exactly jump off the page. Koby was arguably our biggest contributor (based on stats, his selection to the 2nd team all district, and on the 3rd team MW with Merrill) so that loss really hurts. It will be a new system and we'll see how this new team can gel, but hopefully Smith can really bring out the best in these guys and we'll be pleasantly surprised in year 1 of the Smith era. :noidea:



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by aggies22 » May 12th, 2018, 5:39 pm

I have to admit that I am becoming extremely jealous of the success that Nevada is having.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by treesap32 » May 12th, 2018, 6:54 pm

aggies22 wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 5:39 pm
I have to admit that I am becoming extremely jealous of the success that Nevada is having.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by GUS » May 12th, 2018, 9:16 pm

Blitz79 wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 2:52 pm
oleblu111 wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 11:23 am
ineptimusprime wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm
We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.
Those summit league dudes are likely much better than Norby, Crew, Isby or Hensen. USD would beat USU with ease last season.
The summit league dudes were not on USD's team last year, so whether or not USU would lose to them last year is irrelevant.
The best USD player is somewhere else now.

I'd take Koby and Henson over who we have coming in. But that's water under the bridge now. I believe the team will struggle next year. I hope the last scholarship goes to to a grad transfer at this point, or save it for good talent next year.
Not sure what you saw in Henson. But, I think he is an easy piece to replace. Koby on the other hand will be missed. If Smith brings in the coveted big that is rumored, I'm on the side that we will be better than last year. Not Nevada better, but better than a Duryea coached team.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by SectionBAggie » May 12th, 2018, 9:19 pm

swishh_15 wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 2:17 pm
Ehab Amin is a grad transfer from Texas a&m CC. He averaged 17 ppg last year.
I am pretty sure that if Smith had signed this kid he would be getting raked over some coals.

But since it's Musselman, not a word.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by ChicAggie » May 12th, 2018, 11:50 pm

Pacobag wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 5:32 pm
Last year our starting lineup was mostly Merrill, McEwen, Brown, Taylor, and Brito. Four of the five will be back and I anticipate they will be further along at the start of next season than they were at the beginning of this past season. With the added experience and a new staff, hopefully they can show improvement from last season. It remains to be seen if Knight III can contribute as much in Smith's system as McEwen did under Duryea.

IF Stall and Miller can stay healthy and some of these other pickups can be regular contributors, I'm optimistic that we may not be as bad as some are anticipating. Dargenton and Pearre were injured much of the season and Janicek didn't play. Henson contributed some and had at least one notable game but his stats don't exactly jump off the page. Koby was arguably our biggest contributor (based on stats, his selection to the 2nd team all district, and on the 3rd team MW with Merrill) so that loss really hurts. It will be a new system and we'll see how this new team can gel, but hopefully Smith can really bring out the best in these guys and we'll be pleasantly surprised in year 1 of the Smith era. :noidea:
Word.


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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by ChicAggie » May 12th, 2018, 11:51 pm

SectionBAggie wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 9:19 pm
swishh_15 wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 2:17 pm
Ehab Amin is a grad transfer from Texas a&m CC. He averaged 17 ppg last year.
I am pretty sure that if Smith had signed this kid he would be getting raked over some coals.

But since it's Musselman, not a word.
Really? Perhaps find another pointless quibble to make.


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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bluegrouse » May 13th, 2018, 10:55 am

Pacobag wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 5:32 pm
Last year our starting lineup was mostly Merrill, McEwen, Brown, Taylor, and Brito. Four of the five will be back and I anticipate they will be further along at the start of next season than they were at the beginning of this past season. With the added experience and a new staff, hopefully they can show improvement from last season. It remains to be seen if Knight III can contribute as much in Smith's system as McEwen did under Duryea.

IF Stall and Miller can stay healthy and some of these other pickups can be regular contributors, I'm optimistic that we may not be as bad as some are anticipating. Dargenton and Pearre were injured much of the season and Janicek didn't play. Henson contributed some and had at least one notable game but his stats don't exactly jump off the page. Koby was arguably our biggest contributor (based on stats, his selection to the 2nd team all district, and on the 3rd team MW with Merrill) so that loss really hurts. It will be a new system and we'll see how this new team can gel, but hopefully Smith can really bring out the best in these guys and we'll be pleasantly surprised in year 1 of the Smith era. :noidea:
I think the key is Stall. IF (and it’s a big if IMO) he can stay healthy, I do think he can help us. I do think losing Koby is a much bigger blow than many on this board think and I don’t see any of the new recruits replacing him, especially in their first years against MUCH better competition. And I think many of the other teams in the league will be better next year so even if we play better, we may not be better in terms of wins and final conference seeding. I think the MW could be a 3-bid league next year. In any case, I hope we are pleasantly surprised and that we do see improvement right out of the gate. I don’t think it’s impossible, just improbable IMO.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by oleblu111 » May 13th, 2018, 4:24 pm

Blitz79 wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 2:52 pm
oleblu111 wrote:
May 12th, 2018, 11:23 am
ineptimusprime wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm
We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.
Those summit league dudes are likely much better than Norby, Crew, Isby or Hensen. USD would beat USU with ease last season.
The summit league dudes were not on USD's team last year, so whether or not USU would lose to them last year is irrelevant.
The best USD player is somewhere else now.

I'd take Koby and Henson over who we have coming in. But that's water under the bridge now. I believe the team will struggle next year. I hope the last scholarship goes to to a grad transfer at this point, or save it for good talent next year.
So you do not think it is not relevant that a coach with Summit league players was much better than what USU was with their MWC recruits ? Neither you or I know for certain how the recruits that he moved over from USD will do at USU. Perhaps Smith has a good eye when looking for recruits that fit in his system.

They should struggle next season with those that have left, however it will not take to long to see improvement over what USU has done recently.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by Donald_Sullivan » May 13th, 2018, 6:10 pm

Duryea helped take USU basketball from a program that dominated the Big West to a program that wouldn't have won the Summit League. Smith won it. When it comes to the Summit League, if you can't beat 'em, don't belittle 'em.

The Summit League 5 that Smith signed, Fakira, had higher offers than any 5 Duryea signed in 3 years. John Knight III had a higher offer than any PG Duryea signed other than Koby McEwen. And McEwen was at USU for one reason only. Because Duryea hired Louis Wilson. It wasn't because Duryea did any actual recruiting. Smith was able to bring in both Fakira and Knight in the late signing period within a month and a half of being hired.

Even taking into account that some seem to have a childish need for immediate gratification, I don't see where there's any room for criticism of Smith's recruiting, or anything else, before he's been here 2 months.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by bwcrc » May 14th, 2018, 7:48 am

Next season I expect to immediately see improved coaching over last season and continual progress/improvement in the players throughout the season as they become more comfortable with Smith's system. This is how I will judge whether the season is successful (but not that my opinion matters that much anyway).

I do not necessarily expect to see improvement in the W/L record at the end of the season. While I do not expect to lose to the Weber and Portland State level teams next season I am also not expecting to knock off some of the MW teams we beat last year, mostly due to the other MW teams improving more than we do.

Coach Smith gets a pass this year on recruiting due to the various constraints he is working under. I think he has done the best that he could given the circumstances. Next year I expect the recruiting class to be improved over this current class but I do not expect to see any drastic improvement until the following year. That is when I expect we should be very competitive with the upper echelon teams in the MW and begin winning those games on a consistent basis.



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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by nswaggie » May 18th, 2018, 4:58 pm

utaggies wrote:
nswaggie wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 7:10 pm
bluegrouse wrote:
ineptimusprime wrote:
May 11th, 2018, 3:40 pm
We might be a top ten team in the Big Sky next year with our Summit League dudes.
Yep. I expect next year will be rocky. Love Smith so far but we have a pretty big hill to climb.....
I’m not sure what you would define as rocky, but I expect a better record than last year, and I don’t think that is asking too much. I also expect some MW level recruits to be signed during the early signing period.


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I'd be interested in knowing your rationale of why "it wouldn't be asking too much" to have a better record next year than this. The MWC was down last year and very close to being a 1-bid league. Nevada will be even better (but we won't have more than two league losses to them next year anyway); we are unlikely to go 6-3 against BSU, NM, UNLV and FSU next year; and we lose Koby, Henson, Pearre, Dargenton, Janicek, and Isby to graduation or transfer (3 of which were essentially starters when they played and one was all-conference) and likely another big, Groot, before he even steps onto the Spectrum floor. The only two upsides I see are that we are now led by a coach not named TD and Miller will be back from his injury. Those improvements won't offset the negatives.

That's a production loss of 45 points and 18 rebounds a game, yet you believe we'll have a better record next year??? I'm not seeing it unless magically Smith is able to pull a very, very large rabbit out of his hat.
Well, Smith himself said he didn’t think this was a rebuild and neither do I. Granted there is more building to do. Let me be more clear about what is not asking too much. Is an overall record that is 1 game over 500 really asking too much for a new coach coming in taking over a team that was 17 and 17. Yes we lose some players, but he also has some good/ decent pieces to work with that gave significant contributions to last years 17 and 17 team. (Merrill, Brown, Taylor, Brito) along with potential in Miller and Stall.

I understand the circumstances of recruiting in the spring but Since my original post Smith has done exactly what I would expect in adding some much needed JC help.

If he is as good a coach as I hope he is I can’t imagine us not beating the teams we are supposed to beat in the pre-conference schedule (which means a winning record heading into conference play). Again if he is as good a coach as I hope and expect him to be then by the time conference play comes around he ought to be able to navigate at least 8 wins in conference.

Look no further than New Mexico IMO Paul Weir inherited a bigger mess than Smith is inheriting yet he went on to lead them to a second place finish. (I am not expecting that from Smith just showing it can be done by a good first year coach)

Hope that explains things a little better for you. I am excited about Smith and really think his energy and coaching will make a huge difference.


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Re: Nevada may be a Top 10 team next year

Post by utaggies » May 19th, 2018, 1:52 am

nswaggie wrote:
May 18th, 2018, 4:58 pm

Well, Smith himself said he didn’t think this was a rebuild and neither do I. Granted there is more building to do. Let me be more clear about what is not asking too much. Is an overall record that is 1 game over 500 really asking too much for a new coach coming in taking over a team that was 17 and 17. Yes we lose some players, but he also has some good/ decent pieces to work with that gave significant contributions to last years 17 and 17 team. (Merrill, Brown, Taylor, Brito) along with potential in Miller and Stall.

I understand the circumstances of recruiting in the spring but Since my original post Smith has done exactly what I would expect in adding some much needed JC help.

If he is as good a coach as I hope he is I can’t imagine us not beating the teams we are supposed to beat in the pre-conference schedule (which means a winning record heading into conference play). Again if he is as good a coach as I hope and expect him to be then by the time conference play comes around he ought to be able to navigate at least 8 wins in conference.

Look no further than New Mexico IMO Paul Weir inherited a bigger mess than Smith is inheriting yet he went on to lead them to a second place finish. (I am not expecting that from Smith just showing it can be done by a good first year coach)

Hope that explains things a little better for you. I am excited about Smith and really think his energy and coaching will make a huge difference.


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Frist, there is no way Smith comes in and says to the fans, "Folks, I've looked over this sqaud, our schedule and our recruiting prospects and I belive that we're in deep, deep guano next year!" No, he comes in with excitement and a "GATA" attitude — which he should. Whether that's smoke or not, I don't care. We had too much of a hang-dog atmosphere with TD. From the get-go his very countenance conveyed hang-dog and that he was in way over his head.

Regardless, I agree with you that we'll likely have a > .500 record in non-conference games. We did this past year, too. And with only a few notable exceptions (BYU, Utah, Gonzaga and maybe Northeastern) it was worse than a Big Sky-like schedule. The litmus test will again be the conference schedule and for the reasons I previously stated I believe it will be a challenge to do as well next year as we did this year. I hope I'm wrong.

Only Sam, Miller, and Brown are known MWC-caliber players and with Koby gone defenses are going to be on Sam like white on rice, daring any other Aggie to beat them. Taylor was essentially a walk-on type player who was only given a schollie because we were in a big-man bind. However, he has served us very well for what he is. While Stall may have potential, we don't know if his health will hold up. Brito, Porter and Ainge? :shock: So, we are left with a group of unproven and lightly-recruited newbies to drive us to an improved record next year. That plus the fact that we're still looking for a big. All of these things could very well fall into place, but it's not the way to bet.



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