Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: Preseason Polls / All Conference
Page: 2 of 2
OU_Country
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Location: On the road between Athens and Madison County
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Posted: 11/2/2015 10:45 AM
OUVan wrote:expand_more
Unfortunately there are too many new faces to be melded into a cohesive unit this year for us to have any high expectations. If we are a .500 team then we have shown some improvement. To expect anything more, IMHO, is wishful thinking.
I now see Saul more measured in his press interviews than he was last year. I think he may have learned his lesson and come down from cloud 9 and his hire with a 5 year deal at $550,000.00 per.
He has only 1 senior on this team which certainly adds additional pressure on the new players he has brought in. If these guys don't perform this year than it could take longer for us to return to previous winning seasons.

GO BOBCATS
I'll be happy to see improvement throughout the year. We could be dangerous later in the year once our young guys get their feet wet.

I agree with Van on the seeing improvement throughout. It's part of what I'm looking forward to. I have to say that better than .500 is not really my expectation. 7-8 wins in non-conf, and 10-8 during MAC play is what I'd consider reasonable expectations.
OUVan
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Posted: 11/2/2015 11:33 AM
OU_Country wrote:expand_more
Unfortunately there are too many new faces to be melded into a cohesive unit this year for us to have any high expectations. If we are a .500 team then we have shown some improvement. To expect anything more, IMHO, is wishful thinking.
I now see Saul more measured in his press interviews than he was last year. I think he may have learned his lesson and come down from cloud 9 and his hire with a 5 year deal at $550,000.00 per.
He has only 1 senior on this team which certainly adds additional pressure on the new players he has brought in. If these guys don't perform this year than it could take longer for us to return to previous winning seasons.

GO BOBCATS
I'll be happy to see improvement throughout the year. We could be dangerous later in the year once our young guys get their feet wet.

I agree with Van on the seeing improvement throughout. It's part of what I'm looking forward to. I have to say that better than .500 is not really my expectation. 7-8 wins in non-conf, and 10-8 during MAC play is what I'd consider reasonable expectations.
I would add that it's not out of the realm of possibilities that this team could end up being better than we expect. There are some parallels to the 2005 team where we were relying on freshmen (Leon William, Jeremy Fears) as well as some transfers or JCers (Mychal Green, Terren Harbut). The 2004 Bobcats even finished with an identical 10-20 record. I don't expect that kind of magic but I'm not ready to write off the year either. Looking forward to a fun ride.
Last Edited: 11/2/2015 12:57:53 PM by OUVan
OU_Country
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Posted: 11/2/2015 12:31 PM
I like the parallel Van. I guess we'll see in 12 days when the games start counting.
Athens
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Posted: 11/3/2015 12:51 AM
Recovering Journalist wrote:expand_more
I agree that expectations are higher, but I think that's logical. The program has a much longer and richer history, and has never suffered anything akin to the 15+ lost years in the 80s and 90s like the football program. I think the other factor is that the ceiling for mid-majors is so much higher and reaching the elite level is so much more realistic. Basketball is still a game where the P5 hasn't ruined everything (yet). Great MAC teams can credibly dream of a Sweet 16 run or better. Or a 7-9 MAC record can still get you a chance to humiliate basketball royalty in the NCAA Tournament if you play your cards right. It's nothing like that in football.
It has nothing to do with marginal success of Ohio's basketball program. It's about recruiting and in football its locally based. The program can only go as far as the meat and potato Ohio kids can take it. Its a good foundation of talent but it has its limits. In basketball recruiting is national. Ohio was on its way with Groce before JC nuked the program. A 7-9 conference record is taking it extreme but a school can be worthy of a deep run with a 12-6 or 13-5 record. You can play a poor month of basketball and recover in the NCAAs. Go 5-3 in MAC football and you're automatically down a peg, outside of any serious bowl consideration. The margin of error is so much greater in basketball. It takes a threshold of brand and facility to take it to the next level in basketball and Ohio has it.
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