I would like to see Smith step it up this year like Reggie did in his last year.  

  Regarding the season, I hope this team comes together in time to roll through the MAC tournament and land in the Big Dance.  Beating Akron in this year sure would be nice.

I think expectations need to be toned down.  We lost a lot.  Sure, we have a lot of guys with po-tential.

But the possible outcomes certainly span a greater range than has been true for a few years.  If only because we lost a lot when DJ point guard left.

It's gonna take time, if it happens this year at all.

Smith was huge in the final game against Miami last year - as was Stevie playing point while DJ played guard.

Everyone, including me, loves DJ. However, there were times last year when we got down that DJ seemed to try and take it all on himself. When that worked we loved him, but when he started relying less on his team and started chucking up 3s with tons of time left on the shot clock - not so much. I think there were teammates who also did not care for this...

Yes, there are question marks for next year but the talent is there! For whatever reason I get the feeling this could be an exciting season!

I agree. 20+ wins. There will as always be some tough to take losses - but I see a couple surprising wins in this team. There is some good returning experience and lot of new expected good talent. Who has a clue how to prepare for us. We don't even know what the best chemistry mixes/rotations/schemes will be yet.

i'll take that bet. No way a Christian coached team runs rim to rim with the emphasis on quick hitters like a JG coached team. I look for a more pedestrian, grind it out approach. I will be really happy with a defense that creates run outs and a team that gets the ball out of the net and goes but I am not sure that is what we are going to see.

His Kent State teams tended to be good at driving to the basket, drawing fouls, getting to the FT line.  It will be interesting to see the style this season...whether it's more uptempo than JC's Kent teams, or whether Borna and Billy are correct.

I have heard JC say that "My teams can run a lot IF they play defense and rebound...that's how you create opportunities to run."

I just love the toughness factor that I think this team will bring. Please don't persecute me for saying this but our graduating seniors last year played soft in big games. I'm not saying they played soft ball the time. I think Reggie was tough. I think Walt was the epitome of a gamer, but when push came to shove in the MAC championship game, against Memphis, against Belmont...they didn't always lead with toughness.

I haven't seen Ndour play aside from video but I already know he's going to translate to the big stage and I can't wait for the first time D-Tread or Javon McCrea come into the lane and instead of Ivo sashaying aside for them or Reggie slow to help, they see the length and athleticism of not just Ndour but Jon Smith and Mompremier. Throw in T.J. as a 6-6 small and a point guard who scored 8 ppg in THE BIG 12 and I just think teams will not know what hit them. It might not happen at first, but come MAC Tourney time and the second time round the East, our length will eat teams up.

And don't get me started salivating for next year! 6-9 Rio, 6-9 Tariq, 6-9 Mompremier, 6-9 Ndour...and all with Antonio Campbell at 6-8, 240 bashing people's skulls in and 6-8 Treg Setty OUTSIDE!

My gut tells me we'll be somewhere between JC-era Kent State and John Groce when it comes to pace.

LY 72.5 PPG avg. I did not offer a bet - said I would not be surprised (corrected sp). I'm feelin' like we will beat 72.5 - so how 'bout we bet a hot dog? I think we're gonna see more "hot doggin'" TY.........

 

I'll even buy the hot dog at an away game (VERY likely it will be better than the Convo dogs!)

I think they have Tony Packo's dogs in Savage Arena - would be hard to beat those..............

It's Haley, had his greatest success at Dayton Roth where he won 3 State Titles and one at Dunbar. The shame was not his son but his last days of coaching were marked with many many problems when he returned home to Portsmouth. He was a great Bobcat.

That 1987 Dunbar team was beaten by Haley's alma mater, Portsmouth High School in what was an outstanding game.  Portsmouth was AA at the time while Dunbar was AAA.

From the Portsmouth Daily Times:

Despite these notable wins by schools in the Gem City, Portsmouth has more often than not has come out on top competing against these schools. One of the most infamous wins by PHS came in 1987, when the Dayton Dunbar Wolverines came into town as one of Ohio's most highly touted teams. With two missed free throws by Dunbar's Kirk Taylor with just a second to play, the Trojans hung on for a 62-61 win over PHS grad Mike Haley's team, which would go on to win the Class AAA state title that year.