Ditto on the idea that we are two MAC level impact players away from making some noise. I like the fact too that our new coach played for an intense Old School coach/Ohio Bobcat legend like Larry Hunter, played alongside a monster of an NBA player like Gary Trent, and had experience as an assistant coach at Ohio State. I believe that Mr. Boals understands what the State of Ohio has to offer in terms of talent and what it is going to take to compete game after game in the MAC.
Speaking of Coach Hunter, he had inherited a team that finished last in the MAC the year before (even with MAC POY Snoopy Graham and future MAC POY Dave Jamerson). His first year, he had only nine players in uniform (and only six of them were on scholarship), and frankly they weren't very good--though they were still fun to watch with Jamerson scoring 30 ppg, and other fan favorites such as Dink Whitaker and Jerry Lebold.
But Coach Hunter also had two impact players sitting out due to transfer rules in Lewis Geter (Nebraska) and Dan Aloi (St. Bonaventure). By his second season, the Bobcats were back in competitive mode and winning a lot more games. In Season 3, Geter was MAC POY, and the foundation laid by Geter, Aloi, and supporting players like Nate Craig and Chad Gill made it possible for Hunter to recruit and land players like Gary Trent, Geno Ford, and Jeff Boals.