natetheskate wrote:
I know for years we have begged for better games....and this year we got them.....Monday morning quarterbacking on a Sunday wondering if this was the year for this to happen. I say that because it just looks like our new guys did not get enough playing time to gel and gain confidence....last year always looked like we knew we were going to win....this year looks like we know we might lose and hesitancy and not confidence creeps into our play. I think we had to give our best effort in so many of the tougher games on the Non-Conference schedule that we maybe sacrificed a little development time.
I vehemently disagree with this for a few reasons (including that previously mentioned preseason at-large possibility).
1.) Half of our non-con losses were eminently winnable games: Furman, Ball St., & St. Joe's. Both poor play and tough luck factored into those losses. However, if those 3 teams (2 of those matchups at home) are too tough of a schedule for any team, then said team is ATROCIOUSLY SOFT. It's not like any of those teams were Duke filled with NBA lottery picks that are just bigger, faster and stronger than us. As a matter of fact, if we can't use St. Joe's as a solid measuring stick for the program given their similarities to us (good academic Jesuit school, in a comparable mid-major conference and a major league city with a fertile recruiting base), then we really have to take a hard look at how our basketball program is operating. Not saying we need to win by 40 or cut the team, but we absolutely should always be competitive with a school like St. Joe's.
2.) I still think the non-con schedule as a whole was a solid learning experience for our guys. So Porter tightened up his bench last game. Playing time and how it's dished out is something we all have complained about and will continue to complain about for just about any coach. Plus I think that's less of a indictment on development from those games and more of a Porter thing because he has done that literally every year as the season goes along, regardless of our schedule.
3.) I still think this team is better equipped to handle the Valley because of that schedule than they were 2 years ago when our soft non-conference schedule helped hide deficiencies in our team that were exposed when we lost 7 of our last 9 games, including 3 to a very mediocre SIU team in the span of a month. That team finished with a record of 18-14, but was quite frankly a disappointment given how they folded in Valley play. I do not think this team will fold as dramatically as that one.