I think the men's hoops team will be a lot more athletic, to be sure. I wonder how the coach will adjust the overall philosophy (offensive scheme, pacing, defensive focus, etc.) to compensate for the new skill sets? We could see a completely different team personality-- higher scoring, looking to break more often, transition-oriented, etc.
What concerns me is the loss of so many players-- what that will do to the teammates' understanding of the other player's abilities, and their collective accumulated experience. Rebounding might be a bigger problem than it was last year, with the loss of experience. We'll really have only two and a half players returning from last year, as I imagine that some of the new guards will take some of Crisman's playing time. It will almost be like adjusting to a new league for the second year in a row.
Women's team has made a lot of changes as well. Who knows... I think Coach Swoopes learned a lot in her first year, and that's probably worth one or two more wins in conference. We can't possibly have as many injuries as last year.
As for men's volleyball, I think we'll be ranked in the top 5 to start the year, maybe even first. I'm curious about the schedule, because we'll probably have to make a road trip to the West Coast in the early part of the year. The National Championship Team (feels good to type that out) lost two main players and a reserve: Joe Smalzer, Peter Jasaitis, and Dainis Berzins. However, they have some impact freshmen coming in, and if the returning players continue to develop we'll be a top challenger in Palo Alto.
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