As of this moment, we are going in to next season with Posh, some decent role players, and a number of question marks, including Curbelo. Yes the backcourt is deeper, but depth was not our main issue last season. We had plenty of depth, even if we didn't have a back up point guard. What we didn't have was enough overall talent. We still don't. And now we're without the best player we've had here in the last 20 years. Replacing his 20 PPG and leadership, ain't as simple as finding 2 other guys to give us 10 points each. It don't work that way. Yeah, maybe if Curbelo reverts back to his freshmen year, and maybe if Nwiye turns in to Mutombo, and maybe if Storr is ready to make an impact right off the bat, and maybe if Pinzon and Stanley are ready to contribute significant minutes, and maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe. Those are all question marks, big question marks. Short of us picking up 2 impact players, not 2 more role players, IMO we will not be dancing yet again next season.
Lots of things cost us games. Lack of a decent back up point guard was just one of them. Oh and we had 2 back up point guards, Pinzon and Smith. Pinzon was used sparingly for some strange reason, before he got sick, and Smith was never up to the task. So once again, it wasn't our lack of depth, it was our lack of talent.
I love that kid but can’t say he was the best. Talent wise Harkless is definitely in discussion. Career wise Ponds and Harrison both made the tournament. Could go either way and maybe you’re right.
That literally can be said for almost any team in America. " Well we are a 9th to 11th team BUT if Storr is the goods or if we add some wings or if Posh Curbelo mesh well we can improve. Thats seriously like the worst prediction ever " Kudos for playing both sides of the fence
The 3 times in the last 11 years that CMA has taken teams to the dance, he did so with All-SEC level talents named Portis, Qualls, Kingsley, Macon, Gafford and Barford. In other words, if history tells us anything, it's that CMA teams will not be dancing without a very talented team. Yes he's shown he can get lower talented kids to overachieve, which is nice, but ultimately that means very little. The notion that he can take a group of role players and mold them in to a tourney team is a bit far fetched IMO.
Fair, CMA has a lot to prove. More so now than ever. 4 different programs to the dance would be nice feather in the cap. 4 season at sju with nothing to show for it and his career might not end so gracefully.
Best player in 20 years? As a college player, I’ll take Hardy and Ponds over Champagnie. Senior year Dom Pointer is pretty close as well.
Hardy and Sir Dom had one excellent season each. I'll give you Ponds. All 3 surrounded by better talent though. Champ had to carry us the last 2 seasons. 1st team All Big East 2 years in a row. How often has that happened in last 20+ years? Ponds? D'lo? To lazy to check. Anyhow, should have said "arguably best player in last 20 years". There's a case to be made for others.
The others were all 1st or 2nd team All-SEC. Correct me if I'm wrong, but has Posh yet been All Big East 1st or 2nd team. Don't get me wrong, I love Posh, but the way things stand right now he'll have to not only stay healthy, but be superman, to carry us to the dance next season.
He’s only halfway through his career. Freshmen of the year, defensive player of the year and honorable mention so far.
I'm not knocking Posh, he's phenomenal, but when you look at our best players over the past 20 years, the players who could carry our team, they were all scorers: Ponds, Champ, Hardy, Hatten, etc. Is Posh capable of becoming that guy next season? I'm not sure, but we'll need that if we are going to have any kind of success.
And it wasn’t until any of them were upperclassmen
Maybe having 1 guy 'carry our team' isn't the formula for success. All players you mentioned carried the team to a round of 64 exit.
