Get Ready for 25-26!

I’m somewhere between mug and DK with A being favored 5-7 pts. Didn’t intend on the Seton Hall ricochet shots lol

Next question, what’s the most even 5 v 5?

I’d go
A: Darling, Sanon, Ayo, Mitchell, Zuby
B: lefty, Jackson, Sellers, Hopkins, Prey
 
If the roster is indeed complete then it's certainly a successful portal season by any standard. We should be a consensus top 10 team both by humans and computers, if not even higher.

Obviously the roster is stacked overall, but the PG situation could end up being to the 25-26 team what the shooting situation was to the 24-25 team. All last spring and summer we knew that shooting was going to be an issue, and it was. This year we have PG play as the guillotine hanging above our heads. Let's face it, if one month ago we were asked if we'd sign up for our only options at PG when all was said and done to be a kid from Idaho State, a guy with a 7% Assist rate and Lefty we'd have declined that in a second. Sure, that may be overgeneralizing it a bit but that is the reality.

As I've said before, Dylan Darling is going to be the X factor of this team. We need him to be able to give us 20 minutes if not more of a solid PG play at this level. As talented as Jackson is, at best he's going to be learning the most important and complex position on the fly during the season. Maybe both of them are capable of providing high level PG play by February or March, but maybe neither of them is.

Defensively I think we start the season slow but eventually pick it up. Jackson was a complete liability on that end during the tail end of this past season but he, Sanon and Sellers have the tools to be decent on that end, just have to buy in. I think it takes some time but they eventually get to a good enough level under Rick's coaching. The defense won't be as good as last year's but could still end up being a very strong unit.

I think this team will improve as the season goes along relative to other team's far more than last season's group. That team was 16th on KenPom on Dec 31st and entered the Big East tournament 17th, and finished the season 14th. Played the entire season within a pretty small range - topped out at 11th, bottomed at 24th. My guess is next season's team has more volatility and climbs the rankings as the season goes on. There's a ton more roster flexibility with this team and it may take a while to figure out the right combinations.

Overall, I think this team has a much higher ceiling and lower floor than last season's team did. If all goes right, we could be competing for a national championship. If some things go sideways, we could be struggling to be a second weekend team again. Given the recent history of this program not a bad outlook to have 6 months before the season starts.
 
MugCostanza said:
If the roster is indeed complete then it's certainly a successful portal season by any standard. We should be a consensus top 10 team both by humans and computers, if not even higher.

Obviously the roster is stacked overall, but the PG situation could end up being to the 25-26 team what the shooting situation was to the 24-25 team. All last spring and summer we knew that shooting was going to be an issue, and it was. This year we have PG play as the guillotine hanging above our heads. Let's face it, if one month ago we were asked if we'd sign up for our only options at PG when all was said and done to be a kid from Idaho State, a guy with a 7% Assist rate and Lefty we'd have declined that in a second. Sure, that may be overgeneralizing it a bit but that is the reality.

As I've said before, Dylan Darling is going to be the X factor of this team. We need him to be able to give us 20 minutes if not more of a solid PG play at this level. As talented as Jackson is, at best he's going to be learning the most important and complex position on the fly during the season. Maybe both of them are capable of providing high level PG play by February or March, but maybe neither of them is.

Defensively I think we start the season slow but eventually pick it up. Jackson was a complete liability on that end during the tail end of this past season but he, Sanon and Sellers have the tools to be decent on that end, just have to buy in. I think it takes some time but they eventually get to a good enough level under Rick's coaching. The defense won't be as good as last year's but could still end up being a very strong unit.

I think this team will improve as the season goes along relative to other team's far more than last season's group. That team was 16th on KenPom on Dec 31st and entered the Big East tournament 17th, and finished the season 14th. Played the entire season within a pretty small range - topped out at 11th, bottomed at 24th. My guess is next season's team has more volatility and climbs the rankings as the season goes on. There's a ton more roster flexibility with this team and it may take a while to figure out the right combinations.

Overall, I think this team has a much higher ceiling and lower floor than last season's team did. If all goes right, we could be competing for a national championship. If some things go sideways, we could be struggling to be a second weekend team again. Given the recent history of this program not a bad outlook to have 6 months before the season starts.
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Agree wholeheartedly and ecstatic about the players coming in. And I agree about the PG situation. Seems this is the team we are going to battle with unless something changes so let’s get ready!
 
Mug wrote:

"As I've said before, Dylan Darling is going to be the X factor of this team. We need him to be able to give us 20 minutes if not more of a solid PG play at this level. As talented as Jackson is, at best he's going to be learning the most important and complex position on the fly during the season. Maybe both of them are capable of providing high level PG play by February or March, but maybe neither of them is."

Given the depth of this team I think Rick will go NBA big quite often because of the offensive potential. It took Kadary Richmond more than half a season to get "comfortable" at the point. At times he looked like an NBA bust and at times he could be seen running the point as a backup in the NBA.
Alas, his poor outside shooting and free throw shooting would doom him unless a miraculously impressive workout.

Dylan is not coming in a "complete unknown". He has talent and drive to be an integral part of the offense. However, his defensive abilities will also determine his minutes.
Ergo, I don't think we will need 20+ minutes from him at the PG unless his teammates are underperforming.
 
I trust in Coach Pitino to coax the performance that he needs out of Jackson and Darling for PG to not be a weakness on this team. That being said, a lot has to go right to be in the national title mix. This team, with all of the roster turnover, is going to take some time to gel. I think the OOC schedule will help in gauging how well this is going early, but I anticipate that they will be playing their best basketball in March, and then anything can happen.
 
dk423 said:
I mean, he wanted us to choose Bob Hurley Jr. We could've really been screwed with that hire.

But I also think he needs to be a major part of the decision making process, and with the facilities/recent success/NIL budget/MSG buzz, you have to believe we can attract some of the top coaches.
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I don't think Bobby Hurley in the northeast fails worse than Mike Anderson though.
 
ChiTown Red said:
I trust in Coach Pitino to coax the performance that he needs out of Jackson and Darling for PG to not be a weakness on this team. That being said, a lot has to go right to be in the national title mix. This team, with all of the roster turnover, is going to take some time to gel. I think the OOC schedule will help in gauging how well this is going early, but I anticipate that they will be playing their best basketball in March, and then anything can happen.
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It is not just SJU with a new roster but most teams in college ball. Did some teams retain more starters sure , but we retained our most important starter , some key reserves and upgraded à ton across the board. I am happy with our problems.
 
paultzman said:
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This is great laid out this way for easy review. If by chance another player fell into their laps that they couldn’t say no to for next year and the 13 scholarship cap stays, I assume they can manipulate and make a current player go to “walk on” status? And no, this is not about Fland, I am just asking because I see how quickly kids can decommit and how quickly this staff can pounce. They are truly amazing.
 
fordham96 said:
Mint...

Not sure I agree but it definitely one of the best rosters married with the best coach...

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I think the summer workouts will be very important. I don’t know the rules anymore surrounding organized workouts but a team leader should be pulling everyone together. Maybe Zuby or Ayo? We are not alone as much of the other teams face something similar given the state of college BB. Gotta state the obvious but no one better than RP and his staff to bring it all together.
 
sjc88 said:
I think the summer workouts will be very important. I don’t know the rules anymore surrounding organized workouts but a team leader should be pulling everyone together. Maybe Zuby or Ayo? We are not alone as much of the other teams face something similar given the state of college BB. Gotta state the obvious but no one better than RP and his staff to bring it all together.
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Was thinking this as well... key now- just clicking early. Only 4 guys that know the system... the expectations... set the tone for the Culture. Zuby and Ayo are great guys to have set that tone.

One would hope that Bryce and Mitchell have a veteran presence and help enforce they tone that Rick wants...
 
fordham96 said:
Mint...

Not sure I agree but it definitely one of the best rosters married with the best coach...

Click to expand...

Let’s see where the top uncommitted transfer, NBA eligible guys end up (RJ, Watkins, Williams, Haggerity..). Regardless, the talent is definitely there and we know we have the coaching.

Now we need to hope for chemistry and some good luck and health.

Can’t wait for next season.
 
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