[quote="Mike Zaun" post=326488]Not sure why some people are saying we can lose out and still make the tourney. We still control our destiny, but we have to win at least 1 more game between the final 2 reg season and the BET. We are not a lock yet at all. It's scary to think that with this much talent in such a down year for the conference that we just cannot be a consistent winner in year 4 of Mullin with two 5 star players plus one of our best players ever. If this is the case, what does this say about the near future? Mullin's currently over his head and absolutely needs a real assistant. Thankfully it sounds like this will be an ultimatum at the end of the season.
We knew for several years that we needed bigs. We begged. Please, please go out and get bigs. We end up with the softest big man in the country in Keita. Roberts looks like he has potential as a 4 year player, but man you have to bulk up. Don't understand how some guys are coming in so skinny. Owens never gained a pound here it seems then he goes to TT and puts on like 30 or 40 lbs of muscle. What's going on with that? How is it that Xavier finds a Hankins in D freaking 2 and we can't find anyone? How is it that every other team has 6'11 and 7 foot mammoths who have a real skill set in the paint? No one's asking for Ewing in his prime. All I'm asking for is a 3 star mammoth who can't shoot a lick but can rebound, get physical, dunk, and finish consistently at the rim. Being athletic is good, but you have to have the balance of being athletic and skillful. Will we ever have a guy who can hit a consistent jump hook with some nice touch who can finish?
Just sick of this program having to scrape the bottom of the barrel just to maybe eke out an NCAA bid. Go ahead and call me "entitled" or "spoiled" but this team was supposed to yawn its way to a bid this year. We were supposed to have a Villanova type year where we get around 11 or 12 wins in conference, stay in the top 25 for much of the season, and lock up a bid easily. Lots of red flags. We have the same conference record as rebuilding teams including some new coaches.[/quote]. Mike , the reality of this Season , which has resulted in 20 Wins and a very likely NCAA bid , has been topsy turvy . So far, we are .500 in BE play in a tough , evenly talented League from top to bottom . We have 8 league Wins and the entire Country, except Stu Jackson and Val Ackerman , know it’s really 9 wins . We have 2 away games left , DePaul and rematch with Xavier. If Heron plays and is 100 percent and Ponds doesn’t have his Wrist in a Cast , we can win both . Not guaranteed but , it’s possible . If Heron doesn’t play , we can still possibly win 1 of the 2 . Possibly . Yes, we all had Great Exprctstions early in the Season and Pre Season . It didn’t turn out that way . Why ? The first BE Game vs Seton Hall was a travesty and was stolen from us in a Referree Error of total incompetence that the whole country saw in the following days . Mike Stephens ‘s horrible call was shown on TV a thousand times and every Announcer showed the tape or spoke about it for the next Week . The BE Administration said it was a Mistske call but , like the NFL did in the Saints vs Rams game , did nothing to correct a horrible error that decided a game . It seems the Refs in the BE took offense to the humiliation that Stephens deserved and our Team has been officiated unfairly for most of this BE Season . Culminating in last Nights game vs Xavier, whete that Officiatimg crew lost Control of the Game ! The BE should suspend all 3 officials ! AD Cragg should be demanding a meeting with Ackerman and Jackson . 33 free throws to 5 for us , is not credible officiating and shame on that Crew! But, I digress . Our Team has , in my opinion , done as well as possible , given the Injururies to 2 of our key players who did not play in 3 games . 2 of which we lost . I still believe Ponds is playing hurt and has been for 1/2 the BE Season . His production and scoring have been seriously impacted and it’s not like he has lost his Skills . As a result , his Season has not been what he and the team anticipated . Clark has been a nice player but , his game is largely 1 dimensional , Shooting . And , as results show, he is a streaky at best . Plus , his excessive fouling has hurt enormously . Forget the fact of our team being undersized . It’s a liability but , if other aspects of the game were performed better , that liability could be negated in some games . Simon is a Zero Plus and Minus Player . He misses 6-8 points a game with his faulty offense , which is a great obstacle to winning . True , he does offset his offense with 6-8 points he contributes by his defense , rebounding , steals , etc . But , it means in the scoring Column , he comes up short . It hurts us overall . Figgy and Heron have been great pick ups but, Heron has missed 3 BE games . 2 of which were losses . As for team composition , we lack the true BE indide player and , a reliable long range Zone Buster . Dixon was suppose to be that player but, it didn’t work out .So , Mike , the season is what it is at this point . You can keep up the Mullin critique all you want but, I think most of us are happy with 20 Wins , a likely NCAA bid and a chance to do damage in the BE tourney . Not so bad , considering what has taken place .
