Will the NIT Be Good Enough in 2019?

[quote="mjmaherjr" post=291404][quote="we are sju" post=291402][quote="mjmaherjr" post=291401][quote="we are sju" post=291393][quote="mjmaherjr" post=291380]HELL NO[/quote]

This is the equivalent of a guy living off saltine crackers claiming from now on he will only eat Filet Mignon and lobster.
I am tired of crackers but would settle for a nice ham and cheese on rye. Play well with a winning record and I will be fine.[/quote] I dont need the filet but I fully expect lobster[/quote]

NIT = Lobster Roll
BTW I am extremely biased about putting mayo on anything except Tuna and potato salad. Never should it touch lobster!!!![/quote] While I'll eat Maine Style lobster rolls I prefer Connecticut style with melted butter

[attachment=309]20140328-lobster-rolls-nyc-8.jpg[/attachment][/quote]

That I can get on board with.
Places I have gone I have only seen with mayo of which I am not a fan
 
[quote="Chicago Days" post=291394][quote="Beast of the East" post=291391][quote="Mike Zaun" post=291381]Nope...put up or shut up time. Staff must show real results, excuses are done.[/quote]

If they put up, will you shut up? :) just kidding, but had to say it .

No, the goal is NCAA's. I think at this point we are no better than a bubble prospect, with a goal of 9-11 wins in conference. 10-11 wins should get them in with a good OOC record, 9 on the fence with a fair chance.

9-9 Conference, 10-3 OOC puts them on bubble
anything less than 9-9 probably lands them in NIT.[/quote]

Color me ‘expectant’, Beast, but IF Heron plays next season, I think 11 BE wins, in a ‘down’ year for the Conference is the ‘under’. Add 11 OOC wins and maybe 2 in the BET, and a 24-10 record means ‘dancing’ imo.[/quote]

I sure hope you are right, but I'm not comfortable with that projection. When was the last time we won 24 games (in a single season of course :) )
 
I, too, think that expecting 24 wins may be a bit of a reach
But the NIT would be a very disappointing season
NCAA's or bust!!
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=291406][quote="Chicago Days" post=291394][quote="Beast of the East" post=291391][quote="Mike Zaun" post=291381]Nope...put up or shut up time. Staff must show real results, excuses are done.[/quote]

If they put up, will you shut up? :) just kidding, but had to say it .

No, the goal is NCAA's. I think at this point we are no better than a bubble prospect, with a goal of 9-11 wins in conference. 10-11 wins should get them in with a good OOC record, 9 on the fence with a fair chance.

9-9 Conference, 10-3 OOC puts them on bubble
anything less than 9-9 probably lands them in NIT.[/quote]

Color me ‘expectant’, Beast, but IF Heron plays next season, I think 11 BE wins, in a ‘down’ year for the Conference is the ‘under’. Add 11 OOC wins and maybe 2 in the BET, and a 24-10 record means ‘dancing’ imo.[/quote]

I sure hope you are right, but I'm not comfortable with that projection. When was the last time we won 24 games (in a single season of course :) )[/quote]

Funny. Like 'a long long time ago'!
But with Mustapha and Ponds, Simon and Figgy, Clark and Keita, DIxon, et al, the glass looks half-full to this optimist.
Let's go Johnnies!
 
If Heron is immediately eligible could be magical season. He is after all the best tackler since Joe Montana.
 
If Heron is not eligible the NIT, while a huge disappointment, could be a possibility because there are so many new pieces that need to fit just right. Keita, Figueroa, Dixon, etc. Must be integrated quickly to avoid early season upsets.
Height will still be an issue and coaching up the new players will be on view on 7th Avenue.
This is the year everyone expects a breakthrough in wins and recruiting.
Let's put aside past issues and start the season tabula rasa. It will interesting if we can avoid anymore Lavin, Slice and Mitch sidetracking in our future discussions.
 
[quote="Class of 72" post=291414]If Heron is not eligible the NIT, while a huge disappointment, could be a possibility because there are so many new pieces that need to fit just right. Keita, Figueroa, Dixon, etc. Must be integrated quickly to avoid early season upsets.
Height will still be an issue and coaching up the new players will be on view on 7th Avenue.
This is the year everyone expects a breakthrough in wins and recruiting.
Let's put aside past issues and start the season tabula rasa. It will interesting if we can avoid anymore Lavin, Slice and Mitch sidetracking in our future discussions.[/quote]

Can't believe this is being seriously debated. Heron or no Heron, we need to go dancing this season or season is a disappointment, period. We have one of the best players in college basketball, plus Simon, Clark, LJ, Keita, Dixon. That's a team that needs to make the dance in a down year for the conference. No excuses.
 
[quote="Paul Massell" post=291413]If Heron is immediately eligible could be magical season. He is after all the best tackler since Joe Montana.[/quote]


...with a better 3-point shot!
 
While it would constitute progress, our goal has to be the NCAA at this juncture and that anything less (minus the cited unexpected issues) would be a disappointment. This team ins, IMHO, a bubble team without Heron, despite the lack of interior size. With him, NCAA should be a given.
 
If the conference was as good as last year then I would take NIT this season and be understanding. But the fact is the conference may be the weakest it has been since realignment. Tons of talent was lost and though lots of new talent is coming in, they're freshmen. Any competent coach would get this roster into the tourney with among the best players in the nation as an upperclassman and a down year for the conference. With Heron, even Nova can be had atop the conference. Won't be easy, but the talent is there. The rest is on the coaches.
 
[quote="mjmaherjr" post=291401][quote="we are sju" post=291393][quote="mjmaherjr" post=291380]HELL NO[/quote]

This is the equivalent of a guy living off saltine crackers claiming from now on he will only eat Filet Mignon and lobster.
I am tired of crackers but would settle for a nice ham and cheese on rye. Play well with a winning record and I will be fine.[/quote] I dont need the filet but I fully expect lobster[/quote]

IF YOU CONTINUE TO PUT MAYONNAISE ON LOBSTER I AM GOING TO FLY TO WHATEVER PLACE ON THE GLOBE YOU ARE CURRENTLY PLAGUING AND TERMINATE YOUR BLASPHEMY WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE.

Also no, barring catastrophe the NIT would not be acceptable.
 
[quote="Windy City Johnny Fan" post=291415][quote="Class of 72" post=291414]If Heron is not eligible the NIT, while a huge disappointment, could be a possibility because there are so many new pieces that need to fit just right. Keita, Figueroa, Dixon, etc. Must be integrated quickly to avoid early season upsets.
Height will still be an issue and coaching up the new players will be on view on 7th Avenue.
This is the year everyone expects a breakthrough in wins and recruiting.
Let's put aside past issues and start the season tabula rasa. It will interesting if we can avoid anymore Lavin, Slice and Mitch sidetracking in our future discussions.[/quote]

Can't believe this is being seriously debated. Heron or no Heron, we need to go dancing this season or season is a disappointment, period. We have one of the best players in college basketball, plus Simon, Clark, LJ, Keita, Dixon. That's a team that needs to make the dance in a down year for the conference. No excuses.[/quote]

Gotta agree with you here.

My response to the original question....

https://g.redditmedia.com/CPp0TOlGGcTno_RWhjllHiM_0byxQnBxN31VYOTGKwU.gif?fm=mp4&mp4-fragmented=false&s=6dbcdcacb99e9d4ccc9c8e160c419473
 
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[quote="redmanwest" post=291418]While it would constitute progress, our goal has to be the NCAA at this juncture and that anything less (minus the cited unexpected issues) would be a disappointment. This team ins, IMHO, a bubble team without Heron, despite the lack of interior size. With him, NCAA should be a given.[/quote]

Unexpected issues have plagued us every season. I agree that without Mustapha we are likely a bubble team which means that the NIT is a possibility.
People seem to forget that last season there were few occasions where all 5 players had good "team" games. A few games were won by Shamorie willing them to win with incredible scoring. Clark, imo, has to step up big time. Simon has show more consistency on offense. To me, everyone else has to prove themselves. That is not the definition of an NCAA team.
With Mustapha not reaching the dance will be a big negative on the coaches abilities to mold a team loaded with talent from the 1 to 3 positions.
 
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I'm not going to buy into the down year for the conference mantra since I heard this same thing the first year Nova won it all, under the new Big East and pretty much every year of the new Big East. The only team that I fully expect to be down is Seton Hall. Depaul is Depaul. They can't go down. Xavier may not be a Sweet 16 team but let's see how it shakes up there. Several coaches made their names there and moved on then Xavier reloaded. Villanova has reloaded pretty well and if there is no NCAA issue they may end up with their best point guard ever. Georgetown seems to be trending up as does Butler and Marquette. Providence always seems to be a little better than anyone expected. Creighton who knows but they've surprised before. St Johns has already proven they can beat anyone. Let's see if they can do it consistently and without drama and injury and as I expect will trend up in a big way record wise.
 
I believe we are an NCAA team without Heron. I agree with Class of 72 that there are a lot of pieces to integrate, but the 3 key pieces of Ponds , Simon and Clark are there. As long as Dixon and Keita play within their roles next season we will be fine.
Not to be a Debbie downer but my fear is that if Heron becomes eligible you have 2 players who will each be looking to move on after the season to the NBA and the same 2 players each need to dominate the ball. Everyone seems to be ignoring something called team chemistry which is key on a winning team. Will they want to share the ball, will they get enough touches. Anyone who has coached or watched a lot of bball knows this is a huge problem on many a team.
I know this will be a very unpopular position but I believe this team will be better served if Heron does not play next season and comes in the following year where he can be the man and provide us with a huge talent to replace Ponds.
 
The short answer is no.

But this question inevitably leads to will that lead to a change and the answer to that is also no.

Let's stay positive. Good team that I think has a chance to be really good with Heron and a staff shakeup.
 
Answer depends on how many of our players come down with hand and mouth disease.
 
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