by bapst on Mon Dec 13, 2010 2:11 pm
Bumping this post from April on setting expectations for the program. In the original post, I outlined things we'd like to see in the 2010/11 season.
*In-shape, playing hard, success in-bounding the ball. Check.
*Build team around Reggie/Trap, Raji and Elmore competent 3-4 options. Reggie and Raji, yes. Trap/Elmore not so much.
*Coach Southern and Biko up. Check
*New recruits make meaningful contributions. Check.
*Increase in student attendance. Not yet, but hoping that will change second semester.
*Win all the cupcakes, one significant OOC win. Did lose to Yale, but A&M and Indiana are nice wins. So... give it a check.
Too early department predictions:
*18 wins, 6th-8th in ACC, was looking for a tourney bid (assuming at the time a 96 team field).
ACC is surprisingly mediocre this year, so win over Maryland lends optimism to a mid-pack conference finish. If tourney went to 96 teams, think most of us would feel really good about making the NCAA's. And if we win the two cupcakes and split URI/South Carolina, we'll be at 11 wins, and an 8-8 record would get us to 18, even before the ACC tournament. If we can somehow get to 19 or 20 wins, strength-of-schedule may get us into a 68 tournament anyway, which would be quite a transformation from where we were last March!
Preliminary conclusion: By the expectations set 8 months ago, the Captain is well on his way to meeting them, and can conclude that Smilin' Gene has made an excellent decision in bringing Donahue in to change the culture of the program. We should be able to give him benefit of the doubt on recruiting, that we have an adult in charge, and that we have every reason to believe will win consistently and represent our college well. 2011/12 may be a temporary step backward because of the dearth of upperclassmen, but we are poised to advance the program to the next level in the years ahead.