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2010-11 Expectations

My expectations.

  • BU will play 31 or more games focused with hard nosed defense.
  • When BU wins, there will be alot of positive posts on the board. :mrgreen:
  • That BU will win games they shouldn't and lose a game or two they should win, but will win far more than they lose.
  • ISU (red) will not beat them this year.
  • That at the tip off of every game with every opponent, I will think they have a fighting chance and are capable of a W. If they lose I will be somewhat surprised, especially if it's one of those opponents in a "game they should win".
  • I expect there to be a noticeable difference in defensive intensity (that is what Coach Platt delivers, ala Buesch or Mo).
  • I expect JP to have a DSE like break out year. I've heard alot of "too slow" or "doesn't fit the system" about him, but I believe pure want to or desire or drive can help a player overcome what the casual observer can see as deficits. Everything I hear about JP is he has that drive (much like JC did).
  • I expect that win or lose, the giddiness I felt in the NCAA run or the disappointment I felt last year, I will remain a big BU fan.

Go Braves!!
 
MacabreMob said:
That's how I sorta felt about Ohio U last year. They were 16-14 heading into their Conference Tourney (well, 17-14 if you count the win over a Non-D1 opponent). They finished 7-9 in MAC play. They had to go to Overtime to pick up their first win in their conference tourney AT Ball St (ahead of Ohio in the standings by 1 game but a team with an overall record below .500). They then went on to win 3 more games in the MAC tourney. Still, as a #14 seed, I thought they would get KILLED by Georgetown (a team that had beaten not only Nat'l Runner up Butler but ALSO National Champ Duke)!!! :-o So ONE good weekend for Ohio winning their conference tourney (actually 2 weekends as the MAC Trny started on Sunday Mar 7th then resumed later in the week ending on the weekend from the 11th-13th) actually got turned into TWO (well, THREE) good weekends. ;)
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Didn't Ohio have a number of key players that were only eligible starting 2nd semester, too?

They reminded me a bit of BU 2006 in that regard. So, yeah, circumstantially things need to be considered. But with 3 senior guards and 2 starting frontcourt players returning, even with injuries, we should not be backing in to the NCAA Tournament. I am being crystal clear here.
 
fansince55 said:
I'm glad everyone is so positive! Our guards have to shoot the 3s so much better this year and we have to have someone rebound? A year older doesn't make us better; it makes us older.
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SFP said:
OK I stopped there! This is a bunch of 20 year olds and you are saying a year does not make them better? Right there makes your statement not credible. Wow!
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SFP, I kind of agree with fansince55, the "doesn't make us better" part. So I guess the question is "when does a basketball player peak". Did POB peak his sophomore year in college, some would say yes. Did Anthony Parker peak his senior year in college, everyone would say definitely no. Did our seniors peak with last seasons .500 record and in the last game loss to UNI 57-40 :eek: I hope not but the record is what it is.

I think players that are still peaking are the ones adding to their vertical jumps, adding weight with quickness, extending their shooting range with percentages improving, and learning ways to play better defense and rebound. Have our senoirs peaked, I hope not, I guess that's the 64 thousand dollar question waiting to be answered.

So my expectation for this season is that we see some fresh new combinations of players that we didn't see last season, the seniors can still contribute, along with a new offensive scheme utilizing the bigger players with plays run towards them. Change can be good.
 
BU RICK said:
I think players that are still peaking are the ones adding to their vertical jumps, adding weight with quickness, extending their shooting range with percentages improving, and learning ways to play better defense and rebound. Have our senoirs peaked, I hope not, I guess that's the 64 thousand dollar question waiting to be answered.
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It sounds as if several of our players have not peaked yet and are still improving..... so I agree with SFP on this point.

Prosser, Brown, Egolf and Thompson have all put on good weight -- muscle. I'm hoping that their defense will continue to improve with Platt on board. And I'm hearing that Brown has been working hard on his jumper. I'd also assume that we'll see a quantum leap from DSE after his international experience. If Warren has gotten his basketball timing and jump shot back, and if Maniscalco is Maniscalco, and if Dunson hasn't lost anything (he'll probably be even better), then I just have a funny feeling that this may be a VERY special team this year. :)
 
The mental aspect of the game is a huge part and a year of maturity can do wonders beyond the physical. That is why a group of seniors can beat a group of 5 star freshmen. Oh btw you do not hit your physical peak until you are in your upper 20s.
 
B4L, I only meant to say that our seniors may have peaked and that's the 64 thousand dollar question waiting to be answered. If the seniors haven't improved, considering our record the last few seasons, then my expectation is we see more minutes from the other players, that I have read have improved over the off season :)
 
squirrelgotdead said:
I'm apologize if I came off as defensive. Wasn't trying to diminish the value of an NCAA bid. . .but context is still the ultimate measure. There have been dozens of fly-by-night conference tournament winners that were not good teams or programs over the years. I don't buy that a bad team reaching the NCAA is an indicator of anything other than having one good weekend. It is important not to confuse the two IMO.
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I agree with that completely, I guess I just don't see anyone getting lucky after a poor season and winning the MVC Tourney. The MVC is just too tough, so if we finish eighth and somehow win the tournament, I'd still be calling to fire the president and everyone on down, but I don't see that as a real possibility.

I guess bottom line, for me to be happy I want a top 3 finish and a shot at an at-large, with no less than an NIT bid. I would settle for a top 4 finish and an NIT bid. No NIT bid, or an NIT but 5th place finish is unacceptable to me and we should start interviewing, I'm reluctant on that because of all the talent we hae coming in, but something would have to change.

Barring an injury to Maniscalco or TB (our only irreplaceable players, IMO), I don't think a top 3 finsih will be tough.
 
Man, y'all have some high standards for "minimum" success.

I think most of us would be somewhat happy with a top 3 finish. It's not happened in years!

As I said before, NIT is minimum expectation, but somewhat disappointing.

Here are some keys that will result in a "successful" season:

1) Get more 2nd chance pts. than we allow!!! This is THE MOST CRITICAL part of our success.
2) More involvement of BIGS in the paint.
3) Team 3-pt. % of 40% for season.
4) 3rd best in Valley - Defense (pts. allowed) - Improved D of WE and AW especially!
5) Play with intensity in 2nd half.
 
I expect the same this year as i expect every year. Going to stl as the odds on favorite to win the MVC tourney. But, if i don't win it i expect to have a good enough resume to be guaranteed no less than a 5 sead in the ncaa tourney. Nothing less is acceptable, nothing
 
amckillip said:
I agree with that completely, I guess I just don't see anyone getting lucky after a poor season and winning the MVC Tourney. The MVC is just too tough, so if we finish eighth and somehow win the tournament, I'd still be calling to fire the president and everyone on down, but I don't see that as a real possibility.

I guess bottom line, for me to be happy I want a top 3 finish and a shot at an at-large, with no less than an NIT bid. I would settle for a top 4 finish and an NIT bid. No NIT bid, or an NIT but 5th place finish is unacceptable to me and we should start interviewing, I'm reluctant on that because of all the talent we hae coming in, but something would have to change.

Barring an injury to Maniscalco or TB (our only irreplaceable players, IMO), I don't think a top 3 finsih will be tough.
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An NIT at this point is not acceptable. We must be consistent here. We fired a guy who got to the NIT 2 out of his last 4 years. That was not good enough. To some fans, it's still not.
 
squirrelgotdead said:
An NIT at this point is not acceptable. We must be consistent here. We fired a guy who got to the NIT 2 out of his last 4 years. That was not good enough. To some fans, it's still not.
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I don't give a d@mn about being consistent with what we did to the last coach. I'm looking at what's best for the program at this instant and in the future. Not too mention, when we fired the last coach we lost a first round pick that could have been one of the best players in our (at least recent) history. I'm not faulting you for not accepting an NIT appearance, but take it at face value, don't say we should fire JL because we fired Mo. Mo won the league, JL hasn't. JL had a lottery pick and a sweet sixteen run, Mo hadn't. And even if they had the exact same records and finishes, I still think it's poor decision making to hire or fire a coach on 'precedence.'
 
amckillip said:
....I still think it's poor decision making to hire or fire a coach on 'precedence.'
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Unless the 'precedence' is NO MVC regular season titles, NO MVC Tourney titles, No MVC Top 3 Finishes after 9 Years of coaching at BU:?::?::?:

Does JL have any modern day company in the "0 for 8 years with no MVC regular season titles, no MVC Tourney titles, and no top 3 MVC finishes" amongst former/current Valley Coaches?

PS This should be JL's best chance to break all three of these streaks! And he should....
 
squirrelgotdead said:
An NIT at this point is not acceptable. We must be consistent here. We fired a guy who got to the NIT 2 out of his last 4 years. That was not good enough. To some fans, it's still not.
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We fired a guy because his teams had trouble scoring 50 points, the league was not as good as it is now, not saying I am happy about what has transpired over the last 2 years but with the new facilities Les should be given a chance to prove something , we have a chance to do something special if our inside players can contribute by defending and rebounding, hopefully coach Platt can teach our inside players to be a lot tougher.
 
Top 3 finish in the Valley....at least

Not like many on here...but at least a NIT appearance. I don't think that the powers that be see the Valley as a multiple bid league. We could have a decent season, have a good enough RPI and still not get an at large bid!

I don't really see how we can lose a non-conference home game.
 
bigdaddystuck said:
Top 3 finish in the Valley....at least

Not like many on here...but at least a NIT appearance. I don't think that the powers that be see the Valley as a multiple bid league. We could have a decent season, have a good enough RPI and still not get an at large bid!

I don't really see how we can lose a non-conference home game.
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We should not lose any home games this year with the team we will have this season.
 
real fan said:
We should not lose any home games this year with the team we will have this season.
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On paper, I don't see it happening either, but let's face it - it's college hoops and it's unpredictable. Maybe a few calls don't go our way, the ball doesn't bounce in our favor, and we have a mediocre night.
A loss to a team like Detroit would not be a surprise to me...if what I've heard is true that they're a legit NIT-caliber team.
Let's hope it doesn't happen and we take EVERY home game seriously...and WIN them all.
Get 2 out of 4 (at least) away from Carver, and we'll be in good shape heading into the Valley season.
 
I think saying the league is better now is completely laughable...

In the middle of the JL tenure, yes, now the league has regressed due to selfish coaches (JL is NOT included in this, as he has scheduled decently)

Quite simple

Its NCAA or bust here.

3 senior guards= Put up or shut up

That said AW is one of the most overrated players I have seen at BU, so we will need help from DSE in a big way
 
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