PonyFans.com

I saw two of the preview mags and both have us making the tourney but finishing 3rd or 4th in the AAC behind UConn, Cincy and Houston in one.

Win our first two cupcake games and then go to NYC and win both games at the MSG and we should get back in the top 25.

Expectations have been set very high for UCONN this year. My expectation is that we run them out of Moody again. It would be sweet to finally win in Cincy as well. Houston games will be epic for awhile. Let's go. Can't wait.

UConn will be very talented but as some have mentioned, hopefully Ollie will coach them down. Cincy has always been our toughest matchup (not counting Louisville) in the AAC. Pretty sure they are the only current member we have a losing record against. We need to beat both UConn and Cincy in Moody.

Houston is a wildcard, kinda like their coach. We all know he runs dirty but the guy knows what he's doing and he will win as long as the NCAA stays out off his hair.

Without having seen our "new team" play, on paper only Uconn appears to be better. Not buying Houston.

Duke Blue Blood wrote:Without having seen our "new team" play, on paper only Uconn appears to be better. Not buying Houston.

As they say...the game isn't played on paper. That's generally a good thing for us as our players tend to exceed expectations more often than not. (see: towel waving). Our teams generally exceed expectations.
(see: Godfather era)

Let's own UCONN and pick up Cincy in the Jank years!

I suspect the analysts aren't factoring in Semi when they look at SMU.

Athlon's also has us as a one and done. Shake and Ben Moore as second team all-AAC. Sterling as the league's most underrated player.

national media has no clue how to figure SMU this year. Sterling and Ben are proven players, but will Shake become the stud everyone expects and how much will the newcomers contribute. SMU fans are expecting a lot from Semi, in particular, but he played too few minutes at Duke to be recognized as a proven talent at this level. Any of the frosh coming up big could translate into a really special season for Jank in his 1st year as HC

Look for a big year from Jarrey.

A lot of unknowns. Losing Nic (and even Markus) leaves a huge leadership vaccuum. And now with Jank at the helm permanently, I'm not going to predict anything until I see some games. Very hard to know how this team goes. Could be a disappointing year or we could be strong again. AAC is going to be tough . . UConn of course and Cincy. Then Houston will be very good. And some of the other teams are improving with new coaches. Will be interesting to watch.

ojaipony wrote:A lot of unknowns. Losing Nic (and even Markus) leaves a huge leadership vaccuum. And now with Jank at the helm permanently, I'm not going to predict anything until I see some games. Very hard to know how this team goes. Could be a disappointing year or we could be strong again. AAC is going to be tough . . UConn of course and Cincy. Then Houston will be very good. And some of the other teams are improving with new coaches. Will be interesting to watch.

I'm not sure exactly why, but I am not concerned at all about losing Markus. Perhaps it is because there were so many games that we played without him along the way.

Nic, though, is another story. He put the team on his back so many times. Hope that Shake becomes that guy.

I look for best ever years from Sterling and Ben.

I hope for continued improvement from Shake and Jarrey. I'm not ready to buy the "lottery pick" stuff when it comes to Shake but I'm pretty sure he he's our high scorer and improves on D.

Those are our known entities....low expectations on the part of national media are to be expected. I like that.

Semi is unproven with a ton of upside. If he does 75% of what we've imagined here it's a damn good contribution. He's been practicing with these guys for....ummmm...forever.

Gu is a total wild card. If he's healthy he's going to really help on D. If he happens to have regained his shot as well....winner!

Hopefully our two frosh guards catch on quick and at least one can spell Shake at point reliably. Hopefully they are confident and adjusted to their roles by the start on conference.

That leaves the big guy. If he can start the year with 20 good minutes a game and be an important piece by conference time...we'll be good.

"The Greek?" Who knows?

Hopefully Wilfong and Courtland get tons of garbage time. That would mean everything listed above is actually happening.

That's a whole buttload of hopefully.


If things go a bit shaky at first (0-2 in NYC) let's remember how new this entire gig is. Pitt will be a bear.

Oh yeah....and I can't wait to see [deleted] Vitale censored here again. Makes me laugh every time.


42 days until the home opener?

PonyTime wrote:

ojaipony wrote:A lot of unknowns. Losing Nic (and even Markus) leaves a huge leadership vaccuum. And now with Jank at the helm permanently, I'm not going to predict anything until I see some games. Very hard to know how this team goes. Could be a disappointing year or we could be strong again. AAC is going to be tough . . UConn of course and Cincy. Then Houston will be very good. And some of the other teams are improving with new coaches. Will be interesting to watch.

I'm not sure exactly why, but I am not concerned at all about losing Markus. Perhaps it is because there were so many games that we played without him along the way.

Nic, though, is another story. He put the team on his back so many times. Hope that Shake becomes that guy.

I remember Markus putting the team on his back from time to time as well. At Temple his Junior year comes to mind immediately. I think Sterling and Ben can cover that.

sadderbudweiser wrote:

PonyTime wrote:

ojaipony wrote:A lot of unknowns. Losing Nic (and even Markus) leaves a huge leadership vaccuum. And now with Jank at the helm permanently, I'm not going to predict anything until I see some games. Very hard to know how this team goes. Could be a disappointing year or we could be strong again. AAC is going to be tough . . UConn of course and Cincy. Then Houston will be very good. And some of the other teams are improving with new coaches. Will be interesting to watch.

I'm not sure exactly why, but I am not concerned at all about losing Markus. Perhaps it is because there were so many games that we played without him along the way.

Nic, though, is another story. He put the team on his back so many times. Hope that Shake becomes that guy.

I remember Markus putting the team on his back from time to time as well. At Temple his Junior year comes to mind immediately. I think Sterling and Ben can cover that.

Yes he did that day - That game may have been the high point in his career at SMU. That sick pass back under the basket as he was flying out of bounds is my most memorable moment of MK at SMU. Loved his passing ability as he fed off of the other bigs down low.

I don't think MK was ever really healthy both physically and mentally last year. I wish he could have finished on a higher note and with a diploma.