Terry Webster wrote:This was such a year that could have been. We should have been 14-4 in conference and tied for first place. So disappointing.
Yet the irony is did we not end up about where we were predicted preseason?
We actually finished higher (7th place) than preseason polls projected, but keep in mind that Tulsa was projected to finish 2 spots behind us in 10th place! Last year they were ready to run Frank Haith off. This year I'm sure he'll get a lot of votes for coach of the year
Haith took a paycut to stay, would Jank do the same?
So, we lost about 5 games by 3 points or less, all after having leads. Glass empty, we should have won all those games and coaching or lack thereof caused these losses. Glass half-full, gee, with a couple of breaks, we'd have five more wins. Watched the Temple game in person, saw some others on TV, we have a mixture of lack of composure (which leads to boneheaded plays and poor free throw shooting), weak inside play, and some tactical issues in coaching. Clearly our big men need to improve for us to be successful. When teams expand their zones, we have to be able to punish them inside which we can't seem to do. Secondly, we need to react quickly to other teams starting to warm up outside in the second half. We have to be able to expand our zones as well. Is this a player issue, recruiting issue, youth issue, or coaching issue, or a mixture. Its probably a mixture. Unless you're Kentucky or Duke, you can't fire the team. If you fire the coach, is there any guarantee that the new coach would (1) be able to recruit as well and (2) do any better? I"m hoping this is mostly a factor of having a young team. If it is, then next year we could be conference champions.
USF, buzzer shot goes in on off balance shot from way out three land. You miss two free throws that could seal the game, but lets be honest that was a 1/1000 shot there.
