NOTE -- At the end, I would ask that you go on the record with the board about being in (thumbs up) or out (thumbs down) re a willingness to be patient with this team if/when they struggle.
We will be a lot better at ball handling and jump shooting/3 point shooting come March.
That said, I think the board feels too optimistic about how we will fare between now and then:
-- Better teams will collapse on us ...we struggle now from outside (painful to watch us throw the ball around from beyond the arc looking for a pass (vs looking to take an open 3), it will get worse when we fall behind to a good team and feel even more pressure
-- Clark has to start to wear down at some point -- and we struggle at ball handling even when he is in there...and we have no reliable back-up pt guard
-- following up on the above, more teams will look at the tape from first two games and press us more -- even Clark struggles with the press, sometimes bad judgement and sometimes simply lack of height.
So, I would caution us all to be patient. There will be a storm(s) to weather as we get into the depths of the ACC schedule -- perhaps even some ugly double digit point losses that are over by mid 2H...perhaps in a game where we are favored). I expect that the willingness to give CTB and the new roles and new players time to develop will wear thin for some (hopefully not many).
To me Morsell's development will be key -- both as an outside scoring threat and as a capable point guard when Clark needs a rest. I/we have to remember that I/many/most were complaining about CTB playing Brogden for the first 3 months his 2nd year -- and look how he finished out that year! Again, that may be too much to expect, tho I have lotta confidence that Casey will be a star before the end of his 2nd year, and hopefully sooner (like Clark and Perrantes were, tho they did not need to contribute scoring).
Net net, I am all in about being patient with CTB and this team this season. Doesn't mean we cant / wont feel disappointed here and there -- and express that -- but, given the circumstances of the team's lack of experience in the roles they are playing (and, in some cases, limited abilities relative to others who have played for us recently), we should manage our expectations and be patient with this program that has given us SO much.
Aside from whether my analysis is right -- and I'm sure some will push back (maybe even hard and maybe even say it is unfair until we see if/how badly they perform), it would be great to get everyone's thumbs up or down on their willingness to be patient at least thru some of the team's likely and understandable struggles this season.
We will be a lot better at ball handling and jump shooting/3 point shooting come March.
That said, I think the board feels too optimistic about how we will fare between now and then:
-- Better teams will collapse on us ...we struggle now from outside (painful to watch us throw the ball around from beyond the arc looking for a pass (vs looking to take an open 3), it will get worse when we fall behind to a good team and feel even more pressure
-- Clark has to start to wear down at some point -- and we struggle at ball handling even when he is in there...and we have no reliable back-up pt guard
-- following up on the above, more teams will look at the tape from first two games and press us more -- even Clark struggles with the press, sometimes bad judgement and sometimes simply lack of height.
So, I would caution us all to be patient. There will be a storm(s) to weather as we get into the depths of the ACC schedule -- perhaps even some ugly double digit point losses that are over by mid 2H...perhaps in a game where we are favored). I expect that the willingness to give CTB and the new roles and new players time to develop will wear thin for some (hopefully not many).
To me Morsell's development will be key -- both as an outside scoring threat and as a capable point guard when Clark needs a rest. I/we have to remember that I/many/most were complaining about CTB playing Brogden for the first 3 months his 2nd year -- and look how he finished out that year! Again, that may be too much to expect, tho I have lotta confidence that Casey will be a star before the end of his 2nd year, and hopefully sooner (like Clark and Perrantes were, tho they did not need to contribute scoring).
Net net, I am all in about being patient with CTB and this team this season. Doesn't mean we cant / wont feel disappointed here and there -- and express that -- but, given the circumstances of the team's lack of experience in the roles they are playing (and, in some cases, limited abilities relative to others who have played for us recently), we should manage our expectations and be patient with this program that has given us SO much.
Aside from whether my analysis is right -- and I'm sure some will push back (maybe even hard and maybe even say it is unfair until we see if/how badly they perform), it would be great to get everyone's thumbs up or down on their willingness to be patient at least thru some of the team's likely and understandable struggles this season.
