IronDukes12 wrote:

And it really doesn't matter how we do in the Atlantic 10 tournament.  If we finish the regular season at 25-5, we'll land an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

Our time is now.

It's important to do well this year because we'll be loaded next year. The better we do this season, the more hype, and attention we'll get during the offseason, and going into next year. When you can string a couple of great years together, it makes it more likely that your program can go on an extended run. That is what happened with Pitt under Howland. They broke through a year earlier than expected. This allowed them to sell recruits on the breakthrough season, as well as the fact that everyone was back, and that it wasn't just a flash in the pan, as they were highly ranked going into the next season. If you don't break through until you have a senior heavy class, there's no continuity, as you will fall off after losing a bunch of players to graduation. This is what happened to Loyola. If you can string a couple of elite seasons together, you can sell yourself to recruits as a powerhouse. High school kids will only have been closely following college ball for a few years, so the last 45 years won't matter. Have a couple of great years, and to them, you're a name brand school.
 

17-12 then A10 1-1= 18-13

Bilgy respect opinion but 17 seems a bit pessimistic.  Also there are 30 games not 29.  Add a win?

24 total wins, Pistol out!

NapaDuke wrote:

Godukes2017 wrote:

NapaDuke wrote:

I'm in, I agree, this is do-able, or quite frankly, just a little-bit better. Both great coaching and great players, and Williams weak defense is gone. (More swing points are made on defense to determine a game than is ever appreciated, and Williams played weak defense, if at all.
 

His weak defense? Why throw shots a young man when collectively they played minimal defense. He didn’t make them go 19-13 by himself..

Look, take St. Louis for years, almost no offense, but lock-down defense, consistent winning records.  Take Ron's best years here, ranked in the top ten in steals.  Good defense stops good offense. Great defense just shuts down opponents. Some players come in here and got here for scoring, but doesn't mean they will ever stop their opponent.  Want to see a winning season?  Show up and play some lock-down defense.  Williams, top scorer, no defense.
   

Steals are a pretty poor indicator of defense, as they usually involve taking a risk and/or getting out of position. You go for a steal and miss, you give up an easy basket. (Auburn lead the nation in steals last season but wasn't in the top 50 in scoring defense, for instance.)
EW was the third highest ranked defender on the team last year by advanced metrics, so claims that he had no defense is pretty concerning, as that means you have a team of guys that play less than no defense.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OCC - 9-3
A10 - 9-9
A10 Tour - 1-1

19 wins

 I hope I am being pessimistic, but I need to see the team not collapse in February before I believe that things have turned the corner.

 

10-2 ooc
10-8 conf.
 1-1 A-10 tour.
158 pts.
21-11

Here is what we have so far:

CLK 27
Econ69 22
kcc173  23
DuqTubaKid  23
scduke  23
VBC  28
FAM 23
JudgeJack  25
duq81  22
KenOTR73  19
wharfrat  22
Dsnyder15  24
IronDukes12  27
Bilgy  18
1111Vickroy  24
PistolPete  24
mm76or99  19
NapaDuke  19
WashPaRick  21
MikeR  26

We have 20 posters with an average prediction of 23 wins.  We are looking to hear from more of you guys before the end of the day tomorrow. I know some of you guys are hesitant because of the tax implications of winning this fabulous prize.  No worries we have fixed it with the IRS that it will be tax free.  So please get on the record.  Go Dukes!


 

Last edited by CLK (11/03/2019 9:21 am)

21 Wins

I'm disappointed that Ellis didn't play against WVU.  As someone said, if he doesn't play this year he will probably not stay.  KD went to extraordinary measures to have him enrolled at DU as I understand it.  Why go to the trouble if Ellis isn't in the plan?  I saw him in high school and thought he has game-changer potential.  Of course, I'm no expert...

Gents,
I’m going with 21 wins. 2 of those in the A-10.
157 points in the tourney.

18 Wins
59 Points in the A-10 Tournament.

My thoughts were that the optics of no postseason in year 3 & turning down participation in the lesser tournaments 2 consecutive years are pretty bad. Somebody has to be the road team.

Getting to my win total most likely puts the Dukes in 5th or 6th place for the season. Losing in the A-10 final under those circumstances makes the NIT a longshot & an at-large NCAA bid nearly impossible.

I wonder how that could change if the team were to struggle early in conference play, win 7 or 8 in a row to close, & then win 2 in the A-10 Tournament?

Last edited by phil95 (11/03/2019 11:55 pm)

9-3 Out of Conference
10-8 in A-10
1-1 in Post Season Tourney

20 wins total - I agree with Duq81's comment about not being in the CBI - Know someone has to be road team - Think team would decline again. - I for one disagree with the idea - think the benefits of the extra game or two outweigh the negatives

Concerned about depth of team -  If anyone has an early injury and misses significant time???

One of the "homers" (I mean commentators) during the WVU broadcast mentions the practice facility "has only one basket" -  Makes team drills etc. more difficult -  Know one game is a small sample but TMD missed four free throws - Wonder if this is a by product of team not being able to work on things like that as well -  remember how Marcus struggled so much from the line at the start then regained his form somewhat?