I have lots to write, and didn't want to hi-jack someone else's thread, so I'm going to share my opinions in several separate threads: the season, the seniors, coaching, & next season. That way, one post isn't 3 days' reading, and you can choose to read any, all or none (and it won't all be "negative" in every post).

The season was not only disappointing, it was at times embarrassing. Hype or no hype, a team returning 4 starters and all but one bench contributor should be an improved team. All this talk about "swagger" both amuses and perplexes me (doesn't seem like much of a coaching strategy), but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

I think we lost our "swagger" very early in the season--after a hard-fought loss to VCU followed by the loss to Oregon. I'm sure the team and coaches knew at that moment that some early national recognition and an NCAA at-large bid went out the window. Soon thereafter, we had back-to-back losses to Detroit & Oakland--inexcusable losses. At that point, I'm sure a realization started creeping in that this team may not even be good enough to win the MAC. That concern became legitimate during MAC play, particularly at home. "Swagger" gone.

How did a team that should have been as good as its previous press clippings get to that point? That's the million dollar question. But I've felt for awhile now that their is a disturbing complacency taking root in the athletic department. There is no sense of urgency, no pride to beat the "big guys" anymore, and as long as we're I "in the picture" for a MAC championship, it's all good. This at a school that quite honestly should be the athletic flagship of the conference in many sports (maybe not all at the same time, granted). In addition, I don't feel enough attention has been paid to the mental aspect of sports at UT. We routinely seem to come up short in big games, in several sports. I'd like to see "Toledo Tough" really mean something.

So, in the end, we have what was one of the most disappointing Rocket seasons of any sport in the past 10 years, given what were realistic expectations.