What do you think so far? I'm loving this season thus far and I hope that it continues. It's been a fun ride and I feel confident in this team. My hope is that they continue to be focused on their schoolwork, faith and stay away from injuries. If they do that, this team can go a long way.

This is an experienced, confident team that plays the same whether they are up or down. With two CAA championships under their belt, and a very competitive showing on the big stage against Duke, they aren't intimidated by any team or in any venue. They thrive in intense situations, which makes them hell to deal with on the road. The louder and more out of control a game gets, the better they play. They never panic.

We have three huge upgrades from last year to this year(which is saying a lot)

1. Davontae Cacok MVP - He is the primary difference in this team going from very good to great. His athleticism and motor for a 6'7" 240 lb. guy is amazing, and is the perfect fit for a Keatts team. He can grab a defensive rebound, outrun his defender up the floor, and be available for an alley oop on offense in the same sequence where he is second in the nation if FG%. He grabs rebounds with authority and gets to balls with his great hands and athleticism. His ability opens up scoring opportunities for everyone else. Last year we were lucky if we got any production from our five spot, and this year we can count on it when he's on the floor.

2. Our bench. The ability to bring Talley, Richmond or Mosley off the bench is another huge upgrade. Depending on the matchup, foul trouble or the individual game a player is having, we can rotate these three into the game without any drop in play. All three can also defend and run, and all can put up 15 pts. on any given night. It means there is no rest for our opponents on offense or defense. Bryan and Ogbodo bring the same as they did last year, so them along with Cacok are better at the five spot overall.

3. Three point shooting. So many of our players can hit the three ball consistently. Last year only a few players had the ability, which meant a zone defense could shut us down. With Cacok running the floor, he forces defense to collapse on the break or they'll give up an alley oop. This collapse allows our guards to rotate around the perimeter for an open three, and we can hit them from every position. Right now, our centers are the only ones you can relax on from the three point line.

Overall, I don't think this team can be shut down on offense. I'm very worried about the fact teams are shooting well over 50% against us on a regular basis. And i'm worried about how big the drop off is on offense and defense when Cacok comes out as well as the fact he fouls so much, leading to that drop off. I don't know if we can solve that problem against good teams who are going to game plan to draw fouls and get him on the bench. Because once he sits, we're still a good team but not great.

Our upside exceeds the team last year. But, that upside is too reliant on one player who is very prone to fouls. Our year will go as Cacok goes. We can beat any team in the CAA and could go through the conference undefeated if Cacok can stay on the court. If he has to sit the bench against good CAA teams due to fouls, we could lose to some of the tougher teams like Towson, CofC, NU and Hofstra.

We have so much talent this year, I think we come out with 3 losses or less in conference play. We should win the regular season and the tournament with favorable seeding. This team is a joy to watch and the fans are going to be back in force at Trask this year. The excitement is building, and a win at Clemson could blow the roof off.

You guys are spot on. This has the recipe to be a special year. Hopefully the current students recognize how blessed they are to be part of such a great era in Seahawk basketball. If they start attending in droves hopefully the AD and staff allow them to use their student energy to really not only bring Trask back to life but make it even something more difficult than it used to be. I really believe that the 40 min of intense energy this team plays with could do that.

I agree with 95% of what's up above, in order for CaCock to be our MVP he needs to stay on the damn court. He's been extremely fun to watch, but we need him out there. Denzel is the MVP thus far IMO. He's bailed us out of a few losses already

Yep. Ingram is MVP so far, hands down. Look at the ECU game. Cacok hardly played due to fouls and Ingram put every attempt by ECU to comeback in check.

It's debatable over who the MVP is, as we have different players step up every night.

I think the proper term for Cacok would be "Most Indispensable Player". If Flemmings, Ingram, Bryce or anyone else (other than Cacok) gets in foul trouble during games, we know someone else can step up to fill those shoes. When Cacok comes out of the game, however, we lose an enormous element of our offense that can't be replaced.

This above....

(12-24-2016 03:38 AM)82hawk Wrote:  This is an experienced, confident team that plays the same whether they are up or down. With two CAA championships under their belt, and a very competitive showing on the big stage against Duke, they aren't intimidated by any team or in any venue. They thrive in intense situations, which makes them hell to deal with on the road. The louder and more out of control a game gets, the better they play. They never panic.

We have three huge upgrades from last year to this year(which is saying a lot)

1. Davontae Cacok MVP - He is the primary difference in this team going from very good to great. His athleticism and motor for a 6'7" 240 lb. guy is amazing, and is the perfect fit for a Keatts team. He can grab a defensive rebound, outrun his defender up the floor, and be available for an alley oop on offense in the same sequence where he is second in the nation if FG%. He grabs rebounds with authority and gets to balls with his great hands and athleticism. His ability opens up scoring opportunities for everyone else. Last year we were lucky if we got any production from our five spot, and this year we can count on it when he's on the floor.

2. Our bench. The ability to bring Talley, Richmond or Mosley off the bench is another huge upgrade. Depending on the matchup, foul trouble or the individual game a player is having, we can rotate these three into the game without any drop in play. All three can also defend and run, and all can put up 15 pts. on any given night. It means there is no rest for our opponents on offense or defense. Bryan and Ogbodo bring the same as they did last year, so them along with Cacok are better at the five spot overall.

3. Three point shooting. So many of our players can hit the three ball consistently. Last year only a few players had the ability, which meant a zone defense could shut us down. With Cacok running the floor, he forces defense to collapse on the break or they'll give up an alley oop. This collapse allows our guards to rotate around the perimeter for an open three, and we can hit them from every position. Right now, our centers are the only ones you can relax on from the three point line.

Overall, I don't think this team can be shut down on offense. I'm very worried about the fact teams are shooting well over 50% against us on a regular basis. And i'm worried about how big the drop off is on offense and defense when Cacok comes out as well as the fact he fouls so much, leading to that drop off. I don't know if we can solve that problem against good teams who are going to game plan to draw fouls and get him on the bench. Because once he sits, we're still a good team but not great.

Our upside exceeds the team last year. But, that upside is too reliant on one player who is very prone to fouls. Our year will go as Cacok goes. We can beat any team in the CAA and could go through the conference undefeated if Cacok can stay on the court. If he has to sit the bench against good CAA teams due to fouls, we could lose to some of the tougher teams like Towson, CofC, NU and Hofstra.

We have so much talent this year, I think we come out with 3 losses or less in conference play. We should win the regular season and the tournament with favorable seeding. This team is a joy to watch and the fans are going to be back in force at Trask this year. The excitement is building, and a win at Clemson could blow the roof off.

82 I would agree about our opponents shooting percentage but Coach Keats makes a great point. Because we have so many steals and force so many turnovers, our opponents have fewer shot attempts but can inflate their percentage when we miss on the steals. Some easy baskets but we get many more due to our tenacious defense. I agree with all the rest. Good posts fellas.