I'm thinking more and more that we will be better. I like our bigs and our wing players. I'm hearing we have a really good shooter, and I think Markel brings some real toughness.

They very well could be. It's hard to set any expectations beyond making the NCAA tournament for next year's team but, if all goes well, they could be a handful by March.

All depends on the guard play, we have a potentially dominant front court with Nichols/Shaq/Woodson. The guard spots have zero returning minutes as far I can tell. Every player we played at all last year at the 1 or 2 is gone. That strikes me as a potentially very big deal.

Hopeful, but I expect a slight rebuilding year and a monster, deep march kind of year in 2015-2016...

I like our version of a potential Big 3...Austin,Shaq, Nick.

I think there is no way to figure it out. We were ranked preseason for the last 3 years, and ended where we started once, and lower the other two years. This year, we're not ranked preseason.

We could be a lot better, the same, or worse than last year. No way to tell.

For me, that makes it fun.

P.S. But I'm sure some here (not talking anyone specific) would like to build up expectations, just so they can complain if we fall short, lol.

Who knows. I like being under the radar.

I think is has more to do with coaching than the players. We’ve had good players for the past several years and many of them have been regulated to water boy status.

It was refreshing watching Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich utilize his role players to smoke the Heat 4-1, and I hope Josh was watching and taking notes. Whereas POP trusted Leonard (finals MVP) to lead a team filled with HOF players, I doubt Josh would have trusted him at all.

Unless this attitude changes I see the same ole same old.

(06-15-2014 11:08 PM)TripleA Wrote:  I think there is no way to figure it out. We were ranked preseason for the last 3 years, and ended where we started once, and lower the other two years. This year, we're not ranked preseason.

We could be a lot better, the same, or worse than last year. No way to tell.

For me, that makes it fun.

P.S. But I'm sure some here (not talking anyone specific) would like to build up expectations, just so they can complain if we fall short, lol.

The bashing will come regardless, but for me this year will be very interesting. Pastner has a team with no superstars that he can put his stamp on without expectations of players getting in the way.

A huge key, however, is how well he prepares this team for next year. Knowing that we could have a really great class to add to this one, it's about getting this team ready to utilize the ONE year we will have for this thing to happen.

So this season is really about the next season (2015-2016)? If that’s the case then why even discuss the upcoming season and this team?

I’m weary of the “Just wait until NEXT season” mentality so many Memphis fans have. You can’t take a year off in life and you don’t give up trying to win it all every season in sports.

Ask UCONN.

(06-16-2014 12:19 AM)BealeStreetTiger Wrote:  So this season is really about the next season (2015-2016)? If that’s the case then why even discuss the upcoming season and this team?

I’m weary of the “Just wait until NEXT season” mentality so many Memphis fans have. You can’t take a year off in life and you don’t give up trying to win it all every season in sports.

Ask UCONN.

Great post. I agree with all of it. I truly believe that next year we could surprise a bunch of people. The "this season is about next season" thinking would be fine with me but we are in year six with no great season yet. If we had finished second in the league last year and made a deep run, then I would be fine about talking about an upcoming down year. I will say this...I like the talent we have and it wouldn't surprise me to see them do really well.

They will be OK. The team and CJP. I just want the coaching staff to develop and utilize every bit of the player's individual talents and then play them in a Tigers system: no matter what our tempo is suppose to be, we have the leadership and horses to run it!!!

With a roster of inexperienced players, it is difficult to make sound season projections. However, it is fun to speculate assuming folks are sufficiently mature to handle disappointments based on a preconceived expectation level.

It ALL starts with defense......The mentality and successes or failures of this upcoming teams season will depend on how committed the player and staff will be willing to focus;concentrate and develop a very sound and disciplined defensive standard

If we begin the season and guys are flying everywhere;diving for balls;maintaining solid defensive post position; getting defensive rebounds; stepping up to take the charge(or simply taking the lanes away;being active in the passing lanes......We will have an awesome chance.....However, if we begin the season with guys jacking-up, or taking what they feel is a gr8 shot because I was open; it could be rather disappointing

I think that the drama will drop dramatically and the discipline will increase dramatically. We need an outside shooter.

I'm hoping for a regression to JP's first season as a coach. Where he had a few scraps to rely on but performed well by having game plans that were more to par with his teams ability. Not with where Espn reporters were saying we should be 6 months out with a 4 guard lineup. I think we have the front line for a deep run. Questions: will the guards respect the bigs seniority & talent & feed them the ball? Can Our guards knock down crucial shots on a consistent bases? Will JP start to put as much time in to game planning as he does recruiting? Can JP keep the local products focused & off the street & put an end to entourages? Rebounding? Foul shooting? Defense? A lot of dissappointing questions to be asking due to last seasons performance.

Looking at the schedule I feel sorry for season ticket holders, as college basketball seems to be shifting to nuetral site tourneys for its ooc schedules. But that is what it is.

I've learned, in sports, deep runs from teams you least suspect.

(06-16-2014 08:04 AM)BIGDTiger Wrote:  I'm hoping for a regression to JP's first season as a coach. Where he had a few scraps to rely on but performed well by having game plans that were more to par with his teams ability. Not with where Espn reporters were saying we should be 6 months out with a 4 guard lineup. I think we have the front line for a deep run. Questions: will the guards respect the bigs seniority & talent & feed them the ball? Can Our guards knock down crucial shots on a consistent bases? Will JP start to put as much time in to game planning as he does recruiting? Can JP keep the local products focused & off the street & put an end to entourages? Rebounding? Foul shooting? Defense? A lot of dissappointing questions to be asking due to last seasons performance.

Looking at the schedule I feel sorry for season ticket holders, as college basketball seems to be shifting to nuetral site tourneys for its ooc schedules. But that is what it is.

I've learned, in sports, deep runs from teams you least suspect.

The one knock against Pastner; which you were astute enough to point out, is that he spends every minute on recruiting and no time at all on game planning. Hopefully, he will spend 5 minutes per week on game planning instead of spending all his time on recruiting during practice every day.

Also an astute observation about needing to keep our players "off the streets." Our players spent so much time "on the streets" that barely any of them passed any courses.

Spot on and observant post.

(06-16-2014 07:33 AM)thagr82008 Wrote:  It ALL starts with defense......The mentality and successes or failures of this upcoming teams season will depend on how committed the player and staff will be willing to focus;concentrate and develop a very sound and disciplined defensive standard

If we begin the season and guys are flying everywhere;diving for balls;maintaining solid defensive post position; getting defensive rebounds; stepping up to take the charge(or simply taking the lanes away;being active in the passing lanes......We will have an awesome chance.....However, if we begin the season with guys jacking-up, or taking what they feel is a gr8 shot because I was open; it could be rather disappointing

I agree...If the staff can motivate\teach this team to defend at a high level we will be successful...Otherwise it could be a long year.

I think we can be because we won't have that stubborn reliance on the 4-guard lineup which was a disaster.

This season Josh will be forced to focus of defense and posting the ball. I think we'll get better looks and shoot better, overall. I expect similar post season results... Make the tournament and lose the first weekend. It's hard to do much more with a backcourt that has never played a minute of d1 college ball.

You don't lose the experience and talent we lost and get better, unless the replacements are on par.

I have a hard time believing that any of the incoming guards will be better than Joe, Geron, or Dixon. I think CC started to become such a one dimensional player his last year that he was a liability (how he got as many minutes as he did makes me SMH).

It would be a pleasant surprise to me if we end up better than last year's squad.