Was Norm Roberts a better talent evaluator then coach Lavin?

I will take geno

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 02:09:32 AM

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 01:40:47 AM

Lavin is a terrific evaluator of talent. A freshman who wasn't good enough to play in the McD's game, was starting for the Magic two years later. Obekpa is the best shot blocker in the country.
Harrison is averaging 19 ppg. Sampson was the BE ROY. What in the hell are you talking about?

You want to call him out on Branch? Fine, but you don't understand what a high school ranking means. It's not a guarantee. A kid can get hurt, which he did. A kid can have a poor attitude, which Lindsay had, and kids can sometimes wind up ineligible to play. You want a new coach to build a house from the ground up, give him a chance to build a foundation. You don't like him? Who would you have hired instead?

And seriously, who the F did Norm Roberts evaluate accurately? Name ONE guy!

He told Cedric Jackson, a future NCAA tournament point guard, and oh yea, an NBA point guard to take a hike. How's that for evaluating talent? He had Hardy and Brownlee, his two best players buried on the bench for an entire season. He chose Malik Stith over Chaz Williams. He ignored Darryl "Truck" Bryant, who practically begged to come here.

Norm was either dumb as a brick or he was doing this to us intentionally.

I still think Harkless left too soon.  How's he oing now?  Obekpa is a great shot locker but at the expense of getting rebounds, and good defensive positioning.  He also has a limited offensive game. Sampson is no where near NBA ready?  And collectively, what has this team accomplished to date?  Even a mediocre team with mediocre talent will get an upset or two(. Note Roberts first few years) but this team has not come close.  In terms f me not liking Lavin, not true. I actually lie the guy but I don't like his constant sales pitch like trying to say that this is the teams toughest schedule yet, which is obviously a load of garbage.

And Lavin may have whiffed on a few good players as well.  Ron Roberts who Lavin had no interest in who is now averaging something like 18/8, and John Severe who is doing quite well for himself.    Also, in terms of Norm telling Cedric Jackson to take a hike, I don't believe that's quite accurate, as I believe that CJ transferred on his own as he believed ( and rightfully so) that his game was not being developed.

Ron Roberts is a fine player. Excellent point. If we had a 6'8 future star in Greece, we'd be where now?

So, this year, we have not come close to an upset after 5 games. Very astute of you. Share more of your wisdom with us. You're a real party favor. Obekpa changes games with his defense. Right now, he's the BE Defensive POY, and it's not close.

Stop. If Ron Roberts is on this team, we most likely don't have Jakarr or Obekpa, probably neither. He's a good player, able to shine playing a lower level of basketball. But Sanchez is probably just as good, and Roberts wouldn't have improved our record that much over the past 2 seasons.

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 12:45:45 AM

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 12:27:18 AM

Or in short, are tese players as good as advertised or were they overhyped as high school stars?

Lavin was out of coaching for 8 years and filled the roster with the best players' he could. Now most were highly ranked but that is out of HS and mostly because of their athleticism. They can't get away with just athleticism at the high DI level. The hope is that they develop. If they don't it's not because the staff failed in development, some kids peak at early stages, I believe Branch and Dom are examples of peaking early. We can't cut them, just have to replace them with better talent. I don't think coach wants to recruit over them because they believed in him and committed to the program. Beginning 2015 and onward I think Lavin will be bringing in better basketball players and not just athletes.

You think Dom peaked early?  Look at his freshman stats, then look at his soph stats.  He isn't going anywhere because they need him to win games. Just because he's not scoring 20+ a game doesn't mean that he's not producing. The guy does everything.

Dom is a good player for us not questioning that. He does all the little things good teams need to win. Unfortunately, I believe Dom has reached his peak and that doesn't mean he doesn't have his usefulness, but he is such a liability on offense in the half court set. Branch, Greene, and Obekpa all start over him. Defense is not our issue, its our offense. 

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 01:45:13 AM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 12:45:45 AM

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 12:27:18 AM

Or in short, are tese players as good as advertised or were they overhyped as high school stars?

Lavin was out of coaching for 8 years and filled the roster with the best players' he could. Now most were highly ranked but that is out of HS and mostly because of their athleticism. They can't get away with just athleticism at the high DI level. The hope is that they develop. If they don't it's not because the staff failed in development, some kids peak at early stages, I believe Branch and Dom are examples of peaking early. We can't cut them, just have to replace them with better talent. I don't think coach wants to recruit over them because they believed in him and committed to the program. Beginning 2015 and onward I think Lavin will be bringing in better basketball players and not just athletes.

You think Dom peaked early?  Look at his freshman stats, then look at his soph stats.  He isn't going anywhere because they need him to win games. Just because he's not scoring 20+ a game doesn't mean that he's not producing. The guy does everything.

Dom is a good player for us not questioning that. He does all the little things good teams need to win. Unfortunately, I believe Dom has reached his peak and that doesn't mean he doesn't have his usefulness, but he is such a liability on offense in the half court set. Branch, Greene, and Obekpa all start over him. Defense is not our issue, its our offense. 

I'd say our defense is a big issue. People get into the lane like we laid a welcome mat out for them.

Dave please ban these two tools. You know exactly who I'm referring to. They make me and many others not want to visit these boards.

Stop. If Ron Roberts is on this team, we most likely don't have Jakarr or Obekpa, probably neither. 

How do you know it?
Coach Lavin is doing a great work, but the "trade" Ron Roberts / Dwayne Polee was not a good one for us.

Quote from: redstorm212 on November 28, 2013, 02:04:16 PM

Stop. If Ron Roberts is on this team, we most likely don't have Jakarr or Obekpa, probably neither. 

How do you know it?
Coach Lavin is doing a great work, but the "trade" Ron Roberts / Dwayne Polee was not a good one for us.

I can't say I "know." But if either of those guys didn't think they'd start or get lots of PT, they probably don't sign. Both of them were very close to not signing with us.

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 02:10:06 PM

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 01:45:13 AM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 12:45:45 AM

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 12:27:18 AM

Or in short, are tese players as good as advertised or were they overhyped as high school stars?

Lavin was out of coaching for 8 years and filled the roster with the best players' he could. Now most were highly ranked but that is out of HS and mostly because of their athleticism. They can't get away with just athleticism at the high DI level. The hope is that they develop. If they don't it's not because the staff failed in development, some kids peak at early stages, I believe Branch and Dom are examples of peaking early. We can't cut them, just have to replace them with better talent. I don't think coach wants to recruit over them because they believed in him and committed to the program. Beginning 2015 and onward I think Lavin will be bringing in better basketball players and not just athletes.

You think Dom peaked early?  Look at his freshman stats, then look at his soph stats.  He isn't going anywhere because they need him to win games. Just because he's not scoring 20+ a game doesn't mean that he's not producing. The guy does everything.

Dom is a good player for us not questioning that. He does all the little things good teams need to win. Unfortunately, I believe Dom has reached his peak and that doesn't mean he doesn't have his usefulness, but he is such a liability on offense in the half court set. Branch, Greene, and Obekpa all start over him. Defense is not our issue, its our offense. 

I'd say our defense is a big issue. People get into the lane like we laid a welcome mat out for them.

No question we need to play better on defense. However, with the exception of Wisconsin, we held all of our opponents significantly beneath their scoring average. So although it may be frustrating seeing teams get into the lane so easily, it hasn't hurt us yet. At the end of the day its not how they score, its how much they score. The issue, IMO, isn't that Bucknell scored 63 points, which was below there average, its that we only scored 67. Teams scoring average against Longwood was 85 points per game, we scored 65. We need to improve our offense if we are going to beat the better programs.

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 01:45:13 AM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 12:45:45 AM

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 12:27:18 AM

Or in short, are tese players as good as advertised or were they overhyped as high school stars?

Lavin was out of coaching for 8 years and filled the roster with the best players' he could. Now most were highly ranked but that is out of HS and mostly because of their athleticism. They can't get away with just athleticism at the high DI level. The hope is that they develop. If they don't it's not because the staff failed in development, some kids peak at early stages, I believe Branch and Dom are examples of peaking early. We can't cut them, just have to replace them with better talent. I don't think coach wants to recruit over them because they believed in him and committed to the program. Beginning 2015 and onward I think Lavin will be bringing in better basketball players and not just athletes.

You think Dom peaked early?  Look at his freshman stats, then look at his soph stats.  He isn't going anywhere because they need him to win games. Just because he's not scoring 20+ a game doesn't mean that he's not producing. The guy does everything.

Dom is a good player for us not questioning that. He does all the little things good teams need to win. Unfortunately, I believe Dom has reached his peak and that doesn't mean he doesn't have his usefulness, but he is such a liability on offense in the half court set. Branch, Greene, and Obekpa all start over him. Defense is not our issue, its our offense. 

I think they have all been a liability in the half court set. So far, only Greene has performed well in the half court set. The thing about Pointer though is that he doesn't look for his shot. He looks to distribute, and right now, he leads our teams is assists. That's not a liability. I agree that jump shooting isn't his strength, but I think he's improved. I don't have his stats in front of me, because it's thanksgiving, and I'm not in the mood to look them up, but I think he shoots infrequently, and
I feel like he's been better at knocking down jumpers. Could he wrong, but that's what I recall.

In order for offense to really improve, the guys on our team who are "scorers" need to play better. That goes for Harrison, Sampson and most certainly Hooper. When Pointer isn't scoring, he's making a difference in a lot of ways. When a guy like Hooper isn't scoring, he's the definition of a liability.

Dave please ban these two tools. You know exactly who I'm referring to. They make me and many others not want to visit these boards.

 Tweedle dumb and Tweedle Dee?

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 02:10:06 PM

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 01:45:13 AM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 12:45:45 AM

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 12:27:18 AM

Or in short, are tese players as good as advertised or were they overhyped as high school stars?

Lavin was out of coaching for 8 years and filled the roster with the best players' he could. Now most were highly ranked but that is out of HS and mostly because of their athleticism. They can't get away with just athleticism at the high DI level. The hope is that they develop. If they don't it's not because the staff failed in development, some kids peak at early stages, I believe Branch and Dom are examples of peaking early. We can't cut them, just have to replace them with better talent. I don't think coach wants to recruit over them because they believed in him and committed to the program. Beginning 2015 and onward I think Lavin will be bringing in better basketball players and not just athletes.

You think Dom peaked early?  Look at his freshman stats, then look at his soph stats.  He isn't going anywhere because they need him to win games. Just because he's not scoring 20+ a game doesn't mean that he's not producing. The guy does everything.

Dom is a good player for us not questioning that. He does all the little things good teams need to win. Unfortunately, I believe Dom has reached his peak and that doesn't mean he doesn't have his usefulness, but he is such a liability on offense in the half court set. Branch, Greene, and Obekpa all start over him. Defense is not our issue, its our offense. 

I think they have all been a liability in the half court set. So far, only Greene has performed well in the half court set. The thing about Pointer though is that he doesn't look for his shot. He looks to distribute, and right now, he leads our teams is assists. That's not a liability. I agree that jump shooting isn't his strength, but I think he's improved. I don't have his stats in front of me, because it's thanksgiving, and I'm not in the mood to look them up, but I think he shoots infrequently, and
I feel like he's been better at knocking down jumpers. Could he wrong, but that's what I recall.

In order for offense to really improve, the guys on our team who are "scorers" need to play better. That goes for Harrison, Sampson and most certainly Hooper. When Pointer isn't scoring, he's making a difference in a lot of ways. When a guy like Hooper isn't scoring, he's the definition of a liability.

That's my point he doesn't even look to shoot and other teams know it. I'm not saying Dom doesn't contribute in other ways, nor am I saying he is not valuable, but offensively, in the half court set, it's four on five. Teams don't even look to close out on him when he has the ball. Not only does he not look to shoot, he doesn't look to dribble penetrate. The only players who Dom has more FT attempts than are Gift, Marco, and Hooper, and he logs more minute than all three of those players combined.

In the half court set, Dom does little. If anyone wonders why Dom is the one not starting, its because of his liability on offense. When Hooper is in the game, players have to account for him, you see players closing out on Hooper. Dom's presence is felt on the defensive end, and his energy. But on the offensive end, when it comes to game planning and the strategy used against us, its four on five in the half court set when he is on the court. 

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 07:38:58 PM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 02:10:06 PM

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 01:45:13 AM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 12:45:45 AM

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 12:27:18 AM

Or in short, are tese players as good as advertised or were they overhyped as high school stars?

Lavin was out of coaching for 8 years and filled the roster with the best players' he could. Now most were highly ranked but that is out of HS and mostly because of their athleticism. They can't get away with just athleticism at the high DI level. The hope is that they develop. If they don't it's not because the staff failed in development, some kids peak at early stages, I believe Branch and Dom are examples of peaking early. We can't cut them, just have to replace them with better talent. I don't think coach wants to recruit over them because they believed in him and committed to the program. Beginning 2015 and onward I think Lavin will be bringing in better basketball players and not just athletes.

You think Dom peaked early?  Look at his freshman stats, then look at his soph stats.  He isn't going anywhere because they need him to win games. Just because he's not scoring 20+ a game doesn't mean that he's not producing. The guy does everything.

Dom is a good player for us not questioning that. He does all the little things good teams need to win. Unfortunately, I believe Dom has reached his peak and that doesn't mean he doesn't have his usefulness, but he is such a liability on offense in the half court set. Branch, Greene, and Obekpa all start over him. Defense is not our issue, its our offense. 

I think they have all been a liability in the half court set. So far, only Greene has performed well in the half court set. The thing about Pointer though is that he doesn't look for his shot. He looks to distribute, and right now, he leads our teams is assists. That's not a liability. I agree that jump shooting isn't his strength, but I think he's improved. I don't have his stats in front of me, because it's thanksgiving, and I'm not in the mood to look them up, but I think he shoots infrequently, and
I feel like he's been better at knocking down jumpers. Could he wrong, but that's what I recall.

In order for offense to really improve, the guys on our team who are "scorers" need to play better. That goes for Harrison, Sampson and most certainly Hooper. When Pointer isn't scoring, he's making a difference in a lot of ways. When a guy like Hooper isn't scoring, he's the definition of a liability.

That's my point he doesn't even look to shoot and other teams know it. I'm not saying Dom doesn't contribute in other ways, nor am I saying he is not valuable, but offensively, in the half court set, it's four on five. Teams don't even look to close out on him when he has the ball. Not only does he not look to shoot, he doesn't look to dribble penetrate. The only players who Dom has more FT attempts than are Gift, Marco, and Hooper, and he logs more minute than all three of those players combined.

In the half court set, Dom does little. If anyone wonders why Dom is the one not starting, its because of his liability on offense. When Hooper is in the game, players have to account for him, you see players closing out on Hooper. Dom's presence is felt on the defensive end, and his energy. But on the offensive end, when it comes to game planning and the strategy used against us, its four on five in the half court set when he is on the court. 

You make good points. I think Dom has worked on his 3 point shot, not saying it's good by any means, but he's gotta take it more often. That's the only answer when they dare you to take it.

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 07:38:58 PM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 02:10:06 PM

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 01:45:13 AM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 12:45:45 AM

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 12:27:18 AM

Or in short, are tese players as good as advertised or were they overhyped as high school stars?

Lavin was out of coaching for 8 years and filled the roster with the best players' he could. Now most were highly ranked but that is out of HS and mostly because of their athleticism. They can't get away with just athleticism at the high DI level. The hope is that they develop. If they don't it's not because the staff failed in development, some kids peak at early stages, I believe Branch and Dom are examples of peaking early. We can't cut them, just have to replace them with better talent. I don't think coach wants to recruit over them because they believed in him and committed to the program. Beginning 2015 and onward I think Lavin will be bringing in better basketball players and not just athletes.

You think Dom peaked early?  Look at his freshman stats, then look at his soph stats.  He isn't going anywhere because they need him to win games. Just because he's not scoring 20+ a game doesn't mean that he's not producing. The guy does everything.

Dom is a good player for us not questioning that. He does all the little things good teams need to win. Unfortunately, I believe Dom has reached his peak and that doesn't mean he doesn't have his usefulness, but he is such a liability on offense in the half court set. Branch, Greene, and Obekpa all start over him. Defense is not our issue, its our offense. 

I think they have all been a liability in the half court set. So far, only Greene has performed well in the half court set. The thing about Pointer though is that he doesn't look for his shot. He looks to distribute, and right now, he leads our teams is assists. That's not a liability. I agree that jump shooting isn't his strength, but I think he's improved. I don't have his stats in front of me, because it's thanksgiving, and I'm not in the mood to look them up, but I think he shoots infrequently, and
I feel like he's been better at knocking down jumpers. Could he wrong, but that's what I recall.

In order for offense to really improve, the guys on our team who are "scorers" need to play better. That goes for Harrison, Sampson and most certainly Hooper. When Pointer isn't scoring, he's making a difference in a lot of ways. When a guy like Hooper isn't scoring, he's the definition of a liability.

That's my point he doesn't even look to shoot and other teams know it. I'm not saying Dom doesn't contribute in other ways, nor am I saying he is not valuable, but offensively, in the half court set, it's four on five. Teams don't even look to close out on him when he has the ball. Not only does he not look to shoot, he doesn't look to dribble penetrate. The only players who Dom has more FT attempts than are Gift, Marco, and Hooper, and he logs more minute than all three of those players combined.

In the half court set, Dom does little. If anyone wonders why Dom is the one not starting, its because of his liability on offense. When Hooper is in the game, players have to account for him, you see players closing out on Hooper. Dom's presence is felt on the defensive end, and his energy. But on the offensive end, when it comes to game planning and the strategy used against us, its four on five in the half court set when he is on the court. 

I hope teams are stupid enough to leave Dom open, but I doubt that will happen.  He shot over 50% from the field last season and he's coming off a 4 for 4 game.  His minutes are going to increase when this team gets into the real season.

Last season this kid made this board eat their words by the end of the season. 

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 08:25:17 PM

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 07:38:58 PM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 02:10:06 PM

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 01:45:13 AM

Quote from: SJUFAN on November 28, 2013, 12:45:45 AM

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 12:27:18 AM

Or in short, are tese players as good as advertised or were they overhyped as high school stars?

Lavin was out of coaching for 8 years and filled the roster with the best players' he could. Now most were highly ranked but that is out of HS and mostly because of their athleticism. They can't get away with just athleticism at the high DI level. The hope is that they develop. If they don't it's not because the staff failed in development, some kids peak at early stages, I believe Branch and Dom are examples of peaking early. We can't cut them, just have to replace them with better talent. I don't think coach wants to recruit over them because they believed in him and committed to the program. Beginning 2015 and onward I think Lavin will be bringing in better basketball players and not just athletes.

You think Dom peaked early?  Look at his freshman stats, then look at his soph stats.  He isn't going anywhere because they need him to win games. Just because he's not scoring 20+ a game doesn't mean that he's not producing. The guy does everything.

Dom is a good player for us not questioning that. He does all the little things good teams need to win. Unfortunately, I believe Dom has reached his peak and that doesn't mean he doesn't have his usefulness, but he is such a liability on offense in the half court set. Branch, Greene, and Obekpa all start over him. Defense is not our issue, its our offense. 

I think they have all been a liability in the half court set. So far, only Greene has performed well in the half court set. The thing about Pointer though is that he doesn't look for his shot. He looks to distribute, and right now, he leads our teams is assists. That's not a liability. I agree that jump shooting isn't his strength, but I think he's improved. I don't have his stats in front of me, because it's thanksgiving, and I'm not in the mood to look them up, but I think he shoots infrequently, and
I feel like he's been better at knocking down jumpers. Could he wrong, but that's what I recall.

In order for offense to really improve, the guys on our team who are "scorers" need to play better. That goes for Harrison, Sampson and most certainly Hooper. When Pointer isn't scoring, he's making a difference in a lot of ways. When a guy like Hooper isn't scoring, he's the definition of a liability.

That's my point he doesn't even look to shoot and other teams know it. I'm not saying Dom doesn't contribute in other ways, nor am I saying he is not valuable, but offensively, in the half court set, it's four on five. Teams don't even look to close out on him when he has the ball. Not only does he not look to shoot, he doesn't look to dribble penetrate. The only players who Dom has more FT attempts than are Gift, Marco, and Hooper, and he logs more minute than all three of those players combined.

In the half court set, Dom does little. If anyone wonders why Dom is the one not starting, its because of his liability on offense. When Hooper is in the game, players have to account for him, you see players closing out on Hooper. Dom's presence is felt on the defensive end, and his energy. But on the offensive end, when it comes to game planning and the strategy used against us, its four on five in the half court set when he is on the court. 

I hope teams are stupid enough to leave Dom open, but I doubt that will happen.  He shot over 50% from the field last season and he's coming off a 4 for 4 game.  His minutes are going to increase when this team gets into the real season.

Last season this kid made this board eat their words by the end of the season. 

We need Dom Pointer to be Lavor Postell.

I will take geno

Just know wherever you are taking him, you we get there very slowly

crgreen would have had about 5 great posts in here by now

R.I.P.

Agree we need Dom to be like postel. Very confident that he can be. Postel was my all time favorite player.

crgreen would have had about 5 great posts in here by now

R.I.P.

Amen.  I'm sure he would have tracked certain Bruin players upward trajectories over a 4 year playing career, and maybe tried to tie Dom's offensive improvement thus far to it.  In Dom, I see a player working hard to improve, showing improvement, but the question is - is it fast enough for our liking?

Quote from: 0404 on November 29, 2013, 09:38:31 AM

crgreen would have had about 5 great posts in here by now

R.I.P.

Amen.  I'm sure he would have tracked certain Bruin players upward trajectories over a 4 year playing career, and maybe tried to tie Dom's offensive improvement thus far to it.  In Dom, I see a player working hard to improve, showing improvement, but the question is - is it fast enough for our liking?

Dom's improvement has been tremendous.  The problem was that he could barely dribble or shoot when he arrived on campus, so the amount of improvement required for us to really trust him with the ball or rely on him to score probably will not be realized this year.

I think Dom will be an all conference player next year.  He's easily my favorite player and I wish we had more like him. 

Quote from: Linda Mirabella on November 28, 2013, 02:09:32 AM

Quote from: Poison on November 28, 2013, 01:40:47 AM

Lavin is a terrific evaluator of talent. A freshman who wasn't good enough to play in the McD's game, was starting for the Magic two years later. Obekpa is the best shot blocker in the country.
Harrison is averaging 19 ppg. Sampson was the BE ROY. What in the hell are you talking about?

You want to call him out on Branch? Fine, but you don't understand what a high school ranking means. It's not a guarantee. A kid can get hurt, which he did. A kid can have a poor attitude, which Lindsay had, and kids can sometimes wind up ineligible to play. You want a new coach to build a house from the ground up, give him a chance to build a foundation. You don't like him? Who would you have hired instead?

And seriously, who the F did Norm Roberts evaluate accurately? Name ONE guy!

He told Cedric Jackson, a future NCAA tournament point guard, and oh yea, an NBA point guard to take a hike. How's that for evaluating talent? He had Hardy and Brownlee, his two best players buried on the bench for an entire season. He chose Malik Stith over Chaz Williams. He ignored Darryl "Truck" Bryant, who practically begged to come here.

Norm was either dumb as a brick or he was doing this to us intentionally.

I still think Harkless left too soon.  How's he oing now?  Obekpa is a great shot locker but at the expense of getting rebounds, and good defensive positioning.  He also has a limited offensive game. Sampson is no where near NBA ready?  And collectively, what has this team accomplished to date?  Even a mediocre team with mediocre talent will get an upset or two(. Note Roberts first few years) but this team has not come close.  In terms f me not liking Lavin, not true. I actually lie the guy but I don't like his constant sales pitch like trying to say that this is the teams toughest schedule yet, which is obviously a load of garbage.

And Lavin may have whiffed on a few good players as well.  Ron Roberts who Lavin had no interest in who is now averaging something like 18/8, and John Severe who is doing quite well for himself.    Also, in terms of Norm telling Cedric Jackson to take a hike, I don't believe that's quite accurate, as I believe that CJ transferred on his own as he believed ( and rightfully so) that his game was not being developed.

Ron Roberts is a fine player. Excellent point. If we had a 6'8 future star in Greece, we'd be where now?

So, this year, we have not come close to an upset after 5 games. Very astute of you. Share more of your wisdom with us. You're a real party favor. Obekpa changes games with his defense. Right now, he's the BE Defensive POY, and it's not close.

Ok, I will share some more wisdom as that seems sorely lacking on this thread.  In terms of upsets, I was talking about last year as well.  Except for the Marquette game we were rarely if ever even competitive against the ranked teams, with the game usually determined by halftime.  When you watch the Columbias of the world take Michigan State  to the wire, wouldn't you assume that a team with the abundance of talent that many claim we have, would at least be competitive on occasion! Against such teams?   

One thing that I have noticed too often on this site is that when someone brings up a topic that may be a bit unconfortable to a few ( as a bubble or two may be burst), many resort to obnoxious comments, name calling etc. which realy does nothing to support their arguments. Others resort to asking to have posters banned?  Being a true fan of the program warrants discussion of many different aspects of the program and many differing opinions. You may not have to agree with what a poster says but acting poorly only serves to show yourself to be an idiot.