Coach Lavin is building a program....there have been and will be setbacks along the way....two steps forward one step back ---that's the way it works. Team is getting better and better. New wrinkles added as we go. Kids seem to like each other and the program. Hasn't been afraid to make some tough decisions. They are fun to watch develop.
Everyone is glad the team is playing better, but it's February: the team's best win is against Providence; they aren't on pace for the NCAAs; and have no recruits signed. That doesn't feel like a program is being built.
It takes time for the talent to develop. Our most talented players are sophomores' and a Freshman. You can see them improving as the year progresses. I believe once JS and Obekpa are seniors they will be really good. Even though we will lose Sanchez and Gift next year, we will be a better team because JS, CO, and RJ will be that much better. Posters have said that JS has regressed, I disagree. Although his numbers are down from last year, the form on his shot has improved drastically. He is working to become a better player and it doesn't happen over one summer. Providence is good because of their seniors, Creighton is good because of their senior. Our best players are still developing. Be patient, Lavin is taking us in the right direction.
I do agree that when those guys are seniors they will be better players than they are now. But that same theory suggests they should've been better this year than last.
Everyone gave that rationale of players improving with time and experience as a reason why we should be much improved this year. And our record says we're no better than last year, if anything they're in a slightly worse position.
Don't you remember everyone saying that D'angelo, Dom, Phil would have 3 years of experience and only be better than last year; that Jakarr and Obekpa would be bigger and stronger with a year of weight training under their belt?
And we're about the same. Even with the additions of more experience; Jordan; and Sanchez.
So I think there's more to it than letting the players just naturally develop and assuming we'll be better down the road. To some extent you have to wonder if they'd be developing more under a different system/staff/philosophy. I think that's a legitimate question to ask, without throwing the program under the bus or giving up on anything. But let's see how things play out. Maybe January really was just a stretch of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances and the program is on the right track.