We're not going to make the tournament this year, just accept that now. We all knew that there was going to be a drop off after last season. Losing 4 starters is insane for team's not named Kentucky.

However, I was still excited about this year. I thought a starting lineup of Davis, Trocha, Hogg, Gilder, and Caldwell was going to be great, and we'd still have a solid bench. Both Caldwell and Corprew being declared ineligible was a huge blow, but hey, maybe we could still sneak in to the tournament?

But early on the signs have been there:
-Eubanks is either still too injured to play or is just bad. I expected him to provide solid bench support.
-Vila's height was exciting, but he's shown zero ability. Hasn't even seen the court the last two games.
-Miller is the same as he was last year - solid defense, awful offense. Dude still has the literal yips under the basket. He's fine for a period of time to give players a rest, but not much else.
-Hampton isn't near the ball handler Collins was and still hasn't shown the shooting ability he had at Lipscomb.

If we count Hampton, that still leaves us with only six guys who can significantly contribute to the game. It leaves zero room for any of the starters to have a bad game and always leave us susceptible to wearing out. We don't look sloppier because Stansbury's miracle coaching walked out the door, it's because the few players we have are TIRED.

We essentially traded House, Jones, Caruso, and Collins for Williams. Think about that.

Next year, JJ and Flagg alone will provide a huge boost. If anyone else pans out (Chandler, Starks, Jasey, transfers) then we're easily set for another Sweet 16 run. But until then, it's time to lower expectations and just support the team.

This post was edited on 1/4/17 at 9:40 pm