re: UA Basketball (16-15, 8-10)

I don't really mind our schedule. Should we have won at least 2 games, sure. I'd rather play decent teams now and figure it out. I think that's better than playing cupcakes to begin with and then limping through league play only to lose the in the first round of the NIT.

There was lots of good reason for optimism coming into the season with the roster Oats had put together, but losing Gary and Rojas to injury before the season started and having Quinerly denied his eligibility left us with 10 scholarship players before the 1st tip.

Add in the fact that the system is 4-out, we only have 7 guys who can play positions 1-4 and two of them are true freshman.

It sucks, but it is what it is. The season was tanked when Quinerly was rejected. We simply don't have the bodies to play Oats' tempo scheme effectively.

Oats is going to have to get a pass this year and be left to build the foundation for the future.

Right now the team’s goal is to get better every game. If it does mid January could get interesting. What we as fans can do is go to games and support these young me loudly and proudly. A little less moaning and more active supporting will make a real difference.

Last year Bama ran a slow tempo and struggled shooting 3s. You hired a coach who wants to run and shoot 3s with a lot of the same roster + freshmen.... Oh and they changed the 3pt line distance.

It takes time to UnAvery a team. Just have to have faith that your team is at the forefront of where the game if basketball is moving.



It took Barnes 3 years, Pearl 4 years and Frank Martin 4 years to see real progress. Just have to be patient at least 1 years

I was optimistic that we'd make the tournament this year, but the injuries and the Quinerly situation have definitely put a damper on my expectations there. I still haven't ruled it out though, if things start to click.

But, I'm also not the type of person that sets expectations and then thinks the sky is falling if they don't work out. I can be perfectly reasonable about the situation and not turn on the coach or players just because it doesn't work out early. It's the people that do that, that are a problem (mostly, in our program, it's the FOGs). Basically, we're 3 games into a new season with a new coach and system, and we're shorthanded on players. We might still have a decent year, but it's at least a year too early for anyone to start making proclamations of doom.

If Shack shows up like the first two games, we will be in a good position. We still need to get Petty or Forbes going though.

I have high hopes for Shackleford, but he was a sieve defensively and went 6-20 from the field versus Penn. He was just flat out bad.

He played really well versus FAU, but I think in general he’s struggled so far (small sample size and it’s understandable for a true freshman). But I agree in general - we need him to play well. We don’t have a huge margin of error this year.

If you want to be an optimist about the team (and why not, I think it’s way too early to give up hope), you could say that a lot of guys have underperformed. Most notably Petty and Bolden.

Speaking of Petty, his stats this year are really something. You hear about the 50/40/90 club for shooting percentages, but Petty is currently a member of the 28/20/50 club. With 4.7 turnovers a game.

He’s played pretty hard, and I have faith that he’ll play a lot better. He at least is averaging 7.7 rebounds a game, 3 assists, and 1 steal. Also he shot 41.3/34.5/70 last year - there’s just obviously going to be some positive regression.

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I really, really don't want to lose to another mid-major (no matter how solid they are).

Please win tonight guys.

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Yeah, it doesn’t really matter how good the mid-major is, it’s always a bit embarrassing when you lose to them because you know you have the more highly sought after recruits and have the resources at your disposal that should make you a way better program. We’re 3 games in and have already lost to 2 this year, so it’s getting a bit old even considering it’s our HC’s first year.