re: 2016 UGA Baseball Thread (27-30, 11-20) // Season Complete

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It could be better but it could also be a lot worse.

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Let's be clear: this program is better now than it was when Stricklin got it. The problem is it's not good enough, not in a conference like the SEC.

Also realize that Perno consistently brought in the #1 class year after year while he was here. The problem is that this isn't football and those rankings come prior to that year's draft. So, if you want to make comparisons to football, it's like automatically losing your 5*s and maybe a high 4* or two. What you're left with are a small group of 4*s and a lot of 3*s that you have to develop over the next 3-4 years and, usually, it takes them 2 or 3 years before they're developed enough to really make an impact. That's why teams like Florida with all that senior talent (or the 2008 UGA team with seniors like Beckham, Peisel, and Fields and Juniors like Poythress, Masineri, and Lewis) are so damn good; they're full of developed talent.

Entering year 4 with Stricklin, you want to see evidence that the talent he has recruited has been developed to a point that we can be competitive with teams like A&M, UF, Vandy, USCe, etc. There were flashes this year of that talent and development coming through but, again, it's the lack of consistency and smart play at the plate that is troubling.