The basketball team accomplished something remarkable this year.

[uscbeckham]

They actually made us want to watch more. For the last few years, we've been begging for it to be over. Now, our fans actually want to see this team play again.

To me, that is one of the biggest accomplishments for USC basketball since Horn's first year.

 

[DirtyCock99]

Agree. To finish with 6 quality wins, 90th in Rpi and with a winning record is a welcomed change. And a start to building a top sec program in a couple years.

After researching the teams i called out in the other thread, most deserved to make the nit above us. Except arizona st.

Az st 17-15 Rpi 102
Usc 17-16 Rpi 90

 

[55vett]

Excellent point, Beck! This was a weird season in terms of the team's ability to hold fan interest. I couldn't get enough of them early on, then they got so bad they were unwatchable, and then they closed the season looking pretty good again. I'm actually looking forward to next year when I'm hoping the team finds some long-awaited consistency.

 

[world famous 3rd base hecklers]

Originally posted by uscbeckham:
They actually made us want to watch more. For the last few years, we've been begging for it to be over. Now, our fans actually want to see this team play again.

To me, that is one of the biggest accomplishments for USC basketball since Horn's first year.

And we can't wait to see what next year has in store with new faces and another year's experience... Goal next year, 20 wins...

 

[pepsicock]

Cain't wait till next year . I wonder what will happens to Sheppard and Henry now that the season is over ?

 

[_NOVA_]

Yes and no. I like watching for the moments when Notice looks like a real scorer. When Stroman looks like he can really run the break. When Chatkevicius looks like a legit post option on offense. And mostly, when Carerra is hitting jump shots and playing out of his mind.

But those moments come and go. For any number of reasons, including the players, FM's sub rotations and play calls. The fact is, this team is still really hard to watch. Like the hustle player in your rec league who leaves every game bruised and bloodied.. 1 for 6 from the field, 5 rebounds, no assists and roughly 20 fouls.

I'm mostly glad it's over if for no other reason than for Thornwell to figure out what's wrong. Be it physical or mental. Credit to him for playing hard, rebounding, etc. But he more or less played himself out of any chance at the NBA this season. He's going to need a strong redemption tour. Curious to see what FM does with him. He was often at his best last year when he was the primary ball handler when Johnson was out. They played him exclusively at off guard this year and it did not look good.

 

[pepsicock]

@GamecockRadio: Strength of Schedule from BBState:

Texas A&M: 83
Vanderbilt: 93
#Gamecocks: 33

Suffice to say, I'm a little more puzzled.

 

[world famous 3rd base hecklers]

Originally posted by pepsicock:
@GamecockRadio: Strength of Schedule from BBState:

Texas A&M: 83
Vanderbilt: 93
#Gamecocks: 33

Suffice to say, I'm a little more puzzled.

In fairness, we did lose to those two teams... If we were able to close out some games at the end, we would be talking about NCAA...

There are 8 games that come to mind that we were leading with 5 min or less and couldn't close it out...

I feel good about next year and the additions coming in...

 

[ToddFlanders]

Agreed. It's definitely a sign that things are improving.

 

[wallycock]

Originally posted by world famous 3rd base hecklers:

Originally posted by pepsicock:
@GamecockRadio: Strength of Schedule from BBState:

Texas A&M: 83
Vanderbilt: 93
#Gamecocks: 33

Suffice to say, I'm a little more puzzled.

In fairness, we did lose to those two teams... If we were able to close out some games at the end, we would be talking about NCAA...

There are 8 games that come to mind that we were leading with 5 min or less and couldn't close it out...

I feel good about next year and the additions coming in...

I agree. It was ugly at times watching this team, but there were so many losses that were not just winnable games, but games where we lost because of 1 or 2 bad possessions. A few of those came down to the last minute. We were in almost every game, and that's considerable improvement. We could easily have won 20+ games. With a little more depth and shooters, we could be SEC contenders.

 

[Rod Dangerfield]

Originally posted by uscbeckham:


To me, that is one of the biggest accomplishments for USC basketball since Horn's first year.

Respectfully disagree. I call that year a major disappointment. NCAA tournament talent with a first round home loss in the NIT.

 

[uscbeckham]

Originally posted by Rod Dangerfield:

Originally posted by uscbeckham:


To me, that is one of the biggest accomplishments for USC basketball since Horn's first year.

Respectfully disagree. I call that year a major disappointment. NCAA tournament talent with a first round home loss in the NIT.

I agree with the disappointing end, but that team with Downey, Frederick, Holmes, Archie, etc... was fun to watch. They won 21 games and a share of the SEC East. Those are accomplishments for our program. We haven't done anything since.

Our basketball program died when Archie went down to a knee injury and Holmes was kicked off the team. This is the first time that we have shown life since 2009 and beginning of 2010.

 

[world famous 3rd base hecklers]

Bring in two pure shooters and a center who can be a force and you have a NCAA team...

 

[Jack_Burton]

I love how everyone's go-to request is for us to bring in a monster, man-eating center.

Tell me, outside of Kentucky, who out there has the type of center that we are always wanting?

Hell, outside of a FEW guys, name me the great centers in the NBA right now.

What we need is a sharpshooter or two.

 

[Rod Dangerfield]

Originally posted by Jack_Burton:
I love how everyone's go-to request is for us to bring in a monster, man-eating center.

Tell me, outside of Kentucky, who out there has the type of center that we are always wanting?

Hell, outside of a FEW guys, name me the great centers in the NBA right now.

What we need is a sharpshooter or two.

Don't have to have a monster center. Just need one that is a defensive presence, not an afterthought. One like Muldrow would suffice.

 

[4thgengamecock]

Originally posted by Rod Dangerfield:

Originally posted by Jack_Burton:
I love how everyone's go-to request is for us to bring in a monster, man-eating center.

Tell me, outside of Kentucky, who out there has the type of center that we are always wanting?

Hell, outside of a FEW guys, name me the great centers in the NBA right now.

What we need is a sharpshooter or two.

Don't have to have a monster center. Just need one that is a defensive presence, not an afterthought. One like Muldrow would suffice.

Now that guy was a shot-blocking machine. I love telling friends from other schools about his triple double against Vandy. Their eyes bulge out when I tell them he had 10 blocks.

Honestly, I don't really think we need a "man-eating" center or a "pure-shooter" guard. All you really need down low is someone who's moderately capable offensively and strong defensively. If Chat improves like he did this year, that'll be him. I think Henry could get there too, though he definitely needs to bulk up. Everyone is talking up Bunch, but I think he still needs some work. That's why we're bringing him in now rather than someone else later, so he can ride the bench for a year behind Chat and Henry to improve himself. As for the guard, we don't need anyone new, we just need Thornwell and Notice to be more consistent. Thornwell had a horrific sophomore slump, going from about 37% on threes to around 26%. Notice's numbers actually went up, but he was still absent for large stretches of some games.

Really, all I think all we need right now is some consistency and composure. We get basically everyone back next year, and I think we're getting an upgrade with Dozier replacing Johnson. What we saw in November and December is the team we can be, we just have to learn to play like that consistently and to stay composed late in games when the opponent makes a run.