Does USF men's basketball have "Sleeping Giant" potential IF it can sustain some success?

[Triple B]

5 hours ago, panchosanchez99 said:

I think so many fans have been disappointed for so many years that they are failing to see the talent on this squad. I am sticking with 20+ wins!

I think to a lot of fans it's not about seeing talent that's performed elsewhere, but waiting to see if that talent shows here ..... and translates to wins. We've had seasons under CBG with 4 70%+ FT shooters and 4 35%+ from long range but it hasn't led to any sustained success. Hopefully CAAR's bringing in his 3 players will be a strong catalyst for a surprising season and they hit your 20+ prediction ....

 

[Brad]

He’s also bringing himself, his offense, defense, his philosophy and his expectations.  Should be fun.  

[Triple B]

44 minutes ago, Brad said:

He’s also bringing himself, his offense, defense, his philosophy and his expectations.  Should be fun.  

Looking forward to the season as usual….

[panchosanchez99]

10 hours ago, Triple B said:

I think to a lot of fans it's not about seeing talent that's performed elsewhere, but waiting to see if that talent shows here ..... and translates to wins. We've had seasons under CBG with 4 70%+ FT shooters and 4 35%+ from long range but it hasn't led to any sustained success. Hopefully CAAR's bringing in his 3 players will be a strong catalyst for a surprising season and they hit your 20+ prediction ....

 

I am not talking about 4 players on the roster; I am talking about 4 starters who, potentially, will put up those numbers. CBG has never had that in his tenure here. I believe he had 2 seasons where 3 starters shot 70% from the FT line and 2 seasons where 2 players shot at least 35% from deep. I am talking about 4, maybe even all starters, putting up those numbers.

CBG also played with a small lineup. A tall center and mostly 3-4 guards. And when you consider that Tchewa got only 7-8 blocks per year, one could argue that we played with a 4-5 guard lineup when it came to defending shots. That should change this year.

In the last 2 seasons at KSU, CAAR's teams averaged 46%, 36%, and 66% respectively in FG%, 3PT%, and FT%. His lineup consisted of one player taller than 6'4", and that player was only 6'8". On the other hand, CBG had only one season where the team shot better than 43% from the field, and that was last year's squad that shot 44.6%. And only in his first year did he have a squad that shot better than 33.6% from deep.

CAAR now has a roster that shoots better in all phases of the game and a squad with much better height than he has ever had. This squad represents the best shooting squad, by far, of any under CBG's tenure. On paper, this team should put up much better numbers than the squads of the last 6 years.

[CousinRicky]

3 hours ago, panchosanchez99 said:

I am not talking about 4 players on the roster; I am talking about 4 starters who, potentially, will put up those numbers. CBG has never had that in his tenure here. I believe he had 2 seasons where 3 starters shot 70% from the FT line and 2 seasons where 2 players shot at least 35% from deep. I am talking about 4, maybe even all starters, putting up those numbers.

CBG also played with a small lineup. A tall center and mostly 3-4 guards. And when you consider that Tchewa got only 7-8 blocks per year, one could argue that we played with a 4-5 guard lineup when it came to defending shots. That should change this year.

In the last 2 seasons at KSU, CAAR's teams averaged 46%, 36%, and 66% respectively in FG%, 3PT%, and FT%. His lineup consisted of one player taller than 6'4", and that player was only 6'8". On the other hand, CBG had only one season where the team shot better than 43% from the field, and that was last year's squad that shot 44.6%. And only in his first year did he have a squad that shot better than 33.6% from deep.

CAAR now has a roster that shoots better in all phases of the game and a squad with much better height than he has ever had. This squad represents the best shooting squad, by far, of any under CBG's tenure. On paper, this team should put up much better numbers than the squads of the last 6 years.

CAAR was hired March 29th and you joined 2 weeks later. Don't remember the reason, if any, of you joining but the timing is interesting. You seem to be a big fan of his.

[olafberserker]

3 hours ago, panchosanchez99 said:

I am not talking about 4 players on the roster; I am talking about 4 starters who, potentially, will put up those numbers. CBG has never had that in his tenure here. I believe he had 2 seasons where 3 starters shot 70% from the FT line and 2 seasons where 2 players shot at least 35% from deep. I am talking about 4, maybe even all starters, putting up those numbers.

CBG also played with a small lineup. A tall center and mostly 3-4 guards. And when you consider that Tchewa got only 7-8 blocks per year, one could argue that we played with a 4-5 guard lineup when it came to defending shots. That should change this year.

In the last 2 seasons at KSU, CAAR's teams averaged 46%, 36%, and 66% respectively in FG%, 3PT%, and FT%. His lineup consisted of one player taller than 6'4", and that player was only 6'8". On the other hand, CBG had only one season where the team shot better than 43% from the field, and that was last year's squad that shot 44.6%. And only in his first year did he have a squad that shot better than 33.6% from deep.

CAAR now has a roster that shoots better in all phases of the game and a squad with much better height than he has ever had. This squad represents the best shooting squad, by far, of any under CBG's tenure. On paper, this team should put up much better numbers than the squads of the last 6 years.

CBG's teams also played in the AAC while CAAR's played in the ASUN ... we shall see

[panchosanchez99]

1 hour ago, CousinRicky said:

CAAR was hired March 29th and you joined 2 weeks later. Don't remember the reason, if any, of you joining but the timing is interesting. You seem to be a big fan of his.

I did not give a reason. I have never met CAAR or anyone associated with him. I was not a big fan when he was hired; however, I am a big fan now because of the roster that he put together. My joining two weeks later is nothing more than wanting to post comments and not having the ability to do it on the forum where I previously posted. There were very few articles being posted on The Daily Stampede. I found this one, and when I did, I started posting. I have been watching Bulls basketball since the Lee Rose era.

The timing of my joining had more to do with the school finally getting rid of CBG. I was optimistic when he was hired, but I quickly saw that he sat some really good players, many of them taller players, to play a small lineup. I have already mentioned players that we have had that have gone on to get more playing time at other schools and produced well at those schools, including Xavier Castaneda, who led his conference in scoring (11th in the nation) last year. Players also did not seem to develop under his reign. Yetna and Durr had very promising freshman years but regressed.

So, no one has asked me to come here to support CAAR or USF. I am doing this as a more than 40 year loyal Bulls fan. I have no other agenda. I see this squad as being one of the best, if not the best, in USF history. It may not be, but that is what I feel. How can you not be excited with guys who can shoot? We have never had, to my recollection, a starting lineup with more than 2 players who can shoot it well from long distance and the FT line. We will have potentially 4; and two of them are 6'10" and dribble like a point guard. How can anyone not be excited about that?

[panchosanchez99]

Yes, but I do not think that really matters. USF lost both its games to ASUN teams, including to conference bottom feeder, Austin Peay. 

In their game against Florida, the incoming players had the following stats:

Youngblood had 20 points on 8 for 13 shooting. In 23 minutes of play, Stroud scored 8 points on 3 for 7 shooting and grabbed 10 boards. In 19 minutes of play, Jennings scored 7 points (2 for 4 shooting)  and had 3 assists. They lost by 10 to a much bigger Gator team, which had a 6'11" and a 6'8" player both of which signed with the Lakers.

CAAR won his conference with just one player (6'8")in his lineup taller than 6'4". That tells me that it was shooting and coaching that made them successful. CAAR now has better shooting and a taller lineup with greater depth. So, yes, I am excited.

[Brad]

@panchosanchez99 thanks for joining us here.  I love your takes whether I agree fully with them or not.  I too am excited.  What we had was not working...

[Triple B]

53 minutes ago, panchosanchez99 said:

So, no one has asked me to come here to support CAAR or USF. I am doing this as a more than 40 year loyal Bulls fan. I have no other agenda. I see this squad as being one of the best, if not the best, in USF history. It may not be, but that is what I feel. How can you not be excited with guys who can shoot? We have never had, to my recollection, a starting lineup with more than 2 players who can shoot it well from long distance and the FT line. We will have potentially 4; and two of them are 6'10" and dribble like a point guard. How can anyone not be excited about that?

Been around about as long as you have and hope like heck your unbridled optimism comes to fruition and CAAR gets us out of the doldrums we've been in ...... but I've seen enough through the years that I'll get excited when these players replicate their success elsewhere in the green and gold for an extended period of time..