Last night may have been ugly, but...

[Danm1983]

If I was a freshman playing my first collegiate game against an in-state rival, I'd be really nervous too in front of thousands of people.

The only issue about this statement is how many of those newer players are from this area, let alone this state? Other than it being pounded into their heads from fellow students/classmates, and maybe mentioned by some of the older players, these guys aren't super aware of the usf-ucf rivalry except from what they've heard since getting to campus. it's not a syracuse-georgetown or mizzou-kansas/unc-duke rivalry.

i'm sure they did get a good earful from boosters and fans leading up to the game, so maybe that gave them the gist of it, but otherwise, this isn't like football where most of the players are from the area and are aware of the rivalries that exist or have any vested interest.

saying that though, i can bet you those freshman DO know what it's about now, especially after hearing black/gold and u-c-f chants in their own house for 40 minutes.

[BigStormBrewing]

The team lost at home to UCF in an embarrassing fashion. The reaction should be what it is. Frankly if it wasn't, one could question whether or not people really care about USF basketball.

I think the point here is that after getting over it and allowing 'the reaction be what it is' you have to relize that it's one game (and the 1st game). If Heath, the players and fans act as many have on this forum and allow this loss as a defining moment for the rest of the year then guess what...

Frankly , one could question whether or not people really care about USF basketball if they keep sombering in the loss. That's just the other side of it.

Personally, for me, my opinion...I hate the fact that we lost in the new dome to UCF of all teams! However, beyond that the season just started.

[swamprat]

The point differential may have been a bit of a shock but the loss itself was not that surprising to anybody that knows basketball, and this "rivalry" ..

What are you talking about? UCF hasn't beaten USF in Tampa since the 70's. They had 5 true freshmen on their roster. It was not just a home game for us, but a celebration to open our new arena.

It was just one game in the win-loss column and I don't care that we loss, but come on, to not even show up on a night like that is really embarrassing.

Worst case scenario is that game should have at least come down to the last couple of minutes, not been over 8 minutes into the game.

To me it is the ongoing trend of slow season starts that bothers me. If ever the team should have been up and prepared for a game it should have been Saturday.

I'd rather them start slow than finish slow. While I'm disappointed in the lose to UCF, I'm not giving up on the season. Stan has shown, he can adjust, using the non-conference games to do so.

Denny Crum's Louisville teams in the late 70s and through the mid 80s were famous for starting slow. During that time frame, the Cards won 2 National titles. Still fans would dive off the 4th Street Bridge in December. Didn't have message boards back then.

[Triple B]

If I was a freshman playing my first collegiate game against an in-state rival, I'd be really nervous too in front of thousands of people.

The only issue about this statement is how many of those newer players are from this area, let alone this state? Other than it being pounded into their heads from fellow students/classmates, and maybe mentioned by some of the older players, these guys aren't super aware of the usf-ucf rivalry except from what they've heard since getting to campus. it's not a syracuse-georgetown or mizzou-kansas/unc-duke rivalry.

i'm sure they did get a good earful from boosters and fans leading up to the game, so maybe that gave them the gist of it, but otherwise, this isn't like football where most of the players are from the area and are aware of the rivalries that exist or have any vested interest.

saying that though, i can bet you those freshman DO know what it's about now, especially after hearing black/gold and u-c-f chants in their own house for 40 minutes.

Also after watching the players act like they were building a 20 point lead against Duke ...

[bcgruber]

Michigan State usually starts off very slow as well, and look where they end up every year. Stan is also a former MSU assistant. MSU also schedules very aggressive in the early season