treyuca Those two, plus Tyler Lee – the freshman from Tennessee who was a 2-time state champion/state tournament MVP and the class 3A player of the year. Seems like coach talked him up pretty good in the preseason, assume they were counting on him to contribute this year as well.
That’s three pieces you’re without completely – 6′4″, 6′5″ and 6′6″ wing players – plus an extended time without 6′8″, 230 lb. Jabari West and now Etim on the shelf. Would definitely look like a completely different team, and record, with the full roster available.
So I don’t really care much about the W/L right now. Sure, it would be nice to win some of these, but I don’t see the results as any sort of indictment on the staff or the guys out there. It’s simply not the team it was constructed to be. Losses by 2, 4, and four by 6 each. And then another by 10 that was a two-possession game under a minute against a team (well, program) that was in the NCAA Tournament 10 months ago. So all the losses not to Arkansas/BYU/Georgia Tech/Oklahoma/Utah are by an average of 5.7 points per game. One additional stop and two more buckets (or vice versa) per game and you’re 12-5.
One thing I do find encouraging is the turnovers. Only committing 11.8 per game – easily the lowest average in over a decade. The last 10 seasons we’ve averaged 15 turnovers per game, -2.3 margin. This year it’s 11.8 and +1.8. The only other time in the previous decade we finished with a positive turnover margin was in 2017-18 when we were +0.8 per game. Coincidentally also the only winning record during that time (18-17).
I feel pretty good about brighter days ahead. Until then, win or lose, I’ll at least enjoy watching the Layne Taylor Show (ft. Elias Cato).
