YTD record of opponents the stags beat: 1-10, CCSU 0-5, So. Dakota U. 1-5.
Part of the problem with many on this board. Acceptance of mediocrity. Demand more for once. We also had 3 home games so far. Better results should have been achieved. No excuses...
The bar of expectations does seem to get lower every year.
I do not feel the expectations get lower every year...... it all depends on the year. The expectations were certainly lower last year when we lost Needham/Wade/Nickerson all in one year. But I feel this years expectations are much higher this year than last year. The goal is to be a Top-5 seed and and seriously contend for the MAAC Championship.
The bar of expectations does seem to get lower every year.
I do not feel the expectations get lower every year...... it all depends on the year. The expectations were certainly lower last year when we lost Needham/Wade/Nickerson all in one year. But I feel this years expectations are much higher this year than last year. The goal is to be a Top-5 seed and and seriously contend for the MAAC Championship.
And further, the goals for NEXT year should be a return to one of the undisputed top teams in the league. Such should be the expectations when you have senior leadership and good players who have been through the system for awhile. No one is suggesting a continual mediocre performance or worse from year to year and I'm sure Sydney is the first one to understand this.
Interesting comment joe stag. A sub-500 patriot league team is as good a test for the stags as a mid MAAC team. How can that be when the patriot league is a inferior league according to your repeated posts! Playing better against weaker teams is expected. However, playing better against stronger teams and pulling an ocassional upset is the real barometer.
Bucknell is always one of the top Patriot league teams, and I would think they would be top 5 again this year. And while they are only 2-4 right now, they did beat Marist, who is basically a Mid MAAC team. And they also lost to Villanova and Michigan. So Its valid that Bucknell can be considered equal to a Mid-MAAC team.
I agree 100%..... playing better against a stronger team and pulling the occassional upset is a good Barometer. It shows a teams "High End" potential to win the MAAC. Thats why I like our schedule, because I feel we are playing a few teams this year that are close to Iona's level...... Wofford, Northeastern, Belmont, and Albany. Hopefully we can win a couple against those teams.
Patriot is an inferior league, as the MAAC has been around a #12 to #17 ranked League. The Patriots range is much higher. But there will be some "Perfect Storm" years when the MAAC is poor and Patriot is strong...... and the leagues end up equal. I think that could be this year.
Post by nittanystag on Nov 28, 2014 14:17:15 GMT -5
Belmont should be an interesting test -- currently 5-1 and a strong contender in the Ohio Valley Conference. Stags may be a classic trap game for the Bruins, as it is sandwiched between contests with VCU and Butler.
Belmont should be an interesting test -- currently 5-1 and a strong contender in the Ohio Valley Conference. Stags may be a classic trap game for the Bruins, as it is sandwiched between contests with VCU and Butler.
I also like the date of the Belmont game Dec20th.... between Finals and Christmas, is upset time. I remember when we beat George Washington around that time...... when Todd scored about 8 points in 45 seconds to win the game.
Speaking of Nittany Lions, they lead Bucknell 31-24 with 4 min to go in the half.
Belmont should be an interesting test -- currently 5-1 and a strong contender in the Ohio Valley Conference. Stags may be a classic trap game for the Bruins, as it is sandwiched between contests with VCU and Butler.
Unfortunately Belmont deosn't get "trapped" too often. Led by one of the most respected coaches in the country on any level in Rick Byrd, the Bruins usually play to a high level every game. Reason he is still at mid-level OVC team is because he just loves Nashville and doesn't want to leave. Could have been UTenn. coach (where he graduated) many years ago if he was willing to leave.
I do not feel the expectations get lower every year...... it all depends on the year. The expectations were certainly lower last year when we lost Needham/Wade/Nickerson all in one year. But I feel this years expectations are much higher this year than last year. The goal is to be a Top-5 seed and and seriously contend for the MAAC Championship.
And further, the goals for NEXT year should be a return to one of the undisputed top teams in the league. Such should be the expectations when you have senior leadership and good players who have been through the system for awhile. No one is suggesting a continual mediocre performance or worse from year to year and I'm sure Sydney is the first one to understand this.
While the goal for some is to be a top five finisher, even that is not likely. Certainly a possibility, but not a probability. And even if we were to finish fourth or fifth, would that be a great result, given where this program was Agee years back? And while next year looks pretty good, where is the evidence that we will sustain that expected level of play beyond next year, when the core graduates? I am looking forward to the rest of this season. There are reasons to believe that we will be more fun to watch, and somewhat more successful, but yes, I agree that expectations have been lowered as the program has taken a dip.
While the goal for some is to be a top five finisher, even that is not likely. Certainly a possibility, but not a probability. And even if we were to finish fourth or fifth, would that be a great result, given where this program was Agee years back? And while next year looks pretty good, where is the evidence that we will sustain that expected level of play beyond next year, when the core graduates?
Agree, finishing 4th or 5th this year isn't a great result in itself, but it's a result that is needed to have a better chance to win the MAAC tourney. And if we win the MAAC Tourney then that would be Great. On the other hand, finishing 2nd or 3rd, and losing in an earlier round in the MAAC Tourney is not very good. Agree that next year 2016, we should be battling for #1.
We are getting way ahead of ourselves looking at the evidence that we could sustain any 2016 success to 2017, but I think the base lineup has some talent.
PG: Segura, Rose 2G: Nelson 3G: Chappell, Nolan PF: Smith C: Degnan
....while next year looks pretty good, where is the evidence that we will sustain that expected level of play beyond next year, when the core graduates?
We are getting way ahead of ourselves looking at the evidence that we could sustain any 2016 success to 2017, but I think the base lineup has some talent.
PG: Segura, Rose 2G: Nelson 3G: Chappell, Nolan PF: Smith C: Degnan
Can’t help but feel the same way as discobuck, I feel like Sydney has built a team to win now, and that we lose most of our size, Kirkland, Sidibe, Johnson, Gilbert, Gilbert at the end of next season. Normally this would not be as big an issue, but we have no scholarship athletes graduating this year, so we don't really have a chance to add a big man after the season so we are going to find ourselves back to a situation of having no experienced big men after next year (except Degnan) unless a scholarship were to unexpectedly free up.
So while I agree with JS that a nucleus at guard of Segura, Rose and Nelson isn’t too bad, I kind of wish Kirkland were a freshman this year or Coleman Johnson was only a sophomore as we could really benefit if one of our current big men / Forwards were able to hang around and give us a transitional year.