Golfman25

Yep. You have to go a bit deeper in the rankings to get programs who brought in 3 top players. Woodson did good, portal wise.

Dude, I posited as a "what if." You think it's far-fetched. I don't.

Sure but that was before the unlimited transfer rules. Guys just looking for checks aren't necessarily the best "team players."

Yeah, that's the thing. Seems some are giving "credit" to Mike Woodson and lowering their "expectations" accordingly. I myself am raising expectations -- he either meets them or not.

So you expect that all to happen?

I am not laughing at anybody. But it's split personality -- optimist vs. pessimist. Reasons for optimism: 1) The fact is we have a top, if not the top, portal class. 2) The fact is we have 3 players ranked within the top 25 of portal players (a rarity in and of itself). 3) The "core" of Gallo, Malik, MM return. 4) Replaced a de-comitted 5* with another 5*. So, giving Woodson all the benefit of the doubt, that is what my expectations are based on. Those are all facts and pieces in place. Is that not a Big10 Championship team? As I asked above, who beats us? But then the pessimism: 1) Guards have to make the jump to 35%+ from 3. 2) Have we solved the 3-point defensive problems? Is that personnel or systemic? 3) Does the middle get clogged up with Malik and Ballo (a la Race and Trace), not giving the new dynamic guards driving lanes? 4) Can this new and young team learn to play together and gel in the short time they have before the season starts? 5) Will the Woodson offensive/defensive systems really work at the college level? 6) Why did we have a de-commit -- Is there an underlying problem? 7) Are some of these dudes just here to get paid, or will they give it their all to represent the name on the front? These are unknowns right now. If the answers to these are positive, then the sky is the limit. We should be unstoppable, should we not? So why aren't we Big10 Champions?

Actually, last time was 2015-16. Crean won more than 23 games 3 times -- 27 (2011-12), 29 (2012-13) and 27 (2015-16). Each time made the sweet 16. Twice won the big10 championship. With this portal haul, are we not at least at that level? If not, what's it going to take?

$6,000,000 of Cook/Simon money, and we are good with something less than the Big10 Championship? How far the mighty have fallen. Who can beat us? Are we still going to struggle with NW, Wis, Nebraska? An Edeyless Purdue? OSU and Mich in rebuild mode? The Pac teams? Are we just running in place?

Can't make the bar higher than the hump. :)

National Championship Game :)

Because I am interested in what the team will look like roster wise. And I have given Woodson credit for doing something in the portal not many teams have done. I have also said I am cautiously optimistic. We have a roster of players who need to make some jumps. I’m just holding out for actual results before I’m painting my face.

Nice try.

Just skip right by it if it bothers you. This is the fire mike woodson thread.

Wrong forum. We can only talk negative about Mike Woodson and him being fired here. :)

Don't worry. Woody's got this.

First, in line with the new forum rules, this thread is about the transfer portal. So what is a HS recruiting tweet doing here? Second, if anyone who thinks a few meetings with some in state dudes means we have the state locked up, they're delusional. We'll have the state locked up when they are committed. But yeah, lets go. We're back baby. Woody's cooking.

You brought it into this thread.

I said one fkg thing about "winning the offseason." You guys need jobs.

Do we or don't we want to compete with the best programs out there? If we do, then we better set our expectations at their level.

Get over it. Make a sunshine pumpers only thread then.

Then what was the fkg point of spending $6 mil. Just to be mediocre? Those are my expectations every year -- I expect to be the best. Not the dumpster fire we have been. Mike Woodson himself said "compete for championships." Well, we're waiting. Reality is we'll be middle of the pack again, first weekend exit.

Go back a page. I was "attacked" for a "winning the offseason" banner comment. A joke if you will. That's all I am commenting on -- tempering the optimism. It's great we have new guys, new roster, etc. etc. But my fear is the new boss is the same as the old boss. I have been on here saying -- show me, first. That's all. Some of you all are insane.

Some can't take a joke.

Not so sure about that. With the amount of sunshine being pumped, need SPF 100 for protection. I am done with "optimism." Optimism gets you 0. I am seeking results. Granted, Woodson did better than predicted in the portal with 3 top 25 guys. That's Mount Rushmore territory. But let's see where it goes on the court before we start steaking thru the quad.

So you're a no show to the "Winning the Offseason" banner ceremony?