Success in 2014-15: Define and Discuss, Por Favor

[Snapshot9]

I am very similar to Doc but I am a two gamer in the Dance with at least a Sweet 16 every four years.

In the above quote listing new recruits, Zach Brown was listed twice, and by my count, 5 returning and 8 new recruits equals 13 which is the limit.

Our success this year will depend on 2 things after taking FVV and Ron's and Tekele's play into acount, how well our centers do this coming year, and whether a combination of players, say 3, can combine to replace Cle's production. Zach Brown is suppose to be a good shooter, don't know abouit the others other than Holland seemed to be pretty good last year.

I still expect to get to a Sweet Sixteen.

[ShockTalk]

In the above quote listing new recruits, Zach Brown was listed twice, and by my count, 5 returning and 8 new recruits equals 13 which is the limit.

Our success this year will depend on 2 things after taking FVV and Ron's and Tekele's play into acount, how well our centers do this coming year, and whether a combination of players, say 3, can combine to replace Cle's production. Zach Brown is suppose to be a good shooter, don't know abouit the others other than Holland seemed to be pretty good last year.

I still expect to get to a Sweet Sixteen.

Replace one of the Browns with Hamilton.

[goshox_dm]

This is an excellent question that I asked myself a lot with last year's team as well. Oddly enough, I had a hard time enjoying last season as it wore on because it was so hard to keep focused on the prize instead of keeping the undefeated run up. Now that i have been able to sit back and appreciate the greatness that was last season, the early exit really doesn't bother me as much as the idea of it would have during the season. Because of that, I think a great season can be made by either a great showing in the regular season(2014) or postseason(2013). It seems that we have yet to really put those two things together under HCGM (don't read me wrong, I'm not trying to slight HCGM). But could this be the year that we do that? With the incredible maturity and skill that this team projects to have, I tend to think yes. That said, I still find it incredibly difficult to put a finger on what is a good season until after it's over. It's also difficult to quantify what a great season is on the basis of the NCAA Tournament because it is so hard to win in March and April. To try to put words to it, I guess I would say that we need to continue to build our brand by winning marquee non-conference games, and we should win the regular season and St. Louis. It's anyone's game from there. If the question was what WILL this team do instead of what is success, I might answer differently. We'll know if we were successful or not after the season. I can't totally define it now.

[WuDrWu]

Oddly enough, I had a hard time enjoying last season as it wore on because it was so hard to keep focused on the prize instead of keeping the undefeated run up.

I feel bad for you. I don't mean to sound like a smartass, but to convey the learned ability to "enjoy the ride", something that it took me far too many years to appreciate. I remember the days as a fan when I was scared of losing more than I enjoyed winning. I thought I knew and understood everything...when I finally learned to enjoy the ride, being a fan became a much more enjoyable experience. That I learned that lesson before the days of HCGM is a blessing I give thanks for every single day. Good luck to you.

[60Shock]

It may be unfair, but it feels so good to say, "we are to the point now where I would be disappointed whenever we do not reach the Sweet 16."

[goshox_dm]

I feel bad for you. I don't mean to sound like a smartass, but to convey the learned ability to "enjoy the ride", something that it took me far too many years to appreciate. I remember the days as a fan when I was scared of losing more than I enjoyed winning. I thought I knew and understood everything...when I finally learned to enjoy the ride, being a fan became a much more enjoyable experience. That I learned that lesson before the days of HCGM is a blessing I give thanks for every single day. Good luck to you.

Haha I hope it happens soon. I think a large part of my struggle was who we played. I felt like we were still lacking a major win, like the Gonzaga and Ohio State wins. Our best wins were Tennessee and St. Louis. Fortunately, we have some golden opportunities this year. Cue road game at Utah and neutral floor game vs. Memphis.

[pogo]

Success this years for me looks like:

FVV clowns on the global warming alarmists during another high school speech.

Ron gets his own line of women's sunglasses named after him.

ADES gets yet another national award for having one of the very top athletic departments in the country and gets a 25% uplift of support from his very own fan base -- bringing his total approval rate up to 35%.

HC3GM gets a restaurant in Wichita.

Tekele gets DPOY and POY unless FVV gets POY. Then Tekele gets DPOY, 1st team, and NCAA tournament MVP!

It would indeed be successful if the restaurant was called 3 G's and was a Seafood Restaurant with fresh seafood worthy of his South Carolina roots. Mmmmmm seafood.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

Winning every conference game is difficult, even in our shitty conference. I don't expect that to happen next year. I do think we will win out the non-con, but I may reassess if there is some kind of mind-blowing addition to the schedule. With all due respect to our national soccer team, WSU's region in the tournament last year was the real group of death. Barring any kind of repeat scenario, I'm looking for us to make some serious noise in the Dance next year.

[WuShock16]

Along with what Doc said, learning to enjoy the ride is key. As fans, other than paying for your tickets and SASO dues, attending games, and cheering as hard as you can during games, there really isn't much we can do to affect the outcomes of games. We can look ahead, dream, and those kinds of things, because our thoughts and actions don't alter Ron Baker's jump shot at all. No need to stress about it. What you don't want to do is stress over winning games to where you don't enjoy it as much.

I remember watching an ESPN piece about the '98 Yankees who went 125-50 collectively on the way to another World Series title. One of their radio announcers recalled saying on the air during that season, "Folks, sit back and enjoy this, because we're going to remember this as 'the good ol' days." Someday, Shocker basketball will drop below 25 wins in a season...God forbid, maybe even below 20 wins a season. We'll all be begging for the feeling we all have right now. Enjoy that feeling right now.

As for my expectations for the season, I want the guys to give a honest effort and play hard every single game. If they do that, I am not too worried about the outcome, as those things will take care of themselves. If you would have told me on Selection Sunday morning last year that our season would be over in a week, I would have been livid as I knew we needed to get to the Sweet 16 to shut some people up. A week later when the season was over, I was disappointed, yes, but after the epic showdown with Kentucky, you couldn't be anything but proud. I remember a coach once telling my team to play as hard as you can and not worry about the ramifications of winning or losing. If you do that, then when you look up at the scoreboard after the game is over and see the opponent have more points, you shake their hands and move on. It's when you don't respect your opponent and don't play to the best of your ability that you feel sick about losing.

[Dave Stalwart]

My prediction: I believe that we will win!!!

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

MVC Regular Season Outright Title
NCAA 5 Seed or better
Win 1 NCAA game or more

I think 2014-2015 will be better than that, but the question was about the threshold for disappointment, and that is where I would draw the line.

[Jhook89]

I just want the team to get what it deserves at the end of the season. Last years team deserved so much more than around of 32 loss. Those guys deserved an elite 8 or even a another final 4. This years team will be determined by a lot of guys who have little to no experience. I'm going to make a logical guess since we are losing early and basically any big man with minutes, that we aren't going to be quite as good as last year. I think they could be, but that would require some guys to majorly step up and I'm not going to assume that's going to happen. So I'd say a final record of 31-6 and a sweet 16 would leave me satisfied

[Kung Wu]

It would indeed be successful if the restaurant was called 3 G's and was a Seafood Restaurant with fresh seafood worthy of his South Carolina roots. Mmmmmm seafood.

I'd there before every game! Crab with melted butter and lemon!

[ShockerDropOut]

So what is the floor, MVC Championship, 28 wins, win at least one and probably two games in the tournament. MVC tournament doesnt really matter to me, even though I want to see us win it. First weekend exit of the tournament would be tough to take. Loss before the weekend would be devastating. It is awesome to even think about where this program is at this point. Soak it all up, enjoy the ride! This is the good old days we will be talking about in our old age!

[Kung Wu]

MVC Regular Season Outright Title
NCAA 5 Seed or better
Win 1 NCAA game or more

I think 2014-2015 will be better than that, but the question was about the threshold for disappointment, and that is where I would draw the line.

You'd consider the season a disappointment if we are 6 or 7 seed but win 2+ games in the tourney? Interesting.