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We have a legit shot to win it all

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skydogcane6 said:
Ehhhh. I love our starting 5 but I don’t think we’re deep enough to win the ACC, let alone win it all. Happy to be proven wrong and I’m excited to see how/if our bench comes on throughout the season.
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Is this literally the 1st year you've watched?

Because we won the ACC regular season last year, with almost the same type of roster. We had an elite starting 5 and very little bench production then too. Saying we can't win the ACC makes no sense to me
 
When I watched the game today I definitely noticed some taller guys for us out there. They are young but will develop over the year with more playing time. But they need to step up noe because once conference games start their minutes will go down. But I liked what I saw.
 
Only thing i can say we’re missing is a guy like wong who can get to the rim consistently, bend the defense and create looks for others. But the edges of our team is improved imo, but the ceiling depends on if someone can take that leap

I like wooga,Cleveland and bens but they seem to be great complimentary pieces for the kind of player describing. But say wooga takes that leap then we are cooking
 
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MikeCanes said:
I don’t think we’re deep or big enough. I still expect a great run this year.
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Not trying to call you out, but I'm curious - Not "deep or big enough" for what? Because we were ACC regular season champs and a Final 4 team last year with the same roster construction. I just don't get how some of our fanbase has now created this mindset where everything about this team has to be perfect/elite or it's somehow disappointing.

I can't stress this enough (esp with what a mess football is), ENJOY THIS TEAM. We have flaws, but we're still one of the best teams in the country and we are a very fun (if frustrating) team to watch. And given that Coach L might only have a couple of seasons left in him, we really can't take this success for granted.
 
TheRichtShow said:
Not trying to call you out, but I'm curious - Not "deep or big enough" for what? Because we were ACC regular season champs and a Final 4 team last year with the same roster construction. I just don't get how some of our fanbase has now created this mindset where everything about this team has to be perfect/elite or it's somehow disappointing.

I can't stress this enough (esp with what a mess football is), ENJOY THIS TEAM. We have flaws, but we're still one of the best teams in the country and we are a very fun (if frustrating) team to watch. And given that Coach L might only have a couple of seasons left in him, we really can't take this success for granted.
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Not deep or big enough to win a national championship. We weren’t last year, and likely aren’t this year.

As for enjoying this team - I certainly am. I’m expecting a great season.

My question to you is, why are you assuming that Miami fans aren’t enjoying the team or feel that the season is a disappointment without a natty?

I am extremely proud of last year’s team and I’m sure I’ll feel the same about this team.
 
MikeCanes said:
Not deep or big enough to win a national championship. We weren’t last year, and likely aren’t this year.

As for enjoying this team - I certainly am. I’m expecting a great season.

My question to you is, why are you assuming that Miami fans aren’t enjoying the team or feel that the season is a disappointment without a natty?
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We were two wins away from winning it all last year
 
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IMO in the little I've watched this season so far, George needs to be more aggressive and play like his size... we need that length to play like a hybrid big.. I'm sure he's use to playing outside especially with his late growth spirt, but we need our taller players to play tall...
 
Rebounding will be the issue throughout the season as we saw in the second half yesterday. First half we did well on the glass.

We could score with anyone in the country tho that’s for sure.
 
For those of you complaining about our bench, I would ask the following, ‘relative to which other team’? I have not watched a lot of college basketball yet this season as it really just started, but I have watched KU (very good and big), UK, Duke. MSU and Michigan, and I have yet to see meaningful contribution from a bench player for any team. The simple fact is that DEPTH does not exist in college basketball between early entries and the transfer portal/NIL.

We, and every team in college basketball, needs a bench that can prevent the loss of a lead when starters are removed. I believe we have that, and will believe it more so as George develops. Nwoko can already rebound and defend, Watson is expending his game to be more than a shooter and Casey gives us size. But what we need is a someone who can take the ball out of Pack and Joseph’s hands for 5-8 minutes per game. George can hopefully develop into that player. He was better against KSU than he has looked this season. If we can run 4 bench players and 1 starter and still maintain a point differential, then we have more than enough on our bench to compete at the highest level because that is all any team can hope for at best.
 
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AmherstCane said:
You wrote that after George was 2/3 with 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 15 minutes??

Last year our depth was a weakness.

This year it is currently ok and has the potential to be very good by March.

Today was a glimpse of what George can be and I expect to see Watson have a break out game soon as well.

That’s 2 6’8” guys who can play 2-4.
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Is Watson a legit 6'8? Looks a couple inches shorter to me but ...

So far, it seems like Coach L might rate Casey and George slightly ahead of Watson, Nwoko (with Jakai behind them). I'm basing that on who sees the floor first (and maybe that's just a factor of who needs the first blow among the starters). None have really "separated" themselves yet.
 
AtlAtty said:
For those of you complaining about our bench, I would ask the following, ‘relative to which other team’? I have not watched a lot of college basketball yet this season as it really just started, but I have watched KU (very good and big), UK, Duke. MSU and Michigan, and I have yet to see meaningful contribution from a bench player for any team. The simple fact is that DEPTH does not exist in college basketball between early entries and the transfer portal/NIL.

We, and every team in college basketball, needs a bench that can prevent the loss of a lead when starters are removed. I believe we have that, and will believe it more so as George develops. Nwoko can already rebound and defend, Watson is expending his game to be more than a shooter and Casey gives us size. But what we need is a someone who can take the ball out of Pack and Joseph’s hands for 5-8 minutes per game. George can hopefully develop into that player. He was better against KSU than he has looked this season. If we can run 4 bench players and 1 starter and still maintain a point differential, then we have more than enough on our bench to compete at the highest level because that is all any team can hope for at best.
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Generally speaking, you are right re: bench depth. I suck at posting images but all those teams you mentioned have had a guy or two come off the bench and solidly contribute (double digits points +).

I think it’s unrealistic to expect to have more than two solid contributors off the bench in college hoops. My concern is that we still need to find just one. Maybe it’s just a testament to how good our starting five are, but there’s such a big drop off when Casey/Watson/George are in.
 
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Every time I read some of the same-old-same-old ridiculous responses on this thread, I wonder why they haven't yet made the basketball season longer than 5 games...

Let's rip a true freshman European kid who just got here and has played in 5 games. Yes, he's a finished product, he can't get any better with more minutes...

Come on, now, if Laranaga's history hasn't taught some of you two-pump-chumps anything, it's that we are capable of improving ourselves over the course of the season to play our best basketball once we get to the ACC schedule and the post-season.
 
EltonJohn13 said:
I’d take our bench this year over last years. Joseph was our best guy off the bench but after that was nothing.

This year you have 3-4 guys who could really contribute. George looked great yesterday.
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Can't agree at this point. The duo of Joseph and Beverly (forgetting Walker) were slightly better than what we've seen so far this year off the bench. Very early though.

We do have 3-4 guys who could contribute, but ... will they, and to what extent? "Could" is the key word.
 
I’m not writing any of our bench players off either. We just need one or two to step up as reliable options. Thankfully the season just started.
 
Our starting 5 is as good as there is in college basketball. I’m not sure how that’s being missed by most on the board.

There were 4 solid teams in Bahamar with us, 3/4 will prob make the tourny - Would you trade any of our starters for anyone elses? What about bench players? I wouldn’t. Bryce Hopkins would be a solid 6th man for us.

Was George not a reliable option off the bench yesterday? Played crucial minutes as KS mounted a comeback and Wooga, our best scorer, had 4 fouls. He gave us 5 pts, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists in 13 minutes. His 3rd shot rimmed out.

Watson is a lockdown wing defender and took advantage of scoring opptys against Georgia. Casey and Nwoko have played well for Omier to rest some.

By January, we will be a better team than we are now. It happens every single year under L.

Can we 100% beat a Kansas, Uconn, Duke type program? No, but that’s why we will play the games. (and we will slaughter Duke btw)
 
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