Were VillanovaFan & I the only people who predicted this team would be good this year, in the midst of last year's debacle? Are we the only visionaries around here? Can Stnk actually predict anything in college basketball, or does he just post stats that have already happened? Does a 14 year old know more about basketball than he does? These are all questions we should ponder at night.
I remember getting ridiculed for writing a post around February of last year, in which I argued that we would finish in the top 3 in the AAC and be ranked in the AP Top 25 sometime this year. I also said our Defensive Efficiency would improve in a similar fashion to how SMU had improved from 2012-13 to 2013-14. They went from 151st to 19th, but they were around 35th when I wrote the post.
I've been tempted to unleash an "I Told You So" tantrum after how much crap I caught on this board last year, and now I did. I predicted we would make the tournament last year, and admittedly I was wrong. So I understand why folks ripped me for predicting success this year. BUT...,
All teasing aside, it has truly been awesome to see what this team is capable of since Jesse Morgan has joined the lineup. It's amazing his addition has been able to open up the floor for other players. He has such a quick release that teams have to stay close to him & show respect.
Right now, KenPom has us ranked as the 25th best defense & 166th best offense, but that does not truly reflect how good this team has been the past 3 weeks since Morgan joined the lineup. We were worse than 200th in Offensive Efficiency before Morgan joined the lineup. Even with some very ugly offensive performances since, we are now quickly climbing the Offensive Efficiency rankings. When you score the ball & can set your defense, the opposing team's FG% decreases compared to when they are playing off your missed shot. As a result, the addition of Jesse has made both our offense AND defense better.
And my goodness, can Jaylen Bond rebound or what? He's averaging almost 12 rebounds/game since Kansas. It's probably too late to make up for the slow start this year, but I would love to see him average 10+ rebounds per game next year. Not bad for a guy who, as many pointed out, averaged 2 points & 3 rebounds in his career at Texas.