Quote Originally Posted by MU_Iceman View Post
I was actually higher on that team than most going into that year. I absolutely thought they were an NCAA team. There were some bumpy times no doubt, but in the end they ended up exactly where I thought they would be...in the dance. The difference is though...NO ONE( a few) thought that team would make the NCAAs...so by all accounts, they EXCEEDED expectations...this one on the other hand...EVERYONE expected them to be an NCAA tourney team, and most were figuring on a 2-3 seed type year. They might not even make the NIT. if that isn't playing so far below expectations, I don't know what is?? That's the big difference between these two teams.
You're the first person I know to claim they thought the 09-10 team was NCAA level before the year started. Lazar was the only proven commodity. Acker and Cooby both looked like disappointments, DJO and Buycks were complete unknowns, and neither Fulce nor Butler had shown much to suggest they'd be more than bit players.

Anyway...the truth is this team simply hasn't met potential. Jamil hasn't grown into a stud like we've seen happen in the past with Blue, Crowder, DJO, and Butler. Gardner has had moments, but for the most part the new rules have hurt more than helped him. Mayo hasn't taken the step that we saw Blue take as a junior. And both McKay and Blue left before the season started. The ultimate irony is that the two guys most people expected relatively little out of statistically, Derrick and Jake, are the two that are taking the brunt of the criticism despite the simple truth that the guys most expected to deliver on the statistical end aren't doing so and yet aren't getting the same criticism.

Is this team underachieving? Yes, because the expectation was that guys like Jamil, Gardner, and Mayo would take the same kind of steps forward we've seen from guys like Jimmy, Jae, and Blue in recent years. Instead, they have simply stagnated or in many regards even regressed. But what the hell...let's point the finger at Derrick and Jake.