Royster

Brett Royster led the SBC in FG% last season and was the conference's all-time leading shot blocker. FAU will be the heavy favorite in the SBC next season, but it will be interesting to see how not having that defensive enforcer in the lane and a sure shooter will affect them. Sometimes "little" things make a big difference. Still, they have a BUNCH of talent, and will be hard to beat.

Turning the corner

If, with six new players, we improve in wins this year, that might be an indication that we have taken a step forward. We need it. It has been back and forth so much lately. We just have not been able to sustain the good years into a trend. Finally, we got a break and went to the tournament in a mediocre year. Maybe that will propel us forward. Here's hoping.

Efficient recruiting

You have to recruit what you need. Sure, if you have balance on the roster, you can go for the best player available regardless of position, but that usually is not the case. If you do that, you might end up with 13 point guards. Duke may have 13 McDonalds All-Americans on the roster, but only five of them can play at a time, and at least one of them will be the fourth player at his position, and four others will be the third. Each coach has a style, and he recruits to his style. If he recruits efficiently each year and gets the pieces that he needs to play his style, he usually will succeed.

optimism

The off season is always a time for optimism. I must admit that I am having trouble not being up-beat about the long-range prospects for the program. We have had two solid recruiting classes and the NCAA appearance. We are bringing in more freshmen, and they appear to be good ones. We hope that Will Neighbour will be the player that we think he could be. Times are sunny in Little Rock.

Could it happen?

We have now seen a Final Four with two non-Big Six participants. Could it be that one day we will see a FF with NO Big Six participants? We can hope.

Next year

I think this team can be as good next year as we were this past year. It will all depend, of course, on how well the incoming players are, and how quickly they develop. This past year's team had Solomon Bozeman, who could be depended upon to score at crunch time. It remains to be seen if we will have a go-to scorer next year. And a lot of players will have to learn the "defense first" philosophy that Shields teaches. But I am hopeful. We have three players coming back who were starting at the end of the year, and one other who was in the top five in minutes played. I hope the incoming players get on campus fast and get in the weight room.

"Winner"

It will be nice if history gives a better definition of "winner" after this year's NCAA tournament. UConn bent or broke the rules, had all the advantages, and they came out ahead on the score. But Butler has done things right. Here's to the real winners - the guys who play by the rules.

A farce

It really is a farce that two teams with as many losses as they had were playing for the NCAA championship this year. Why not just eliminate the season and only have the tournament and award the hottest team, not the best team? The structure of the college game makes the regular season be only a fund-raising project.

Plus for freshmen

Having had two true freshmen to play in the NCAA tournament has to be a big plus for our program. They have three more years to talk about the experience to incoming players, and to want to get back to the Dance.

Ready to move!

This program is poised to take a step forward. 23, 20 and 19-win seasons over a four-year period, with a promising recruiting class coming in. The AD needs to be really on top of things to make this happen.

Not complaining

As we are only a weekend away from the end of the college basketball season, there are a few things about which I could complain as a Trojan fan - but I won't. It was a very enjoyable season, and there are some good things to anticipate next season. Life is good in Trojanland.