There won't be many Gonzagas - two or three at most. There are not even many teams that are at a level that they expect to win their conference every year, or at least be right in the hunt for it. Maybe 10% of the teams of our size, max. So, does a program have to be at that level to be a "success," whatever that is? "Certainly," some fans would say. "We buy our tickets and we expect a winner every season." (Of course, very few of those fans would be successes in their personal affairs at such a high level, but who notices that?)
Even more pertinent to the discussion, from where we are right now, what it the next step to success? What is the next level? Oh, sure, we had that one great season - but we couldn't keep the coach, which almost always is the result at our level when a team does have a remarkable season. Sustaining a high level of success at a level where accomplishment (winning) means defeat (losing the coach) is a very difficult thing.
But, as fans we should be able to expect something, shouldn't we? As a basketball school, I think we should be able to anticipate being in the top third of the conference year in and year out. (Throw football into the mix, trashing up the situation, and I don't know; but that hasn't happened yet, thankfully.) If we perform at that level, then with a couple of breaks in a given year, we should be right there for the regular season championship.We ought to be able to get to where a .500 season is a complete disaster, not just a "down year." We are not quite there yet, but that is an achievable goal.
The 30-win season raised expectations, and that is a good thing. However, it may have raised them temporarily to an unrealistic level, and that is not good. We do need to keep moving forward, and if we do that, at some point we will get where we want to be - at a high level of performance that can be sustained. It is out there somewhere.
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