Solid size

It is very rare that really good big men come to our level. Chris Marcus at WKU was a very rare exception. However, I think we have some size this year that will be solid and reliable. If that pans out to be true, we can be at least in the top half of the SBC.

Optimism

It is always a little disconcerting just how optimistic we ought to be about an upcoming season. Any guesses are based very largely on assumptions, especially when you have very many recruits coming in, and we have (at least) six. It isn't wrong to be optimistic, but sometimes it isn't very realistic. I think there is a little realism in the optimism this off-season, though. The incoming class warrants it. Some of the returning talent warrants it. "Hopeful" might be a better word.

Shields and Newell

Assuming nothing out-of-the-ordinary happens, Steve Shields will become the winningest coach in Little Rock history early next season. Hats off to him for a great job. He has earned it.

Many will compare him to Mike Newell, but there probably is no comparison. They played in different conferences at different levels. Newell's teams played good tournament ball, and thus they went to post season a good bit. To fans who only pay attention to post season, this would make Newell the better coach. It is hard to say. Probably that is irrelevant.

Since I did not follow the Trojans in those days, I do not have any firsthand knowledge of Newell. However, I do of Shields. He has run a clean program - done it the right way. That means a lot to me. Little Rock is a team I am not ashamed to root for. No sleeze, which is so prevalent in college basketball. So, I'll tip my hat to Shields when he get the record. It has been a good run.

Press

A good coach, assuming he has the players, will turn the press from a disadvantage into an advantage. Presses can be broken if players remain calm, position themselves correctly, and have good court awareness. When a press is broken, it becomes an immediate offensive advantage because the defense is out of position. I hate seeing these always-pressing teams get the advantage simply because the opponents can't/won't take advantage of it.

Both?

In the past, we have usually had the discipline, but not the talent. Maybe we could be entering a run where we have the talent as well. Could be good things ahead.

Lots of wins

I predict a lot of wins over the next three years with Gus Leeper and Will Neighbour up front.

Getting the most

We look to have a couple of 3-star incoming recruits for the first time ever, probably. Here's a guess that we will get more out of our 3-stars than most other teams do, because Shields typically gets the most out of the talent he has.

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.

Richmond redshirt

Richmond won 29 games this year. They had five redshirts listed on their roster. I don't know if that was policy or happenstance, or if it had anything to do with their success. But it is interesting.

Trickle down? Probably not

It would be nice to think that there will be some sort of trickle down effect resulting from the success of VCU and Butler the past couple of years. Recruits might be made to realize that there is quality basketball at places other than the Big Six programs. However, that probably is somewhat far-fetched.