It’s all about me! I’ll be 74 in a few months-I’m not in great shape.Cant wait and wait year after year.I’m running out of years.Where’s my elite 8?Im number 3 with a bullet.

3
I was a 2 during the Mojo debacle because I placed the blame on Nero and no good coach would even think about coming to GW after what happened to ML. 
When JC was hired by an unqualified AD with the blessing of an administration that has more pressing issues than basketball, I lost all patience and will just wait it out the next 2 years and hope the administration can get it right on their 3rd try.

Joel Joseph wrote:

3
I was a 2 during the Mojo debacle because I placed the blame on Nero and no good coach would even think about coming to GW after what happened to ML. 
When JC was hired by an unqualified AD with the blessing of an administration that has more pressing issues than basketball, I lost all patience and will just wait it out the next 2 years and hope the administration can get it right on their 3rd try.

This JJ quote says it all and I don't know if I fit in one of the groups. Im pissed that we have some talent that is not showing itself on the court.  We have improved our roster but look worse on the court.  What does this tell me?  JC is not coaching well.  Maybe there will be improvement (look at the Washington Football Team) but right now I am pissed and disappointed at this program.  Then when I think that actions documented in the JJ quote began it all, it really pisses me off.  

In terms of the descriptions, I would say Group 2. The group # for me depends on the number of years the coach has been at GW (early in his tenure). Most will agree that even a bottom half A10 team should hopefully not be losing to low major schools in most cases. If we want to get back closer to where we were as a league, we can't have those kind of losses. I guess that is the only thing that separates us from the AAC (apart from budget), because honestly I don't see many differences between the leagues in terms of how they have fared the last several years.

In terms of the quotes that you had posted (this is more in terms of short term reactions than long term), I was Group 1 after the Navy game (we weren't favored anyways), but a 2/3 after the Hampton game (this is a team not expected to finish high in the Big South after losing two 20+ point scorers - they lost to Norfolk State by 12 on the road and only scored 64 points). 25 minutes into the UMBC game I was feeling a 3 for sure. Something like:



With every loss though, I am beginning to feel more like Group 1 in that more losses don't mean much to me. I am trending the direction of expecting to lose and being pleasantly surprised if we don't unfortunately, but holding at hope that we are eventually going to trend the right direction.

Especially due to COVID, I am not taking wins and losses into account this season, but have some benchmarks:

On the court, are we playing as a team offensively with good ball movement?
Do we have a long-term identity on defense? It is still early into JC's tenure, but our ?? defensively make me a bit less optimistic for future success.

In terms of metrics/finish, I was hoping we would avoid the PIG this year and maybe finish 10th in the league which I don't think is unreasonable. Someone else mentioned this in another thread, but having watched the teams in the league not affected by COVID so far, I would agree that we have played like the worst team in the league. In terms of KenPom, originally I was thinking a finish in the 150-175 range, but have since lowered expectations to the 175-200 range. JC has never had a team finish in the top 200.

If I'm going to be honest, we haven't looked too different from the 9 win team two years ago so far. Offensively we clearly have more talented pieces and give me the PnR over flex any day, but we are similarly heaving the ball at the rim with limited ball movement. Unfortunately, I do think the 9 win team was better across the board defensively, but again still early.

I agree with Mike K that this team has arguably had a more disappointing start than last year's team even though both fared relatively similar in their 1-3 starts (you could match Towson-UMBC, American-Navy, Morgan State-Hampton, and Howard-Coppin State performances as being relatively comparable). Right now, it definitely seems like our upgrade is more in terms of offensive talent than defensive for sure.

We are taking lumps right now with the hope that future success will be more sustainable, maybe as soon as going into conference play. Losses to mid-major schools in decent conferences in the future, fine. But hopefully not a return to losing to smaller schools in future seasons.

The good news is that after a 1-3 start, last year's team started playing better when they left for the Bahamas. The quality of the teams we will face will be stronger, so I guess at the very least we may have a better benchmark moving forward and that a 5-10 point loss won't feel as bad? Only way to go is up, and there are still things about this team that give me some excitement. 
 

Gwmayhem, I would say I'm firmly in Group 1. I picked Group 1 because of two reasons. First, life has been very difficult for many people during the past four years, and especially during the past nine months.  Second, I know we're not great yet, and I don't want to impose my wish of quickly getting really good at the expense of enjoying the moment.  Creating a good team is all about the journey.  

From my perspective, any losses in JC's second year don't matter too much to me not only because fans can't go to the games (no home court advantage), and players (God forbid) get sick from COVID-19, and the schedule changes from day to day (leaving teams without the ability to appropriately prepare) but also because I don't want to drown myself in negativity.   

I know SEVEN people who have died from COVID-19.  People of color have been dumped on in so many horrible ways over the past four years, and some people try to explain it away. The results of the presidential election is being framed as fraud by many Republicans, even though the courts have dismissed almost every one of the Trump election related lawsuits.

So, I am going to try to enjoy this season, 100% believing in JC as a person and a coach and knowing that we have some excellent players. I feel the pieces will come together and am happy to feel gratified when we win. When we lose, I will chose to look for areas where we performed well and opportunities for improvement. I so value DMVPiranha's analyses as opportunities for me to learn and I enjoy the positive discussion among us GW basketball fans as a nice distraction from the day-to-day realities that are hurting so many of us. We all have the opportunity to enjoy this team.  As fans we don't need to get down on the players or the coaches. There are real problems for us to worry about, and GW basketball, with JC behind the wheel, is not one of them. I say let's enjoy the season!

Group 2 in year 1 for any coach even though I cut some slack for JC last year - without mincing words, losing to UM-Kansas City was embarrassing. That said, it was year 1 and I’ll give him a pass.

But I’m solidly group 3 in year in year two. We shouldn’t be losing to the likes of Howard and American at the very least. Losing to UMBC is out of the question.  Could you imagine if the school down the street lost to either one of those schools? I recall in year two of ML’s tenure, though we were young and inexperienced, we still expected to beat James Madison no matter the spread (we won by 1). Now, we’re facing a reality where winning against a low tier patriot league, I mean MEAC squad is some type of great achievement and cause for celebration. I can’t tell if it’s sad or humbling.

What’s even more bothersome is that we all know JC will chase the bigger program if he somehow reaches any level of success. Meanwhile w’ell be left to collect the pieces and start this shit cycle all over again. ML had to go but at least you felt he was truly happy to be at GW and there would be some semblance of continuity throughout the growth of the program.

At the end of the day, we are a better program than this. We are in a great league, amazing academic institution in a world class city. Don’t tell me I’m setting myself up for disappointment, don’t tell me to temper expectations, don’t accuse of being some sort of idealist  - I expect more from this program and I don’t apologize for it.

As a lifelong Redskins/WFT fan, I've learned that to enjoy rooting for my team it is best to have high hopes and zero expectations. Why watch if you don't enjoy it? Of course you enjoy watching wins more, but you have to find a way to enjoy watching the losses too if you want to have a positive experience rooting for a team like GW. If you can only enjoy wins, you should start rooting for a team like Duke, Kentucky, or Kansas. The benefit of rooting for a team like GW, however, is that it is that much sweeter when you have a modicum of success. For example, making the Sweet 16, going undefeated in A10 play, and winning the NIT were for me just as good if not better than winning the NCAA Tourney for fans of those other teams.

DC Native wrote:

As a lifelong Redskins/WFT fan, I've learned that to enjoy rooting for my team it is best to have high hopes and zero expectations. Why watch if you don't enjoy it? Of course you enjoy watching wins more, but you have to find a way to enjoy watching the losses too if you want to have a positive experience rooting for a team like GW. If you can only enjoy wins, you should start rooting for a team like Duke, Kentucky, or Kansas. The benefit of rooting for a team like GW, however, is that it is that much sweeter when you have a modicum of success. For example, making the Sweet 16, going undefeated in A10 play, and winning the NIT were for me just as good if not better than winning the NCAA Tourney for fans of those other teams.

A new candidate for Post of the Year.

I am always perplexed by those who believe GW should be a perennial power (at least in alternating years haha) but have no understanding of what it takes to become a perennial power program in terms of fan support, money, exposure, etc. They apparently think you just roll out the balls and presto! New coach? Everything fixed in one full offseason! COVID? No problem. 

If we are going to have success here it takes a lot from the head coach including extra work, a strong stomach and a clear vision. Having been around when Jarvis, Hobbs and Lonergan were in that seat, I can tell you JC is similar in that he has a vision and he will work to fix what is wrong while continually striving to be better. This is not a sprint it's a marathon. JC received a long-term deal that GW is not going to cut short, certainly not in year 2. The foundation of program must be built before the results can follow. I don't care what sorry program we lose to early this year as long as I see progress at the end.

I can't tell you exactly when but I am confident that it is not a question of "if we win" under JC. I do know this much though, somebody should screenshot all the posts now because you are going to see a lot of new screen names and deleted posts when this changes. How do I know that? Because the same pattern occurred under Hobbs and Lonergan. It is a ritual of GW fandom like no other. At the very first sight of trouble - jump off the train, hop in a waiting car ready to catch the train at the next station just in case it stays on the tracks. We have a lot of impatient fans and I understand that. But the program's development does not operate on anyone's timeline of impatience or desire to crow about beating Hampton. Yes, results matter and wins matter but you can't win when you don't yet have everything you need in place.
Trust the Process and the Results Will Follow.

 



 

It says "George Washington" on the uniforms. I sat through the 1-27 season. This team has no chance of losing 27 games this season, so things are better than they used to be. Sure, that is a low bar, but they will get over it. I just don´t want this to be unwatchable (think Penders Crap, or a replay of the Hampton game every f-ing time they take to the court).
I cheer for the Niners and Cheetahs, too. Those are franchises that have traditionally underperfomed except for certain eras where cheering for them has meant nothing but orgasmic bliss. Right now, both are teetering between bliss and the abyss (49ers thanks to injuries, Cheetahs thanks to SARU´s managament and the Cheetahs´ mismanagement) and both play "must win" games this weekend. I am letting them take responsibility for my receeding hairline and high blood pressure this year more than I am putting the onus on JC and the players. But a loss to Dull Aware would do nothing to stave off ulcer-inducing anguish.