GWrising, we talked a lot last year about the proverbial "free pass".  Some felt that JC was more than entitled to one given the mess he was stepping into.  Others felt that as long as they keep score, there should be accountability which extends to JC and his staff.  Nobody believed that last year's team should have been expected to reach a postseason tournament or finish in the upper half of the A10.  I do think people's expectations were reasonable.

Entering year 2, it would only make sense that these expectations were raised even if only by a small margin.  Top half of the conference?  Not yet.  Postseason tournament?  Not yet.  But one of the things that fans should rightfully anticipate based on an upgrade in talent is the ability to close out teams like Hampton and Navy.  Am not sure I can jump on board with the theory that GW fans have been spoiled to the point where you can realistically say that anyone who can't get this program to where Jarvis, Hobbs and Lonergan once did is a disappointment.

GW fans have had a number of years now to lick their wounds.  MoJo did not provide much hope but JC certainly does.  This is evidenced by the fact that in his short time here, he has already plucked transfers from the SEC (Bishop, Moyer) and the Big 10 (Harris, Lindo).  Add in JNJ who many felt was a major program talent who was on his way to St. Joe's for obvious reasons and that's five current players (including Ricky) who represent a substantial upgrade in talent for this program.  (You can also point to Brayon who is spurning offers from majors and Tafara Gapare as potentially significant upgrades to our talent.)

So to be clear, when we are talking about frustration as GW fans, there may be some lingering long-term frustration which I agree JC had nothing to do with, but there is also a great deal of short-tern frustration that stems from losses to Navy and Hampton (in addition to a non-stellar win over Coppin State) which mirror some bad losses from last year where we had nowhere near the talent as we do right now.  On this point, the short-term frustration, it's hard not to point a finger at JC and his staff.

Mentzinger wrote:

GWRising wrote:

Our talent level has increased without doubt - we still need more but we are heading in the right direction. Now the trick is to get everyone on the same page and figure out how to maximize the talent. 

Interested in hearing who you think represents this huge upgrade in talent. Bishop? Moyer? Seymour?
Also, all teams are facing Covid. It's not really a differentiator when trying to explain one team's decline.
 

Sure it is Mentzinger. You do realize different states have had different rules. Some teams were able to have summer sessions and full practices from the initial start date. Some teams were not afforded that luxury. Some teams have mostly returning players who have meshed together and understand the coach's philosophy. Some teams just have the mentality that better handles the adversity of having to exist in a COVID environment with constantly changing schedules and limited interactions with others. Jay Bilas said it best last night during the Duke - Illinois game - these kids are stressed by all of this - some more than others.

Now can I prove to you that any of that is a factor in GW's play so far. Of course not. But I think we'd all be foolish to completely discount it and say well it's the same for everyone. No, it's the same for some and not for others. You can call that an excuse but no different than how the virus itself affects some dramatically but not others. Everyone is not built the same.

As to the talent question, Bishop, Moyer, Lindo, Dean, Seymour are simply better players than what departed. As I said they are not enough to win a A-10 championship but they are a step in the right direction. This will not and cannot be built overnight given where we started. But with new talent, there is also an adjustment period where the coach is figuring out with who and how he can go to war. Two of those players listed have yet to play a game. Clearly, this adjustment process has taken some hits. Could be a combination of things including what I listed above relating to COVID. However, we haven't even reached the quarter pole of the season yet. Let's see what continues to happen. To me, the watchword for this team is development over the course of the season.

We can get caught up in a game by game do or die analysis or we can evaluate the season as a whole. I promise there will be months at the end of the season to discuss all things related to the coaching and talent when there will be many more data points and much better analysis than some of the knee-jerk stuff we have seen here so far.