If Buddy stays, this team can absolutely be better. Cousins and Woodard still have a ton of room for improvement. You have to expect another offseason will be huge for Lattin as well. While Buford hasn't had the on court training, he will have had a full year in the strenght and conditioning program which will be a big deal. JUCOs usually improve from year 1 to 2, so Walker could definitely give us more than he did last year. Manyang and McNease should at least be able to replicate the energy that Lattin gave us, and hopefully more than that from Manyang. You add two solid freshmen prospects.
You are replacing two players with five. Yes, one of those players was a big time contriubtor, whose offensive post produciton isn't likely to be replaced. The other guy was the definition of a replacement level back up big man. But you're adding a ton of depth, and a ton of options. With every player on the roster likely improving at least a little bit in the offseason, if Buddy comes back you're looking at a team that should be really good.
