The argument is the incongruity between his predicted win/loss (10-6/9-7) and his predicted conference finish (6th or 7th). This is not an argument of optimist vs pessimist. It is extremely unlikely that a 10-6 team finishes 6th or a 9-7 team finishes 7th. More likely, 10-6 will get you a 3rd or 4th finish and 9-7 will get you a 5th or 6th finish.
Be that as it may, 10-6 in conference and an 8th seed in the NCAA would be a great year for such a young team. This team will most assuredly win a few games they have no business winning ( KU or UT perhaps) and lose some games they have no business losing (ISU or Colorado). It should be a fun year to watch the team develop.
Exactly. I wasn't getting on Abd for having us go 10-6 (or even 9-7). I am trying to figure this out:
abd wrote this yesterday, when he said that we would finish 7th in the league:
1.) Texas- They are loaded. I like them better than Kansas right now.
2.) Kansas- They are loaded. I like them slightly less than Texas right now.
3.) Kansas State- Love their guards, leadership. What seperates KSU from Oklahoma is they have experienced leadership. Clemente is a 5th year senior, Pullen is a 3 year starter, Curtis Kelley is a 4th year player, Sutton is a 3 year starter, etc. Samuels is a really good sophomore who started as a frosh last year too.
4.) Iowa State- What happens when you add two of the best newcomers in the conference (Dendy and Gilstrap) with the best shooter in the conference (Staiger) with the best player in the conference (Brackins)? Well, you get a good team. Staiger torched Drake yesterday with 10-16 from the 3pt line, 32 points. Talk about a shooter at 6'5''.
5.) Oklahoma State- A great deal of depth at the guard spots. Their young guys have more time to grow up because they have Anderson, Obi, and Page to carry the load. I think Pilgrims performance in the opener was the exception, not the rule. I expect he and Moses to be good together this year. Moses is a third year player, Pilgrim is older as well.
6.) Missouri- I love their team this year. They lost some important pieces but I think Bowers is going to be a great replacement in the post. JT Tiller, Zaire Taylor, Kim English, Laurence Bowers, and Keith Ramsey are a great core group of experienced players. Three seniors, and two sophomores who played a lot last year.
7.) Oklahoma- This is a 3 spot drop based on what I have seen this year. I dont know how this team will win consistently on the road, or beat the more experienced teams in the league regularly. I think they will have some GREAT games and then some BAD ones. I am hoping for 9-7 in the league. OU is going to be the only NCAA Tournament team from the Big 12 to rely on one super sophomore and 4 freshman so heavily.
8.) Texas Tech- Tech is going to be a dangerous team this year, especially at home. They are playing pretty well right now with some key pieces playing like crap. Okorie and Brad Reese are not shooting well but they will, and when they do Tech will be an explosive offensive team. Pat Knight has been praising Darko, who was BAD last year but the game slowed down for him and he has been very good at the power forward spot next to Singletary. Singletary is just a tough matchup, and Roberson is a veteran point guard now. Knight has said Tairu is the leader of the team as a first year juco player, he keeps saying he is the next Ronald Ross.
9.) Colorado- Most improved team in the conference, except maybe Iowa State. Their newcomers are the real deal. Cory Higgins is a 1st team caliber player, and new freshman Alec Burks will be in the top 5 for freshman of the year, and Relphorde is an interesting "point forward" player. He brings the ball up for them quite a bit, he is a great ball handler at 6'7''. If they can rebound they will beat some people. This team can shoot, pass, and they have enough talent to beat people with their system this year.
10.) Texas A&M- I dont like this team at all, but they play better defense than Baylor and dont have a guy who will shoot them out of games like Lace Dunn. They beat SMU by 10, and were fortunate to get more than 20 points out of Roland who is an atrocious offensive player.
11.) Baylor- Udoh sank a hail mary to save them from a really bad loss. This looks like the same Baylor to me. Good talent in spots, no discipline, bad defense, very poor shot selection, lots of losses.
12.) Nebraska- They let South Carolina Upstate hang around for awhile, and they are trying to break in lots of newcomers. It is almost impossible to rate them without their best player being eligible, Christian Standhardinger. If he comes in and plays like he did in Germany and in their exhibition games this could change. Lance Jeter seems to be a really good upgrade at point for them, but losing their starting center for the second straight year is tough. If he didnt blow his knee out, and if Standharding could play, this could be different. Doc will be ready to roll next year.
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If this team goes 10-6, then there is no way that they finish 7th. It is also very unlikely if they go 9-7.
I will be really upset and disappointed with the season if OU finishes in 7th place, but it's not going to happen unless some guys leave the team/get hurt.
ldwt356:
