[Hieronymus]

Is no one considering injuries as a factor?

• We lose our 3 best players to graduation/transfer.
  
• We lose our starting PG to injury a few games into the season.
  
• We lose Harriel, one of our main backup PGs, to injury/illness for most of the middle/back half of the season.
  
• We lose our current leading scorer & rebounder, and pretty much our only true post threat, to injury for most of the back end of the season.
  

That would decimate any team, but one also going through a coaching change as well as a league change that forces cross-country travel for 50% of conference games? The odds were never in our favor.

This team has plenty of talent but they never had a chance to gel.

Depends on the argument you are making.

On one hand, neither Lepolo or Harriel move the needle much on most of the key team issues - turnovers but that is really it. Neither would have made this a top 25 team, or would have salvaged any of the 10+ point losses.  And they mostly won while Nunu was hurt.

On the other hand though, you could argue that Lepolo maybe swings things the good way in say 2 of the closer losses - pick from LSU, SMU, Kal2, Clemson1, UNC - and that 2 more wins maybe makes the tournament. Fair.

I am still though much more in the “on one hand camp.”

[Hieronymus]

Is no one considering injuries as a factor?

• We lose our 3 best players to graduation/transfer.
  
• We lose our starting PG to injury a few games into the season.
  
• We lose Harriel, one of our main backup PGs, to injury/illness for most of the middle/back half of the season.
  
• We lose our current leading scorer & rebounder, and pretty much our only true post threat, to injury for most of the back end of the season.
  

That would decimate any team, but one also going through a coaching change as well as a league change that forces cross-country travel for 50% of conference games? The odds were never in our favor.

This team has plenty of talent but they never had a chance to gel.

Depends on the argument you are making.

On one hand, neither Lepolo or Harriel move the needle much on most of the key team issues - turnovers but that is really it. Neither would have made this a top 25 team, or would have salvaged any of the 10+ point losses.  And they mostly won while Nunu was hurt.

On the other hand though, you could argue that Lepolo maybe swings things the good way in say 2 of the closer losses - pick from LSU, SMU, Kal2, Clemson1, UNC - and that 2 more wins maybe makes the tournament. Fair.

I am still though much more in the “on one hand camp.”