We are really good, but we will soon be great. Elite.

[EvanstonCat]

I always thought we'd have a good chance to make the Dance this season, and we may not end up higher than a 7 seed still, but tonight was the first time I thought that we should win the BTT. I'm serious. I think we should be favoured against any of the remaining teams. Our 10 losses are misleading. We had 4 or 5 of those losses come during Scottie's absence or when he wasn't full speed. He's getting back to form now, and I really don't think anyone can beat us now. Maybe Purdue matched up well but they are out. We beat Wisco WITHOUT Scottie and at Kohl. Michigan is good, but I thought we were the better team. Minnesota - early season loss. I want another crack at them.

Tonight, I watched the Cats except for one Maryland run in the middle, just dominate. And Maryland was good. I watched the game with a friend on the other end on the phone, and I was telling her that Maryland was a great team. Trimble is a player, and they play as tenaciously on D as we do. Great back door cuts. Very athletic. They are as good as any team in the B1G if you ask me. And we just had our way with them for much of the game.

It's not just the usual suspects either. Law Lindsey and Mac had great games, but man - Pardon is a beast. Just a massive player for us. And Barrett Benson looked great when called upon due to early Pardon foul trouble. I don't know where Isiah Brown has been the last few games, but man, he was great - Motel 6 Sixth Man of the Game. He needs to stop losing his guy on the back doors, but what fearlessness on O.

I think Michigan was a milestone. We learned to close in that game. ND, Butler, Minnesota, IU are behind us now. Down the stretch against Maryland, we just wouldn't let them come back. This will be another big step for us.

We will miss Sanjay and Tap next year, but we get Falzon and Rapo back. And everyone is a year older. We are ranked for much of the season next year and a B1G championship has to be the minimum goal.
How many thought the home court crowd we're getting now was ever possible? That we'd be able to field players on the court at every position and on the bench that looked like they belonged in the B1G? That we'd be playing like one of the best teams in the conference (because we are)? Well, it's a reality now. As great as this year has been (and there is still more to the story), the best is yet to come. What do you think CCC is going to do with recruiting with this season's accomplishments? With the new renovated arena? This year is just a small taste of what we can expect next season. Home court advantage already. A new arena in 2018-2019. This program is still in the early part of its upward journey and is going to be great for a long time.

 

[scru]

Love your optimism and I share your vision of what COULD be, but we're not there yet. I need to see fans still showing up in Rosemont. I need to see a major recruiting success for 2017 or 18 such as landing Smith, Dosunmu, or the like. Probably most of all, need to see the chemistry this years team has carry over to next year. Then I'll be ready to expect the long term success you foresee. A dream come true!

 

[GlideCat]

Love your optimism and I share your vision of what COULD be, but we're not there yet. I need to see fans still showing up in Rosemont. I need to see a major recruiting success for 2017 or 18 such as landing Smith, Dosunmu, or the like. Probably most of all, need to see the chemistry this years team has carry over to next year. Then I'll be ready to expect the long term success you foresee. A dream come true!

I go with E-Cat. We have tangible differences going forward from our past:

1. Name recognition of our coach based on this year.
2. Name recognition of our program based on this year.
3. Renovation of W-R facility.
4. Fitz Mahal will benefit all athletes and be a recruiting tool for all programs.

So E-Cat's post is not wishful thinking. We are doing things a different way and expecting a different result. Further, we are seeing the first positive results of that different way.

Optimism is warranted.

Go Cats.

 

[D_C_B]

Love your optimism and I share your vision of what COULD be, but we're not there yet. I need to see fans still showing up in Rosemont. I need to see a major recruiting success for 2017 or 18 such as landing Smith, Dosunmu, or the like. Probably most of all, need to see the chemistry this years team has carry over to next year. Then I'll be ready to expect the long term success you foresee. A dream come true!

Every win in this tourney and the next gives CCC just all that much more ammo with top, top recruits.

"The Train is leaving son, with or without you... I'd rather it be with..."

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I go with E-Cat. We have tangible differences going forward from our past:

1. Name recognition of our coach based on this year.
2. Name recognition of our program based on this year.
3. Renovation of W-R facility.
4. Fitz Mahal will benefit all athletes and be a recruiting tool for all programs.

So E-Cat's post is not wishful thinking. We are doing things a different way and expecting a different result. Further, we are seeing the first positive results of that different way.

Optimism is warranted.

Go Cats.

All of this is true. I would just caution that the majority of the B1G teams are young and bring back their primary players. The league will be good next year! They sure are fun to watch.

 

[Walker Fan]

Purdue loses Swanigan, UW loses Hayes, Koenig, Indiana loses Bryant and maybe Blackmon, Maryland loses Trimble, MSU loses Bridges, UM loses Walton and Irvin, Illinois loses Hill, Morgan, Finke and Abrams. NU will add five new athletic players. Yes, Iowa and PSU are young so what? Brown, Benson, Falzon, Ivanauskas and Gaines are young. I think the last two scholarships will be filled by two talented players who want to be part of history and part of this upward bound program. The main players listed above were the main players in 7 of NU's 10 losses. So I think we will be in good shape next season.

 

[SmellyCat]

Is Jok going to go pro? Iowa was playing much better by the end of the year, but if he goes, that's another big-time player leaving.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

Is Jok going to go pro? Iowa was playing much better by the end of the year, but if he goes, that's another big-time player leaving.

Jok is a senior, but Iowa does have a lot of good players coming back.

 

[SmellyCat]

Really? I could've sworn he had a year left. Ok, well, he's definitely gone then!

 

[Styre]

So E-Cat's post is not wishful thinking. We are doing things a different way and expecting a different result. Further, we are seeing the first positive results of that different way.

Optimism is warranted.

Sure, optimism is warranted, but saying that winning the Big Ten is "the minimum goal" for next year is ridiculous. I don't know about you, but if we go 13-5 in conference and finish in 2nd place I'm not going to call the season a failure.

 

[GlideCat]

Sure, optimism is warranted, but saying that winning the Big Ten is "the minimum goal" for next year is ridiculous. I don't know about you, but if we go 13-5 in conference and finish in 2nd place I'm not going to call the season a failure.

I think your spin on his post is a little on the negative side. In re-reading it, I doubt that his statement that winning the B1G was a minimum goal meant that anything short of that is a failure. I read it to mean that with this team's talent and momentum the minimum realistic goal we should strive for is a conference championship. We always say that a championship is the goal but I think his point is that next year it is a very realistic goal.

 

[Eurocat]

I think your spin on his post is a little on the negative side. In re-reading it, I doubt that his statement that winning the B1G was a minimum goal meant that anything short of that is a failure. I read it to mean that with this team's talent and momentum the minimum realistic goal we should strive for is a conference championship. We always say that a championship is the goal but I think his point is that next year it is a very realistic goal.

I agree with GlideCat here. Doesn't Pat have the same kind of goals for football and a big sign in the practice facility? Graduate everyone (number one priority - good for him and NU!) then beat Illinois, then win the Big Ten then play for the Championship? I think the sign is along those lines but I may have left something out. Point being that if we "only" go 11-2 some year that and "only " make the Citrus Bowl (or whatever the hell it is called now) no-one would consider that a lost season or some colossal failure. Heck even my Alabama friends wouldn't be that harsh on their beloved Tide (and those people are borderline crazy).

 

[CatManTrue]

We'll be Elite (Eight) when we win three straight games in the dance.

I agree that it will occur soon - perhaps next year, perhaps during the next few weeks.

 

[Styre]

I think your spin on his post is a little on the negative side. In re-reading it, I doubt that his statement that winning the B1G was a minimum goal meant that anything short of that is a failure. I read it to mean that with this team's talent and momentum the minimum realistic goal we should strive for is a conference championship. We always say that a championship is the goal but I think his point is that next year it is a very realistic goal.

That's fair. I certainly hope that's one of the team's goals for next year. But my expectations as a fan aren't that high. It's possible, sure, but we won't be coming into the year as league favorites. I'm hoping for an improvement on this year - winning more B1G games, or getting even deeper into the conference tourney (or winning it), or getting deeper into the NCAAs (assuming we don't go on a miracle run this time).

 

[Hungry Jack]

It's great to dream, but I think recruiting would need to take another quantum leap for us to a national elite team (top 10-15). Not that it cannot happen, but it's not happening right now.

 

[ColumbusCatFan1]

Love your optimism and I share your vision of what COULD be, but we're not there yet. I need to see fans still showing up in Rosemont. I need to see a major recruiting success for 2017 or 18 such as landing Smith, Dosunmu, or the like. Probably most of all, need to see the chemistry this years team has carry over to next year. Then I'll be ready to expect the long term success you foresee. A dream come true!

This is a well thought out post. As a program we're not there (elite) yet, but you can start to see it appearing on the horizon.

This year's team plays so incredibly well together, but anyone watching last night game could tell there was still a noticeable difference in athleticism on the floor. That gap, however, is not nearly as wide as it once was.

If CC can continue to upgrade talent, develop the incoming classes like the current bunch, while still getting them to play as a cohesive unit, a BIG regular season title may only be a handful of years away.