Women's expectations for next year

[cinskyline]

So......... I made a trip to the Purdue board to see what was going on (I usually try to avoid this board for the obvious reasons). Big Mistake. They think it's quite humorous that X hasn't done anything in the tournament since Harris has been here. It's amazing that they are still so obsessed with her over there. :rolleyes:

Which led me to think.....

What are your expectations for next season?

Here's what I think.

Getting to the NCAA Tournament is a must next year, otherwise the season will be a major disappointment. Depending on matchups in the tournament, there really isn't any reason why they can't get to the Sweet 16 at least. We now only have Amber Harris for 2 more seasons, so the window of opportunity may be as little as 2 years, so there is definitely some pressure on McGuff to make a run in that time frame.

I felt that only 2 things holding us back this past season were perimeter play and youth. If we fix the perimeter play problem, this team will take off. If not, expect similar problems next year that we saw this past season. Hopefully, Dee Dee Jernigan and Tyeasha Moss will help solve this problem, as well as a more seasoned Alesia Barringer and Special Jennings. I felt that Jerri Taylor was under-utilized in the Nebraska game until it was too late.

Next year will be the biggest collection of overall talent that McGuff has had since he's been there, and it's time to start cashing it in. Expectations will be sky-high. McGuff didn't bring in Ta'Shia and Amber to barely make the NCAA's and lose in the 1st round. He brought them in the make a big run in the big dance.

McGuff is now 0-3 all time in the NCAA's since he's been at X, and has struggled just to get his team there all 3 times. My opinion of him so far is that he's an good recruiter and only an average coach. The next 2 seasons will tell me a lot about what kind of coach he is. He can either change my mind or reinforce the opinion I have of him now. We will see very soon.

[Bigbluebrotha]

Snow -

I agree on all points. Sweet 16 should be a primary goal. That's two tournament wins. An easier opponent in the first round and a more challenging one in the second. That's not too much to ask.

I don't want to get into the whole McGuff discussion already, as it's an annual debate on this board. My message continues to be that XU is lucky to have someone of his caliber and plenty of other schools would gladly welcome a young coach who can identify with the athletes he recruits. He's straightforward, accepts the responsibility for the things that go awry. I think people misunderstand that he places a lot of the responsiblity on the players. Sometimes they don't show up, but he'll never say that publicly. He's a solid, stand up young coach. Next year should be the breakout season for him.