FanPost

TVP's Omnibus Men's Basketball Post

Grant Halverson

This ended up being too long to leave as a comment in the game thread. And yes, everyone else here could write something this long too, but I've been around since the Section Six days and started the POAPS series. I'm entitled to some indulgences, dammit.

1. First, a hearty Fuck You to CBS for (a) showing the GTown game in NoVa instead of our game (b) not streaming our game online and (c) making the game so inaccessible that even the bars around here weren't carrying it. What you'd expect from an organization that employs Seth Davis, Gary Parrish, and Jeff Goodman.



2. Somehow this one hurt worse than the other losses. I think it was the getting up of the hopes unexpectedly followed by the crushing of said hopes in brutal fashion.



3. To a large extent these losses are bad luck that is likely to even out over the course of the season.



4. The schedule post-Duke is favorable. Wouldn't surprise me to see this team go 7-2 over the back half (see point 3).



4a. And I actually think we can win at Duke if Zo is back. Remember the earlier Duke game this year, remember the game in Cameron last year.



5. wolfonthehill has been saying that this is a perfectly constructed team. I disagreed, because a perfectly constructed team would have a quality backup guard and a quality backup big man. Put differently, a perfectly constructed team would be one where Vandy and Lewis were quality contributors. Well, if the upshot of this loss is that Lewis becomes that guy, then this game is almost worth it (no hope for Vandy obviously).



5a. I blame Gott for very little of what's happened, but if he doesn't give Lewis 10-20 minutes a game going forward, it will be a huge mistake and all on him.



6. Make a run in March and no one remembers this game. Still can finish top 4 in ACC and if so, I like our chances of winning in Greensboro. Pull for UNC and UVA to lose from here on out (though you'd probably be doing that anyway).



7. It's therapeutic to remember where we were less than 2 years ago. Without exaggeration, the laughing stock of college basketball. 5 straight years of utter failure. Hiring a coach who garnered reactions ranging from "LOL seriously?" to "SMH" to "Who?" Just a week ago we dstroyed UNC in front of a sellout crowd. It's going to be OK.



8. In conclusion, #Teamlordgodjesus (yes, one of our recruits actually used this hashtg on twitter).