VUGrad1314 wrote:Everyone has injuries I know but I think if Fazekas hadn't missed the first third of conference season and if Javon hadn't contracted Mono late in the year we would have avoided Thursday last year. We were a missed buzzer beater 3 against Drake and\or a little bit better execution against Loyola down the stretch away from doing so even in spite of all of that. I even believe that with a healthy Fazekas we would have beaten UNI in Cedar Falls. None of it matters because last year is last year but I say all of that to say this: would i be shocked if you're right? Absolutely not. We've never avoided Thursday before and we've lost a lot so it's very possible we'll be in that position again. HOWEVER, would I be surprised if I'm right? No. We still have plenty of talent even without JFL and we are gaining a lot this year as well. I have us rigth now with 4 as our absolute high and somewhere in the Thursday range (probably no lower than 8th though I suppose 9th is possible) as our low. I am very interested to see how the team responds this year. I hope that each player takes picking up the slack to fill JFL's shoes as a personal challenge that they long to fulfill. With a coach like Lottich at the helm who oozes competitiveness I think they will do just that. That's why I believe that they'll be better than you think.
You are gaining three high school guys and a JUCO recruit. That's similar to what every other team is adding and they didn't lose a guy like JFL.