Preseason expectations

[joeydavid]

This time last year the consensus for playing time was something like this-

1. N'dir backed up by X
2. Ellison backed up by Trey
3. Frame backed up by Toney/Davis
4. Stevenson backed up by George
5. Brown backed up by Chewy

The roster going into this season is better at every position and I don't think it's even close.

 

[Tonyt66]

This time last year the consensus for playing time was something like this-

1. N'dir backed up by X
2. Ellison backed up by Trey
3. Frame backed up by Toney/Davis
4. Stevenson backed up by George
5. Brown backed up by Chewy

The roster going into this season is better at every position and I don't think it's even close.

I don't think George was ever ahead of anyone other than the walk ons

 

[VincePITT]

19-14 or better depending on how well Xavier, Trey and Toney shoot!

 

[DiehardPanther]

A winning record and a good recruiting class. Something along the lines of 18-16, and around 10-12th in the ACC. That would show progress, and hopefully lead to the NCAA the following year.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

A winning record and a good recruiting class. Something along the lines of 18-16, and around 10-12th in the ACC. That would show progress, and hopefully lead to the NCAA the following year.

An 18-16 record after the ACC Tourney would probably mean an NIT bid and a shot at 20 to 20+ wins when all is done.

 

[Tonyt66]

Like I said before call me crazy but I think they take a jump up to 20+ wins with atleast 10 wins in the ACC reg season with a NCAA bid being a 8 to 10 seed.

 

[PittMed]

This time last year the consensus for playing time was something like this-

1. N'dir backed up by X
2. Ellison backed up by Trey
3. Frame backed up by Toney/Davis
4. Stevenson backed up by George
5. Brown backed up by Chewy

The roster going into this season is better at every position and I don't think it's even close.

Every year we are too optimistic on the team so caution is important in making predictions without seeing the panthers play. EVERYONE is expecting X and Trey (and Toney) to make leaps forward. I don't expect much more this year than they performed last; incremental improvement - not giant leaps.

I think Brown will be a non-factor this year. He will play well in a few games.

However, like last year, I see our freshman/transfers to excel and surprise. I think we are underestimating their talent. We have 3 new players who can bang the boards and give us offensive rebounds, put backs, and defense. We did not have that last year.

I think 50:50 record would be outstanding in the ACC. We will lose some that we should not lose. We will be competitive in all.

Maybe the NIT and approaching the bubble. The non-conference slate will really decide how we enter the ACC games. It would be nice to get off to a quick start.

All IMHO

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Every year we are too optimistic on the team so caution is important in making predictions without seeing the panthers play.

There were people who picked 0 or 1 conference wins last year. If that's too optimistic should they have picked a negative number?

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Like I said before call me crazy but I think they take a jump up to 20+ wins with atleast 10 wins in the ACC reg season with a NCAA bid being a 8 to 10 seed.

I believe a possible scenario could be 9-2 OOC + 8-12 ACC + 1-1 ACCT = 18-15 + 2-1 NIT = 20-16

 

[Tonyt66]

I believe a possible scenario could be 9-2 OOC + 8-12 ACC + 1-1 ACCT = 18-15 + 2-1 NIT = 20-16

I can see your scenario but I'm going a little bit more optimistic about what they can do as my private post stated. I'm not going to break it down like you did but like I said 20 + wins and 10 wins in conference and a NCAA bid. I'm just looking at the cup half-full instead of half-empty I always push up never down

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Expectations:

6-14
9-2 in the non-con

We still don't have a viable post presence.

I will still hope for an NIT bid. I think that is a possibility

 

[GoneFisching]

I love that some of you are that optimistic, but if this team goes near .500 in the ACC with these players and this lack of experience, then this coaching staff is clearly the #1 coaching staff in the country and the questionable recruiting will take care of itself.

I just don’t see it.

 

[Tonyt66]

I just don't think the ACC is as strong outside of the top 2 maybe 3 teams that's all I'm saying. So I think we have a real chance at 10 conf. Wins

 

[CougarClaws]

I just don't think the ACC is as strong outside of the top 2 maybe 3 teams that's all I'm saying. So I think we have a real chance at 10 conf. Wins

It does seem like a down year is coming for ACC basketball. Your prediction is close to my best case scenario for the season though. But I think there's a chance...

With that said I'm thinking a 16 or 17 win regular season is likely.

 

[Chescat]

Most are very optimistic on here. Personally I also feel we'll do better this
coming season. How much better? I don't see us at 500 in ACC games, and
hope I'm wrong. Last year I predicted two ACC wins. I also feel the season
was a success given our recent history and what Capel had as players.

I like our recruiting this year, it's better IMO. However what I find on here is we
tend to raise our expectations of them as we read about them. The reality is,
no matter how much we like them....we are still near the bottom of the ACC
with these recruits. Yes, we probably out recruited WF, BC, and GT. The
other teams didn't exactly stand still. They have as good and better with
their recruits this year. They also bring back experienced players and they
also lose some (just as we do). In this thread, my post appears negative. It's
not meant to be negative, just realistic as I see things.
We still have a glaring weakness inside IMO. We're better, but still weak.
Remember, even the Niagara's, and the Duquesne's killed us inside last
year.
Xavier is a given IMO. How much are Trey and Toney going to improve?
Is Brown suddenly going to find that motor? How much of an impact will
Hamilton be? The frosh?...are they as good as recent posts on here suggest.
What I do feel sure of is Capel. He will IMO get these guys playing to and
above their potential. Last year I thought we over achieved. Capel can do
that again....but to what extent??
I see maybe 7 wins in ACC and 17 wins overall. That's a jump from last year,
and will IMO lead to better recruiting in 2020. Just my two cents.

 

[lilspainishflea]

The ACC is significantly worse this year. None of Duke, UNC, and especially UVA are auto-losses this year like they have been in recent seasons. 1-3 in these games wouldn't surprise me. I'll call it now that we beat UVA at home.

Two teams we lost to - Clemson and Virginia Tech - are significantly worse and we could be favorites in those games. I say we win both.

BC is probably a little worse and we have them at home. I'll call a W here.

Georgia Tech is slightly better but we won't miss 30 foul shots again. Let's say we split these two.

Notre Dame, Wake, and Miami are probably pushes. I'll say 3-1 here.

That's 8 wins right there and only 2 are remotely stretching the imagination. I'd really like to see us get to 8 conference wins. Fewer than 6 would be massively disappointing.

 

[wbrpanther]

I believe a possible scenario could be 9-2 OOC + 8-12 ACC + 1-1 ACCT = 18-15 + 2-1 NIT = 20-16

Pretty sound prediction. Pretty close to how I see it.

 

[Tonyt66]

Hey we may not agree on total wins in and out of conf. but that's ok because what we do agree on Is Pitt should do a lot better this year and IMO I think ACC may be down alittle as we are getting better.

 

[Chescat]

Hey we may not agree on total wins in and out of conf. but that's ok because what we do agree on Is Pitt should do a lot better this year and IMO I think ACC may be down alittle as we are getting better.

We're all just speculating at this point, but I like your idea that the "ACC may be down
a little as we are getting better."
Va tech is almost starting over again after Buzz's departure; Clemson looks worse;
WF with Manning is a huge question mark. Hopefully those are the teams that we
should pass this year. The others, some who are down...still have talent
comparable to, or as good as ours.. We could beat some of them, but they still have
decent players.
Anyway, I like where we are at the present time especially with Capel leading the way.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

We're all just speculating at this point, but I like your idea that the "ACC may be down
a little as we are getting better."
Va tech is almost starting over again after Buzz's departure; Clemson looks worse;
WF with Manning is a huge question mark. Hopefully those are the teams that we
should pass this year. The others, some who are down...still have talent
comparable to, or as good as ours.. We could beat some of them, but they still have
decent players.
Anyway, I like where we are at the present time especially with Capel leading the way.

Agree--I believe the ACC may be down some this year compared to last. In addition, I believe our home vs away ACC schedule split is more favorable to us this season vs last season. Both factors should help and then consider that--

1. Increased overall quality depth should allow us to press effectively more often and for longer periods.
2. Brown + Hamilton + Coulibaly should be a front court upgrade over Brown + Chukwuka.

Offsetting these advantages on the down side is that we need to play 2 more ACC games (20 vs 18) and 2 fewer OOC cupcakes (11 vs 13).