04-05 Year in Review

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Well it was a tough year for the Rabbits.  Thankfully, the boys finished off strong and went out on a good note with a win over the helpless Bison.

Low Points:
Losses to SWMS, Morningside at home

High Points:
Playing Manhattan, Marquette (and playing them well), beating NDSU twice, win over Middle Tenn. St.

Key players returning:
We have everyone coming back.  Holdren was an animal as a true freshman and will continue to get better.  Green really came on well at the end of the year, especially with rebounding and defense.  Beran played well all year long.  Loney really fell off toward the end of the year but is a hard worker so should come back next year and fill his role.  The jury is still out on Klienjan.  If he can stay healthy he should be able to provide a scoring spark off the bench.  Casey's minutes never really went up as the season progressed.  I think this was a good year of experience for him though.  With Gilbert and Cadwell in the backcourt, we'll no doubt instantly improve.  Can't wait to watch them play.  We have to just wait and see about next year’s freshman class, we need some depth at the 4 and 5 spots for sure (if the two big guys redshirt).  I like what we have thus far though.

Key players lost:
None

Prediction for next year:
.500 or better record, realistically.  This year, we learned to crawl, next year we learn to walk.  In our third year of the DI transition, we run.

[Texas_Jacks_Fan]

Re: 04-05 Year in Review

I think thats a pretty good review, I'll add a couple of thoughts. The lowpoint was the loss to SW Minnesota (I think SDSUFAN referred to it as our Pearl Harbor) I couldnt be more excited about next year, we will be A LOT better with the new players, and the added maturity of Green, Holdren, Beran, and Loney. Gilbert and Cadwell will make it fun to watch SDSU play again. Casey I think will become a solid player in the coming couple of years. I don't think Kleinjan will ever be a star, but will be a consistant contributor on a good team. Next year we could go .500 with some luck-remember we have all D1 games with a couple of exceptions. I think a 12-15 win season is likely. The following year is when I expect this team to be very good!!

[jackmd]

Re: 04-05 Year in Review

Briefly, not as optomistic about next year as you guys. To finish .500 would be unbelievable and I don't expect that. I'm looking more for no losses outside of DI and 7 or 8 wins at best. All I'm asking for is a competative team that plays hard every night. We didn't have that night in and night out this year.

[twism]

Re: 04-05 Year in Review

I'm sure this has been talked about before. I know most of the teams we play next year will be D1. So what does the schedule look like for next year? Sorry if this has been posted somewhere else.

[Texas_Jacks_Fan]

Re: 04-05 Year in Review

There is a schedule thread at the top of page 2, It lists the known games so far

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Re: 04-05 Year in Review

here's a link to the thread...

http://diaafootball.com/cgi-bin/yabb...num=1108055926

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: 04-05 Year in Review

I'm stating the obvious here, but better guard play will do wonders for everyone on this team.

Holdren's scoring will benefit greatly from not having to do as much ball handling and getting the ball in a better position to score. I see him averaging closer to 16 ppg next year with some better guard play, more consistency on his part, and more maturity.

Also, with better guard play comes better outside shooting (hopefully) which in turn opens up the lane for the horses. The Marquette game showed me that our post players are as good, skill-wise, as most solid D1 programs. We may not have the size of a Syracuse or Duke, but who does. Getting some open looks to the post has always been a big key for Nagy's teams and he needs good guards to achieve that.

I'm really bummed about Loney's decline in the last couple of games. I would guess that it had more to do with general fatigue than lack of effort. He was the hardest working guy on the floor in the two games I saw him play. I imagine the college schedule and travel drained him. It's one of the hardest adjustments to make from high school to college.

I think if we get 10 wins next year with basically a full D1 schedule, we'll be doing pretty well. Who knows, though. Just some of my thoughts.

[filbert]

Re: 04-05 Year in Review

I think .500 is a reasonable goal to set for a successful season.

Winning all the home games should be a primary goal, especially given a recurring issue over the years, where it seems that Nagy's teams tend to get "up" more for road games than for home games. We really need to defend the home court . . . not just the players, but the fans need to really turn out and support the team next year.

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Re: 04-05 Year in Review

It seems to me that we played pretty well against most of the D1 teams this year. I think we'd be selling ourselves short if we expect less than .500 against those teams.

[SDSUFAN]

Re: 04-05 Year in Review

I first met Coach Scott Nagy at a alumni gathering at Thompkins Alumni center I believe in 1989. He was with Coach Jim Thorson.  I was impressed with him then and after this season, I am more impressed than ever as Coach never gives up and takes responsibilty for the bad and plays down the praise for the good. We have had some very good men's BB coaches at SDSU, but Coach Nagy is by far the best.

When you dont have leadership on the court, the team as whole never plays up to its potential and so often that happened this year.  I think the fact that towards the end, Coach Nagy and staff were able to make Beran and Green see themselves as the leaders and not just second season true freshman, we began to play better basketball. The building of leaders is what I believe Coach Nagy is very capable in doing.  At the same token his leadership training requires thinking in terms of team. Not selfish gamemanship but truely teamwork.

I think now that we have some experienced leadership next season will without a doubt go much better. Also with a more interesting schedule, the attendence will improve as well.