Is this year's team better than last year's team?

[Tugg Speedman]

Everyone thought/assumed this would be a down year.  After all we lost something like 80% of the minutes and scoring from last year.

But, could it actually be an up year?  Consider:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rpi/_/year/2014/teamId/269


                             Overall Record     Conf. Record     RPI      BPI
All Of Last Year               17-15                9-9            90       71
So Far This Year              10-6                 2-2            93       72

The numbers above essentially say we are exactly in the same position this year versus all of last year.

Are you surprised?  If so, does this mean Wojo is doing better than we thought?



Thoughts?

[tower912]

'Better'.   Can be a very subjective term.   Better compared to expectations.

[Pakuni]

No, but the fact that it's a completely valid question indicates just how badly last year's team underperformed.

[MuMark]

No

[MU gimp ONE]

Better talent: No
Better team: Yes

Last year was not a team, they were a rudderless ship.  A bunch of individuals on the floor with no leadership.  This year by definition of what a team is, is better.  Because this year, they play together and they play hard.

[willie warrior]

Better talent: No
Better team: Yes

Last year was not a team, they were a rudderless ship.  A bunch of individuals on the floor with no leadership.  This year by definition of what a team is, is better.  Because this year, they play together and they play hard.

Looks about the same by the numbers. We are improved in one area: We are less a phony down home lonesome cowboy coach.

[bilsu]

This team might not win a Big East road game, so there is no way it is better than last year's.

[MU82]

Neither team is/was especially good.

Last year's team was far more frustrating because of the high expectations due to the frontcourt talent we theoretically had and the highly ranked recruiting class.

This year's team has just about the record I expected now, give or take a win or loss.

[4everwarriors]

Better coach, better overall program this season. Nothin' but wood goin' forward, hey?

[bilsu]

Better coach, better overall program this season. Nothin' but wood goin' forward, hey?

The question I was asking myself last night at halftime was "Did Buzz ever have a team that did not shoot a free throw in the first half? It is hard to quantify who is the better coach. In the beginning I did not think Wojo knew how to coach defense. Now, I think he is a very good defensive coach, but I am wondering if he can coach offense. Buzz insistence on paint touches at times was limiting last year's team, but his teams generally got foul a lot. Of course Gardner was much more likely to get fouled than Fischer is.

[Lennys Tap]

Guards are better this year. Duane > Jake, Derrick > 2014 Derrick, Carlino = Mayo, JJJ > 2014 JJJ

Frontcourt not as good. Fisch/Taylor < Oxtule, Juan < Jamil, Sandy = 2014 Juan.

Overall, about the same. But since it's a guards game I'd say this year's team is a little better.

Had Buzz stayed we would have lost Carlino and probably Steve and JJJ while adding Pierce, Hill, Shayock and Mayo. Best guess is that team would have been 12-4, 3-1 at this stage. But (and it's a big but) no Henry on the way.

[Tugg Speedman]

Guards are better this year. Duane > Jake, Derrick > 2014 Derrick, Carlino = Mayo, JJJ > 2014 JJJ

Frontcourt not as good. Fisch/Taylor < Oxtule, Juan < Jamil, Sandy = 2014 Juan.

Overall, about the same. But since it's a guards game I'd say this year's team is a little better.

Had Buzz stayed we would have lost Carlino and probably Steve and JJJ while adding Pierce, Hill, Shayock and Mayo. Best guess is that team would have been 12-4, 3-1 at this stage. But (and it's a big but) no Henry on the way.

So we would have won Depaul, and what else?

Mayo gone either way.  

Burton would have started every game and stayed and struggled mightily.

10-7, 1-3 had Buzz stayed.  No Henry ... How about Diamond?

[mileskishnish72]

We won't ses a BE record of 9-9 this year.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The coaching is better this year considering the talent

[Lennys Tap]

So we would have won Depaul, and what else?

Mayo gone either way.  

Burton would have started every game and stayed and struggled mightily.

10-7, 1-3 had Buzz stayed.  No Henry ... How about Diamond?

Whoops, forgot we would have had Burton, too. So at least 12-4, 3-1. Burton may have struggled a bit early but with Fischer he would have thrived.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

The coaching is better this year considering the talent

The entire atmosphere is better this year. I had no idea what it was at the time (maybe I still don't), but you had the feeling last year that there was something not right.

[PGsHeroes32]

So we would have won Depaul, and what else?

Mayo gone either way.  

Burton would have started every game and stayed and struggled mightily.

10-7, 1-3 had Buzz stayed.  No Henry ... How about Diamond?

First it would be 9-7 and second no way would we be 1-3 in conference with that proposed team lol. Still 2-2 at the very least and probably 3-1 maybe even 4-0 as we barely lost to Gtown as well.

I prefer this team we have now though because we are building towards something great. This is just part of the process.

[brewcity77]

This year's team certainly plays like more of a team than last year's did. I would lean towards this year being better for a few reasons. First, better guard play. I'd take this year's Derrick, Carlino, and Duane over last year's Derrick, Mayo, and Jake any day of the week. Frontcourt wise, Davante, Otule, and Jamil would definitely edge out Fischer, Taylor, and Juan, though it's probably closer than we might think. I loved our twin towers (though it was more like a tower and a mountain), but Juan has filled the gap left by Jamil very ably.

For me, though, the main difference is the feeling of this year's team. While last year's team constantly felt like frustration and missed opportunities, this year's team feels like optimism. I'm a much bigger fan of being pleasantly surprised than expectant and disappointed.

[VegasWarrior77]

Paint Touches ‏@PaintTouches  2 hours ago
Looking at KenPom, #mubb has the best defense (95.6 D Efficiency) and worst offense (95.6 O Efficiency) in Big East play.

[Texas Western]

Any team with Derrick Wilson running the floor 30 plus minutes is going to struggle to break .500. So I would say under the least common denominator theory the teams are about the same.

[mu03eng]

Any team with Derrick Wilson running the floor 30 plus minutes is going to struggle to break .500. So I would say under the least common denominator theory the teams are about the same.

You do realize this years team is 10-6 with Derrick playing 30.8 minutes a game, yes?  Steve Taylor's absence from a depth perspective is far more significant to this years team.

Last year's team is a different argument, a Derrick argument makes more sense there.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Any team with Derrick Wilson running the floor 30 plus minutes is going to struggle to break .500. So I would say under the least common denominator theory the teams are about the same.

Any team with only 8 players is going to struggle to break .500.

This year's team has some challenges and holes. Derrick Wilson is not high on the list (right now).

[Loose Cannon]

Too early, but I'm leaning to better just because of Derrick offense improvement.

[LON]

You do realize this years team is 10-6 with Derrick playing 30.8 minutes a game, yes?  Steve Taylor's absence from a depth perspective is far more significant to this years team.

Last year's team is a different argument, a Derrick argument makes more sense there.

Yeah, but looking at it logically would rob us of these scorching hot taeks.

[keefe]

Nothin' but wood goin' forward, hey?

I flew A 10's with a guy named Wood. Call Sign: Sportin'