Do you have a weird feeling this time around?

[EvilMD]

Do you feel like you aren't as "into" next year's team as much as you have been for most of Cal's time here? I had a similar feeling in 2012 when all those guys declared. Like this year, we had the top center coming in. We had Kyle coming back (which seemed awesome at the time). We had Alex, Archie and Willie. But for the second time in the Cal Era I just can't shake this feeling of "meh" when I think about next year. Maybe that's a good thing?

 

[maverick1]

Originally posted by TubbysTabbys:
I just can't shake this feeling of "meh" when I think about next year. Maybe that's a good thing?

Do you really think indifference is a positive emotion?

 

[kydmb99]

Nope, always excited for UK basketball to start.

 

[bigc45157]

I will cheer on any team that UK puts on the floor.

With that said, I'm pretty upset the way this offseason is going. I have no idea how we can not be in a better position with many of these available recruits.

If we just get Mulder, we will not be that great.

 

[bookerfan66]

I think it was the painful way we lost the Wisconsin game,then losing 7 players and recruiting not going well.I think if some big recruits pick us the excitement will go way up.

 

[Pope John Wall II]

I'm still bummed and slightly shellshocked from the FF loss. I'm completely apathetic when it comes to sports right now. I'd imagine I'll get back into the swing of things come BBM. I am NOT looking forward to the constant references to last year that will come next season, though.

 

[hotelblue]

next year could wind up being one of my favorite teams ever. i have literally told this to everyone i talk basketball with verbatim. imo uk has never had players like ulis or briscoe. ask me to break it down and i will. basically a combination of talent and toughness. and we have them together. we return 4 defensive stoppers in poythress, lee, hawkins, ulis, and might have great fire power yet depending on what happens these next several days. every player on our roster at this moment brings good energy. we have a pack of defensive pests. we're going to annoy the hell out of teams with our quickness and tenacity imo. i couldn't imagine a more fun team to watch operate. it's just who will be the final pieces.

to answer your question, no. i like our team right now, and cal will make it better.

 

[maverick1]

What Jason and the Pope said.

 

[funKYcat75]

I feel a little bit like I did about Brandon Knight's team, and that turned out OK.

 

[ukmelanie]

If we miss out on the guys and only get Mulder I just don't expect much next season.Might be a down year by our very high standards but it's expected after losing seven players.

 

[KMKAT]

IMO, we need something special to happen with the remaining 5 to get back the excitement that left us wanting more next year.

This season will continue to hurt until we get back at it.

We won't have a Bahamas trip to get an advanced screening.

We need a something special to happen this spring.

 

[barryn2000]

Fair weather fans

 

[3rex]

Originally posted by ukmelanie:

If we miss out on the guys and only get Mulder I just don't expect much next season.Might be a down year by our very high standards but it's expected after losing seven players.

and what will be worse, potentially, is if we have that down year by our very high standards, AND THEN we lose a pile of guys AGAIN to the nba & have to start all over the next year.

 

[WildcatfaninOhio]

I refuse to allow my level of fandom to be conditional.

I love my girlfriend, even when she's grumpy. I adore my two daughters, even when they make mistakes. And I'll watch every game and cheer for my Wildcats, even if they field a team of Ulis and 4 Walk-ons.

 

[kats23]

Originally posted by JasonSpear:
my meh feeling comes from UK not winning the title and losing 7 guys. Win the title and lose 7... yay. It's all good. Don't win it and lose 7... it's a kick in the nuts. I'm gonna be jaded about it until Madness starts or until at least media day/practice reports kick in.

What this guy says. Most of it for me is, I'm gearing up for football and baseball. I'll start getting excited again when the class is complete and I can kind of know what to expect. I remember being a little "meh" in 2012 but was doing a happy dance when Noel turned around with that shaved UK in his hair. If Diallo says I'm in, cue the happy dance.

 

[TNCatfanforever]

Originally posted by JasonSpear:
my meh feeling comes from UK not winning the title and losing 7 guys. Win the title and lose 7... yay. It's all good. Don't win it and lose 7... it's a kick in the nuts. I'm gonna be jaded about it until Madness starts or until at least media day/practice reports kick in.

Agreed...I am still a little flat....If we could land a couple more big time scorers I would inflate a little.

 

[Poetax]

With what we put up 4 or 5 yrs ago before Cal, I am happy now all the time with UK basketball.

 

[83Cat]

I think my "meh" feeling has to do with the reality of just how hard it is to win a championship even if you have an absolutely outstanding team. 2011 should have taught me that but this past year definitely did. Even though I didn't really buy into the "done deal" hype, i am disappointed that it's over and that we did not win it. You just can't take anything for granted. Who would have thought that the year before we would have gone further than this team?We also could have lost to ND and not made it to the FF. So, I'm glad we did that but will be more mellow next year.

 

[lawrencekash]

I feel weird all around and all year long because I am an old coot but I never ever give up on the Cats.

 

[dckala2]

If anything I agree with the apathy towards sports mood. The bulls and Blackhawks are both poised to make deep runs but I'm not invested at all. Gave to much this past season lol.

 

[Aike]

No. Consider your audience. You are talking to the people who still hang out on college basketball message boards April the 20th. We are a rare breed. Most of us are always "into" it.

 

[jrm693]

Originally posted by Pope John Wall II:
I'm still bummed and slightly shellshocked from the FF loss. I'm completely apathetic when it comes to sports right now. I'd imagine I'll get back into the swing of things come BBM. I am NOT looking forward to the constant references to last year that will come next season, though.

But you are like a lot of the rest of us still on Catspause looking for a nugget, face it we are hooked and only dying will stop it.

 

[cal=8]

First off.. we don't need 9 MD All Americans to have a great team.. College basketball will be very down next year. I think we'll be very good by next spring, then who knows.. I'm actually pretty stoked.. we get Diallo andMulder and we'll be in the hunt..

 

[TexKat]

Originally posted by JasonSpear:
my meh feeling comes from UK not winning the title and losing 7 guys. Win the title and lose 7... yay. It's all good. Don't win it and lose 7... it's a kick in the nuts. I'm gonna be jaded about it until Madness starts or until at least media day/practice reports kick in.

This is it in a nutshell for me as well. Is what it is but......

 

[Pope John Wall II]

Originally posted by jrm693:

Originally posted by Pope John Wall II:
I'm still bummed and slightly shellshocked from the FF loss. I'm completely apathetic when it comes to sports right now. I'd imagine I'll get back into the swing of things come BBM. I am NOT looking forward to the constant references to last year that will come next season, though.

But you are like a lot of the rest of us still on Catspause looking for a nugget, face it we are hooked and only dying will stop it.

Good point. I guess it's just fraternizing with UK brothers in misery.

 

[preacherfan]

Originally posted by cal=8:

First off.. we don't need 9 MD All Americans to have a great team.. College basketball will be very down next year. I think we'll be very good by next spring, then who knows.. I'm actually pretty stoked.. we get Diallo andMulder and we'll be in the hunt..

Duke had a limited bench but they put some GREAT players on the floor. They also got some friendly officiating and an easy path. But, they were good enough to contend even without the breaks.

 

[dmpatp]

spoiled rotten.

 

[rabidcatfan]

Nope, always excited to start a new season. Plus, I think people are REALLY underselling what the group we have as of right now are capable of. They may not be a National Championship team, but they are fully capable of winning 25+ games and getting to a Sweet Sixteen or even an Elite Eight.

 

[kyisinmyblood]

I've got a weird feeling that a lot of people are going to be eating crow next year. If we just sign Mulder and finished the class there we would be a top 10 team and arguably a top 5 team.

One thing is absolutely different from 12-13 and thats PG play .. Harrow was the worst pg cal has had in a long time. We will have arguably 2 of the best 5 pgs in the country next year. If you take a look at the past NC winners you'll notice a common theme. Great PG play. The ball will be in the hands of either Ulis or Briscoe the entire year. I for one am excited about next year and watching our PGs control games.

We have lost being the odds on favorite twice since cal has been here and that sucks. At the same time we have been oh so close to winning a couple when we weren't on anyone's radar. Cal will give us a title when its not "our year". Is it this upcoming year, or the year after that? IDK but one thing is certain, Cal has been to 5 of the last 6 elite eights and 4 of the last 5 final fours. I don't see any of that changing as long as cal as here.

I remember going on over a decade long drought of not making the final four, begging and praying that we would somehow make it there. Now were playing until April every year.

 

[BleedBlueCats21]

I was in a pretty bad funk for a while. Immediately unfollowed all national sports accounts on twitter, avoided ESPN and other sports on TV. No sports radio. The draft announcements made it even worse. Seeing/hearing all the autograph tour announcements for the guys leaving...

But I have since forced myself to be more optimistic. It's a coping mechanism I guess. I think we will get Mulder, Diallo, and possibly another guard/wing, and that leaves me feeling pretty good about next year's roster. We know Hawkins can be solid in big game situations (defensively, anyway). I'm cautiously optimistic that Willis can give us some offense when called upon, but that of course remains to be seen. Ulis/Briscoe combo should be a lot of fun.

Most importantly, college basketball looks to be extremely watered down next year. It should be wide open, and Cal has proven he can get a team ready for March/April. We have come so close a few times and caught some bad breaks. I think we are due*. Cheer up, Wildcat Friends.

*Having said that, Skal will be inelligible, we won't sign any additional recruits, and Cal will go to the NBA.

 

[catlogic15]

Originally posted by Pope John Wall II:
I'm still bummed and slightly shellshocked from the FF loss. I'm completely apathetic when it comes to sports right now. I'd imagine I'll get back into the swing of things come BBM. I am NOT looking forward to the constant references to last year that will come next season, though.

Pretty much how I feel. Interested now in what's going on but somewhat desensitized to it all.

Right now I don't see myself overly excited until selection Sunday next year.

 

[EvilMD]

Don't get me wrong. I love all the kids who are coming back. I like the kids we have coming in. I'm totally in Cal's corner and I still love the Wildcats. But there was so much overkill this past season. I mean every other story on ESPN was about us and how to beat us, it seemed. Now most of that team is gone and I just don't have that "I can't wait until October" feeling that I've had almost every other year. I need detox. I hope we get Diallo and a couple other kids. But more than anything I hope we come in under the radar for once.

 

[Chuckinden]

I'm still pissed about losing. Not so much the loss, but how we lost. Almost like we didn't give ourselves a chance to win.

I'll still be excited to see how this next group does, but I will never get as excited as I was this past year. One, because we probably will never see as many talented, elite athletes on one team again....anywhere. Two, if we did put together another talented squad like that again, we still might win it all. Three straight shot clock violations at the end of the game and have the tallest team in the world (short of the Trailblazers) and still get out bounded.

 

[DORTONCAT]

Originally posted by bookerfan66:

I think it was the painful way we lost the Wisconsin game,then losing 7 players and recruiting not going well.I think if some big recruits pick us the excitement will go way up.

I agree. The build-up going into this years NCAA Final Four and to lose the way we did, jus deflated me. Best and most talented team in College Basketball and to have the lead late in the game, then lose was so awful. Now losing 7 players really is almost too much to handle.

 

[ORCAT]

Originally posted by maverick1:
What Jason and the Pope said.

Same here.

 

[kycat1996]

Yep. So disappointed from the Final Four loss. People can say "spoiled" and all that, but to come so close to having one of the greatest teams of all-time to ending up with a team that won't even be in the conversation without the National Title is a bummer. And it was also a bummer to have Duke win after it had been our year.

Just hurting a bit and can't get excited about next year yet. I'll get there, just not yet.

 

[mkasten25]

Do you really think indifference is a positive emotion?

For me it is. I went over the top this year with expectations and let it affect my day to day. Just knowing we have a competitive team is enough. I will get amped up for the UL, Duke and NCAA. I will watch every game but I won't do crazy irrational things.

 

[SilentsAreGolden]

It's just because the roster isn't done yet, but it does seem to be a different crop of guys. Plus the season is over. Should be all better come October.

 

[AGEE11]

I am still in to everything UK, but I am also in the blah mode for sports in general. I don't think I have watched ESPN or any sports since then. Keep up with the Cats in NBA by box scores but that's it. Opening day of baseball, the Masters, NBA playoffs, all are just blah.

Still loving life, but sports really have took a back seat more than ever for me.

That being said, I know my sports excitement will be back as soon as practices start next year.

Aslo I agree with what someone said above. People will eat a lot of crow next year about this team, even if we only get Mulder.

Once we beat Duke (just got a lot harder today) early and keep winning, people will get back in to it.