21-8 Overall, 12-6 BE

[HoNYaSaxa]

This is my projection, headed into the BET. Time to kick off a projection thread!

[HoyaSinceBirth]

Some where between this:

Jacksonville W
Drexel W
Wichita State W
Tennessee or Siena W
Assuming Mich st or Gonzaga L
American W
Savannah State W
Memphis L
Mt. St. Mary's W
Florida International W
at Connecticut* L
Pittsburgh* L
at Notre Dame* W
Providence* W
Syracuse* W
at Duke L
West Virginia* W
at Seton Hall* W
at Cincinnati* W
at Marquette* L
Rutgers* W
Cincinnati* W
at Syracuse* L
at USF* W
Marquette* W
Louisville* L
at Villanova L
at St. John's W
DePaul* W
20-9 12-6 BE

and this

Jacksonville W
Drexel W
Wichita State W
Tennessee or Siena W
Assuming Mich st or Gonzaga W
American W
Savannah State W
Memphis W
Mt. St. Mary's W
Florida International W
at Connecticut* W
Pittsburgh* W
at Notre Dame* W
Providence* W
Syracuse* W
at Duke W
West Virginia* W
at Seton Hall* W
at Cincinnati* W
at Marquette* W
Rutgers* W
Cincinnati* W
at Syracuse* W
at USF* W
Marquette* W
Louisville* W
at Villanova W
at St. John's W
DePaul* W
29-0 18-0 BE

I'm leaning towards this:

Jacksonville W
Drexel W
Wichita State W
Tennessee or Siena W
Assuming Mich st or Gonzaga L
American W
Savannah State W
Memphis W
Mt. St. Mary's W
Florida International W
at Connecticut* L
Pittsburgh* W
at Notre Dame* W
Providence* W
Syracuse* W
at Duke W
West Virginia* W
at Seton Hall* W
at Cincinnati* W
at Marquette* L
Rutgers* W
Cincinnati* W
at Syracuse* L
at USF* W
Marquette* W
Louisville* L
at Villanova W
at St. John's W
DePaul* W
24-5 14-4 BE

[Hoya TMF]

we are going to beat duke at duke. i hate them.

[lichoya68]

agree with you ny agree with you tough early but then watch out for the youngins yup go hoyas IS IT FEBRUARY HOYA TIME YET WOWOWOOWWOWO

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

I say the following:

Jacksonville W
Drexel W
Wichita State W
Tennessee or Siena L
MD or Ok State W
American W
Savannah State W
Memphis L
Mt. St. Mary's W
Florida International W
at Connecticut* L
Pittsburgh* L
at Notre Dame* L
Providence* W
Syracuse* L
at Duke L
West Virginia* W
at Seton Hall* W
at Cincinnati* W
at Marquette* L
Rutgers* W
Cincinnati* W
at Syracuse* L
at USF* W
Marquette* W
Louisville* L
at Villanova L
at St. John's W
DePaul* W

18-11 overall; 10-8 BE

Obviously, I hope we do better, but I'm going to call a young team a young team until they show something different on the court.

[SirSaxa]

Whoa St. Pete! GU loses 5 of 6 from the start of the BE season?

I can't see that happening.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

can't see us getting swept by cuse either or losing all our big OOC games.

[lichoya68]

for petes sake st. pete have a LITTLE faith in the youngins ok?? go hoyas

[kghoya]

i nailed our regular season record last season

i'll see what i can do this year

[strummer8526]

Jacksonville W
Drexel W
Wichita State W
Tennessee or Siena L
MD or Ok State W
American W
Savannah State W
Memphis L
Mt. St. Mary's W
Florida International W
at Connecticut* L
Pittsburgh* L
at Notre Dame* L
Providence* W
Syracuse* L
at Duke W
West Virginia* W
at Seton Hall* W
at Cincinnati* W
at Marquette* L
Rutgers* W
Cincinnati* W
at Syracuse* L
at USF* W
Marquette* W
Louisville* W
at Villanova L
at St. John's W
DePaul* W

20-9 overall; 11-7 BE

[SFHoya99]

Easier Win 5-0
Jacksonville
Drexel
Savannah State
Mt. St. Mary's
Florida International

Old Spice 2-1
Wichita State
Tennessee or Siena
MD or Ok State

I bunched this together because no matter how it plays out, we're likely going 2-1 or 3-0. I just really can't see us going 1-2 right now.

Strong Favorites 7-1 (6-1)
American
Providence
Rutgers
Cincinnati
DePaul
at USF
at Seton Hall
at St. John's

Close to Pick'em 5-3 (4-3)
Memphis
Syracuse
at Cincinnati
Marquette
Louisville
at Villanova
West Virginia
at Marquette

This might be a bit hopeful, including at Marquette and Louisville at home in a Pick'em category and then also giving us a 5-3 record, but I think the WVU and at Cincy games aren't guaranteed to be that hard and I'm banking on our recent record in close games to help out.

One thing people might be startled to see is Memphis here. Memphis lost a ton from last year -- CDR, Rose and Dorsey. They have good players there still; they got Tyreke Evans. But they aren't nearly as good as last year, folks.

Upsets 2-3 (2-2)
at Connecticut
Pittsburgh
at Notre Dame
at Duke
at Syracuse

Since I was a bit optimistic before, I went a little pessimistic here. I think we steal two, but I'm hedging.

EDIT: I am already having us lose a big upset in the "Strong Favorites" category, so I'm adjusting this...

Overall: 21-8 (12-6)

I actually think we're going to be pretty darn good, but that schedule is brutal. Especially the timing of some of the games. Honestly, some of the people who are pessimistic towards this team should probably have us closer to 9-9 in conference and 17-12 overall.

I expect a run to the BE Finals from there.

[HoNYaSaxa]

SF, my thinking was nearly identical to yours when I started this thread. The only alteration I have to your breakdown is that I don't believe we have a let down against a lesser opponent; rather, I think we go 4-4 in your Pick 'Em series (with an L to Memphis and 3 Ls among Louisville/Marquette/at Marquette/West Virginia/at Villanova).

[SFHoya99]

Sept 24, 2008 10:42:19 GMT -5 HoNYaSaxa said:

SF, my thinking was nearly identical to yours when I started this thread. The only alteration I have to your breakdown is that I don't believe we have a let down against a lesser opponent; rather, I think we go 4-4 in your Pick 'Em series (with an L to Memphis and 3 Ls among Louisville/Marquette/at Marquette/West Virginia/at Villanova).

Yeah, before I went in I thought I was going to get a better record. I'm still not sure I shouldn't have us at 20-9 (11-7).

[jgalt]

I believe younger teams, no matter how talented, are prone to losing easy games and pulling off some big upsets too. I would be surprised if this team drops a game to a team like Providence, but also has a dominating performance against a Uconn or Pitt. The Final Four team wasnt as young, but they still lost to ODU but then had some dominating Big East games later. I am looking for this pattern to develop during this season.

[vamosalaplaya]

Some of you may not have read the OTHER team's previews in some of these college basketball guides that are out now

Let's just say I wish GU played in the Big Ten this year.

Louisville - 4 of 5 starters back, huge recruiting class. Pitt - wiped out GU on the boards twice last year, best guys are back. UConn - ready for a final four run. Notre Dame - everyone back of note. Syracuse - addition by subtraction with Greene, Rautins & Devendorf back . . . . Marquette - okay, new coach - whole backcourt back . . . Villanova, loses only a back up guard from a Sweet 16 team . . . even dogs like Providence have a ton back and fresh coach who has proven he can turn a program fast . .. .

And finally, with the amount of new guys GU has, I doubt very much the team avoids an upset at some point on the road.

I'll be supporting GU as always, but let's say I am with St. Pete - maybe I would go 19-10, 11-7. Hopefully the team closes with momentum and makes a nice run in the tourney similar to Green and Hibbert's sophomore year. But I think things may get testy a few games into the Big East schedule as it starts off very rough after a tough OOC schedule.

[SFHoya99]

Sept 24, 2008 11:16:36 GMT -5 vamosalaplaya said:

Louisville - 4 of 5 starters back, huge recruiting class.

That's true. But honestly, their guard play held them back much of last year (Sosa and McGee struggled) and like us, they are relying on two freshmen at the center position -- Samuels and Jennings, the latter of whom I can't believe is "qualified."

Pitt - wiped out GU on the boards twice last year, best guys are back.

More or less true, until they get into the NCAAs. Not a lot of shooters but not sure they will need it.

UConn - ready for a final four run.

Call me when it happens. I think Price is great, but he is coming off an injury. Thabeet is an excellent defender but the rest of the team is overrated, and they don't really play well together.

A good team, but I fail to see how they are "ready for a Final Four run."

Notre Dame - everyone back of note.

They lose Kurz, who was actually very much their glue guy. We were better than them last year, and I don't see a lot of upside there, except maybe in Tory Jackson if he learns to shoot.

Excuse me I don't really think they are daunting head to head.

Syracuse - addition by subtraction with Greene, Rautins & Devendorf back

Should be good. Don't think they are more talented than us, and I don't think adding Rautins and Devendorf is going to improve a poor defense. Did they do anything last year?

Marquette - okay, new coach - whole backcourt back

An no big men. Mbakwe is transferring out. I love Hayward and the rest, but they have a very exploitable weakness and a history of underperformance.

Villanova, loses only a back up guard from a Sweet 16 team

You could say that. You could also say they return most of their players from a 9-9 BE team. They play us tough, but they also lost to Rutgers last year.

even dogs like Providence have a ton back and fresh coach who has proven he can turn a program fast

I'm all for Keno, but his dad gave him a team with all seniors and ready to win.

I'd look out for Cincy, though.

And finally, with the amount of new guys GU has, I doubt very much the team avoids an upset at some point on the road.

No doubt, but there's a lot of young teams out there.

I'm not in disagreement on the record, but I find we pick at the flaws in our team and ignore those in others.

[jgalt]

Additionally, there are areas where gtown has good experience. The most important place to have experience is in the back court; Jessie has a ton of it. It is possible that his game was stifled because Jon was such a force back there. If he plays the entire year like he did in both WVU games and the ND game last year (show skill at both PG and SG) the loss of Jon may not be as huge as it once seemed (additionally Chris, although inexperienced, has tons of raw skill and will very likely end his career as a better Guard than either Jessie or Jon).

In the front court Dajuan has more experience than his three years would suggest. He grew up a lot in his freshman year and has showed the ability to take over games. However, if he plays like he did last year, often disappearing and hardly looking like a first round draft pick, it could be a long year for the front court play. The other thing he has on his side is that Dajuan will be able to move back to his natural small forward position.

Yes this team is young and will have growing pains. But lets not forget that there is experience in both the Front and back courts; and those experienced players have shown the potential to be game changing stars. The much each find consistancy and as they draw greater attention from defenders, the younger players will be opened up for big plays.

[CaliHoya]

I think we are going to start slowly, especially with this youthful team. I think it's very possible that we go 7-4 out of conference, but am giving us the benefit of the doubt at 8-3. In the Big East, I see growing pains as well with 0-3 out of the box, but then going 11-4 the rest of the way, with big home wins versus Marquette and Louisville, but also an embarrassing loss at Seton Hall due to inconsistency.

Jacksonville W
Drexel W
Wichita State W
Tennessee or Siena L
MD or Ok State W
American W
Savannah State W
Memphis L
Mt. St. Mary's W
Florida International W
at Connecticut* L
Pittsburgh* L
at Notre Dame* L
Providence* W
Syracuse* W
at Duke L
West Virginia* W
at Seton Hall* L
at Cincinnati* W
at Marquette* L
Rutgers* W
Cincinnati* W
at Syracuse* L
at USF* W
Marquette* W
Louisville* W
at Villanova L
at St. John's W
DePaul* W

19-10 overall; 11-7 BE

[SFHoya99]

I really can't see us going 7-4 out of conference. People are writing off Memphis as a fait accompli defeat. Don't see it. Old Spice won't be 1-2 unless we're really bad -- a loss will give us an easier game, most likely, in the next game.

-----------

jgalt, I agree with the general sentiment, but I'd throw out a couple of caveats. I don't think Jessie was being held back; I don't expect a ton of difference in production. He's clutch, he's a glue guy, but he's not going to become a scoring machine.

If we're looking for improvement, it's in Chris and DaJuan and Austin bringing things that weren't brought last year. And Jason and Henry and Julian bringing a stronger bench.

Lastly, I really think Summers is going to be playing PF this year for at least half of his minutes, but we'll see.

[jgalt]

SF, ill give you those caveats (although i am hoping Summers spends less time at PF).
I dont think i was very clear with regards to Jessie. His point production wont go above 10 ppg but his ball handling responsibilities, i think, is where he will get more production. Jon and Jessie split time, for the most part, these past two years as both SG and PG (as you know), so with out Jon, Jessie will have more of a responsibility to distribute well. I dont regard Chris or Austin as good of passers as Jessie (right now at least) and we'll see about Jason.