SJ Success (Yes I'm alive)

[SJHooper]

Haven't been on here nearly as much, but I don't want to appear to be that negative fan who only shows up when the team is bad to complain. This year's team has totally shocked me. If you would have told me we would be on the verge of top 15 after losing ADR and Thomas I would think you were nuts. We are about to crack top 15 right now with a small team and barely any front court. Can you imagine what we could be with Thomas and ADR added in the mix? Oh well.

One thing I'm glad to see is that sometimes there is addition by subtraction. Getting rid of Sampson is the best thing this team could have had happened. I love the kid and he had some great games, but he was very raw and hogged the ball often clanking lots of shots. When he left for the NBA the rest of the conference and nation wrote us off. Now we are the clear #2 and sneaking up on Nova day by day. I still think we are way overdue for a Nova win, so I expect at least 1 this year. A resume of beating Nova, Cuse, Minnesota, St. Mary's, Long Beach St., etc. is rock solid. We have done so well thus far that we just need 1 more signature win (most likely Duke or Nova) to reserve our spot in the tourney (assuming we do decent in the conference play).

This is the kind of year I've been dreaming about. I knew the talent was there, but the team really has shown growth this year. They are consistent winners for the first time since I've been a fan of this program. In years past we would beat a team like Cuse then lose to some mid major. Now, we beat good teams, then keep focus and blow out bad teams. If we can somehow knock off Duke, it would just be the icing on the cake. I'm glad for the team, glad for the program, and glad that my Johnnies can finally pull some weight to help the conference.

[robinreed]

Good for you Hooper.
It is natural to be depressed when a program is usually bad. Imagine how DePaul people must feel. I'm glad you (SJU) are back and near the top. The BE needs strong teams in our 3 major cities Chicago, NYC and Philly. It is very important to our TV viewership and tourney attendance.

[stever20]

Hooper just had to jinx them didn't he?