Posted by socal on 11/4/2009, 10:17 am, in reply to "Re: Practice Times"
i remember that season fondly (as most of us do). especially since it was my freshman year.
that team was a great example of resiliance. that being said, having nodilo, cantrell, and zimmerman for the entire season could have let to some different outcomes. it's not something that has been dwelled on much, because it was our first trip to the dance in 16 years and what many thought would be a sustained run of success under mathews.
the team we had at the beginning of practice in october 1997 probably would have beat st louis, purdue, indiana, and gone about 11-3 in conference. aside from the fun and memories, what difference would it have made? a 9-12 seed rather than a 14 seed, meaning a different opponent than national runner-up utah in the first round, meaning a quality shot at a win or two in the big dance. many remember that we were down by less than ten midway through the second half, against a team with andre miller, michael doleac, hano motola, and about 10 other guys who were taller and better shooters than anybody on our team.
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