I think we would have won the ever elusive natty this year were it not for injuries. With sasser, shooting slumps would have been much more rare and if there’s a close game against a Kansas or the Zags we all have seen that Tramon March Magic. This last years roster really was amazing.
I think UH would of match up much better vs Kansas & North Carolina!
What if… CP3 didn’t pull his hammy
What if… Sasser didn’t get a stress fracture/Mark didn’t tear his labrum
This season though
J Walker
T Arceneaux
Sharp
Lofton ???
???
Next year is going to be a lot of fun, let’s soak it up, enjoy it & think about how far we have come as a program
You just never know… Sasser has had his share of poop games. Remember 1-10 against Rutgers?
Right, Butch.
College basketball just doesn’t work that way. You can maybe try to say “we could have been an X seed” with certain players but the tournament is a completely different animal. Two seasons ago we were a missed dunk from going home in the second round. A few years ago we were a pretty flukey final few possessions from advancing to the sweet 16 with a very legitimate path to get to the national title game, but Devin Davis missed 4 FT’s and Jordan Poole hit an unbelievable shot.
Per Kenpom we were the second best rated team in the country. I doubt Sasser and Mark change that.
We lost to Bama and Wisconsin with both players and needed OT to get by Hofstra at home with Sasser. Sasser also has struggled in his career disproportionately against better teams.
Even looking at it from a seeding perspective, with Sasser and Mark maybe we win one or both of @ Memphis and @ SMU to get a 3 or even a 2 seed, but we advanced to where a 2 seed is expected to get in any event.
Lets not forget that Sasser was the only one who came to play vs Baylor during our FF run scoring long 3’s on two perennial NBA players (mitchell & butler) more times than not Sasser delivers. Plus he was playing amazing this season before the stress fracture.
For as much as I have been on the Sasser train since he was a freshman, last year you have to face fact that he went into a prolonged shooting slump during conference. Had some flashes in the run to the Final 4, but with a very shortened season, even though he looked great early, I’m just not on the Sasser inevitable to the NBA hot commodity train just yet.
He needs to have a great full season at UH this upcoming year and then I’m first in line for a ticket.
Go back and look at his game logs against top 100 type teams. He’s had some good games like against Baylor, but there’s a lot to question. Even look at the tourney last year before Baylor, 5-14, 1-9, 5-15, 5-19. In the regular season in two games against Memphis last year he was 7-25. 7-24 in two games against Wichita State, 11-32 in 2 games against SMU, 5-15 against Tech, 4-12 against Boise, etc.
I think it’s been because his height and prior lack of burst really get magnified against better wing defenders so his east west dribbling he used to create space to shoot don’t really work as well. But he hits FTs and shoots a lot of 3’s so his TS% before this year has been not great, but not terrible.
He still impacts the game in positive ways because he plays great D, makes great decisions, and spaces the floor, but if you are talking about winning several games in a row against the best teams in the country he does have a bit to prove.
This year he looked a lot quicker before he got hurt than in years past and his overall numbers were very good (17.7 ppg on 60% TS is excellent), so I’m hopeful he’ll be ready to make a big leap. But even if you look at the better teams we played he didn’t shoot all that well, 4-13 against OK State, 8-25 against Bama, 4-12 against Wisky, 6-14 against UVA.
Showed his shooting splits not just vs certain teams. When the chips are on the line i would welcome Sasser back to lead UH to the promised land. His supporting cast would be the best hes ever had.
He was on his way of being named an ALL American. I guess people expect perfection. To each’s own i guess.
You have to remembered that Coach Sampson has those kids playing hard on the defense of end, too! So his legs may have more wear & tear throughout the season. So when he goes against better teams he’s going against better players and may have to work extra harder on that end
Alot of what ifs in sports Baylor lost Cryer to Tchamwa Tchatchoua to injury. They could’ve gone farther if fully healthy
I remember Iowa St lost Georges Niang to a broken foot. Were certainly Final Four contenders with him
Kendall Marshall fractured his wrist in the NCAA tournament for UNC, in 2012. Carolina doesn’t make the Final Four. They were a title contender that year
With Basketball you hope, for no injuries. But if you do have them, you hope its not a lost season. where you miss the tournament. Where you pile up losses
With Sasser, i think we couldve been a 2 seed, likely a 3 seed. But the NCAA tournament is a coin flip.
Look how well North Carolina was playing for an 8 seed. Imagine if we matched up against them, if we were a 1 seed? Tough matchup.
Nothing is for certain.
If you’re a great team, make a Sweet 16. Your path as a top seed isnt that difficult.
Beyond that point, you’re facing great teams and great coaches. So an off shooting night and you’re going home
i.e. Gonzaga this season
He was on his way to being All-American? As if that’s decided by mid-December? Again see prolonged shooting slump his 2nd year. This notion of laying it at the feet of some who supposedly expect perfection is hyperbole in itself. A sustained consistently good to great showing for the entire season is what makes an All-American. But more great than good. Last year he was very good, not great, up until his injury.
What do you think perennial means?
I think the biggest thing that Sasser and Mark would have helped with is depth. By tournament time our roster was super thin, and once we got to the villanova game, the players were just banged up and gassed. Having Sasser and Mark would have let us keep everyone fresh. I still don’t think we beat KU, though – those dudes looked like juggernauts.
No doubt that they would have made a difference but then again we didn’t lose many games without them.
There are three games that I have little doubt in my mind would have been won with them. That’s the SMU game we should have won any way, the Memphis game at home and Villanova.
Saying that, fans often remember the player who left rather than the journey it took.
Sasser went through a horrible shooting spell right up until he exploded against Baylor. I am not going to entertain the thought that he doesn’t play well against good teams other than it is tougher to get good looks against good defenses.
One other fan favorite who with through tough times for stretch his senior season was Rob Gray. Even to the point he really struggled at the line.
I keep saying it. Losing Sasser & Mark were big losses! We did continue to win but the rest of the conference wasn’t to par in talent even short handed. I accredit to the culture & coaching.
I just think Villanova was the worst matchup for UH once we reached the Elite 8 field because they’re so much like UH in a way!!!
It’s a long time until the season starts and then a long season after that. BUT this could be the year!!!