So far (knock on wood) we have not lost anybody on the team that we need in order to continue improving our success. On top of that we gained another year of Sheppard which is obviously a major advantage for us. All of the transfers included players who hardly played or in Jone's case had other issues that the team does not need. Most of the transfers left mid season when things were not going well. I don't count Obouh-Fegue in this because she graduated, but everyone else we really didn't lose much of anything. I really hope Ennis gets on a team where she gets playing time because that kid deserves it. I have nothing against her wanting to be able to play. Basically she just got recruited over and would just be a deep bench player for us, so I totally understand her decision. This shows that the players are buying into the program which is also progress from the past. I think with success that trust is developing further with Kenny and the coaching staff. They see what they are capable of now and expect that, which is a major difference from the past.

Considering what we lost last year and then still came in and changed it around to get to the NCAA Tournament, I think there was a culture shift mid year. That is probably what happened after multiple players left and gave up on the team. I think that lit a fire under them and also strengthened the chemistry. We thought we couldn't be successful with everything we lost in the previous year (Cole, Rivers, Mabrey, Baptiste) and once we gained some chemistry and realized we were still talented everything changed. It is hard to get kids to trust the process in today's basketball world. I think the players on this team have done that. Plus having that bad start this past season should be motivation for next season. However we can't let up. That is one problem that we do have to fix or we will lose to teams we shouldn't and it could cost us again. That is my one concern right now.
[Post edited by Hokster at 04/19/2021 5:05PM]