Thanks for letting everyone hear the real view from thr locker room. No Baylor player will ever let me down

— SheilaG/BU (@SheilaGChewning) March 20, 2023

Keyonte George walked off the court with @Coach_AB3 tonight. I asked him about that moment.

"He recruited me since I was like 12. Not a lot of players can have a relationship like that with an assistant coach." pic.twitter.com/G2fxg0uhBE

— Darby Brown (@darbyjobrown) March 20, 2023

Scott Drew on what he'll remember about this group.

"Really a good group of guys. They like one another. They're good role models...It was always a joy going to practice every single day." pic.twitter.com/vYmhy21AOx

— Darby Brown (@darbyjobrown) March 20, 2023

No one should ever question the character of these guys. This team was full of good kids.

Unfortunately, it just never came together as a championship level unit, and it's been pretty clear that that it wouldn't since the Marquette game.

This year was a return to the pre-2020 level Baylor teams. Not bad by any stretch, just not elite. We went as far as we deserved to this year.

bear2be2 said:

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No one should ever question the character of these guys. This team was full of good kids.

Unfortunately, it just never came together as a championship level unit, and it's been pretty clear that that it wouldn't since the Marquette game.

This year was a return to the pre-2020 level Baylor teams. Not bad by any stretch, just not elite. We went as far as we deserved to this year.

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I basically agree as I thought going into the Tourney that the ceiling for this squad was likely the Sweet 16 and we fell one game short - but what hurts is per the lower bracket upsets there was an unexpected opportunity to get to another Elite 8 shot had we just gotten to the second weekend. Water under the bridge now, but I'll always wonder about what might've been.

Absolutely great group of kids. As much as Flo frustrated all of us, he's clearly a fantastic classy guy. His comments with John and Pat post game proved that.

The litmus test for this team all year was getting to the second weekend. Seemed doubtful, then probable, then a coin flip. No team can realistically overcome the shooting performance from Creighton last night. I mean...22-22 come on. Yes our D was a part of that formula.

It stings all of us that, since winning the natty, we have two tourney wins over nothing programs. Next year could be a big year in us reasserting ourselves (coaches, players, etc). It will definitely help to have a ton of juice with new arena.

It is VERY difficult to get a team that works so tightly together as that NC Baylor team. This team was good, but it wasn't able to be as tight in execution as the NC team. Different set of strengths along with lingering injuries that don't allow practices to be complete.

I'll never forget how special that NC team was, and I will always appreciate the efforts of other teams (like this year's) to try to reach that level.

No true leader ever came forward. Cryer & Flagler are very talented and also very nice guys, both on and off the court. George is too young. We needed just a little more swagger-confidence that Vital and our three guards had in '21 and that Mayer, Akinjo & Sochan showed, at times, last season.

And, most surprisingly, this group never seemed to apply SD's vaunted defensive schemes.

Flagler DOES have a year of eligibility left...............

George won't be back. Great talent, great person. A strong tournament might have pushed him into a lottery pick. Oh well. He should still be able to pay the bills.

Drew needed to drop a couple of players and bring in some upper class, hard working, hungry talent.

Great recruiting class coming this year but we need better bench and some players that are ready now.

George is a great talent but not the same after his concussion. Pop Isaacs at TT was the same way. Not the same player after his concussion. Hard to tell if it was physical or mental.

The "Great Team" had proven older transfers, plus 3* and 4* younger bench players. They specialized in the fundamentals of all out D hustle and rebounding, plus good shooting, with no teenage 5*'s. Let's try that model again. That's what Tang is doing in his first yr at K St, and he's in the Sweet 16.

Timbear said:

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The "Great Team" had proven older transfers, plus 3* and 4* younger bench players. They specialized in the fundamentals of all out D hustle and rebounding, plus good shooting, with no teenage 5*'s. Let's try that model again. That's what Tang is doing in his first yr at K St, and he's in the Sweet 16.

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There's no substitute for physical, mental, emotional and competitive maturity in college basketball. Coaches continue to try to fill that hole with high upside young talent, but that has not proven a very successful strategy for most. Experienced talent usually outperforms inexperienced talent when push comes to shove.

I'm not anti-freshman necessarily, but I do think one-year investments in immature players is typically a waste of everyone's time. You generally end up right back where you started with little to show for your efforts.

Regarding under/over achieving, I think it matters at least a little bit where Creighton finishes. Last year we took the eventual runner up right down to the wire, and they ended up losing to our conference rival. There's no shame in that. If Creighton gets to the final 4 and is eliminated by KSt or Texas then we'll know a little more about the kind of team it took to beat us this year.