Also addressing 01grad
Yep, like anything, it HAS to work or let it alone. We already know Drew has sped up the game after the Porter days. OK, we just have to do it right, that's all. We gave one up yesterday. So it's top of mind and I've seen maybe 5 to 10 this season. We play teams going forward like I think we might (dance?), we need to know what we're doing or our 6 point swing will turn into THEIR 6 pt swing.

I've seen the difference between our results and Dayton's discussed across a few topics, many saying that the gap between us is much closer than the rankings suggest. That begs the question, what would Loyola have to do the rest of the season to start next year with a better ranking/expectations? Is it possible to go into next season similar to where Dayton was this year or is that impossible with a Holmes-level player? Is our high turnover going to set us back to where we were to start this year?

They are losing far too much from this year's team to be highly ranked next year. Norris is irreplaceable. 3 of the top 4 inside players are gone. Top scorer and rebounder graduate.

Next year's team may ultimately have more talent than this year's but it will be young and need time.

Des, Sheldon, Dawson, Miles and JQ is a pretty damn good returning core.

Braden will be a tough loss, as will Phil. Tom is a culture creator and Ill be sad to see him go. Ben will transfer to where he can play. The rest of what we're losing was brought in as 1 year contributions, why cant we replicate that again?

Yeah next year will depend on the portal. We've done well with it so far so no reason to think that won't continue, but even though it's been a net positive for us we've still had some flops, so tough to just pencil those spots in at the moment. That said, we could land a couple studs and really be in business.

I meant that they would not be highly ranked to start the year. They may evolve into something very good.

Braden will be tough to replace but I am sure the coaching staff already has their eye on a few lead guards who will be in the portal in the next month or so.

Love Braden as a leader, culture evangelist, and distributor, but I can't help but wonder what an A10-sized starting PG that can score consistently would look like with this current squad.

I wonder if Des Watson has the point guard mentality?

yeah but how many are there of those floating around in the transfer portal? Braden guards well, shoots well, and directs the offense well. He is at least 24? The was a xeet the other day that showed he led the team and was 3rd or 4th in the conference in +/- when he was on and off the court. He is absolutely going to be the hardest to replace person from this roster. A 6'4" version of him that finishes at the rim better would be helping a team vie for a Big East conference championship, not looking for a landing spot in the portal.