Years before you really know who/what they’re gonna be at the college level makes for a unique challenge. And it’s fair to point out.

I think the biggest thing I’ll look for, personally, over the next couple years:

1 - how does the current freshman group look next year? Are they developing and growing? Do they look like they can be the core of a B12 basketball team? If the answer is yes, I like our path even if we are below .500 overall (strong likelihood of this, that schedule is going to be murder).

2 - what is Pope doing to fill the clear void in the front court? I love Fous and I’m with you in other posts that Atiki is making strides. But to compete in the B12 we will need 2-3 more big post bodies. If Pope fills that need with capable guys who will be in the program over a year, I like that and think that’s a good sign.

3 - does the offense seem to have more rhythm and identity as these guys play together more? Establishing that identity will be critical to everything else we are talking about.

To your point, deferment may be the biggest issue. This team has just not played a lot of basketball together. Would love to see the above progress over the next year two (outside W/L) and if so I think it’s all you can ask for. Not gonna build a power B12 program over night, but definitely need some progress.