"Three Weeks From Now....."

Indiana coach Tom Crean told John Shulman after the Hoosiers win over the Mocs that in three weeks, he would not want to face the Mocs because they would be a darn good team.

That was last Sunday night. Three weeks from then would be December 4. That's the day after the trip to College of Charleston and three days after the trip to Georgia Southern. In other words, three weeks is just after one of the most important road trips of the year. The Mocs desperately need a split on that road trip.

So the big question really is if that was really just coach speak or if there is some fact in it. Let's try to look at it factually.

The Mocs should be able to be pretty good right out of the gate this year. They return four senior starters, and their fifth starter (while in his first year playing) has been in the program for a year. So this is a team that should be used to playing with each other and able to roll right out of the gate.

But at the same time, the Mocs are playing a completely different offense this year. They are playing a much more deliberate offense, with a much better pace and rhythm. They haven't shot the ball well yet, but the pace is better for the Mocs for sure. They are struggling to find shots coming out of the new offense. Plus, all the other parts are new parts. They have a lot of freshman and Mason is there as  a transfer. So all the parts outside of the starting five (and Burroughs) are new and not really working together yet.

The Mocs will learn to protect the ball better the further into the season we get. The Mocs will grow in confidence as they get into games they can win and should start making more shots, especially the freshman. So, the fact is that the team should be much better once they face a couple of easier teams, get their legs under them and gain some confidence.

Enter the four game home stretch that is coming up. Not to take anything away from our opponents, but Kennesaw State, Warren Wilson College, Savannah State and Gardner Webb are not exactly the most threatening opponents on the schedule. If the Mocs win all four of those, then they could grow in confidence by leaps and bounds. That would send them into the critical two game road swing to open SoCon play on a high note.

The Mocs have to gain confidence in these next two weeks. Two weeks from tomorrow, they will be battling Georgia Southern on the road in a huge game. They need to be playing near the top of their game by then.

Let's hope that Crean was right. No one will want to play the Mocs in three weeks....but let's make it two for good measure...

GO MOCS!