I made no bones about my less-than-optimistic feelings before tonight's game, but I certainly didn't think that we'd blow a 14-point second half lead, and I certainly didn't think we'd blow it by having no ability to locate a kid who was hitting shots from Bayonne.
I still think that we're doing a lot of things right, and I still think that this team has the potential to eventually hit its ceiling, but the most worrisome thing about this loss is how it's going to affect the psyche of a group that has a fairly well-documented history of immaturity. This was an absolute momentum killer, and my fear is that this team has now completely lost the mindset of being "back."
This sucks. I want to punch Bobby Gonzalez in the face every bit as much as you do. This is proof that we haven't reached the ever-desirable land of "there." But this isn't a killer, it's just the Big East. This is team is still doing far more things right than it's doing wrong, and I really and truly believe that it's set to go on a 2007-esque run, something I'm not sure I could have predicted a month ago.
Thirteen games and then NYC. I'm confident there will be more Jan. 17's than Jan. 19's in that span.
Hang in there.