No doubt about it.
You have to remember that NCAA final team Joffe recruited well at Maryland, brought his top 2 players and then combined them with the talent that Mark had recruited for Bobby. BK wasn't one to give others credit and Mark is very understated, but he recruits well and that team had top-25 1-3 talent but lacked depth...before Joffe made it basically an All-Star team. Joffe tried to do the same when he left for Austin but the players were loyal to Mark, and that's not a story he tells because that's not his style, but we do have him to thank for the program not imploding. If Mark hadn't been hired and held that team together you are looking at an exodus of Aggies to Austin and probably another longhorn national championship.
Anyway long story short, the reasonable expectation of what this team should be every year is probably just outside the top 25 if you consider the big picture (tradition, facilities, location, academics, resources Everything that goes into a program of any sport). Without knowing the whole story behind that finals run, a lot of folks made that the new expectation, but the truth is that everytime they bring in a top recruiting class or go to the Sweet 16 they are overachieving. That doesn't mean hopes shouldn't be higher, but it's absolutely unrealistic to expect to compete for a national championship when the athletic department won't even put us in the middle of the pack facility-wise.
