This team should expect to be in San Antonio. There, I said it. I am a UNC grad. I know what good basketball looks like. If these guys were wearing Carolina blue, I'd be expecting a title, just like I did in '05, '09, '13, '16, and '17. We got 3 of those, lost on a last second shot in the finals once, and had Kendall Marshall injured in '13.
This A&M team can defend the perimeter. You just don't see that very often. I love that our bigs can hedge without fouling, and that we can run the jump double or double off the hedge when we want to. I like Hogg's handle. He looks like he can play point forward at times, which is a nightmare match-up in iso situations, ala Kris Middleton. Gilder put a filthy cross-over on somebody last night...if that's your 3rd or 4th option at PG, you've got some pretty good ball handlers.
This team could win it all or be a first weekend flame-out. It's up to them. I'm glad Williams came back to school, but we don't need him to "work on his game." We don't need him to hit mid range jumpers, handle the ball in transition, or show next level skills. We need him to be a freak on the glass, finish at the rim, and protect the rim without fouling.
I love that we can go small in clock kill situations, put Hogg at 4, and put our best FT-shooting big at the 5. This is a team that should be able to spread the floor with a 6 point leads and 6 minutes to go and basically put games to bed.
This is the most talented team in A&M history. They will have some stumbles, but if they commit to getting better, playing together, and playing hard every night, they can beat anybody.