I don't think most people are questioning the players. It's the utilization of the players, playing time, situational coaching, etc. that has been called into question over the past couple of years. I'm very excited about the young talent that has been brought in since last year. NDSU is more athletic than it has been in the past couple of years. However it's the player development and in game coaching that has been questioned and rightfully so.
It's only being questioned by some. Yes, every team and every coach in the Summit League can be questioned at times. The product that NDSU basketball is providing has been and is better than a majority of the teams in the Summit. There is a lot more to a basketball program than in-game coaching.
I wanted to take a shot at this in a little more serious manner. You make it sound like we are a perenial power. Yes, going to the tourney three times is nice. We string together some talent every onece in a while and roll the dice and see what happens. The squad we have this year will have one more year to gel and we get some folks back from injury. Maybe we even get a surprise freshman. Its happened before. And yes, the conference gets a bit easier as well. That bodes well for maybe a first round win. Just maybe. Right now, this program catches lightning in a bottle every few years and it is fun when it happens.
They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time it works, every time.