this is why any meaningful evaluation of this team should focus on the team's development within the season. comparing this team to previous teams is fruitless.
are we better overall now than we were in november? do we look more cohesive? do the players have a better understanding of how to play with each other? are we making fewer unforced errors? are we hustling more or less? are individual players getting better?
i don't think the answers to those questions are exactly clear cut. no team progresses or regresses evenly. teams are still composed of individual, uneven players. that being stated, i think the general takeaway is that it doesn't look like we're better overall now than we were in november even when accounting for the conference opposition being superior to the non-conference opposition. if nothing else, we look to be moving sideways. that's understandable given how young we are.
now if we instead look at only the players who were here last year, the returns look good -- though not great. kaleb is better. andre is better. young is better. i can't say jallow is any better, though, and jackson looks more or less the same. i look forward to next season since i expect muhammad, washington, ahrens, and ledee to follow the lead of those before them. add some much needed innate talent as well as athleticism and i'll be shocked if we're not a much, much better team.