3 main reasons:
1. Defense. We're going to be much improved with our post defense. Aluma, Pemsl, and Ojiako with an off-season are going to be a gigantic improvement over last year. We'll probably get beat on the boards most games, but a taller lineup will help. My biggest excitement is our perimeter defense, though. A perimeter of Bede (our best on-ball defender), Radford (blocks everything in his viscinity) and Diarra (K-State's defensive specialist the last few years) means we're not going to be giving up many 3's or drives. I'm extremely optimistic about our ability to prevent teams from scoring outside of 12 feet. Inside, we still have a lot to prove. But there's no reason to think we won't take huge leaps forward defensively.

2. Joe Bamisile sounds like he's the real deal. I've heard similar sentiments from others, but I have a friend whose son played against Bam regularly in the AAU circuit and said he's the best player he's ever seen in person. This is coming from a kid who routinely plays against teams with multiple D1 bound players. A 6'5" combo-guard who's ranked in the top 60 nationally is highly touted for a reason. And from what I've seen, he's a kid with a good head on his shoulders and largely uninterested in social media. In a world where kids want to get the spotlight as much as possible and use social media to do so, his lack of social media interest tells me he's someone who could be a team over me kind of guy. We need a strong locker room presence.

3. Mike Young has complete ownership of the team. None of Buzz's guys are here anymore except for Bede, who's completely bought into Young. Everyone else knows their allegiance and vice-versa. He's accustomed to ACC-play after doing it for a whole season, and he beat expectations with one of the youngest teams in the nation. As a program, in every respect mentally, emotionally, physically, from a team chemistry role and as a united bunch, I see no reason why we can't expect 3-4 more wins compared to last year. And 4 wins would've put us at 20-12, just saying. Don't be surprised if the offseason work and experience of Cattoor, Cone, Alleyne, etc. show in big ways this year and lead us to 21 wins or even 22. Wouldn't surprise me whatsoever.