I might be talking out of my ass, but my superficial look at this is that, statistically, Baylor has been more consistent than Minnesota. As it has always seemed this year, it depends which Gopher team shows up.
I think the world of Damian as a coach. I've always felt the sky was the limit for him. I wonder what his next move will be. The question in my mind is whether he wants to stay at the high school level or if he has ambitions of coaching in college. He's a family man, and that factors heavily...
A strong talent grab is a realistic expectation of this program. In general, Minnesota ought to be able to recruit top-100 talent, especially now that they have exceptional coaching and development to recruit to. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Richard Pitino is the only Gopher coach...
I was thinking about how well an accomplished coach like Dana Altman does in the Big Ten without enough talent, and the answer is, not very well. You can't do it without the horses. What Niko did with this limited roster is really remarkable.