I know, I know... basketball season was over a while ago, and we are now fully entrenched in baseball/rugby/nobody cares season. So yes, this recap is a little delayed, but it needs to be done in order to gain some perspective on the season that was.
Sports memories are a tricky thing. In the midst of a season every detail seems so important, every loss is a heart-breaker, and every victory feels like a signature win. It isn't until some time has passed that we can properly assess a season, and what made it important to us as fans. I'm sure at the time the 95-90 victory over Colorado in 1982 was a big deal, but 3 months later that one-game memory faded and the 81-82 season was remembered for something larger (since it was 1982 I assume the season was remembered for a Thriller themed intro or someones nuts falling out of their 2 inch long shorts). For me, usually a few categories of season descriptions end up ultimately defining them:
- The title, "The _______ Season" is assigned to every season. There is always one hugely memorable thing that stands above everything else and really defined the season. These may fluctuate a little from fan to fan, but usually they are pretty uniform. Some years it is easy to apply a season label, like how 2003-2004 is "The Final Four Season"..... others are not so clear-cut, for example, was the 99-00 season "The Elite Eight Season", or was it "Desmond, Doug, and Joe's Senior Season"?
- There are a few wins, and a few losses from every season that stick with you for a long time. Some of the wins (2009 KU, 2001 Mizzou, etc) and some of the losses (1999 @KU, OU winning last game in old GIA, etc) haunt with you forever, while some just define that particular season, but there are always a few specific games that you remember for whatever reason.
- Individual performances. This is typically a breakout performance by a freshman or underachieving sophomore or junior that gets you excited about the next season, but can also be Player X's last season.
Those are the typical season definers. So let's take a look at the last few seasons to get some perspective, then decide what defined the 2010-2011 season.
Here are how I remember the last two seasons, using the 3 categories above:
2009-2010
1. "James and Obi's Last Season"
2. The Kansas win, the brutal Tulsa loss, the GT loss.
3. Obviously James and Obi's last seasons, also Pilgrim's one "good" season.
2008-2009
1. "The Winning 7 of last 8 to secure an NCAA Invite season"
2. The Tennessee win, OU win in Big 12 tourney, Mizzou home loss.
3. Eaton and Harris last season, James breakout season, Moses semi-breakout season, introduction to Keiton Page.
You get the idea right? And yes, someday I would love to do this for every Cowboy season I can remember (back to mid 90's), but for now let's decide what will the 2010-2011 season will be remembered for.
Here is my vote.
2010-2011 Season Slogan: Kind of a tough one this year, but I think I will go with, "The no PG or Center Season". The most frustrating thing about this season was the lack of someone to run the offense, or a go-to option inside, which turned the offense into a mess for 80% of the Pokes games. I feel like this defined much of the season. I am definitely open to suggestion on this though. My 2nd choice would be, "The Disciplinary Issues Season".
2010-2011 Memorable Games: Mizzou win, Harvard win (mostly for Moses celebrations), plane crash anniversary game, Tech loss, A&M loss, KU loss in Big 12 tourney.
2010-2011 Individuals: A lot of times you need a few more years to transpire before you remember a breakout season, but right now I think it will be: Markel's freshman season, Dowell's late breakout, and Moses and Pilgrim's last seasons.
What will everyone else remember the 2010-2011 season for? Mostly, what will the season slogan be? Surely someone has something better than the "No PG or Center season".