Ditto. It’s really hard to break into top 20 on a consistent basis. Even harder to be perennial top 10. Top 5 even harder. Clemson is hot right now…but it’s in a remote part of South Carolina. Long trip to drive there or fly. If football team continues to falter, not sure Clemson stays as hot. Academically it’s not Florida or unc or bc or duke or uva or Maryland or vatech or northwestern or Syracuse. Location near hotbeds isn’t Loyola, stony Brook, uconn, umass, or even JMU.NULax2 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 2:56 pmI have to agree about pumping the breaks on Clemson. The new kid is always the Cinderella program, Look at the startups at Colorado, USC, Florida, they were all going to the final 4 within the 1st 4 years. After the bloom faded, only Florida came close. Respectable programs but not world beaters.ultravisitor wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2023 9:27 amOkay, pump the breaks. They've had one decent year and some good recruiting. Final four contender in THREE OR FOUR YEARS? Who would they be displacing for that to happen? The list of teams that could legitimately be considered final four contenders in that near of a future is very short, and four or five of the spots on that list seem to be pretty set. While we've seen teams rise through the ranks that quickly in the past, it's much more difficult to do that now because the landscape of the sport has changed so much. There are a lot more talented teams out there these days, and it takes more than recruiting momentum and nice facilities to reach the top of the sport. Those recruits have to play well together and win a lot of games against the top teams, which they haven't demonstrated they can do just yet.Kleizaster wrote: ↑Tue Nov 14, 2023 11:41 pm The dust has settled in regards to major commitments. More information is starting to come out. and i have to say..my expectations for Clemson as program has changed. Initially i was thinking in 3-4 years, maybe they'll be a perennial top 25 team. Scratch that. I think they may be a legit final four contender by then.
Great facilities, great awareness from football success, great coach has helped them launch with buzz….but they have some real structural issues that will work against them being a long term lacrosse power.
My two cents!