The reason there was some optimism was because people thought the talent mixed with the returning players would be good enough in CUSA. The problem is that two of the three returning players have not contributed much and some would say nothing at all. Paul Thomas didn't transfer because he was going to be a senior, was only average at best, and will graduate with his degree this year. He does not seem to get what CRT wants him to do, or he is just unwilling to do it. That is why he was benched in favor of a walk on. IMO, I think CRT need to keep Paul on the bench period. Kobe has not hurt the team like Paul has but he hasn't done anything to elevate his level of play. I have no doubt in my mind that Kobe will transfer after the season. Another problem has been the development of Kaosi. He does not seem to get what CRT wants out of him on the offensive end. He is only in his 5th year of playing basketball but I had much higher hopes for him, although I have heard that he is working hard. So with only 8 players capable of playing meaningful minutes we are already in a bad spot, and with three of the eight not contributing much at all then it is easy to understand the problem. I do want to remind everyone that we have had leads against just about everyone we have played, but it is very unrealistic to expect a team with only FIVE players contributing productive minutes, to win many games. This year is very much like BCG's first year and we all remember what the team did in his second year. The beauty of this situation is that we do not have to hope for some big time recruits to come in next year like with did with year two under BCG, those guys are already all campus and have been beating the crap out of the team that has been playing games. I know it is hard to trust the process when we keep losing but CRT is building something special.