In Reply to: Do we have any possible All-Americans on the roster this year? posted by Cachorro on September 23, 2026 at 12:49:28
Dailey has to learn how to play at his best consistently. That's no easy task. It's as much a mental thing as it is a physical thing. Maybe even more mental than anything else. Preparing properly for every game can be exhausting and is something that usually comes later in a player's career. Sometimes much later than learning how to play the game physically.
Like everything learned, a player needs to be taught and then have the discipline to apply those lessons every game. Last year it looked like Dailey sometimes just wasn't ready to play - sometimes "disappearing" for almost whole games. As his body matures he now needs to mature emotionally and mentally.
Every level demands a re-dedication to meet the new challenges and demands. And then when one becomes the player opponents are going to key on to try and stop it becomes even more important to prepare properly just like he properly prepares physically. If Dailey again has as strikingly an up and down season like he had last year it is my opinion that he won't come anywhere near being considered for All American or maybe even All Big Ten. At his best we certainly see he has that kind of potential. The problem is that his best too often doesn't show up.
Petty might be the UCLA player who could have a stellar season and maybe he might be the guy playing at that elevated level. From what I'm hearing he might be the most mentally tough on the team and his athleticism and skills might be bordering on elite level as well. Maybe Kusturica might surprise a lot of people and also quickly become one of those players as well, but I tend to think probably not - at least not this season.
It should be an interesting season. We'll see how things evolve.