defkit
Well-known member
A big thing keeping guys around back then was the Olympic team. Shawn and Keith wouldn’t have stayed if they weren’t dead set on playing for team USA in 92.
I actually feel like Keith would have played a second season if he didn't make the team. I remember being pretty surprised when he made the team. Yes, he had a nice freshman season, but playing mostly with McEachern and Amonte, and being a "big" player, it just seemed like he wasn't ready. So I was pretty sure he would be back.
The loss of talent between graduating seniors and early departures after that 90-91 season has to be among the most significant of all time, for any school. Thankfully, we had an incredibly deep freshman class the next season, a group that would go on to win it all as Seniors.