The UPS:
1. The Start. The Tars started out the season 7-0. They came out of the box with a seven game win streak and got as high as #10 in the country in the NABC Division II Rankings.
2. The Freshman: You can not say enough about the job that Scott Schuette, Chris Uhle and Jeff Dirkin did this season. Schuette had a much more increased role than expected due to the injury to Brett Chance mid way thru the season. Uhle hit some big 3-pointers when they were really needed and Dirkin was solid. Dirkin did make a couple of starts late in the season.
3. The Win at Jenkins: The Tars did something they had not done since 2007 this season when they defeated Florida Southern on there home floor.
4. Chris Malcolm: The Senior transfer from Winthrop had a fine season. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Sunshine State Conference and made second team all conference. The Senior also set the school's all time record in blocked shots (passing Craig Reichel).
5. Being Competitive: Despite being 16-11 the Tars were in most games. They only got blown out on a couple of occasions.
The Downs:
1. The Inconsistency: The Tars were very inconsistent all year long. Especially in the past 20 games when they were only 9-11.
2 . The Conference as a whole. The Tars were not able to take advantage of a conference that was down this season. Despite it being a down year for the league, four teams (Eckerd, Saint Leo, Florida Southern and Florida Tech) made the NCAA DII South Regional.
3. The Trip to Vegas. Many will tell you this is when they knew this Tar team was not as good as the ones in the past. Traditionally a very good trip for Rollins, the Tars were defeated soundly by both Western and Central Washington in Las Vegas.
4. The Expectations: The Tars never really lived up to the hype this season. After being picked to win the conference in the preseason, it was a struggle to get to 9-7. Eventually the Tars would fall to Florida Southern in the Tournament Quarterfinals (The Mocs did eventually win the tournament after blowing out regular season champ Florida Tech and then holding off Saint Leo in the title game.
5. The Tangerine Tournament: If the average fan was looking for a weekend that summed up the Tars season it was the Rotary Tangerine Tournament. The Tars would lose by 15 to Lake Erie at home and then bounce back to knock off California (PA).
