Let's face it, fellow Zag fans: it's pretty hard not to be optimistic before the season starts (tomorrow!). Think about the season each player is going to have. Are any of them actively sucking in your mind? Me neither (this doesn't apply to you, SanJose...). We think about potential, buzz from practice, ascending lines of progress from the previous season. Even when we're trying to be realistic, we imagine mostly good outcomes. And yet it's almost certain that some players will disappoint, be inconsistent, fail to progress, lose out on minutes and touches. Remember 2 years ago when Steven Gray was going to channel his inner Morrison, Elias Harris was going to be an All-American, Manny Arop was going to be a premier WCC wing, Bobby Sacre was going to learn how to handle the ball in the post and Meech was going to become a competent point guard? That was great.

In the spirit of tempering our optimism, let's look into our crappy crystal balls and speculate on who might not live up to expectations this season, or who might find themselves on the Mark Few Freeze-Out All-Stars. (Note that this question doesn't really apply to the depth guys, Drew Barham and the Walk-Ons. The Walk-Ons have surpassed expectations already, while anything Barham brings to the table is gravy).

My money is cautiously on Kelly Olynyk, for a few reasons: the front court is a playing-time logjam; he hasn't done himself any favors with the 3 game suspension; his Canadianness will pair well with former MF Freeze-Out All-Stars PMAC and Manny Arop. Against this is the fact that the staff has been talking him up a ton, and Few liked giving him early rotation and crunch-time minutes right off the bat his freshman year. But it's almost certain that he or Karnowski are going to find themselves on the short end of the minutes stick (unless Dower flubs).

Well, Zag friendos, what are your dark thoughts?