You didn’t see a single Blazer walking off the court acting dejected but rather instead they all gathered together mid court and picked each other up after the tough gut it out game was done and over.
That is a sign of a squad that you can build upon when players are staying connected and positive even in a close loss like tonight was.
Yes this squad has its issues from an Xs Os standpoint but their attitudes toward each other and willingness to fight for each other is one of the most important parts about building a real contending team.
They were consoling each other center court after the loss, it was only on camera for maybe 2-3 seconds. I am surprised the production/camera crew didn’t pick up on it and stay longer as imo its the most important factor in this rebuild besides talent.
For as talented as the Dame squads were over the years you rarely saw these kind of moments where the entire team fought hard all game long and then picked each other up after a close loss. There was always one or two players walking off the court feeling dejected.