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As we all get hyped up for March Madness, TCU fans are once again picking a team to pull for.
It's not surprising that after an 11-21 season that saw TCU go 2-16 in conference play and only 1-10 on the road that the Horned Frogs are sitting on their butts come tournament time.
I mean, TCU has an 0-4 record against teams that made the CBI (Houston, Tulsa and Texas (2)), so we can't be too terribly shocked that the Frogs weren't even asked back to the good ol' Zebra Pen Classic right?
However, this team has a lot to hang its hat on. It beat Kansas. It beat Oklahoma. It sustained three substantial season-ending injuries, including an ACL tear to Amric Fields and never stopped fighting. New head coach Trent Johnson instilled, in less than one full offseason, what hard work and a dedication to defense can provide: a fighting chance.
And while the Frogs often found themselves down by double digits, the fight never waned. Heads rarely dropped and when they did, Johnson made sure to lift them back up.
It's very fulfilling, even in a season with so much losing, to see a head coach continue to push his guys to keep fighting. To see a head coach who never gives up. Turns out, he's one heck of a recruiter too.
It can't be easy to bring top quality players to a program that has been lacking in success and nice facilities. A long line of previous coaches has proven that. However, in one season, Johnson has arguably the best recruit in TCU history inked to come play for the Frogs in 2014, Prime Prep center Karviar Shepherd. He's also got a dynamic guard in Brandon Parrish and a stud point guard in Michael Williams committed to helping turn the program around.
It paints a bright future for a team that's been wallowing in darkness for so long.
Trent Johnson is an absolutist, if that's even a thing, and he's made that clear all season. "We're going to get it done. We just are," he told Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star Telegram. No "we're trying" or "we hope to."
"We're going to get it done."
That, Frog fans, is what hope looks like.