Expectations for next year:
Bring back Sallis or a replacement who can contend for All-ACC
Land KJ or a high-end rotation player who can compete for a starting job
Accomplish at least 8 of the following, with overachievement required to offset any we fail to reach:
1. Finish KP top-30
2. Win 20+ games (probably more, depends on the schedule difficulty)
3. Win 12+ conference games
4. Lose 1 or 0 games in which we have a double-digit second-half lead
5. Be ranked in the top 25 two or more weeks over the course of the season
6. Be firmly projected in the NCAAT field entering the ACCT
7. Top 4 seed in the ACCT
8. Reach the ACCT semis
9. Do not lose to a lower-seeded team in the ACCT
10. Top 8 seed in the NCAAT
11. Reach at least the R32
12. Do not lose to a lower-seeded team in the NCAAT
For comparison, I would be happy with Clemson's season. They accomplished 1, 2, 4 (probably, I'm not going to look), 5, 6, 10, 11, and 12. They failed on 3, 7, 8, and 9, but offset that with 24 wins, a 6 seed, and, most important, an Elite Eight.
On the other hand, NC State accomplished 2, 4 (maybe), 8, 9, 11, and 12. They failed on 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 10. Obviously, they had massive overachievement in the ACCT and Final Four run, which made the season an unequivocal success, but would not give me a lot of confidence in our future.