And so it ends.

Welp. I guess that's that.

With a 63-50 loss to Miami on Thursday afternoon, State's worst basketball season in a decade came to a merciful end. Granted, the 2000-'01 season ended with a worse record, but I don't recall feeling worse at the end of that year than I do now.

I think you knew early on in that year that the team was not that good. They lost the second and third games of the year against Charlotte and Fresno State, respectively, which set the tone for the rest of the year. And despite their struggles, they won one more in-conference game to finish 5-11, good for seventh in the league.

This year, ugh. Not a single win over the last five weeks of the year. Nine straight losses. A team that seemed content to watch more than play. A coaching staff that tried desperately, sometimes in puzzling fashion, to find a rotation that gave a damn on the court.

And all this after a season that ended so well the year prior. Who, among State fans, didn't feel great about things heading into '07-'08 with Costner, McCauley, Grant and Fells returning with a 5-star forward/center in Hickson joining the mix? To crash from such lofty expectations is a hurt that exceeds any of the frustration experienced in 2000-'01.

Looking ahead to year three, the Pack should be one of the more experienced teams in the league with eight juniors and seniors. The question is, do we really want a team laden with players responsible for the train wreck that was this year, possibly missing the player that scored over half of our points in the ACC Tournament? It could possibly get worse before it gets better.

That's a scary thought.