Dave Rose's health is fine. Everything he goes through from here on out will be precautionary (and unlikely to show more cancer) but neurendocrine tumors are not metastatic and he should have a long healthy life. He does have to live without a spleen now and I'm not sure what types of medications he's on as a result of the pancreas surgery (possibly corticosteroids and maybe insulin but I haven't read anything that would suggest that).
I don't think we've yet seen what this team looks like on the road so a 30 win season is probably not yet something we can count on; at least until we see how these guys respond to a little adversity.
Chris Miles is sadly not improved from last year; which was the hope of many so there is going to be some question of viability during tourney time if we dont' have a solid big man. Brandon Davies is a baby (he's nearly a year younger than Tyler Haws) and his improvement during the year (and literal growth as he may not be done growing) will be a major key in our progression.
I don't think any said that Noah Hartsock would be an all star last season (pretty hard to do with you come off your mission in late august and aren't redshirted) - he had a bum ankle right off the bat, however had some huge minutes late in the season; including some game saving rebounds, blocks and putbacks against the likes of SDSU, etc.
He's a lot like Tyler Haws in that he knows where to be on the court, has great vision and knows how to score around the glass. Considering he scored nearly 30 a game in 5a-6a Oklahoma, I think there's more to come from Noah. Again, he's just a soph. Last year was his 1st year of any college basketball as he went on his mission prior to playing ball.
I expect Hawaii to test us: #1 they'll get up for this game and there will be a crowd (much of which will root for us) #2 they have experienced european players that have been around the block a few times.
This game will come down to how fundamentally sound we play in the 1st half. If we can put Hawaii away and force our will on them, I think they'll fade (confidence-wise) in the 2nd half. If we jack up bad shots, turn over the ball, and let Hawaii have layups, it's going to be tight to the end.
It would help if JT made his shots...
(last nights box score)
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=293210252