Forget about going to the gym, learning a new language or anything else you hope to achieve in 2013.
Lets talk about New Years resolutions for each of Philadelphias six Division I college basketball programs.
In the spirit of the season, here is one thing all of the city teams need to work on heading into a new calendar year.
Temple
Find its shooting touch: At 10-2 and with a win over Syracuse under its belt, Temple has already proven to be a good team. But in order to become a great team, the Owls need to improve their shooting.
Their field goal percentage (.411) and three-point percentage (.300) currently ranks 13th in the 16-team Atlantic 10. And the two players hoisting up the most shots Khalif Wyatt and Scootie Randall are both shooting under 26 percent from long distance.
Whether those guys need to shoot less, get better looks or simply improve their form, something needs to change for the Owls to rise to the top of a loaded A-10 in 2013.
La Salle
Dial up the defense: Its seemingly all they talk about and yet, if you look at the stats, its still a problem.
The Explorers (9-2) who have proven to be a dynamic offensive team through the early part of the season rank 10th in the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense (allowing 65.1 points per game) and 15th in field goal percentage defense (allowing teams to shoot nearly 45 percent against them).
La Salle is also getting outrebounded by a small margin, which is likely a symptom of only giving playing time to two big men (Steve Zack and Jerrell Wright).
The teams guards have been terrific all season, but for La Salle to get to the next level and make its first NCAA tournament since 1992 (which suddenly seems like a realistic possibility), they have to help their forwards rebound the basketball and be more consistent in their halfcourt defensive sets.
Saint Josephs
Build depth: St. Joes coach Phil Martelli has recently brushed off concerns about his teams lack of depth, saying that hell only play the players who prove in practice that they deserve to play and that a short rotation can handle a two-games-in-one week schedule.
But the Hawks (7-4) seem to be playing with fire here as six players Carl Jones, Langston Galloway, C.J. Aiken, Ronald Roberts, Halil Kanacevic and Chris Wilson are logging more than 30 minutes per game and nobody else is logging more than 10.
Those six guys are certainly talented enough to lead the Hawks to the top of the Atlantic 10 and into the NCAA tourney. But if one of them gets hurt or suspended (as was recently the case with Kanacevic), it would be very helpful to have another bench player they can rely on for points.
Villanova
Improve guard play: Perhaps its to be expected because their two primary ballhandlers freshman Ryan Arcidiacono and transfer Tony Chennault are new to the team but the Wildcats have struggled in the backcourt this season.
Despite their talented big men owning high field goal percentage marks, Nova (9-4) ranks last in the Big East in shooting (.412). The Wildcats also rank last in the league in three-point field goal percentage defense (.358), assists (12.2 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.8).
This might simply come from gaining more experience but the Nova guards really need to improve on those numbers if the Wildcats (9-4) are to avoid a rude awakening when Big East play starts this week.
Drexel
Stay healthy: This is something mostly out of its control but Drexel could really use a few more breaks in 2013 and stay healthy through its conference season.
The season-ending ankle injury to high-scoring senior guard Chris Fouch was a tough blow and contributed to the Dragons 4-8 start. It also left them in a position when another player gets hurt like when top post player Dartaye Ruffin was out vs. St. Joes on Monday the team becomes suddenly undermanned and overmatched.
But if Ruffin is able to come back strong as head coach Bruiser Flint hopes and the rest of the team can stay healthy, the Dragons are actually in a good position to wipe away their disappointing non-conference record, win the Colonial Athletic Association and make the postseason for the second straight year.
Penn
Settle on a rotation: Through the first two months of the season, the Quakers have the opposite problem as St. Joes in regards to their rotation. Eleven players are currently averaging more than 10 minutes per game and head coach Jerome Allen sometimes plays up to 13 players.
Having such a deep rotation has been good for the teams defensive intensity (the Quakers lead the Ivy League in field goal percentage defense) but not as good for their chemistry (turnovers have been one of the main contributors to their 2-9 start). It also could be argued it has prevented potential newcomer stars like Tony Hicks and Greg Louis from establishing themselves as consistent scoring options behind junior stalwarts Fran Dougherty and Miles Cartwright.
If Allen can settle on a nine-man, or even a 10-man rotation, we might be talking about other players besides Dougherty and Cartwright in 2013 and perhaps some of those guys can even help Penn challenge for an Ivy League title.
Dave Zeitlin covers college sports for CSNPhilly.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @DaveZeitlin.
