Prognosis

[dgies9156]

Interesting question in that I felt good about what I saw. My heart says they are "back!!!!" but my head says there was very little resemblance between anyone in Italy/Switzerland and what we will see when intercollegiate competition begins.

No place other than the D2 teams they play could I imagine they would put up 132 points on a team. We're not THAT good. And if we are…. I'm like St. Thomas the Apostle -- I got to see it to believe it. Ultimately, I think they're a NCAA tournament team, but this could go either way.  So I would vote, "still not sure."

[Warrior of Law]

I'm bullish on 15-16. Fisher, Ellenson and Heldt as a frontcourt; Wilson as a big-time scorer with a decent bench, too.  Maybe because 14-15 was so awful, but i haven't been this excited in years!

[Loose Cannon]

I think most of the posters feel this is a better team than last year.  Regardless of the score (That the only meaningless stat of the trip) the 4 games indicated a good understanding of player’s assignments and working as a team unit.  Impressed with Duane assist totals, they will be tougher to get with our schedule, but happy to know he will be looking. 

I’m happy with the up-tempo Offense & Defense and the overall speed of the players, also the really nice blend of returning and new players and I think we will have a large rotation on this team.

I believe the trip provided much more bonding between players and players as well as with the Coaching Staff.  And with 4 wins and all the eligible players getting on the floor the “camaraderie” has to be sky high.  Throw in that 4th quarter comeback and the coaches have to be smiling too.

I believe the future is promising and feel we will have a better record than last year it’s only a feeling based on things I saw, heard and read.  It would be very difficult to come up with our season record.  While I’m feeling very good about us, I have no idea how much our opponent’s teams have changed so it would be a pure Guess.  With that…..

Gun to the head…….22 Wins!  (And that the name of that tune)

[keefe]

Guardedly optimistic.

But I feel much better about this year than last.

[WarriorFan]

What we have that is exciting:
- 2 guys that are a threat to score no matter where they are on the court - HE and DW
- Better spacing due to better outside shooting
- A reliable scorer in the post

What we need to develop to win 20+ games
- Perimeter defense
- PG consistency, no matter who's playing it
- A defensive stopper, who can keep the top 1's, 2's and 3's in the BE in check
- Technical free coaching.  We'll be in a lot of close games.  Giving up a FT and possession could be the difference.

[keefe]

- Technical free coaching.  We'll be in a lot of close games.  Giving up a FT and possession could be the difference.

Everybody remembers the NCSU Championship game technical but our coach used them to motivate his team and mind screw the refs better than George Szell conducting Beethoven's Ninth.

[tower912]

There is reason for hope.   Not even Marquette Madness, let's see how they do against Belmont.

[brewcity77]

I feel better about them than I did before the tournament. I feel a lot better about Traci and Henry looked really good against competition that wasn't made of up 17 and 18 year old Wisconsin kids (most of what I've watched him against).

Can we win 22-23 games and challenge for a tourney bid? I'm not so sure. Belmont will be a good starting look, but that whole week will tell us a lot. Both Belmont and Iowa right out of the gate. If we start 3-0, then I'll start believing. Any less than that and we probably won't know much about this team until mid-January.

[naginiF]

What we need to develop to win 20+ games

- PG consistency, no matter who's playing it

I think Brew is right about not really knowing until after the first 3 games, though I think a well played 2-1 isn't a bad start. 

Going into Italy the PG question was the biggest unknown in a host of unknowns.  It's still an unknown but Traci's demeanor reduced that question dramatically and made it easy to see why the staff has confidence in him.  If he can control those TO's in season we move the PG consistency up to "what we have that is exciting"

[WarriorInNYC]

Didn't think there were quite enough voting options here. 

I was cautiously optimistic for this season, thinking we would be a tournament team with the potential to make it out of the first weekend.  This obviously greatly hinged on our newcomers, two of them especially, Traci and Henry.

Now, take these European games and results with a grain of salt considering the competition, different rules, etc. but I feel a lot better about seeing Traci and Henry playing and what they may be able to bring come November and ultimately March.  (Added bonus, Sandy and Luke look great as well.)

So I guess for me, this didn't "change my opinion", but moreso made me more comfortable with where I thought we could go this year.

[GGGG]

NCAA Tournament.  Somewhere around a 7-9 seed.  If Henry is as good as advertised, maybe as high as 5.

[wadesworld]

NCAA Tournament.  Somewhere around a 7-9 seed.  If Henry is as good as advertised, maybe as high as 5.

I'm with ya here.  But I think we'll be right around that 7 seed but playing like a 4-5 seed by that point.

[brewcity77]

I could honestly see either of the two possibilities (or anything in between)...

Scenario A: Too many freshmen leads to too many close call losses. A 9-4 record in non-con and a 10-8 record in Big East play, along with one-and-done at MSG leave us at 19-13 and on the outside looking in at the NIT despite 10/13 losses coming by a single bucket or less.

Scenario B: We ride the high from Europe into a 3-0 start, split our NYC tournament, upset an untested Bucky team, and enter Big East play at 12-1. The team improves as the season goes on, posting a shining 12-6 Big East record before upsetting Villanova en route to a Big East tourney title. Marquette enters the NCAAs at 27-7 with a 3-seed in the Midwest. Scrap the airline tickets and start mapping out driving routes, our road to the Final Four goes through Des Moines and Chicago.

Or anything in between, which is part of why I'm excited for this season. Two years ago we had expectations that were broken down as the season went on. Last year was all about looking for the silver lining on an ink-black cloud. This year I'm trying to keep expectations low, but unlike last year, the pieces are there that this team could actually do something if things break right. Nothing has broken right for us (other than recruiting) since the day Vander declared for the draft, so I'd definitely like to see that change this year.

[dgies9156]

But I feel much better about this year than last.

That's like saying someone on death row feels better about this year then last, right after receiving a pardon from the Governor.

If you set your standard low enough, you'll exceed it by a mile!

We've got a great team coming in and the only real question is does it gel this year or next?

[bilsu]

Before Europe I was fearing going 7-6 (worse case scenario) in non-conference. I now believe (barring injury) that 9-4 is worst case and I can imagine 11-2.

[barfolomew]

The thing I took away from Europe (besides all those beer steins in 2002) was that I feel more comfortable about this team being able to play up-tempo when needed.

I guess the good thing about having all these freshmen in a new system is that they might have an easier adjustment to the new clock, at least in the early part of the season.

[wadesworld]

I could honestly see either of the two possibilities (or anything in between)...

Scenario A: Too many freshmen leads to too many close call losses. A 9-4 record in non-con and a 10-8 record in Big East play, along with one-and-done at MSG leave us at 19-13 and on the outside looking in at the NIT despite 10/13 losses coming by a single bucket or less.

Scenario B: We ride the high from Europe into a 3-0 start, split our NYC tournament, upset an untested Bucky team, and enter Big East play at 12-1. The team improves as the season goes on, posting a shining 12-6 Big East record before upsetting Villanova en route to a Big East tourney title. Marquette enters the NCAAs at 27-7 with a 3-seed in the Midwest. Scrap the airline tickets and start mapping out driving routes, our road to the Final Four goes through Des Moines and Chicago.

Or anything in between, which is part of why I'm excited for this season. Two years ago we had expectations that were broken down as the season went on. Last year was all about looking for the silver lining on an ink-black cloud. This year I'm trying to keep expectations low, but unlike last year, the pieces are there that this team could actually do something if things break right. Nothing has broken right for us (other than recruiting) since the day Vander declared for the draft, so I'd definitely like to see that change this year.

Good post, other than the bolded part.  "Done deal" was a blessing in disguise.  Good break, in my opinion.

[brewcity77]

Good post, other than the bolded part.  "Done deal" was a blessing in disguise.  Good break, in my opinion.

We'll never know. There's every chance Shaka or Cuonzo could have done fine here, or another candidate had Wojo not ended up here.

Wojo can definitely recruit. This year we get to learn if he can coach, too.

[dgies9156]

- Technical free coaching.  We'll be in a lot of close games.  Giving up a FT and possession could be the difference.

WE ARE MARQUETTE. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

I want our coach screaming, mind messing the refs and otherwise being entertaining. We were the bad boys of basketball in the 1970s. Be nice to have this back!

[Goose]

Very much looking forward to the upcoming season. I am in the camp that team will surprise 99% of the fan base this season. I think Henry is going to be that big of a game changer. He will make everyone around better and JJJ, Luke and Wilson will benefit the most.

[keefe]

NCAA Tournament.  Somewhere around a 7-9 seed.  If Henry is as good as advertised, maybe as high as 5.

You are breaking character in this assessment. But I hope you are right. God, these past two seasons have been painful.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I'll admit. I told myself I wouldn't get my hopes up this year and wait until 16-17, especially with the non-conference schedule but Marquette basketball has somehow hooked me back in.

[Loose Cannon]

WE ARE MARQUETTE. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

I want our coach screaming, mind messing the refs and otherwise being entertaining. We were the bad boys of basketball in the 1970s. Be nice to have this back!

  I believe Wojo's T's are 45% Emotional & 100% Strategy.  He will find his spots to send a message to both the Ref's and this Players.  I don't expect him to be kicked out of any games unless the official has rabbit ears.

[NotAnAlum]

I'm much more excited than I was before Italy.  I think the prior few months I had a "really don't care that much" attitude but I think that was a defensive mechanism left over from last season.  Now I'm excited to see them play and look forward to the season getting here (didn't look forward to last season at all, knew it was impending doom).
I'm hopeful they will sneak into the NCAA tourney but if they do it will be close and the extremely weak non-con is not going to give them any margin for error.  Wouldn't be surprised if the Committee kept us out to send a message about playing such a weak non-con.
Teams with a lot of new faces tend to take until mid Jan to be really playing tough basketball.  At least if we have a shot and are coming together in late Feb it will be much more fun than last year.

[Loose Cannon]

.

Wojo can definitely recruit. This year we get to learn if he can coach, too.

I value your insight and opinion and wonder if you saw any coaching skills last year with all the turmoil that happened.

[GGGG]

I saw a coach whose team generally came out ready to play.  They played hard and looked like they had a good initial game plan.  However when other teams would adjust, oftentimes Marquette didn't.  Is that because Wojo couldn't figure it out?  I doubt it.  I just think he didn't have a great deal of options.

[Loose Cannon]

I saw a coach whose team generally came out ready to play.  They played hard and looked like they had a good initial game plan.  However when other teams would adjust, oftentimes Marquette didn't.  Is that because Wojo couldn't figure it out?  I doubt it.  I just think he didn't have a great deal of options.

Thanks for your views.

[bilsu]

The other thing I came away with is that win or lose this team is going to be fun to watch.

[tower912]

I saw some coaching skills last year.    Abandoning man to man for a zone was a solid coaching move.   Keeping the team playing hard in the face of all of the losing was coaching skills.    I agree that other teams made better adjustments than Wojo did last year.   I also agree that Wojo had fewer options.   I think Wojo got the most he could have out of the team he had last year.   The question now is whether he can build a program from a coaching standpoint, not just a recruiting standpoint. 

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Is it November yet? 

That is all. 

[warriorchick]

WE ARE MARQUETTE. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

I want our coach screaming, mind messing the refs and otherwise being entertaining. We were the bad boys of basketball in the 1970s. Be nice to have this back!

There is nothing more entertaining at an MU basketball game these days than to see Wojo angrily throwing off his suit jacket and heading towards the ref as his assistants try to physically restrain him.

[barfolomew]

Wojo can coach.
He can also quote Bruce Lee.

Steve Wojciechowski ‏@steve_wojo  18h18 hours ago
"Do not pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one" - Bruce Lee

Or was that a quote from Butch Lee? I can't remember...

[keefe]

Wojo can coach.
He can also quote Bruce Lee.

Steve Wojciechowski ‏@steve_wojo  18h18 hours ago
"Do not pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one" - Bruce Lee

Or was that a quote from Butch Lee? I can't remember...

"All I want is Pudvan for breakfast" - Butch Lee

[MU82]

I saw some coaching skills last year.    Abandoning man to man for a zone was a solid coaching move.   Keeping the team playing hard in the face of all of the losing was coaching skills.    I agree that other teams made better adjustments than Wojo did last year.   I also agree that Wojo had fewer options.   I think Wojo got the most he could have out of the team he had last year.   The question now is whether he can build a program from a coaching standpoint, not just a recruiting standpoint.

Is playing mind games a coaching skill?

(I hate teal and just about never use it, but I figured I'd better this time.)

[brewcity77]

I value your insight and opinion and wonder if you saw any coaching skills last year with all the turmoil that happened.

Sultan and tower stole most of my thunder. We didn't have a lot of options last year. Zone was a good move, the effort was there, but too often we just didn't have the horses to carry us to a victory.

That said, too often when a team would punch us in the gut, we didn't have a counterpunch in us. Clearly some of that is down to a lack of talent, depth, and experience, but I think some of it was coaching as well. We took the air out of the ball early and let some wins slip away, we played some competitive first halves and then looked out of our depth in the second, it happens. I liked the move to zone and the team certainly didn't lack for effort, but now that we have more talent, I'm hoping for better results.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Seeing Traci run the point helped ease my major concern for this team. I'm still not ready to call us a tournament team. I have no point of reference for how good those Italy teams were. For all I know, Grambling State could have beat them. I'll wait until Belmont to make a firm prediction one way or the other.

[brewcity77]

I value your insight and opinion and wonder if you saw any coaching skills last year with all the turmoil that happened.

One other note...I did like the coaching that went on with the guards and feel the staff seemed to do a good job getting the most out of what they had, specifically Matt, Derrick, and Duane.

Matt put up a career year here, and while it's easy to say "he was doing all the shooting" he actually had his lowest usage rate and second lowest shot percentage in his career -- at BYU he shot more, but not as well.

Derrick was much better under Wojo than he was under Buzz. He posted career bests in FT%, 2P%, 3P%, scoring, and assist rate. He'll never be the fan favorite here, but his offense, while still not being good, was much improved.

And Duane never lacked for confidence, demonstrating the ability to excel and start from the moment he was eligible.

As far as the rest of the team, Juan and Steve both had better 2014-15 seasons than they did the year before, though it was almost a given with more minutes. However the improved efficiency for both was not a given, so that's an encouraging sign.

Really, the only guy who played significant minutes and wasn't notably more efficient was Jajuan, who took a huge step back. Maybe because his freshman year, 71% of his minutes were accrued in non-conference games, slanting his rating to the results of Samford, Ball State, Cal State Fullerton, and Grambling. In his sophomore year, only 40% of his minutes were played in the non-con. A lot harder to hide those stats against quality competition.

[Loose Cannon]

Sultan and tower stole most of my thunder. We didn't have a lot of options last year. Zone was a good move, the effort was there, but too often we just didn't have the horses to carry us to a victory.

That said, too often when a team would punch us in the gut, we didn't have a counterpunch in us. Clearly some of that is down to a lack of talent, depth, and experience, but I think some of it was coaching as well. We took the air out of the ball early and let some wins slip away, we played some competitive first halves and then looked out of our depth in the second, it happens. I liked the move to zone and the team certainly didn't lack for effort, but now that we have more talent, I'm hoping for better results.

 

Thanks for your comments, nice to get some many points of views.  It will be interesting to bump these against the 15-16 coaching season.  Thanks

[Galway Eagle]

WE ARE MARQUETTE. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

I want our coach screaming, mind messing the refs and otherwise being entertaining. We were the bad boys of basketball in the 1970s. Be nice to have this back!

If we were the bad boys then wth was UNLV under Tarkanian?

[Jay Bee]

Traci still scares me. Young PG's almost always will (exception was last year and Tyus Jones, who we knew would help lead his team to a national title).

[tower912]

If we were the bad boys then wth was UNLV under Tarkanian?

A pale, not nearly as cool, imitation.  With casinos long before everyone had one. 

[Benny B]

Traci still scares me. Young PG's almost always will (exception was last year and Tyus Jones, who we knew would help lead his team to a national title).

WTF JB?!?  Just say that Traci is underrated already so we can win the damn National Championship. 

You assure the Natty (and my 300:1 payoff), and I'll cover your flight upgrade into first class for Maui in 2017.

[JakeBarnes]

Cautiously optimistic right now. I know we have no idea what the caliber of competition the Euro trip provided, but I liked how the unit ran together. Feels like the team has a lot more offensive options than we did this time last year--less need for a "man" like Carlino as they can play more team ball through a wider range of guys.

Certainly counting the days til Madness.

[NCMUFan]

Future looks very bright.
We know Duane, Sandy and Luke can score.
Now we have Henry and Traci.
If another Jimmy Butler type player emerges, MU will have quite a cache of weapons.

[rocket surgeon]

      carter is a bonus-i don't think he was even on the radar as he is now-could be a big difference in our season.  i mean that from the standpoint of, no one saw this coming as a freshman.  i know it's way too early to get too geeked up, but what a pleasant surprise so far

[wadesworld]

      carter is a bonus-i don't think he was even on the radar as he is now-could be a big difference in our season.  i mean that from the standpoint of, no one saw this coming as a freshman.  i know it's way too early to get too geeked up, but what a pleasant surprise so far

I wouldn't quite say no one.

[Daniel]

I liked a lot of what I saw in Italy. The biggest thing is for the first time in over a year they were playing as a team and looked to have good karma and camaraderie

When the season starts we will get glimpses each game of what is possible but I am encouraged by the "team".

[WarriorInNYC]

Future looks very bright.
We know Duane, Sandy and Luke can score.
Now we have Henry and Traci.
If another Jimmy Butler type player emerges, MU will have quite a cache of weapons.

And just to clarify, I don't think we need a senior year Jimmy Butler type, but a sophomore year Jimmy Butler that provided very efficient minutes as a role-player.  Can Sacar be that guy?

[bilsu]

      carter is a bonus-i don't think he was even on the radar as he is now-could be a big difference in our season.  i mean that from the standpoint of, no one saw this coming as a freshman.  i know it's way too early to get too geeked up, but what a pleasant surprise so far

We have to remember that freshmen generally are very inconsistent. Carter will have a mixture of great games, good games and bad games. We should not throw him under the bus every time he has a bad game.

[Loose Cannon]

And just to clarify, I don't think we need a senior year Jimmy Butler type, but a sophomore year Jimmy Butler that provided very efficient minutes as a role-player.  Can Sacar be that guy?

I think both Sacar and Haanif can and will be major contributors this year.  With the speed of our offense & defense our rotation will be large and they will get their minutes to display their Talent.

[bilsu]

I think both Sacar and Haanif can and will be major contributors this year.  With the speed of our offense & defense our rotation will be large and they will get their minutes to display their Talent.

I think Sacar is the type of player that Wojo will just love and therefore will play maybe even more than he should. I am very pleased with how he has played so far.

So far Haanif has shoed me nothing.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Is playing mind games a coaching skill?

We know Wojo will play players that remind him of himself, so I expect to see 39 minutes/game of one of the Maches at point this year.

[Loose Cannon]

I think Sacar is the type of player that Wojo will just love and therefore will play maybe even more than he should. I am very pleased with how he has played so far.

So far Haanif has shoed me nothing.

  Man, don't you feel those Good Vibes!