Prognosis

[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.