Next year

[Stretchdeltsig]

If Buzz doesn't play the most talented guys next year we are screwed again.

[willie warrior]

I still don't see Juan playing a ton even as a Senior next year.  Fischer will start at center once he is back and Steve might move to PF.  I can see Satchel Pierce playing before Fischer returns, if he's ready.  We really need Duane to convince Buzz (by playing well) to start him at PG and Derrick would have a backup role.  If there is a year to play all our young guys, it's 2014-15.

Buzz Williams will not make his game changer a back up next year--never. Duane will be a rookie, so Buzz may give him 5 minutes a game.

[willie warrior]

Think you're wrong.  I wouldn't have started Dawson over Derrick either and that was really his only choice.  Remember the Jamil experiment at PG, that was even worse.
It would sure be nice if we could get some info out of The AL about Duane's progress.

What am I wrong about? Derrick will start next year and get his 30 minutes a game. Put your cash down on that if you can find somebody to bet against it? It is not in Williams' DNA to admit that mistake.

And I never said start Dawson over Derrick. How do you explain Derrick getting about 48 minutes and dawson about 2?

[willie warrior]

The only players on the team next year with proven scoring ability will be Mayo followed by Burton and the only certainty is Derrick will start and probably lead the team in minutes played. After the way Buzz treated the freshmen this season, I can't rely on anything from Hill or Cohen. The best thing we'll have going next season is low expectations because of all the unknowns and maybe, just maybe, that'll put a chip on their collective shoulders.

What, another down season? With a stud coach, salary, his recruiting prowess, there should not be.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I am cautiously optimistic for next season. I think we will do a lot better than anyone thinks because we will once again be a guard focused offense. I think that is much more in Buzz's comfort zone.

[Hards Alumni]

What, another down season? With a stud coach, salary, his recruiting prowess, there should not be.

Willie, why not just go cheer for UW.  Isn't it just that much easier?

You are a such a cry baby.  Christ.

[CTWarrior]

I am optimistic about next year and don't think an NCAA bid is out of the question. 

Even though Derrick was a junior, he spent his first two years as a backup and this was the first time he was given the keys to the team. He will start next year and play much better, while logging less minutes, more like 25-28/game, as Buzz will have more comfortable options in Duane and a more experienced Dawson to take minutes at the position.

The other thing is that with Gardner/Otule gone, the whole floor is going to open up, especially the absence of Gardner in the box drawing multiple defenders.  Derrick's defender won't have such an easy job of just keeping an eye on Gardner.  It will be much harder using that extra guy to help on scoring wings than it is on a relatively immobile low box scorer.  I envision a team with Mayo and Burton getting big minutes and being creative and dynamic scorers from all over the floor.  While I don't expect Derrick to ever become a competent shooter, I'd wager that he will be a much better drive and dish penetrator and a better finisher around the rim.  I never expect any frosh to get big minutes under Buzz, but based on what we've heard about them, I expect a few of them to be productive in their limited minutes.  A healthy Steve Taylor Jr can be a mobile scorer and especially a rebounder.   Anderson will be what he should be, an energy guy off the bench.

I really think next year's team will be more in the mold of the teams Buzz likes to coach, and, at least from this fan's perspective, a fun team to watch.

[NersEllenson]

Yeah, and Burton was not good enough to beat out Juan. We all know that our best players don't start.

Great point. 

[willie warrior]

Willie, why not just go cheer for UW.  Isn't it just that much easier?

You are a such a cry baby.  Christ.

Thanks for calling me a cry baby and Christ in the same thread, but neither is true. Your problem is that you cannot stand LEGITIMATE criticism of the the poor coaching that went on this year--all year. And don't bother to come back with "Well the bitching has been constant", which is not true. What is true is that the coaching has been bad ALL YEAR. Buzz Williams needs to pull his head out and start coaching well again, and then the bitching will change.

And by the way--you can go root for UW, who may be a #1 seed in the dance, while Buzz is flying around in his jet trying to find a PG to back up Derrick.

[dgies9156]

A few years ago, we started the season with Mo Acker and David Cubillian as our guards. Nobody in their right mind thought we had a chance at a winning record, much less an NCAA berth. They surprised us then and they'll surprise us next year as well.

We started the 1974-1975 year without Maurice Lucas as well and had a typical "Al" year and made the NCAAs then too.

Next year's team has some holes, we know. Davante will be gone as will Chris Otule and Jamil Wilson. All are huge. But I at least am excited that Steve Taylor and Deonte Burton will assert themselves. I think Jujuan will be a huge surprise and I may be naive, but I think Todd Mayo can and will step up.

If they don't, I agree, it will be miserable. But give Buzz credit, he's pulled rabbits out of his hat and I think he will again.

[NotAnAlum]

Great point. 

Not so sure.  You guys probably missed the fact that Burton played 18 minutes yesterday while Juan did not play.  For the year Burton's minutes per game are only about 1.5 minutes behind Juan.  That's a pretty big move for Burton considering Juan is an upper classman.
First off can we please not focus on who starts.  Its not who starts, its who gets the minutes.
Second Buzz has said this countless times you have to be able to defend the position.  Because of the two guards we have to play (and lets take that as a given and not argue about that for a second) Burton has to defend the other team's #3 or #4.  Burton is getting better at defending in the team concept so Juan's minutes are generally decreasing (unless there is a special defensive assignment).  Also Burton can get a little selfish with the ball and get out of what the team is trying to do.  When he does, unless you just want free for all street ball, you have to sit him for a while.
I think Buzz would love to have Burton out there 30 minutes a game if he could count on him to play good team defense and team offense.  I think he will next year.
Buzz wants to win games and he'll play the guys that he feels give him the best chance to win games.  He's not going to play guys and lose because of some kind of blind loyalty.  If you believe that you really don't think much of Buzz.

[NersEllenson]

Not so sure.  You guys probably missed the fact that Burton played 18 minutes yesterday while Juan did not play.  For the year Burton's minutes per game are only about 1.5 minutes behind Juan.  That's a pretty big move for Burton considering Juan is an upper classman.
First off can we please not focus on who starts.  Its not who starts, its who gets the minutes.
Second Buzz has said this countless times you have to be able to defend the position.  Because of the two guards we have to play (and lets take that as a given and not argue about that for a second) Burton has to defend the other team's #3 or #4.  Burton is getting better at defending in the team concept so Juan's minutes are generally decreasing (unless there is a special defensive assignment).  Also Burton can get a little selfish with the ball and get out of what the team is trying to do.  When he does, unless you just want free for all street ball, you have to sit him for a while.
I think Buzz would love to have Burton out there 30 minutes a game if he could count on him to play good team defense and team offense.  I think he will next year.
Buzz wants to win games and he'll play the guys that he feels give him the best chance to win games.  He's not going to play guys and lose because of some kind of blind loyalty.  If you believe that you really don't think much of Buzz.

I'm not a proponent of the upperclassmen should automatically get more PT as a result of their class status.  So, I don't think it is remarkable that a talented freshman, such as Burton, would only slightly trail a highly ineffective upperclassmen in minutes by sheer virtue of class status.  In the case of Dawson and Derrick, the minute differential is so incredibly stark - it defies logical explanation, when Derrick has been so ineffective throughout most of the season.

Was great to see Burton get 18 yesterday - what wasn't so great was that Burton got just 6 minutes after halftime...He didn't see action from the 7:11 mark of regulation, until the last play of 2OT.  Why?

I have zero problem with Burton being absolutely aggressive and getting the ball to the basket - call it street ball if you want - but he's a force, on a team that greatly need(s)/needed force and aggression.  He was the only guy besides Gardner (+7) yesterday who had a positive +/- effect on game (+6).  Burton scored 10 points in 18 minutes...even if he isn't the defender Juan is - Juan's defense isn't so incredible that it limits the opposition by 10 points...and I'd say the same about Derrick.  Eventually you have to play the guys that can put the ball in the bucket, or at least have a much better propensity to do so..

And yes, Mayo had some foul trouble yesterday - but he only got 27 minutes in a 48 minute game...didn't play till the 12:19 mark of 2nd half.  Inexcusable.

[willie warrior]

I am optimistic about next year and don't think an NCAA bid is out of the question. 

Even though Derrick was a junior, he spent his first two years as a backup and this was the first time he was given the keys to the team. He will start next year and play much better, while logging less minutes, more like 25-28/game, as Buzz will have more comfortable options in Duane and a more experienced Dawson to take minutes at the position.

The other thing is that with Gardner/Otule gone, the whole floor is going to open up, especially the absence of Gardner in the box drawing multiple defenders.  Derrick's defender won't have such an easy job of just keeping an eye on Gardner.  It will be much harder using that extra guy to help on scoring wings than it is on a relatively immobile low box scorer.  I envision a team with Mayo and Burton getting big minutes and being creative and dynamic scorers from all over the floor.  While I don't expect Derrick to ever become a competent shooter, I'd wager that he will be a much better drive and dish penetrator and a better finisher around the rim.  I never expect any frosh to get big minutes under Buzz, but based on what we've heard about them, I expect a few of them to be productive in their limited minutes.  A healthy Steve Taylor Jr can be a mobile scorer and especially a rebounder.   Anderson will be what he should be, an energy guy off the bench.

I really think next year's team will be more in the mold of the teams Buzz likes to coach, and, at least from this fan's perspective, a fun team to watch.

Great analysis. Derricks problems this year were caused by his man not guarding him to clog the lane on Ox and preventing Derrick from driving. OK, then play 5 guards next year so Derrick can drive and dish.

This defense of Derrick takes the cake--not sure Buzz didn't write it.

[NotAnAlum]

What am I wrong about? Derrick will start next year and get his 30 minutes a game. Put your cash down on that if you can find somebody to bet against it?

I'll be happy to bet you Derrick does not average over 30 minutes per game next year.

[mileskishnish72]

I think we're going to be small enough that we may need a 3-guard look.

[The Equalizer]

Personally, for next season to be successful, I'm putting a lot of stock in Duane Wilson to save the PG position. Before this year I thought he was the best recruit for us coming in. Unfortunately, he is behind the curve in terms of experience obviously. Also Buzz seems reluctant to pass the reigns over. We'll see.

I keep reading about this hypothesis that Duane Wilson is better than Derrick and Dawson, and its just a shame he was injured this year.

Here's why I think this might be misguided: Duane was medically cleared to practice by December 5th.  After getting a front-row view of the deficiencies at his position--leading to a 5-3 record with losses to Arizona State, Ohio State, San Diego State--and narrow wins over the likes of New Hampshire and Southern--he decided that he was going to redshirt anyway.

And I don't by the fact that missing 6 weeks of practice means you can't be ready sometime within the next three months.  

If the underlying assumption is that he is our best option at PG, why would he decide to sit out the rest of the season after returning to practice after missing the first 8 games?   Even if it took a month of practice to get back into playing shape--that's back for conference play.  Or even a month later, late January when we were 4-4 and still very much alive for an NCAA bid?  

Buzz says this was entirely Duane's and his family's decision. Does anyone really think they would have said "redshirt me" given what they saw about our PG stituation?  "I'm good enough to get us to a 9th straight NCAA tournament, but I'd rather have a full season in 2017-18 than only play 18 to 20 games this year and help Chris, Jake, Davante and Jamil make the tourney their senior year."

If anyone beleives he's really that good, then you are essentially saying that he and Buzz tanked the 2013-14 season in exchange for a year of eligilbity in the 2017-18 season.  

Sorry, but I can't see Duane doing that to the team, and I certainly can't see Buzz allowing him to do it to the team.

That leaves the more logical alternative--that right now, he's not good enough to beat out either Derrick Wilson or John Dawson for minutes.  Buzz told him that as poor as Derrick and Dawson are playing, that Duane is even further down in the dept chart and won't see any game time anyway, so he might as well redshirt.  "Your choice, of course, but if this helps you make up your mind, I'll tell you right now that I'm not playing you."

And I don't see Derrick and John sitting and resting on their laurels.  As hard as Duane is going to work to get into the rotation, Derrick and John are going to work hard to keep him 3rd in the depth chart.  At this point, I think the working assumption has to be that our PG situtation next year is no different that what he had this year.

[DienerTime34]

Whoever plays to the scouting report best will start. I expect Derrick and Juan will be at the top of that list.

[CTWarrior]

Great analysis. Derricks problems this year were caused by his man not guarding him to clog the lane on Ox and preventing Derrick from driving. OK, then play 5 guards next year so Derrick can drive and dish.

This defense of Derrick takes the cake--not sure Buzz didn't write it.

You have never seen me write that Derrick is a good offensive player.  Nowhere in the post you were commenting did I say that Derrick's problems were caused by Gardner.  In another post today I said his biggest failing as a player this year was his inability to work the game with Gardner, our best interior scorer in a very long time.  I said because we won't have that prolific low post scorer next year his deficiencies as a player will be less pronounced.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Great analysis. Derricks problems this year were caused by his man not guarding him to clog the lane on Ox and preventing Derrick from driving. OK, then play 5 guards next year so Derrick can drive and dish.

This defense of Derrick takes the cake--not sure Buzz didn't write it.

The post you quoted wasn't a "defense of Derrick".  It was a well thought out and accurate description of how this team will be structured and play differently next year and how that change might actually benefit Derrick.  It was entirely logical.

Why am I not surprised you couldn't grasp this?

[NotAnAlum]

I just wanted to correct a couple of your responses to my post

I'm not a proponent of the upperclassmen should automatically get more PT as a result of their class status.

Upperclassmen don’t get more PT as a result of their status.  There is a huge amount that a player with 2 years in the program understands and knows how to execute that an incoming player does not.  They don’t just put 5 guys on the court, roll the ball out there and say play boys.  On defense you have to understand all the rotations, assignments when your man doesn’t have the ball, etc.  On offense you have to know the plays.  Upper Level D. 1 basketball is a team game and if one or 2 of the 5 isn’t playing as expected it hurts the whole team and ultimately reduces their chance of winning.  Since the goal is to win the most games first year players are generally going to play less until the fully understand and can counted on to execute what the team is doing.

In the case of Dawson and Derrick, the minute differential is so incredibly stark - it defies logical explanation.

Here you are inferring that Burton and Dawson are similar.   This is simply not true.  Burton is a unique talent.  A top 50 kid out of high school with athletic ability that is off the chart.  Dawson was no where near the top 100 coming out of HS with his other offer being from Wyoming.  MU took him as insurance at the PG position figuring that he would be willing bide his time as a back-up.  In their playing time I believe they both played to their expected levels.  Burton looked like at Top 50 recruit much of the time while Dawson looked like an average freshman.
As I’ve said before if John Dawson had the talent of Dominic James by the time the conference season rolled around he would have been playing most of the minutes.  But John is not DJ, he’s not Burton, he’s not even close.  I hope he stays with the program because I believe he can develop into a decent player that we’ll be glad to have as a experience upperclassman.  This year proves you can never have too many point guards. 

[NersEllenson]

I just wanted to correct a couple of your responses to my postUpperclassmen don’t get more PT as a result of their status.  There is a huge amount that a player with 2 years in the program understands and knows how to execute that an incoming player does not.  They don’t just put 5 guys on the court, roll the ball out there and say play boys.  On defense you have to understand all the rotations, assignments when your man doesn’t have the ball, etc.  On offense you have to know the plays.  Upper Level D. 1 basketball is a team game and if one or 2 of the 5 isn’t playing as expected it hurts the whole team and ultimately reduces their chance of winning.  Since the goal is to win the most games first year players are generally going to play less until the fully understand and can counted on to execute what the team is doing. Here you are inferring that Burton and Dawson are similar.   This is simply not true.  Burton is a unique talent.  A top 50 kid out of high school with athletic ability that is off the chart.  Dawson was no where near the top 100 coming out of HS with his other offer being from Wyoming.  MU took him as insurance at the PG position figuring that he would be willing bide his time as a back-up.  In their playing time I believe they both played to their expected levels.  Burton looked like at Top 50 recruit much of the time while Dawson looked like an average freshman.
As I’ve said before if John Dawson had the talent of Dominic James by the time the conference season rolled around he would have been playing most of the minutes.  But John is not DJ, he’s not Burton, he’s not even close.  I hope he stays with the program because I believe he can develop into a decent player that we’ll be glad to have as a experience upperclassman.  This year proves you can never have too many point guards. 

John had 30+ scholarship offers including Creighton...just to clear that up.  I agree, he is not Burton - Burton is an athletic freak - and regardless of him not being in the program as long as Juan..and not knowing rotations, etc., he actually produces on the court...which seemingly should take precedence over every other metric.

I've said it 50+ times here - people want to make judgements on Dawson that he's overmatched, or wouldn't be better than Derrick if given 30+ minutes per game - yet he's only bee given the chance 1 game.  Imagine what Derrick's numbers would look like if he was getting 10-12 minutes per game..comprised of 4-5 segments of 2:30 of run?

I'm not trying to argue for a minute that John would be Dominic as a freshman...I've simply argued that he has much more basketball upside/talent than Derrick - like Burton compared to Juan to an extent - whereby the bar set by the upperclassmen is so incredibly low...you don't have to be Dominic James good or even Burton good to improve the quality of play at the positions in question - PG and the 3.

[willie warrior]

I keep reading about this hypothesis that Duane Wilson is better than Derrick and Dawson, and its just a shame he was injured this year.

Here's why I think this might be misguided: Duane was medically cleared to practice by December 5th.  After getting a front-row view of the deficiencies at his position--leading to a 5-3 record with losses to Arizona State, Ohio State, San Diego State--and narrow wins over the likes of New Hampshire and Southern--he decided that he was going to redshirt anyway.

And I don't by the fact that missing 6 weeks of practice means you can't be ready sometime within the next three months.  

If the underlying assumption is that he is our best option at PG, why would he decide to sit out the rest of the season after returning to practice after missing the first 8 games?   Even if it took a month of practice to get back into playing shape--that's back for conference play.  Or even a month later, late January when we were 4-4 and still very much alive for an NCAA bid?  

Buzz says this was entirely Duane's and his family's decision. Does anyone really think they would have said "redshirt me" given what they saw about our PG stituation?  "I'm good enough to get us to a 9th straight NCAA tournament, but I'd rather have a full season in 2017-18 than only play 18 to 20 games this year and help Chris, Jake, Davante and Jamil make the tourney their senior year."

If anyone beleives he's really that good, then you are essentially saying that he and Buzz tanked the 2013-14 season in exchange for a year of eligilbity in the 2017-18 season.  

Sorry, but I can't see Duane doing that to the team, and I certainly can't see Buzz allowing him to do it to the team.

That leaves the more logical alternative--that right now, he's not good enough to beat out either Derrick Wilson or John Dawson for minutes.  Buzz told him that as poor as Derrick and Dawson are playing, that Duane is even further down in the dept chart and won't see any game time anyway, so he might as well redshirt.  "Your choice, of course, but if this helps you make up your mind, I'll tell you right now that I'm not playing you."

And I don't see Derrick and John sitting and resting on their laurels.  As hard as Duane is going to work to get into the rotation, Derrick and John are going to work hard to keep him 3rd in the depth chart.  At this point, I think the working assumption has to be that our PG situtation next year is no different that what he had this year.

I do not believe for a second that it was Duane's decision, but many here buy that. More Buzzspeak. If that is true, why the muzzle on it. Until I hear it from the kid or his parents, I believe Buzz pressured the kid so he would not have to put up with people advocating him all year. Buzz would do that, because it is his way or the highway. Now I hope to be proven wrong--let the kid tell us the story. Oh, I forgot, according to the Buzz slurpers, it is none of our business.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I do not believe for a second that it was Duane's decision, but many here buy that. More Buzzspeak. If that is true, why the muzzle on it. Until I hear it from the kid or his parents, I believe Buzz pressured the kid so he would not have to put up with people advocating him all year. Buzz would do that, because it is his way or the highway. Now I hope to be proven wrong--let the kid tell us the story. Oh, I forgot, according to the Buzz slurpers, it is none of our business.

It is none of our business.

I can only think of one time where a kid spoke to the media about his decision to redshirt. And all the kid said was that he knew he wasn't ready and he was going to use the off year to get ready.

There has been no muzzle on the kid. If you want to blame someone, blame Journal Setinal for not having better Marquette coverage. If they tried to interview Duane, it would be allowed.

[dgies9156]

Ok, for this crowd, I'm going to go out on a limb.

As much as we complain about D Wilson and Juan Anderson, Buzz is 10 times more aware of the issues both players have. With a school that spends more money on basketball than it probably does on God, there is not much room for error. Have another year like this one and the griping burns past these blogs and into the real world... where Buzz's position could potentially be under evaluation.

My view is that Buzz went with the line-up he did because he inevitably saw something in practice that made both the best options he had for their positions. We might not like it -- in fact few do -- but I suspect there is much more to Buzz's decision than ego or stubbornness often cited on this Board.

As the seasons change and we go into the off-season, I suspect correcting THIS problem will be Buzz's primary priority (perhaps with signing Diamond Stone). I'll give him credit -- he's pulled a few rabbits out of his hat and I suspect he will do so again. It's a hunch, no doubt, but it is a hunch based on past experience.

[brandx]

Not so sure.  You guys probably missed the fact that Burton played 18 minutes yesterday while Juan did not play.  For the year Burton's minutes per game are only about 1.5 minutes behind Juan.  That's a pretty big move for Burton considering Juan is an upper classman.
First off can we please not focus on who starts.  Its not who starts, its who gets the minutes.
Second Buzz has said this countless times you have to be able to defend the position.  Because of the two guards we have to play (and lets take that as a given and not argue about that for a second) Burton has to defend the other team's #3 or #4.  Burton is getting better at defending in the team concept so Juan's minutes are generally decreasing (unless there is a special defensive assignment).  Also Burton can get a little selfish with the ball and get out of what the team is trying to do.  When he does, unless you just want free for all street ball, you have to sit him for a while.
I think Buzz would love to have Burton out there 30 minutes a game if he could count on him to play good team defense and team offense.  I think he will next year.
Buzz wants to win games and he'll play the guys that he feels give him the best chance to win games.  He's not going to play guys and lose because of some kind of blind loyalty.  If you believe that you really don't think much of Buzz.

Second time today I have corrected this misconception. Even without seeing the floor against St. John's, Juan logged more minutes in the 2nd half of the BE season than the first half.