Value the Basketball

[Its DJOver]

The only way this team loses more than a handful of games in the Big East is turning the ball over. 7 turnovers in the first 13 minutes is how you lose to an inferior team.

Missing open shots will correct itself. Controlling the basketball needs to be a priority.

7 TO in 13 min the first time round (19 for the game).  6 TO in 40 min the second time round.  I'm sure a lot of film was watched of the first time and adjustments were made.  Definition of good coaching.

[wadesworld]

7 TO in 13 min the first time round (19 for the game).  6 TO in 40 min the second time round.  I'm sure a lot of film was watched of the first time and adjustments were made.  Definition of good coaching.

Yup.  And great ball movement leading to wide open shots all game.

[wadesworld]

Bump. Our transition D has been phenomenal so it’s limiting the damage by all the turnovers, but they still are taking away an opportunity at a shot.

[MUfanatic45]

Bump. Our transition D has been phenomenal so it’s limiting the damage by all the turnovers, but they still are taking away an opportunity at a shot.

TO's are the only thing keeping this close right now

[wadesworld]

Bump. Settle down and don’t get yourself into a corner.

[nyg]

They miss, we miss.  They score, we score.  Can’t take advantage to go up. Just not good.

This continues, gonna be a free throw contest. 

[nyg]

They miss, we miss.  They score, we score.  Can’t take advantage to go up. Just not good.

This continues, gonna be a free throw contest.

Ops, wrong thread. 

[MattyWarrior]

Hard to watch

[shoothoops]

Yes.   By Joey becoming a sophomore.

He has shown a lot of promise this year. A really good off season of strength and conditioning would benefit him greatly.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

A Hauser turned the ball over four times in five possessions down the stretch.

[TFlegend]

Honest question.  How do you practice not turning the ball over?

[rocky_warrior]

Honest question.  How do you practice not turning the ball over?

Have the starters play against McEwen, Cain, Bailey,  Morrow and Heldt, allowing those guys to foul while swatting at the ball without calling it.  I guess...

Seems like we have a perfect "disrupt ball movement" scout team, hopefully Wojo's using it.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Honest question.  How do you practice not turning the ball over?

Tackling dummies

[Marqevans]

We lost the ball everytime we were double teamed. Slap happy Blue Jays were never called.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

We lost the ball everytime we were double teamed. Slap happy Blue Jays were never called.

There is some truth to this. There was a sequence early in the game where Christian Bishop committed two hard hedges on Howard that I was shocked weren't called blocking fouls. I think those two non-calls were big not because getting Bishop in early foul trouble would have helped, but because I think it sent a clear message to the Jays that they could get away with that kind of defense this game. Credit to them, they recognized it and took advantage. Those fouls get called and maybe McDermott hesitates to throw that aggressive of pressure at Howard.

[MU82]

There is some truth to this. There was a sequence early in the game where Christian Bishop committed two hard hedges on Howard that I was shocked weren't called blocking fouls. I think those two non-calls were big not because getting Bishop in early foul trouble would have helped, but because I think it sent a clear message to the Jays that they could get away with that kind of defense this game. Credit to them, they recognized it and took advantage. Those fouls get called and maybe McDermott hesitates to throw that aggressive of pressure at Howard.

I agree with this.

I'm not one who cries much about the refs, but those were fouls and they are supposed to be called -- especially now that "freedom of movement" rules are being emphasized. Markus didn't get much respect from the refs yesterday; hammered with no calls on a couple of drives, too, and the offensive foul was questionable at best.

Guys still needed to play better, though. I'm sure a Creighton observer could point to 10 calls or no calls that hurt their team. Not to mention ... Sam's shot at Creighton!

[BrewCity83]

That game reminded me a bit of Huggins' old Cincinnati teams that played very aggressive defense, going after the ball and playing D with reckless abandon, knowing they would be committing fouls but also knowing that they would be getting away with a lot of rough play and fouls that wouldn't be called. 

[Its DJOver]

I would have liked to hear that conversation when the refs stopped the game so that Markus could get bandaged.  "Gee, I wonder how that scratch that is apparently bleeding so badly that you have to stop the game got there, it wasn't there two possessions ago, I think I probably just did it to myself in my sleep."

[Marcus92]

Limiting turnovers has been a point of emphasis for the team since the beginning of the season. The managers track turnovers during every scrimmage in practice. Wojo talks about protecting the ball and valuing possessions in virtually every press conference.

So how does Marquette end up ranked 250th by KenPom in turnover percentage (19.8%), down from 17.3% (99th) a season ago?

I'm not sure, honestly.

Obviously it has something to do with Markus. He's improved as a passer this season. But he's not quite as efficient a distributor (27.1% ARate, 18.5% TORate) as Rowsey was last season (28.6% ARate, 16.4% TORate). His higher usage tends to magnify the difference.

It doesn't help that our secondary ball handler, Joseph Chartouny, leads the team in turnover rate: an astounding 35.2%. (Not even Junior Cadougan, Derrick Wilson or Traci Carter ever topped 30 percent.) On top of that, three other players in the regular rotation boast turnover rates above 20 percent: Joey (22.9%), Theo (22.2%) and Ed (25.2%).

In fact, only 3 players on the entire roster have turnover rates below the national average: Sam (11.8%), Sacar (15.9%) and Brendan (4.8%).

Until the past couple games, turnovers have been more of a nagging occasional concern than a glaring problem. I suspect taking better care of the ball -- not forcing the offense, making smarter passes, practicing the press break, responding to double teams -- is going to get even more attention from this point on.

[Marcus92]

I would have liked to hear that conversation when the refs stopped the game so that Markus could get bandaged.  "Gee, I wonder how that scratch that is apparently bleeding so badly that you have to stop the game got there, it wasn't there two possessions ago, I think I probably just did it to myself in my sleep."

LOL, was thinking almost the same thing. Certainly not a foul by the opposing team. Of course not.

[MU82]

That game reminded me a bit of Huggins' old Cincinnati teams that played very aggressive defense, going after the ball and playing D with reckless abandon, knowing they would be committing fouls but also knowing that they would be getting away with a lot of rough play and fouls that wouldn't be called.

When I coached middle school basketball, the No. 1 thing I wanted was for my kids to be aggressive. We used to shout, "Aggressiveness!" coming out of every huddle. I told them many times that, with very few exceptions (such as our best players being in foul trouble): "I don't care if you foul. That's why we have backups we trust." I stressed that I didn't want us to play dirty, just aggressively.

I knew we'd get called for our share of fouls, and we did, but I also knew that the refs couldn't possibly call everything. And the refs often give the benefit of the doubt to the aggressors.

I'm an assistant HS coach now and at halftime of a game a couple weeks ago we had 2 fouls as a team. I went to the coach and said, "There is no way we are playing aggressively enough. We only have two effen fouls in an entire half." And he opened his halftime speech by telling the girls exactly that. In the second half, we got more fouls. We also set the tone of the game with our aggressiveness and ended up winning decisively.

My long way of saying that I thought McDermott was very smart to turn up the heat on Markus and anybody else who had the basketball. Until the refs start calling it, just keep doing it.

[AZMarqfan]

when was the last time Marquette had a PG where we just KNEW they could break a press on their own? Rowsey was a nice ball handler (better dribbler and faster than Howard).  Was it Junior Cadougan?  DJO wasn't really our PG, but his speed with the ball was a sight to behold. 

[jesmu84]

When I coached middle school basketball, the No. 1 thing I wanted was for my kids to be aggressive. We used to shout, "Aggressiveness!" coming out of every huddle. I told them many times that, with very few exceptions (such as our best players being in foul trouble): "I don't care if you foul. That's why we have backups we trust." I stressed that I didn't want us to play dirty, just aggressively.

I knew we'd get called for our share of fouls, and we did, but I also knew that the refs couldn't possibly call everything. And the refs often give the benefit of the doubt to the aggressors.

I'm an assistant HS coach now and at halftime of a game a couple weeks ago we had 2 fouls as a team. I went to the coach and said, "There is no way we are playing aggressively enough. We only have two effen fouls in an entire half." And he opened his halftime speech by telling the girls exactly that. In the second half, we got more fouls. We also set the tone of the game with our aggressiveness and ended up winning decisively.

My long way of saying that I thought McDermott was very smart to turn up the heat on Markus and anybody else who had the basketball. Until the refs start calling it, just keep doing it.

And therein lies my problem with it. A foul is a foul.

[BM1090]

when was the last time Marquette had a PG where we just KNEW they could break a press on their own? Rowsey was a nice ball handler (better dribbler and faster than Howard).  Was it Junior Cadougan?  DJO wasn't really our PG, but his speed with the ball was a sight to behold.

Definitely not either of those two. I loved Junior but he was a disaster at times against pressure (Louisville) and DJO didn't bring it up much. Maybe Derrick but he didn't do much once the pressure was broken.

[MU82]

And therein lies my problem with it. A foul is a foul.

We agree.

We both also know that, as common-sense as that is, the refs often aren't going to call a foul a foul.

We can hate that, we can wish that weren't true, but we really can't dispute that.