Kolek planning to go pro
He was one rumored to be leaving if the Hausers had stayed.
Maybe Jamal stayed 4 years because he actually liked Marquette, because one of his best friends in the world was on the team, and because he also liked being around most of his other teammates.Maybe he didn't like Joey and/or Sam, and once they were gone he saw an opportunity for team harmony, as well as for more playing time (which he received).Maybe he didn't want to sit out a year, which he would have had to do under the old rules.And I know this is unthinkable ... but maybe he didn't even hate the evil Wojo. Maybe he didn't even give Shaka a chance to re-recruit him because he wanted his own team, and he knew that Marquette was gonna be all about Shaka and the rebuild.Until Cain talks about any and all of that, all we can do here is speculate.I'm very happy for Jamal's success. He always seemed like a good kid, and he improved a lot during his time at Marquette. I never saw the NBA in his future, but I'd absolutely love to be wrong about that, just as we all were about Juan.
Playing differently - able to use athleticism vs. weaker opponents. With MU 45% 3fga/fga %. This season, only 27.5% (and a weak 30.6% efg%). 59/81 for 72.8% at the rim this year. 46% of his FGA’s are at the rim because now he can get there. A year ago, was 37/65 at the rim for 56.9%. Only 29% of his attempts were at the rim. In evaluating HS guys, there are numerous who you know will likely go D1 and be ok, but it’s clear they could be studs at a MM or LM
I would take the Rick SLU program right now.
JB, do you think Jamal would be useful on this team? We could certainly use the shooting and ability to rebound.
I know it looks like 20/20 hindsight but I could never understand why Jamal had such a hard time getting and staying on the floor under Wojo, especially as an upper classman. He was never allowed to develop a flow and get comfortable. A complete mismanagement of his talents. The fact that he is blowing up now is no surprise to my very untrained eyes.
I was actually very surprised he didn't transfer 1 or 2 years earlier the way he was not being used. Seemed to me he was wasting his time at MU under Wojo.I would have liked to see him play under Smart and agree he would have added greatly to the teams success.
I agree with everything Ruby said. I’ll also add that Cain was given no leash when it came to turnovers despite everyone else having one…….especially Howard with every last possession with the game on the line. I loved Howard but talk about a guaranteed turnover when it came to the last possession. But if Cain turned it over once, Wojo pulled him quicker than Dean could call a timeout after play resumed. I’m happy for Cain and wish him well.
So what you're saying is that a college basketball coach didn't treat a first-team All-American the same way he treated a role-playing reserve? That's preposterous!There's a little selective memory going on with Jamal's situation. When he was a sophomore, in 2018-19, we had a team that had one of the best 3-month stretches in the nation and moved into the top 10. Jamal was buried on the bench and was given the "short leash" treatment. That's quite common in such situations.After The Lettermen left, Cain's playing time more than doubled. He averaged 18.4 mpg for the season and about 20 down the stretch. One could argue that Wojo was wrong to start Bailey and give Bailey more minutes in most games -- and it is an debate that went on constantly among Scoopers -- but it's not as if Cain didn't play about half of most games.And his last season at MU, Jamal averaged 30 minutes, had the green light to shoot, was never yanked after TOs, etc.He was a 3-star recruit, and his career progressed fairly similarly to that of many such recruits.As to how he's doing as a Year 5 guy ... see the stats JB provided.
Those are the facts. Happy to see Jamal get a nice run with a decent Horizon League team with that free extra season as an almost 23 year old.
Nice way to slight Jamal's performance year to date. He's in the Top 1% of players in Value Add and has faced the 25th more difficult schedule. Hasn't even stepped foot into Horizon League play yet. Give the kid his due.