Mbakwe article

[77fan88warrior]

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_9812629?source=rss

The missing link for greater success this season?

[OneMadWarrior]

Hopefully he can make the same kind of leap that Hayward did last season. They have somewhat similar situations in not being able to to practice with the team until late. Obviously Hayward wasn't hurt Freshman year, but I believe the talent is there.

[ChicosBailBonds]

He didn't believe playing last season was a waste.  Added confidence, etc.  Good to hear.

[wampum77]

Do you really think he would acknowledge that his playing time last year was a waste?  Be serious.

[Nukem2]

Do you really think he would acknowledge that his playing time last year was a waste?  Be serious.

  Seriously, it probably did help him as he states in the article.  No conspiracy theory here.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Do you really think he would acknowledge that his playing time last year was a waste?  Be serious.

I am being serious....he states quite clearly why he thought it was a benefit....he got his feet wet, played in meaningful games and doesn't have to start green this year.  It seems he's being serious.  Take it up with him if you think he's lying.

[NCMUFan]

Good article. I hope Trevor has lots of playing time next year and is the force we anticipate he is. 

[Henry Sugar]

Signs of hope for Mbakwe

In limited playing time (ie - a poor sample size).

Mbakwe had the highest OR% of anyone on the team at 14.6%... meaning he grabbed almost 15% of any available offensive rebound when he was on the court.  For comparison, anything above 10% is good and 15% is a monster.

His personal Free Throw Rate was highest on the team as well at 60%, meaning that 60% of the time he took a FGA, it resulted in him shooting a FT.

Despite the OR prowess, Mbakwe's real limitation was on the offensive end, where he was worst on the team at Points per Weighted Shot (PPWS).  Going 4/15 from the field and 9/19 from the charity stripe will do that.  On defense he was slightly worse than the team average.

All of these areas are flawed statistics because of the sample size, but at least they provide some indication of what we might get from Mbakwe with regular contribution. 

[1990Warrior]

Based on what I saw last year, I think that with a healthy knee he should be a great contributer on the boards. His offensive skills compared to Burke however.  I hope he can improve as the article states he is trying to do.

[mu03eng]

good stuff Henry.  You could also argue that his shooting was hampered by his knee.  He didn't seem to get a lot of lift, which is much more critical in shooting than rebounding.  He seemed to be VERY fundamental with his rebounding so he established position first which allowed him to get boards without having good ups.  However shooting, he couldn't get up to make the shot. 

[MUFanInGreenBay]

I just get the feeling though that Mbakwe will transfer back to Minnesota at the end of this year. I think a lot of the reason he stayed here this year is because the Big 3 did a helluva job convincing him to stay. They knew they needed him if they wanted to have any kind of real success this season. I think Mbakwe really took that into account and didn't want to let his boys down so he decided to hang around for a year. I hope my feeling is wrong, but something just gives me this feeling that he'll end up with Tubby come next year.

[1990Warrior]

MUFan,
I think he will stay as he should be looking at getting a lot of minutes in 09 and beyond.

[MUONTOP]

I just get the feeling though that Mbakwe will transfer back to Minnesota at the end of this year. I think a lot of the reason he stayed here this year is because the Big 3 did a helluva job convincing him to stay. They knew they needed him if they wanted to have any kind of real success this season. I think Mbakwe really took that into account and didn't want to let his boys down so he decided to hang around for a year. I hope my feeling is wrong, but something just gives me this feeling that he'll end up with Tubby come next year.

You really think after sitting out most of this past year he'll play a year and then transfer where he will have to sit out another entire year?  Just seems like a lot of waiting to play after getting a solid season in

[MUFanInGreenBay]

MUFan,
I think he will stay as he should be looking at getting a lot of minutes in 09 and beyond.

I don't think minutes have anything to do with it. I think there's a lot of pull from folks back in Minnesota to get him to come play at Minnesota. I think he had his mind up to go back home this offseason, but the Big 3 convinced him to stay for this year. I don't believe in this crap about him disliking Crean that some people ae saying.

[NCMUFan]

Anything can happen, but if he would of transfered I believe it would of been this year.  Also, he doesn't appear to want to redshirt and be stuck in college another year.  The Twin Cities is only 350 miles away, 6 hours.  Thats not far when you consider the Texas recruits.  I believe Trevor sees the Big East and Marquette is a rung up the ladder than UofMinn and the Big 10/11.  He is a Warrior!  Go Trevor! Go Marquette!

[MUFanInGreenBay]

You really think after sitting out most of this past year he'll play a year and then transfer where he will have to sit out another entire year?  Just seems like a lot of waiting to play after getting a solid season in

Obviously, that will be the one negative part of it for him. However, he was willing to sit out this year after just barely getting his fit wet tells me that sitting out after this season wouldn't be any harder. Think about it. He is just coming off a season of getting his feet wet and you know he must be anxious as heck to suit up for a full year healthy. The fact he was willing to sit out this season after getting his feet wet last season should tell you that he has quite a lot of patience. Because once guys get their feet wet they tend to be even more driven and excited to play the following year after getting that initial taste in their mouth. I think Mbakwe always wanted to play for Minnesota(most kids want to play for their home state school), but the Minnesota coaching staff and program was doing poorly the past few years made MU a pretty easy choice. Minnesota is no longer on the decline. They're on the upswing.

[muwarrior87]

He is not going to transfer.  He has family visit him fairly regularly down here so that is not an issue.  Every indication I have gotten from him and the rest of the guys says that they are all pretty happy and want to succeed HERE at Marquette.

[RawdogDX]

I just get the feeling though that Mbakwe will transfer back to Minnesota at the end of this year. I think a lot of the reason he stayed here this year is because the Big 3 did a helluva job convincing him to stay. They knew they needed him if they wanted to have any kind of real success this season. I think Mbakwe really took that into account and didn't want to let his boys down so he decided to hang around for a year. I hope my feeling is wrong, but something just gives me this feeling that he'll end up with Tubby come next year.

This feeling seems completely baseless.  
1) We don't know if there was any truth to the rumors that he was thinking about leaving.
2) If they were true, Not sure why you think Mini 3 (I just came up with that name and love it... because they are all short.) had anything to do with convinceing him.  It could have been, Buzz, hayward, some hot freshman, or his mom for all you know.
3) He spent last year working his ass off to play in the last few games.  In this article he talks about disliking not playing for as long as he did, why do you think he would be eagar to sit out a year?

So unless you are miss cleo i don't think i'd give your feeling more than a .5% chance of being correct.

[MUFanInGreenBay]

This feeling seems completely baseless.  
1) We don't know if there was any truth to the rumors that he was thinking about leaving.
2) If they were true, Not sure why you think Mini 3 (I just came up with that name and love it... because they are all short.) had anything to do with convinceing him.  It could have been, Buzz, hayward, some hot freshman, or his mom for all you know.
3) He spent last year working his ass off to play in the last few games.  In this article he talks about disliking not playing for as long as he did, why do you think he would be eagar to sit out a year?

So unless you are miss cleo i don't think i'd give your feeling more than a .5% chance of being correct.

Fine. You got your opinions and I have mine. All I'm saying is something just gives me the feeling Mbakwe is gone after this season. We'll see who's right.

[MUFanInGreenBay]

This feeling seems completely baseless.  
1) We don't know if there was any truth to the rumors that he was thinking about leaving.
2) If they were true, Not sure why you think Mini 3 (I just came up with that name and love it... because they are all short.) had anything to do with convinceing him.  It could have been, Buzz, hayward, some hot freshman, or his mom for all you know.
3) He spent last year working his ass off to play in the last few games.  In this article he talks about disliking not playing for as long as he did, why do you think he would be eagar to sit out a year?

So unless you are miss cleo i don't think i'd give your feeling more than a .5% chance of being correct.

He says right in the article that he was thinking about transferring and that Minn. was a possibility.

[RawdogDX]

He says right in the article that he was thinking about transferring and that Minn. was a possibility.

Wow, his coach left and he considered the posibility of transfering, I found a bug in my apt and thought about breaking my lease and moving to sandiego.  I wasn't serious about.

And FYI. I'm not really expressing opinions here unless: You have to convince me you know something about this to make me take your 'feeling' seriously is an oppinion.
For all i know he may decide to, but if you are going to claim that he will based on some sort of inside information (what motivated him to stay, how serious he was about leaving, how strong the desire is to play for his home state, that his family wants him closer, how much sitting out a year would bother him.) then people may want to know where it's coming from.

[mviale]

I am being serious....he states quite clearly why he thought it was a benefit....he got his feet wet, played in meaningful games and doesn't have to start green this year.  It seems he's being serious.  Take it up with him if you think he's lying.

Time will tell - if this guy is a solid 10/10 player for the next 3 years, we may wish he could stay a 4th year.

[NCMUFan]

Well, let's look to examples in the past.  Have players transfered who were important elements to their team and sited personal reasons and transfered closer to home?  Hence, I think Trevor also feels a bond and responsibility to this team and teammates.  He is also a very important member of the team this year and next and most definitely his senior year when he will have senior leadership and the greatest experience.

[Daniel]

I think (and hope) that Trevor stays.  I don't think he's going to a 5 year college program to play 3 and some change.  He ios a key member of the team, and important for Marquette. . .so Trevor - have a monster year and 2 more aftr that - here!

[ToddRosiakSays]

Mbakwe quits team

Written by: Todd Rosiak


Trevor Mbakwe has informed Marquette Golden Eagles coach Buzz Williams that he has quit the men's basketball team, Williams said on Sunday night.

A 6-foot-7, 240-pound sophomore forward, Mbakwe would have begun the fall semester with his teammates this morning but instead remains in his hometown of St. Paul, Minn. Williams and the Golden Eagles, meanwhile, were caught completely off-guard by Mbakwe's decision -- especially since he took part in all of MU's off-season workouts and had given no indication he was considering leaving.

"He just said that he felt it was best to go the junior-college route," Williams said. "He had never told me anything. I only want people that want to be a part of our program, be a part of our institution and be a part of our family. I wish Trevor nothing but the best, and I know his teammates feel the same way.

"I was shocked by the news."

Now, MU is left a man short at a crucial position, and will have no choice but to bank the scholarship for the 2009-'10 class since school's already in session and there are no suitable replacements available to sign at this point.

There were whispers Mbakwe was considering transferring in the days following Tom Crean's departure for Indiana, but on April 16 he told the Journal Sentinel he would remain at MU.

"I've been reading the papers and they're saying all this stuff about me transferring for family reasons before Coach (Tom Crean) even left," Mbakwe said then. "I just want to let everyone know that isn't true. It was news to me. It was a shock. I didn't know where it was coming from, and that's never been an idea in my head."

Mbakwe was the prize piece of Crean's 2007-'08 recruiting class. Somewhat undersized for a post player, he made up for that with long arms and tremendous athleticism and leaping ability. He was expected to be a key contributor last season as a true freshman, but was declared out for the year after suffering a knee injury in practice.

Mbakwe underwent surgery on Nov. 9 but on Feb. 15 was declared fit to play, and decided to take part in the final portion of the Golden Eagles' schedule rather than sit out the rest of the season as a redshirt. He wound up playing in 10 games, averaging 1.7 points and 2.3 rebounds as a reserve, but appeared to lack confidence in the knee, leading some to question his decision to return.

Looking ahead to this season, a healthy Mbakwe likely would have been projected as the first big man off the bench for the Golden Eagles. Now the pressure will be even greater on junior Lazar Hayward to produce as MU's starting power forward, with only junior-college transfer Joe Fulce - a 205-pounder - and inexperienced sophomore Pat Hazel left on the roster as reserve possibilities at that spot.



http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/08/24/mbakwe-quits-team.aspx