Taking a break from my exile to give some credit where credit is due...

[GGGG]

Ners...Nevada...et. al.

John Dawson really played well against Xavier and I would like to see more of him.  Get Jamil off the point and break down the minutes Derrick (25) / Dawson (15).

[CTWarrior]

The thing I liked best about Dawson is that he looked comfortable out there.  He looked like he belonged, which I thought was impressive considering the rust he must have had.  That's the most I've seen of him.  His handle was fine.  He was 2-6 from 3 but he had at least 2 that were in and out and the last one was a deperation heave at the end of the game.  Gives us a different dimension then Derrick Wilson. 

I agree that when Derrick is on the bench, I would like to see more of Dawson at the point rather than Jamil, who is much more at home playing the forward positions.

[KenoshaWarrior]

I loved the fact that he surveyed the floor and his eyes were always up looking for something.

[tower912]

I won't say I was wrong.  I will say he has finally progressed and finally looked comfortable out there.   

[NersEllenson]

Nice post Sultan - takes some humility to make this post.  I think the difference for Dawson last night was he got long stretches or run, to get into a rhythm. If you look at the game timeline - think he came in with 13:00 left in 1st half with team leading 14-13.  Team got to 26-22 lead, a few turnovers and good look misses by DG and Jake - end up down 34-40 at half...and Jamil was on the bench for the whole time Dawson was in.

2nd half we fell behind by 12 early, got it down to 9 with 13:00 left...with Derrick running the point.  Dawson entered team got to 67-68 with 5 minutes left, Derrick returned and we were down 8 points just 2:30 seconds later.

Dawson's shooting stroke is confident, 2 of his 3 misses from 3 were right on - there are differences in misses - his shots were right online, contrast that to Derrick's FT attempt that clanked off the backboard dircectly over the outer perimeter of the right side of the rim - just a terrible miss.

Think Dawson looks confident with ball, is always looking up, and is solid defensively.  Given the disparity of the time in the program compared to Derrick - it just seems evident Dawson's ceiling is much higher, which in turn should help the team achieve more.  AT minimum, Dawson certainly showed things wouldn't be worse with him getting 20 minutes at PG - in a hostile environment too.

[tower912]

He wasn't solid defensively.   He did hit a couple of shots.   To my eyes, he did not look like the solution.   But it wasn't a disaster.   He looked better than he did against the cupcakes, so I have to assume he is progressing. 

[Goose]

Dawson is not long term solution at PG. It is most important spot on the court an college ball and major need to upgrade at PG moving forward. He played solid, but in big picture a great PG makes a team in today's game of college ball.

[NersEllenson]

He wasn't solid defensively.   He did hit a couple of shots.   To my eyes, he did not look like the solution.   But it wasn't a disaster.   He looked better than he did against the cupcakes, so I have to assume he is progressing. 

Not sure how you felt Dawson wasn't solid defensively, or any less solid than Derrick - but, such a statement is really hard to quantify.  What can be quantified is Dawson doubled Derrick's 3 point makes for the season, in 1 game, and that the team had good runs with Dawson in the game.  Think Dawson earned a little more PT after tonight's game, and sure hope Buzz continues to give him 8 minute runs, instead of the fragmented runs of 2 minutes at a time we've mostly seen Dawson get.

[harigtad]

at least dawson wasn't heistant to shoot

[tower912]

Hey, he shot 29% last night.   But at least he was firing.   In all seriousness, it was the first time all year, including the cupcakes, that I thought he looked like he might belong. 

[Lennys Tap]

Not sure how you felt Dawson wasn't solid defensively, or any less solid than Derrick - but, such a statement is really hard to quantify.  What can be quantified is Dawson doubled Derrick's 3 point makes for the season, in 1 game, and that the team had good runs with Dawson in the game.  Think Dawson earned a little more PT after tonight's game, and sure hope Buzz continues to give him 8 minute runs, instead of the fragmented runs of 2 minutes at a time we've mostly seen Dawson get.

Ners,

Add me to the list of those impressed with Dawson. Don't see him at all as a drive and dish or drive and kick out guy (at least yet) but his stroke from 3 looked solid and he looked comfortable out there. Think he earned back up (10-15) minutes last night.

[MerrittsMustache]

Dawson did a respectable job last night. He didn't force things, he took the open shot and he handled the ball well. He still had his moments of looking like a frosh, but he'll get past that. I'd be surprised if he doesn't log at least 8-12 minutes on Saturday.

[MUfan12]

3 of his misses rattled out. Dawsonmania would be in full swing had they dropped.

I didn't think he was any worse defensively than anyone else last night. They were all pretty poor in that regard.

[NersEllenson]

Hey, he shot 29% last night.   But at least he was firing.   In all seriousness, it was the first time all year, including the cupcakes, that I thought he looked like he might belong. 

Would you please at least be balanced in your criticism of shooting percentages and reference Derrick's as well?  You can throw out 1 of Dawson's FG attempts at end of regulation, and then 2 of his other 3 attempts that didn't fall from 3 were right there...easily could have been 4 of 5 from 3 last night - and we trumpet how good Jake is at 3 shooting 41% (which is a good mark), and certainly much better than 11% as Derrick has been for the season, with 1 make from 3, in 16 games and being the leading minute getter on the team...

[NersEllenson]

Ners,

Add me to the list of those impressed with Dawson. Don't see him at all as a drive and dish or drive and kick out guy (at least yet) but his stroke from 3 looked solid and he looked comfortable out there. Think he earned back up (10-15) minutes last night.

I agree Dawson didn't aggressively attack the basket last night, other than at end of 1st half, where did make a nice move into the lane...loved his jump stop hop...to gain space/advantage...missed the shot though.

Think Dawson can be a drive and kick PG, yet that is an area where you can become more turnover prone, and at this stage in his development - Buzz may want to limit him aggressively attacking the rim.  But, he does have a good stroke and quick release from the 3, and does see the floor well.

He has some nice potential - will be interesting to see how he evolves at MU the next 3 seasons - will Duane Wilson get more PT at PG, or will Dawson get more run at PG and Duane at the 2?  Think they both are combo guards, that can play either PG or SG.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Speaking of exile, where has BrewCity been?

[tower912]

Brew has been at IWB's site.   

[brandx]

He wasn't solid defensively.   He did hit a couple of shots.   To my eyes, he did not look like the solution.   But it wasn't a disaster.   He looked better than he did against the cupcakes, so I have to assume he is progressing. 

You may be right, but he didn't let his man hit a 3-pointer four different times with the game on the line like our "defensive" PG.

[GooooMarquette]

Like Sultan, I have been a strong supporter of Derrick, and haven't agreed with the calls to play Dawson.

Last night showed me that Dawson is ready for decent minutes (10-15) as Derrick's backup.  Where it goes from there should depend on how they play when they're both getting regular minutes.  Dawson clearly isn't ready to be the starter yet...but he should get the opportunity to show what he can do off the bench.

[NersEllenson]

Like Sultan, I have been a strong supporter of Derrick, and haven't agreed with the calls to play Dawson.

Last night showed me that Dawson is ready for decent minutes (10-15) as Derrick's backup.  Where it goes from there should depend on how they play when they're both getting regular minutes.  Dawson clearly isn't ready to be the starter yet...but he should get the opportunity to show what he can do off the bench.

Nice post Gooo - and I don't ask this in a dickhead kind of way - but what has Derrick shown that he is clearly ready to be the continued starter getting 25-30 minutes a game?  I do of course agree that last night was a step in the right direction - throw Dawson into the fire in a hostile environment and see how he does - the stage/environment certainly didn't seem to big for him, and as a result I hope we at least continue to get to see 15-20 minutes per game from him, and him getting 8-10 minute stretches of continued PT.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Like Sultan, I have been a strong supporter of Derrick, and haven't agreed with the calls to play Dawson.

Last night showed me that Dawson is ready for decent minutes (10-15) as Derrick's backup.  Where it goes from there should depend on how they play when they're both getting regular minutes.  Dawson clearly isn't ready to be the starter yet...but he should get the opportunity to show what he can do off the bench.

I think where most of us "disagree with playing Dawson" is that we don't think the calls for "give him 30-35 minutes a game and sit Derrick on the bench" had much if any merit. 

My own POV is that going all the way back to Grambling, I thought Dawson looked better than I had anticipated and showed potential...but it was Grambling.  Over the next several games he didn't do a whole lot, recently I thought he had regressed, and that's when the "give him 30" crowd really seemed crazy to me. 

Last night he looked pretty damn good, and I think he's very capable of playing the back up role (maybe 15 a game), and that's a very good thing for this team.

[jesmu84]

Like Sultan, I have been a strong supporter of Derrick, and haven't agreed with the calls to play Dawson.

Last night showed me that Dawson is ready for decent minutes (10-15) as Derrick's backup.  Where it goes from there should depend on how they play when they're both getting regular minutes.  Dawson clearly isn't ready to be the starter yet...but he should get the opportunity to show what he can do off the bench.

I'm right there with Gooo and Sultan at this point.

[tower912]

You may be right, but he didn't let his man hit a 3-pointer four different times with the game on the line like our "defensive" PG.

Wilson was in really good defensive position for those.   Sometimes they just go in.   

[MerrittsMustache]

Wilson was in really good defensive position for those.   Sometimes they just go in.   

Exactly. You give a 30% career 3pt shooter a contested 3 any time he wants it.

[brandx]

Wilson was in really good defensive position for those.   Sometimes they just go in.   

For 2 of them, anyway. But if the guy you are guarding is an All-American candidate, you have to make him put the ball on the floor and hope that the help defense is there. As study after study has shown, it is the quantity of 3's taken that makes the difference.