Proud of Our Team

[Herman Cain]

Great effort all season long by the whole team. Very proud of our Warriors.  Was a fun and exciting season . We can build off this and the future is bright.

[wadesworld]

MUFNY the voice of reason.

[RushmoreAcademy]

Great post. The guys played tough, and I had a lot of fun watching. Can't wait til the first secret scrimmage.

[GooooMarquette]

Proud indeed.  Warriors moving in the right direction.

[DJO's Jaw]

We succeeded this year in spite of our obvious deficiencies. I'm very proud of this team. Despite how it ended, I'm optimistic for next year. We are Marquette!

[mayfairskatingrink]

Great post. The guys played tough, and I had a lot of fun watching. Can't wait til the first secret scrimmage.

They played tough tonight?

[skianth16]

They played tough tonight?

I'm in this camp. What about getting outscored by 20 in the second half is tough? Are they good kids who worked their tails off? No doubt. Were they tough tonight? Nope.

[TFlegend]

Proud?  Ehhh...That's probably a little strong.      Glad they made the tourney, but what about the last two games would make you proud?

[Hards Alumni]

Reality is harsh.

Marquette overachieved all year and then massively underperformed tonight.  People need to acknowledge that.

Overall, it was a good season and I hope it can be built on.

[jaygall31]

Defense was always going to catch up to us. And bite. It sure did.

[esotericmindguy]

Great post. The guys played tough, and I had a lot of fun watching. Can't wait til the first secret scrimmage.

Played tough? Good lord. We have a different definition.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Glad I didn't watch the second half. Just don't have horses for the big dance.
Proud of our guys though
.looking forward to next year

[CTWarrior]

Played tough? Good lord. We have a different definition.

Yeah, I kinda did a double-take when I read that too.   We were a lot of things tonight, some good, some not so good, but "tough" is not a word I would associate with tonight's performance.

[skianth16]

Losing sucks. Getting embarrassed on the biggest stage in the game cuts way deeper than that. People need to quit acting like this isn't painful.

We got out-everythinged tonight. Outplayed, outhustled, outcoached, flat out outclassed. The second half was completely indefensible. We had no answers at all.

Is there a silver lining to this season? Yes, their names are Markus and Sam (not Steve). Are there valid concerns about the program moving forward that were exposed in the last few weeks? That's a yes as well. For now, at least.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Losing sucks. Getting embarrassed on the biggest stage in the game cuts way deeper than that. People need to quit acting like this isn't painful.

Is it painful? For who? For the fans? I was pissed for about 5 minutes after the game. That was the time it took me to get to a bar with a bunch of my buddies who had been out for St. Patrick's Day. Closed down the bar and had greasy street tacos on the way home. I had a great time. Already looking forward to next season.

For the program? Honestly, I think everyone outside of the die hard fans and those in the basketball program will forget the score of this game by Sunday. They'll even forget that the game was a blowout by Monday. Hell, they will probably forget that we lost in the first round before the Sweet 16. At most, people will remember that we made the tournament this year. This loss doesn't hurt the program at all.

The players/coaches? Yeah. It probably stings them a helluva lot. I hope they use this and let it fuel them to make the tourney again and to never let a loss like this happen to them again.

[mu_hilltopper]

Marquette overachieved all year and then massively underperformed tonight.

The only thing I'd disagree with in that sentence is "all year." 

MU overachieved in sporadic bursts, winning games versus superior opponents, then appearing completely lost versus the average.

[Hards Alumni]

The only thing I'd disagree with in that sentence is "all year." 

MU overachieved in sporadic bursts, winning games versus superior opponents, then appearing completely lost versus the average.

Fair point.  I wonder if everyone is happy with an inconsistent team that beats some top schools but loses to average teams... or if they'd be more happy with consistency... which would mean not beating teams like Villanova, but not losing to St. John's and Georgetown.

[damuts222]

I'm very proud of our team. Look at where we were last year and how many new pieces we had on the team this year, Howard, Hauser, Katin, Rowsey. I would have loved to at least won the game last night against SC, but to those that are extremely disappointed I wonder what your expectations were going into the season. Personally they met my expectations/hopes, which was to make the tourney.

We will again be a team next year with a lot of new pieces to shuffle but we will be getting some much needed size and bulk next year with Froling, Cain, John, Eke. I'm proud of this team and excited for the future.

[mu_hilltopper]

Good q .. I guess it's more fun to win surprisingly on occasion, than be consistently mediocre.

The inconsistency is from a faulty defensive system.   Even a RPI 300 team can beat anyone if they get hot from 3 one night.  MU did that with regularity.

MU couldn't surmount a cold shooting night as they were going to let their opponent get 75-90 points, which meant doom.

[GoldenDieners32]

We had a real good year and exceeded expectations. Next year I'm feelin a break out season. Cheatham and Duane will have to be leaders next year. November needs to come quick. Future looks bright for us

[Lennys Tap]

Yeah, I kinda did a double-take when I read that too.   We were a lot of things tonight, some good, some not so good, but "tough" is not a word I would associate with tonight's performance.

Yeah, one tough team on the court last night and it wasn't us.

[muwarrior69]

Losing sucks. Getting embarrassed on the biggest stage in the game cuts way deeper than that. People need to quit acting like this isn't painful.

We got out-everythinged tonight. Outplayed, outhustled, outcoached, flat out outclassed. The second half was completely indefensible. We had no answers at all.

Is there a silver lining to this season? Yes, their names are Markus and Sam (not Steve). Are there valid concerns about the program moving forward that were exposed in the last few weeks? That's a yes as well. For now, at least.

Life can be painful. This is not one of them. Its only a game.

[PGsHeroes32]

Losing sucks. Getting embarrassed on the biggest stage in the game cuts way deeper than that. People need to quit acting like this isn't painful.

We got out-everythinged tonight. Outplayed, outhustled, outcoached, flat out outclassed. The second half was completely indefensible. We had no answers at all.

Is there a silver lining to this season? Yes, their names are Markus and Sam (not Steve). Are there valid concerns about the program moving forward that were exposed in the last few weeks? That's a yes as well. For now, at least.

Meh

It was close for a half. And withint reach for 32 minutes.

It snowballed late. It happens. We know our D sucks.

I'm just glad we got in and avoided Dayton.

[GooooMarquette]

Is it painful? For who? For the fans? I was pissed for about 5 minutes after the game. That was the time it took me to get to a bar with a bunch of my buddies who had been out for St. Patrick's Day. Closed down the bar and had greasy street tacos on the way home. I had a great time. Already looking forward to next season.

For the program? Honestly, I think everyone outside of the die hard fans and those in the basketball program will forget the score of this game by Sunday. They'll even forget that the game was a blowout by Monday. Hell, they will probably forget that we lost in the first round before the Sweet 16. At most, people will remember that we made the tournament this year. This loss doesn't hurt the program at all.

The players/coaches? Yeah. It probably stings them a helluva lot. I hope they use this and let it fuel them to make the tourney again and to never let a loss like this happen to them again.

Impressive post at 3 am after closing a bar and eating greasy street tacos.

Seriously, you're right.  The loss hurts, but in the great scheme of things MU is better off as a program than it was before the season.  And as far as "painful" MU tournament losses, this one doesn't even make the top 10.  Maybe younger fans don't have that perspective yet, but this was just a blip on the screen.  Long term, we added one more notch on our impressive list of NCAA appearances, got great experience for our younger players, and saw Wojo take an important step forward in his progress as a coach. 

I am proud of our guys for working hard, steadily improving and getting us back to the dance.

[mayfairskatingrink]

Impressive post at 3 am after closing a bar and eating greasy street tacos.

Seriously, you're right.  The loss hurts, but in the great scheme of things MU is better off as a program than it was before the season.  And as far as "painful" MU tournament losses, this one doesn't even make the top 10.  Maybe younger fans don't have that perspective yet, but this was just a blip on the screen.  Long term, we added one more notch on our impressive list of NCAA appearances, got great experience for our younger players, and saw Wojo take an important step forward in his progress as a coach. 

I am proud of our guys for working hard, steadily improving and getting us back to the dance.

How did Wojo take a step forward in his progress as a coach?

IMO, he made one big move when he changed the starting lineup.  That energized the team for a little while, but the effect wore off.

How has Wojo's in-game coaching improved?  Was MU able to stop the opposing team's momentum any better in it's last game than earlier?  Was the defense any better in the last game than previously?

MU had some guys that could shoot and that was enough to get into the tourney in a very weak year overall in college basketball.

[GooooMarquette]

How did Wojo take a step forward in his progress as a coach?

2014-15:  9th in BE, no postseason
2015-16:  7th in BE, no postseason
2016-17:  tied for 3rd in BE, NCAA first round

And that's as the number of the players he recruited is increasing.

Thanks for the softball....

[damuts222]

Mayfair anything positive to add..geez, get off the ledge.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Mayfair anything positive to add..geez, get off the ledge.

Dont feed the troll. He's just a prick that disappears when MU wins.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I'm obviously bummed. First time I've braved Scoop since last night. Our defense was pitiful. We made a bad offensive team look like world beaters. Some of that's on our guys of course, but SC was just plain hot. They made everything. Those last 10 minutes were very hard to watch.

It is what it is. Anything this year was going to be gravy. But once we got there, didn't make me want it any less. I'm excited for what next year brings, but now it's time to turn my focus to baseball for the next few months. Unfortunately don't have much to look forward to there either. Oh well, at least it's almost summer.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Fair point.  I wonder if everyone is happy with an inconsistent team that beats some top schools but loses to average teams... or if they'd be more happy with consistency... which would mean not beating teams like Villanova, but not losing to St. John's and Georgetown.

Not sure, but my guess is that if we lost to Villanova but beat St. John's and Georgetown, we wouldn't be dancing. So I'd rather take big wins with headscratching losses than just consistently average.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Not sure, but my guess is that if we lost to Villanova but beat St. John's and Georgetown, we wouldn't be dancing. So I'd rather take big wins with headscratching losses than just consistently average.

Ehh. We would have been in.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Ehh. We would have been in.

Like I said, wasn't sure but I'm pretty sure we would have been closer to the bubble than we were. The win over Nova helped us a lot more than those losses hurt us.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Like I said, wasn't sure but I'm pretty sure we would have been closer to the bubble than we were. The win over Nova helped us a lot more than those losses hurt us.

Again, ehhhh. 11-7 BE team isn't going to be that close to the bubble. Nova win was huge, but 11-7 would be been bigger. Probably still a 9-10ish seed.

But it didn't happen so it doesn't matter. We are a few months away from bubble worries, TAMU!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Again, ehhhh. 11-7 BE team isn't going to be that close to the bubble. Nova win was huge, but 11-7 would be been bigger. Probably still a 9-10ish seed.

But it didn't happen so it doesn't matter. We are a few months away from bubble worries, TAMU!

Disagree but you are right. We are at least 10 months away from bubble worries! In fact, let's make it years away from bubble worries because we will just be a lock every year!

[Hards Alumni]

Disagree but you are right. We are at least 10 months away from bubble worries! In fact, let's make it years away from bubble worries because we will just be a lock every year!

We'd have been 11-7 and had two of our 'bad losses' removed.  We'd still have a bunch of top 50 wins.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Great effort all season long by the whole team. Very proud of our Warriors.  Was a fun and exciting season . We can build off this and the future is bright.

+1
Thanks MUFINY.

[willie warrior]

Defense was always going to catch up to us. And bite. It sure did.

Why should it catch up to us. Wojo was a defensive player of the year. He should be able to.......Coach that.

[forgetful]

Why should it catch up to us. Wojo was a defensive player of the year. He should be able to.......Coach that.

Coaching and players executing is a completely different thing.

[tower912]

Why should it catch up to us. Wojo was a defensive player of the year. He should be able to.......Coach that.

Which is why Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were so successful as head coaches in the NBA. 

[GoldenDieners32]

Hopefully the players are hungry next season

[Loose Cannon]

They played tough tonight?

Yeah, don't let the Body of Work get in your eyes.

[Loose Cannon]

Great effort all season long by the whole team. Very proud of our Warriors.  Was a fun and exciting season . We can build off this and the future is bright.

Sometimes you say the Right things at the Right time.

[Billy Hoyle]

We'd have been 11-7 and had two of our 'bad losses' removed.  We'd still have a bunch of top 50 wins.

Yeah, but if Watson doesn't rip up his knee we're 9-9, prob probably 8-10. And if Sumner is healthy we're 8-10/7-11.

[Loose Cannon]

Good q .. I guess it's more fun to win surprisingly on occasion, than be consistently mediocre.

The inconsistency is from a faulty defensive system.   Even a RPI 300 team can beat anyone if they get hot from 3 one night.  MU did that with regularity.

MU couldn't surmount a cold shooting night as they were going to let their opponent get 75-90 points, which meant doom.

Did you really think this team was going to be consistent all year with the obvious shortcoming they had.  At the end of last season, what was your prediction of wins for this years team.  Did they exceed it?  If I remember correctly they did.  I consider them overachievers?

Yeah, I'm well pleased with their Body of work.  Looking forward to next years steps of improvement.

[Loose Cannon]

How did Wojo take a step forward in his progress as a coach?

.

Elementary,  Year 1   Year 2  Year 3  Looking forward to Year  4.

[Loose Cannon]

Why should it catch up to us. Wojo was a defensive player of the year. He should be able to.......Coach that.

That was Easy.

[mu_hilltopper]

Did you really think this team was going to be consistent all year with the obvious shortcoming they had.  At the end of last season, what was your prediction of wins for this years team.  Did they exceed it?  If I remember correctly they did.  I consider them overachievers?

Yeah, I'm well pleased with their Body of work.  Looking forward to next years steps of improvement.

When the season began, I predicted 8 BE wins and an RPI around 70, so no doubt, they exceeded my expectations.

Had there been one known fact, I think I'd have gotten it closer:  I had no idea 4 newcomers Markus, Sam, Katin, and Rowsey would lead MU to the best 3-point shooting in the country.    That covers up a lot of warts.

[MU82]

When the season began, I predicted 8 BE wins and an RPI around 70, so no doubt, they exceeded my expectations.

Had there been one known fact, I think I'd have gotten it closer:  I had no idea 4 newcomers Markus, Sam, Katin, and Rowsey would lead MU to the best 3-point shooting in the country.    That covers up a lot of warts.

Yes it does. It also helped make for a fun, exciting team to watch most nights.

I enjoyed this team immensely. For those who chose not to ... their effen loss.

[MU82]

Which is why Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were so successful as head coaches in the NBA.

Well, in 3 seasons as an NBA head coach, Bird was 147-67 (.687) plus 32-20 in the playoffs. He took the Pacers to the 2000 NBA Finals and also made 2 trips to the conference finals.

I know that many considered him a mere "figurehead" coach, but whatever word you want to use to describe him, "unsuccessful" wouldn't seem an accurate one.

[tower912]

Longevity.  Honestly, I had forgotten he was successful.

[connie]

I don't know about "proud," but I will say that I was kind of apathetic at the start of this season, and even after the last 10 minutes of the season, I am excited about next year.  While no doubt frustrating at times, I have to give this team credit.

[Loose Cannon]

When the season began, I predicted 8 BE wins and an RPI around 70, so no doubt, they exceeded my expectations.

Had there been one known fact, I think I'd have gotten it closer:  I had no idea 4 newcomers Markus, Sam, Katin, and Rowsey would lead MU to the best 3-point shooting in the country.    That covers up a lot of warts.

Absolutely, that covers a lot of warts, but most teams have some.  And just like last year,  the facts are unknown as to the 3-4 new incoming  players, and maybe they make some of those Warts go away. 

I can't wait for year 4, and hoping to celebrate the whole season, not just the bottom line.  The excitement (Both Good and Bad) happens above that line.