Justin

[Pakuni]

Oh, don't go Justin! We're chit without you. Maybe you'll reach your senses and come back...pretty please. 
He's kissed off MU. Y'all got reading comprehension issues? He's kicked Marquette to da curb. He gowne and adios, aina?

We can only hope Shaka replaces him with a kid who played 4 mpg for a team Marquette beat last season.
That's a winning formula.

[Pakuni]

They go hand in hand- it's no coincidence Justin was showing up on most boards as late 1st round when we were ranked 20th and winning 8/9 and now is lucky to be in the back end of the 2nd round.

Us winning was indicative of Justin playing well which also had more eyeballs on us both of which raised his stock.

Or are you peddling the false narrative that NBA scouts are computers that recruit solely on some kind if complete objective 'potential' metric that only they have access to?

The last six #1 overall picks won a combined total of four NCAA tournament games (three by Zion), and three of them never even played a tournament game.
That tells you how much NBA teams care.

[Uncle Rico]

We can only hope Shaka replaces him with a kid who played 4 mpg for a team Marquette beat last season.
That's a winning formula.

Can’t white figure out the difference between the two kids myself

[dgies9156]

OK, lets deal with this one.

We're going to lose players. Whether Justin Lewis comes back or not, over time, folks Coach Shaka recruited either will be so good they go pro or won't fit in our system and move on. See: Garcia, Dawson or Carton, DJ. That' the facts of life as they exist today in college basketball.

Second, the quality of player that comes to Marquette is directly proportional to how well Coach Shaka "coaches the team up," or how many of our players make the NBA. In that vein this is one of the successes of 2021-2022. We excelled way beyond expectations in no small measure because Coach Shaka coached up. If Mr. Lewis goes pro, he went from being a benchwarmer under Coach Wojo to a star in the Big East and an NBA player (hopefully).

My opinion (again) is Mr. Lewis is a smart young man and he'll do what's best for him and his family. We've lost great stars early over the years (Jim Chones, Larry McNeill, Maurice Lucas, Glenn Rivers, Dwyane Wade, Vander Blue all come to mind) and we've survived. You have to adjust and if Coach Shaka is as good as we think he his, Coach will adjust and find the right folks to lead us to victory.

[Uncle Rico]

OK, lets deal with this one.

We're going to lose players. Whether Justin Lewis comes back or not, over time, folks Coach Shaka recruited either will be so good they go pro or won't fit in our system and move on. See: Garcia, Dawson or Carton, DJ. That' the facts of life as they exist today in college basketball.

Second, the quality of player that comes to Marquette is directly proportional to how well Coach Shaka "coaches the team up," or how many of our players make the NBA. In that vein this is one of the successes of 2021-2022. We excelled way beyond expectations in no small measure because Coach Shaka coached up. If Mr. Lewis goes pro, he went from being a benchwarmer under Coach Wojo to a star in the Big East and an NBA player (hopefully).

My opinion (again) is Mr. Lewis is a smart young man and he'll do what's best for him and his family. We've lost great stars early over the years (Jim Chones, Larry McNeill, Maurice Lucas, Glenn Rivers, Dwyane Wade, Vander Blue all come to mind) and we've survived. You have to adjust and if Coach Shaka is as good as we think he his, Coach will adjust and find the right folks to lead us to victory.

I just don’t want white kids from Wisconsin to transfer or leave early.  Those are my kind of student athletes

[dgies9156]

I just don’t want white kids from Wisconsin to transfer or leave early.  Those are my kind of student athletes

Peoples Exhibit #1: Henry Ellenson He was one of the most selfish college basketball players I've ever seen.

[mug644]

I agree that it makes sense for Justin to explore all his options.

I don't like what the uncertainty about a possible return does for the piecing together a roster for next year. With only a couple of slots and clear needs, Shaka's hands are a bit tied waiting for JL's decision. Of course, he may already know if JL is unlikely come back, and is recruiting accordingly. Or not.

[MU82]

82, I’m usually down with you. But this time, cut the altruistic bs. We want MU to be great, right? We want MU to kick A, right?
…let’s just hope Justin has a satisfying, successful life? Really? Really? If Lewis goes, it’s another year of “I hope we’re good” or “in Shaka we trust”. Another 9-seed, maybe. Big maybe. I get where Farley comes from. I do. This hope & prayer MU hoops just gets old.

It wasn't bs. I truly care about the athletes. Really. Really. It's why I am for free agency and NIL, and why I like that athletes can hire NCAA-approved agents to help them through the process Justin is going through right now.

We have no control over the decisions that are made. What you or I say on Scoop doesn't affect our team one iota.

And apparently you missed the part where I said that, selfishly, I hope he stays.

Reading that statement of his, though, I'd bet he isn't staying. So I could either get all wound up about it like you have, or I could thank him for playing so well last season - we win maybe 9 games without him - and wish him great success. I choose the latter.

Enjoy your time in Mrs. F's basement. The tuna salad on white bread will be right down.

[brewcity77]

I agree that it makes sense for Justin to explore all his options.

I don't like what the uncertainty about a possible return does for the piecing together a roster for next year. With only a couple of slots and clear needs, Shaka's hands are a bit tied waiting for JL's decision. Of course, he may already know if JL is unlikely come back, and is recruiting accordingly. Or not.

I think similarly Shaka has to explore all his options. It makes for a more difficult process, but if Justin does get feedback that keeps him here another year, that's not a player you say "sorry, your scholarship is gone" to as you're talking about the likely preseason BEPOY and potential All-American (because that's by default what BEPOY typically means).

Address the biggest immediate need, which is having someone to rotate with Oso, then figure out the last scholarship going forward.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

82, I’m usually down with you. But this time, cut the altruistic bs. We want MU to be great, right? We want MU to kick A, right?
…let’s just hope Justin has a satisfying, successful life? Really? Really? If Lewis goes, it’s another year of “I hope we’re good” or “in Shaka we trust”. Another 9-seed, maybe. Big maybe. I get where Farley comes from. I do. This hope & prayer MU hoops just gets old.

Do you not want Justin to have a satisfying, successful life?  Do you want him to potentially have a less satisfying and successful life for the sake of your entertainment?

[Pakuni]

Oh, won't somebody please think of the coaches!

[MU82]

I agree that it makes sense for Justin to explore all his options.

I don't like what the uncertainty about a possible return does for the piecing together a roster for next year. With only a couple of slots and clear needs, Shaka's hands are a bit tied waiting for JL's decision. Of course, he may already know if JL is unlikely come back, and is recruiting accordingly. Or not.

Shaka is just one of dozens and dozens of coaches dealing with stuff like this. That's why they get paid a bazillion times more than the university president, to figure out how to negotiate college basketball's new landscape and build winning teams.

[brewcity77]

Shaka is just one of dozens and dozens of coaches dealing with stuff like this. That's why they get paid a bazillion times more than the university president, to figure out how to negotiate college basketball's new landscape and build winning teams.

If you look at this roster, I do think Shaka is trying to proactively address this, but the difficult part is putting it together on the fly while also trying to build a transfer-resistant framework in the future. We look at this roster and think "where's the scoring, where's the second big for Oso" when what they are really trying to do is set us up so that those questions are already answered by the current roster in the coming years. When you have a scorer in every class, when you have 2-3 point guards and 2-3 bigs spread among classes so you can deal with a transfer out while still pursuing additional players, then you don't have to worry about this as much. The problem is maintaining a NCAA-caliber roster while waiting for those guys to develop.

That said, I'm bullish on O-Max making a Justin-type jump next year and at least one of Joplin/Kam becoming a more reliable scoring option. The tools are already here, they just haven't shown more than flashes to this point.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Oh, don't go Justin! We're chit without you. Maybe you'll reach your senses and come back...pretty please. 
He's kissed off MU. Y'all got reading comprehension issues? He's kicked Marquette to da curb. He gowne and adios, aina?

So the meat eaters go on and on about Sam Hauser and what a loss he was...you know, the second team all Big East guy...when he transferred to another school.  Labelled "one of my favorite post-Al players!"   

Yet potentially losing a guy who was a first team all Big East who would be in the running to be BEPOY to the NBA is met with mocking when it is suggested that he will be missed.

So very strange.

[Goose]

Rico

I am not sure what Sam Hauser being one of my post Al favorite players has to do with Lewis deciding to leave, but I guess you do. As I said over the weekend, I was hoping Lewis would be back for next season and I am disappointed he is not coming back. That said, I wish Lewis good luck and time to look forward for the program. Shaka has a big hole to fill, but selling a big hole should be easier task than selling a role player position.

I think Lewis will be missed, but maybe not to the extent you believe he be missed. I am fairly certain the news did not catch Shaka by surprise and he has been recruiting transfers accordingly. If on paper Shaka has not added a couple of impact transfers in a month I will be concerned, but not today.

[Uncle Rico]

Rico

I am not sure what Sam Hauser being one of my post Al favorite players has to do with Lewis deciding to leave, but I guess you do. As I said over the weekend, I was hoping Lewis would be back for next season and I am disappointed he is not coming back. That said, I wish Lewis good luck and time to look forward for the program. Shaka has a big hole to fill, but selling a big hole should be easier task than selling a role player position.

I think Lewis will be missed, but maybe not to the extent you believe he be missed. I am fairly certain the news did not catch Shaka by surprise and he has been recruiting transfers accordingly. If on paper Shaka has not added a couple of impact transfers in a month I will be concerned, but not today.

I have no illusions about the staff being caught off-guard, nor do I worry about them filling his position.  It’s modern-day college basketball.

At the same time, selfishly, I wanted Justin back and think Marquette would be better with him being back.  All of these things are true. 

Justin has been weirdly and unfairly criticized here by some who didn’t appreciate how important he was to this team getting back to the tournament

[JakeBarnes]

Rico

I am not sure what Sam Hauser being one of my post Al favorite players has to do with Lewis deciding to leave, but I guess you do. As I said over the weekend, I was hoping Lewis would be back for next season and I am disappointed he is not coming back. That said, I wish Lewis good luck and time to look forward for the program. Shaka has a big hole to fill, but selling a big hole should be easier task than selling a role player position.

I think Lewis will be missed, but maybe not to the extent you believe he be missed. I am fairly certain the news did not catch Shaka by surprise and he has been recruiting transfers accordingly. If on paper Shaka has not added a couple of impact transfers in a month I will be concerned, but not today.

Feels a lot like Warren Washington + Courtney Ramey is the "replace justin" plan. O-Max will take a step and be  better next year. I expect the same from Joplin--he showed a lot of nice flashes and an additional year of conditioning will go a long way to his scoring, defense and endurance.

[Goose]

Jake

I liked Lewis, did not love him. When he was good, he was very good, but his bad bothered me. It is definitely a loss and counting on Shaka to be successful in the portal. I think selling a top transfer that he is filling Justin's shoes should be an easy sell to anyone trying to showcase themselves for the next level. As for new guys coming in, I liked the guys he brought in this year and expect an even higher grade of transfers to be brought in for next season.

[MU82]

Jake

I liked Lewis, did not love him. When he was good, he was very good, but his bad bothered me. It is definitely a loss and counting on Shaka to be successful in the portal. I think selling a top transfer that he is filling Justin's shoes should be an easy sell to anyone trying to showcase themselves for the next level. As for new guys coming in, I liked the guys he brought in this year and expect an even higher grade of transfers to be brought in for next season.

Since you've been a Marquette fan, Goose, has every player's "bad" bothered you? If not, what about Justin's "bad" was more bothersome than, say, Sam Hauser's bad or Steve Novak's bad or Damon Key's bad or Glenn Rivers' bad or Gary Rosenberger's bad?

[1SE]

He wasn’t moving up draft boards because more people were watching him or because the team was playing better. He was moving up draft boards cause he was playing well - which impacted team performance.  He moved back down when defenses adjusted to him - which again affected the team.

You have the cause and effect mixed up.

That's exactly what I was saying....

[Viper]

 

It wasn't bs. I truly care about the athletes. Really. Really. It's why I am for free agency and NIL, and why I like that athletes can hire NCAA-approved agents to help them through the process Justin is going through right now.

We have no control over the decisions that are made. What you or I say on Scoop doesn't affect our team one iota.

And apparently you missed the part where I said that, selfishly, I hope he stays.

Reading that statement of his, though, I'd bet he isn't staying. So I could either get all wound up about it like you have, or I could thank him for playing so well last season - we win maybe 9 games without him - and wish him great success. I choose the latter.

Enjoy your time in Mrs. F's basement. The tuna salad on white bread will be right down.

toasted? With lettuce and slice of tomato? Thank you Mrs F.

[Viper]

Do you not want Justin to have a satisfying, successful life?  Do you want him to potentially have a less satisfying and successful life for the sake of your entertainment?

Mrs F will make you a sandwich. White or wheat? Toasted?

[TSmith34, Inc.]

So the meat eaters go on and on about Sam Hauser and what a loss he was...

Yet potentially losing a guy who was a first team all Big East who would be in the running to be BEPOY to the NBA is met with mocking when it is suggested that he will be missed.

So very strange.

[GoldenEagles03]

Feels a lot like Warren Washington + Courtney Ramey is the "replace justin" plan. O-Max will take a step and be  better next year. I expect the same from Joplin--he showed a lot of nice flashes and an additional year of conditioning will go a long way to his scoring, defense and endurance.

Ramey would be great to add.

I think Wrightsil seems like a pretty good Justin replacement on the roster.

To add Washington and Ramey they'd need a spot to open up.

[Goose]

82

Are you serious? The biggest issue for me on Lewis would be that there was a very large gap between his really good and really bad games which frustrated me. There are plenty of guys that frustrated me with their bad play over the years and all were good players that when they played poorly it stood out.

Also, note that I should have said frustrated me, not bothered me.