Traci Carter to MU!!!

[4everwarriors]

Henry in the fold helps tremendously. Point guard duties become easier when ya got a 6'10" two all beef patty on your side, hey?

[jsglow]

And hopefully a skilled passer getting the ball to Big Fishy where he can do something good with it.

[rocky_warrior]

What's most important is that Wojo strings together successive classes.  If you look at teams that win consistently, they put together a string of classes that allow you to weather the storm of a guy leaving for the NBA, or a transfer or two.

Buzz's biggest problem started in 2011-12, when he had a class in Anderson, Derrick and Todd.  He followed that up with Steve Taylor, TJ Taylor and Jamal Ferguson.  So in those two classes, you ended up with three transfers, two guys who could best be described as role players, and Steve Taylor.

I'm not expecting Wojo to put together top 10 classes every year, but he is going to have to avoid that type of mess.

I've seen you mention "strings together successive classes" a couple times, But I'd like to remind you that there's a chance he only has one scholarship available for 16-17.  More likely 2 or 3, and picking up good players for however many he has is important..But hard to have a top ranked class with only 1-3 recruits.

[Silkk the Shaka]

And hopefully a skilled passer getting the ball to Big Fishy where he can do something good with it.

A lot of that will take care of itself with the floor properly spaced next year due to the threat of a shot maker at the 1

[MU72491]

Is this a dumb question or is carter as good as nick? I know nick was rated in the top 100 but after reading about carter pre injury he seemed like a good player. Is carter as good as nick or just as good as a replacement as we could have gotten???

[MUfan12]

Is this a dumb question or is carter as good as nick? I know nick was rated in the top 100 but after reading about carter pre injury he seemed like a good player. Is carter as good as nick or just as good as a replacement as we could have gotten???

Different players. Carter is more of a pure PG. Nick is a better shooter that is more of a combo guard. Carter is quicker, and a better defender at this point.

I think Carter better fills the need for next season. Who is the better player remains TBD.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

John Wall and DJO are very close, grew up in the same town and played youth ball together.  Wall would come to MU games when DJO was here to see and support his good friend.  So MU means something more to Wall than "just another big east school."

So let's also give an assist on this to DJO.

Sooo, what you're saying is bring Wall and Drake to madness?

[GGGG]

I've seen you mention "strings together successive classes" a couple times, But I'd like to remind you that there's a chance he only has one scholarship available for 16-17.  More likely 2 or 3, and picking up good players for however many he has is important..But hard to have a top ranked class with only 1-3 recruits.

I don't think a one or two person class has to be ranked.  I just think you can't have too many recruiting misses like Buzz did in those consecutive years.  Let's say that 2016 ends up a two player class, and those two players end up being solid contributors, but neither is a super star.  That would be fine with me. 

[WarhawkWarrior]

2 5stars put you in top ten

[brewcity77]

I don't think a one or two person class has to be ranked.  I just think you can't have too many recruiting misses like Buzz did in those consecutive years.  Let's say that 2016 ends up a two player class, and those two players end up being solid contributors, but neither is a super star.  That would be fine with me.

2011 and 2012 were absolute killers. Of the 5 recruits, 2 didn't finish their careers here (Mayo & Ferguson) and the other three to date have been average at best players and were virtual non-contributors their first two years.

Maybe this is the case everywhere, but it seems like most guys that didn't flourish under Buzz left, at least until recently. 2009 had three guys who were solid starters (DJO, Buycks, Junior) and three transfers (Maymon, Mbao, Williams). 2010 had three solid starters (Blue, Crowder, Gardner) and two transfers (Jones, Smith).

Then for two years, nothing but backups, two of whom didn't finish their careers here. You need four year guys that can either accept that they aren't the starters -- Derrick and Juan are great for that but unfortunately have been forced into starting roles -- or guys that develop into starters by the time they are upperclassmen.

Buzz's Achilles' Heel seems to be that he's a poor evaluator of high school talent. He brought 21 high school players to Marquette. Of those, only Jeronne Maymon, Vander Blue, Davante Gardner, and possibly Duane Wilson will have met or exceeded expectations. That's way too many misses for sustained success. His JUCO recruits and transfers helped smooth the gaps, but when it came to HS players, he swung and missed way too often.

[GGGG]

2011 and 2012 were absolute killers. Of the 5 recruits, 2 didn't finish their careers here (Mayo & Ferguson) and the other three to date have been average at best players and were virtual non-contributors their first two years.

We had *six* recruits in those two years...TJ Taylor was a 2012 recruit.

[jsglow]

A lot of that will take care of itself with the floor properly spaced next year due to the threat of a shot maker at the 1

Certainly true for Derrick but I thought both Carlino and Duane were below average post entry passers this year. Now some of this is on Luke as he must do a better job of fighting for his spot.

[brewcity77]

We had *six* recruits in those two years...TJ Taylor was a 2012 recruit.

Very true. Another empty offer. But at least it helped Tony Benford!

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Certainly true for Derrick but I thought both Carlino and Duane were below average post entry passers this year. Now some of this is on Luke as he must do a better job of fighting for his spot.

I would love to see some high/low action with Henry and Luke.

It is REALLY screws up the defensive double team assignments when you had a big who can throw an entry pass to another big.

[JakeBarnes]

I would love to see some high/low action with Henry and Luke.

It is REALLY screws up the defensive double team assignments when you had a big who can throw an entry pass to another big.

Watching Henry highlights last night, he has a great handle and vision. Really could see him doing a lot of that.

[mu-rara]

Certainly true for Derrick but I thought both Carlino and Duane were below average post entry passers this year. Now some of this is on Luke as he must do a better job of fighting for his spot.

I love Luke and believe he will become one of our best bigs when he fills out.  He needs to work on his hands.  Doesn't need to be Davante, but this needs work.

[bamamarquettefan]

Wojo went out there and got us a 4 star point guard! Officially announced a couple minutes ago. Let me be the first to welcome you to the MU family Traci! Can't wait to see you here next year!

Very excited - hope the excitement over the Big East tournament helped him make his move - though we were competing with other Big East schools. It's starting to feel a little like 1991 - transitioning but definitely on course toward another Sweet 16.

[barfolomew]

Watching Henry highlights last night, he has a great handle and vision. Really could see him doing a lot of that.

Not to be a wet blanket or compare two pretty different prospects, but I re-watched Juan's Castro Valley mixtape yesterday and remember feeling the same way about him coming in.

Was looking for a mixtape for Derrick but couldn't find one.

[JakeBarnes]

Not to be a wet blanket or compare two pretty different prospects, but I re-watched Juan's Castro Valley mixtape yesterday and remember feeling the same way about him coming in.

Was looking for a mixtape for Derrick but couldn't find one.

Juan and Henry are apples and oranges. Henry has been doing those things against some of the best in the world in his age group.

[wadesworld]

Certainly true for Derrick but I thought both Carlino and Duane were below average post entry passers this year. Now some of this is on Luke as he must do a better job of fighting for his spot.

Disagreed.  I have always thought Luke has been really good at sealing his defender in the post.  We just hesitate too long to get him the ball and miss the opportunity for an easy bucket.

[MUfan12]

Disagreed.  I have always thought Luke has been really good at sealing his defender in the post.  We just hesitate too long to get him the ball and miss the opportunity for an easy bucket.

Totally agree. It will be nice to have a guard that gets rid of the ball in a timely manner. For all the bitching about Derrick's shooting, the real problem he had was taking too much time to make decisions with the ball.

[BM1090]

Totally agree. It will be nice to have a guard that gets rid of the ball in a timely manner. For all the bitching about Derrick's shooting, the real problem he had was taking too much time to make decisions with the ball.

For Derrick I don't think this was the case for post entry passes. His defender was simply sagging a few feet off of him and he couldn't get an angle to get the ball inside.

In other situations, Derrick was definitely too tenative and will hold the ball too long near the top of the key. Wasted seconds which are bad for an already offensively challenged team.

[GooooMarquette]

Disagreed.  I have always thought Luke has been really good at sealing his defender in the post.  We just hesitate too long to get him the ball and miss the opportunity for an easy bucket.

Disagree.  Luke got the ball inside plenty of times with the opportunity to shoot, but he often brought the ball down and sometimes pump faked or dribbled.  He gave the defense way too much time to surround him.  If he just went up fast and strong, he'd have scored a lot more than he did.  You could often read Wojo's lips yelling "just go up with it!"

Good coaching will change this.

[BM1090]

Disagree.  Luke got the ball inside plenty of times with the opportunity to shoot, but he often brought the ball down and sometimes pump faked or dribbled.  He gave the defense way too much time to surround him.  If he just went up fast and strong, he'd have scored a lot more than he did.  You could often read Wojo's lips yelling "just go up with it!"

Good coaching will change this.

I agree with this but this isn't contrary to what Wades was saying. He just said Luke does a great job at sealing his defender, which I think is true. What he does when he gets the ball needs improvement, but he gets great position more times than not.

[Groin_pull]

Not to be a wet blanket or compare two pretty different prospects, but I re-watched Juan's Castro Valley mixtape yesterday and remember feeling the same way about him coming in.

Was looking for a mixtape for Derrick but couldn't find one.

I hope you're not seriously comparing Henry and Juan.