Seth Davis: Behind Enemy Lines

[TallTitan34]

Seth Davis interviews coaches throughout college basketball who give their anonymous opinions on other conference teams.

The jist of the Marquette paragraph is they are better on defense but not great.  Markus and Hausers are defensive liabilities.  Sam is versatile but isn't an elite athlete.  Teams should attack Markus on defense.  Unsure if can score on interior enough to be a Final Four team.

Any guesses on what coaches said what?

https://theathletic.com/810685/2019/02/11/hoop-thoughts-no-coachspeak-allowed-lets-go-behind-enemy-lines-to-hear-the-truth-on-the-top-teams/

As others have mentioned, The Athletic is a great purchase for all your favorite sports teams.  Highly recommended.

[Galway Eagle]

Has this site become an ad for the Atlantic? What happened to the days of posting stuff behind pay walls?

[BCHoopster]

Seth Davis interviews coaches throughout college basketball who give their anonymous opinions on other conference teams.

The jist of the Marquette paragraph is they are better on defense but not great.  Markus and Hausers are defensive liabilities.  Sam is versatile but isn't an elite athlete.  Teams should attack Markus on defense.  Unsure if can score on interior enough to be a Final Four team.

Any guesses on what coaches said what?

https://theathletic.com/810685/2019/02/11/hoop-thoughts-no-coachspeak-allowed-lets-go-behind-enemy-lines-to-hear-the-truth-on-the-top-teams/

As others have mentioned, The Athletic is a great purchase for all your favorite sports teams.  Highly recommended.

Nor is Joey an elite athlete.  That is why I ma hoping MU can bring in an elite type athlete who is a grad transfer.  Does not have to be a scorer, just somebody who
could defend a Pascall type player.

[Benny B]

These type of articles always strike me as an “Ask Abby” type of column, i.e. there might be a few genuine tidbits here and there, but 90% is the author making it up and attrubuting it elsewhere by putting it behind the “anonymous” curtain. 

[MuMark]

These type of articles always strike me as an “Ask Abby” type of column, i.e. there might be a few genuine tidbits here and there, but 90% is the author making it up and attrubuting it elsewhere by putting it behind the “anonymous” curtain.

I disagree with this take.......i think its pretty accurate but they could have been more balanced.....i mean we did somehow manage to go 20-4.......how about a little more info on what makes MU tough to beat?

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Marquette: “They’ve gotten better defensively, but they’re never going to be great. Their best players are Markus Howard and the Hauser brothers, but all those guys are defensive liabilities. Sam Hauser’s strength is his versatility. He’s not laterally fast, and he’s not an elite athlete. When it comes to tournament time, teams put bodies on people to make them pay for lack of foot speed. You can really go after Howard on defense. He’s not six feet, and his body is not chiseled. He is tough to guard, though. He knows how to create space and keep you off balance. Theo John is a basket protector. He cleans up a lot of stuff, but offensively he doesn’t demand the ball a lot. I don’t know if they can score on the interior enough to be a Final Four team.”

[TheGym]

Seth Davis interviews coaches throughout college basketball who give their anonymous opinions on other conference teams.

The jist of the Marquette paragraph is they are better on defense but not great.  Markus and Hausers are defensive liabilities.  Sam is versatile but isn't an elite athlete.  Teams should attack Markus on defense.  Unsure if can score on interior enough to be a Final Four team.

Any guesses on what coaches said what?

https://theathletic.com/810685/2019/02/11/hoop-thoughts-no-coachspeak-allowed-lets-go-behind-enemy-lines-to-hear-the-truth-on-the-top-teams/

As others have mentioned, The Athletic is a great purchase for all your favorite sports teams.  Highly recommended.

Joey is definitely not a good defender.  However, Sam holds his own and played well on Saturday against a Paschall.  Paschall got his 17, but Sam made him work for it.

[MuMark]

Joey is definitely not a good defender.  However, Sam holds his own and played well on Saturday against a Paschall.  Paschall got his 17, but Sam made him work for it.

agreed......Paschall is just a tough cover for anyone....so strong and can get his shot off against just about anyone.

[Jon]

I wouldn't pay for that site. If I want uninformed opinion I can read Scoop.

[muguru]

Marquette: “They’ve gotten better defensively, but they’re never going to be great. Their best players are Markus Howard and the Hauser brothers, but all those guys are defensive liabilities. Sam Hauser’s strength is his versatility. He’s not laterally fast, and he’s not an elite athlete. When it comes to tournament time, teams put bodies on people to make them pay for lack of foot speed. You can really go after Howard on defense. He’s not six feet, and his body is not chiseled. He is tough to guard, though. He knows how to create space and keep you off balance. Theo John is a basket protector. He cleans up a lot of stuff, but offensively he doesn’t demand the ball a lot. I don’t know if they can score on the interior enough to be a Final Four team.”

This is my one qualm about Theo..damn if he had any offense, this team would be close to unstoppable. On nights like SJU when the shots weren't falling, how nice would it be to have a big down low that you could dump it down to and it'd be almost a guaranteed 2 points??

[GB Warrior]

Seth Davis interviews coaches throughout college basketball who give their anonymous opinions on other conference teams.

The jist of the Marquette paragraph is they are better on defense but not great.  Markus and Hausers are defensive liabilities.  Sam is versatile but isn't an elite athlete.  Teams should attack Markus on defense.  Unsure if can score on interior enough to be a Final Four team.

Any guesses on what coaches said what?

https://theathletic.com/810685/2019/02/11/hoop-thoughts-no-coachspeak-allowed-lets-go-behind-enemy-lines-to-hear-the-truth-on-the-top-teams/

As others have mentioned, The Athletic is a great purchase for all your favorite sports teams.  Highly recommended.

Not a subscriber, but hard to disagree with what you summarized here. Wouldn't go so far as to call the Hausers' defense a liability, but they (esp. Sam) suffer from a lack of lateral quickness. Fundamentally sound, though.

And they're dead on re: Sam's overall profile. Solid, steady as she goes, but hasn't shown a consistent ability to take over games game-in and game-out. He definitely did with MH hurting, and he should be commended for this. But overall, this is definitely not Star 1A and Star 1B between Markus and Sam as many of us had hoped for.

Edit: Saw you thieves posted it  . I stand by my story.

[MuMark]

appreciate what you have.......life is more fun that way.

[tower912]

Neither Sam nor Joey have great lateral quickness.    It shows on defense and when they try to beat their defender in a straight line off of the dribble.    Markus is improved defensively and works hard, but is still 5'11 with a 6' arm span.    Neither Theo nor Ed are going to win games with their post offense.    I really don't disagree with the critiques of the team.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Has this site become an ad for the Atlantic? What happened to the days of posting stuff behind pay walls?

At the quick glance I always confuse The Atlantic with The Athletic.

[CTWarrior]

Marquette: “They’ve gotten better defensively, but they’re never going to be great. Their best players are Markus Howard and the Hauser brothers, but all those guys are defensive liabilities. Sam Hauser’s strength is his versatility. He’s not laterally fast, and he’s not an elite athlete. When it comes to tournament time, teams put bodies on people to make them pay for lack of foot speed. You can really go after Howard on defense. He’s not six feet, and his body is not chiseled. He is tough to guard, though. He knows how to create space and keep you off balance. Theo John is a basket protector. He cleans up a lot of stuff, but offensively he doesn’t demand the ball a lot. I don’t know if they can score on the interior enough to be a Final Four team.”

Funny, the first thing I went to in that article was the MU, which was probably the only one I did not need to see since I've watched all the games this year.  I think the author is pretty much right on.  I wonder how many teams are going to play us like Villanova moving forward.  Basically offer some help on Howard, but not with either of the Hauser's man. 

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

"He is tough to guard though."

Understatement of the century...

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

I think that assesment whether it be from the author alone or from other coaches is really about dead spot on. 
Theo is solid on defense but is still pretty weak offensively.  Additionally, he is rather poor at the line.  His two bricks at crunch time were essentially a turnover.
Despite our shortcomings we seem to make it work as a team.  Team has been great to watch and is a great source of pride for all associated with Marquette.  We will see how long we can make this last but as we all most likely know at some point we will run into a equally skilled, yet more athletic team, and that will be the end of the line.
Enjoy the ride!

[Benny B]

I disagree with this take.......i think its pretty accurate but they could have been more balanced.....i mean we did somehow manage to go 20-4.......how about a little more info on what makes MU tough to beat?

Doesn’t mean it isn’t accurate.  Just means the sources aren’t who they’re purported to be.  This is an opinion piece by Davis, not an article based on actual testimonials.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Lanny Jr. sure loves his Badgers. 

In terms of Marquette, I think his coach intel is pretty solid.  That said, MU has the best overall BE defense (all games) and 2nd in conference games (PC who slows it down as they have the worst offense).  MU has won a quite a few games because of defense (ISU, UW, Nova).

In terms of a middle presence on offense, I think this is an area where MU will evolve.  Theo and Ed need to be put in better position to score.  I see too many bounce passes to our bigs which makes them mediocre guards and takes away their advantage. 

[The Equalizer]

Funny, the first thing I went to in that article was the MU, which was probably the only one I did not need to see since I've watched all the games this year.  I think the author is pretty much right on.  I wonder how many teams are going to play us like Villanova moving forward. Basically offer some help on Howard, but not with either of the Hauser's man.

If Sacar can continue to exploit this approach like he did on Saturday,  it won't be many. 

It's what I love about this year's team.  No matter who the other team focuses on, there's always another option for MU. 

[CTWarrior]

Doesn’t mean it isn’t accurate.  Just means the sources aren’t who they’re purported to be.  This is an opinion piece by Davis, not an article based on actual testimonials.

So he'd have to be lying then.  He says he went to two opposing coaches for an assessment on each team and they article is what they said, which is why they are in quotes.  He presents this as opposing coaches opinions, not his own.

[NickelDimer]

You know who’s not a defensive liability and doesn’t lack foot speed? Brendan Bailey. And his continued development will be critical to our postseason success in my opinion

[TallTitan34]

You know who’s not a defensive liability and doesn’t lack foot speed? Brendan Bailey. And his continued development will be critical to our postseason success in my opinion

His defense has been increasing his minutes in big situations.

[NickelDimer]

His defense has been increasing his minutes in big situations.

No doubt. And once he starts putting the ball on the floor more he’ll give us more offensively.

[JWags85]

This is my one qualm about Theo..damn if he had any offense, this team would be close to unstoppable. On nights like SJU when the shots weren't falling, how nice would it be to have a big down low that you could dump it down to and it'd be almost a guaranteed 2 points??

There are like 4-5 of those players in the country and they are usually 1-2 and done or rare 4 year projects.  There are only 4 high major players over 6-8 in the top 100 in scoring nationally, and one is Dedric Lawson who isn’t exactly a low post craftsman


Guys like Hachimura, Happ, and Govan don’t grow in trees.

[Cheeks]

So he'd have to be lying then.  He says he went to two opposing coaches for an assessment on each team and they article is what they said, which is why they are in quotes.  He presents this as opposing coaches opinions, not his own.

Hmmm

[#UnleashSean]

The hausers are our best defenders, someone is smoking crack.

[Benny B]

So he'd have to be lying then.  He says he went to two opposing coaches for an assessment on each team and they article is what they said, which is why they are in quotes.  He presents this as opposing coaches opinions, not his own.

Exactly.  Ask yourself this... why would a coach risk publicly criticizing an opposing team, off the record on?  (Especially when he/she might have to play said team again that season.)  Listen to a post-game interview sometime.... coaches go out of their way to avoid showing anything but respect for an opponent.  Why would they confide in David and say something that could possibly be traced back to them at some point.

But Davis knows he can never get caught on this so long as he hides behind the shroud of “protecting his sources.”

[goldeneagle91114]

Neither Sam nor Joey have great lateral quickness.    It shows on defense and when they try to beat their defender in a straight line off of the dribble.    Markus is improved defensively and works hard, but is still 5'11 with a 6' arm span.    Neither Theo nor Ed are going to win games with their post offense.    I really don't disagree with the critiques of the team.

True, but the tone in which its written makes us sound like a bubble team, not Top 10 material.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The hausers are our best defenders, someone is smoking crack.

How so? I think Joey is the worst defensive starter by far. I would say Anim and Theo are our best defenders.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

There are like 4-5 of those players in the country and they are usually 1-2 and done or rare 4 year projects.  There are only 4 high major players over 6-8 in the top 100 in scoring nationally, and one is Dedric Lawson who isn’t exactly a low post craftsman


Guys like Hachimura, Happ, and Govan don’t grow in trees.

Toyal over generalization.  Kid like Watson on Providence immediately comes to mind and tgere are many others.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

How so? I think Joey is the worst defensive starter by far. I would say Anim and Theo are our best defenders.

Yes joey is really bad.  But like his brotger he is only going to get better. With Greg, Bailey, theo , etc i think MU is only gonna continue getting better defensively. Including commits too

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Yes joey is really bad.  But like his brotger he is only going to get better. With Greg, Bailey, theo , etc i think MU is only gonna continue getting better defensively. Including commits too

100% agree. Joey is a freshman who struggles on defense, like most freshman do. I only expect him to improve from here. One thing that I have found amazing about the improvement on defense this season is that we are doing it without Greg. I'd argue that he was one of our top two defenders last season. Throw him on to this year's team and I think we would have a genuine lockdown defense.

[NickelDimer]

Exactly.  Ask yourself this... why would a coach risk publicly criticizing an opposing team, off the record on?  (Especially when he/she might have to play said team again that season.)  Listen to a post-game interview sometime.... coaches go out of their way to avoid showing anything but respect for an opponent.  Why would they confide in David and say something that could possibly be traced back to them at some point.

But Davis knows he can never get caught on this so long as he hides behind the shroud of “protecting his sources.”

This is genius and very believable

[NickelDimer]

The hausers are our best defenders, someone is smoking crack.

Sam’s pretty good. Joey’s had his moments, like defending Wade, but other times particularly recently he’s been pretty bad

[barfolomew]

Exactly.  Ask yourself this... why would a coach risk publicly criticizing an opposing team, off the record on?  (Especially when he/she might have to play said team again that season.)  Listen to a post-game interview sometime.... coaches go out of their way to avoid showing anything but respect for an opponent.  Why would they confide in David and say something that could possibly be traced back to them at some point.

But Davis knows he can never get caught on this so long as he hides behind the shroud of “protecting his sources.”

That is one possibility, Benny.
Another is that coaches or their assistants trust Davis to keep his word about protecting their anonymity and those are their actual quotes.

[shoothoops]

I can’t disagree with anything in the piece from Davis. Would like to see a little more interior scoring, and big guard/wing/small forward lateral quickness on defense especially. He was basically discussing whether or not Marquette could be a final four team, which, is high praise.

[mu03eng]

This is my one qualm about Theo..damn if he had any offense, this team would be close to unstoppable. On nights like SJU when the shots weren't falling, how nice would it be to have a big down low that you could dump it down to and it'd be almost a guaranteed 2 points??

Let's not confuse not scoring a lot with an inability to score a lot. Theo might not be Zion Williamson but he's also Mbao on the offensive end. He is a competent offensive player that happens to play on a team that has zero or next to zero interest in running the offense through the post. Look at the DePaul game when their length limited our abilities to create on the perimeter, Theo had his best scoring game of the season. If post play were an emphasis for MU, I feel comfortable saying Theo would be an average post player at worst on the offensive end.

[PGsHeroes32]

Let's not confuse not scoring a lot with an inability to score a lot. Theo might not be Zion Williamson but he's also Mbao on the offensive end. He is a competent offensive player that happens to play on a team that has zero or next to zero interest in running the offense through the post. Look at the DePaul game when their length limited our abilities to create on the perimeter, Theo had his best scoring game of the season. If post play were an emphasis for MU, I feel comfortable saying Theo would be an average post player at worst on the offensive end.

Yeah he definitely can be good down there.

He needs to limit his back downs in the post that result in a horribly forced hook shot that looks like he’s playing dodgeball tho.

I swear some of the time he’s throwing a legit fastball at the rim.

I love Theo tho

[CTWarrior]

There are like 4-5 of those players in the country and they are usually 1-2 and done or rare 4 year projects.  There are only 4 high major players over 6-8 in the top 100 in scoring nationally, and one is Dedric Lawson who isn’t exactly a low post craftsman


Guys like Hachimura, Happ, and Govan don’t grow in trees.

Its the state of the game, I think.  There aren't back to the basket big guys much anymore because that is not the way teams want to play anymore.    They want guys who can guard all positions on the switch and can shoot from three.