Norfolk Thoughts

[tower912]

-With O-Quinn out, CO and DG had nothing to do since they can't guard 3-pt shooters.    Last 12 minutes with an 8 man rotation
- DJO and Jae were men among boys
- Nice little run by Mayo.   Good to see a 3rd man hitting 3's.
- It won't show up on the stat sheet, but great job by Cadougan drawing the 5th on O'Quinn.   The kind of play DJames or Lazar would have made.
- Couple of nice hi-lo's between JWil and Jae
-How come everybody has a career day shooting 3's against us?   Contested, leaning, banking, eyes closed.....it sure seemed we were playing good d on a bunch of them....and they went in.
- Deepest, most athletic MU team I have seen in ages.   Can't wait to see what Juan brings to the table.   This team could be scary good. 

[GGGG]

I am glad to see their shooting percentage went up this game.  This team is going to have to be able to shoot well because I still don't think they are all that great defensively.

[avid1010]

I am glad to see their shooting percentage went up this game.  This team is going to have to be able to shoot well because I still don't think they are all that great defensively.

I think I understand Buzz's logic for his pressure defense, and we've all seen it work for some teams, but they sure give up a lot of open three's and lanes to the basket.  I get that MU scores a bunch off of turnovers, and I get that pressure defense can really get to a team as the game goes on, but it's frustrating to see good shooters getting wide open looks. 

I thought J. Wilson had a clear focus on defense, hustle, and rebounding tonight.  He picked up some early fouls, but when we went small in the second half he rebounded and defended well.  Reminded me a bit of what Jimmy Butler did in his first year with MU.  Buzz is pretty dang good at getting his new players to master the basics first, and to not allow them to do too much too fast.  I thought Vander was an exception at times last year.

Mayo's shot didn't fall for him in the first game, but went in a few more times tonight.  He has the build, confidence, and ability to get where he wants to on the court.  I think it's going to be important that he develops this year, as it is obvious that we're going to loose a lot of scoring after this year.

Jones continues to be aggressive with his shot, and on the board/defense (relative to what we saw last year).  I'll be interested to see how the minutes shake out when MU plays against better competition, and once Anderson allowed to suit up.  Missing these three games, and the injury, is surely going to make it harder for him to get minutes this year.

[jeffreyweee]

So far the guys that will get decent minutes every game seem to be:

Cadougan
Derrick Wilson
DJO
Vander
Otule
Gardner
Jamil Wilson
Crowder

The way Mayo and Jamail can get going, Buzz probably plays the hot hand there but I'm not sure how many minutes they'll get or how tight the rotations will get.

Juan is obviously still an unknown.

The thing that sticks out to me the most this year is I'm not nervous when anyone has the ball. I also feel like this is the first year when a freshman has the ball they seem to know what they want to do with it and it's usually the right decision. Mayo has the scorer mentality. He's ready to drive or shoot every time he gets the ball. While it's not ALWAYS the best idea, that kind of scorer mentality cannot be taught and he'll be very good here. Reminds me of Jerel a bit.

[avid1010]

Not sold on D. Wilson yet.  I get he plays good defense...other than that he's not capable of doing much...maybe capable of getting the ball past half court and into someone else's hand.  If Vander plays smart, he's capable of better defense and offense than D. Wilson. 

[Lennys Tap]

1.DJO looks better than ever. His stroke looks great and his mid range game has improved.
2.Crowder is such a smart, tenacious player. The glue that holds the team together.
3.Blue looks much improved. Still has to prove he can play with confidence and composure against top notch competition.
4.Junior runs the team well but is still having problems keeping his man in front of him.
5.Otule "looks" better (bigger,stronger?) and his free throw stroke looks solid. Don't think he'll ever rebound out of his immediate area.
6.J Wilson looked very smooth and was more aggressive tonight. Will he become even more assertive with time?
7.Gardner is in better shape than last year but he's still heavy. He'll continue to amaze and frustrate.
8.JJ looked a little out of control tonight. Hit a quick 3 and then nothing for the rest of the game. He'll be up and down but is much improved.
9.D Wilson is a HUGE pleasant surprise. No offense yet, but solid with the ball and very, very physical on D.
10.Todd Mayo is the second most explosive offensive player on the team. I think he scored 10 of his 12 tonight in about a 3 minute stretch. He can take it to the hoop or hit the 3 and looks like money at the line. How this guy wasn't a top 100 player last year is beyond me.
11.Juan Anderson, TBD, but I love everything I've heard.

Buzz said he wanted a roster full of Big East talent and it looks like he's there.

[NersEllenson]

Not sold on D. Wilson yet.  I get he plays good defense...other than that he's not capable of doing much...maybe capable of getting the ball past half court and into someone else's hand.  If Vander plays smart, he's capable of better defense and offense than D. Wilson. 

I really liked what I saw out of Derrick Wilson tonight - think he'll be a VERY solid PG for MU and will get minutes this year.  He is a very physical and disruptive force on the court.  Not flashy offensively, but he isn't needed to be a scorer.  Smart player.  Will pair well with Mayo, Juan, Vander, Jamil moving forward this year and the next 2 years..

[2012 Warrior]

Maybe its just me but looks like Jae is forcing the three ball early in the shot clock a little much, not a huge deal now but when possessions get big it could matter.

[MUfan12]

I really liked what I saw out of Derrick Wilson tonight - think he'll be a VERY solid PG for MU and will get minutes this year.  He is a very physical and disruptive force on the court.  Not flashy offensively, but he isn't needed to be a scorer.  Smart player.  Will pair well with Mayo, Juan, Vander, Jamil moving forward this year and the next 2 years.

I agree with you. My one critique is that he has to be more aware on rotations. He's gotten caught ball watching a few times in each of the first two games. On the ball I think he's excellent. Quick, strong, good hands.

[PGsHeroes32]

I even thought this after the first game when the shots didnt fall..........Todd Mayo will be a real weapon within his time here. He just has the look of a ball player who is "score first" but also in control and has an idea of what hes doing.

I think thats the best thing about our freshman(even Juan who we havnt seen) as well as Jamil, there all smart and have an idea of whats going on. Makes things beyond this year look real bright.

Dwill hopefully finds more offense once its his time in two years, for now hes just gotta handle the ball, play D and spell Junior.

[Wade for President]

To echo some of the earlier thoughts, what really stands out to me thus far is the depth.  With three minutes left in a game that isn't close, the 5 we had on the floor were still producing, with a somewhat minimal drop in talent.

Seriously.  If I was the Norfolk coach, I would've been thoroughly impressed by Todd Mayo coming in and scoring ten points in less than three minutes.

Just think, there's no Frozena (the human victory cigar) to throw out there. 

Keeping everybody sharp and productive when the competition steps up in league play will be the challenge.  However, you have to think the minutes being shared by everyone has to bode well as we head into January.

[avid1010]

I really liked what I saw out of Derrick Wilson tonight - think he'll be a VERY solid PG for MU and will get minutes this year.  He is a very physical and disruptive force on the court.  Not flashy offensively, but he isn't needed to be a scorer.  Smart player.  Will pair well with Mayo, Juan, Vander, Jamil moving forward this year and the next 2 years..

Time will tell, and I hope you're right.  He didn't even look at the rim last night, but that's not untypical of what Buzz asks many freshmen to do.  His defense is solid.  He was pulled last night very briefly because of a high school level lazy pass that got deflected, but didn't turn it over.  I guess at this point I don't see him having the offensive ability to create or hit shots...so if we're looking for someone to bring the ball up the court and play solid defense we should have a number of guards capable of that.  If he could create for others or stroke an open 3, I'd think differently.  I think he and Vander are similar on defense with the exception of their physical frames.  If Vander can bring the ball up the court and not turn it over, I guess I'd rather see that so JJ and Mayo get more minutes, but with D. Wilson or JC at the point at all times thus far, I obviously have to default to Buzz and most of the people on this board.

[NersEllenson]

I even thought this after the first game when the shots didnt fall..........Todd Mayo will be a real weapon within his time here. He just has the look of a ball player who is "score first" but also in control and has an idea of what hes doing.

Agree - and felt his first game performance may have been more attributed to first game jitters than anything.  Couple that with the fact he'd missed 2 weeks of practice prior to the Mount St. Mary's game - the future looks bright for Todd.

It's been evident to me ever since watching Mayo's highlight videos, and him putting up big numbers at a program like Notre Dame Prep - that he just has "it."  Reminded me of D-Wade (not saying he'll be D-Wade good of course), but Mayo has a feel for the game, pace, tempo, understanding of rhythm, cerebral, fluid.  Just smooth.  Absolutely looks the part of a big time player.

[APieperFan3]

If Vander plays smart, he's capable of better defense and offense than D. Wilson. 

This is a pretty good point - and something that could maybe be discussed. Last year after Jan 1, we simply COULD NOT play Junior and Vander at the same time. We would be essentially playing 3 on 5 offensively.

For this season, if Vander PROVES that he can make smart decisions, handle the ball, and run the offense, I would like to see him move to the 1 more often than D. Wilson entering. Not to say I'm writing off D. Wilson as a capable PG, but Vander bring more on the offensive and defensive end at this point in their careers.

[bilsu]

Given it is the first two games of his career, I think D. Wilson has played well. The biggest thing for freshmen is to not hurt the team. He plays soild defense and does not take bad shots. I did think on one pass he had stolen he telegraphed. It was obvious he was going to pass to the left side as he was staring at the player he wanted to pass to and did not look right where someone else was more open.

[cheebs09]

Wasn't Wilson regarded as a pretty good three point shooter when he committed? I think he may just need a little confidence. Maybe as time goes on he will get a little more confidence.

Vander has looked really good so far I thought. His first three, his lower body was blocked off, but it didn't seem like he turned a ton on the one that he made. It is tough to remember how good he looked during the non-conference season last year. I remember him hitting a big 3 against Bucknell in pretty much the same spot as last night. I don't know if it is because of the increased athleticism or just pressure of the game, but he seems to be in more of a hurry against the better teams. You can tell he really wants to do well, but he would just basically run as fast as he could on the drive and the ball didn't always come with him, or he would throw up an out of control shot.

In these first two games he seems to be going at 3/4 speed when driving and just looking more calm. That could be a function of the teams we have played, but if that's him maturing and he can get comfortable with his shot, we could be very good. I for one, was making predictions based on him still having very little impact on offense.

[bilsu]

Wilson was considered more of a scoring guard than a point guard. I am not sure he was known as a three point shooter. He did not shoot a lot of threes in the pro am. Most of his scoring was on short jumpers and rebounds. It does not look like it, but he can jump pretty high. Not like Dominic James, but significantly higher than Cadougan.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Chris with only 13 minutes.

[tower912]

Chris and DG only combined for 25 minutes.   With O'Quinn having foul issues, there was no one for them to guard and Buzz played small.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Wilson is our best point guard already. Junior will continue to play there as Buzz indicated he does everything asked of him. Blue cannot handle the ball at all and is not nearly the defender that Wilson is. None of them have shown any shooting ability.

I will wager that Blue will play himself out of the rotation as the season progresses and Wilson's playing time will rise. Junior will start and rightfully so.

[jmayer1]

Wilson is our best point guard already. Junior will continue to play there as Buzz indicated he does everything asked of him. Blue cannot handle the ball at all and is not nearly the defender that Wilson is. None of them have shown any shooting ability.

I will wager that Blue will play himself out of the rotation as the season progresses and Wilson's playing time will rise. Junior will start and rightfully so.

I'll take that bet. Blue will see significantly more minutes than D. Wilson this year.

[Henry Sugar]

Through the first two games, Blue is the third best player on the team.

[RJax55]

To me, DG looks to be a 12-15 minute guy. I love his offense, but his defense and more importantly rebounding are just not there yet. Yesterday, he struggled with his assignments and rotated very poorly. Also, he needs to grab more than just one board in 12 minutes of play.

I thought Wilson had a strong 2nd half. He really went after the boards on the defensive end. In terms of JJ, there's a role for him as shooter off the bench, but he needs to hit around 40% to justify his playing time. He certainly isn't shy and has confidence in that shot, but unless he is hitting, I don't see the value you get elsewhere. Last night, he had 3 bad turnovers in limited minutes.

[6746jonesr]

I think it is hard to make any judgements about the team defensively since Norfolk state was playing street ball and was very undisciplined in their offense.  Heck, they wouldn't even try to get the ball to their best player at the beginning of the game and took some very wild 3 point shots, although they did make a few of them.  I disagree with many of the posters regarding Mayo.  He would have fit perfectly on the other team since he wants to shoot as soon as he toughes the ball.  Lots of talent, but would love to see a little more patience from him.

[avid1010]

Wilson is our best point guard already.

IMHO, if this is true...it's going to be a rough year.

[nyg]

Chris with only 13 minutes.

Thats because his "hands of stone" returned. 

[PGsHeroes32]

IMHO, if this is true...it's going to be a rough year.

Ditto on that.

[avid1010]

Thats because his "hands of stone" returned. 

Not at all...it was because they fouled the other teams only big out with like 12 minutes left in the game and MU went small.  It was great to see J Wilson get some time underneath the hoop as I wondered about his toughness.  He's got some work to do, but I thought he battled pretty well. 

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Not at all...it was because they fouled the other teams only big out with like 12 minutes left in the game and MU went small.  It was great to see J Wilson get some time underneath the hoop as I wondered about his toughness.  He's got some work to do, but I thought he battled pretty well. 

I agree that is why CO only saw 13 minutes last night, but his "hands of stone" did return. He had at least 4 easy entrance passes down low that he mishandled in very limited time.