Starting Lineup.
Buycks
Butler
Hayward
Fulce
Maymon
Defensively, we play a zone scheme with buycks and butler up top, and long athletic arms swarming everywhere.
offensively, maymon runs the point-foward, or buycks brings it up, and we set up a foward dominated offensive. i mean, who are opposing guards gonna guard? whoever it is will be posted up all day creating huge mismatches. and when they double down, all of those players except maymon can hit the three consistently
i would rather see this than acker play the point imo
when DJO returns to 100%, things will obviously change, but desperate times call for desperate measures
J-May bringing up the ball?
I'd rather have Marcus Jackson bringing the ball up.
Quote from: marqptm on November 08, 2009, 01:18:12 PM
J-May bringing up the ball?
I'd rather have Marcus Jackson bringing the ball up.
Agree. Don't want to see the word point anywhere near Maymon, he is a banger that needs to be close to basket for rebounds and inside presence. Can you imagine him trying to guard Scottie Reynolds?
Let Acker, Cubes and Buycks share the point until one of them steps up and takes the job.
Yes. It would be so much better to have a freshman who played the 4 in high school bringing it up instead of Maurice Acker.
I am fairly certain that Buzz has a good handle on what to do. And I really wouldn't call these "desperate times."
I really dont understand how people do not realize that acker will be this teams starting PG, and unless he messes that up will be for the entire season. Everything buzz says points to that, even going as far as saying Cubillan can 'maybe help' at the point, but not mentioning anyone else.
I would have never guessed it before the season, but a starting backcourt of acker and cubillan is a possibility. From what I saw yesterday, acker, butler, and hayward are locks to start at the 1,3,4 with the 2 and 5 up in the air. I believe cubillan and otule will get those spots on fri, but if not buycks and maymon.
By seasons end I'd guess that DJO will start at the 2 if healthy, buzz seems to like him. Cubillan and buycks will spell the 1 and 2. Maymon, Fulce, Williams, Mbao will spell the 3-5, in order of most-least minutes played. It may be a situation where Otule starts, but maymon and fulce get more minutes than him because of versatility and foul trouble- i hope not because I think they need otule to be successful.
My prediction for minutes played from most to least if healthy:
lazar, butler, acker, maymon, djo, buycks, otule, cubillan, fulce, williams, mbao
Quote from: The Sultan of South Wayne on November 08, 2009, 05:18:30 PM
Yes. It would be so much better to have a freshman who played the 4 in high school bringing it up instead of Maurice Acker.
I am fairly certain that Buzz has a good handle on what to do. And I really wouldn't call these "desperate times."
+1 --- Funny you suggest J-May as a point guard after Buzz criticizes him for his carelessness with the ball.
I have to say i like the idea of Fulce starting. Acker or Cubillan with Dwight Buykes to start the year in the backcourt (we will talk about DJO when he stops limping) and Lazar, Butler and the super athletic fulce in the frontcourt. I agree OTULE (spelled correctly) needs productive minutes to be successful and what better way than coming in fresh to a game 5-7 minutes in. Maymon will get more minutes than any other front court sub no matter what, and will still play more than Fulce. But Fulce is Buzz's guy and if he is healthy, I think it might be a plus having him start in a crazy athletic first five.
What say you?
Quote from: thanooj on November 08, 2009, 10:38:25 PM
I have to say i like the idea of Fulce starting. Acker or Cubillan with Dwight Buykes to start the year in the backcourt (we will talk about DJO when he stops limping) and Lazar, Butler and the super athletic fulce in the frontcourt. I agree OTULE (spelled correctly) needs productive minutes to be successful and what better way than coming in fresh to a game 5-7 minutes in. Maymon will get more minutes than any other front court sub no matter what, and will still play more than Fulce. But Fulce is Buzz's guy and if he is healthy, I think it might be a plus having him start in a crazy athletic first five.
What say you?
I say that I can see your reasoning, and agree that Fulce is fun to watch. However, I also say that from listening to Buzz speak after the game, id guess that he is destined to come off the bench for energy minutes, similar to butlers role last season. Saying that Fulce makes a mistake every single possession and basically implying that he is lost on the court, but somewhat makes up for it with his energy, athletic ability, and careless instinct, is hardly an indication that he will start
Also, starting fulce makes the team very small, more so in width than height, and doesnt include someone to bang down low like otule or maymon can. That might not be a big problem in the out of conf schedule, but will in the BE. Its much more likely that maymon starts if otule doesnt, IMO
One more time, there is no Acker or Cubillan- Its acker at the 1 and his job to lose. Its Cubillan or Buycks, and i can see buzz going either way- i would guess cubillan to start the season because of defense until buycks or djo get up to speed and beat him out
Yeah, that original post was some serious kooky talk. Acker is the starting PG on this team. He is not as good defensively, or cannot dribble penetrate, like DJ--but then, not many PGs are. What matters is that he knock down 3s and doesn't turn the ball over, which he has PROVEN many times he is capable of doing. I think Cubillan and Buycks will be the other 2 options (and I REALLY hope DJO heals up quick), and Cubillan has the same attributes as Acker. I'm not that worried; and seriously, we need "drastic" measures like having a freshman PF bring the ball up?! Get serious.
I think Fulce will come off the bench, and that Maymon and OTule will mix/match based on the teams/style of play. I like the idea of a second unit composed of some combo of Cubillan-Fulce-OTule/Maymon, along with Hayward and Butler, who should get HUGE minutes this year--those guys should be on the floor at all times.
Acker will start, probably all year. We know what we have from him, and it's consistent even if it isn't much. Whether he plays 15 minutes or 30 minutes will depend on how well Cubillan can play the point, and how well Buycks and DJO can play the 2. With a hurt DJO it's going to be closer to 30 than 15.
Everyone should hope a player surfaces who beats Acker out. Mo is a Mid-Major pg at best. This is not a knock on him. Certainly not his fault Crean offered. Seriously dudes, this player was not on the team 3 months ago, now he's starting in the BE? Long season, if true
The defense is what I'm most worried about. Here are opposing PGs when Acker started last year. 7 of 8 were above their season averages, most comfortably. The only one that didn't exceed his average is an inch taller than Acker.
Uconn Price: Actual: 36 Season: 14.7
Louisville McGee: Actual: 16 Season: 5.3
Pitt Fields Actual: 17 Season: 10.7
Syracuse Flynn Actual: 24 Season: 17.4
St. John's Booth (pretty much Acker's size) Actual: 5 Season 6.4
Villanova Reynolds Actual: 21 Season: 15.2
Utah State Quayle Actual: 18 Season 13.1
Missouri Tiller Actual: 10 Season: 8.4
Quote from: chapman on November 09, 2009, 11:07:40 AM
The defense is what I'm most worried about. Here are opposing PGs when Acker started last year. 7 of 8 were above their season averages, most comfortably. The only one that didn't exceed his average is an inch taller than Acker.
Uconn Price: Actual: 36 Season: 14.7
Louisville McGee: Actual: 16 Season: 5.3
Pitt Fields Actual: 17 Season: 10.7
Syracuse Flynn Actual: 24 Season: 17.4
St. John's Booth (pretty much Acker's size) Actual: 5 Season 6.4
Villanova Reynolds Actual: 21 Season: 15.2
Utah State Quayle Actual: 18 Season 13.1
Missouri Tiller Actual: 10 Season: 8.4
this is excellent work. great statement of facts chapman. Acker won't hinder our offense but is a defensive liability. I am glad he is here to start the season for us, and hope he plays closer to 15 min a game come BE play.
I also saw Buzz say something like once Buycks understands what he is supposed to do on defense he will be very good. So maybe Cooby does "start" until Buycks becomes a stopper.
And seriously good work on the stats above.
Quote from: chapman on November 09, 2009, 11:07:40 AM
The defense is what I'm most worried about. Here are opposing PGs when Acker started last year. 7 of 8 were above their season averages, most comfortably. The only one that didn't exceed his average is an inch taller than Acker.
Uconn Price: Actual: 36 Season: 14.7
Louisville McGee: Actual: 16 Season: 5.3
Pitt Fields Actual: 17 Season: 10.7
Syracuse Flynn Actual: 24 Season: 17.4
St. John's Booth (pretty much Acker's size) Actual: 5 Season 6.4
Villanova Reynolds Actual: 21 Season: 15.2
Utah State Quayle Actual: 18 Season 13.1
Missouri Tiller Actual: 10 Season: 8.4
It's a nice idea, but you go wrong in the assumption that Acker was actually guarding the other teams PG in each of those games. That wasn't always the case.
Against UConn, James started out on Price, but when he went down it was McNeal guarding him the rest of the game, not Acker. Against Syracuse, McNeal guarded Flynn for nearly the entire game, not Acker. Against Missouri, it was McNeal guarding Tiller, not Acker.
I'm not going to argue that he's a great defensive player, but he's get unfairly blamed for games where McNeal(supposedly the best defender on the team) wasn't able to stop anyone. Further, recall the Notre Dame game where Acker came off the bench to basically be Kyle McAlarney's shadow and harrassed the guy into a terrible night forcing him to work for the ball more than normal and take terrible shots.
Quote from: bma725 on November 09, 2009, 12:33:56 PM
It's a nice idea, but you go wrong in the assumption that Acker was actually guarding the other teams PG in each of those games. That wasn't always the case.
Against UConn, James started out on Price, but when he went down it was McNeal guarding him the rest of the game, not Acker. Against Syracuse, McNeal guarded Flynn for nearly the entire game, not Acker. Against Missouri, it was McNeal guarding Tiller, not Acker.
I'm not going to argue that he's a great defensive player, but he's get unfairly blamed for games where McNeal(supposedly the best defender on the team) wasn't able to stop anyone. Further, recall the Notre Dame game where Acker came off the bench to basically be Kyle McAlarney's shadow and harrassed the guy into a terrible night forcing him to work for the ball more than normal and take terrible shots.
It was a "Jump to Conclusions" mat. You see, it would be this mat that you would put on the floor... and would have different CONCLUSIONS written on it that you could JUMP TO.
Quote from: Hards_Alumni on November 09, 2009, 01:01:37 PM
It was a "Jump to Conclusions" mat. You see, it would be this mat that you would put on the floor... and would have different CONCLUSIONS written on it that you could JUMP TO.
Sure. Like they say, you can throw out statistics to say whatever you want.
For argument's sake, in the case of Acker not guarding the point guard, I'm going to ask why he can't guard his own position and suggest that if we have to move a 5'8" player to guard a 6'5" shooting guard because he can't guard the point guard because it's somehow better that it's still deep trouble. You can deny that he was directly responsible for 7 of 8 point guards going off, but if the defensive scheme has to completely change to make up for someone's shortcomings the bottom line is that it's a weakness. If the shift to McNeal last year was ineffective, then it's either a bad move on the coach's part or he honestly believed Acker would have been even worse. As far as McAlarney, we'll keep it in mind to put Acker on both off guards we face this year who cannot drive and never take a 2 point shot.
Quote from: chapman on November 09, 2009, 01:36:01 PM
Sure. Like they say, you can throw out statistics to say whatever you want.
For argument's sake, in the case of Acker not guarding the point guard, I'm going to ask why he can't guard his own position and suggest that if we have to move a 5'8" player to guard a 6'5" shooting guard because he can't guard the point guard because it's somehow better that it's still deep trouble. You can deny that he was directly responsible for 7 of 8 point guards going off, but if the defensive scheme has to completely change to make up for someone's shortcomings the bottom line is that it's a weakness. If the shift to McNeal last year was ineffective, then it's either a bad move on the coach's part or he honestly believed Acker would have been even worse. As far as McAlarney, we'll keep it in mind to put Acker on both off guards we face this year who cannot drive and never take a 2 point shot.
Did Acker sleep with your girlfriend or something?
I just assume that has to be it because you seriously have an unbelievable hatred for this kid's play...which is funny considering he hasn't even laced up for the '09 season yet.
Look, you're a broken record right now...no one on this board thinks that Acker is going to receive all-conference honors at the end of the year. And furthermore, I don't think anyone is really arguing with you that he's some all-world defender.
But he has a very good assist / turnover ratio. He is capable of knocking down an open shot (something DJ COULD NOT do). He can single-handedly break the press with his quickness, agility, and ball-handling ability...A coach has to play with the cards he is dealt.
JR went down, and although Mo isn't the all-american that you WANT bringing the ball up the court, he is still a very capable PG. The kid was the MAC player of the year as a freshman which means he's not as terrible a player as you seem to label him to be.
Be a fan, man...support your team and hope for the best...and if you can't do that, then at least take comfort in knowing that the 2010 season is just 365 short days away...
Quote from: chapman on November 09, 2009, 01:36:01 PM
Sure. Like they say, you can throw out statistics to say whatever you want.
For argument's sake, in the case of Acker not guarding the point guard, I'm going to ask why he can't guard his own position and suggest that if we have to move a 5'8" player to guard a 6'5" shooting guard because he can't guard the point guard because it's somehow better that it's still deep trouble. You can deny that he was directly responsible for 7 of 8 point guards going off, but if the defensive scheme has to completely change to make up for someone's shortcomings the bottom line is that it's a weakness. If the shift to McNeal last year was ineffective, then it's either a bad move on the coach's part or he honestly believed Acker would have been even worse. As far as McAlarney, we'll keep it in mind to put Acker on both off guards we face this year who cannot drive and never take a 2 point shot.
Once again, you're making a faulty assumption without looking at the whole picture. Acker's ability or lack thereof did not lead to a change in philosophy, Buzz played the same way he had the entire season. The guards defended whomever he felt created a better match up for him regardless of what position they played. Some games that meant the matchups worked traditionally, some games that meant you had odd match ups. That's why he switched DJ off of Truck Bryant during the West Virginia game and put him on Alex Ruoff, despite the fact Ruoff is 6'6.
Look at the one team(Villanova) they played at full strength and without James and you'll see there was no change in philosophy. In game #1, McNeal guarded Reynolds most of the game with DJ guarding him in short spurts to dry to draw fouls and get Reynolds out of the game. In game #2, McNeal started out on Reynolds until it became apparent that he couldn't stop him and DJ was switched to Reynolds. In game #3, McNeal guarded Reynolds nearly the entire game. There's no change in philosophy there at all.
Further, when you ignore the fact that Acker wasn't guarding the PG, you ignore how he actually defended the guy he was guarding. Against Syracuse, while McNeal allowed Flynn to go above his season average, Acker held Devendorf 3 points below his season average. Against Missouri, while McNeal allowed Tiller to go above his season average, Acker held Zaire Taylor below his season average.
The fact that opposing guards performed well later in the season had less to do with the fact that Acker was playing than it did the fact that MU was playing against several high level guards, and had problems with perimeter defense for much of the year.
Quote from: MU_Iceman on November 09, 2009, 02:19:31 PM
Be a fan, man...support your team and hope for the best...and if you can't do that, then at least take comfort in knowing that the 2010 season is just 365 short days away...
If I wasn't critical I wouldn't be a fan. I would be a cheerleader.
When it comes down to it, I don't trust him on defense, and even if I did it would not be enough to make up for his offense. He just doesn't add anything. This isn't the same situation as being the quarterback of an NFL team with the top-rated defense where all he has to do is not make mistakes to win. A 3:1 A:TO ratio is great, if that player would have 9 assists and 3 turnovers in the game, but that's pretty much a month's worth of production for Acker. Fine and valuable if his efficiency is coming when he's getting 8 minutes per game and chipping in his 3 points per game during that time, troubling when he's getting 28 minutes. We just don't have the weapons to be a good team with a non-factor who isn't at all a playmaker at the point-only a handful of teams do. If he could play shutdown defense and get some steals and rebounds it would make up for the offensive deficiencies, but the argument isn't whether he's an asset on defense but whether he's a massive defensive liability or just a small one. I see him as a fine 8 minutes per game bench player being forced to start and play 25+ and I am very worried.
I think we are in serious trouble with acker as our starting PG.
No Defense whatsoever
Most players with huge physical disadvantages (such as size) usually develop other skills to make up for it. Acker has failed to do this. He is NOT a good shooter. NOT great at finding open guys and making imaginative passes. NOT a good driver. Basically the only thing he is good at is keeping care of the ball (which is important to a highly talented and experienced team perhaps, but won't cut it with the makeup of our current team)
Also, and maybe most importantly. From personal experience I believe that Acker does not have the heart and desire for this team. I don't think he puts everything into being a top level athlete. I don't really want to go into detail of what i've seen, but ill leave it at that.
Quote from: jenningstoMU on November 09, 2009, 04:41:13 PM
I think we are in serious trouble with acker as our starting PG.
No Defense whatsoever
Most players with huge physical disadvantages (such as size) usually develop other skills to make up for it. Acker has failed to do this. He is NOT a good shooter. NOT great at finding open guys and making imaginative passes. NOT a good driver. Basically the only thing he is good at is keeping care of the ball (which is important to a highly talented and experienced team perhaps, but won't cut it with the makeup of our current team)
Also, and maybe most importantly. From personal experience I believe that Acker does not have the heart and desire for this team. I don't think he puts everything into being a top level athlete. I don't really want to go into detail of what i've seen, but ill leave it at that.
What personal experience do you have with Acker that leads you to the conclusion that he has no heart and desire? Are you on the squad, practice with the team or is it a personal thing, like you hang out with him or observed him with someone you don't agree with?
Pretty lame first post to diss Maurice, who at 5ft 8in may not have the physical presence, but I don't see the heart and desire issue.
Quote from: nyg on November 09, 2009, 04:56:37 PM
What personal experience do you have with Acker that leads you to the conclusion that he has no heart and desire? Are you on the squad, practice with the team or is it a personal thing, like you hang out with him or observed him with someone you don't agree with?
Pretty lame first post to diss Maurice, who at 5ft 8in may not have the physical presence, but I don't see the heart and desire issue.
off the court observations. just things that i dont believe someone on a basketball scholarship should be doing. i think you can come to your own conclusions from that
Quote from: jenningstoMU on November 09, 2009, 05:05:52 PM
off the court observations. just things that i dont believe someone on a basketball scholarship should be doing. i think you can come to your own conclusions from that
I'm calling BS on this one. Either state your facts and move on or don't post that crap on a public forum. There's no need for people to be coming to their own conclusion based on a nameless Internet source.
this was more comical than anything, but last year during halloween Mo was a pimp and got into it with the guy in the wheelchair that hangs out at murphs. I have no clue what acker did to him, but dude was seriously pissed. I felt that acker got a little too upset at the man- he had to be restrained by lazar and jerel.
on a side note, i miss that man
Quote from: avid1010 on November 09, 2009, 07:25:36 PM
I'm calling BS on this one. Either state your facts and move on or don't post that crap on a public forum. There's no need for people to be coming to their own conclusion based on a nameless Internet source.
I'm not posting crap from an internet source. I'm a current senior, and i'm talking from first hand experience.
I'm not incriminating the kid as a person, i'm just saying that i've seen things that make me disappointed that he has a 30k/year scholarship to be an athlete. I suppose I hold athletes to higher standard, but I think a lot of people do.
Quote from: mudimitri on November 09, 2009, 08:54:00 PM
this was more comical than anything, but last year during halloween Mo was a pimp and got into it with the guy in the wheelchair that hangs out at murphs. I have no clue what acker did to him, but dude was seriously pissed. I felt that acker got a little too upset at the man- he had to be restrained by lazar and jerel.
on a side note, i miss that man
Not sure if its the same guy, but i just played pool with a man in a wheelchair on friday in cafferys. Curly hair, dallas cowboys hat.
Anyways, he was a really nice guy.
Quote from: mudimitri on November 09, 2009, 08:54:00 PM
this was more comical than anything, but last year during halloween Mo was a pimp and got into it with the guy in the wheelchair that hangs out at murphs. I have no clue what acker did to him, but dude was seriously pissed. I felt that acker got a little too upset at the man- he had to be restrained by lazar and jerel.
on a side note, i miss that man
Ahh, good old Troy (or that's what at least we called him because of his man love for Troy Aikman), but I was at Murphs one night in 2002 or so when this guy pulled a machete out and threatened at least 3 people with it.
Quote from: jenningstoMU on November 09, 2009, 09:03:53 PM
Not sure if its the same guy, but i just played pool with a man in a wheelchair on friday in cafferys. Curly hair, dallas cowboys hat.
Anyways, he was a really nice guy.
yea same guy. extremely nice most of the times ive encountered him out, but that one night he was absolutely fuming... i just couldnt help but think to myself no matter how drunk or what he did to me, i would just walk away