Wasn't me! ;D
I must admit he didn't have blow by speed, he does have a nice shot compared to you-know-who. Also, he played within the scope of the team, running the offense well, and hitting the FTs when all of us were biting our nails down to the bone.
I'm glad DJ recognized he needed to play PG today and feed the ball.
He's solid for a freshman. I feel good about our PG situation when DJ leaves if david would start to play D off the ball.
Anyone else notice the BALL MOVEMENT without DJ and Jerel? Not saying I'd rather be without the 2 of them, but it was nice to see the guys swinging the ball, making quick, clean, crisp passes leading to open looks (too bad we couldn't knock any of them down!)
I did and i still do. Dont get me wrong he was great down the stretch offensively, but his defense is brutal. He might have scored 20 tonight but Id be willing to bet he gave up at least that much. He has no lateral quickness, and gets beat off of the dribble routinely. Which opens things up for the opposition and causes our players to try to help which usually leads to fouls. He needs som serious work in the offseason on his footwork and lateral speed or we will be in big trouble when he takes over the team
when I saw McNeal hurt before the game started... I turned to my good friend that I watched the game with and told him if Marquette had any shot of winning, David had to step it up, boy, I put that one on the money!
I am very happy with David considering the numbers he as put up and the fact that he's a freshman.
Defensively he has had stretches of great defense, but multiple times this year he has failed to play defense after a big 3 and too much celebration. Pumping up teammates and oneself is ok, as long as the number one priority is still playing defense. Our opponents should take the ball right at David anytime he hits a three and 99/100 he will be beaten off the dribble.
I agree with IAmMarquette. The ball movement last night was good. We still needed to find ways to penetrate more when DJ was on the bench, but it worked out.
Also, we played great defense last night and never let the Pitt sharpshooters get a rhythm.
David lacks lateral quickness when compared to DJ, but DJ gambles much more on defense and that opens up opportunities for the opposing team. Moreover, it is TEAM defense and I have noticed that the bigs are out of place to play the other team's driving guard.
IMHO, David is a tenacious on-the ball defender at the top of the key. It's when he's playing the wings, he has some trouble.
Though DJ has stepped up his play and not his shot, I still feel that DJ running point is not the effective place for him.
And JEFF POTRYKUS's article somewhat validated my feelings about David running the point:
Marquette could be poised for another first-round exit. The Golden Eagles have lost five of their last eight games and could be without their best player, guard Jerel McNeal (thumb). Their second-best player, guard Dominic James, is in the midst of a horrid shooting slump. He has made just 32 of 109 field-goal attempts (29.4%) in the last eight games, including 7 of 45 three-pointers (16.0%).
It was interesting to note that in the loss to Pittsburgh in the Big East quarterfinals, Marquette's offense was more effective with freshman David Cubillan on the floor and James on the bench.
Quote from: Rocco on March 04, 2007, 12:33:23 AM
I did and i still do. Dont get me wrong he was great down the stretch offensively, but his defense is brutal. He might have scored 20 tonight but Id be willing to bet he gave up at least that much. He has no lateral quickness, and gets beat off of the dribble routinely. Which opens things up for the opposition and causes our players to try to help which usually leads to fouls. He needs som serious work in the offseason on his footwork and lateral speed or we will be in big trouble when he takes over the team
do you watch the same Cube that I do? When I watch him play D, he isnt as quick as DJ or have as quick of hands as McNeal, but he stays with his man. In the Nova game Scottie Reynolds killed us the first 10 minutes of the first half, then Cubillan was put on him, and he slowed down. Same with Ramon as well as others that we have put Cubillan on this year
I guess we don't.