As Marquette gets ready for the most difficult portion of Big East play, and the season is rounding the turn heading for home....and conference and NCAA tournaments will be here before we know it....here are some thoughts on players who are trending up, trending down or sort of stuck in neutral:
Rising
Junior: Although at times his turnovers can drive one nuts, and he looked clearly outmatched in the Louisville game, he seems to be finding his places to score and has become a threat in the lane and even outside.
Mayo: If he can get some mojo going from the outside, he can really be an asset. Still shows signs of poor judgement on defense and has some silly turnovers, but, his head is with the team and he has regained Buzz' trust.
Vander: Our most consistent player and he continues his upward trajectory this year...showing no signs of regressing and I think we all trust the ball in his hands on offense, his defense on opposing teams' scorers, and his rebounding is always an asset.
Lockett: Is more comfortable with MU's schemes and is not only doing all the important things consistently (rebounding, shot blocking, filling lanes on defense, etc.) but his scoring is coming around as well.
Otule: Developing a bit of a touch on offense to match his contributions on defense. Also seems to have more stamina and is comfortable with more minutes.
Taylor Jr.: When he gets his chances....he is making the most of his opportunities. Doing some really nice things on offense, in the lane, and rebounding during conference play. Also oozes confidence....not too shabby for a frosh in Buzz' system. Love his upside and his future at MU.
Idling
Juan Anderson: Seems consistent as a hustle guy who does a lot of dirty work on the boards, going after loose balls, and lots of energy/spirit. Has even showed some more potential from beyond the arc. However, his offense is really inconsistent and he has some major moments of poor play which leads to easy hoops, turnovers, etc. I love his upside too and I am not saying he is a liability...quite the opposite as he adds a lot to the lineup, but just is not taking major steps forward as the season progresses.
DWill: Steady edddy....nothing more, nothing less. You get what you expect with Dwill and that is much more than I expected from him last year. He will end up having a pretty good season.
Fergie: No meaningful minutes....nothing to make a judgement on..one hopes he is getting better by practicing in such an intense system.
Jake: see Fergie
Falling
Gardner: I love the big guy and even in his performance falling off for us, it is still vital and we would not win without it. But, something is amiss the last few games and it does not feel like he is getting stronger in his performance as the season moves on. Maybe it is just a short slump. Or, maybe it is only my opinion and I am way off base. Just feels like if he is up against a legitimate "big", he will not be impactful inside. His defense is great and if he gets position he is pretty tough to spot....But it just looks to me like he is off a bit (again, maybe way off base).
Jamil: If you watched him in 2-3 minute clips and then blinded out the bad, you would put him on the rising category....if you blind out the good, you would put him on the falling off the edge category. He shows spurts and promise which is what is frustrating, but still so inconsistent. I'm not a Jamil Wilson (or any player for that matter) basher....but he seems to continue to regress in to an undefined and sporadically effective role.
Just some thoughts meant for discussion after consuming a lovely bit of single malt. I would say Buzz, as a coach, is rising. Seems to be figuring out his rotations and I love that he is putting in some zone looks on defense. Also seems to be managing a deep bench when minutes are limited very effectively.
All in all....very excited to see how we do in this next difficult stretch in conference play!
Gardner played quite well in the second half against DePaul. Derrick Wilson has been struggling and his minutes show that.
I think your assessment is fairly accurate.
First off, I love the big guy and we need more of him. I think Davante has just had a bit of a bad run, and teams are adjusting. He is seeing a lot more double teams from guards and he needs to continue to pass out of them. I really would like to see more of Todd Mayo with Davante for an inside out game. I think having a guard like Todd with his scoring ability really would help open up things for Davante down low.
As for Otule, he's been great, but due to FT shooting, he won't be in the lineup near the end of games. We need to continue to maximize our offense/defense substitutions at the 5.
As for Jamil, I really think he has spurts of offensive greatness, but at times he looks to be too nonchalant with the ball. I think he is very close to traveling a lot when he is the trailer on the play and gets the ball at the top of the key. This as well as not being strong with ball in traffic concerns me. The athletic prowess is there and the skills are there, but I would like to think a red shirt junior would have figured this out by now. This is one of Buzz's tenants, that every possession counts.
As for the rising, I wholeheartedly agree. Vander is becoming what we all hoped he would be when he came to Marquette. I love his confidence and that he isn't forcing it.
Todd rejoining the team has allowed us to have a legitimate scoring threat. He needs to continue to improve defensively.
Overall, I'm optimistic and with the exception of the Louisville game, I see growth and improvement in the team. That's what we all want to see as March approaches!
Ring out ahoya! Or more literally, a "Hoya" or two on Monday!
Buzz has mentioned that Otule is dominating Gardner in practice. I wonder if this is playing on his confidence. He also has seemed somewhat tentative since that flagrant 2.
I'm not sure I would say Ox is falling as much as he's in a rut based on who we played prior to yesterday. In the two games against USF I'd say their plan was to make someone other than Ox beat them. Louisville made everyone not named Pickett or Blue look terrible. Yesterday against DePaul, Ox looked like the old Ox in the second half. It's no secret that Gardner is our key inside threat and that teams will go at him to try and take that away from us.
Gardner has the ability to score down low but as the scouting reports can show is that he always turns left on the low box from the right side, teams are double teaming him more
so he needs to get the ball out of his hands quicker, this part of his game is improving. Teams are also forcing him away from the basket which means he is going to dribble more than
he should and turnovers happen. I did see him make a shot from the free throw line so his repertoire of shots will help him. He needs to be more aggressive down low when putting the
ball up as the Big East centers do block his shot. Great free throw center, love his game. Glad MU has him and Chris, better bigs then most Big East teams.
Quote from: tower912 on February 10, 2013, 08:52:08 AM
Buzz has mentioned that Otule is dominating Gardner in practice. I wonder if this is playing on his confidence. He also has seemed somewhat tentative since that flagrant 2.
I think it might be due to Otule simply getting better. The last couple weeks he looks more like the "old Otule" from prior to the knee injury.
Regarding Davante, teams are simply doubling him and making him pass out. They aren't doubling off the shooters though.