where have you gone?
Lately I'd feel better seeing Scott "Mr. Basketball" Christopherson in the game.
Had some serious pine time there in the second half with Acker getting a lot of his minutes.
HIs confidence is shot. Fortunately we are deep enough to make up for his lapse. Hopefully he gets it gong. Best thing Wes can do is start taking it to the whole more. He got to the line at will second half of last year. It would be nice to see a similar second half to this season.
This kid was supposed to be the cool customer that gives us 15-20 a game
Quote from: shaquilvaine on January 08, 2008, 10:24:26 PM
HIs confidence is shot. Fortunately we are deep enough to make up for his lapse. Hopefully he gets it gong. Best thing Wes can do is start taking it to the whole more. He got to the line at will second half of last year. It would be nice to see a similar second half to this season.
sorry - I dont buy that one anymore. Its been that way for too long
I don't buy the "where have you gone "argument. When was he ever the 1st or 2nd option as billed to go anywhere? Matthews has been a consistent 3rd or 4th option his entire career. Give up the idea that he's going to be one of the greats and he starts to look pretty attractive as the fourth option.
maybe the guy should come off the bench
Quote from: chapman on January 08, 2008, 10:21:47 PM
Lately I'd feel better seeing Scott "Mr. Basketball" Christopherson in the game.
I agree, and I am not even joking... Maybe sit Matthews and play Christopherson / Blackledge a little and see if that ignites Matthews?
Christopherson doesn't even look like a D1 player, first of all. He's slower than me in my prime, and his release is even slower.
I think everyone for whatever reason has suddenly made Matthews the star - or projected star - on this team. It was clear he'd never be that. Matthews is the guy that does a little of everything. Takes charges. Rebounds. Passes. Scores. Gets to the line.
With all the scorers on this team beside him, it's unfair to expect him to get 15ppg or anything close to that w/James, McNeal and Hayward on team. Throw in Cubillan and Fitz and Barro, and there's not enough shots to go around.
Now....Matthews TOTALLY looks like he's lost some confidence, especially when he is dribbling. He looks uncomfortable then. But at the end of the day, he's still an extremely valuable guy to have out there.
I think tonight he may have been sat down after getting hammered in the first half.
Quote from: Niv Berkowitz on January 08, 2008, 11:31:26 PM
Christopherson doesn't even look like a D1 player, first of all. He's slower than me in my prime, and his release is even slower.
I think everyone for whatever reason has suddenly made Matthews the star - or projected star - on this team. It was clear he'd never be that. Matthews is the guy that does a little of everything. Takes charges. Rebounds. Passes. Scores. Gets to the line.
With all the scorers on this team beside him, it's unfair to expect him to get 15ppg or anything close to that w/James, McNeal and Hayward on team. Throw in Cubillan and Fitz and Barro, and there's not enough shots to go around.
Now....Matthews TOTALLY looks like he's lost some confidence, especially when he is dribbling. He looks uncomfortable then. But at the end of the day, he's still an extremely valuable guy to have out there.
I think tonight he may have been sat down after getting hammered in the first half.
Is that really Niv Berkowitz?
Of course it is! I always get up early in the morning here in Israel to keep up on Marquette.
The last couple of games before tonight weren't bad for Matthews - he can still cut to the basket, hit free throws etc. What it seems he has lost is his little 10 -12 foot jumper which was his shot! We need that back.
Tonight tho, we missed so many chip shots right under the basket. And lots of other shots. D won tonight.
Quote from: Niv Berkowitz on January 08, 2008, 11:34:55 PM
Of course it is! I always get up early in the morning here in Israel to keep up on Marquette.
Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool we have a former MU player posting on the board!
Anyways, I'll stop being OT now ;D
I agree that Wes is a valued contributor whether he lives up to others expectations or not.
I love Wes, but please stop taking that three-point shot form the corner - how many airballs has he put up from there this year?
Quote from: chuncken on January 09, 2008, 02:06:14 AM
Quote from: Niv Berkowitz on January 08, 2008, 11:34:55 PM
Of course it is! I always get up early in the morning here in Israel to keep up on Marquette.
Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool we have a former MU player posting on the board!
Anyways, I'll stop being OT now ;D
Niv, didn't you say on another thread that you were at the game? Isn't the Israeli league playing now? ::)
Woah woah woah! While I like Christopherson as much as the next guy, what exactly has he shown you that makes you trust him over Wes?
Wes is not having teh season I thought he would, but I guarantee he will be heard from before this season is out.
Quote from: chuncken on January 09, 2008, 02:06:14 AM
Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool we have a former MU player posting on the board!
Anyways, I'll stop being OT now ;D
Chuncken - I have some swamp property down here in Florida, I'll sell it to you cheap!
I think you may want to check your sarcasm detector. I think it is broken. ;D
Matthews looks out of synch. Even on Fitz's 3 in the closing seconds-- Matthews had a herky/jerky drive to baseline and he got almost all the way under the basket, came close to traveling, and forced a pass that was lucky to get to Fitz.
Fitz hits the 3 and all is absolved, it looks like a great play today. But I was see a TO the whole time he was driving. He seems to just be a little off-- just missing some shots around the hoop, not looking comfortable handling the ball in the open court, etc.
I thought we played better last night when Acker was in, but I think that was because of the matchup. Matthews is a very good player going through a rough patch. I don't think he will ever be a 13-15 ppg. scorer on this year's version of the team-- Hayward is a more dependable scorer and has more of a nose for the ball, but Matthews does a lot of things well that don't show up on the highlights.
He made some dumb mistakes yesterday, but it's a long season. He's certainly a much better option than Christopherson. Let's be real here. MU relies on Matthews to defend 1-4, get rebounds, initiate offense, dirve, shoot jumpers, etc. He's got a lot on his plate, which isn't an excuse for some of his problems lately, but he brings a lot more to the table than Christopherson.
As mentioned previously, I think its just a matter of confidence with Matthews right now. While he does a lot of things well, there is not one aspect of his game that he excels at. It affects his confidence and his overall floor play. If he could improve his ballhandling, it would significantly improve his all-around game.
Quote from: mviale on January 08, 2008, 10:19:18 PM
where have you gone?
I thought he was sitting most of the second half because he had his bell rung by Hayward's knee in the first half. Am I wrong on that?
As for SC, I'd venture to guess that when you add in the Frosh learning curve and a knee injury two weeks before the season starts perhaps things like confidence, movement, and understanding are going to lag.
Quote from: bartmiller#1 on January 09, 2008, 10:10:08 AM
came close to traveling,
i.e. - he traveled, but it wasn't called ;)
I think it would be ideal if we could replace Matthews in the starting lineup with someone who is more consistent from 3 point range and than bring him off the bench. Not that I am extremely down on Matthews but I think he would be more valuable off of the bench especially if we could balance our offense out a bit early in games.
Thing is I don't know if we have anyone who can defend at the 3 position that offers us good perimeter shooting. Going with Cube or Acker and we are too small with McNeal at the 3. Hayward at the 3 and Fitz at the 4 would be interesting offensively but our defense would be hurt badly. Christopherson seems too slow at this point in time and his shot still seems a bit off.
If we had Mbakwe we would have had even more flexibility this year to possibly have Matthews start on the bench as Mbwake would have had the muscle and ability to defend and rebound the 4 position better than both Hayward and Fitz which would have allowed either to slide into the 3 position and still be sound defensively in 4 out of the 5 spots.
We won't have that problem starting next year as Fulce seems like more of a 3/4 combo that fits the mold of scoring/defending the 4 while giving you more of an outside threat than what Matthews has offered this year. In addition Nick Williams can hit the perimeter shot and provide us with a more typical 3. Than the following year we add Williams from Texas and possibly Jamil Wilson where both fit the 3/4 combo mold of inside/outside scoring that TC wants. We are still in transition but the future looks bright. If Taylor can be a legit dynamic PG and if we land Jamil Wilson we are 2 to 3 years away from something really special but I am getting way ahead of myself.
Wes is the odd man out on this team. Very unfortunate as I think he has all the tools. He is just so smooth and athletic and very polished. Defense isn't an issue, but on offense, I think Wes is out of position on this team. It looks like on a lot of sets he is playing near the lane and around the free throw line or down on the baseline. I think he could have been developed as a 2/3 combo with more time at the 2 position. The problem is that on this team there is no room for him. McNeal and DJ play on the perimeter, and now you have Hayward taking away a lot of Wes's touches below the free throw line on the perimeter and in the midrange.
I agree with Wes maybe coming off the bench. I would like to see an experiment with Wes coming off the bench and playing the 2 spot for McNeal.
Wes needs to hit two consecutive shots from the perimeter or in traffic from about 12 ft and this will all go away. He is still the glue guy, guarding bigger players, boarding. Hell, Drew Neitzel is in a shooting slump right now, so it can happen to anyone. Unless you are going to start Fitz and Lazar, there is no way to bring him off of the bench. Does anyone really want JM to start as our 3, unless 3 other guys have the flu?
This says alot about wisconsin HS basketball - expectations were high
Quote from: rocky_warrior on January 09, 2008, 10:58:58 AM
Quote from: bartmiller#1 on January 09, 2008, 10:10:08 AM
came close to traveling,
i.e. - he traveled, but it wasn't called ;)
One could also say he was fouled and it wasn't called.
All this has been obvious since last year, and wasn't it McNeal who had the bad game?
And, if I had to guess, some of Matthews' severest critics are probably the kind of fans who love Bill Neary's game. Wes isn't a less talented Wade, he is a more talented Neary.
McNeal had a rough game-- arguably his worst of the season in many ways-- but he also had 14 pts., 7 boards, and 5 assists (to go with his 6 TOs).
And a couple great defensive plays.
Jerel is Jerel and BE defensive player of the year. Wesley peaked in HS.
He is a guard that is forced to play the small forward position.
first of all, the expectations were high for wesley after hearing what a great off season he had. in early televised games this year, the announcers raved about matthews and kept saying the staff expected him to score 15+ consistently this season.
i feel wesley could use his size advantage by posting up and getting some easier looks if he was playing the 2. as some have mentioned, he is undersized for the most part at the 3 which may take away some easier, closer looks at the hoop.
i had really hoped they could get him going in the 4 blowouts before the conference season started but they seemed to give up on his jumper and tell him to get to the hoop.
hopefully wes can keep doing the little things and hopefully knock down some open looks.
Quote from: pbiflyer on January 09, 2008, 10:02:50 AM
Quote from: chuncken on January 09, 2008, 02:06:14 AM
Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool we have a former MU player posting on the board!
Anyways, I'll stop being OT now ;D
Chuncken - I have some swamp property down here in Florida, I'll sell it to you cheap!
I think you may want to check your sarcasm detector. I think it is broken. ;D
see, it's $hit like this that requires the use of teal for sarcasm.
Quote from: ZiggysFryBoy on January 09, 2008, 08:39:23 PM
Quote from: pbiflyer on January 09, 2008, 10:02:50 AM
Quote from: chuncken on January 09, 2008, 02:06:14 AM
Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool we have a former MU player posting on the board!
Anyways, I'll stop being OT now ;D
Chuncken - I have some swamp property down here in Florida, I'll sell it to you cheap!
I think you may want to check your sarcasm detector. I think it is broken. ;D
see, it's $hit like this that requires the use of teal for sarcasm.
That one went right over my head lol
Quote from: bilsu on January 09, 2008, 08:08:47 PM
He is a guard that is forced to play the small forward position.
Is that right? Wes has gotten more open shots than anyone on this team recently, and I mean wide open. He cannot make anything beyond the arc, and nothing but layups inside it. Everytime he puts the ball on the floor it reminds me of the guys that tried to run point when Travis got hurt few years back. Lets just tell it like it is, he looks terrible on offense.
People will call me harsh, but he is the biggest disappointment on this team. Crean needs to cut his minutes, get on his case, somehow light a fire. Hes done it with jerel and others, and i dont care how nice of a guy wes is. Sit in the gym and shoot jumpers till you cant life your arm anymore, hes regressed every year it seems. If Crean feels wes cant improve, bring him off the bench at the 3 or 4 and start cubes or fitz, depending on how important size and defense is in that game, or start burke and barro and play hayward at the 3.
That said, i still hold the hope that he will rebound, but seems that a change will maybe help him
Quote from: chuncken on January 09, 2008, 09:03:24 PM
Quote from: ZiggysFryBoy on January 09, 2008, 08:39:23 PM
Quote from: pbiflyer on January 09, 2008, 10:02:50 AM
Quote from: chuncken on January 09, 2008, 02:06:14 AM
Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool we have a former MU player posting on the board!
Anyways, I'll stop being OT now ;D
Chuncken - I have some swamp property down here in Florida, I'll sell it to you cheap!
I think you may want to check your sarcasm detector. I think it is broken. ;D
see, it's $hit like this that requires the use of teal for sarcasm.
That one went right over my head lol
See the Superbar...
Quote from: mudimitri on January 09, 2008, 09:20:09 PM
Quote from: bilsu on January 09, 2008, 08:08:47 PM
He is a guard that is forced to play the small forward position.
Sit in the gym and shoot jumpers till you cant life your arm anymore, hes regressed every year it seems.
Regressed every year? You're kidding right? He improved in points, rebounds, steals, and shooting percentage from his freshman to sophomore years. His shooting percentage this year is actually better than its been the previous two years. The only thing that's dropped every year is his 3 point shooting, and he was never the outside threat that people made him out to be. He's a slasher forced to play out of position because MU already has someone better at that. So he plays out of position because there is no one else with his size and his ability to defend multiple positions at the 3 spot. All of the better shooting players can't defensively do the things that he does, Hayward isn't quick enough, Fitz can't guard anyone, and Cubillan is too small to play the position.
Wes will be fine...he is asked to deliver on the intangibles. The problem is, especially against a zone, he is the third or fourth option--often a decoy. He is more involved in the 2-3 offense as a point of entry at the free throw line. Problem is, we have improved our offense against the 2-3, so teams are switching to an electric fence up top by going 1-3-1, 3-2, or a triangle and 2 against us to stop/slow down our transitionals---"pressure a pressure team". Maybe try some different options like having DJ inbound the ball and have Wes bring it up like his freshman year....or ruining Burke up to high pick for him. He needs to get his points on the line.
Me and my dad had this conversation 2 nights ago. Wesley Wesley Wesley. I believe he's so valuable to our team, soo valuabe. But his role isn't as big as it could be, but he's someone that needs to be on the floor for us to make me feel comfortbale. Maybe he cant keep up with jerel and dominic? Too fast? That can't be it....I hope whatever it is, it ends. Cuz he could be GREAT! very great! Am i disappointed....sure. Too an extent to call for Scotty to play over him? hell no. Wes will be there, night in and night out.
is it like the curse of that class? because they way I see marcus landry isn't the player he could be either....yet.
Wes was real good at getting to the line. I think Lazar and Wes are similar players in that they are good at driving and getting to the line. I think Wes still possesses that talent but Lazar is the one doing that more frequently now. But at the end of the game you look at Wes's stats and he is consistently getting 13 or so points but without the flash. He shouldn't take more than one three point attempt per game and most of his shots should be from 12 feet and closer. He plays real hard, I believe he is a solid contributor but let's be realistic on him not being a superstar on a team loaded with talent.