UCLA is a superior team but when I look at all the variables I don't think our guys can ask for a better opportunity. We're coming off a big win, with two of our starting guards shooting like there was an indoor cyclone, while the Bruins haven't played in 10 days.
I am a bit concerned about playing a fast tempo and pressing them. They have significantly more overall quickness. But I do think they are capable of a brick fest and perhaps we're due to break out like we did in Charleston?
There is literally zero pressure on us. We will have an electric crowd and should play with confidence and no hesitation. They aren't a particularly good defensive squad and have minimal depth with their injuries. I don't make predictions and again, they're definitely better. But truthfully I think we have a more than a puncher's chance to pull off a major upset and for them to be flat.
Agree on all counts.
Three or 4 years ago I remember walking into the Bradley Center on a cold night, thrilled to simply see Marquette host #1 ranked Villanova. 2 1/2 hours later I was watching the court be stormed.
Quote from: Dickthedribbler on December 08, 2021, 10:40:36 PM
Agree on all counts.
Three or 4 years ago I remember walking into the Bradley Center on a cold night, thrilled to simply see Marquette host #1 ranked Villanova. 2 1/2 hours later I was watching the court be stormed.
Thought I saw you out there Dick
MU has a good chance in this one, imo.
Quote from: Dickthedribbler on December 08, 2021, 10:40:36 PM
Agree on all counts.
Three or 4 years ago I remember walking into the Bradley Center on a cold night, thrilled to simply see Marquette host #1 ranked Villanova. 2 1/2 hours later I was watching the court be stormed.
That's the thing, I'm certainly not arguing we're better. But it's one game, on our home floor, and I fully expect the crowd to be ultra-jacked. I actually think it's a positive that Morsell in particular had a poor game tonight. He'll be ready to go as will our entire team. As for Kolek? It's partly mental. If he sees a shot or two fall early he can snap out of this funk.
Quote from: CountryRoads on December 08, 2021, 10:46:02 PM
MU has a good chance in this one, imo.
I think your definition of good chance and mine are wildly different.
Do we know if Riley is playing?
Quote from: CountryRoads on December 08, 2021, 10:46:02 PM
MU has a good chance in this one, imo.
A "good" chance? Define "good."
We have a chance. I mean, Texas Southern just beat Florida. Upsets happen. We're a decent team, we're at home and UCLA will be coming off a long layoff. So yes, we have a chance.
They are better than we are; rankings suggest considerably better. So I don't know as I'd call our chance "good."
If we suddenly find it from 3 and UCLA has a poor-shooting game ... a puncher's chance. Maybe.
But I do love your optimism. We Are Marquette!
33%ish chance to win imo
Quote from: Johnny B on December 08, 2021, 11:02:02 PM
33%ish chance to win imo
I'll take that. I'd also love to get to the line like we did vs Illinois.
If you walk into a Sports Book with your wallet open, Marquette "having a chance to win" means one thing. Anything short of that is just conversation.
Does anyone have info on if we have our actual home court floor back for UCLA game? I thought I remember hearing it'd take about a month at beginning of November, would love to see the MU court for a big game.
BTW if Riley isn't playing I don't think they have a rim protector. Jaquez is an excellent all-around player and both Juzang and Bernard can go off. Campbell has jets and is really good in transition. We can't kick the ball away and give them transition baskets.
Quote from: MuggsyB on December 08, 2021, 10:47:48 PM
That's the thing, I'm certainly not arguing we're better. But it's one game, on our home floor, and I fully expect the crowd to be ultra-jacked. I actually think it's a positive that Morsell in particular had a poor game tonight. He'll be ready to go as will our entire team. As for Kolek? It's partly mental. If he sees a shot or two fall early he can snap out of this funk.
Kolek has a flawed shot. Note the ball rotation. He'll have a decent shooting game now & then. Nothing consistent. I'm curious how the connection came about to bring him in. He definitely does some good things, intangibles that are important.
Kolek was a zero star recruit who scored 11 ppg as a freshman in the A-10. He is now in a tougher league playing a new position. He is still doing all of the hustle team things. 8 boards and 7 assists. Right now he is shooting poorly.
It is a process. For everyone. Collectively, they are finding a way.
Al never played a game with house money
Quote from: DoctorV on December 08, 2021, 10:43:26 PM
Thought I saw you out there Dick
Nah, der wur lottsa dicks out der, aina?
Quote from: tower912 on December 09, 2021, 07:18:17 AM
Kolek was a zero star recruit who scored 11 ppg as a freshman in the A-10. He is now in a tougher league playing a new position. He is still doing all of the hustle team things. 8 boards and 7 assists. Right now he is shooting poorly.
It is a process. For everyone. Collectively, they are finding a way.
Well he hasn't played a game against his new tougher league yet. And of the games he's played one was against his old league so it's probably not time to start using the "he's in a tougher league" line till next week.
Quote from: tower912 on December 09, 2021, 07:18:17 AM
Kolek was a zero star recruit who scored 11 ppg as a freshman in the A-10. He is now in a tougher league playing a new position. He is still doing all of the hustle team things. 8 boards and 7 assists. Right now he is shooting poorly.
It is a process. For everyone. Collectively, they are finding a way.
He is what, he is...a mid-major playa, hey?
Quote from: 4everwarriors on December 09, 2021, 07:42:41 AM
He is what, he is...a mid-major playa, hey?
Against NCAA teams last year:
Norfolk St: 6-14, 19pts
VCU: 3-9, 12pts
St Bonaventure: 5-13, 17pts
Against Conference champions:
Belmont: 2-5, 4pts.
--------
Major opponents this year:
Illinois: 5-11, 12pts
Ole Miss: 1-5, 3pts
WVU: 7-12, 18pts
St Bonaventure: 0-5, 0pts
Wisconsin: 1-6, 4pts
KState: 0-7, 0pts
I think this shows he's more of a streaky shooter that gets in his head more than a "mid major player" I'd take him over Jake Thomas any day that's for sure.
The position needs a talent upgrade next season, hey?
Quote from: 4everwarriors on December 09, 2021, 07:42:41 AM
He is what, he is...a mid-major playa, hey?
I think the jury is still out on that. He does many things well and has a good feel for the game. If he gets that shot right, he could be one hell of an all around guard at the high major level.
For one game, he looked like Jalen Brunson. Right now he is Derrick Wilson. But I think he will find his shot again. Not getting down on anybody this year.
Quote from: tower912 on December 09, 2021, 08:17:06 AM
For one game, he looked like Jalen Brunson. Right now he is Derrick Wilson. But I think he will find his shot again. Not getting down on anybody this year.
Gonna disagree. While he can't hit a shot to save his life, defenses are still covering him out there and he can dish a lot better than Derrick.
They are guarding him closer than Derrick because he has hit 3's in the past. And nobody shoots 3's as bad as Derrick. But over the last few games, he is making 3's at about the same clip. He will find it.
Quote from: tower912 on December 09, 2021, 09:01:02 AM
They are guarding him closer than Derrick because he has hit 3's in the past. And nobody shoots 3's as bad as Derrick. Bit over the last few games, he is making 3's at about the same clip. He will find it.
John Dawson could
Quote from: tower912 on December 09, 2021, 09:01:02 AM
They are guarding him closer than Derrick because he has hit 3's in the past. And nobody shoots 3's as bad as Derrick. But over the last few games, he is making 3's at about the same clip. He will find it.
Somehow Derrick Wilson became a good shooter after college. There is hope for Tyler, let's just hope he figures it out more quickly.
I don't understand why anybody is discounting him now. He is in a shooting slump. He continues to do a lot of other things instead of sulking.
Patience and process.
There is no house money to play with in college ball. Need every win, aina?
I don't understand the Kolek hate... the kid is a baller and runs the floor excellently. He's not making his shots, but even if that gets to a moderate level that makes him a key piece. Heck, the way he's playing now makes him key. The way he controls the floor, his passing ability, to drive and kick it out, the hustle on defense, steals, deflections, even def rebounding is pretty good.
I'm not sure what you guys are looking at, but even with his shooting slump, I want him on the floor.
We should win, as we are 24 spots higher in the RPI.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/rankings/rpi/ (https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/rankings/rpi/)
Let's not get completely irrational about Kolek. He's clearly a high D-1 player. Unfortunately he has shot poorly the last few games and it appears to be a mental issue. But as others have said he does a lot of good things on the floor and is our primary facilitator. He's played for the most part well in all areas besides shooting.
There is no question we need Morsell and Kolek to score and shoot at a far better clip if we're going to make some noise in the BEast. It's not debatable and the last several games have been rather brutal. But it takes one game to break out of a funk and hopefully it will be Saturday. That said, I would be emphatic with both guys not to force their shots under pressure off the dribble. There's just no need for that. Slow down in our half-court sets, survey the floor to create, and use the shot fake if you are trying to score or get fouled inside. Both players have be ineffective going one on one to score using multiple dribbles. Once Kolek sees a triple go down I think he can get out of this and Morsell just needs to settle down and stop forcing things.
Quote from: 4everwarriors on December 09, 2021, 09:35:58 AM
There is no house money to play with in college ball. Need every win, aina?
I agree with this analysis
Quote from: MuggsyB on December 09, 2021, 09:52:28 AM
Let's not get completely irrational about Kolek. He's clearly a high D-1 player. Unfortunately he has shot poorly the last few games and it appears to be a mental issue. But as others have said he does a lot of good things on the floor and is our primary facilitator. He's played for the most part well in all areas besides shooting.
There is no question we need Morsell and Kolek to score and shoot at a far better clip if we're going to make some noise in the BEast. It's not debatable and the last several games have been rather brutal. But it takes one game to break out of a funk and hopefully it will be Saturday. That said, I would be emphatic with both guys not to force their shots under pressure off the dribble. There's just no need for that. Slow down in our half-court sets, survey the floor to create, and use the shot fake if you are trying to score or get fouled inside. Both players have be ineffective going one on one to score using multiple dribbles. Once Kolek sees a triple go down I think he can get out of this and Morsell just needs to settle down and stop forcing things.
Also, Kolek is a pretty good defender as well. He must be one of the highest on the team in deflections, which Coach Smart considers critical on the defensive side.
Not sure I see a path to victory in this one. UCLA has four upperclassmen who should be able to handle the press. They can all shoot. They play good defense. They have another good shooter (Singleton) off the bench. They get a ton of offensive rebounds, which is obviously a weakness for MU.
If MU can force Campbell into a bunch of threes and he regresses to his shooting % from previous years, maybe. Their 3P% defense isn't good but I haven't watched them enough to know if it's surrendering open shots or bad luck in a small sample. We will need a lot of things to break our way.
But even with a loss we will have had a better non-conference season than I expected.
I'm willing to wait quite a long time on Kolek and his shot. As others have said, he's a good player who does other things well.
He is getting himself open to get good looks at the basket. And he's got a nice stroke and generally doesn't force shots or take bad shots. He's just in a horrendous shooting slump.
I'll hang in there. The kid can have a big upside as an outside threat, I believe.
I'm worried about pressing UCLA. I just don't think it's a good tactical decision. Is it conceivable we ditch the trapping and just play solid man to man?
Quote from: MuggsyB on December 09, 2021, 10:48:23 AM
I'm worried about pressing UCLA. I just don't think it's a good tactical decision. Is it conceivable we ditch the trapping and just play solid man to man?
I think it'll be a softer press. Truly only to get them into their halfcourt offense later.
We might see a few hard traps depending on who catches where, but with their talent I wouldn't make a habit of it.
Quote from: MuggsyB on December 09, 2021, 10:48:23 AM
I'm worried about pressing UCLA. I just don't think it's a good tactical decision. Is it conceivable we ditch the trapping and just play solid man to man?
It's conceivable we ditch the trapping. It's a little less conceivable that we then play "solid man to man". So far, I'm less than impressed with our half court defense at times.
Quote from: Dickthedribbler on December 09, 2021, 11:08:56 AM
It's conceivable we ditch the trapping. It's a little less conceivable that we then play "solid man to man". So far, I'm less than impressed with our half court defense at times.
Overall the defense has been largely fine. They rely a bit too much on rim protection at times, but they have done a far better job handling the PNR than Wojo's teams did.
Not worried about Kolek shooting. We have seen him hit threes. So he can do it. Seems more mental at this time and the more he sees the value he adds to the team, as others here have pointed out - defense, rebounds, assists etc the easier it will be for him to start hitting 3s again. Shaka I'm sure is telling him that.
My biggest concern is we settle for 3s too much. Shaka doesn't like long 2s, fine. Then let's focus on getting the ball to our bigs, Kur and OSA. They both can do a great job offensively inside. At least balance that with our love of 3s. We don't have anyone like Markus.
Quote from: MuggsyB on December 09, 2021, 10:48:23 AM
I'm worried about pressing UCLA. I just don't think it's a good tactical decision. Is it conceivable we ditch the trapping and just play solid man to man?
You worry about everything. Shaka is not going to stop pressing. It isn't just for this game. Press, play lots of people, get all 11 used to playing good teams in the style Shaka wants. The culture he is trying to build is to play aggressively and fearlessly. That means that MU will press and play for deflections and steals on defense. It means that everybody on the team except Kur and Osa has the green light to shoot open 3's.
That is MU's identity under Shaka.