Wojo Postgame Quote

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

You watched the game, right? This was not pretty basketball. The final outcome was great, but I think our team is capable of playing much better than they did today.

Why does it matter if it was not pretty as long as we also made it not pretty for our opponent?

I agree the team is capable of playing much better than they did today but overall I think they played pretty well. If we beat the spread by 7.5 more nights than not, we are going to have a pretty good season.

[Shooter McGavin]

Totally agree we play good defense, the rebounding could improve, but the defense is really solid.  If we could just get some offense going we could be pretty good, its early n can only get better.  Thankfully we dont have to score 90 this year to win like many times in the past.

Agree as well.  It's good that we are finally playing multiple games close together instead of once a week.  The supporting cast needs to get some rhythm and confidence.  I like Bailey and Cain getting confidence.  Koby performance last night will hopefully be just a blip on the radar.   Keep playing tough D until the offense becomes average to above average and we should be ok.

This is not going to be a transformative year on the court but that doesn't mean it has to be a disaster.  I don't give a crap how we get in the NCAAs.  Just get in and try to win a game.  Mission accomplished.  Bring on a new era with fresh recruits.

[muwarrior69]

Why does it matter if it was not pretty as long as we also made it not pretty for our opponent?

I agree the team is capable of playing much better than they did today but overall I think they played pretty well. If we beat the spread by 7.5 more nights than not, we are going to have a pretty good season.

Markus will get us some wins this season, but I do have to wonder where will our scoring come from next year. I do not expect Dawson to put up Markus' numbers.

I hope they get rid of the flop rule, just don't call a foul. It was a good charging foul when Sacar was outside the arc, but they could have called a flop against him as well; very confusing for the players and the refs.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Markus will get us some wins this season, but I do have to wonder where will our scoring come from next year. I do not expect Dawson to put up Markus' numbers.

I hope they get rid of the flop rule, just don't call a foul. It was a good charging foul when Sacar was outside the arc, but they could have called a flop against him as well; very confusing for the players and the refs.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/q-a-with-five-star-karim-mane-what-s-next-nba-or-college-

"Marquette: For them, it is basically come in and play then role that Markus Howard is going to leave."

I hope Mane sees the shots & role are there for the taking

[IrwinFletcher]

Markus will get us some wins this season, but I do have to wonder where will our scoring come from next year. I do not expect Dawson to put up Markus' numbers.

I hope they get rid of the flop rule, just don't call a foul. It was a good charging foul when Sacar was outside the arc, but they could have called a flop against him as well; very confusing for the players and the refs.

I'll worry about next year, next year.  For now, I am going to enjoy one of the all-time greats and look for improvement from some other key guys.

[muguru]

Not my expectations at all, I'd settle for competence from guys other than Markus. Everyone seems to be waiting for a bunch of average guys to make a leap. I'd love to be proven wrong.

Unfortunately, you are correct...I said this at the time the Hauser's left that it was my biggest concern for this year...now you have guys that should have been good role players this year(Jamal, Greg etc) being asked to play more prominent roles as more "main" pieces than what they would have normally been asked to had the Hauser's not left. In order for that to be effective they we all would want it to be, those guys were going to have to take massive leaps in the offseason. That just wasn't going to happen, unfortunately.

They are what they are and let's hope as the season goes on, guys get more comfortable with their roles, maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. The key IMO going forward is going to be Sacar..he's a 5th year Senior, it's time for him to step up(like he did to some extent last night) and do it night in and night out offensively. If he can find that consistency, it will change the offense dramatically I think.

Also, I know MU can't do anything about who they play in these tournaments, but it always seems like they get matched up with teams that play SLOW. That isn't a good matchup for MU. Under Wojo, most of the time, they struggle in half court offense. You see it against UW etc. They are much better against teams that play more wide open and a faster pace, like a Creighton type. So far this year everyone MU has played, plays slow...like sloth type slow. Purdue, UW, Robert Morris, Davidson. Today should look different. USC is the fastest tempo team they have played this year. I bet we see a better offensive performance from MU today.

Still though, I share a lot of people disappointment in that I really thought defensively this year MU would play a little differently as far as trapping, pressing(they did a little loose pressure last night) and forcing more turnovers. When your offense is struggling, sometimes the best way to fix it in the moment is to try to get as many easy baskets as you can. The best, most effective way of doing that is with your defense..pressure, force turnovers, and fast break. We haven't seen that and I'm not sure why. They have the length and athletes to do it this year finally. That would be especially useful going forward as if you have watched Seton hall this year, they have had MAJOR issues with full court pressure. That's how Oregon beat them, that's how Michigan State came back and beat them. Hopefully, Wojo is holding on to it and we see more of it as the season goes on, especially opponent specific.

[The Sultan]

Full court pressing, trapping, etc. is inherently a weaker defense. Don't want to give up easy baskets when your half court defense is going just fine.

This is why coaches like Mike Anderson and Shaka have moved away from 100% mayhem.

[skianth16]

Why does it matter if it was not pretty as long as we also made it not pretty for our opponent?

I agree the team is capable of playing much better than they did today but overall I think they played pretty well. If we beat the spread by 7.5 more nights than not, we are going to have a pretty good season.

Great points. I'm sure Davidson fans thought the game was ugly too, which is a compliment to our defense.

[forgetful]

I hope they get rid of the flop rule, just don't call a foul. It was a good charging foul when Sacar was outside the arc, but they could have called a flop against him as well; very confusing for the players and the refs.

I like the flop rule. Doesn't harm the game in any way and will likely get rid of a part of the game I hate.

There were probably 2 earlier plays where a flop could have been called, resulting in a technical, but they were not egregious flops. In both cases, the refs held their whistle. The last one was egregious. And it was called. That is like how they will treat this all season, and if so, I have no problem with it and welcome the change.

[Cheeks]

My thanksgiving will be complete once cheeks tells me all about Jayce's phenomenal potential.

Something I never said.  He is doing exactly what I expect of him.  Grabbing rebounds, setting picks, giving Ed and Theo a break when they are in foul trouble.  I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

[MU82]

Loved the grit the team displayed in staying in the game despite offensive struggles from most players. Loved Markus taking over. Loved our perimeter defense. The main disappointment for me was that Davidson got into the lane via the drive a little too easily most of the night. Theo actually was plus-12 in only 10 minutes of play, but when he was out of the game it often was layup city.

I know some of that was because we were determined to run them off the 3-point line, but Bailey and Markus also were getting beaten off the dribble most of the night. Sacar did better in the second half. I really thought Cain did the best by far against Grady, and I was glad Wojo ended up giving him 20 minutes.

Without putting up gaudy numbers, Cain has had a nice season for us so far by accepting his role and playing it well. For example, last night he had 7 rebs, made his only FGA, had no TOs and played solid man-to-man D. I'll take that every game from him.

[Cheeks]

Try reading the game thread without puking.   Nothing but negative Nancy's bitching their way through.  It's grotesque.

I refuse to even go into that thing because of the vermin soaked crap I have no doubt permeated until the end.

[Cheeks]

You watched the game, right? This was not pretty basketball. The final outcome was great, but I think our team is capable of playing much better than they did today.

Which can safely be said about 99% of teams currently in November, right?

[MuMark]

Lots of ugly basketball being played all over the country this season.

I've watched a lot of it.

[PGsHeroes32]

Lots of ugly basketball being played all over the country this season.

I've watched a lot of it.

Yup.

Duke, UNC, Virginia, Texas Tech all may be better than us but they all appear to have their worst overall teams in a few years. Even Gonzaga who is currently undefeated and about to play for a title today looks a little less potent with a less stellar back court than normal.

MSU hasnt played up to early standards. Kansas has been pretty good but struggle shooting. UK lost to evansville. Maryland looking vulnerable for the second straight game vs a mid major.

There is not a single team where right now you can feel confident looking them into a final 4.

[MuMark]

Our bar is now patting ourselves on the back after an ugly win over a 2-4 Davidson team? Yikes.

Not patting anyone on the back. Just pointing out that at the end of the season you are trying to rack up as many Quad 1 and 2 wins as possible. Davidson will likely fall into the quad 2 category.

[MU82]

Duke, UNC, Virginia, Texas Tech all may be better than us but they all appear to have their worst overall teams in a few years. Even Gonzaga who is currently undefeated and about to play for a title today looks a little less potent with a less stellar back court than normal.

MSU hasnt played up to early standards. Kansas has been pretty good but struggle shooting. UK lost to evansville. Maryland looking vulnerable for the second straight game vs a mid major.

There is not a single team where right now you can feel confident looking them into a final 4.

Agree with this ... and why wouldn't everybody? It's a fact.

[WarriorDad]

Howard is a great scorer. He's also the reason this team stinks.

The announcers of the Texas A&M game mentioned how well liked Markus is by his teammates, how respected and grounded he is.  If the team fights for Markus and themselves, they will do well.