I admit it ...

[MU82]

Before the conference season started, I was hoping for 9-9 and fearing much worse.

Well, we've already won 10, and we're a lot of fun to watch (most nights). And in this crazy season, there's no telling how far we can go if the lads play well and get a few bounces.

In times like these, I love being wrong!

[LAMUfan]

Accountability?? that's not welcome here 

[DCWarriors04]

I thought 9-9 or 10-8 was where we'd end up...glad to be eating crow.

[Tugg Speedman]

I you remember, after the UWGB loss, 9-9 looked like a wild-eyed optimist. 

[Windyplayer]

I you remember, after the UWGB loss, 9-9 looked like a wild-eyed optimist. 

Yesterday's win was huge in that it guaranteed MU a record of over .500 in conference play. Such a feat in the BEast virtually guarantees citizenship in Lockville.

[wadesworld]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8962913/first-second-year-coaches-making-big-impact-new-programs-college-basketball

RAPID FIRE
Never doubt: Buzz Williams, Marquette

[swoopem]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8962913/first-second-year-coaches-making-big-impact-new-programs-college-basketball

RAPID FIRE
Never doubt: Buzz Williams, Marquette

Love how that article gave props to Lafayette Coney Island in Detroit, that place is money

[Dr. Blackheart]

Brew and I had low expectations at second place.  Win this thing, baby, to retire upon the top of the BEAST on the way out.  Seashells and Balloons.

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=33860.msg412746#msg412746

[bilsu]

I thougth I was being optimistic when I predicted MU will have a tough time winning 14 games total after GB loss.

[MU82]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8962913/first-second-year-coaches-making-big-impact-new-programs-college-basketball

RAPID FIRE
Never doubt: Buzz Williams, Marquette

Also in this column:

An NBA general manager told SNY.tv this week that the 2013 draft class is so weak that more than a half-dozen prospects in the 2014 class would be taken ahead of whomever is selected with the No. 1 pick this summer. "As a result," the GM told the news outlet, "you're going to see a lot more guys putting their name in knowing they'll go higher in this draft, even though they may not be ready. [They know] next year's class has such incredible depth that they could actually play better and improve and drop their draft status next year."

Nobody show that to Vander!

[ChicosBailBonds]

Also in this column:

An NBA general manager told SNY.tv this week that the 2013 draft class is so weak that more than a half-dozen prospects in the 2014 class would be taken ahead of whomever is selected with the No. 1 pick this summer. "As a result," the GM told the news outlet, "you're going to see a lot more guys putting their name in knowing they'll go higher in this draft, even though they may not be ready. [They know] next year's class has such incredible depth that they could actually play better and improve and drop their draft status next year."

Nobody show that to Vander!

Some of those same guys that will put their name in the draft in 2013 will potentially push him out of any selection.  If he is the 50th best junior and all of sudden 30 of them declare, that doesn't help him either.  I just don't see it this year.  Oladipo of IU has blown up this year (junior year), just as Wade blew up at MU.  Blue is having a nice year, but I wouldn't call it blowing up.  Other juniors are having better years, then throw in the seniors, the Euros, maybe some of the sophomores or Freshmen...I don't know.

[Goose]

Like the way you think Dr. Blackheart. These guys exceeding my expectations but why not win the thing. Out of the country next ten days and counting you guys bringing home some wins!!!

[muguru]

I thought predicting this team to finish 8th was an absolute snub of monumental proportions. I thought top 4 for sure. Some people just didn't and still don't understand how much talent and depth there is on this team.

[Dawson Rental]

I'm pretty sure that Brewcity is still predicting an NCAA tournament spot for MU this year.  He also called the LSU win right after the Green Bay debacle.

[wadesworld]

Some of those same guys that will put their name in the draft in 2013 will potentially push him out of any selection.  If he is the 50th best junior and all of sudden 30 of them declare, that doesn't help him either.  I just don't see it this year.  Oladipo of IU has blown up this year (junior year), just as Wade blew up at MU.  Blue is having a nice year, but I wouldn't call it blowing up.  Other juniors are having better years, then throw in the seniors, the Euros, maybe some of the sophomores or Freshmen...I don't know.

Just because Tom Crean tried to compare Oladipo to Wade doesn't mean that it is anything less than a completely moronic comparison.  Blue has blown up from his sophomore year to his junior year more than Oladipo has from his sophomore year to his junior year.  Does that mean that Blue is the better pro prospect?  No, but to try to compare Oladipo in college to Wade in college is silly.  We're talking about 1 of the 2 best players in college basketball at that time and 1 of the 2 best players in his entire generation compared to the 2nd best player on his own college team.  Wade completely carried Marquette to a Final Four.  We'll see if Oladipo even gets there with a ton more help surrounding him (not that the rest of Marquette's roster was awful, but it wasn't what Indiana's is this year).

Wade as a sophomore (in his 1st year playing division 1 basketball): 17.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.4 apg.
Wade as a junior (in his 2nd year playing division 1 basketball): 21.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.4 apg.

Oladipo this year (junior year, 3rd year playing): 14 ppg, 6 rpg, 2.2 apg (has 1 more total assist than he has total turnovers this year)

To his credit, Oladipo shoots a higher percentage from the field, from 3, and from the free throw line than Wade did either year.  But the comparison is a complete joke as a whole.  And Oladipo hasn't exactly "blown up" from last year to this.  Last year he averaged nearly 11 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 2.1 apg.  The numbers are better this year, but I wouldn't call it a blow up.  Vander?  Well, he has blown up much more than Oladipo has from last year to this year just based on increased points per game and overall shooting.  Went from 8.4 ppg to 15 ppg this year.

[tower912]

I had high hopes for this team.  They were based on Trent Lockett improving on his numbers at ASU,  JWilson morphing into the next Crowder/Butler/Lazar and Cadougan emerging as a complete PG.  Blue's emergence and the two headed big monster offset that.   So, the team is about where I thought it would be, but they aren't doing it the way I expected.  The  games that turned out differently than expected were the GB game, the Pitt road game and the Cinci game. (I thought we were way better than Cinci.   Oops)   I thought we would be 2-1 in Maui, beating Butler, losing to UNC.   But the Butler loss is no big deal.   
I'm still disappointed in how we have played in some of our road losses, but we are .500 on the road in conference so it is tough to be too angry.

[honkytonk]

Some of those same guys that will put their name in the draft in 2013 will potentially push him out of any selection.  If he is the 50th best junior and all of sudden 30 of them declare, that doesn't help him either.  I just don't see it this year.  Oladipo of IU has blown up this year (junior year), just as Wade blew up at MU.  Blue is having a nice year, but I wouldn't call it blowing up.  Other juniors are having better years, then throw in the seniors, the Euros, maybe some of the sophomores or Freshmen...I don't know.

Some names of non-seniors in the BE alone that will have to make a decision and may not necessarily be ready:

MU - Vander Blue
Prov - Cotton, Batts
GU - Porter (easy decision)
SU - Fair
DeP - Brandon Young
UL - Dieng,
SJu - Harrison
SHU - Edwin

[The Lens]

I said this back on Nov 6th:

I thought we were a E8-FF team before the Mayo news.  If he's back by late December I think we're fine.  

I really think Vander & Jamil will have huge years but the key is Otule and DG.  If our bigs stay healthy, we're going to be a force.

Beat tOSU
2-1 Maui
Lose at UF
Win 2 of these 3: Bucky, @UWGB & LSU

13-5 Conf

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=34105.msg416209#msg416209

Hopefully we can lose 2 more games so I look smart.

[WarriorInNYC]

Yesterday's win was huge in that it guaranteed MU a record of over .500 in conference play. Such a feat in the BEast virtually guarantees citizenship in Lockville.

I saw a stat the other day tweeted by Andrew Gruman, beat writer for FS Wisconsin.  "MU will have .500 record or better in Big East play for 8th straight year.  The only BEast team to do this."

[Niv Berkowitz]

Love how that article gave props to Lafayette Coney Island in Detroit, that place is money

There's NOTHING better than a Lafayette Coney dog (or any metro Detroit coney-dog) and some chili cheese fries. Not. One. Thing.

As for MU, my buddy and I said in December..."Man, if we get 8 wins in the Big East this year, I'll be satisfied. It's a 'growth' year."

Thrilled to be wrong and as far as I'm concerned, we are now playing with house money.

[keefe]

There's NOTHING better than a Lafayette Coney dog (or any metro Detroit coney-dog) and some chili cheese fries. Not. One. Thing.

As for MU, my buddy and I said in December..."Man, if we get 8 wins in the Big East this year, I'll be satisfied. It's a 'growth' year."

Thrilled to be wrong and as far as I'm concerned, we are now playing with house money.

Well, I can think of one thing better than a Coney...

The original Coney shop was founded in downtown Detroit by two brothers named Keros. They had a falling out and built a wall down the middle of the original restaurant, creating two shops - Lafayette and American. Still there today. People swear by one or the other but I always thought they were pretty similar.   

[brewcity77]

I'm pretty sure that Brewcity is still predicting an NCAA tournament spot for MU this year.  He also called the LSU win right after the Green Bay debacle.

Shhhhhh...I'm going to go mining that old discussion in about 3 weeks

[ChicosBailBonds]

Just because Tom Crean tried to compare Oladipo to Wade doesn't mean that it is anything less than a completely moronic comparison.  Blue has blown up from his sophomore year to his junior year more than Oladipo has from his sophomore year to his junior year.  Does that mean that Blue is the better pro prospect?  No, but to try to compare Oladipo in college to Wade in college is silly.  We're talking about 1 of the 2 best players in college basketball at that time and 1 of the 2 best players in his entire generation compared to the 2nd best player on his own college team.  Wade completely carried Marquette to a Final Four.  We'll see if Oladipo even gets there with a ton more help surrounding him (not that the rest of Marquette's roster was awful, but it wasn't what Indiana's is this year).

1) He didn't compare him to Wade, not in talent.  He said in work ethic, love of the game, etc... big difference.  The people that are comparing him to Wade are folks like Magic Johnson, Michael Wilbon and Dick Vitale among others.  Since the same guy coached both players, then I would expect he is going to have more insight on prep, motor, work ethic, etc than anyone on the planet.  I would suggest you actually listen to the party you've identified as guilty to what he actually said.  

"To me, he's a combination of (Michael) Jordan and Dwyane Wade," Hall of Famer Magic Johnson said Tuesday night on ESPN while calling the Michigan State-Indiana game. "Victor was unbelievable. He took over the game in last two minutes to win the game for (Indiana). If he comes out (of college early), this guy will be one of the top five players in the NBA (draft)."


2)  During the MSU-IU game, there were crazy comparisons of Oladipo to Jordan and Wade, neither of which were done by the party you mention.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/02/21/oladipo-jordan-a-fair-comparison/

Others are making the comparison, I think it's way too early and wouldn't go there.  Work ethic is one thing, ability is something else.

http://assemblycall.com/2012/stats-show-similarities-between-victor-oladipo-and-dwyane-wade-at-same-age-under-same-coach/

3)  If Wade completely carried MU to the Final Four, you wonder why so many posters here keep saying if it weren't for Diener, Novak, etc we never would have made it. Hmmm

4) I kind of chuckle at all this talent on the IU roster this year that you claim...this is the same roster that repeatedly here on Scoop was judged as not very good and wasn't going to keep that coach there through year five....did they all develop all of a sudden?  Lots of 3 star guys that got good and one 5 star center.  Interesting.

5) Right now, Oladipo is top 3 for national player of the year.  I'd say he's blown up, whether you want to admit it or not.  Latest ESPN straw poll has him #2...considering he was a 3 star, non top 100 player a few years ago....that's pretty amazing.  Now considered a top 10 draft pick this year when he wasn't on the board to start the year.  THAT, is blowing up between your sophomore and junior year.

Said one veteran NBA scout who was at the game: "He is playing with a lot of confidence. Needs to work on ball skills and his mid-range game offensively. Best perimeter defender in college."

Added one NBA GM: "Great athlete, outstanding on-ball defender. Limited offensive player. Lottery lock."

[dgies9156]

On whether Vander Blue should stay or declare, maybe I'm selfish but I hope he stays. For his sake even more than our's.

If Vander declares, we will have a young and still deep team next year. We'll miss him and not be as good as we otherwise might, but I think we're still a tournament team. The emergence of Steve Taylor, plus Todd Mayo, DWil and the incoming class suggests we will be fine.

If Vander stays, he gets the benefit of another year of skills enhancement. He'll be the team leader and have more depth than even this year to call on. He can work to improve his shot and become a real NBA prospect, rather than a benchwarmer who at best would be the 12th guy on a 12 man team. Plus, if he is NBA draftable, Buzz's tutulage will get him there faster and better.

Ego aside, the long-term benefit of staying at Marquette, earning a degree and learning under Buzz far out-weighs the short term cash-grab from declaring for the NBA after this year is over.