Everyone Not Down on Marquette

[MUHoopsFan2]

Yes and a loaded 2020 class to follow.  It will be all Sea Shells and Balloons with a little perspective. 

...lol There are options, man. But they are too ball dominant on one guy. 

They just never go to them. There is not a PG to find those options because he is usually with the ball in his hands shooting all the time. You need balance as you said.

And that is not possible with one guy taking all the shots, even if he is not open. Alot of guys are just kick back options that only get a shot late in the clock or off of action that does not go to the primary scorer which has been Markus.

They need to install a different offensive scheme next year that will include some new guys like Greg and McEwen who may be able to shoulder the load.

In fact, if it was me I would tell Markus to just go to the NBA before he gets typecast in college. His stock will go nowhere but down after this. Take this year and move on...

[NCMUFan]

Marquette will be fun to watch next year.  I think MU challenges for conference title and back to the NCAA.  The sun is breaking through the clouds.  Having Koby and Greg on the court along with Markus and Sacar will be great.  Brendan with some additional weight, strength, speed and accuracy will be a major X factor.  Jamal if he can recover his mojo with Greg and Koby on the court.  Joey H with a year's experience, strength and speed.  Sam and Markus the corner stones of the program.  Theo and Ed will be improved.  Hopefully Ike's back recovers.  The stress put on the back of an elite athlete must be tremendous.  Dexter, learning from the seasoned guard corp and ready to step in if someone is injured.

[Mike Deane's Seat Belt]

I would take a convincing first round win and competive close loss in the second round. 

Im usually a wojo hater but the above would be good enough to show we still have some positive trend. 

Im still perplexed by all the posters that still have markus in the "what if he goes pro" category.   He has zero chance of making an nba roster at the moment.  His only chance is going over seas and i really dont think theres too many instances of a POY type player leaving early for europe?????

[dw3dw3dw3]

If Markus stays he is going to spend the year being doubled team/face guarded etc... Sure NCAA tournament success/Big East Championships are lacking on his resume, but what do those really mean if your ultimate goal is something bigger. He has already walked away early once in his career path and it hasn't hurt him. You could have said then, play another year and maybe Duke/Kentucky/Kansas would take/feature you. If his ultimate goal is the NBA, he will likely have the opportunity to be a late 2nd rounder/2-way player and focus his entire life on basketball.  I really see no upside for him at MU next year.  He can prove he can be a scoring point guard in the G League with way less gimmick defenses and pressure.

Watching the tournament, it's striking how physically far away we are from the top teams/players. IMO, biggest thing is the Hausers will need to make some huge improvements during the offseason S&C program since they will be taking over half of the front-court minutes next year. GE/Cain/Bailey will all have to reach another level physically as well.

[withoutbias]

does anyone on the team come from indiana? markus and bailey (at least) are working out in michigan city, indiana. and markus is still wearing marquette gear!

[dw3dw3dw3]

Jaffe is from there.

[rocket surgeon]

does anyone on the team come from indiana? markus and bailey (at least) are working out in michigan city, indiana. and markus is still wearing marquette gear!

That Kline dude for Purdue is right outta hooozers man. Home cookin Indiana hooozer

[lawdog77]

If Markus stays he is going to spend the year being doubled team/face guarded etc... Sure NCAA tournament success/Big East Championships are lacking on his resume, but what do those really mean if your ultimate goal is something bigger. He has already walked away early once in his career path and it hasn't hurt him. You could have said then, play another year and maybe Duke/Kentucky/Kansas would take/feature you. If his ultimate goal is the NBA, he will likely have the opportunity to be a late 2nd rounder/2-way player and focus his entire life on basketball.  I really see no upside for him at MU next year.  He can prove he can be a scoring point guard in the G League with way less gimmick defenses and pressure.

Watching the tournament, it's striking how physically far away we are from the top teams/players. IMO, biggest thing is the Hausers will need to make some huge improvements during the offseason S&C program since they will be taking over half of the front-court minutes next year. GE/Cain/Bailey will all have to reach another level physically as well.

Wait, I thought we had the best strength and conditioning program in the country.

[JakeBarnes]

Wait, I thought we had the best strength and conditioning program in the country.

We still do. But rehab saps your ability to build on that (see, hausers).

[warriorfred]

After watching MSU v. Duke my optimism for next year went down a few notches.  I don't see Marquette with the athleticism or quickness to contend with those teams.  Watching the team struggle late in the season against athletic guards, and then watching the tournament made me wonder if I am over-estimating next year's team.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

After watching MSU v. Duke my optimism for next year went down a few notches.  I don't see Marquette with the athleticism or quickness to contend with those teams.  Watching the team struggle late in the season against athletic guards, and then watching the tournament made me wonder if I am over-estimating nest year's team.

I had the same feeling watching the e8 games. We're a ways away from being at that e8 level athletically.

Like them but I find it hard to believe koby and Greg are going to push the athletic meter enough to compete at that level.

Quite possible I'm falling victim to recency bias though, as I thought we could play with anyone when we were 24-3.

[warriorfred]

I had the same feeling watching the e8 games. We're a ways away from being at that e8 level athletically.

Like them but I find it hard to believe koby and Greg are going to push the athletic meter enough to compete at that level.

Quite possible I'm falling victim to recency bias though, as I thought we could play with anyone when we were 24-3.

During the streak, I felt like the Warriors could compete at an Elite 8 level (although, I would have taken Duke 7 out of 10 meetings).  Now I am struggling with the idea.  After watching the Elite 8, the other teams had so much more energy.  Marquette was flat the last 4 weeks of the season.   I tend to think it was a lack of athleticism, but it could be the team lost conditioning . . . not sure.

[Otule's Glass Eye]

2 potential team scenarios:

Return Markus, Sam, Joey, Theo, Samar, Ed, add Koby, Greg and lose no significant players.

Markus leaves, return Sam, Joey, Theo, Samar, Ed, add Koby, Greg, also add Symir Torrence who moves into the 2019 class.

If Koby/Symir/Greg truly are the way to better the point guard situation I see no reason that the second theoretical team couldn't be just as good as the team with Markus on it. Replacing 25 points/game would be tough though. Depends on what Symir can handle as a freshman and if Koby is as good as advertised.

[forgetful]

After watching MSU v. Duke my optimism for next year went down a few notches.  I don't see Marquette with the athleticism or quickness to contend with those teams.  Watching the team struggle late in the season against athletic guards, and then watching the tournament made me wonder if I am over-estimating next year's team.

I think most of the people attacking Wojo are being overly optimistic about the teams ability, and having unrealistic expectations.

I figured we'd be safely in this year, but likely a 8-10 seed. We outperformed our ability. I think we will have a similar level of performance next year (3-6 seed), unless someone becomes a dynamic attack the basket and distribute PG.

This team likely may not have a single future NBA player on the team. They are skilled players, but either lack size (Howard) or next-level athleticism (Sam and Joey). I think both Sam and Joey are significantly hampered recovering from difficult injuries (hip and ankle). Great basketball players, but very likely not the total package for the NBA. That could change for Sam or Joey if they can gain some more mobility/athleticism in recovering from the injuries/surgeries.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

When we were playing closer to our ceiling we were a legitimate top 10 team. When we were playing near our floor we were a bubble team. I think our average was somewhere in the 5-8 seed range.

[wadesworld]

How much more athletic than Marquette is Virginia?  Diakite is long and somewhat athletic but far from a freak athlete.  Hunter is big/strong and athletic but again not some freak.  After that?  Salt is a giant but far from athletic and Guy/Hunter/Clark are not athletic in the least.  Their best athlete is Huff, who hasn't played much in this Tourney.

Same with Loyola last year.  They had maybe 2 good athletes for this level?

Athleticism does not equate to a good basketball team.  I'm much more concerned with the offense and lack of care for the basketball than I am about not having NBA athletes in college basketball.

[CountryRoads]

When we were playing closer to our ceiling we were a legitimate top 10 team. When we were playing near our floor we were a bubble team. I think our average was somewhere in the 5-8 seed range.

From 3:00 to 3:30 they played like a top ten team. Thought something special was happening (lol). My favorite stretch of basketball this season.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EGvbvpj6KDU

[NotAnAlum]

How much more athletic than Marquette is Virginia? 
I'm much more concerned with the offense and lack of care for the basketball than I am about not having NBA athletes in college basketball.

Wades I was thinking the same thing.  We have a roster similar to Virginia but I'm not sure Wojo has the same offensive discipline and play setup, to win at a high level with a roster like that.  It may improve when we have a different PG who is better at setting up others but that is the big question.  To me MU is more likely to have consistent success if it isn't premised on having NBA level athletes. 

[tower912]

Get old, stay old.