The next big test for Wojo is......

[BallBoy]

And yet each year a number of teams do not have players on any of the All Big East team selections so that killed that argument.  How's Becky going to be this year?

Had he picked the Wisconsin game as the measure that would make much more sense. 
Rival.
On The Road
For a chance to have three straight victories.  Last done in 1983 by Marquette.

Or Purdue as the second game of the season
Or Kansas State on the road

[WhiteTrash]

Wow all Big East 2nd Team???  Impressive!!!  There's no politics in who makes All Big East and/or to make sure every team walks away with a participation trophy in the snowflake era?  In addition they appointed 7 players to the "First Team" that year when the NCAA rule book by my bed says that only 5 players are allowed to share the court at any given time????   

This is awesome. I love all the anger for Matt Carlino making the All Big East 2nd Team in 2015. This is what makes the internet great. Seriously, good stuff.

[dgies9156]

OK, let's get down to brass tacks.

1) The loss to Murray F*****g State had a lot of us aggravated. I think that is coming through in the posts here. We look at a team that should have gone at least into the second weekend of the NCAA losing to a mid-major with one good player largely because of defense letdowns and bad schemes. That's on Coach Wojo not fully grasping what was in front of him. Many in here see that as a fundamental breakdown. Add to that the South Carolina disaster and not making the tournament in the other three years and you have a witches brew for the kind of analysis that sparked this thread.

2) A lot of us have high hopes for this team. We get beaten down by national media thinking we are a marginal Top 25 team AFTER Hausergate. We see people grading us as low as 6 in the Big East and we think, "what the heck? especially after some folks saw us as a Top 5 team before Hausergate.

3) Much depends on what we do not yet know. If Brendan Bailey emerges as a strong alternative to Sam and the combination of Koby and Sacar makes us forget about the Baby Hauser, we'll be fine and our brand strong. Also, if we manage one five star or a high four star in addition to what we have, a lot of the griping will go away.

I'm not sure any of us knows yet if we're on track to be a Blueblood, whatever that means. What I do know is that we're in better shape than we were in the last year of the Cowboy. I also know that changing horses now will doom us to mediocrity or worse for three to five years. Not sure I am ready for that.

We're on the Wojo horse. Let's hope he succeeds and pull for him to do so because Wojoshima is too painful to even think about.

[Cheeks]

OK, let's get down to brass tacks.

1) The loss to Murray F*****g State had a lot of us aggravated. I think that is coming through in the posts here. We look at a team that should have gone at least into the second weekend of the NCAA losing to a mid-major with one good player largely because of defense letdowns and bad schemes. That's on Coach Wojo not fully grasping what was in front of him. Many in here see that as a fundamental breakdown. Add to that the South Carolina disaster and not making the tournament in the other three years and you have a witches brew for the kind of analysis that sparked this thread.

2) A lot of us have high hopes for this team. We get beaten down by national media thinking we are a marginal Top 25 team AFTER Hausergate. We see people grading us as low as 6 in the Big East and we think, "what the heck? especially after some folks saw us as a Top 5 team before Hausergate.

3) Much depends on what we do not yet know. If Brendan Bailey emerges as a strong alternative to Sam and the combination of Koby and Sacar makes us forget about the Baby Hauser, we'll be fine and our brand strong. Also, if we manage one five star or a high four star in addition to what we have, a lot of the griping will go away.

I'm not sure any of us knows yet if we're on track to be a Blueblood, whatever that means. What I do know is that we're in better shape than we were in the last year of the Cowboy. I also know that changing horses now will doom us to mediocrity or worse for three to five years. Not sure I am ready for that.

We're on the Wojo horse. Let's hope he succeeds and pull for him to do so because Wojoshima is too painful to even think about.

How was losing to the 6th ranked team in the country a disaster in 2017?  A team that went to the Final Four and was damn close to playing for the national title?  I don't get it.

If we beat MSU, no way we were beating FSU, so I don't see the second weekend comment either.  Matchups matter.  There were many of us weeks before the seedlings even came out that said we hope like hell we don't have to play a certain kind of team.  There were plenty of teams seeded  6th through 11th that we would have been just fine against....styles and matchups matter...always have and always will.  ASU was 11th....I would have killed to play ASU.  Syracuse was 8th seed...give me some.  Cincinnati 7th...yes please.  Iowa 10th...yes please.  Etc etc.   Matchups matter.

The rest I mostly agree with.

[MUHoopsFan2]

How was losing to the 6th ranked team in the country a disaster in 2017?  A team that went to the Final Four and was damn close to playing for the national title?  I don't get it.

If we beat MSU, no way we were beating FSU, so I don't see the second weekend comment either.  Matchups matter.  There were many of us weeks before the seedlings even came out that said we hope like hell we don't have to play a certain kind of team.  There were plenty of teams seeded  6th through 11th that we would have been just fine against....styles and matchups matter...always have and always will.  ASU was 11th....I would have killed to play ASU.  Syracuse was 8th seed...give me some.  Cincinnati 7th...yes please.  Iowa 10th...yes please.  Etc etc.   Matchups matter.

The rest I mostly agree with.

The loss to Murray State was a fluke and is not on Coach Wojo but dissension on some players.

Let's put the blame where it belongs.

And it was a bad matchup due to not having the right players to match up to them. A match up loss. Move on...

[MUHoopsFan2]

You don't have guards....you don't win.

That simple. They did not have the guards in the right roles and who could step up not named Howard and it showed.

Elliot was out, he didn't play Cain, he should not have had to play Chartouny who gave nothing and Rowsey graduated.

There you go. . . in college basketball you can't have that. 

That won't be a problem this year where they might have too many.

[1SE]

The only test on Wojo's plate is to win a game in the NCAA tournament.

If we do that this year that's a step forward.

If we do not do that this year it should be Wojo's last, even though it won't...

[WhiteTrash]

The loss to Murray State was a fluke and is not on Coach Wojo but dissension on some players.

Let's put the blame where it belongs.

And it was a bad matchup due to not having the right players to match up to them. A match up loss. Move on...

Teal?

[cheebs09]

The most important game of the year is St. Norbert.

[dgies9156]

How was losing to the 6th ranked team in the country a disaster in 2017?  A team that went to the Final Four and was damn close to playing for the national title?  I don't get it.

It's about a body of work. USC was a tough one. No doubt. If we won the next year, OK, I see the point. But 0-2 in five years is the bigger issue.

Keep in mind though that was the same team that defeated Number 1 Villanova, who I believe went on to get a Natty that year. I'm convinced the only reason we made the tournament was because we beat Villanova. Very few teams did that back that year and Wojo deserves a lot of credit for it. We had a good record but without the Villanova win, we're probably on the bubble.

Finally for the comments on Murray State, yes, that's on the coach. Period. He's the leader. He either didn't have the team ready, failed to manage player expectations or he recruited players who weren't going to fit in the system.

[Marcus92]

One game doesn't tell you anything. Any team can play badly. Every team does -- against good opponents and not-so-good opponents.

To some, Virginia's 20-point loss to UMBC in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament was absolute, indisputable proof that Tony Bennett couldn't win when it mattered. Never mind that he led his team to a national title a year later.

The same year that Jay Wright won his first national title, his Villanova team lost to Oklahoma on a neutral court by 23 points. So what?

USC should be a good matchup. But it's just one game out of more than 30. It's not going to make or break the season all by itself. And it's certainly not going to make or break Wojo's career.

[Its DJOver]

PSA:

For those who haven't figured it out yet; duanewade is a troll.  He shows up every couple of months to stir the pot.  He almost always takes a massive dump on the University, Program, Coaches, Players etc.  Even on the rare occasion that his posts aren't 100% doom and gloom, he can't help himself and take a stab at some portion of the Marquette program. 

Here's a post he started declaring that the upcoming badger game would be an embarrassing loss.
https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=55003.msg968022#msg968022
That game went on to be the third largest Wisconsin home loss in the Kohl Center era, and unsurprisingly he didn't respond to a single comment on the thread.  Here's almost the exact same thread started a year later. 
https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=57148.msg1063160#msg1063160
Another MU win, another thread where he doesn't respond at all.  The dude literally knows nothing about basketball. 

There are posters here who think that Wojo is not the man for the job.  That is fine, because at the end of the day they still root for MU.  duane doesn't even do that, he shows up with a hot topic issues and posts a couple controversial paragraphs, then leaves, only to return a couple of month later, usually after a disappointing game and never after a big win, to do it again.  To say that you should ignore him is a disservice to the ignore button.  That is all.

[Galway Eagle]

PSA:

For those who haven't figured it out yet; duanewade is a troll.  He shows up every couple of months to stir the pot.  He almost always takes a massive dump on the University, Program, Coaches, Players etc.  Even on the rare occasion that his posts aren't 100% doom and gloom, he can't help himself and take a stab at some portion of the Marquette program. 

Here's a post he started declaring that the upcoming badger game would be an embarrassing loss.
https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=55003.msg968022#msg968022
That game went on to be the third largest Wisconsin home loss in the Kohl Center era, and unsurprisingly he didn't respond to a single comment on the thread.  Here's almost the exact same thread started a year later. 
https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=57148.msg1063160#msg1063160
Another MU win, another thread where he doesn't respond at all.  The dude literally knows nothing about basketball. 

There are posters here who think that Wojo is not the man for the job.  That is fine, because at the end of the day they still root for MU.  duane doesn't even do that, he shows up with a hot topic issues and posts a couple controversial paragraphs, then leaves, only to return a couple of month later, usually after a disappointing game and never after a big win, to do it again.  To say that you should ignore him is a disservice to the ignore button.  That is all.

If you go back far enough he had normalish comments so I'm not convinced he's a run of the mill troll.

[MU82]

He's a F%cky-loving troll. Ignore.

[4everwarriors]

Crean sucks

[Cheeks]

Had he picked the Wisconsin game as the measure that would make much more sense. 
Rival.
On The Road
For a chance to have three straight victories.  Last done in 1983 by Marquette.

Or Purdue as the second game of the season
Or Kansas State on the road

I actually said Becky not to fuel what teams he should have chosen, but because Duane is a huge Becky UW-madison extension fan.

[Its DJOver]

It's about a body of work. USC was a tough one. No doubt. If we won the next year, OK, I see the point. But 0-2 in five years is the bigger issue.

Keep in mind though that was the same team that defeated Number 1 Villanova, who I believe went on to get a Natty that year. I'm convinced the only reason we made the tournament was because we beat Villanova. Very few teams did that back that year and Wojo deserves a lot of credit for it. We had a good record but without the Villanova win, we're probably on the bubble.

Didn't make it out of the first weekend, but same thing.

[Newsdreams]

Wow all Big East 2nd Team???  Impressive!!!  There's no politics in who makes All Big East and/or to make sure every team walks away with a participation trophy in the snowflake era?  In addition they appointed 7 players to the "First Team" that year when the NCAA rule book by my bed says that only 5 players are allowed to share the court at any given time????   

In reality Carlino was good for some hot games but was an average player at best on a horrible MU team.  I saw him play against DePaul that year where he and Juan Anderson stunk up the Allstate as we ended up losing to an Oliver Purnell coached DePaul team which was a very hard thing to do. 

Wojo should have given John Dawson and Duane Wilson the reigns to the point guard position that year and stayed loyal to the players who didn't transfer when he was announced as our new coach.  Instead he brought in Carlino the chucker and sparingly played Deonte Burton who ended up following Dawson by transferring at the semester.  So the next year we had to break in some more freshmen as our one year rental was gone and so was Dawson who could have developed into a workable player for us.   

USC with last year's 7th rated recruiting class and 18th rated class the year before is arguably weaker than the ASU Bobby Hurley team we beat when he was just starting as their new coach.  In addition since then Bobby has done terrific as manifested by his 91-64 NCAA first round loss to Buffalo last year and therefore makes that ASU win just that much more impressive.  Also beating a Chris Mack led Louisville team coming off the Pitino carnage in the constellation game was huge as well and should have lifted us to a 2 seed by the selection committee. 

On the other hand this year's test against Coach Enfield, who took a team from a new school on the SW coast of Florida and renamed it Dunk City after they inexplicably made the Sweet 16 should clearly be undersold.  Instead let's rewrite history to beef up Wojo's underwhelming Marquette resume and make sure all the Wojo zombies go to bed tonight with strict instructions to hump their Wojo dolls!     

Thanks for all the "logic" and setting me straight.

Ners?

[Cheeks]

You don't have guards....you don't win.

That simple. They did not have the guards in the right roles and who could step up not named Howard and it showed.

Elliot was out, he didn't play Cain, he should not have had to play Chartouny who gave nothing and Rowsey graduated.

There you go. . . in college basketball you can't have that. 

That won't be a problem this year where they might have too many.

Guards game, eh

[4everwarriors]

Woj kneeds ta wyn a Tourney game befour he gets in lyne at da big boi urinal, hey?

[Uncle Rico]

Woj kneeds ta wyn a Tourney game befour he gets in lyne at da big boi urinal, hey?

Nm

[willie warrior]

Wow all Big East 2nd Team???  Impressive!!!  There's no politics in who makes All Big East and/or to make sure every team walks away with a participation trophy in the snowflake era?  In addition they appointed 7 players to the "First Team" that year when the NCAA rule book by my bed says that only 5 players are allowed to share the court at any given time????   

In reality Carlino was good for some hot games but was an average player at best on a horrible MU team.  I saw him play against DePaul that year where he and Juan Anderson stunk up the Allstate as we ended up losing to an Oliver Purnell coached DePaul team which was a very hard thing to do. 

Wojo should have given John Dawson and Duane Wilson the reigns to the point guard position that year and stayed loyal to the players who didn't transfer when he was announced as our new coach.  Instead he brought in Carlino the chucker and sparingly played Deonte Burton who ended up following Dawson by transferring at the semester.  So the next year we had to break in some more freshmen as our one year rental was gone and so was Dawson who could have developed into a workable player for us.   

USC with last year's 7th rated recruiting class and 18th rated class the year before is arguably weaker than the ASU Bobby Hurley team we beat when he was just starting as their new coach.  In addition since then Bobby has done terrific as manifested by his 91-64 NCAA first round loss to Buffalo last year and therefore makes that ASU win just that much more impressive.  Also beating a Chris Mack led Louisville team coming off the Pitino carnage in the constellation game was huge as well and should have lifted us to a 2 seed by the selection committee. 

On the other hand this year's test against Coach Enfield, who took a team from a new school on the SW coast of Florida and renamed it Dunk City after they inexplicably made the Sweet 16 should clearly be undersold.  Instead let's rewrite history to beef up Wojo's underwhelming Marquette resume and make sure all the Wojo zombies go to bed tonight with strict instructions to hump their Wojo dolls!     

Thanks for all the "logic" and setting me straight.

I like the "hump their Wojo dolls" comparison. In fairness though we certainly do not believe that.....ummmm....or does that happen?

[willie warrior]

Crean sucks

As No Dick does also.

[BallBoy]

As No Dick does also.

Sorry to hear about your predickament