Vote: Bigger Loss, Three Amigos or DJO/Crowder

[Tugg Speedman]

I voted the three amigos and Buzz still managed to take the next team with Acker/Cubies to a 6 seed. 

[MUMac]

The Amigos - without question.

[Skatastrophy]

DJO and Crowder are good, but they can be replaced.

Losing all of our guards in one year was absolutely brutal.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

DJO and Crowder were better players than all three. I vote them. I think next year could be a little rough.

[Henry Sugar]

Three Amigos.  What was left after they departed was a starting lineup that included Cubillan, Acker, and a 6'5 PF guarding the Center spot*

*yeah, Lazar was pretty good

I'm totally unconcerned about Jae and DJO leaving the team.  Next year Marquette will still have

Four top 100 players as upperclassmen
Two upperclassmen centers
Another year of seasoning for DWil, Anderson, and Mayo
Plus another long Top 100 player
And none of that includes any potential impact from Ferguson, TJ Taylor, or Durley

We'll be taller, more experienced, and deeper than this year.  We're going to be just fine.

[Norm]

I think we will miss DJO and Crowder more, as there are no real consistent scorers returning, except for maybe Gardner when he's healthy. Cubillan and Acker could shoot the 3 and handle the ball - our returning guard are not as good on the offensive end as Cubillan and Acker.

[CTWarrior]

DJO/Crowder are better than 3 Amigos were.  OTOH, all 3 were excellent players and replacing 60% of your minutes is harder than replacing 40%.  We also lost our center the 3 Amigos year.  He wasn't great, but he was a big body on a team that needed them.  OTOH. we don't have a Lazar Hayward on next year's team.  I picked 3 Amigos, but it's close.

[Goose]

Three amigo's because of what was coming back. We have very solid team and potentially very good team if guys improve and freshman step it up. Our program is now built to lose guys...thanks Buzz!!!

[furrious9]

I also said Crowder/DJO. As someone said before, who else scores? Who else can be a go to guy?  Atleast w/ the three amigos we had Lazar, who was an NBA first rounder, and Jimmy, who you could tell would make an impact by the way he played later in the year.  This year?  We have VERY iffy guards, aside from Mayo, and no one who showed they can be dominate, aside from possibly Jamil.  Next year has me s****ing my pants.

[brewcity77]

We're returning 3 starters in Junior, Blue, and CO, and have 2 guys in Jamil and Mayo that have given us reason to trust their abilities. In Buzz's offense, guys will score. 3 Amigos + Burke left a lot more uncertainty than we have going into next year.

[Nukem2]

Probably the Amigos as MU was left with a short bench and not much size and a loss of legacy.  Will not be easy to make up for the productivity of DJO and Jae, but there will be a full roster of talented players and, hopefully at least 2 healthy bigs. 

[lab_warrior]

The cupboard was left VERY BARE after the amigos.  We've got PLENTY coming back, and coming in, next year.

That '09 team is probably Buzz' best coaching job.  He squeezed every molecule of ability out of Acker and Cubes that season, dealt with OTule's foot injury, Maymon transferring. 

[MUBurrow]

I also said Crowder/DJO. As someone said before, who else scores? Who else can be a go to guy? 

I think we say this every year. Who honestly thought after the amigos left that Lazar and JFB would be NBA players?  Hell, we spent half of JFB's senior season lamenting our lack of leadership and clutch scoring ability.  After the amigos, the team was left with two undersized front court players leading the team, and a backcourt in shambles with only role players returning. This team returns players who are built to actually play the positions they will return to. After that 3 amigos team, how many returning players had the body/skill set you would expect out of players at their position? Maybe the 1 and the 3? Next years team returns players that play to their bodies/strengths at the 1, 3, 4 and 5. Only real question is whether we go offense or defense at the 2.

Lastly, the last thing that occurred to me is that I'm much more confident in Buzz's talent developing ability now than I was a couple of years ago. After the amigos, we were left with an unproven head coach, a depleted roster, and a batch of flawed basketball players. After Buzz has guided undersized and (DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY - I MEAN FOR THE NBA) relatively unathletic 3's and 4's to the NBA, I am supremely confident in his ability to develop the talent on this roster - which is already superior to after the amigos.

[Hoopaloop]

Amigos because of sheer volume.  3 players lost vs 2 players.  Also the types of players.  DJ was a very good point guard, top 5 in MU history in my opinion.  Crowder had one of the all-time great seasons but he had one of those seasons.  McNeal, James and Matthews did it over four years so that was a bigger loss because of their 4 year impact.

[lab_warrior]

Next year has me s****ing my pants.

Better stock up on this.  October is a loooong way away, homes.