Post-game thoughts

[forgetful]

The guy he guarded scored more than he.  He only had three assists and shot 2 Of 8 from the field. He played against Colgate and he is a Senior.  He was a disappointment. Defensively he showed no quickness, no hands. He is a Big East PG but didn't play like one. Bring on Wilson.

I'm really glad you're not the coach.  Without Junior this would be a long long season.  Wilson is improved, but he has a ways to go to be the type of player that Junior is. 

[Knight Commission]

Really?  Assist to TO ratio is how I'd judge our point guard.

Acker had 9 assists, 24 points, and no turnovers. Most PGs in D1 could have had as good of a game as JC did today, playing for MU. JC is a Senior.

[karavotsos]

How did Jr. do against Isaiah Canaan?

[brewcity77]

Cubes and Acker both scored 20 plus on Nov 7 2009. I have waited three years to have more than a pass first PG.

So what? They didn't do it every game all year long. And they didn't play on a team with this many able scoring options. Idiotic to complain about this after one 20-point win.

[77ncaachamps]

Just caught the ESPN3 replay.

My Pros:
- Davante in great shape
- Jamil willing to shoot the ball more
- The starting five
- The bench
- transition D was good, not great. This was Colgate though...
- Lockett's seamless integration
- Watching the kids play some significant minutes at the end of the game; we're gonna need them big time down the stretch
- Taylor is big but needs to play bigger
- Jamal's got some acceleration
- Juan's rebounds though most were defensive and with a bunch of blue jerseys around him
- Thomas needs to hit the open three more
- Did I mention Davante's in great shape?

My Cons:
- Vander's not yet on the scene, but I don't want him to force it either.
- 3 point defense
- inexperience from the bench shows
- sloppy fast breaks and lack of transition baskets
- lack of a go-to scorer (I know it's only one game)
- shot selection

I'm worried that Florida is going to tattoo us. Our defense isn't were it should be and their offense seems to be clicking.

Let's hope Butler puts a scare into this team to reveal some weaknesses that could be shored up.

[avid1010]

The guy he guarded scored more than he.  He only had three assists and shot 2 Of 8 from the field. He played against Colgate and he is a Senior.  He was a disappointment. Defensively he showed no quickness, no hands. He is a Big East PG but didn't play like one. Bring on Wilson.

now i know you're joking...take a look at wilson's fouls per minute last year...the kid wouldn't make it past the first tv timeout.

on a more serious note...it's fun to debate on the internet, but i'll take buzz' words and actions over yours. 

[sellit07]

Pros:

Last year Juan showed energy to get to the ball on rebounds or steals when they gave him a chance even if he played no real defense. Last night Juan showed the same energy but the ability to score, rebound and play better defense.

Trent had a good first game debut. May not have scored all the points we expected but I will take 7 pts, 7 rebs (3 Off), 3 asts, and 5 steals anyday.

Cons:

It is the first game but Vander seemed to be non-existent until the 2nd half. I hope he steps it up because we need him.

I was expecting more from Steve Taylor. I know he is a freshman and it is the first game but I am hoping for good things in the near future.

[Dreadman24]

JC sucks. Thats all I got. Take it to me guys...

[ATL MU Warrior]

JC sucks. Thats all I got. Take it to me guys...

Why waste the time.  It's pretty clear you have no other purpose than to try to get a rise out of people.  You sure don't seem to know jack about basketball.

[GGGG]

Acker had 9 assists, 24 points, and no turnovers. Most PGs in D1 could have had as good of a game as JC did today, playing for MU. JC is a Senior.

Really?  We are cherry picking a good Mo Acker game now and wishing that Junior lived up to that level?  Seriously I think half of this board needs to go to a basketball re-education camp.

[Hards Alumni]

Really?  We are cherry picking a good Mo Acker game now and wishing that Junior lived up to that level?  Seriously I think half of this board needs to go to a basketball re-education camp.

through labor.

[frozena pizza]

Otule looked good and I was impressed with Thomas and Juanderson.

Biggest negative in my view is that we need to get better on defense.  Starting today.

[frozena pizza]

Really?  We are cherry picking a good Mo Acker game now and wishing that Junior lived up to that level?  Seriously I think half of this board needs to go to a basketball re-education camp.

But you don't have to cherry pick to make the point.  Compare Acker's senior year to Junior last year.  Acker averaged more points, had a better A/TO ratio and better FG, FT and 3P percentages.  If Junior's senior year matched Acker's senior year I would take it right now and consider it a nice progression for JC, mostly because his shooting would be vastly improved.

[ATL MU Warrior]

But you don't have to cherry pick to make the point.  Compare Acker's senior year to Junior last year.  Acker averaged more points, had a better A/TO ratio and better FG, FT and 3P percentages.  If Junior's senior year matched Acker's senior year I would take it right now and consider it a nice progression for JC, mostly because his shooting would be vastly improved.

Acker's senior year he had to be a scorer...who else was there after Lazar?

Junior does not have to be a scorer...we have lots of options now.

Simple as that.

[Badgerhater]

Didn't see the game.

Single game comparisons between two players with different talent levels around them and playing different styles is stupid and troll-like.

Remember when we all ripped on Jae Crowder's defense during non-conference?  Every single year, MU's defense seems to be off a bit in the non-conference as players learn rotations and figure out how to play defense in a real game.   It is my impression, that it is much harder to learn how to play Buzz's defensive scheme than it is to play his offensive scheme.  Let's give it 5 games before we have concrete opinions on anything regarding a team.

Winning is always good.

[GGGG]

But you don't have to cherry pick to make the point.  Compare Acker's senior year to Junior last year.  Acker averaged more points, had a better A/TO ratio and better FG, FT and 3P percentages.  If Junior's senior year matched Acker's senior year I would take it right now and consider it a nice progression for JC, mostly because his shooting would be vastly improved.

It's a completely different team with a completely different role that the point guard is asked to play.  That team rarely pushed tempo, and was way too dependent on the outside shot, which is eventually what killed them in the first round of the NCAA tournament that year.  On this team, Junior is asked to break down defenses and create more for those around him.  And he does that much better than Acker ever did.

[Bardo32486]

I'm a die hard fan (no troll) but even I am extremely dissappointed in Junior. His offense was inconsistent and a liability last year and he started the year by going 1 for 5 and missing some easy lay ups against a subpar and unathletic defense yesterday. My fear is that he's a liability again this year.

[frozena pizza]

Acker's senior year he had to be a scorer...who else was there after Lazar?

Junior does not have to be a scorer...we have lots of options now.

Simple as that.

After Lazar there was Jimmy and DJO, so Acker was the fourth option behind 3 NBA draft picks.  Pretty decent options in my opinion.  Acker was a scorer because he shot 50% on 3 pointers, not because he had to be.

Simple as that.

[hairy worthen]

I'm a die hard fan (no troll) but even I am extremely dissappointed in Junior. His offense was inconsistent and a liability last year and he started the year by going 1 for 5 and missing some easy lay ups against a subpar and unathletic defense yesterday. My fear is that he's a liability again this year.

Do you think buzz would be playing him so much if he was a liability. You have to look at the whole game and what he does for the team.

Wow, the jc and vander bashing starting early this year.

[statnik]

He drained 2 threes, which was one of the most criticized areas of his game, and went 3/4 from the line, very solid, and most important didn't turn the ball over once. He'll average more assists as the season goes on. Not everyone is going to have a crazy good statline every game.

Here I thought I was being critical of this performance, the way people are deconstructing every player's line is nuts. It's a season, a long haul.

I agree Junior will be fine.  The whole team was passing the ball around today and since all 11 players played, JC didn't have the ball to create as much as he normally would.  I hope he can show some creativity with drives close to the basket, but other than that he played pretty well.

[statnik]

Otule looked good and I was impressed with Thomas and Juanderson.

Biggest negative in my view is that we need to get better on defense.  Starting today.

and rebounding, we got outrebounded by a smaller team.  It looks like we're still not boxing out as often as we should.

[tower912]

MU has gone to two sweet 16's and won 50 games with Blue starting and Junior both starting and getting significant minutes off of the bench.    They clearly don't suck.   Both have had subpar games.   Both will again.   The question is whether they can step up their games enough to compensate for the 35 PPG that went to the NBA.   I predict that both will average double digit PPG this year.   I don't expect either to be a scorer on the level of DJO.   It isn't in either of their natures to be so.      
Yeah, MU got out rebounded yesterday.   Otule and DG have to get more defensive rebounds.    But after rewatching part of the game, I have to somewhat agree with Jamil.    There were several times when MU was in perfect position for a rebound and it just turned into such a clank and such a long rebound that it went to Colgate 15 ft from the hoop.  And I will say again that with the amount of minutes that new guys played, there were issues with defensive rotations, which also factored into long rebounds going Colgate's way.     But it was, after all, just the first game.    They need to get better and I think they will. 

[martyconlonontherun]

Both Blue and Junior are disappointments based on pre-campus expectations. However, once you get past expectations they are both solid Big East rotational players. We just need Lockett, Wilson, and DG to really step up if we want to compete at a high level.

[StillWarriors]

Didn't see the game.

Single game comparisons between two players with different talent levels around them and playing different styles is stupid and troll-like.

Remember when we all ripped on Jae Crowder's defense during non-conference?  Every single year, MU's defense seems to be off a bit in the non-conference as players learn rotations and figure out how to play defense in a real game.   It is my impression, that it is much harder to learn how to play Buzz's defensive scheme than it is to play his offensive scheme.  Let's give it 5 games before we have concrete opinions on anything regarding a team.

Winning is always good.

Bingo. I think Buzz has earned a little equity that they will get the defensive rotations shored up. I agree this seems like an annual early season complaint that we give up too many open looks. The track record is that we will improve and be fine.