Gardner

[unforgiven]

Ox is one of the most efficient players in the college game. Where would we be without him? I recall all the boo birds decrying his recruitment. His skills and that wide body are headed to The Show.

[Earl Tatum]

Not sure what I thought.  Will admit good quickness and body looks great.

[Earl Tatum]

Oops-Gardner - "T"

[unforgiven]

Not sure what I thought.  Will admit good quickness and body looks great.

Great footwork, surprising quickness, soft hands, and most important superb court sense and vision.

[warriorchick]

I have to say that one of my favorite things about watching Marquette basketball is the look of unfiltered joy on Davante's face when he makes a great play:



He looks like he is breaking the tape at the Olympic Marathon.

[esotericmindguy]

His skills and that wide body are headed to The Show.

You think? Can't see him in the league with his height and lack of jumping. But I think he's the best passer, scorer & rebounder on the team.

[Nukem2]

You think? Can't see him in the league with his height and lack of jumping. But I think he's the best passer, scorer & rebounder on the team.

Well...best offensive rebounder..

[unforgiven]

You think? Can't see him in the league with his height and lack of jumping. But I think he's the best passer, scorer & rebounder on the team.

If D. Blair can make it so can Ox. I think Ox has much better court sense and is an overall more deft player on offense. Blair is better on D, however, though Gardner is showing a lot better on ball pressure so far this year.

[brewcity77]

I love Ox, but he's not nearly the athlete Blair was. There's a reason that dude was a top-20, 5-star prospect. He could make the show, but he's still got a ways to go. I think he has a better chance of being a college All-American than he does getting drafted. Possibly going Scottie Reynolds style.

[TallTitan34]

Woah woah woah. As PTMs signature states I made a bold prediction of Davante getting drafted in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft!

[Newsdreams]

Love Davante, but in this game he has shown a lack of maturity. When missing shots he keeps complaining to refs, not getting back on def and getting a dumb T.

[Hards Alumni]

0% chance he makes the pros.  Great college player though.

[martyconlonontherun]

Tiny Gallon had way more skill and stats as a freshman and didn't make the roster. That said Gardner is more intelligent. Blair was at another level and would've been a top ten pick if he had one acl.

[BCHoopster]

He can get to the next level, only if Buzz tries to get him some looks outside, like Wes Unseld, he has a great feel for shooting free throws, why not give him a few looks outside,
in the pros in the box, he will be toast, to small.

[Benny B]

0% chance he makes the pros.  Great college player though.

I assume you're excluding Europe from "the pros." Either way, 0% is awfully bold... I'd give him at least a 10-15% chance of making the association. 

[DomJamesToTheBasket]

I'd like to add that Davante has made significant improvement on defense this year.  He is no longer a liability out there.  Getting out and defending the screen....and getting back just fine.  A lot better at cutting off guys and even blocking shots (4 so far!).  Now,  I'm not saying he's great at defense...or even good,  but I am anointing him "capable."  That, along with his near unstoppable moves in the post and great passing out of the double, make him a tough player to take out of the lineup.

[ATL MU Warrior]

I'd like to add that Davante has made significant improvement on defense this year.  He is no longer a liability out there.  Getting out and defending the screen....and getting back just fine.  A lot better at cutting off guys and even blocking shots (4 so far!).  Now,  I'm not saying he's great at defense...or even good,  but I am anointing him "capable."  That, along with his near unstoppable moves in the post and great passing out of the double, make him a tough player to take out of the lineup.

I've seen only marginal improvement with his defense.  Was lazy and got beat down the court by USC's 7-footer yesterday...inexcusable.  Overall, still a liability on that end.  However, with Otule's injury, Chris is also not the defensive presence he used to be so the difference between the two is smaller.

I wish Davante would approach playing defense with the same passion and intensity he approaches celebrating making a bucket.

[forgetful]

I'd like to add that Davante has made significant improvement on defense this year.  He is no longer a liability out there.  Getting out and defending the screen....and getting back just fine.  A lot better at cutting off guys and even blocking shots (4 so far!).  Now,  I'm not saying he's great at defense...or even good,  but I am anointing him "capable."  That, along with his near unstoppable moves in the post and great passing out of the double, make him a tough player to take out of the lineup.

Although he has improved considerably, he has a long ways to go on the Defensive side.  He may cost us nearly as many points with his D that he gets us on O.  His problem is he still lacks intensity to play D, which means he trails the play and gets beat down the court.  He also doesn't fight as hard for position or rebounds as he does on Offense.  That has led to him being out fought for boards (put back points) and easy buckets for the opposing big, because of poor defensive positioning.

On the other hand, he has shown increased help D, significantly increased help D.  That has led to some pretty blocks. 

Gardner seems like a guy that gets fired up over certain things.  At first it was scoring, not it is scoring and blocking shots.  If we can get him as excited about Defensive rebounding he would be a force.

[TomW1365]

Let me start out by saying that I've been very bullish on MU players that I think are NBA bound... Thankfully we've seen a great run of players get drafted that were on the cusp (w the exception of Jerel McNeal).  But I have a very difficult time seeing Ox contributing in the NBA.  For a big man, he doesn't have the height, hops, or motor.  While his skill set and wide body is special at the college level, it doesn't translate into being effective in the League.  He'd have most of his shots swatted five rows into the stands.  
Again I'm a glass is half full guy here and don't want to miss a minute of action while he's on the court.  I hope I'm wrong about his NBA potential bit NBA scouts aren't drooling at his below the rim style of play.

[unforgiven]

At a minimum he should have a nice career in Europe. Think of how many stiffs have made enough to retire on by 30 playing in Hungary and Belgium.