Steve Taylor, Jr. -- Am I Missing Something?

[tower912]

Otule gives us a better chance of winning now.   Taylor will be very good in the future.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Don't agree with that.  Think you are underestimating Taylor.  Otule's play is not as good as last year. He's a liability on offense and has mishandled a lot of passes when he's in the post.  Taylor is much more athletic and plays a long 6"8". 

[bilsu]

Don't agree with that.  Think you are underestimating Taylor.  Otule's play is not as good as last year. He's a liability on offense and has mishandled a lot of passes when he's in the post.  Taylor is much more athletic and plays a long 6"8".  

I do not think Taylor would have had much success in trying to stop LSU's O'Bryant. Otule's size and strength bothered O'Bryant.

[tower912]

Don't agree with that.  Think you are underestimating Taylor.  Otule's play is not as good as last year. He's a liability on offense and has mishandled a lot of passes when he's in the post.  Taylor is much more athletic and plays a long 6"8". 

Otule has shone more touch than before.   His defense is not as good, as you can see his leg dragging a bit.   But it is still far better than Taylor's.    We must not be watching the same games.    Otule completely disrupted O'Bryant against LSU. 

[Brewtown Andy]

Otule's play is not as good as last year. 

He's actually playing, which is a marked improvement over last year.

[keefe]

Otule has shone more touch than before.   His defense is not as good, as you can see his leg dragging a bit.   But it is still far better than Taylor's.    We must not be watching the same games.    Otule completely disrupted O'Bryant against LSU. 

Otule did a great job on O'Bryant. He was a beast. Those two fought like gladiators throughout. It was a treat to watch that. Marquette hasn't had that presence since The Reaper.

[MU82]

As usual, the Otule detractors spend far too much time thinking about his limited offensive game. As several astute posters here stated, Otule had a nice defensive outing against a good offensive player Saturday. Without that D, we very well might have lost.

The Otule/Gardner rotation is a very effective one -- one I'm guessing many, many other coaches wish they had.

It always cracks me up when folks who watch games from afar think they know more about Buzz's players than the coach who sees them at practice every day.

[muwarrior69]

I like to see Jamal Furgeson get a little more time as well.

[bilsu]

I like to see Jamal Furgeson get a little more time as well.

+1

[brewcity77]

I like to see Jamal Furgeson get a little more time as well.

I'm sure you will, though probably not until next season.

[Goose]

Atl MU Warrior


IMO the game has changed due to the high level of AAU ball. Freshmen are better prepared today for all aspects of college life and basketball. The kids know how to travel, play against top competition and play a ton of games. I think having great seniors is luxury to some extent today. No problem with CO, just think Taylor has bright future and would like to see it begin sooner than later.

[GGGG]

But again, Taylor isn't a post.  Buzz rarely plays without a post.  It really isn't an "Otule or Taylor" question.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Atl MU Warrior

IMO the game has changed due to the high level of AAU ball. Freshmen are better prepared today for all aspects of college life and basketball. The kids know how to travel, play against top competition and play a ton of games. I think having great seniors is luxury to some extent today. No problem with CO, just think Taylor has bright future and would like to see it begin sooner than later.

Absolutely agree that Freshmen are more prepared for college and the rigors of being a student athlete. 

They are still freshmen, however, and unless they are coming into a situation where the upper classmen are either 1) devoid of talent or 2) gone early to the NBA they shouldn't get much PT.  Neither of these are the case for MU.

There is nothing wrong with freshmen primarily riding the pine, waiting for their turn.  It's the sign of a healthy program. 

[brewcity77]

IMO the game has changed due to the high level of AAU ball. Freshmen are better prepared today for all aspects of college life and basketball. The kids know how to travel, play against top competition and play a ton of games

And thus college seniors, who have been through the same AAU rigors and also 3+ years of college are even more prepared. Regardless of what today's freshmen are prepared for, today's seniors are more prepared.

[Stretchdeltsig]

... if they are good.  Otule after his injury last year is not very good.  Taylor is very good and is a far superior athlete.  We need him to play more for MU to win!

[MU82]

Otule's D on Saturday looked pretty darn good to me.

[jsglow]

Plus Chris seems to be getting stronger as the non-con season progresses.

[Nukem2]

Plus Chris seems to be getting stronger as the non-con season progresses.

Yes, Chris is getting stronger and better.  Big thing now is to increase his vertical game to where it was pre-injury.

[bilsu]

... if they are good.  Otule after his injury last year is not very good.  Taylor is very good and is a far superior athlete.  We need him to play more for MU to win!

Prior to Mayo coming back, I wanted Taylor to get more time at forward. Now with Mayo back, I see Blue eventually moving back to 3 and Taylor not getting many minutes.

[jsglow]

Prior to Mayo coming back, I wanted Taylor to get more time at forward. Now with Mayo back, I see Blue eventually moving back to 3 and Taylor not getting many minutes.

Agree.  Need to maximize Blue's minutes at the #3 as Todd progresses at the #2.  That'll limit Steve's minutes considerably as JWill and Juan soak up the #4. 

Moving Blue back to the #3 might just be the key to this year's success as he produces much better out of that position.  Todd gets one more game to get ready for 25+ minutes.  I'll expect to see his tongue dragging some on Saturday.  We'll need a solid contribution from him come next Tuesday.