Former Marquette guard Vander Blue says he ready to compete in the NBA

[GGGG]

Well first off he was not ready regardless to what his mother, his mentor and even what he thinks.

Vander just wanted to go...saw the draft class and the opportunity and the opening and just left. It is that simple. It had NOTHING TO DO WITH GOD or prayer. He had made up his own mind.

God and a true mentor would have had him look at the whole situation and told him to stay. He needed it. But kids today get up and run because they can and the NBA suffers.

   

I pray too and there is no way it is in God's character and will to tell anyone to leave college on a scholarship and not get a degree and honor that fully.

I think you steered God, God did not steer you in this decision. I am not saying I am one to hear someone else's prayers but I know that was not God's choice. I think he talked it over briefly and made a decision.

I think his only regret was not coming back and winning a title but he is so impatient and impulsive and strong willed that he simply left.

As a fan I think looking at his game he has no position, can only go one way and no consistent shot if he is defended and no experience at running or leading a team. He says he really did not do anything to improve his shot and that it was confidence.

Well guess what, the NBA is not like college. You can say or think you are ready all you want to that does not mean you are. But you have to live with it. He couldn't have picked a better time to have 3 great games when he did. 

But at 6'3 it will be an uphill battle. I think Vander if drafted will be one of the few MU Players to  come here besides Wade who left here before his Senior year and did not stay to finish it out.

That is unfortunate.

I think you are imparting a lot of your own values and opinions into this post - and you really have no idea what Vander's thought process was.

[MUfan12]

It's not every day that you see fans rip on the best player from their Elite 8 team. No matter what Vander says or does, some MU fans are going to dislike him because he didn't live up to the impossible-to-reach expectations that they set for him before he was even finished with HS.

I'm not a Vander hater in the least. Personally, I disagreed with his decision and hoped he proved me wrong.

I just really dislike his line about carrying the team to the Elite 8. First of all, it's not true. Second, it's extremely arrogant and craps on his teammates. Without whom, he wouldn't have had the chance to be where he is.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Glad I'm not alone on that. Thought it was very arrogant, and rubbed me the wrong way. If Steve Taylor doesn't step up against Rutgers, or Davante against Syracuse, that St. John's game doesn't mean dick. If Jamil doesn't hit two threes at the end, Davidson beats us, and we're not having this conversation.

He's gonna get a rude awakening. And frankly, I'm okay with it.

I don't hope he gets a rude awakening...hope he makes it.  He has a ton of confidence, some of it is arrogance...maybe that is a good thing, maybe not.  I think at times it can carry you through tough times to have such belief in yourself and your talents.  On the flip side, it can make you think you are better than you really are at time and may cloud your judgment.  I hope that isn't what happened with his decision making in this whole endeavor.  Time will tell.

The line about carrying the team seemed over the top to me, but without actually hearing it and the tone in which it was used, hard to say for sure.

[MerrittsMustache]

I'm not a Vander hater in the least. Personally, I disagreed with his decision and hoped he proved me wrong.

I just really dislike his line about carrying the team to the Elite 8. First of all, it's not true. Second, it's extremely arrogant and craps on his teammates. Without whom, he wouldn't have had the chance to be where he is.

Really? You don't think he carried the team at times in those first 3 Tourney games?  Saying so in no way "craps on his teammates." There's nothing wrong with a player acknowledging that he's the best player on the team, especially when he's the best player on the team.

[WarriorFan]

I think the best posts above are those that say that any MU player in the NBA is good for MU so if Vander makes it - great.  Personally, I think he made a bad call because he's not ready, and I agree with the post above that next year might also have not made him ready.  It will be great if Vander succeeds in NBA and I hope he does, because it's a rough life for the guys bouncing around China, Philippines, SE Asia, Europe etc. making small dollars, and his skill set is more like a lot of those guys than most NBA players. 

As for MU - I think it'll be a better team next year without him than with him, and better long term as well because it means more minutes for the new guys and a chance for Jamil and Davante to really carry the team - which they will do.  Wouldn't you rather have Jamil getting all of Vander's touches? - he's got very similar shooting stats (much better 3point), similar assists and fewer turnovers!

[MUfan12]

Really? You don't think he carried the team at times in those first 3 Tourney games?  Saying so in no way "craps on his teammates." There's nothing wrong with a player acknowledging that he's the best player on the team, especially when he's the best player on the team.

I'll give you the Butler game, he was fantastic. He hit the winner against Davidson, but without Jamil it doesn't matter. The Miami game was a total team effort. Against Syracuse, he crapped the bed just like everyone else.

I can think of several efforts from other players that were crucial to the team's accomplishments last season.

[GGGG]

I think we are simply differing in our definition of "carrying the team."  Carrying the team IMO doesn't mean "best player on the floor," but SIGNIFICANTLY the best player on the floor.  I don't think Vander was that with the exception of the Butler game.

[MU82]

I'll give you the Butler game, he was fantastic. He hit the winner against Davidson, but without Jamil it doesn't matter. The Miami game was a total team effort. Against Syracuse, he crapped the bed just like everyone else.

I can think of several efforts from other players that were crucial to the team's accomplishments last season.

Exactly. For example, Junior put the team on his back in the Wisconsin and UConn games.

The quote speaks to Vander's arrogance, but there aren't many great athletes who aren't at least a little arrogant. Jordan, Bird, Kareem, West, Kobe, LeBron and a whole lot of inferior ones were/are supremely confident. As another poster said, it would have been nice if Vander let others say great things about him, but it doesn't offend me that he said those things about himself.

I don't see Vander being an NBA player but I have nothing against him and I hope he makes it. I enjoy turning on an NBA game and seeing a Warrior or two in uniform, and it can only help recruiting for Buzz to put a player in the NBA every year.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

It warms my heart to see that Scoop it's back to it's regularly scheduled off season quote parsing and over analysis.

I can't wait until the next LW article, so we can slice and dice that one up too.

Oh, maybe there will be an article about Diamond Stone we can all pick 2 sentences from and spend 2 weeks talking about!

[mileskishnish72]

One thing is for sure - Vander has been controversial on this board since day one. One wonders why - his personality? our unrealistic expectations?
As for the comment, I don't find it that offensive - and at times it was certainly true. I doubt that he meant to denigrate his teammates or he wouldn't have played as unselfishly as he did. I think he meant that he's worked hard at the game, and that he's had a degree of success. He was our best player most of the time, and you can't deny he was clutch.
The controversy continues re: the draft decision - whether he's "ready" or whether he's deluding himself. One thing that you can be sure of is that there will be another wave of differing opinions on the board after the draft (however it goes for Vander).
Put me in the camp with those that root for another MU success in the league.
Thanks for the memories, Van, and best of luck.