matthew's play at the end..

[Falkinator]

I was really expecting matthews to have a huge game. Although he didn't have much impact during much of the game, his offensive rebound at the end with marquette up 5 was absolutely HUGE, and to see him step up and make a big play was sweet. Also, Seeing his dad getting fired up was awesome. GO WES!!!!!

[farmdaddy]

It was awesome seeing him put in the last nail in the coffin.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Wesley had turned into something of a "glue" guy. That was a man's rebound.

We might be better off with him providing some energy off the bench. By the way, he's NOT a guard.

[Doctor V]

Wesley had turned into something of a "glue" guy. That was a man's rebound.

We might be better off with him providing some energy off the bench. By the way, he's NOT a guard.

completely agree. even though u dont wanna hurt his confidence, he cant play much worse than he has lately and he will always be a solid defender. I wouldnt mess with something that works, but I think in the BE he may need to come off the bench for either barro or fitz starting, one for size, the other for the trey

[ChicosBailBonds]

Wesley had turned into something of a "glue" guy. That was a man's rebound.

We might be better off with him providing some energy off the bench. By the way, he's NOT a guard.

Interesting to see his dad there by the MU bench.

[tower912]

Wes is drifting on his shot.    Man that was fun.

[Ready2Fly]

It was awesome seeing him put in the last nail in the coffin.

I totally agree.  After being somewhat invisible on the offensive end most of the game, he got UP for that board then calmly nailed both free throws to put the game out of reach for good.  No one wanted this win more than him with all the sh*t he takes from UW fans and I was ecstatic to see him seal it for us.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Wesley had turned into something of a "glue" guy. That was a man's rebound.

We might be better off with him providing some energy off the bench. By the way, he's NOT a guard.

I think you are right about being a "glue guy"... but also remember that he played GREAT during conference play last season... so hopefully he gets it started again. He's a very good free throw shooter and was able to get to the line a bunch last season.

[mviale]

Matthews has too much baggage with Madison. I think he has the most pressure

[Virginia Warrior 77]

Matthews will, and should, start even in BE play.  He's a great defender, plays bigger than his size, is the team's best foul shooter, and plays tough.  He's not looking to score, just doing what's needed to win.

[wadesworld]

Matthews has too much baggage with Madison. I think he has the most pressure

It was fun to see them all walking past the UW student section to get to the tunnel after the game, they were all yelling at Wes and Wes just yelled back, walked by, and then turned around to continue yelling haha.  It was great.

[MarqGold17]

what did it look like to you guys in the second half when Wes was on the floor? Did it look like the madison player was tripped by Wes or tripped over Wes? Big difference in my opinon and I could see the arguement going either way to be honest. The look I got wasn't the greatest, plus in the heat of the game I was more concerned with Madison breaking down the court.

[CTWarrior]

Wesley had turned into something of a "glue" guy. That was a man's rebound.

We might be better off with him providing some energy off the bench. By the way, he's NOT a guard.

He's a small forward.  For a couple of short stretches yesterday, he was the de facto CENTER in a lineup of Acker, Cubillan, James, McNeal and Matthews.  I'm pretty sure those were the five on the floor when he got the big close out rebound.

[bilsu]

Matthews will always be a role player as long as James amd McNeal dominate the ball. Matthews scoring average would soar next year, if James and McNeal actually went pro after this year.

[Doctor V]

Matthews will always be a role player as long as James amd McNeal dominate the ball. Matthews scoring average would soar next year, if James and McNeal actually went pro after this year.

Not true. many people thought, and still expect, him to breakout at some point. He gets enough touches, just has been shooting horrendously. I think its a confidence thing and hopefully he snaps outta his slump, cause we need everything else he brings. what ever happened to him being the best shooter out of the 3 guards??

[bma725]

Matthews will always be a role player as long as James amd McNeal dominate the ball. Matthews scoring average would soar next year, if James and McNeal actually went pro after this year.

Not true. many people thought, and still expect, him to breakout at some point. He gets enough touches, just has been shooting horrendously. I think its a confidence thing and hopefully he snaps outta his slump, cause we need everything else he brings. what ever happened to him being the best shooter out of the 3 guards??

Define enough touches, because he doesn't have the ball nearly as much as James or McNeal, and he needs it to be successful.  Anyone who saw him in high school saw a guy that is at his best when he controls everything.  He needs to run the offense, he needs everything to flow through him, he needs to be the playmaker.  That's why he was able to put up the numbers he did.  But at MU he's asked to be the third option, to be a spot up shooter, to let the other players attack etc.  All of which are things he doesn't do particularly well. 

The problem is(and I'm not complaining, just pointing it out in the grand scheme of things) MU has 3 guards that to be there most effective have to have control of the ball nearly all the time.  None of the starters are guys that are off the ball guards, they aren't shooters, they aren't guys that can stand in space and just wait for things to happen.  They do their best when they are playing an agressive, attacking, slashing style of basketball....and it's pretty tough for 3 guys to do that at once.  So at least one of them has to take a backseat.  That has turned out to be Wes.  He's getting the ball less.  He's taking just over half the amount of shots that DJ and Jerel take.  He's passing up oppurtunities for himself to give the ball up to the other guys. 

If those guys aren't here next year, you'll see a different player.  Just look at the end of last year with no McNeal and James playing terribly.  He played some of his best basketball.  He attacked, he controlled the offense, he got to the line, all things he doesn't always get to do with the other guys on the court.

[WashDCWarrior]

I'm starting to think that Matthews would be better of the bench.  Not because he isn't one of the 5 best players on the team, but if he's playing with Barro, Acker, Cubillan, Fitz, he becomes the first scoring option, not the 3rd or 4th.  I actually believe as Christopherson develops, he'd be a good option to replace Matthews as a starter, as he'll be more of a role player, spot up shooter and can benefit from what James and McNeal create.  Matthews, on the otherhand, can either create shots for himself or Acker, Cubillan, Fitz (once healthy), or dump-downs for Barro.

I think becoming a second teamer could boost his confidence as long as it's presented as, "Wes, let's see if your team can do better than James' team."