Unselfish 91, Selfish 6

[TheyWereCones]

Davidson - Markus wills MU to victory, carrying us on his back.  He was the only one who could score and he took over, and it was working and worked.  Bravo!  Gritty win thanks to Markus and good D.

USC - The whole team played well and the D was good too.  It was the most unselfish 51 I could imagine.  Didn't seem like Markus forced much.  Lots came within the flow.  When he's that hot, no MU fan or teammate minds if he's popping his step-backs, etc.  Impressive team win even with one guy going bananas.

Maryland - I will start by saying that I only caught the second half.  But in that half, it seemed clear Markus didn't have it.  It also seemed like we would go on runs with everyone else and often when he was on the bench.  Then when he came back in, he refused to even try to run and offense, and after already being like 1 for 9, ignored his hot teammates and threw up 3 more misses and turned it over trying to force drives.  He clearly tried to do it all himself on day when he didn't have it.  It was as ugly as Friday was pretty.

Two questions: when Markus is having one of these games...

1. Does Wojo have the ability to recognize that we are playing better with him on the bench and either keep him there or tell him that when he goes back in to not try to instantly take over?

2. Does Markus have the humility to recognize when he doesn't have it and to keep feeding his hot teammates?  Does he realize the best way for a comeback may not ALWAYS require him to be the man?

Not saying that the answers to either change the outcome today, but he sure killed our momentum often.  I wouldn't have even minded if he took those shots within the offense, after the ball moves around and may come back to him.  But that's not what happened.  He came down and just went 1:1 and either missed or turned it over.

Still a huge Markus fan.  Just want to see him improve even more and one way I think is in this capacity.  I don't think we have to live with this because of the previous two days.  I believe they are exclusive.  Hoping this is his growth this year.  So far though after today and Madison Extension, it's reminiscent of last year.

[tower912]

Shooters gotta shoot.  One of those goes and Markus heats up and...

But they didn't and he didn't.  He was hardly selfish today

[CountryRoads]

Imo, Markus was pretty unselfish in the first half and took about 6 shots (maybe one or two forces). The last 24 min was essentially desperation time so to me it made sense to try and get him going. He could have brought us back from down 20 in a hurry if he got going. It was worth a shot.

[StillWarriors]

Shooters gotta shoot.  One of those goes and Markus heats up and...

But they didn't and he didn't.  He was hardly selfish today

This. His looks were good ones. The last thing we need is him to stop taking open looks. Any shooter believes the next one is going in. He didn't force bad looks, moved the ball when he should have and was under control.

I really don't get how little "equity" he seems to have earned from many fans.

[muguru]

Davidson - Markus wills MU to victory, carrying us on his back.  He was the only one who could score and he took over, and it was working and worked.  Bravo!  Gritty win thanks to Markus and good D.

USC - The whole team played well and the D was good too.  It was the most unselfish 51 I could imagine.  Didn't seem like Markus forced much.  Lots came within the flow.  When he's that hot, no MU fan or teammate minds if he's popping his step-backs, etc.  Impressive team win even with one guy going bananas.

Maryland - I will start by saying that I only caught the second half.  But in that half, it seemed clear Markus didn't have it.  It also seemed like we would go on runs with everyone else and often when he was on the bench.  Then when he came back in, he refused to even try to run and offense, and after already being like 1 for 9, ignored his hot teammates and threw up 3 more misses and turned it over trying to force drives.  He clearly tried to do it all himself on day when he didn't have it.  It was as ugly as Friday was pretty.

Two questions: when Markus is having one of these games...

1. Does Wojo have the ability to recognize that we are playing better with him on the bench and either keep him there or tell him that when he goes back in to not try to instantly take over?

2. Does Markus have the humility to recognize when he doesn't have it and to keep feeding his hot teammates?  Does he realize the best way for a comeback may not ALWAYS require him to be the man?

Not saying that the answers to either change the outcome today, but he sure killed our momentum often.  I wouldn't have even minded if he took those shots within the offense, after the ball moves around and may come back to him.  But that's not what happened.  He came down and just went 1:1 and either missed or turned it over.

Still a huge Markus fan.  Just want to see him improve even more and one way I think is in this capacity.  I don't think we have to live with this because of the previous two days.  I believe they are exclusive.  Hoping this is his growth this year.  So far though after today and Madison Extension, it's reminiscent of last year.

I mean should Duke have kept Zion on the bench last year in games he wasn't playing well, even if the team looked better during stretches with him on the bench?? If Wojo leaves him on the bench and somehow MU gets it to within say 5-6 with a few minutes to play, and he leaves him on the bench the rest of the game, and they ultimately lose, you know what happens?? People scream because "why the hell wasn't Markus in at the end"?? Other players, yes, you sit them if they aren't playing well...when it's your star?? Prolonged periods on the bench is just...foolish. It's also why i hate the "auto bench" with two fouls most coaches seem to adopt, and that's with any player in that case.

[muhoops1]

MU has no other offensive option other than Markus.  I'm not a fan of hero ball but there is no other option.  This is simply who they are...Markus can go off on anyone but good teams can shut him down so....

[TheyWereCones]

I mean should Duke have kept Zion on the bench last year in games he wasn't playing well, even if the team looked better during stretches with him on the bench?? If Wojo leaves him on the bench and somehow MU gets it to within say 5-6 with a few minutes to play, and he leaves him on the bench the rest of the game, and they ultimately lose, you know what happens?? People scream because "why the hell wasn't Markus in at the end"?? Other players, yes, you sit them if they aren't playing well...when it's your star?? Prolonged periods on the bench is just...foolish. It's also why i hate the "auto bench" with two fouls most coaches seem to adopt, and that's with any player in that case.

This is a fair point and why I don't necessarily think keeping him on the bench prolonged is the best option.  But when he comes back in, is 1 for 9, and then on 5 almost straight possessions doesn't even try to pass it and misses all 3 shots and turns it over trying to drive through traffic, I'm just saying couldn't he at least try to keep his teammates involved who at that point were carrying the team?  I wouldn't have even minded him shooting if it came more within the offense.  Maybe I'm in the minority here but Bailey couldn't miss and yet he didn't touch the ball on those 5 trips.

I will also say I thought there were a lot of positive growth moments today as a team.  They seem like they are improving and if they can put it all together for 40 minutes will be a tough team.  Could see them finishing anywhere from 3rd to 7th in the tough BE because still feel like there are a lot of "ifs" to be answered.

[TheyWereCones]

MU has no other offensive option other than Markus.  I'm not a fan of hero ball but there is no other option.  This is simply who they are...Markus can go off on anyone but good teams can shut him down so....

Bailey and Sacar scored a lot in the second half didn't they?  Couldn't either have been an option or at least gotten a touch before it got back to Markus?

[#UnleashSean]

I'm one of the first to call out Markus when he takes a ton of forced shots and loses mu the game.

That didn't happen today. Most of his shots were good looks. He passed up so many threes off picks it was clear he wasn't feeling it today.

[TheyWereCones]

I'm one of the first to call out Markus when he takes a ton of forced shots and loses mu the game.

That didn't happen today. Most of his shots were good looks. He passed up so many threes off picks it was clear he wasn't feeling it today.

Fair enough.  I missed the first half and from what it sounds like he wasn't playing selfish then so that's great to hear.  I'm probably just jaded then by the stretch in the second half.  Kudos to him for an overall ridiculously outstanding 3 days.  We ran into a very good team today and the second half at least wasn't too bad.

[D'Lo Brown]

It would have taken a great game from nearly everyone to beat Maryland. They were really on it today. I'm okay with Markus' performance, in the flow of the game I don't think he made a crazy amount of bad decisions.

I think they are legitimately a top 10 team in the country and safely an OK loss.

[Jockey]

MU has no other offensive option other than Markus.  I'm not a fan of hero ball but there is no other option.  This is simply who they are...Markus can go off on anyone but good teams can shut him down so....

Yup.

We have no #2 guy.

Some games, Sacar might step up, or Bailey, or McEwen. But there is not even close to a consistent #2 on this team. That's what makes MH's scoring even more impressive. The only game plan on 'D' for every team is to stop Markus.

[79Warrior]

Yup.

We have no #2 guy.

Some games, Sacar might step up, or Bailey, or McEwen. But there is not even close to a consistent #2 on this team. That's what makes MH's scoring even more impressive. The only game plan on 'D' for every team is to stop Markus.

Bigs have to contribute. Theo and Ed combined for zero points. That is just awful.