The so called big 3

[lovebaroney]

This isn't a one game reaction so save the "don't freak out comments".   These guys are highly over-rated, a gaurd oriented team that cannot shoot from 19'9".....frankly its not a difficult shot.  I'm ready for a change of gaurd so to speak.  We'll lose in the first or second round again because of this issue.

Here's to hoping Taylor and Williams can actually knock down a 3.

[ecompt]

you're presuming we make the tournament, which is far from a given. We lose at ND Saturday and we're 6-5. We have to finish .500 in the conference to get consideration for the Dance, and frankly, three more wins is certainly doable but not a certainty.

[muhoops1]

It is difficult to play inside/out when you don't have an inside and can't shoot from the outside.   Totally unfair to ask Lazar to go in against Padget and Character.  He's too small to play center.  That was ugly.

[mwbauer7]

you're presuming we make the tournament, which is far from a given. We lose at ND Saturday and we're 6-5. We have to finish .500 in the conference to get consideration for the Dance, and frankly, three more wins is certainly doable but not a certainty.

.500 in the conference isn't a given to get into the tournament either.

Especially if we bow out in the 1st round of the BE tournament again this year...

[79Warrior]

you're presuming we make the tournament, which is far from a given. We lose at ND Saturday and we're 6-5. We have to finish .500 in the conference to get consideration for the Dance, and frankly, three more wins is certainly doable but not a certainty.

I think ND gets revenge Saturday. i think we make the tourney, but we are not going to be Top 4 in BE.

[CTWarrior]

The Big 3 are all very good players.  They just are not complementary players.  Playing all three of them at the same time doesn't make sense.

[ecompt]

None of the three is great, comparative to what they're facing. We would have a GREAT Horizon League team. But the top five or six teams in this conference all have much better (and bigger) athletes. What's sad is that none of the three has progressed markedly since freshman year. DJ, in fact, has regressed.

[mviale]

dont freak out - James didnt event start.  we have seen what happens when one of the three cant make it. See Mcneal LY

[muhoosier260]

mcneal has made the most progress. remember when he would negate all his steals with turnovers? matthews was hurt for so much of his freshman year. james has not made any progress, as much as i hate to say that

[nyg]

Following their freshman year there was alot of hype and publicity.  Their play has not progressed and met the expectations since then.  McNeal and Matthews are excellent college players, who will have a great four year run at MU, get their degree and hopefully be part of many future MU alumni events. There is no way either will playing in the NBA. James at one time had the most potential, but for some unknown reason has really gone downhill.  I cannot recall an MU player having a freshman season like he did, then having all aspects of his games erode over a two year timeframe, with each year getting worse. There has been numerous threads about James not being here next year, but again, where else would he go????  Drafted-not at this point, I don't think an NBA team would even waste a second round pick. He would end up in the 144 player NBADL, if he can even get there.  So, I hope he returns next year and all three finish up their college playing days together, just as they arrived.   

[NavinRJohnson]

Not sure what games you guys have been watching relative to James...besides the fact that his outside shot is a mess right now, how has he regressed? He is without a doubt our best defensive player at the moment, best passer, best ball handler, best at getting to the basket and finishing, he rebounds from the guard position, and goes out there and tries to play when he's hurt and/or sick (given the way he was shuffled in and out for short stints last night, he was clearly sick - not relegated to the bench as some have suggested). Could he fire up a few less 3-pt shots? Absolutely, but let's not forget that prior to getting hurt against SHU, he was shooting much better this year.

Is he playing hurt, or playing sick? Absolutely. Has he regressed? Nope.

[nyg]

If he has not regressed, then does James return next year?

[ecompt]

Dom will put his name in for the draft, not get picked, and wind up in Europe.

[nyg]

And that would be a shame.

[mosarsour]

And that would be a shame.

I don't know how much of a shame that would really be. He's proven that he's a hell of an athlete and sometimes an above average defender....but that's where it ends. He's a poor decision maker, takes bad shots, makes a lot of bad passes in traffic, can't shoot from the outside, and is a 60-65% free throw shooter. Not really what you want out of your floor general.

Don't get me wrong, he shows flashes of brilliance now and again, and he's currently the best we have. But it makes me see that he is no Travis Diener. He may be a better athlete and sometimes a better defender than Travis, but Travis was much smarter with the ball, a much higher basketball IQ, and definitely a much better jump shot.  Hell, Cordell Henry had a better jump shot than Dom. 

I guess you could say I've finally decided to jump off of the Dominic James bandwagon. He's just not as good as he thinks he is. Now, Lazar Hayward....That guy is going to be a force in the next 2 seasons. He's officially become my favorite current Warrior.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

James has the worst body language of any player I can remember at Marquette and I think it contributes to the harsh criticism I hear consistently at the Bradley Center.

Acker is nowhere near as talented, but it was almost refreshing to see somebody else leading the team without all the extra baggage weighing it down.

[NavinRJohnson]

Don't get me wrong, he shows flashes of brilliance now and again, and he's currently the best we have. But it makes me see that he is no Travis Diener. He may be a better athlete and sometimes a better defender than Travis, but Travis was much smarter with the ball, a much higher basketball IQ, and definitely a much better jump shot.  Hell, Cordell Henry had a better jump shot than Dom. 

What does one have to do with the other,? How does the fact that Dom is not Travis Deiner (who happens to be starting in the NBA) mean MU would be better off without him? Guess what, DJ isn't Dwyane Wade, or LeBron James, or Michale Jordan either, that certainly doesn't make MU better when he's not out there.

[mosarsour]

One has nothing to do with the other. I guess I just miss the days when we actually had a talented PG.

[bananahammock]

i see no problem if DJ gets his degree and leaves after this season to play in europe and make a couple hundred thousand dollars.  can't fault the kid!

[bilsu]

James was having a good year until he hurt his wrist. As far as the big three progressing, I think their games are well known. Everybody knows how to defend them. They are great in an open court running game. They are not half court guards. All you have to do is look at how Pitino called time out after MU got its first fast break basket. Pitino called timeout everytime MU took advantage of a Louisville mistake. Pitino had respect for MU's guards. He did not take a chance on them going on a roll. Keep in mind that we almost fouled out all three of Louisville's centers. To me the key call of the game was the charge on Hayward in the beginning of the second half. From my seat I was not in position to have a perfect look at it. However, it appeared that Hayward was fading away from Padget. Hayward made the basket and I thought he was going to the free throw line. Instead he got the foul and we lost the basket. I do not know if it was a bad call, but if it had gone the other way it would have made a hugh difference. Caracter fouled out and Padget finished with 4 fouls. I do not like to lose, but I beieve MU lost to the better team. The only game MU lost this year that they should not have was West Virginia. Otherwise Duke, Louisville and Connecticutt are superior teams. We are also better than Notre Dame and should be able to win there. I would rather of played Notre Dame before Louisville, because you never know how a loss psychologically effects a team. MU will either come out fired up or as slow as turtles on Saturday. The first 5 minutes will tell you who will win that game. As far as three point shooting goes, the problem is not with the big three. The problem lies with Fitz and Culliban. Last year between them they had 101 threes. It is not unreasonable to expect them to have more this year. Over the last several games they have repeatedly missed open threes. Without looking at their stats I be surprised if they are on a pace to have 80 threes between them. If they were hitting that would spread the floor and take the pressure off the big three.

[Henry Sugar]

James was having a good year until he hurt his wrist.

co-sign.  At the point he hurt his wrist, James was the MVP of the team.  He's been in a serious slump since then... and only since then.

Matthews is the only one of the three to keep contributing positively.

I want to know what happened to McNeal.