Sporting News has MU at #18

[Sir Lawrence]

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=477090

Posted: October 23, 2008
Mike DeCourcy
Sporting News

Sporting News is counting down its Top 40 teams leading into the beginning of the season.


Buzz Williams has stepped into the head coaching position at Marquette in the same way Dale Earnhardt Jr. climbed into a different team's racecar this season. There's no question about which way to go (for Earnhardt it's straight and left, for Williams it's starting those same three guards) but that does not mean the element of danger is mitigated.

Yes, Williams will be sending out Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews at the start of every game, and you can be sure undersized power forward Lazar Hayward will join them.

That does not mean, however, Williams has no decisions to make. It's not that simple.

He's got to figure out how to get by along the baseline. It was hard to be totally wild about center Ousmane Barro while he played at Marquette because it seemed he might have more inside him than he generally delivered. But now that he's gone, the Golden Eagles are wishing they had him, or someone just like him.

And things only grew more dire as school began and sophomore Trevor Mbakwe decided to leave school for "personal reasons." He was the guy Marquette really needed -- a top recruit with excellent strength and athleticism whose freshman year was spoiled by a preseason knee injury.

Without him, the Golden Eagles will have to hope freshman Chris Otule is a bit of a steal. He's big enough, but also fairly new to the inside positions after experiencing a significant growth spurt two summers ago. Otherwise, the Golden Eagles are again relying on Dwight Burke, who tries really hard but isn't quick or skilled enough to be a significant Big East player. And Patrick Hazel is only 6-7. The Golden Eagles need to fashion at least one serviceable big man from that trio, either by one blossoming or by all of them contributing in small doses. Somebody will also need to relieve Hayward of some minutes so he can get an occasional rest, but the idea of him getting plenty of minutes on the wing now seems beyond reach.

The other major issue is whether James can blossom in his final season into a true distributor of the ball rather than a dynamic offensive force who occasionally gives up the ball. His production and efficiency have declined since his freshman year. The public mostly ignored that last season because the team performed so well, but it was noticed inside the program. The Golden Eagles must have better from him.

He delivered a 10-assist game against Stanford in the NCAA Tournament and a 12-assist game against Pittsburgh in a regular-season win. It's hard to get double-digit assists by accident. A player has to have the creativity to do it. James is so quick that he can get the ball where he wants. Marquette was 9-2 when he was credited with six or more assists.

The Golden Eagles know what they'll get from McNeal and Matthews. It's been pretty much the same package for three years now. They're both effective defenders, athletic drivers and spotty long-range shooters. For a team that relies so much on its wings, Marquette isn't able to count on a lot of threes from them, and that's unlikely to change with the three-point line moving back a foot. Hayward easily is the best long-range shooter on the team. It's likely his percentage would drop with more attempts, but there's obvious logic in giving more deep shots to somebody hitting 45 percent than three guys who can't crack 32.

Williams knows he is bound to what the three senior guards give to him this year, and he recognizes better than anybody that the depth is not what it could be. So even if he wanted to make significant changes, it's not like there's anywhere to turn. The big-man positions were a season-long concern last season and, on paper, have only weakened with Barro and Dan Fitzgerald finishing their careers.

If Marquette periodically could play two true bigs at once and give Hayward some minutes at small forward, that at least would provide some flexibility. But with anyone other than Burke, who is the most limited in terms of skill, that would involve putting two inexperienced players on the floor with three guys who know exactly what they're doing, for better or worse, after playing more than 100 college games together. That's a testy chemistry experiment.

So yeah, Williams' new job is trickier than it looks.

[MUONTOP]

Wow, very impressive...thats the best analysis I've seen this preseason.  All the other one's haven't gone beyond the "cupboard is full" or "three talented seniors" analysis.

I don't know if I'm the only one that has this opinion but I think its too often the case that these three are lumped together.  Wes is a terrific player but I think he's a little overrated because of his association with Dom and Jerel. IMO I think its worth a try to have Hayward starting at the three for at least a couple games and Wes potentially coming off the bench.  It was too often the case last season that Hayward got in foul trouble because he was overmatched on defense defending the 4.  I know this would mean that a combination of Burke, Otule or Hazel would have to start at 4 or 5 but I would rather have those matchups vs other team's 4s and 5s than have Hayward over matched.

[NCMUFan]

It was on one of the boards that Joseph Fulce was the #1 or #2 leading rebounder in NJCAA last year.  Fulce and Hazel may be able to handle the 4.  Freshman year with Wes hurt, Chapman took over starting at the 3 and then held it throughout the year.  Wes adds a lot.  He knows how to get to the line and hit free throws.  And while Jerel got 30 points against Stanford, I really credit Wes's hustle with sparking the team to play Stanford to an overtime loss.

[romey]

I agree that this is the first time I've seen  an analysis that goes beyond the three amigos.  No mention was made of Cubs or Acker.  He touched on our three point shooting, but I suppose because Cubs had an off year last year, his name didn't come up.  I hope that the shoulder surgery(ies) were a success and that he can contribute beyond the arc.  Any recent updates on his shoulder(s) anyone?

[77ncaachamps]

I think Tom Crean is the Ghost Writer for that article.