Gosh, I didn't know that was going on .. I would have tried to sneak in.
http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=2&date=11/3/2006&id=13780FRIDAY, Nov. 3, 2006, 1:22 a.m.
By Todd Rosiak
MU scrimmage news, notesThe Marquette Golden Eagles held a scrimmage on Thursday night at the Al McGuire Center open only to MU students and staff, and aside from them unveiling their game uniforms not much else transpired that could be termed positive.
In the first 20-minute game, the Gray team consisting of Dominic James, Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal, Dan Fitzgerald, Ousmane Barro and Lazar Hayward -- six of the top seven players on the Golden Eagles' roster at this moment -- pummeled the Blue team, 61-27.
Blue, which was made up of Maurice Acker, David Cubillan, Dwight Burke, Lawrence Blackledge, Mike Kinsella and Jamil Lott, allowed Gray to hit an astonishing 20 of 26 shots overall (76.9%) en route to the blowout victory.
Gray also converted 18 Blue turnovers into 29 points, posted a 24-10 scoring advantage in the paint and shut out Blue on the fast break, 15-0.
McNeal led the way with 20 points, three rebounds and three steals while James added 16 points and five assists without a turnover.
Coach Tom Crean mixed up the teams at intermission, and in the second 20-minute game Blue prevailed over Gray, 41-38.
"The worst thing that can happen in a scrimmage like this when one team is not competing, really, at any kind of level is the team that is will think it'll be that easy in a game," Crean said. "That's where teams make mistakes. And that's why you have to be so careful this time of year with exhibitions and scrimmages and things of that nature, and not have any type of fool's gold mentality of where your team is."
Hayward scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds in the second game to lead Blue, and James had 12 points and three assists. Also on Blue were Blackledge, Matthews, Barro and Lott.
McNeal scored 15 points to pace Gray, hitting 3 of 4 three-pointers along the way and grabbing four rebounds. Fitzgerald added 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Crean was more pleased with the competition in the second game, but added many players' roles remain far from defined just two days prior to MU taking the floor for an exhibition game against Cardinal Stritch.
"We're not there yet," he said. "We're still a product of being very inexperienced. I don't think we're in a situation where we're caught up in any process of high expectations or high rankings or things like that. If anything, I'm not sure we believe how good we can be. That's kind of where our team sits."
-- Crean said he and his staff have made no decisions yet on whether to redshirt anybody this season. The Golden Eagles have 11 scholarship players available.
Sophomore guard Maurice Acker is on scholarship, but is redshirting himself after transferring from Ball State.
"Right now I don't have anybody that I would say is a clear-cut case for that because I don't think we have enough guys that have established they are going to play quality minutes on this team," he said. "So when you don't have that, you've got to ride it out a little bit.
"Not to say that it won't happen. We haven't even had a staff meeting yet to discuss that. But I'm sure we will next week."
-- Crean was in Miami on Tuesday to watch former MU star Dwyane Wade receive his NBA championship ring along with his Miami Heat teammates.
"It was an awesome experience to be able to share in that and it's something I've wanted to do for some time because of how special he is," said Crean. "I was able to hand him his first ring, and to be able to watch David Stern hand him his ring this time was a real proud moment."
-- Crean also was able to catch Steve Novak's first NBA game on TV on Wednesday. Novak scored three points in nine minutes in a Houston Rockets loss.
"I left a message for him yesterday like I've done every time when a guy plays his first game," he said. "I watched him hit his first shot but I also watched him be out of position defensively. That's more what the focus would be than anything else. The friendship forms as you go through this but I don't think you ever stop making points and reminders about what makes guys really good."
