What a disaster

[ozmetal71]

Any of you who maintain that James is a great player should be forced to watch an endless loop of this game.

He pretty much cost us the game with his continued idiotic shooting.

Also, nice job of the team to not make FTs.

We have to win these games. Now we have the hard part of our schedule coming, and we blew a winnable game.  Just a disgusting mental lapse by a veteran team.

[TVDirector]

bs.
road loss against UCONN, fine.
against freaking USF?
please.

[MUWarrior11]

Terrible loss? Absolutely.
End of the world? Nope.

Lets keep things in perspective.  Its been a hell of a ride so far this year, and the ride still isn't over.
Now we find out what they are made of.

Lets beat 'Nova

[willie warrior]

Never ever ever let James shoot another shot from more than 5 feet.

[MarquetteDano]

I can't agree hanging this loss on James.  We shot less than 50% from the free throw line, as a team.  We shot bad from 3 as a team.  James is a great player, and will end up 2-3 all time in scoring for us.

I just don't understand the James hate people have.  He isn't a great shooter but he is such a key ingredient to this team.  People will appreciate him more next year when he is gone and we have a freshman and acker running the team.

[ChicosBailBonds]

bs.
road loss against UCONN, fine.
against freaking USF?
please.

Hey, I got a prediction right for once.   


Oh well, GOLDEN opportunity pissed away but I think you could see this one a mile away. 

We also said that free throw shooting was going to cost us at least one game.....exhibit A.   

[Badgerhater920]

10 3's taken by a bad shooter - not to mention a senior - is simply unacceptable. Give me a break. I hate my life.

[SCdem@MU]

DJ is shooting himself out of playing in Europe at this point -- he is an awful shooter.

Buzz needs to learn he is not DJ's friend, he is his freaking coach. There is no rational reason for why DJ should have a green light to take a three whenever he wants.

If James doesn't listen, put Cube in. I would have rather lost with Cube playing the entire second half so that James can learn a lesson than lose the way we did tonight.

[mwbauer7]

We also said that free throw shooting was going to cost us at least one game.....exhibit A.   

Sooner or later FT shooting costs every team a game. We've been pretty good throughout the BE season, it just hurts that this one came against USF...

[wheresthecake?]

It wasn't all James' fault.  Acker's shooting has completely gone out the window as well, missed 3 wide open ones.  Was the last three he made the prayer at the end of the first half against Cincy?

[ChuckyChip]

Worse than DJ throwing up bricks is Acker chucking up three balls - and where was Lazar tonight?

[robmufan]

Why isn't anyone harping on Mo for taking some quick 3's he took at least one that I know of.  And why doesn't he drive on that last shot of his...get fouled, kick out, waste more time.

Everyone, step back, this isn't going to end the MU season.  Im going to bet my house we still make the tourny, and it matters how you play there!

[nyg]

Remember the poll a few weeks ago about how many MU players will be on an NBA roster.  Who picked DJ?  If any scouts saw that shooting....  Its over

Shame, cause he plays real hard and with passion.  But why did he continue to shoot??

And Acker coming off bench and taking two crucial 3's real quick.  

And...  And....

[San Diego Warrior]

The hate people have for James is not that he is a bad player.  It's that he's a good player that makes a lot of bad decisions at time on the court.
James should never be taking 9 three-pointers in a game.  Several of those were pulled up from 5 ft behind the line, with lots of time on the clock left - these were just bad decisions.  

The entire loss cannot be put on him, but he sure as hell did contribute to it.  And our free-throw shooting was beyond bad.  McNeal 6-12, James 0-2, Hayward 1-3.  If I were James, I wouldn't leave the gym until I hit 100 freethrows everyday.  Shooting under 50% from the FT line on the season is embarrassing as a point guard.

[TVDirector]

unfortunately...
a senior.
pg.
leader.

he should recognize when he's off.
get someone the ball.
period.

MU was pitiful tonight.
just flat out pitiful.

[chapman]

NONE of the big four played a good game (and had we won, I would have argued incessantly for Jimmy Butler to be Stud of the Game).  Our guards were dominated by a 7-14 team.  Best evidence is the fact that Jimmy Butler outscored all of USFs 4-5s.  However, Jimmy Butler also outscored Hayward.  Matthews was fairly non-existent.  If he would have made his free throws, McNeal could have scored 30.  And we've covered James' performance already.

[Boone]

Anyone who thinks Acker's our starting PG next year should be administered an immediate drug test.

[farmdaddy]

Hey, I got a prediction right for once.   


Oh well, GOLDEN opportunity pissed away but I think you could see this one a mile away. 

We also said that free throw shooting was going to cost us at least one game.....exhibit A.   

+1

[SCdem@MU]

Anyone who thinks Acker's our starting PG next year should be administered an immediate drug test.

agreed. I really wish we had Taylor, there is no way Buzz lets James jack all those threes if we had someone else he could go to.

[nyg]

The Acker wide open 3 miss lead to Jones' layup with 21 seconds left.  Huge miss.    

[Schoolyard]

James is a terrible shooter, but it did not cost us the game.  

Awful free throw shooting overall and McNeal missing the second free throw just before he fouled out is a mistake that a veteran and leader should not make.

I never wanted to post this before for fear of getting completely ridiculed, while everyone was on the Acker bandwagon, but Acker has not nor will be a threat on offense.  He does not square up to the basket, shot fake, or penetrates to draw the defense.  If I were scouting MU, I wouldn't waste much time on him.

Yes, the last three he made was a prayer at the half against (WVA??) and we kick it to him with less than a minute left tonight?  I do not think this is what Buzz drew up.  Nevertheless, someone else needs to step up.  

That said, the loss blows, but I would rather it be now than in the BE tourney or NCAA.  Lets get it out of our system and move on.

[Boone]

Acker's only wide open b/c opponents know he's not worth guarding (25% overall and 22% on 3s). He hasn't hit a 3 since his prayer vs. Cincy.

[Niv Berkowitz]

Acker was wide open on that shot. It wasn't bad. The thing is, if you gamble on that shot and miss, you give up a big rebound and a fast break a lot of times. Hence what happened.

Still. Haward had a ONE FOOT putback to win and missed.

You can't hang this on James. It was a total team loss.

[Niv Berkowitz]

...and that three by Acker was off of a time out. Bitch at Buzz for drawing that one up, then.

[g0ldmember42]

Ok, let's break it down. Shooting stunk. Free throws stunk. Defense stunk. Rebounds? Not a part of our game to begin with. First off, For a group of 3 seniors who have played together for four years, this is unacceptable. No one stepped up today. No one. Jerel is gonna get his points. Without a big man, Matthews and James are our major contributors and Lazar has been out of the loop for the past two games. yes we needed to get this game out of our system, but we also don't get much love from the press. This game could cost us big in the rankings if the team doesn't learn from this and take care of Nova. Heat check....done. No more messing around. 


Also, has anyone else wondered why we didn't throw Hazel in there at some point??? I agree our big men are not our main source of points, but from the defensive perspective we need these guys in there to get some game time experience for when we play UCONN and Louisville. We can't go small against these teams.

GO MU.