I'm starting to think the 'gauntlet' is a good thing

[Wade for President]

We all know how much James has meant to this team and to this program.  His heart, hustle and leadership will be greatly missed the rest of the season.

Given his absence, I'm starting to think that I'm glad that our Big East schedule is laid out the way it is.  With UCONN, L'Ville, Pitt, and 'Cuse, our team has been forced to regroup, and forced to regroup quickly.

In both of our games against UCONN & L'ville, we had opportunities late in the game, to get wins.  I have been pleasantly surprised by our teams performance thus far.  Mo has been playing relatively error-free (would like to see him be more consistent on the 3 balls) and I think Cube gave us great minutes @ Freedom Hall.

With the NCAA tourney looming, we probably won't see a quality opponent until the Sweet 16/Elite 8, with the caliber of a UCONN, L'Ville, Pitt. 

With that being said, I feel our play in the last 2 weeks of conference play will give us great confidence heading into the dance.....versus a schedule that found us finishing with DePaul, Rutgers, USF (biting my tongue).

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

This is true. Mo has impressed by doing what he needed to do. He's not flashy, but as long as he doesn't turn the ball over and occasionally can get an open look on the perimeter, he can really do about 80-85% of what James does. That may be enough.


In each of the two James-less games, has Mo turned the ball over yet? I am having trouble recalling a moment where Mo was stripped or threw an errant pass.

[dwaderoy2004]

mo has been great so far.  the only thing i wish he would cool out on is the behind the back dribble in traffic.  so far, so good, but that is a turnover waiting to happen.

[g0lden3agle]

The Gauntlet is definitely a two-edged sword.  On one hand, its keeping our guys sharp for the tournaments. But at the same time our seeding is taking a hit.  As long as we maintain a 4-5 seed for the big dance, I agree that these games are making a group of guys come together as soon as possible. As long as we pull out a win against Syracuse there is a good chance we will go into the tourney with a good seed to make some waves.

[DJO's Pump Fake]

In each of the two James-less games, has Mo turned the ball over yet? I am having trouble recalling a moment where Mo was stripped or threw an errant pass.

0 Turnovers against UCONN
2 Turnovers against L'Ville

[lab_warrior]

I would love for Mo to keep up the "very few to no turnovers" trend.  That is one DJ-esque thing he can control.  As for this "gauntlet", I would like to see us bring it at Pitt like we did at LVille, hopefully that clunker game from McNeal was just a one-game thing.

[CTWarrior]

In each of the two James-less games, has Mo turned the ball over yet? I am having trouble recalling a moment where Mo was stripped or threw an errant pass.

I'm way less sold on Mo than you guys.  There's more to being a point guard than not turning the ball over.  Acker can't guard anybody and does not initiate ANY offense.  I know we have multiple guys who can score, but it helps to have a point guard who can get them the ball in a position where they can do something with it, or that our opponent at least thinks it might be a good idea to pay attention to.  Just because he can dribble around 35 feet from the basket and pass it to someone else 30 feet from the basket without getting the ball stolen doesn't impress me all that much.

Not to mention the extra defensive weight McNeal has to carry, now that he has to guard our opponent's best guard.

[MuMark]

I would say it is very likely we will see a quality opponent in round 2.

We will likely end up anywhere from a 4-6 seed.

That means probably a 3,4, or 5 in round 2.

Round 2 will be a tough game.

[chapman]

I'm way less sold on Mo than you guys.  There's more to being a point guard than not turning the ball over.  Acker can't guard anybody and does not initiate ANY offense.  I know we have multiple guys who can score, but it helps to have a point guard who can get them the ball in a position where they can do something with it, or that our opponent at least thinks it might be a good idea to pay attention to.  Just because he can dribble around 35 feet from the basket and pass it to someone else 30 feet from the basket without getting the ball stolen doesn't impress me all that much.

Not to mention the extra defensive weight McNeal has to carry, now that he has to guard our opponent's best guard.

I agree completely.  How has be been "impressive" and "great" exactly?  What would he have to do aside from handing the ball to the other team for breakaway dunks several times a game to not be "impressive" and "great"?  It's great he didn't get smothered by Louisville's press, otherwise he did nothing.  I agree completely that he does not initiate anything on offense.  We already have Dwight Burke for that.  And Cubillan's usual do nothing cameo.

[RawdogDX]

The Gauntlet is definitely a two-edged sword.  On one hand, its keeping our guys sharp for the tournaments. But at the same time our seeding is taking a hit.  As long as we maintain a 4-5 seed for the big dance, I agree that these games are making a group of guys come together as soon as possible. As long as we pull out a win against Syracuse there is a good chance we will go into the tourney with a good seed to make some waves.

I like the gauntlet for our team now. I'm not upset about slipping to the 5 seed either to get a softer earlier game.

MuMark, I completely agree.

I was pretty impressed with ackers ability to hold on to the ball.  But I don't think that one thing makes up for the rest of his game.  3 asts. 20% shooting.  3 pts.  3 rb's.  Those are my stats if i played 33 minutes except that I'd have a bunch of TOs.  That would be if i could play that much basketball without being taken out on a stretcher.

[willie warrior]

This is all bull! The seedinf in tyhe dance is based on your last 10 games. We are sliding down a huge slope. We must win these games or at least some of them, or we get a worse seed, and that does not help.

Acker is likely a great kid, but he is 5'5" and about 150 pounds. He is not a BE point guard. Now is the time to play your best 5 and play them to the hilt. One game at a time. Put the God, McNEal at point and let the chips fall.

There is no way you are going to get anywhere with a 5'6" point. Has anybody seen a team make it far in the dance with someone that small at the point? Oh yeah NC state with Monte Towe---35 years ago with 30 pounds on Acker and David thompson and a 7'4" center

[NotAnAlum]

Not to dispute you basic point but Drew Lavender is Ackers height and has won a couple NCAA including making to the Sweet 16 with the X.

[Daniel]

Acker is our point now.  If he can improve his shot, we can smile.  He has had a great shot int he past.  If he fixes that up in a hurry, handles the ball well, and doen;t turn it over, then we're getting as much as we can.  His assists will go up - give the kid a break - he's played more the lat two games than all year basically.  And I believe they list him at 5"8", which means he's probably 5'7"/

He IS our point.

[willie warrior]

What are you saying? Acker is as good as Drew Lavender? Or that we should get further because Mu has more weapons arounf Acker?


Acker is limited and is not a starting Point in Big Time college basketball.

[MUBasketball]

I would say it is very likely we will see a quality opponent in round 2.

We will likely end up anywhere from a 4-6 seed.

That means probably a 3,4, or 5 in round 2.

Round 2 will be a tough game.

Obviously there is a lot of ball to be played yet, I dont think there's much of a chance we get a 4. I think 5 at best, and I'm anticipating a 6 like last year. Combine the DJ injury with a tough last stretch, that's how I see it.

BUT, a lot of other teams near us are dropping games too.

[Wade for President]

I would say it is very likely we will see a quality opponent in round 2.

This may be true...however, our 2nd round opponent will not nearly be as tough as UCONN, L'Ville, and Pitt.  That, my friend, you can take to the bank.

[79Warrior]

I'm way less sold on Mo than you guys.  There's more to being a point guard than not turning the ball over.  Acker can't guard anybody and does not initiate ANY offense.  I know we have multiple guys who can score, but it helps to have a point guard who can get them the ball in a position where they can do something with it, or that our opponent at least thinks it might be a good idea to pay attention to.  Just because he can dribble around 35 feet from the basket and pass it to someone else 30 feet from the basket without getting the ball stolen doesn't impress me all that much.

Not to mention the extra defensive weight McNeal has to carry, now that he has to guard our opponent's best guard.

Agreed. DJ created so much offense with his assists. how many assists has Mo dished out in the two games???

[NotAnAlum]

Willie you said
"Has anybody seen a team make it far in the dance with someone that small at the point?"
You asked.  The answer is yes, last year Xavier did it with Lavender.
I'm not saying Acker is as good as Lavender, he isn't.  But having a small point guard doesn't necessarily doom you in the tourne.
Frankly, inflate Acker to DJ's height and it doesn't change things much.  DJ is better because he is better. Not because he happens to be 4 inches taller.

[rocky_warrior]

I'm way less sold on Mo than you guys.  There's more to being a point guard than not turning the ball over. 

CT - I *know* you were a fan during the days of MJax bringing the ball up the court.

Acker is 100x the PG of MJax.  Not turning the ball over is a *huge* part of the PG's role.  That was a terrible ending to the season.  We still have a lot to look forward to this year.

[CTWarrior]

CT - I *know* you were a fan during the days of MJax bringing the ball up the court.

Acker is 100x the PG of MJax.  Not turning the ball over is a *huge* part of the PG's role.  That was a terrible ending to the season.  We still have a lot to look forward to this year.

I certainly was a fan of MU at that point. 

You got me with that brilliant analysis.  Acker is a better PG than a 6-8 afterthought guy who was brought in to provide depth at PF who subsequently was forced to bring the ball up for a team that got killed by middling CUSA and MAC teams.

Not turning the ball over is the absolute minimum requirement for a point guard!  Like having a driver's license for a NASCAR driver.  It is a given.  A point guard's job is to run the offense, pressure the defense, get the ball to his teammates in favorable positions to score, defend his opposite, score a little himself when the situation calls for it or the defense isn't honest, and not turn the ball over too much.  Acker has only shown the ability to do the last of these things at a high D-1 level.  He is not hurting the team too much, but he is not helping it at all, either, and your point guard HAS to be a positive.

I will say this.  It is certainly a strong possibility that he will get better with extended playing time.  But he's not helping a whole lot right now, and there isn't a lot of time.