Starters

[ChicosBailBonds]

No way they keep Bucyks as a starter at Point. I don't get Buzz's love affair with Bucyks.
Reggie Smith was impressive and Crowder is a stud!
Starters should be:
PG Cadougan/Smith split the minutes at point
2G DJO
C Otule with some good minutes from Gardner
F Butler
F Crowder
Blue, Bucyks, Fulce (relieving at both Forwards) off the bench.

Agree.  It really puzzled me, however, how little JC played

[reinko]

Anyone on this board who HONESTLY believes that these 40 minutes will determine starters for the year is an idiot. Plain and simple.

[ChicosBailBonds]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/106832163.html

[jsglow]

Buzz will experiment with multiple lineups over the next 45 days.  Reggie, Vander, Jae, and JC will get a chance.

[avid1010]

Butler was 2 for 7 and was 5 of 10 from the line. Jamail Jones was 2 for 3 and was 3 of 4 from the line in less than half the time.Should Jamail start over Jimmy?

It was one game, I doubt Buzz will base his opinions on the play of a player in a meaningless game. Now if these trends continue, then yes, you have a point. Until then, I think I will trust the one who sees them play every day.

Maybe because JB put up great numbers last year at the same position he'll be playing this year, yet we saw DB turn the ball over often and he wasn't even playing the PG position.  I don't think anyone is going off of this game.  In fact, I didn't realize that DB only had 1 turnover in the game, which is far better than I thought.  If he's fixed that problem, we're in much better shape, but like you said, it's only one game against poor competition.  What scares me is how he played last year.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Anyone on this board who HONESTLY believes that these 40 minutes will determine starters for the year is an idiot. Plain and simple.

You're wrong. I can already tell Buycks sucks and Buzz is crazy!!!!!

/shakes fist in the air

[mug644]

Buzz will experiment with multiple lineups over the next 45 days.  Reggie, Vander, Jae, and JC will get a chance.

I agree that he will experiment with multiple lineups. What he might hold onto, though, is a starting lineup that includes the veterans. I agree with the idea that Buzz will hold with the veterans--as starters--until the new guys truly earn it in practice. I do anticipate that the thing that might vary widely over the non-conference season is the minutes per game, as he rewards guys who are working hard in practice.

[dwaderoy2004]

Buzz will stick with the upperclassmen for a while.  I think in order to be successful this season, these players have to give us the most mpg at their position come conference time, implying that they are playing up to expectations:

Cadougan
Blue
DJO
JFB
Otule

I think Crowder and Buycks are best suited to come off the bench for instant offense and their ability to play multiple positions.  I also think people need to not worry too much about starting lineups.  With as deep as this team is, there will probably be a lot of different lineups played throughout games depending on matchups.  AS Buzz said, it's who finishes, not who starts that truly matters.   Here's hoping Frozena finishes most games we play this year...

[NotAnAlum]

After watching the game I think we will eventually break into 3 groups of of "rotations".
The PGs - Despite Buycks starting there this game (and maybe a couple more) JC and REggie will split nearly all the minutes as the season wears on.  And is much as I remain a JC fan its going to be tough to not give the primary postition to Reggie if he keeps playing like that!  My only concern is that he probably is not as "careful" with the ball as JC.
The 2/3 Guards - Our offense is really suited to 3 guards and given the fact that once the competitive season starts I'd like to have DJO out there as much as possible (30+ minutes) the other guys Buycks, Blue, Jones and some Jimmy B playing the 3 will split up 50 minutes.
The Forwards - Its Jimmy B and either Jae or Otule starting depending on if you are trying match a team with a 5 who plays outside or inside.  Since Otule can't play a ton of minutes no matter what, Jae will end up with more minutes and he should.  Joe F will be an energy guy just like last year. 
We finally have a team with the flexibility to play with a number of different "looks" and match up to put the other team at a disadvantage or just go with what is working that night.  We haven't had this in so long but in most cases this is what makes the good teams good.  It should be fun.

[brewcity77]

I expect the following to start on Friday:

PG Buycks
SG DJO
SF Butler
PF Fulce
C Otule

The only question mark is Crowder and Fulce. Fulce is a senior and has Buzz's trust, but Crowder seems more ready-to-go. Will be interesting to see how that plays out. I expect the following to start the bulk of the non-conference:

PG Buycks
SG DJO
SF Butler
PF Crowder
C Otule

I think Crowder will definitely work his way into the starting lineup consistently, probably by no later than the Wisconsin game. I also expect by the end of non-con to see Buycks minutes dropping. And by the start of Big East play, and for the rest of the year, I expect these guys:

PG Smith
SG DJO
SF Butler
PF Crowder
C Otule

Smith is a game-changer. He'll probably split minutes with Cadougan, but out of the gates he's the one you want on the floor. Buycks will end up off the bench at both guard positions, as will Blue. Fulce will be the first backup for all three frontcourt positions. Gardner will probably get some time in the non-con, but I doubt he'll see much time once the Big East schedule starts. Jamail Jones will hopefully work his way into the lineup along with Vander Blue, but I think both guys will have to earn their time, and don't expect them to chalk up big minutes this season. That being said, I think both will eventually develop into big stars for us.

[bma725]

I won't deny that Smith had a good game yesterday, I'm just not sure that what he did projects to him being the starter at PG.  Most of his damage came with Buycks in the game with him, and Buycks was running the point.  We didn't really get to see Smith being the primary ball handler, or Smith initiating the offense like you would like to see in order to make that sort of decision.

I will say, one thing that stood out to me was that you could tell who really is a point guard based on how they ran the fast break.  There were a few fast breaks where either Smith, Cadougan or Buycks were the ones with the ball and a teammate was filling the lanes along side them.  Buycks looked to score on his own. Smith looked to pass but not at the correct time and not in a position where the teammate could do something with it.  Cadougan looked to pass, knew the correct time and correct angle for the pass to give his teammate the best chance to score, and executed it perfectly.  That's the hallmark of someone who is a true PG versus others who are just playing the position, and it's not really something you can teach guys who don't already have it.  That's why I'd say Cadougan will eventually be the one receiving the bulk of minutes at the PG.

[willie warrior]

Aree with bma entirely. This dorky experiment with Bucyks at PG can only blow up in Buzz's face. Cadougan and Smith should be getting the minutes now during the non conference bunnies so they will be ready at crunch time. Bucyks can back up at the 2 and 3

[reinko]

I love how 48 hours ago, according to the general consensus on the board JC was an automatic for starting PG, but yesterday, a practice game against St. John's of Minnesota, CHANGED everything.

[77ncaachamps]

Anyone on this board who HONESTLY believes that these 40 minutes will determine starters for the year is an idiot. Plain and simple.

this

Based on ONE GAME'S play, I do not think Buycks will be the best facilitator for MU.

BUT he is the most experienced with the offensive system.

That said, Reggie was lights out. Vander was able to find some people but still looked awkward distributing the ball.

I won't be surprised to see Reggie start the next game and Vander the game after.

We all knew the ? was going to be the PG (despite the Cadougan hype this offseason) and the C positions.

Let's sit back and enjoy the rest of the exhibition games...

[Daniel]

Junior needs to pick up his defense, but he will, and he will be the starter.  He is too skilled at running the team to be a sub.  Junior will start.

[Aughnanure]

Anyone want to guess how many games we'll start 5 Jucos?

Buycks
DJO
Butler
Crowder
Fulce

[Hards Alumni]

Agree with Reinko totally.  You guys are truly nuts.

Should be interesting to see the JUCO allstars vs. BEAST talent, haha

[brewcity77]

Agree with Reinko totally.  You guys are truly nuts.

Should be interesting to see the JUCO allstars vs. BEAST talent, haha

I recall plenty of people talking about how good Reggie Smith looked at the Pro Am as well. How his speed could dictate the pace of a game. Maybe for some the idea of him earning starting minutes is lunacy, but having seen him live a few times now, I think he's got the best chance of any of our freshmen of making a significant first season impact.

That could be completely wrong, he may not even average 5 minutes a game, but I don't think it's nuts to judge a guy based on getting a chance to see everyone on the team 3-4 times over the past 4 months. It's not close to how much Buzz sees them, but it's enough to formulate an opinion and not be nuts.

[bilsu]

I was not at the game, but it makes sense to me to start Buyckes until one of the others clearly earn it. I think you are just asking for trouble, if you start out starting a young player and than take away the job, because he was not ready. It is much safer to take the job away from Buyckes than it would be to take it away from Smith, which could result in an unhappy player and a  transfer.

[Slim]

"There were a few fast breaks where either Smith, Cadougan or Buycks were the ones with the ball ..."

And one with Gardner!

[avid1010]

Agree with Reinko totally.  You guys are truly nuts.

Should be interesting to see the JUCO allstars vs. BEAST talent, haha

Agreed, but if DB starts at point all year I think it means we don't really have one.  I always enjoyed watching Diener play because he ALWAYS made the correct pass (or non-pass) on a fast break.  He came to MU being able to do that.  JC is the same way, and I hope Buzz is trying to motivate rather than DB really being our best option at the PG spot.

[bamamarquettefan]

Agree that one game against a DIII opponent is not enough to settle the PG situation, though I certainly feel much better about all the options after watching that one game.

However, the one game is enough to convince me that Crowder has to be on the court.  He really does look so much like Lazar out there, and that is good for DJO and Butler, who are used to playing.

Reggie, Jamail, Vander and Junior are all basically freshman who look like they are going to be great.  Jae is a junior who is the returning JUCO player of the year, and I believe we need him out there now.

[bma725]

"There were a few fast breaks where either Smith, Cadougan or Buycks were the ones with the ball ..."

And one with Gardner!

I wouldn't call that one a fast break, more of a medium speed break.

[nathanziarek]

I wouldn't call that one a fast break, more of a medium speed break.

…and high dribbling, but I still don't understand why Devante's name isn't in discussion for starting point.

[brewcity77]

…and high dribbling, but I still don't understand why Devante's name isn't in discussion for starting point.

I'm really glad that happened in an exhibition game. Watching him come down the court, I felt from the first step that he was going to have it stripped. Thanks to the big lead and insignificance of the game, I really didn't care much and just took it as a bit of amusement at a freshman's expense. But if that happened in the last two minutes of a close game against 'Nova or Pitt, I'd have been fuming.