2cents

[ChicosBailBonds]

My first game back at the BC in 11 years...building seems the same...actually smaller compared to other arenas I'm used to now

Great to see some former colleagues....sat 5 rows behind the St. John's bench and directly behind the jump around guy, RA Smith.

Dodds was probably 35 feet away.


The team looked athletic and fairly deep.  I love Crowder, he can play.  Smith looks really good as well.  Vander seemed hesitant to me but it will come.  O'Tule is much better.  DJO is great and Jimmy will quietly do his thing and do it well.

I was very surprised at how little JC played.  I don't recall him getting into the game until 6min left in first half.  He played some in second, hit a 3 pointer but I just don't recall him playing much.

Jones didn't seem to play much either, but a nice player.  Gardener is a load but he is a few years off. 

Offensively got the ball inside quite often.  Defensively we have a long way to go on the perimeter....way to many open 3's.  That will come.

Hard to tell how good we are just yet but we certainly have talent.


PS I think Buzz winked at me PR that could have been his wife, not sure

[texaswarrior74]

If we don't find and answer for the open 3's we're in for a very long night against dook.

[ChicosBailBonds]

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

[Daniel]

Buzz was on Junior because a Johnnie blew past him when he was defending him - don;t know if that was why.

Team is very atheletic, and I think will be a a good offensive team.  You are right on the perimeter defense - there was nine and they hit a ton of uncontested 3s.  I think we will have more options this year to defend the 3 - and I think Blue, Crowder and others can help.  Free throws have to get much better too.

when this team gels, they will be solid.  One exhibition game will not tell the tale.  When we get to conference play, we will know how good we are,

[ChicosBailBonds]

Buzz was on Junior because a Johnnie blew past him when he was defending him - don;t know if that was why.

Team is very atheletic, and I think will be a a good offensive team.  You are right on the perimeter defense - there was nine and they hit a ton of uncontested 3s.  I think we will have more options this year to defend the 3 - and I think Blue, Crowder and others can help.  Free throws have to get much better too.

when this team gels, they will be solid.  One exhibition game will not tell the tale.  When we get to conference play, we will know how good we are,

He was definitely on him for that, but what was so puzzling was why he didn't play the first 14 minutes.  Could be a practice thing...who knows.

[jsglow]

Way too early to judge the finished product.  My sense is that talent wise they are way ahead of last year and will routinely go 8-9 deep. 

A few observations:  Otule is a nice looking player.  Granted he was up against inferior competition but I liked his footwork and he seems to have a nice feel around the hoop.  He'll contribute at the 5 this year.  Last year we didn't even have a 5.  Dwight is a work in progress at the 1.  It'll be interesting to see how he develops.  I'm going to bet that Reggie is the starter by the time Christmas rolls around.  That kid looks like he can be special down the road.  JC seems to be in the doghouse, all attributed to defense.  There was a play in the second half where he made an excellent defensive play and Buzz practically walked out to mid court during play to congratulate him.  "That's what I want from you JC" type reaction.  Crowder is a beast and a finished player.  He'll be huge and my guess is will be the 'captain' of the second team populated by mostly young guys.  Vander was tentative and maybe nervous.  But the talent is there and he'll be fine under DJO's wing.  And coach already knows what Jimmy and DJO are so they were't the focus.  I see a starting 5 JB, DJO, Otule, Fulce, and Reggie with the next being Crowder, Blue, and Dwight.

[Mr. Nielsen]

A very good student crowd on Saturday! Lower bowl was filled up before the game and many were in the upper deck. Great to see.

Friday's home opener is a 2 for 1 ticket deal.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Frozen A would be a stud starter on SJU. He was eating up his man on defense and made a nice steal.  MU led the BE is 3 Pt. defense last season...sure didn't look that way against the Johnnies but that will come.  Buzz has been focusing on PIP defense and that looked good (SJU had four forwards with the majority of minutes). Offense was very efficient with an ORating over 120+.  A ton of assists (with so many lay-ups and PIP) and only five TO's for a pick up game.  

MU won the Buzz Hot Button Metric:  MU made 17 FT's made to the 10 SJU attempts. Also FT rate was good as was OReb. (19 in total). Not a great shooting game beyond the PIP which we are not used to after the 6 years of Big Man plague. Nice to have Jae and Otule to generate points at the peach basket. Then again, Buycks had a few "Sugar MISIB's" too as the shot clock was running down.  

Key question to be answered: WHO is on point? Despite Junior's PG skills, clearly Buzz expects his D to improve if he is gonna earn minutes. We saw that in that "Revealed" episode and with the late game insert yesterday.

[cheebs09]

I think some of the 3 point defense (not all because it happened without him in there) could be because of Otule not having anyone to match up with on defense. His guy took a fair number of threes and caused a lot of help because Otule isn't used to covering so much on the perimeter. I don't see Otule having to play that kind of defense too often. So I'm not totally concerned, although as I mentioned it did happen without him in there. So obviously they need to work on it, but it was also the first exhibition game.

[brewcity77]

The best thing I saw out of Otule is one of those things that is easy to go unnoticed, and that was him getting rid of the ball quickly. When he grabbed a rebound or took a pass, he was immediately looking to either put the ball back up or put it into the hands of another player. Considering how many complaints people have had about his suspect hands, I think Buzz has worked on Otule moving the ball quickly to limit his turnovers. Excellent decision and it really made him look like a legitimate contributing starter, albeit against lesser competition.

Contrast that to Davante Gardner. When he made a steal late in the game, he tried to dribble the length of the court. Not surprisingly, the ball was stolen right back. The smart thing to do was at most get it across halfcourt and hold the ball up until a guard was open. When given those chances, Otule made that decision. Gardner showed his youth by trying to be a point guard. Experience should fix that problem.

As far as the point goes...well, safe to say it won't be Gardner . Buycks protected the ball well, but never really looked like he was playing the point guard role. If Buzz has seen something in practice to justify him starting, especially considering Buzz's tendency to favor upperclassmen, I can understand. But based on that game alone, I really think Reggie Smith should be the starter. His blistering pace is a game-changer, and of our current recruiting class, he looks the most ready-to-go. Cadougan's a good option, but he doesn't pop the way Smith does.

Up front, Fulce/Crowder is another good question. Fulce has Buzz's favor based on time served, but Crowder really looks good now. Strong rebounder, good passer, and managed to lead all scorers. I'd definitely expect Crowder by the Big East season.

What I'm really wondering at the moment is where Blue fits in. Not sure he's ready to handle the point, and not sure his offensive game is developed enough to play the 2 (especially with DJO there). I think with Butler, Crowder, Fulce, and Otule, we will more often than not be in a 2-guard set. Many expect Blue to start this season, but where? No way he beats out DJO, and I just don't think he'll be ready for the point. A decent option at both spots off the bench, and will probably get extra minutes in crunch time for his defense and when we go to 3-guard sets, but at the moment I'm just not sure he's a regular contributor. Though to be fair, I'm sure that was the thought when he arrived at the Team USA U-17 camp, and he ended up starting.

[chren21]

I firmly believe Blue will be starting.  Just the way he moves on the court he is crazy athletic.  I see a three guard starting linup sooner rather than later.  JC/Smith, DJO, Vander, Jay C, Butler. 

[Skatastrophy]

I firmly believe Blue will be starting.  Just the way he moves on the court he is crazy athletic.  I see a three guard starting linup sooner rather than later.  JC/Smith, DJO, Vander, Jay C, Butler. 

I think he'll be starting by the end of the year.  He still seems very tentative when moving around on the court.

If that's the worst thing I have to say about the guy, a true freshman, it means I'm expecting him to have a great season.

I'm surprised I'm saying this at this point.  He's so much more effective in an organized basketball game than he was all summer during the street-ball focused Pro-Am.  He was absolutely lost during the Pro-Am and only moderately lost (because of our offensive and defensive schemes being new to him) on the court in our 1 'game' so far this year.

And with Mellow, Frozena and E.Will coming off the bench at the same time near the end of the game?  Ouch.  Mellow is a true freshman and had a bad practice that morning, Frozena is Frozena... but E.Will?  I really hope he finds his stride soon.  We could use an athletic freak stepping up out of nowhere

[Brewtown Andy]

A very good student crowd on Saturday! Lower bowl was filled up before the game and many were in the upper deck. Great to see.

It's sad that we end up impressed with that crowd on a Saturday afternoon game.

[Coleman]

It's sad that we end up impressed with that crowd on a Saturday afternoon exhibition game.

[Clam Crowder]

Way too early to judge the finished product.  My sense is that talent wise they are way ahead of last year and will routinely go 8-9 deep. 

A few observations:  Otule is a nice looking player.  Granted he was up against inferior competition but I liked his footwork and he seems to have a nice feel around the hoop.  He'll contribute at the 5 this year.  Last year we didn't even have a 5.  Dwight is a work in progress at the 1.  It'll be interesting to see how he develops.  I'm going to bet that Reggie is the starter by the time Christmas rolls around.  That kid looks like he can be special down the road.  JC seems to be in the doghouse, all attributed to defense.  There was a play in the second half where he made an excellent defensive play and Buzz practically walked out to mid court during play to congratulate him.  "That's what I want from you JC" type reaction.  Crowder is a beast and a finished player.  He'll be huge and my guess is will be the 'captain' of the second team populated by mostly young guys.  Vander was tentative and maybe nervous.  But the talent is there and he'll be fine under DJO's wing.  And coach already knows what Jimmy and DJO are so they were't the focus.  I see a starting 5 JB, DJO, Otule, Fulce, and Reggie with the next being Crowder, Blue, and Dwight.

I was wondering what got Buzz so excited. That was the most intense I saw Buzz throughout the entire game

[avid1010]

It's sad that we end up impressed with that crowd on a Saturday afternoon game.

I was flipping through channels and saw a Univ. of Michigan exhibition game and the place was EMPTY, much less than what I saw at the BC yesterday.  I was thinking it was amazing that many people/students showed up for that type of game...fun to see that level of excitement at an MU exhibition game.

[HoopsMalone]

Buzz was stylin' at the game in that jacket.

[Mr. Nielsen]

It's sad that we end up impressed with that crowd on a Saturday afternoon game.

really? For students to have the lower bowl filled and more in the upper deck for an exh. game. You should be happy, that's a good thing!

[Mr. Nielsen]

I was flipping through channels and saw a Univ. of Michigan exhibition game and the place was EMPTY, much less than what I saw at the BC yesterday.  I was thinking it was amazing that many people/students showed up for that type of game...fun to see that level of excitement at an MU exhibition game.

You are right on!

I went to the Portland-Bucks game on Tuesday night and the crowds were the same.

[DaCoach]

I foresee Blue becoming our shutdown defender. His offense might not show up until a year of BE play, but his defense is already stellar and he takes great pride in it. last year we had trouble matching up because of our size but this year should be much improved in that area.

[MerrittsMustache]

Listening to the pregame show, it was pretty clear that Buzz wants Buycks to start at PG. Whether he's doing that to motivate Junior, I don't know. Last year a lot of people thought he was nuts for starting two dwarfs in the backcourt and that worked out pretty well for him so I'm going to trust that Buzz knows what he's doing. I also don't understand all the dislike for Buycks on here.

Reggie Smith spent a lot of the game off the ball, playing 2-guard when Buycks was running the point. I don't think he's going to be the starting PG any time soon.

I think that Blue will assume some version of the Jimmy Butler role from 2 seasons ago. He'll be an energy guy off the bench who plays solid D, grabs some rebounds, gets some steals and occasionally scores some points. He's going to be an excellent player at MU, but I truly think people are expecting too much of him right away.

DJO and Butler are going to lead this team. The biggest issue is going to be finding that third option. Last year we knew what we were going to get from Lazar and Butler, then DJO stepped up as the #3. This season, I'm not sure who that guy is going to be. It will likely end up being Crowder or Buycks. How much of an impact that guy has is likely going to determine how far this team can go.

[bilsu]

I have been wondering if a three guard linup of Blue, Cadougan and DJO would make DJO somewhat ineffective. Both Blue and Cadougan are not much of an offensive threat, which means teams could concentrate on DJO. The one advantage the dwarfs provided DJO was that they were significant three point threats that could not be left alone. The ball was passed rapidly around the perimeter looking for the open three point shot. All three guards had to be covered. I think that is what gives Buyckes an advantage in the point guard competition. Buyckes is an offensive threat. Cadougan's strength is delivering the ball and he is more suited to a Crean point guard control offense than he is to Buzz's inside out offense which relies on getting to the paint and passing the ball back out for the open shot. The open shot that neither Cadougan or Blue are a threat to make. Without a strong inside game, MU has to have guards on the floor that can score. Our offense (except for fast breaks) will bog down if Blue and Cadougan are on the floor at the same time.

[Lighthouse 84]

I have been wondering if a three guard linup of Blue, Cadougan and DJO would make DJO somewhat ineffective. Both Blue and Cadougan are not much of an offensive threat, which means teams could concentrate on DJO. The one advantage the dwarfs provided DJO was that they were significant three point threats that could not be left alone. The ball was passed rapidly around the perimeter looking for the open three point shot. All three guards had to be covered. I think that is what gives Buyckes an advantage in the point guard competition. Buyckes is an offensive threat. Cadougan's strength is delivering the ball and he is more suited to a Crean point guard control offense than he is to Buzz's inside out offense which relies on getting to the paint and passing the ball back out for the open shot. The open shot that neither Cadougan or Blue are a threat to make. Without a strong inside game, MU has to have guards on the floor that can score. Our offense (except for fast breaks) will bog down if Blue and Cadougan are on the floor at the same time.

I'm not disagreeing with your thought on Jr., but what happened to you thinking he was good for 10 pts. per game?  Seems to me that 10 per game is a decent offensive threat. 

[willie warrior]

Listening to the pregame show, it was pretty clear that Buzz wants Buycks to start at PG. Whether he's doing that to motivate Junior, I don't know. Last year a lot of people thought he was nuts for starting two dwarfs in the backcourt and that worked out pretty well for him so I'm going to trust that Buzz knows what he's doing. I also don't understand all the dislike for Buycks on here.

Reggie Smith spent a lot of the game off the ball, playing 2-guard when Buycks was running the point. I don't think he's going to be the starting PG any time soon.

I think that Blue will assume some version of the Jimmy Butler role from 2 seasons ago. He'll be an energy guy off the bench who plays solid D, grabs some rebounds, gets some steals and occasionally scores some points. He's going to be an excellent player at MU, but I truly think people are expecting too much of him right away.

DJO and Butler are going to lead this team. The biggest issue is going to be finding that third option. Last year we knew what we were going to get from Lazar and Butler, then DJO stepped up as the #3. This season, I'm not sure who that guy is going to be. It will likely end up being Crowder or Buycks. How much of an impact that guy has is likely going to determine how far this team can go.

Bucyks starts at PG because of a man crush!

[bilsu]

I'm not disagreeing with your thought on Jr., but what happened to you thinking he was good for 10 pts. per game?  Seems to me that 10 per game is a decent offensive threat.  

The 10 point a game prediction is based on him driving to the basket and getting to the free throw line. He is not an outside threat. Thinking about Buzz's offensive system, I think Buyckes is a better fit. Buyckes can also drive and he can shoot form the outside. His outside shot is not as good as DJO's, but significantly better than Cadougan's. I also think given Buyckes' quickness and height he will be a better defensive player than Cadougan. There is no doubt that Cadougan is the better point guard, but Buyckes is the better fit. The same thing with Otule. There is no doubt that Otule is the best true center on the team, but that does not mean he will start.  Buzz will start the five players he likes regardless of position.