So, For How Long Does Buzz...

[brewcity77]

Otule was excellent defensively today, and his putback dunk was the momentum shift that won us the game. It was obvious to pretty much everyone in the building. You could feel the vibe in the BC change when he slammed that home. Otule had a great game today.

[Norm]

I'd say Otule had a good day for him for what we expect from him. Up until that slam, though, has was useless offensively. Maybe he did stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet that I missed, but 3 rebounds and 2 points in 29 minutes is considered subpar for about every other big man in the Big East.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I thought the one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater played fairly well.

[tower912]

Otule missed a lot of shots and didn't get a lot of boards.   But he fought well the whole game and affected who got the rebound when he couldn't.   6'11 presence cannot be discounted.   

[Big Papi]

That's the difficult line Buzz has to straddle.  Hopefully it works out for MU and this kid can play his way into some minutes.

Thats a difficult line that all coaches need to straddle.  I don't know what the actual transfer number is.  Buzz mentioned 40% but lets say it is north of 20% which is what on average? close to 1 a year?  I would be more worried if MU was the only school that had transfers.  We live in a world of instant gratification.  We don't get it, we look elsewhere.  I wonder what would happen if we put in the old rule of freshmen couldn't play their first year.  Obviously it would never happen but I wonder if the number of transfers would decrease substantially.

[ATL MU Warrior]

We outrebounded WVU, so I guess a fair question that can't be quantified is how many boards did Chris keep his guy from getting by contesting that one of the other MU players pulled down?

This is what I always wonder as well.  I think we are a much better rebounding TEAM with Otule in the lineup rather than Gardner and that we give up far fewer offensive rebounds when he's in there.  He's not pulling down very many himself but I think he does still have an impact by keeping the other teams big guy off the offensive glass.    

Any of you stats guys have a way of looking at this?  

[ChicosBailBonds]

Thats a difficult line that all coaches need to straddle.  I don't know what the actual transfer number is.  Buzz mentioned 40% but lets say it is north of 20% which is what on average? close to 1 a year?  I would be more worried if MU was the only school that had transfers.  We live in a world of instant gratification.  We don't get it, we look elsewhere.  I wonder what would happen if we put in the old rule of freshmen couldn't play their first year.  Obviously it would never happen but I wonder if the number of transfers would decrease substantially.

Perhaps, but there are certainly a number of programs out there that are top 25 programs that have very few transfers.  They're doing something right.

[willie warrior]

I absolutley agree with your -teal statement (lol).  Otule played a very good game.  He boxed out a player or set a pick on one to let Buycks go right to the rim and score too.  I think he did fine against decent players.  He is getting better, and the trend is looking good.

Yeah, he was 1 for 6, missing a couple of no footers,  only had 3 rebounds, picked up 4 fouls, and was schooled by Kilici, so he is definitely getting better. Meanwhile, Gardner rides the pines becoming rusty.

[tower912]

You go, Willie. 

[Blackhat]

Perhaps, but there are certainly a number of programs out there that are top 25 programs that have very few transfers.  They're doing something right.

If you believe that's "right".   I don't see anything inherently wrong with competition which will inevitably spawn transfers.  

It's the kid's choice.

[ChicosBailBonds]

If you believe that's "right".   I don't see anything inherently wrong with competition which will inevitably spawn transfers.  

It's the kid's choice.

Not always that black and white as I'm sure you are aware.  Much of it has to do with what expectations are set during the recruiting aspect, how the kid feels he has been treated once he is enrolled, etc, etc.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Yeah, he was 1 for 6, missing a couple of no footers,  only had 3 rebounds, picked up 4 fouls, and was schooled by Kilici, so he is definitely getting better. Meanwhile, Gardner rides the pines becoming rusty.

Saying and/or writing the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again doesn't make it true you know. 

[brewcity77]

Saying and/or writing the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again doesn't make it true you know. 

+1

Otule wasn't schooled by Kilicli at all. He gave up some points, but much of that was because they kept pounding it in. Eventually, some will fall. And he did a great job of keeping him off the boards. Only 5 boards for the guy that played center for 25 minutes isn't exactly impressive, especially considering our rebounding history this year.

[79Warrior]

teach Ox, EWill, and Mellow a lesson. BTW, how did Noreen look for the Mountaineers?

when these guys show they can defend.

[AZWarrior]

I Tivo'd the game so was able to watch Otule and while I wish he could sink the 1 footers, for the most part he boxed out well and did a good job sealing his man off.  Overall, he plays smart D, being in the right place and blocks or affects shots down low.

[ATL MU Warrior]

I Tivo'd the game so was able to watch Otule and while I wish he could sink the 1 footers, for the most part he boxed out well and did a good job sealing his man off.  Overall, he plays smart D, being in the right place and blocks or affects shots down low.

Not to single you out as many posters are lamenting Otule's inability to hit shots, but the guy is shooting 75% for the year. 

[brewcity77]

Not to single you out as many posters are lamenting Otule's inability to hit shots, but the guy is shooting 75% for the year.

True, but he will be easy to target today as he only had that one putback. In a community like this, that makes him easy to criticize

[AZWarrior]

Not to single you out as many posters are lamenting Otule's inability to hit shots, but the guy is shooting 75% for the year. 

I agree with you - I should have worded that part of my post better....something like "it was painful today to watch him miss....."

[jsglow]

Chris played a solid game today.  And understand that MU will be playing 8-9 regularly.  10 is simply not going to happen without someone in foul trouble.  None of our bigs (notably Chris) were in foul trouble today.

[pillardean]

Until next year or the year after when they are ready to contribute consistently.

They are not at that point now.  If you see something different than that I would like to see the world from your eyes.

There is nothing wrong with freshman and sophomore's passing the time on the bench.  The hunger grows, hell, when my dad was at SMU he couldn't even be on the "Varsity" team until Sophomore year and there were "freshman" teams with "freshman" games.  Let it rest, you watch the team for 40 minutes, coaches watch the team far more than you or I.

[avid1010]

This is what I always wonder as well.  I think we are a much better rebounding TEAM with Otule in the lineup rather than Gardner and that we give up far fewer offensive rebounds when he's in there.  He's not pulling down very many himself but I think he does still have an impact by keeping the other teams big guy off the offensive glass.    

Any of you stats guys have a way of looking at this?  

This is a bad game to judge our rebounding on.  WV never plays a zone, which puts experienced zoning teams at a rebounding disadvantage, and they went zone off of their makes or misses meaning they weren't sending many players to the rim.  That being said, Buzz going to a line-up that puts Otule, Jae and Jimmy on the court at the same time adds to our rebounding ability. 

As far as Gardner goes.  I want to see him play as well, as he is pretty instant offense, but that would not have been the case against WV's zone.  Watching him in warm-ups today the coaches were throwing alley-oop type passes of the backboard for dunks.  He had a really hard time getting up there...his lift was very poor.  He'll learn to use his body better, and I think his lift will improve as his strength/conditioning improves.  At that point in time I think you could see he and Otule on the court at hte same time.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

I was at the game today and thought Otule had a pretty good game. I was surprised to see Kilicli's numbers because it didn't seem he was doing that to Chris.  That being said, it seems to me that Otule will cost us about 4 points a game due to his inability to finish or catch a pass inside.  That appears to be the trade-off for his defense.

[ATL MU Warrior]

This is a bad game to judge our rebounding on.  WV never plays a zone, which puts experienced zoning teams at a rebounding disadvantage, and they went zone off of their makes or misses meaning they weren't sending many players to the rim.  That being said, Buzz going to a line-up that puts Otule, Jae and Jimmy on the court at the same time adds to our rebounding ability. 

As far as Gardner goes.  I want to see him play as well, as he is pretty instant offense, but that would not have been the case against WV's zone.  Watching him in warm-ups today the coaches were throwing alley-oop type passes of the backboard for dunks.  He had a really hard time getting up there...his lift was very poor.  He'll learn to use his body better, and I think his lift will improve as his strength/conditioning improves.  At that point in time I think you could see he and Otule on the court at hte same time.

Yeah, I wasn't necessarily referring to today's game.  What I was thinking of was the Vandy game where Gardner gave up a bunch of offensive rebounds when he was in. 

[marquette99]

Gardner has gotten more rebounds per minute when he has played against tough teams, but he seems to make up for getting out of position by fouling guys as they lay it in.

Gardner is almost a zone buster from inside.  His hands are so good that you can throw it into him in traffic and he will catch it and give up a great shot. Remember coach k commented on the trouble they had with him, so he is ready for be level of play, but not a fast-paced style.

[NickelDimer]

I thought the one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater played fairly well.

He was born with two horns, but one was underdeveloped.

I really like Otule.  It's easy to forget how few meaningful minutes he's actually played at this level.  He gets better in different ways every time he steps on the court, and he's getting confident.  I'm really excited about his future.