why can't vander finish?!

[Mike Deane's Seat Belt]

Is it just me or is Vander absolutely terrible at blowing a great move to the hoop with a biffed layup!?!?!? He makes great moves to the hole only to be denied by a wide open rim!?!?  whats up with this guy, he is turning out to be nothing by hype with no ability to finish!!!!!!!

[mufansince72]

It would probably help if he looked at the basket once in a while

[nyg]

One point and two turnovers.

Junior has zero points and three turnovers.

Gardner has two points

Thats three of out starters.

[79Warrior]

One point and two turnovers.

Junior has zero points and three turnovers.

Gardner has two points

Thats three of out starters.

beyond bad.

[DCWarriors04]

This team looks LOST

[nyg]

One point and two turnovers.

Junior has zero points and three turnovers.

Gardner has two points

Thats three of out starters.

Oh, and the other starters two are seniors.  

[Les Nessman]

It's one thing to be a great defender, but every point he does give up is a point someone else on the team is going to have to make up for since Vander can't score.

[MUCam]

Is it just me or is Vander absolutely terrible at blowing a great move to the hoop with a biffed layup!?!?!? He makes great moves to the hole only to be denied by a wide open rim!?!?  whats up with this guy, he is turning out to be nothing by hype with no ability to finish!!!!!!!

Your life must be awful.

[Hards Alumni]

I have it on good authority that he can finish.

[VanderBabyBlue]

Remember around this time last year when he announced he'd forgo the draft and return for his sophomore year? Ha.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Vander can't play against quality competition yet.

[77ncaachamps]

Apparently he can't finish but he can turn the ball over in addition to his lack of having an outside shot. smh

[MerrittsMustache]

Much like Jerel McNeal as an underclassman, Vander isn't in control when he jumps. He also jumps out instead of up. It's nearly impossible to put any kind of touch on a shot when a player is flying full speed past the hoop. He needs to get himself under control when he leaves the ground and leap as straight up as possible. It's a very correctable issue but odds are, he's been doing it his entire life so it's a tough habit to break.

[Da 'Lanche]

I have been a pretty staunch supporter of vander the last two years asking for patience as he is still young and has so much upside because of his athleticism.   He also, usually, does the unnoticed things well like defense, rebounding and not turning the ball over.  I thought he really showed progress at the Kohl hole this year and then the last few games he has really had miserable overall performances.   He is back to a lack of confidence in his offense and that carries over to his teammates who just do not look for him to contribute from the outside.  I know he was highly recruited.....but, the dude was ranked really high coming out of high school (which is weak in Wisconsin) and the AAU circuit where he thrived.   Take his name out of the equation....a top 25 (or so) recruit hitting his sophomore stride should be doing a LOT more for a team as a starter than being a liability on offense.  I still have hope, but, c'mon man....start showing something out there!  Even if it mimmicked his progress earlier in the year, I would take it.

[wojosdojo]

Feel the exact same.

[godzilla]

Much like Jerel McNeal as an underclassman, Vander isn't in control when he jumps. He also jumps out instead of up. It's nearly impossible to put any kind of touch on a shot when a player is flying full speed past the hoop. He needs to get himself under control when he leaves the ground and leap as straight up as possible. It's a very correctable issue but odds are, he's been doing it his entire life so it's a tough habit to break.

How does that poor form not get corrected during the summer?

[CTWarrior]

Much like Jerel McNeal as an underclassman, Vander isn't in control when he jumps. He also jumps out instead of up. It's nearly impossible to put any kind of touch on a shot when a player is flying full speed past the hoop. He needs to get himself under control when he leaves the ground and leap as straight up as possible. It's a very correctable issue but odds are, he's been doing it his entire life so it's a tough habit to break.

I'm not sure how McNeal got so much worse after he graduated.  As a soph, McNeal was probably the best player on a top 30ish team in the country.  Vander Blue is nowhere near where McNeal the sophomore was.

[MerrittsMustache]

I'm not sure how McNeal got so much worse after he graduated.  As a soph, McNeal was probably the best player on a top 30ish team in the country.  Vander Blue is nowhere near where McNeal the sophomore was.

I wasn't comparing their overall games. I was simply saying that McNeal had the same issues with being out of control when jumping and attempting to finish at the rim.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I wasn't comparing their overall games. I was simply saying that McNeal had the same issues with being out of control when jumping and attempting to finish at the rim.

Jerel drove us all crazy with his decision making, but at the end of the day he was a scorer. A prolific scorer. Vander is not.

Let's also keep in mind that Jerel played with point guard with explosive quickness. You can hardly say that about Junior. We are undermanned at our ball handling positions. DJO is more like McNeal than Vander is. Vander is like Brandon Bell at this point.

[wadesworld]

Jerel drove us all crazy with his decision making, but at the end of the day he was a scorer. A prolific scorer. Vander is not.

Let's also keep in mind that Jerel played with point guard with explosive quickness. You can hardly say that about Junior. We are undermanned at our ball handling positions. DJO is more like McNeal than Vander is. Vander is like Brandon Bell at this point.

+1 on everything you said.

[DomJamesToTheBasket]

2-17 in his last 3 games.  I think a lot of people are expecting too much from him based on some good games against cupcakes.....exactly like last year.  I think Mayo needs to be seriously considered to start.  The only reason I would think about NOT starting Mayo is that he gives needed offensive punch off the bench with DG now starting,  but I have no doubt that Mayo is a more effective player.

[Hoopaloop]

I have it on good authority that he can finish.

Especially if you call him Vander Orange, he can finish strong.   

[MerrittsMustache]

Jerel drove us all crazy with his decision making, but at the end of the day he was a scorer. A prolific scorer. Vander is not.

Let's also keep in mind that Jerel played with point guard with explosive quickness. You can hardly say that about Junior. We are undermanned at our ball handling positions. DJO is more like McNeal than Vander is. Vander is like Brandon Bell at this point.

What in the hell are people reading? I said that Vander's out of control jumping is similar to McNeal's as an underclassman. That's it. Jumping. Not overall game. Not as a scorer. Not as a ballhandler. Not as anything else. Jumping.

[muhs03]

He just hasnt figured out that his athletic ability was what separated him from his high school competition...and wont seperate him from high D1 competition.

[WarriorHal]

Your life must be awful.

I was waiting for MUCam to come to Vander's defense. The OP must have an "awful life" because he points out what everyone with two eyes can see. Vander has no offensive game and often cannot make a contested layup against high-level competition. Against Wisconsin, I expressed frustration that Vander missed layup after layup, even though he contributed in other areas. But people who state the obvious are attacked for, as MUCam puts it, lacking a complete understanding of the game.

Vander does have good athletic skills, so he can play defense and rebounds well for a guard. I've been following MU basketball since 1970, so I have figured out that there's a lot more to the game than just scoring. But a five-star national recruit should have much more game than what he has shown so far.