Vander disses Derrick Wilson for a slap of 5 on bench...

[brewcity77]

+100 MerrittsMustache.

Could not be more dead-on.

[lab_warrior]

I'd high five you for that post, MerrittsMustache, but I'm not that good of a teammate.

[Dawson Rental]

Simply put, many fans don't like Vander because he's making them look bad.

When Vander dissed Wisco and came to Marquette, many fans touted him as Wade 2.0 (or should I say Wade 3.0 since Dameon Mason was annointed Wade 2.0?). He's a 6'4", athletic, all-around stud and he was coming to our school to follow in Wade's footsteps. MU fans mocked Badger fans because one of the most highly ranked in-state recruits in recent memory didn't want to stay in Madison. He wanted to be a Warrior. Currently, Blue is a valuable role player at Marquette and many MU fans are ready to label him a complete bust because, 1.5 seasons into his career, he hasn't been the All-American they were unfairly expecting him to be. In other words, Blue is making them look bad because they had talked him up and had built him up to an impossible-to-attain level and he's not even close to reaching that level so they're taking it out on him. If Vander was a 4-star recruit from Texas, you'd barely hear a whisper about his offensive struggles. Jamail Jones, for example, was ranked just outside the top 50 as a recruit and he can't even get on the floor consistently yet you don't constantly see threads popping up ripping his game or his high-fiving prowess.

Dominic James was a similar situation to Blue. He was a freshman stud and appeared to be on his way to the NBA Lottery. Unfortunately, he peaked as a freshman and many fans never "forgave" him for that. He was going to be the next big thing at MU and instead ended up with a disappointing career, finishing 2nd in school history in assists and 3rd in scoring.

Dominic James did create some of the negativity around himself when he spent every offseason agonizing over whether to enter the NBA draft.  After his freshman year, it was a possibility, but after his junior and senior seasons, it was kind of silly, as he found out when he went undrated after his senior year.

Peaking your freshman year is highly unusual, and when you follow it by creating speculation that you might leave for the NBA, you've definitely hyped up the expectation machine for yourself.  People came to feel that Dominic had stopped working hard on his game, but I always felt that he created problems for himself by trying too hard to live up to the hype created by that monster year.

[reinko]

If having a sourpuss on your face, not high fiving teammates, and ignoring coaches when going to the bench is so offensive, just watch our current SOTG and how he acts.

[APieperFan3]

I think Wilson has been living off his performance against Jordan Taylor.  I think he is a fine defender, but not the defender that some people here are suggesting.

And the Big East has quite a few guards who are quicker than Jordan Taylor.

[MUMac]

Dominic James did create some of the negativity around himself when he spent every offseason agonizing over whether to enter the NBA draft.  After his freshman year, it was a possibility, but after his junior and senior seasons, it was kind of silly, as he found out when he went undrated after his senior year.

Peaking your freshman year is highly unusual, and when you follow it by creating speculation that you might leave for the NBA, you've definitely hyped up the expectation machine for yourself.  People came to feel that Dominic had stopped working hard on his game, but I always felt that he created problems for himself by trying too hard to live up to the hype created by that monster year.

I didn't mind when he spent the offseason after his senior season checking out his NBA worth.

I thought it was McNeal after his junior season checking out the NBA.  DJ did that after his sophomore season and could not declare again after his junior season.  Recall, though, after their junior seasons was when TC left.  Getting a new coach in those circumstances could leave one to at least explore the option.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Simply put, many fans don't like Vander because he's making them look bad.

When Vander dissed Wisco and came to Marquette, many fans touted him as Wade 2.0 (or should I say Wade 3.0 since Dameon Mason was annointed Wade 2.0?). He's a 6'4", athletic, all-around stud and he was coming to our school to follow in Wade's footsteps. MU fans mocked Badger fans because one of the most highly ranked in-state recruits in recent memory didn't want to stay in Madison. He wanted to be a Warrior. Currently, Blue is a valuable role player at Marquette and many MU fans are ready to label him a complete bust because, 1.5 seasons into his career, he hasn't been the All-American they were unfairly expecting him to be. In other words, Blue is making them look bad because they had talked him up and had built him up to an impossible-to-attain level and he's not even close to reaching that level so they're taking it out on him. If Vander was a 4-star recruit from Texas, you'd barely hear a whisper about his offensive struggles. Jamail Jones, for example, was ranked just outside the top 50 as a recruit and he can't even get on the floor consistently yet you don't constantly see threads popping up ripping his game or his high-fiving prowess.

Dominic James was a similar situation to Blue. He was a freshman stud and appeared to be on his way to the NBA Lottery. Unfortunately, he peaked as a freshman and many fans never "forgave" him for that. He was going to be the next big thing at MU and instead ended up with a disappointing career, finishing 2nd in school history in assists and 3rd in scoring.

If there are a lot of people that are really disappointed in Vander, honestly, I don't know why a top WI HS kid would want to stay in state to play. Too many ignorant/impatient fans who's expectations are too tough to meet.

He's a soph. starter and contributor on a top 20 team. He's not perfect, but he's not as bad as some have made him out to be.

[brewcity77]

If having a sourpuss on your face, not high fiving teammates, and ignoring coaches when going to the bench is so offensive, just watch our current SOTG and how he acts.

But everyone likes him because on offense he has moves like Jagger. Amazing how the guys that stand out on offense get a pass but the ones that stand out on defense don't. If VB scored 15 ppg but couldn't defend a lick and his rebounds and assists were cut in half, he'd be 10 times more popular.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

If having a sourpuss on your face, not high fiving teammates, and ignoring coaches when going to the bench is so offensive, just watch our current SOTG and how he acts.

But he wasn't highly ranked in HS, so it's not a big deal.

[APieperFan3]

But everyone likes him because on offense he has moves like Jagger. Amazing how the guys that stand out on offense get a pass but the ones that stand out on defense don't. If VB scored 15 ppg but couldn't defend a lick and his rebounds and assists were cut in half, he'd be 10 times more popular.

Proving again that the "average fan" is an idiot

[MUMac]

But everyone likes him because on offense he has moves like Jagger. Amazing how the guys that stand out on offense get a pass but the ones that stand out on defense don't. If VB scored 15 ppg but couldn't defend a lick and his rebounds and assists were cut in half, he'd be 10 times more popular.

You mean he would be thought of similarly to Mayo.  Outside of the 15 ppg, that is the analogy ...

[ATL MU Warrior]

If having a sourpuss on your face, not high fiving teammates, and ignoring coaches when going to the bench is so offensive, just watch our current SOTG and how he acts.

I was wondering when someone was going to point out this little inconsistency

[MerrittsMustache]

But everyone likes him because on offense he has moves like Jagger. Amazing how the guys that stand out on offense get a pass but the ones that stand out on defense don't. If VB scored 15 ppg but couldn't defend a lick and his rebounds and assists were cut in half, he'd be 10 times more popular.

Agree completely. My HS coach used to say that scoring points doesn't mean you're a good basketball player, it means you'll get your name in the paper.

[ErickJD08]

If there are a lot of people that are really disappointed in Vander, honestly, I don't know why a top WI HS kid would want to stay in state to play. Too many ignorant/impatient fans who's expectations are too tough to meet.

He's a soph. starter and contributor on a top 20 team. He's not perfect, but he's not as bad as some have made him out to be.

This is life.  If you have great tickets for a Packer/Bears game where the face is $200, you sold them outside the stadium for $300 but you reject an offer from your friend to sell them for $400, would you be disappointed?  Yes.  Would you still be happy that you made $100 for doing nothing?  Yes.

He was billed as a 5 star recruit.  There are many 5 star recruits that look solid their freshmen year.  You expect a 5 star to be pretty polished in most areas and needing some a little work in other areas.  Blue came in very raw on offense as a 5 star freshmen guard.  So yes, I was disappointed.  We all saw potential and everyone expected a big bump from a year in the weight room and more practice.

We expected a big bump this year and we got a very tiny bump.  Without added a jumper, I still think the kid could be a 14ppg player if he could finish around the rim.  But as it stands, he has disappointed again.

This is life man.  He has huge potiential and he isn't close to where he could be.  Every first pick in the draft is expected to be an all star.  Being a role player would be a disappointment.  When I move on from my job and get my next pay bump, people are going to expect that I do bigger and better things than my previous place.  This isn't a popularity contest. 

[Dawson Rental]

I didn't mind when he spent the offseason after his senior season checking out his NBA worth.

I thought it was McNeal after his junior season checking out the NBA.  DJ did that after his sophomore season and could not declare again after his junior season.  Recall, though, after their junior seasons was when TC left.  Getting a new coach in those circumstances could leave one to at least explore the option.

Sorry, I misspoke, I meant after his sophomore and junior seasons.

[RawdogDX]

"Slap of 5"
?  ...
Did Borat go to MU?

[MUMac]

Sorry, I misspoke, I meant after his sophomore and junior seasons.

Yeah, I knew that.  Couldn't resist, though.   

[Dawson Rental]

If having a sourpuss on your face, not high fiving teammates, and ignoring coaches when going to the bench is so offensive, just watch our current SOTG and how he acts.

A quote from DJO in Enlund's blog:
Marquette guard Darius Johnson-Odom said, "I think Davante has kind of come into his own. He's a good player, once we get him to get that motor running. Everybody knows Davante is very quiet and he doesn't show a lot of energy in his mannerisms but he's a great guy. He plays hard and he wants to win and he wants to be a part of this team."

[Ari Gold]

If having a sourpuss on your face, not high fiving teammates, and ignoring coaches when going to the bench is so offensive, just watch our current SOTG and how he acts.

But I still love Smoove D

[muzzwilliams]

talk about a unneccesary thread.

[The Maestro]

They were just talking about this on SportsNation. Michelle Beadle said it was "sad."

[strotty]

From Vander's Twitter account:

@Mr_Bicenten is my brother...I did not intentionally try not to shake is hand when I was subbed out...very immature on my part!! Hes my boy!

[MU B2002]

So stupid he has to put that, and this issue has gotten so much attention.  D Wil should just give air 5s like Bogut did a couple seasons ago.

[MuMark]

Looks like Derrick has recovered from this traumatic episode.......


@Mr_Bicenten
Derrick Wilson @VanderBlue2 is my brother I know he did not intentionally do that he's a great human being And That's why he's still my right hand man

[MattyWarrior]

So stupid its being posted about!