Jamal Branch, Marquette still a possibility

[THEultimateWARRIOR]

Having two of the top freshman point guards (Branch and Wilson) on our roster would be HUGE for the development of this team. They would push each other to the best of their abilities. I really hope Buzz is pushing hard for him, but it doesn't seem like thats the case. Maybe because of scholarships?

According to CBS Jeff Goodman, Jerome Branch also said that Marquette is still in the equation for his son, Texas A&M transfer Jamal Branch.

He has scheduled visits at St. Johns and Maryland in the next two weeks I really hope Buzz makes a strong push for him as I believe he would strive in our uptempo offense. He was also rated the number 1 defender in the freshman class and that is definitely something we need. What are your thoughts?

[We R Final Four]

Sign him.  Oversign him.  The cream rises to the top!  If you don't fit, you don't fit.  I understand people don't like this approach, but Buzz has been fairly successful at it.  C'mon Jamal!

[jesmu84]

nm

[Canadian Dimes]

Typically stay away from the board fro 2-3 days after an MU loss as the board is heavily populated by looney tunes and the collected basketball IQ of the board becomes a negative number. 


basketball ball games are won on the defensive end since the days of NAismith...nothing has changed since or will. 

the lunatic fringe can talk about timeouts and every other stupid idea that they have.  idiots have ideas too.

bottom line is if we get one "turkey" in the second half we win....we got none. 

Back to the topic....if anyone has paid attention to VAnder Blue at the point the last few games...he is the best PG on the roster.

IMO, the starting lineup wil in short order have a back court of Blue, DJO, and MAyo supplemented byt a 2 man combo of jwil, jae, and devante.  Dont need a PG ...blue is the answer and has been exceptional.

[4everwarriors]

Still doesn't solve the head scratcher of top point guard and Wilson in the same sentence.

[bilsu]

I think Buzz has to consider how this effects recruiting down the road. By this I mean does taking Branch mean giving up on Tate or some other point guard he is after. Part of it of course is evaluating how good your chances are of landing someone you are recruiting. Taking Branch, except for being a practice player, does not help us this year or first semester of next year.

[jesmu84]

Back to the topic....if anyone has paid attention to VAnder Blue at the point the last few games...he is the best PG on the roster.

IMO, the starting lineup wil in short order have a back court of Blue, DJO, and MAyo supplemented byt a 2 man combo of jwil, jae, and devante.  Dont need a PG ...blue is the answer and has been exceptional.

+1

[bilsu]

Still doesn't solve the head scratcher of top point guard and Wilson in the same sentence.

I think Wilson should get a free pass on this board for the rest of his career, because of the way he stepped up against UW. Besides that, while he is not an all-american, he is a hugh step up from a lot of point guards Crean recruited who could not even bring the ball up the court. I can think of a couple of Crean teams that Wilson would have made a hugh difference on.

[Clarence]

+1

PG - Vander
SG- DJO
SF- Jamil Wilson
PF- Crowder
c- Gardner.

This should be the lineup to start and end games. 

[copious1218]

PG - Vander
SG- DJO
SF- Jamil Wilson
PF- Crowder
c- Gardner.

This should be the lineup to start and end games. 

If that is the starting lineup, the tallest guys off the bench are Anderson and Jones.  Not sure I love this - maybe to end a game if height is needed.

[esotericmindguy]

Typically stay away from the board fro 2-3 days after an MU loss as the board is heavily populated by looney tunes and the collected basketball IQ of the board becomes a negative number.  


basketball ball games are won on the defensive end since the days of NAismith...nothing has changed since or will.  

the lunatic fringe can talk about timeouts and every other stupid idea that they have.  idiots have ideas too.

bottom line is if we get one "turkey" in the second half we win....we got none.  

Back to the topic....if anyone has paid attention to VAnder Blue at the point the last few games...he is the best PG on the roster.

IMO, the starting lineup wil in short order have a back court of Blue, DJO, and MAyo supplemented byt a 2 man combo of jwil, jae, and devante.  Dont need a PG ...blue is the answer and has been exceptional.

I have some more advice, take two more weeks off then quit.

I'm ok with you arguing that he's the best PG on the roster but to say he's been exceptional is ridiculous.

[RJax55]

PG - Vander
SG- DJO
SF- Jamil Wilson
PF- Crowder
c- Gardner.

This should be the lineup to start and end games.  

You could possibly end the game with that line-up, but you can't start it. Wilson and Gardner have to sub for each other in the 1st half due to fouls.

Line-up wise, I'd go with these guys to start:

Blue
Mayo
DJO
Jae
J. Wilson

It's time for Vander to start at PG. It gets Mayo on the floor more and allows Vander to play up-top on offense, which is much better fit for him than playing the wing. Also, Junior's not doing too much to justify starting and playing major minutes.

Bench wise: Gardner, Junior & Anderson or Jones (which ever guy can make a contribution). I like Gardner coming off the bench more than starting, but his minutes need to be capped at 25. Therefore, either Jones or Anderson need to play a bit, especially when foul trouble hits. DG can't play 31 minutes a night like he did against GT.

[Clarence]

You could possibly end the game with that line-up, but you can't start it. Wilson and Gardner have to sub for each other in the 1st half due to fouls.

Line-up wise, I'd go with these guys to start:

Blue
Mayo
DJO
Jae
J. Wilson

It's time for Vander to start at PG. It gets Mayo on the floor more and allows Vander to play up-top on offense, which is much better fit for him than playing the wing. Also, Junior's not doing too much to justify starting and playing major minutes.

Bench wise: Gardner, Junior & Anderson or Jones (which ever guy can make a contribution). I like Gardner coming off the bench more than starting, but his minutes need to be capped at 25. Therefore, either Jones or Anderson need to play a bit, especially when foul trouble hits. DG can't play 31 minutes a night like he did against GT.

I like Mayo off the bench in case DJO is struggling or we need some offense.   I would also love to see Anderson fill the Joe Fulce role from a year ago, Energy and boards off the bench. 

[We R Final Four]

I have some more advice, take two more weeks off then quit.

I'm ok with you arguing that he's the best PG on the roster but to say he's been exceptional is ridiculous.

+1.
Finding a home for the guy does not make him exceptional.

[ATWizJr]

Back to the topic....if anyone has paid attention to VAnder Blue at the point the last few games...he is the best PG on the roster.

IMO, the starting lineup wil in short order have a back court of Blue, DJO, and MAyo supplemented byt a 2 man combo of jwil, jae, and devante.  Dont need a PG ...blue is the answer and has been exceptional.

Exceptional?  You must have low expectations.

[RJax55]

I like Mayo off the bench in case DJO is struggling or we need some offense.   I would also love to see Anderson fill the Joe Fulce role from a year ago, Energy and boards off the bench. 

I think having Mayo on the floor helps DJO. DJO is much more effective when he is a spot-up shooter than a driver. With Mayo on the floor with him, it takes some pressure off him to create. Also, it doesn't allow the defense to key as easily on him.

I agree with your points on Anderson.

[ecompt]

Vander has been good handling the ball, but to call his game exceptional is a bit of overstatement. He cannot and will not shoot from outside 3 feet and is not the lockdown defender people think he is. What he is is a much better defender than Junior. Does anyone feel confident with Vander protecting the ball in the final seconds, then going to the line? I don't. Sign Branch and worry about the ramifications later. I would be more than shocked if all the people we think we will have next year are on campus in September.

[Clarence]

Signing Branch is a no brainer at this point. 

[Hoopaloop]

Typically stay away from the board fro 2-3 days after an MU loss as the board is heavily populated by looney tunes and the collected basketball IQ of the board becomes a negative number. 

Weren't you the one that said Junior is our PG and should be, thus your username?  Exactly what looney tunes or basketball IQ were you using in those proclamations.

Back to the topic....if anyone has paid attention to VAnder Blue at the point the last few games...he is the best PG on the roster.

+1

Buzz has been hailed here as a great recruiter, but he has some guys on the team right now that seem to be out of their league at key positions.  Still waiting for Jamil Wilson to breakthrough.  Jones receives no playing time and must not have any confidence based on his shooting numbers.  Vander is not a quality 2 or 3, but could be a very serviceable 1.  No outside shooters other than DJO. 

If Branch wants to come, sign him.  Need stronger PG play, especially on defense.

[avid1010]

Vander has been good handling the ball, but to call his game exceptional is a bit of overstatement. He cannot and will not shoot from outside 3 feet and is not the lockdown defender people think he is. What he is is a much better defender than Junior. Does anyone feel confident with Vander protecting the ball in the final seconds, then going to the line? I don't. Sign Branch and worry about the ramifications later. I would be more than shocked if all the people we think we will have next year are on campus in September.

I think Vander is our best perimeter defender.  I also know that in a very limited number of FT's (7), Branch has made 3 (47%), so I don't see anything to make me feel like he would be a better defender or FT shooter than Vander.  

I agree Vander is the best PG on the roster (both offensively and defensively), and would love to see him fill that role for this team.  I also feel like that's his best position if he has a chance at playing in the NBA...certainly has all the athleticism, height, etc.  he needs.

That said, I'd be absolutely thrilled to see him at MU.  

[avid1010]

Buzz has been hailed here as a great recruiter, but he has some guys on the team right now that seem to be out of their league at key positions.  Still waiting for Jamil Wilson to breakthrough.  Jones receives no playing time and must not have any confidence based on his shooting numbers.  Vander is not a quality 2 or 3, but could be a very serviceable 1.  No outside shooters other than DJO. 

If Branch wants to come, sign him.  Need stronger PG play, especially on defense.

I agree that we have players out of position, and I think Buzz would agree as well.  I think he'd like to play Vander at the point, but he needs him to be able to rebound (offensively especially) so the PG position is an issue.  I also think Vander is a quality 2 or 3, especially when he plays his game, which I thought he did well against GT.  In my opinion we've seen DJO fade away at the end of games and Crowder has asserted himself well enough either.  If those two are effective for the entire game, MU is just fine.  We need are seniors to carry the team for the full game.

[GGGG]

Buzz has been hailed here as a great recruiter, but he has some guys on the team right now that seem to be out of their league at key positions.  Still waiting for Jamil Wilson to breakthrough.  

I'm giving Jamil a break because he has to guard way bigger this year.  He has shown flashes.  He will be fine.

[bamamarquettefan]

You could possibly end the game with that line-up, but you can't start it. Wilson and Gardner have to sub for each other in the 1st half due to fouls.

Line-up wise, I'd go with these guys to start:

Blue
Mayo
DJO
Jae
J. Wilson

It's time for Vander to start at PG. It gets Mayo on the floor more and allows Vander to play up-top on offense, which is much better fit for him than playing the wing. Also, Junior's not doing too much to justify starting and playing major minutes.

Bench wise: Gardner, Junior & Anderson or Jones (which ever guy can make a contribution). I like Gardner coming off the bench more than starting, but his minutes need to be capped at 25. Therefore, either Jones or Anderson need to play a bit, especially when foul trouble hits. DG can't play 31 minutes a night like he did against GT.

I'd agree with that in a lot of games, but in a game against a tall opponent may want to try his line-up with the risk that any or all of the front line might be in foul trouble.  Maybe you start it, and then just let them know the first to commit a foul is sitting first.

But you are right - Mayo has certainly been better than Jamil so far this year.

[avid1010]

we had Crowder, J. Wilson, and DG in for a part of the GT game...if our "bigs" can play smart/get lucky through the first half, I could the three of them on the court at the same time doing some things for us as well. 

[forgetful]

Would it be possible to use a lineup like:

Vander, DJO, Wilson, Crowder, Gardner as the main minutes.

Then use Anderson as a starter in a role similar to Fulce and Erik Williams.  A guy to make sure we don't start out in foul trouble, not make mistakes and bring good energy.