Vander

[jtsanto]

I was not able to see the game so I am asking this because of the stat line and a friends comments, what was up with Vander today? My friend said he seemed like he was not interested in the game. His line was clearly low for him and not sure if he is being passed by Mayo.

[esotericmindguy]

The short answer? He's not very good at basketball.

[nyg]

I was not able to see the game so I am asking this because of the stat line and a friends comments, what was up with Vander today? My friend said he seemed like he was not interested in the game. His line was clearly low for him and not sure if he is being passed by Mayo.

He did not play for the last 13 minutes when MU made it's run.  Mayo had the playing time.  Vander did see a few seconds at the end when Mayo fouled out.  Not a good day for him.

[AZWarrior]

Could be Buzz is coming to grips that Jr and Blue in the game together, against a team that is zoning us, is not a winning proposition.

[chicagowarrior]

afraid to shoot?

[GGGG]

Could be Buzz is coming to grips that Jr and Blue in the game together, against a team that is zoning us, is not a winning proposition.

It worked for a while against Syracuse.  I noticed that he was pulled right after he gave up a back door cut.  Never looked in the game at all.

[Markusquette]

It worked for a while against Syracuse.  I noticed that he was pulled right after he gave up a back door cut.  Never looked in the game at all.

Did anyone notice his body language or mannerisms while on the bench in the second half?  Did it look like he was pouting or was he into it?

[GGGG]

Some have commented that he looked like he was pouting or "not into it."  They never showed him on camera.

[MUMac]

Some have commented that he looked like he was pouting or "not into it."  They never showed him on camera.

I would disagree.  My seats are a few rows behind the bench.  At a key time in the game, he turned towards the crowd and waved his arms to get more noise.  He was cheering throughout, etc.  I even saw him extend his hand in a way that appeared to give a teammate a 5.

Sometimes when he plays poorly, he gets down on himself.  Some may take that as "pouting" or "not into it".  To me, he is upset with himself.  I think some people really look for any reason to criticize him.

[GGGG]

I would disagree.  My seats are a few rows behind the bench.  At a key time in the game, he turned towards the crowd and waved his arms to get more noise.  He was cheering throughout, etc.  I even saw him extend his hand in a way that appeared to give a teammate a 5.

Sometimes when he plays poorly, he gets down on himself.  Some may take that as "pouting" or "not into it".  To me, he is upset with himself.  I think some people really look for any reason to criticize him.

Good to hear because he was really not very good today.

[MUMac]

Good to hear because he was really not very good today.

He had some defensive moments.  But, some lapses as well.  He guarded Gibbs early in the 2nd half, and I thought did a good job.  Then they put DJO back on him and Gibbs continued to have a career day. 

That said, I would agree that Blue was not very good today. 

[MerrittsMustache]

From what I saw, Vander was definitely "into the game" while on the bench.

No, he wasn't having a good game, but Junior (when not vomitting) and Mayo were having good games so Vander found himself on the bench. That happens sometimes.

[JTBMU7]

i wonder if there is a bug going around the team. JC was puking, maybe vander was sick too? even when he play poorly on offense he still is aggressive, i dont recall him attacking at all today. seemed odd.
my guess is he bounces back big time against l'ville.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

I even saw him extend his hand in a way that appeared to give a teammate a 5.

I haven't seen a media story on this - clear anti-Blue bias!

[NersEllenson]

Could be Buzz is coming to grips that Jr and Blue in the game together, against a team that is zoning us, is not a winning proposition.

Bingo....thought this was one of Buzz's better coaching games that I recall.  In my opinion he found his go to lineup moving forward:  Cadougan, Mayo, DJO, Crowder, Wilson/Gardner with Mayo beginning to play "Blue" minutes, and Blue playing "Mayo" minutes.

Pitt ran the same play about 3 times in a row in the 2nd half that pulled Gardner up on high hedges..and MU got hurt in that with 3 buckets.  Buzz then sent Gardner to bench and Wilson into game.  Seemed Buzz modified his D in the St. John's game in the 2nd half where he allowed Gardner to not have to follow his man out to the top of key to defend ball screen.

Was good to see Jamil Wilson being very aggressive in all phases today.  He will be wildcard on the team this year...if he continues to play like he did today...team has Elite 8/Sweet 16 capability for sure.

[MUMac]

I liked some extended moments in the 1st half with DG, Crowder and Wilson on the floor.  This can only benefit Wilson, who is being forced to play out of position due to CO's injurty.

[bilsu]

A week ago there were posters arguing that he should replace Cadougan at point. That is a good indication that this board should not be the coach.

[brewcity77]

Did anyone notice his body language or mannerisms while on the bench in the second half?  Did it look like he was pouting or was he into it?

One thing I did notice during a break was that when Buzz was huddling with the guys, DW, Juan, and Vander were off to the side, not really part of it. He had a bad day, Buzz was clearly sending a message, but I wouldn't worry. There isn't a player on this team that hasn't had a bad day or two this year. The main difference here is that Van's every mistake is under a microscope, whereas a lot of other guys are given a pass.

[jtsanto]

Did anyone notice his body language or mannerisms while on the bench in the second half?  Did it look like he was pouting or was he into it?

This is what I am saying! This seems to be a trend and then they leave

[We R Final Four]

Bingo....thought this was one of Buzz's better coaching games that I recall.  In my opinion he found his go to lineup moving forward:  Cadougan, Mayo, DJO, Crowder, Wilson/Gardner with Mayo beginning to play "Blue" minutes, and Blue playing "Mayo" minutes.

Pitt ran the same play about 3 times in a row in the 2nd half that pulled Gardner up on high hedges..and MU got hurt in that with 3 buckets.  Buzz then sent Gardner to bench and Wilson into game.  Seemed Buzz modified his D in the St. John's game in the 2nd half where he allowed Gardner to not have to follow his man out to the top of key to defend ball screen.

Was good to see Jamil Wilson being very aggressive in all phases today.  He will be wildcard on the team this year...if he continues to play like he did today...team has Elite 8/Sweet 16 capability for sure.

You may want to hold off on buying those tickets for the Elite 8 just yet.  Love to see the improvement of JW today, but keep in mind this was his best game and it came against a winless conf. foe in Pitt.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

You may want to hold off on buying those tickets for the Elite 8 just yet.  Love to see the improvement of JW today, but keep in mind this was his best game and it came against a winless conf. foe in Pitt.

It was not his best game, Villanova was. But he's become a really solid contributor off the bench and is probably our most athletic player. Not sure what there is to complain about as far as Wilson is concerned. He's the guy who's going to be one to watch in the next couple years, not Vander.

[jsglow]

I think that Mayo's defensive development was part of the reason that VB only played 15 minutes.  Mayo has always been more of a threat offensively and did a really good job guarding '12' (as Buzz would say) nothwithstanding a couple of misguided fouls on long three point attempts.  That said, I actually am starting to like Blue at the Point position when JC is out of the game.  Kind of funny, he'll play the one and the three but really can't effectively play the two.  Yesterday was not a good game because of turnovers and one or two defensive lapses.

One quick thought on Gibbs . . . He played one heck of a game yesterday in what he and Pitt perceived as a 'do or die' situation.  No one should worry that his career high was some kind of MU defensive lapse.  Best player on the floor, hands down.

[avid1010]

A week ago there were posters arguing that he should replace Cadougan at point. That is a good indication that this board should not be the coach.

in essence this is much of what buzz did.  junior was playing well, so blue spent some time on the bench.  if you play it out a few years down the road, we have one more year of junior, and i don't believe tj taylor will be a pg for mu.  so, if blue can get comfortable at the PG position, during the remainder of this season and the 2012-2013 season, we'll have an experienced senior as a PG in 2013-2014 when we return everyone but junior.  if blue can't play the pg position well, then we're looking at tj taylor or d. wilson.  i don't believe wilson can defend, rebound, create, or finish as well as blue, and the shooting seems to be equal, so the thought of having a senior point guard for a team that will return 90%+ of it's scoring in 2013-2014 is appealing to me.  

i would also think buzz could recruit a pretty good freshman point guard for the 2013-2014 season as there should be playing time available, especially in upcoming years.  

i have to believe tj is a better shooter than blue, and to have mayo and tj taylor at the wings will open the lane for a point guard of blue's athleticism and size to get to the rim.  buzz isn't going to come out and say this type of thing publicly, but what makes this board fun is to try and predict that type of thing.

[We R Final Four]

It was not his best game, Villanova was. But he's become a really solid contributor off the bench and is probably our most athletic player. Not sure what there is to complain about as far as Wilson is concerned. He's the guy who's going to be one to watch in the next couple years, not Vander.

PRN--who is complaining about Wison?  Like I said he played great.

[wadesworld]

The short answer? He's not very good at basketball.

Yeah, he's part of the less than 1% of high school kids who get a division 1 athletic scholarship, not to mention starting on an upper half Big East men's basketball team, but he's not very good at basketball. OK guy.