Are we better than last year?

[Lennys Tap]

So, in summary, Mayo and J Wilson more or less = Buycks and Otule (with more upside). DJO, Vander, Jae and Junior are a year older and at least a little better. Gardner is much better. D Wilson can provide defensive depth. J Jones is better but, like J Anderson, tethered to the bench.

All of this versus one very major loss in JFB.

Too soon to judge.

[MuMark]

My bad I mixed up Dwight and Jae in PPG.

Dwight averaged 8.8 points a game last year.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/269/year/2011/marquette-golden-eagles

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

We are a much deeper team. Obviously, we miss Butler but in my opinion at this point we miss Otule more. One more big body (and a big front court defensive presence) and we'd be a top 10 team. Butler's loss is offset by the addition of Mayo and the big improvement by Gardner as well as DJO as a go-to guy. Junior is better and Jamil Wilson has come on huge. DWilson has also contributed a lot, even in limited minutes. Crowder has also stepped it up a bit. I think we're better this year.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Yes.  We are better and deeper than last year.  And the trend is upward.

[bilsu]

Last year's team was better in March than it was January 19th. I expect this year's team to be better in March than it is now. It is not correct to compare this year's team to the one that finished last year. It should be compared to last January 19th.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Where are people getting that we are deeper this year?  With Otule I'd agree we're about on par in terms of depth and quality of the top 8, but since conference play began we've basically only played 7 guys heavy minutes, with DWilson, Jones, and Anderson used sparingly/as situations warranted.  Last year we had 7 guys getting 17+ mpg, in addition to Davante and Fulce getting about 9 mpg and Erik Williams starting the first few minutes of every half.  At the beginning of the season with Gardner, Mayo, and JWilson coming off the bench and DWilson getting a lot of minutes we definitely looked deeper.  However, with Otule out for the year and Blue manning a lot more of the backup PG minutes, we don't go nearly as deep as last year.

[CTWarrior]

PG is probably a little worse this year (Cadougan improved, but Buycks missed)
SG better (DJO a little better, Mayo better than last years bench options)
SF much worse this year (JFB > Blue, a G stuck playing the 3)
PF a little better (Crowder more experienced)
C a wash (lose Otule, but Gardner playing great).

To me it comes down to what J Wilson is down the stretch.  Based on what I'd read here, I thought he was going to be a much more effective player than he has been thus far.  But he seems to be getting more confident and helpful with each game.  If he can provide some defense and rebounding and an occasional hoop, just be a positive contributor rather than a place holder/errant 3-ball chucker when he's on the floor, we're better than one year ago.  If not, we're the same and will advance as far as favorable match-ups take us.

[Windyplayer]

To me it comes down to what J Wilson is down the stretch.  Based on what I'd read here, I thought he was going to be a much more effective player than he has been thus far.  But he seems to be getting more confident and helpful with each game.  If he can provide some defense and rebounding and an occasional hoop, just be a positive contributor rather than a place holder/errant 3-ball chucker when he's on the floor, we're better than one year ago.  If not, we're the same and will advance as far as favorable match-ups take us.

You can literally see his confidence growing with each passing game. His rebounding has improved since the start of the season and he's developing a nice jumper. If he works on his interior game during the offseason, he has potential to be a really, really good player in the Big East.

[🏀]

You can literally see his confidence growing with each passing game. His rebounding has improved since the start of the season and he's developing a nice jumper. If he works on his interior game during the offseason, he has potential to be a really, really good player in the Big East.

I've never seen someone's confidence grow, literally.

[Windyplayer]

I've never seen someone's confidence grow, literally.

I'm sorry.

[THEultimateWARRIOR]

Dwight averaged 8.8 points a game last year.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/269/year/2011/marquette-golden-eagles

+1 why do people even lie about stats I dont get it.