Do you want James back?

[muhoops1]

Dude DJ is option 1 for as long as he chooses to play at MU.  The other guys are insurance policies against him leaving.  Period.  End of story.  If he goes it is a blow to the program.  One from which they will recover, but a blow none the less.  I'm hoping for one more year.  One more year that he doesn't work on his jumper for the scouts ala Doc Rivers' final year.

[4everwarriors]

This is a non-story during a slow period in college hoops. Like it or not, DJ will be back since there is no way in hell he gets drafted in the first round this year unless, of course, the Bucks use the third pick on the local guy.

[ChicosBailBonds]

This is a non-story during a slow period in college hoops. Like it or not, DJ will be back since there is no way in hell he gets drafted in the first round this year unless, of course, the Bucks use the third pick on the local guy.

Your last prediction had Billy Donovan as the head coach at Kentucky....you should lay off the predictions for awhile.

 

[DAtruth]

i have seen acker in person many times..including when he was a fresh at ball state...he will be a great point guard for mu..will be a threat from distance in time...however, with that said, he is no dj!!! certain guys' ceilings are lower than others..

the people who vote no are the same people who boo him walking down the street and harrass the leading scorer 4 mins into a game..basketball i.q. of ZERO...whats funny to me is everyone talks about how bad a shooter and  bad decision maker he is..well folks he leads in assists..and points...seems to me question needs to be ..whats every1 else doing???

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

Agree that James is always option #1. Still think it's 50/50 as to whether he will be back for us next season. If not, I see the PG position as a true platoon set-up with Cubillan getting the early edge at the beginning of the season because even though both have only been in the program one year Cubillan actually played in the games.

Should be interesting to watch that position as it develops during the season.

[77ncaachamps]

I think everyone is worked up about losing James. This team will run and be efficient even without him. James is no doubt a freak of an athlete but he does not make this team go. If he did, Crean would've given him the green light ALL the time. (Then again, he did and he missed a lot of shots.) Putting DJ in perspective: Diener could carry a team, DJ can't. That's mostly because Diener can shoot.

Next year's team will be fine without James. We'll have tons of guards to run the offense. No, they will not be filling his shoes, but they'll bring a different aspect to the game. What needs to change is the frontcourt play and the last time I checked DJ is not part of that.

Please don't overemphasize DJ's shot over Valpo. Whooopeeeee. One shot. DMase hit a big shot, where's he now?

Dissenting opinions should be welcome on the boards. Just because I don't want DJ back does not mar my enthusiasm for Marquette Hoops (heck, Mike Deane couldn't even do that!). I just feel that this is a good move for MU and especially for DJ because he's not going to get a better shot at the draft over the next two years.

[Virginia Warrior 77]

If DJ leaves there will be a HUGE void that may or not be adequately filled.  Lost in the discussion about shooting percentages, etc., is the fact that DJ brings a high level of leadership and toughness that no one else on the team has yet exhibited.  Maybe someone else will step up (Jerel? Wesley?) if he leaves.  But that is not a given.  If DJ does not return, it will be a tough season if no one steps in to fill the leadership and toughness vacuum, IMO.

[4everwarriors]

I'm also the guy who predicted in February that Crean wouldn't have to worry about a second round tourney game this year.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Maybe some people aren't worried about not having him back because they don't enjoy his style of play? Some people prefer basketball players to "athletes" when it comes to observing. Is that acceptable?

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'm also the guy who predicted in February that Crean wouldn't have to worry about a second round tourney game this year.

You knew then that McNeal was going to break his hand in February...damn, you are Nostra Damus

[ChicosBailBonds]

Maybe some people aren't worried about not having him back because they don't enjoy his style of play? Some people prefer basketball players to "athletes" when it comes to observing. Is that acceptable?

PRN, I would think the NBA is drafting basketball players who are great athletes, not great athletes that know a little about basketball.

In college you can "out athlete" someone, not in the NBA where everyone is a great athlete.  If DJ gets drafted, then it's for one reason...he's a damn good basketball player

[mu03eng]

First of all, I was mearly presenting the Valpo game as an example of when James put this team on his back and carried them.  How about if I throw the Duke game from this year as well?

I'm all for disent, insanity is another animal though. 

77 and PRN I think you both greatly underestimate what DJ does for this team.  Yes his shooting sucked in the second half of the season and especially against MSU.  So you say Cube would be a better shooter.....I agree however he is not a create his own shot kind of player, nor does he have much of a drive abiliity or at least not one that we have seen yet.  DJ created a ton off the drive in both points and assists.  So if DJ is gone who is our slasher?  Jerel?  Cause I'm pretty sure both of you have complained that Jerel is too out of control sometimes.  And Acker is a big unknown....we think he will do fine but it sounds like he has about half the athletism that DJ has.

Bottom line is with DJ we are a top 10 team.  Without we are a top 25 team.  Maybe thats ok with you but not really with me.  Plus you are leaving DJ's two years of experience out and expect players with at most one year of BE experience to replace him.  I just think thats crazy is all.

[77ncaachamps]

Bottom line is with DJ we are a top 10 team.  Without we are a top 25 team.  Maybe thats ok with you but not really with me.  Plus you are leaving DJ's two years of experience out and expect players with at most one year of BE experience to replace him.  I just think thats crazy is all.

I am not sold that we are a top 10 team with DJ. Maybe just for the sake of rankings, we're near a top 10 team but I don't see any improvement coming for our frontcourt to warrant a top 10 ranking.

We were spoiled with Diener and Novak's 4 years of service, and we expect the same from every talented player that steps through MU's threshold. If a player wants to declare for the draft, they'll do so - of course, with the guidance of Coach Crean. It may be deemed only in the negative light because of an incomplete term of service to MU, but it draws more attention to our program. And THAT's a good thing.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Maybe some people aren't worried about not having him back because they don't enjoy his style of play? Some people prefer basketball players to "athletes" when it comes to observing. Is that acceptable?

I think that is honest... and that is acceptable.

I don't like DJ's style of play sometimes, but you take the good with the bad when you are talking about a kid that good.

[bilsu]

I voted yes. However, if he does not comebackI think MU has enough guards to minimize the loss. The situation is much better than it was when Diener was the only player on the team that could play point. The 25+ minutes that James would get gives the other players more opportunity and the playing time, because James is not here can lead to a happier team. Either way the team's weakness is at the power positions.

[muwarrior87]

While I would love to see him back and running the point, I am not sure how likely it is. He had a sophomore slump once conference came around, there is a reason that it's called a "sophomore slump". If he is back, I'm sure his decision making and overall abilities will be improved and he will play more like the DJ we saw against Valpo and the first time around against Pitt when he helped considerably in solidifying that victory.  Either way we will have a really good team next year. The one deciding factor on how good it is will be whether or not DJ is in the lineup.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

While I would love to see him back and running the point, I am not sure how likely it is. He had a sophomore slump once conference came around, there is a reason that it's called a "sophomore slump". If he is back, I'm sure his decision making and overall abilities will be improved and he will play more like the DJ we saw against Valpo and the first time around against Pitt when he helped considerably in solidifying that victory.  Either way we will have a really good team next year. The one deciding factor on how good it is will be whether or not DJ is in the lineup.

I agree, I think with more maturity his consistency will increase. He's probably never going to be a lights out shooter, but he can certainly get better at shot selection, and hopefully the "lows" aren't as "low" and the team (and DJ specifically)will play more like they did against Duke all year long.

DJ does so many things well, that even when he isn't shooting well, he can dominate a game... he just has to get better at realizing when he is a little "off" and concentrate on doing all of the other things that make him great.

The players around him could help that as well... if they are scoring and making plays it will be easier for DJ to just direct the action instead of trying to create the action on each possesion.

This is an important off-season for the boys... it's time to gel together as a team and learn to play at a very high level every time they step on the floor.

[Warrior Farls]

Please don't overemphasize DJ's shot over Valpo. Whooopeeeee. One shot. DMase hit a big shot, where's he now?

One shot?  Didn't he score the last 17 points of the game?  That's a helluva "one shot".

[mu_hilltopper]

Just sayin .. scoring the last 17 (14?) points of a game isn't a testament to you as much as it shows how badly your teammates were struggling during that period.

Just sayin.

[mu03eng]

Then it is a testament to you because you are seeing ALL of the defensive attention.  If I see one guy has scored the last 10 points on my team don't you think the whole team starts to key in on the guy?  Also we have seen plenty of times where a majority of the team in whatever sport is lagging and one guy tries to do it himself and can't.

[Djgoldnboy]

Everyone seems to be concentrated on his offense particularily his shooting woes for why they want him out. The two areas he'll be missed most if he goes is drive creating/assits and his D.  James passing skills are on the level D Wade's were when he was playing for us and as for DJ's D, I can remember two different alley-oop break ups that come to mind this year where DJ essentially became a free safety and intercepted the ball pretty high above the rim.  As much as I like Cooby and Acker, there is no way in hell they make plays like that.

Glad to see there are only 15 idiots on this board, thought the trolls would come out in greater numbers for this one.

[77ncaachamps]

Everyone seems to be concentrated on his offense particularily his shooting woes for why they want him out. The two areas he'll be missed most if he goes is drive creating/assits and his D.  James passing skills are on the level D Wade's were when he was playing for us and as for DJ's D, I can remember two different alley-oop break ups that come to mind this year where DJ essentially became a free safety and intercepted the ball pretty high above the rim.  As much as I like Cooby and Acker, there is no way in hell they make plays like that.

Glad to see there are only 15 idiots on this board, thought the trolls would come out in greater numbers for this one.

I don't think we'll be missing his assists. He only managed to average 4.9 assists per game, which is not stellar for a PG. McNeal averaged 3.8 apg as a shooting guard.

Assists only occur when you get the ball to your playmakers and they make it. For sure DJ was chucking up shots and missing them, but his guys he was passing to didn't make their shots.

I will not be surprised if Acker averages more. And that's my stone cold lock of the year.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I will not be surprised if Acker averages more. And that's my stone cold lock of the year.

WOW.

You have some high expectations for Acker (I guess I hope you are right).

It's almost how a lot of people thought that Fitz could step in and fill Novak's role. I love Fitz because of all of the things he can do, but very few players can step in and fill a NBA draft picks shoes.

I feel the same way about Acker and James. Acker will be a good player, but it would/will be very tough for him to just come in and fill James' shoes.

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

I want Good DJ. (2005-06 DJ)
I don't want Bad DJ (Too much of 2006-07).

If he's more decisivie (ie: not driving with his head down only to realize under the basket that he has no shot there), and can be better in his floor shot selection, then yes, I want him back.