Most improved player

[Big Papi]

Sounds like its Hayward.  Another informative blog by Rosiak.  The highlights:

Hayward the most improved.  More confident, hitting his outside shot and a beast scoring down low.

Acker extremely quick.  How quick?  Expect coast to coast layups.

Hazel with great measurements.  Huge wingspan and huge hands.


For more:

http://www.jsonline.com/blog/?id=308

[Murffieus]

The most important improvement for Lazar would be to hit the perimeter shot with just average consistency (35%). Last year he was mainly a garbage player-----loose ball and rebound putbacks as well as finishes off dish offs underneath.

[ozmetal71]

Nice to see that Lazar is really progressing well.  If he can play with his back to the hoop and still hit the outside shot that will really open up the entire offense and will help us against the zones that frustrated the team, and DJ especially last year.

I really like the balance that the team has, and its nice to see that shooting is being emphasized in practice.  If Fitz, Cubillian, and Hayward maintain consistent outside shots, then everything is opened up for the Big Three to play to their strengths and penetrate to the hoop.

Next year will be fun.  Very fun indeed.

[MUBasketball]

Very excited, no doubt.

When will the new assistant be announced? When Sichting left, I assumed the natural progression would be to bump up Coach Buckley. Is Crean possibly looking elsewhere? I wouldn't think so, so why delay an announcement?

[mu_hilltopper]

Assuming that all the pieces of the puzzle aren't in place yet is a safe bet, especially since Crean needs to hire a replacement for Sichting.

.. The Lazar news is great.  As is the Mo Acker news .. I love knowing that when DJ needs a breather, Mo will pick up the slack easily .. and I'll predict Mo will be the difference in 2-3 games this year, surprising us off the bench with energy and points.

And the 10 extra practices .. plus Kobe Camp, plus Pan Am games .. we'll be primed for the beginning of the year .. Maui right away, blow through UW, start the BE season 14-0, go 13-5 for a nice 27-5 record.  Win a couple at the BET, a couple at the NCAAs, 31-7.

... Let's start look looking at 2008-9.

[77ncaachamps]

Surprised Novak is practicing with them!

Also, with Rosiak's insights on Hayward and Acker...I hope DJ won't cry about not getting the star treatment anymore!    Those guys sound like they're gonna want theirs come this season!

[jtate15]

So DJ is trying out for the Pan-Am team. I thought he would be invited when he pulled out of the draft, but I must have missed the post.

I love the progress reports. Lokking forward to seeing Acker pull some Tony Parker type fast breaks in games.

[tower912]

I am thrilled to hear that Lazar is showing what he can do.  Shocked, shocked to hear that Burke was getting abused in the post.  I have a question for anyone who was at the practice.   Was Blackledge participating?    If they broke into 5-on-5's, the 10th player either has to be trend or a walk-on.

[MUfan12]

Very excited, no doubt.

When will the new assistant be announced? When Sichting left, I assumed the natural progression would be to bump up Coach Buckley. Is Crean possibly looking elsewhere? I wouldn't think so, so why delay an announcement?

Nothing on Sichting's replacement yet, but I would not be surprised if TC went back to the NBA ranks for this hire...

[77ncaachamps]

I am thrilled to hear that Lazar is showing what he can do.  Shocked, shocked to hear that Burke was getting abused in the post.  I have a question for anyone who was at the practice.   Was Blackledge participating?    If they broke into 5-on-5's, the 10th player either has to be trend or a walk-on.

I think Novak's name surfaced. He could have been the 10th man:

Deputy athletic director Mike Broeker made a good point midway through the afternoon, after watching Steve Novak step in and take a charge on a driving McNeal. "How many NBA players with a three-year guaranteed contract are taking charges on July 3?"

[nathanziarek]

And the 10 extra practices .. plus Kobe Camp, plus Pan Am games .. we'll be primed for the beginning of the year .. Maui right away, blow through UW, start the BE season 14-0, go 13-5 for a nice 27-5 record.  Win a couple at the BET, a couple at the NCAAs, 31-7.

Geez Hilltopper, way to ruin the season for me. Shouldn't that post come with a Spoiler Alert?

[Murffieus]

that's if we can avoid the ANNUAL year end swoon in 7 of the preceeding 8 years.

With the first loss in February we're 34-44 collectively over the past 8 years------compare that against 50 & 20 over the conference season prior to that first loss in February!

IMO the coaching staff has to do a better job of pacing the team through the WHOLE schedule !

[mu03eng]

that's if we can avoid the ANNUAL year end swoon in 7 of the preceeding 8 years.

With the first loss in February we're 34-44 collectively over the past 8 years------compare that against 50 & 20 over the conference season prior to that first loss in February!

IMO the coaching staff has to do a better job of pacing the team through the WHOLE schedule !

Now if we can only get PRN and 4ever to chime in about Crean being a PR hog and demanding to go back to the Warrior name we can get all of these routine posts out of the way early this month. 

[bananahammock]

i would assume that buckley takes sichting's spot.  rumor has it brian barone could be replacing buckley.  i'm sure we'll find out soon.

[Harrison]

Murf.....the first loss in February quotes ad nauseum are not only nauseating but they are plain dumb.  If you want to knock Crean do with a littel justification and a little bit of reason! 
I will be the first one to admit that while I think Crean has done a solid job with the program as a whole that he leaves a lot to be desired in the area of coaching.  However he proves that it's not all coaching when building a program. 
If one were break down his late season record, it cannot be compared to Novemebr and the buy gmaes nor can it really be compared to even J anuary.  As we all know whether it was C-USA and now especially in the BE, the February games are tailor made for TV, that means we will be facing the Pitts, Louisvilles, and Georgetowns of the schedule in Feb.   Those games will be on ESPN , many times in primetime.  A record over over .500 could be viewed as pretty darn solid.  After that you have the conference tourneys and the NCAA or NIT.  With only 12 teams at the BE tourney there are no "buy" games and then the NCAA is obvious pretty tough.  So to compare his "february" record versus other months is really a dumb argument.  Show me a coach in America over the last 8 years that have a winning percentage in March that matches his November or December record.  It simply does not happen.
Now one could argue that MU was in a terrible position to do well late in the 2005 season beacuse Crean had failed to secure a quaility backup point guard.  That would be valid.  But to simply compare Feb. to other months is to hold him to a standard no one else can match either.   

[jutaw22mu]

how many days left till the season begins?  im getting impatient already.  it sounds like haywards improvement has been astronomical....if so, it also might take some pressure off of ooze and get him easy buckets.  this team is going to be so deep...our guards can all play harderer knowing that their are very good replacements sitting behind them.  it also sounds like hazel might be able to contribute significantly right away.  

i cant wait for mbakwe to get here.

im also extremely excited that the team is able to practice a little bit this summer.  crean can push them in the right direction conditioning and individual workout wise.  hopefully hazel and cristopherson were able to watch the practice at least.

[jtate15]

It could be that Murf just believes in this team more than the most fans, and that Marquette can beat the trends that many college teams suffer from. If that's the case, you can't fault a guy for believing in his team. 

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

that's if we can avoid the ANNUAL year end swoon in 7 of the preceeding 8 years.

With the first loss in February we're 34-44 collectively over the past 8 years------compare that against 50 & 20 over the conference season prior to that first loss in February!

IMO the coaching staff has to do a better job of pacing the team through the WHOLE schedule !

Now if we can only get PRN and 4ever to chime in about Crean being a PR hog and demanding to go back to the Warrior name we can get all of these routine posts out of the way early this month. 

Maybe we could have them as bulletin posts up above... but then those guys wouldn't need to post 75% of their stuff.

[Marquette84]

 
If one were break down his late season record, it cannot be compared to Novemebr and the buy gmaes nor can it really be compared to even J anuary.  As we all know whether it was C-USA and now especially in the BE, the February games are tailor made for TV, that means we will be facing the Pitts, Louisvilles, and Georgetowns of the schedule in Feb.   Those games will be on ESPN , many times in primetime.  A record over over .500 could be viewed as pretty darn solid. 

This is absolutely true, and it was clearly reflected in the RPI this past season.

The average RPI for the first 10 Big East opponents was 97.2
For the final six Big East opponents, the average RPI was 28.2

The problem is that Murff simply can't justify his point with reason. 

If he used reason, he'd have to look at this past season's schedule and admit that the scheduled got a LOT tougher. 

[Murffieus]

Harrison----I'm not knocking anyone-----all I am telling you is that over the past 8 years MU is 50-20 in conference games up to the first loss in February-----with & after the first loss in February we are 34-44.

In the five Mike Deane years we are 36 wins and 20 losses with & after that first loss in February.

Bottomline TC does a great job up to that first loss in February----after that not very good-----IMO he needs to pace the practice tempo better over the whole season.

This is not a knock----these are facts that can and should be improved on!

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Harrison----I'm not knocking anyone-----all I am telling you is that over the past 8 years MU is 50-20 in conference games up to the first loss in February-----with & after the first loss in February we are 34-44.

In the five Mike Deane years we are 36 wins and 20 losses with & after that first loss in February.

Bottomline TC does a great job up to that first loss in February----after that not very good-----IMO he needs to pace the practice tempo better over the whole season.

This is not a knock----these are facts that can and should be improved on!

Even if I agreed with your premise (that MU is losing games in Feb. that they should/could win), I'm not sure that it's all about pacing. It's about execution, timing, game planning, etc. I'm not sure its as simple as easier practices later in the year.

[Murffieus]

But "timing and execution" are affected by burnout and fatique!

[mu_hilltopper]

Clearly, Crean has some disappointing win/loss records "after the first loss in February."

Equally as clearly, one of the reasons for that is the increased strength of the teams played during that time period.   I don't believe that explains the entire problem, though, as the pattern is quite strong.

[bilsu]

In two of the years we had major injuries. I think one of the reasons for the difference between Crean's November record and late season record has to do with Crean getting his players ready faster than the other teams. Part of it is his one on one style. Very hard for teams to be good enough defensively in November to stop our players drives. Defenses get better as the season goes on, so Crean's style becomes less effective. Has nothing to do with being more tired or worn down.

[77ncaachamps]

Harrison----I'm not knocking anyone-----all I am telling you is that over the past 8 years MU is 50-20 in conference games up to the first loss in February-----with & after the first loss in February we are 34-44.

In the five Mike Deane years we are 36 wins and 20 losses with & after that first loss in February.

Bottomline TC does a great job up to that first loss in February----after that not very good-----IMO he needs to pace the practice tempo better over the whole season.

This is not a knock----these are facts that can and should be improved on!

How are those end-of-the-season records affected by: Diener's injury, McNeal's injury, etc.?