So what do we know about our team?

[tower912]

3 games in 3 days, we've got to see them in action against high major teams  (alright, MSU is bad) on a neutral court.    What do we know about our team?
1.   It is going to be a different guy every night.
2.  Any of 5 guys can get double digits in any game.
3.  Juan is for real.   A glue guy, not a star.
4. Jake is for real.   See above.
5.  Junior, Vander, and Otule have all improved their offensive games
6.  Our defensive rotations got a little better every game.
7.  We will go 9 deep most nights.
8.   This team has a high ceiling.   If everybody is healthy, we will be better in March than we are in November.

How surprising is any of this?

[Tugg Speedman]

How surprising is any of this?

These two ....

3.  Juan is for real.   A glue guy, not a star.
4. Jake is for real.   See above.

[brewcity77]

3 games in 3 days, we've got to see them in action against high major teams  (alright, MSU is bad) on a neutral court.    What do we know about our team?
1.   It is going to be a different guy every night.
2.  Any of 5 guys can get double digits in any game.
3.  Juan is for real.   A glue guy, not a star yet
4. Jake is for real.   See above.
5.  Junior, Vander, and Otule have all improved their offensive games
6.  Our defensive rotations got a little better every game.
7.  We will go 9 deep most nights.
8.   This team has a high ceiling.   If everybody is healthy, we will be better in March than we are in November.

How surprising is any of this?

Fixed #3 for you. Juan is a glue guy now, but the way he's realizing his upside is incredible. I think he's going to be a stud. Might have the most upside of anyone on the team right now.

[tower912]

There was healthy discussion about both.   I thought Jake would get spot minutes but changed that after Mayo was declared ineligible.   Look, he is an experienced D1 performer with a career scoring average prior to this year over 12 PPG.  Juan is just making the natural progression from freshman to sophomore.   A pleasant surprise, but not a huge one.    The kid was one of the highest ranked players on the west coast.   He has to have SOME game. 

[real chili 83]

Bear with me for a minute....probably the best thing that happened to use was to lose to Butler.

Butler goes on to win tournament.  Good for the rpi.

More importantly, (1) the score of the Butler game did not reflect who the better team was.  With that said, congrats to Butler for finding a way to win (2) we came out swinging, and showed that we are a team to be reckoned with.  The announcers were in awe of our team's toughness.  We found out who will replace Jae and DJO.....it will be Ox, Vander, Wilson, CO, Juan, Jake..... You get the drift.

Gonna be a fun season .  Bring on becky.

[jsglow]

I've been thrilled by Jake's play.  Against BCS teams he can still scrap and impact the box score with rebounds, assists, etc.  And his D has been reasonably good.  I like scrappy.  And his shot will fall.

I've also been pleased with the work D. Wilson has done.  That was a great drive to the hoop today.  And he's been so very careful with the ball while continuing to play great D.

And how 'bout big Chris with the soft right and left baby hook.

[tower912]

You can tell that a whole bunch of Chris's activity before he was allowed contact was to receive a pass, turn and hook with either hand.    He still looks like a Kareem late in his career going up and down the floor.   The knee is clearly not 100%

[MUCam]

One more thing: Steve Taylor is going to b amazing. You can just see the oozing potential.

[GoldenZebra]

One more thing: Steve Taylor is going to b amazing. You can just see the oozing potential.

Same with Ferguson!

[ChicosBailBonds]

We have a traditional so I'm happy. 

All kidding aside, it's early for us and early for everyone else.  Not sure what we have yet, except the known quantities.

• Energized coach who will keep his guys playing hard and with passion.  High motor.


• A team with talented pieces that buy into what the coach is saying.


• A team with some weaknesses that may make us look rather ugly during some games.  I expect some head scratching losses this year, but it won't be because of a lack of effort.

Unknowns for me are guard play if Jr. gets in trouble or has an off night.  Consistent shooting against teams that will zone us up. 

I expected 2-1 in this tournament and a 3rd place finish.  We ended 2-1 and 5th place, but that's simply a result of how the bracketing works.  Hard to argue we weren't the 3rd best team in this tournament if not 2nd best, but the most talented team didn't even play for the title and that's college hoops.

[VegasWarrior77]

I really wish Junior hadn't come back so soon from his injury and still had that extra year of eligibility left!

[GGGG]

These two ....

3.  Juan is for real.   A glue guy, not a star.
4. Jake is for real.   See above.

Jake Thomas played 22 minutes yesterday and didn't score a point.  Vander does this as the board explodes. I honestly don't see why people are excited about him.  He's simply a guy out there.  He's smart, generally in the right place, but that's about it.

What is exciting about Juan is the progression from last year to this year.  His minutes have come back down to earth the last couple of games, but he at least has shown why he is worthy of a scholarship.

[jsglow]

Jake Thomas played 22 minutes yesterday and didn't score a point.  Vander does this as the board explodes. I honestly don't see why people are excited about him.  He's simply a guy out there.  He's smart, generally in the right place, but that's about it.

What is exciting about Juan is the progression from last year to this year.  His minutes have come back down to earth the last couple of games, but he at least has shown why he is worthy of a scholarship.

Folks are excited Sultan because Jake has demonstrated himself to be a 'real' basketball player, especially in the wake of Todd's departure.  He can give us minutes and we don't collapse.  That's huge.

[GGGG]

Folks are excited Sultan because Jake has demonstrated himself to be a 'real' basketball player, especially in the wake of Todd's departure.  He can give us minutes and we don't collapse.  That's huge.

Right.  Like I said, he's a guy out there.  I'm not sure why you put the "for real" label on him based on that.

[GGGG]

Let me also add that I really am starting to like this team.  If we can just get enough outside shooting to keep teams honest, we will be just fine.  I also think we are going to able to play at multiple tempos this year...this team can play the slow down game when it has to.

[jsglow]

Right.  Like I said, he's a guy out there.  I'm not sure why you put the "for real" label on him based on that.

Look at the stat line Sultan.  He had a handful of rebounds, some assists and even a block.  Sure he's 'a guy'.  My point is Rob Frozena isn't (no disrespect intended).

Long before your time, Al used to have the 'scrambled eggs' 2nd team squad.  None of them could play.  They're sole purpose was to give the 5 'real' ballplayers coach had a chance to catch their breath for 90 seconds.  They'd come in as a group; all 5 at once.  If my very vague memory from my youth serves, Dave Delsman was the leader of that group for awhile.  If Jake is the reincarnation of Dave Delsman, life's pretty good.

Have a great Thanksgiving Sultan.

[GGGG]

First of all, I would like to thank you for assuming I am younger than I actually am.  But the Al years were not "long before my time."  I'm 45, so I have memories of the '77 championship.

But second, I did see the boxscore.  He didn't play 90 seconds.  He played 22 minutes.  A back up #2 guard who goes scoreless and is so-so on defense doesn't meet my definition of being "for real."  It's like a reverse Vander...we are judging players versus our expectations and not on what exactly they are doing on the court.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

These two ....

3.  Juan is for real.   A glue guy, not a star.
4. Jake is for real.   See above.

I am shocked that Thomas is getting minutes...a real surprise. I am not surprised about Anderson.

[LloydMooresLegs]

I think the praise for Thomas is based on expectations.   Many (certainly not all) did not think that he would be anything other than a low minute spot-up shooter (and, post loss of Mayo, maybe a medium minute spot-up shooter/defensive liability).  It has turned out that he is a good all around player, who is getting minutes even though he isn't hitting the 3.   A reversal of expectations for many.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[NersEllenson]

Jake Thomas played 22 minutes yesterday and didn't score a point.  Vander does this as the board explodes. I honestly don't see why people are excited about him.  He's simply a guy out there.  He's smart, generally in the right place, but that's about it.

Maybe because Vander was a 5 star recruit...,and we've had 2 years to games to judge Vander by...Jake...5 games.  And if you can't see that Jake was impacting the game without scoring in the way of rebounds, assists, loose balls, spacing the floor and yes, even D - I don't know what to tell you.

Jake will be a solid contributor, and simply acknowledge, your bearish and negative view on him over the last year was wrong.  It's okay Sultan....I'm being proven wrong in my view on Blue this year.  Nobody bats 100% on prognostications.   

[TomW1365]

Jake Thomas had a key offensive rebound and what should have been the game winning three point play against Butler!  The kid does a lot more than fill minutes! 

[romey]

I like this team - a lot.  Much of what I see in terms of "negatives" seems to be things that will work themselves out and I see potential for quite a bit of improvement between now and March.  It's the never say die attitude. The world loves an underdog, and I think our scrappy play and work ethic will pay off.  We'll be in and out of the top 25 over the course of the season, and will have an opportunity to make some noise in March.

[brewcity77]

You can tell that a whole bunch of Chris's activity before he was allowed contact was to receive a pass, turn and hook with either hand.    He still looks like a Kareem late in his career going up and down the floor.   The knee is clearly not 100%

CO was already working on that left pivot before the injury. I remember seeing it in the Pro-Am last year and saying "whoa, where'd that come from?" But for sure he looks like a better player than he was a year ago and looks like he could be in for a fantastic next couple years.

[GGGG]

Maybe because Vander was a 5 star recruit...,and we've had 2 years to games to judge Vander by...Jake...5 games.  And if you can't see that Jake was impacting the game without scoring in the way of rebounds, assists, loose balls, spacing the floor and yes, even D - I don't know what to tell you.

Jake will be a solid contributor, and simply acknowledge, your bearish and negative view on him over the last year was wrong.  It's okay Sultan....I'm being proven wrong in my view on Blue this year.  Nobody bats 100% on prognostications.  

I have yet to be proven wrong about Jake Thomas.  He's a step slow on defense (don't mistake hustle for quickness) and cannot create his own shot.  Heady player, but that's about it.  Pretty much what I expected.

[4everwarriors]

Look at the stat line Sultan.  He had a handful of rebounds, some assists and even a block.  Sure he's 'a guy'.  My point is Rob Frozena isn't (no disrespect intended).

Long before your time, Al used to have the 'scrambled eggs' 2nd team squad.  None of them could play.  They're sole purpose was to give the 5 'real' ballplayers coach had a chance to catch their breath for 90 seconds.  They'd come in as a group; all 5 at once.  If my very vague memory from my youth serves, Dave Delsman was the leader of that group for awhile.  If Jake is the reincarnation of Dave Delsman, life's pretty good.

Have a great Thanksgiving Sultan.

Just can't let this slide. Back to Warrior Hoops 101. The essence of your post is basically correct. However, Al's "scrambled eggs" unit was circa 1965-68. As he recruited more talented players, there was no need for eggs.
Dave Delsman, was never part of that group. In fact, he played in the early 70's. coming out of Waukesha South, #23 went from walk-on to literally first guard off the bench. He not only
earned a scholarship, but was a valuable contributor for some extremely talented and successful Warrior teams.