"Play Steve more. Play Steve more." - Buzz postgame

[keefe]

I compared ST to a YOUNG  Maurice Lucas and ,as I have seen both play in their youth, I still stand by seeing the Potential. He has the frame to fill out and the game. People start comparing Freshman ST to a mature player and lose track of the point to try and be contrary. Don't they offer LOGIC 101 at MU anymore?

Compare ST coming out of Simeon to Luke coming out of Schenley:

   Luke was a Dapper Dan AA, that era's McDonald's AA
   Steve Taylor was not a McDonald's AA

   Luke was ranked by Sonny Vaccaro as the Nation's #1 Prep Sr 4 and #3 Overall prospect
   Steve Taylor was ranked by Scout as the Nation's #22 Prep Sr 4 and #92 Overall prospect

Luke was much more highly rated coming out of high school than Steve Taylor. An important note is that Luke wasn't always a Big. He grew 7" between his sophomore and junior seasons.

Luke was an All American at Marquette before leaving after his Junior year. He then played 14 seasons in the NBA. We all have high hopes for Taylor but he isn't in Luke's league.

 
 

[AZWarrior]

I feel bad for Steve.  It is his fate to be a freshman on the deepest MU team in forever.   This is literally the first team in a decade that doesn't need him to play big minutes.  In any of the other Buzz years, he would have gotten big minutes.   Under Crean the last few years, he woud have been Mbakwe.  He has game and will be good.   Just bad luck that he doesn't have to be a star this year.

Agreed.  On some MU teams I recall, Steve would not only be starting, he'd be one of the most effective players our there for us.  Oh, these are better days.   

[Mutaman]

I saw the "young" Maurice Lucas and Steve Taylor is no Maurice Lucas, young or old.

[JakeBarnes]

Buzz is going to revolutionize the game by playing the first 6-man floor rotation in order to get Steve more minutes.  Teams will have no answer for this, looking outnumbered on the floor.  The position will henceforth be known as the "ghost forward."

...It's been a long day.

[AZWarrior]

Buzz is going to revolutionize the game by playing the first 6-man floor rotation in order to get Steve more minutes.  Teams will have no answer for this, looking outnumbered on the floor.  The position will henceforth be known as the "ghost forward."

...It's been a long day.

It will work.  But to be effective our players have to move swiftly.  Constantly.  Even when the ball is not in play.  Constant swift movement.

[rocky_warrior]

It will work.  But to be effective our players have to move swiftly.  Constantly.  Even when the ball is not in play.  Constant swift movement.

And Buzz introduces basketball to the tertiary break.

[warriorchick]

I don't think that even Buzz knows Steve's full potential yet.  Keep in mind that he did not play a minute of organized basketball until he was a sophomore in high school. He's still learning.

[keefe]

I don't think that even Buzz knows Steve's full potential yet.  Keep in mind that he did not play a minute of organized basketball until he was a sophomore in high school. He's still learning.

The same for Lucas. Until his growth spurt he was on the swimming team.

Lucas was one of the three most nationally sought after recruits signed by Marquette and he went on to the most successful pro career until Wade. There is no point of comparison with Taylor.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Look at the picture of Lucas above as a skinny prep. Notice the physical comparison ?
You data geeks miss the whole point and get all excited to expound on what you can get off the Internet while totally missing the point. ST is a freshman and you can't possibly compare where he is to an NBA career. physically he reminds me of a YOUNG  Lucas. I would wish him as successful a career and expect good things from him but keep it real.

[keefe]

Look at the picture of Lucas above as a skinny prep. Notice the physical comparison ?
You data geeks miss the whole point and get all excited to expound on what you can get off the Internet while totally missing the point. ST is a freshman and you can't possibly compare where he is to an NBA career. physically he reminds me of a YOUNG  Lucas. I would wish him as successful a career and expect good things from him but keep it real.

Ok, let's look at the empirical evidence for both Lucas and Taylor coming out of high school (we won't mention anything about Luke's career at Marquette or the NBA):

Compare ST coming out of Simeon to Luke coming out of Schenley:

   Luke was a Dapper Dan AA, that era's McDonald's AA
   Steve Taylor was not a McDonald's AA

   Luke was ranked by Sonny Vaccaro as the Nation's #1 Prep Sr 4 and #3 Overall prospect
   Steve Taylor was ranked by Scout as the Nation's #22 Prep Sr 4 and #92 Overall prospect

Luke was much more highly rated coming out of high school than Steve Taylor. An important note is that Luke wasn't always a Big. He grew 7" between his sophomore and junior seasons.

[Tugg Speedman]

Ok, let's look at the empirical evidence for both Lucas and Taylor coming out of high school (we won't mention anything about Luke's career at Marquette or the NBA):

Compare ST coming out of Simeon to Luke coming out of Schenley:

   Luke was a Dapper Dan AA, that era's McDonald's AA
   Steve Taylor was not a McDonald's AA

   Luke was ranked by Sonny Vaccaro as the Nation's #1 Prep Sr 4 and #3 Overall prospect
   Steve Taylor was ranked by Scout as the Nation's #22 Prep Sr 4 and #92 Overall prospect

Luke was much more highly rated coming out of high school than Steve Taylor. An important note is that Luke wasn't always a Big. He grew 7" between his sophomore and junior seasons.

I hear what you're saying and I'm not disputing it.  But, Sonny Vaccaro is hardly an objective source.  That year he probably had 15 players ranked as #1 in the country at the position and #50 in the top 10 of the country. The guy was the original "street agent" in college basketball, and  a self-promoter first, who always made wild claims.

Vaccaro = A traditional World Wide Wes

[MUrugger]

I still loves me some Steve Taylor.  I only agreed with the comparison to Luke...and I meant physically, meaning body type, attack to the basket, ball firm in his hands like Luke.  He's even got the menace and the curled lip smile/smug of our beloved Mo Lucas.

I agree with the elephant man that this thread took a whole different tack than the one suggested by his post.  If one has been watching MU hoops for 40+ years (as precious few of those who post here do) you are hard pressed to come up with another player in those 40 years who more reminds you of Mo Lucas than Steve Taylor does.  That's it.  I agreed with the comparison.  Then the self-anointed, cybersperts took over, same as I left it.

Mo Lucas has arguably been the greatest Warrior ever.  I don't think Steve Taylor will ever be in that discussion--but he still in a lot of ways reminds me of a young Maurice Lucas.  (Though I don't remember Mo's 7-inch growth spurt while he was at MU, certainly not when he lived in McCormick for two years.)

The other thing...as I remember watching it on a pre-historic big screen in the Mug Rack, my recollection is that MU shoulda, coulda and woulda beat that undefeated Kent Benson, Scott May, Bobby Wilkerson, Quinn Buckner '76 Indiana team.  In a Mideast Regional final, the box score says we lost by 9.  I remember it as much closer than that, and a couple of key plays/calls that went against us decided the outcome, Luke-less, of-course.

I'll hang up now and may check back later to see how wrong I was...or maybe not.

[4everwarriors]

Was at that Tourney game in Baton Rouge. While the game was close, never got the feeling that MU would get over the hump and win it. Some foul trouble on Scott May helped us out. In the end, IU's roster was stocked with NBA players. While Quinn Buckner never became an Association superstar, once he stuck out his big, old tookus, you had no choice but to foul him.

[keefe]

I still loves me some Steve Taylor.  I only agreed with the comparison to Luke...and I meant physically, meaning body type, attack to the basket, ball firm in his hands like Luke.  He's even got the menace and the curled lip smile/smug of our beloved Mo Lucas.

I agree with the elephant man that this thread took a whole different tack than the one suggested by his post.  If one has been watching MU hoops for 40+ years (as precious few of those who post here do) you are hard pressed to come up with another player in those 40 years who more reminds you of Mo Lucas than Steve Taylor does.  That's it.  I agreed with the comparison.  Then the self-anointed, cybersperts took over, same as I left it.

Mo Lucas has arguably been the greatest Warrior ever.  I don't think Steve Taylor will ever be in that discussion--but he still in a lot of ways reminds me of a young Maurice Lucas.  (Though I don't remember Mo's 7-inch growth spurt while he was at MU, certainly not when he lived in McCormick for two years.)

The other thing...as I remember watching it on a pre-historic big screen in the Mug Rack, my recollection is that MU shoulda, coulda and woulda beat that undefeated Kent Benson, Scott May, Bobby Wilkerson, Quinn Buckner '76 Indiana team.  In a Mideast Regional final, the box score says we lost by 9.  I remember it as much closer than that, and a couple of key plays/calls that went against us decided the outcome, Luke-less, of-course.

I'll hang up now and may check back later to see how wrong I was...or maybe not.

Taylor and Luke have a resemblance, no question. And truly I hope he is the next coming of Luke and takes us back to our perennial perch at the top of CBB.

Luke's growth spurt was when he was at Schenley High. Until that happened his sport was swimming. He was a Dapper Dan selection when that was the McDonald's game. I was looking through the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic archives and it was interesting to read some of the MVPs of that annual game: Calvin Murphy, Patrick Ewing, Rod Strickland, Jim McDaniels, Campy Russell, Adrian Dantley, Moses Malone, Phil Hubbard, Tom McMillan, Sidney Green, Dominigue Wilkins, Pearl Washington, and Wes Matthews SR.

IU won the title in 1976. Had Luke stayed he would have graduated in '75 so he wouldn't have been a factor.