This is J Wilson's team next year....he will be the man!

[RealWarriorFan]

J Wil, and the frosh along with Davante and Steve have a shot to go along way.  I know that Chris is a 6th year Sr. however I believe this will be J. Wil's team and he will take them a long way!

[JD]

Because the thread stating Jamil Wilson wasn't enough..

[MUWarrior11]

Because the thread stating Jamil Wilson wasn't enough..

Uh-oh, the Message Board Police are here!

Anyways, I agree. This is his team. I'm hoping for a Wes-esque breakout senior year.

[MUUWUWM]

Uh-oh, the Message Board Police are here!

Anyways, I agree. This is his team. I'm hoping for a Wes-esque breakout senior year.

lol.... damn cops are annoying aren't they!

[Les Nessman]

I bet Jamil and Buzz have had this conversation since Blue let them know. He's going to have to step up for real now. He's not going to be able to disappear for halves now, let alone entire games. Would love it if Vander passed along that white hot competitive fire that Buzz praised him for having to Jamil.

[RushmoreAcademy]

In Jamil we trust.

[bilsu]

I think it will be Gardner's team. As talented as Wilson is he likes being a complementary player.

[Markusquette]

Anyone think there's a very slight chance for a redux and poor poor man's version of the three amigos next year?  It would be cool if three of our newcomers were all solid contributors in the rotation (Duane, JJJ, Jameel).  The freshmen will be on a short leash but with all the openings it could be our year of the new guys.

[Stretchdeltsig]

I agree that it will be Jamil's team next year.  He will be an excellent leader.  He has the talent to lead as a high energy, intense "difference making" player and the high intelligence to verbally lead the team on the court.  It will be exciting to watch him be the "go to guy."  Jamil, it's yours if you want it.  We hope you want it.  You can take the team all the way!

[Blackhat]

When's it going to be Otule's team?

[drewm88]

When's it going to be Otule's team?

I believe that's scheduled for his 11th year.

[Sunbelt15]

In Jamil we trust.

To do what? It was his team last year and he wasn't much of a leader. Gardner deserves the leader title since Blue is gone.

[brewcity77]

I'll be curious to see who steps into the team leadership role. Cadougan grew into it as a senior even though Blue was the guy who more often put the team on his back. I think that might be my biggest concern next year. Jamil has never seemed like a leader. He's more soft-spoken and excels as the #2 guy. Gardner is emotional, but I'm not sure that makes him the emotional leader.

I look at three guys that I'm not sure are right for the role. Steve Taylor looks like he might have the character to be a leader and with a year in the system may feel more comfortable in that role. Derrick Wilson will need to up his game but will at least be at the right position. And maybe even Jameel McKay as he seems familiar with the team already and will be stepping in as an upperclassman.

One thing that Junior always brought was that "second coach on the floor" mentality. We will definitely miss having that next year.

[MUHoopsFan2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT5DTPuS7NI

[UticaBusBarn]

There is little doubt that Wilson is the most talented player. He has all the skills to be as good as, if not better than, Blue was.

However, my hunch is the 2013-14 Warrior team is going to Gardner's team. If you look at the tape of the NCAA  games, it was always Gardner who was pointing and directing the fellows on the floor, especially at the end.

And while Blue was clutch in four of the five final games of the season, it was more often Gardner that the team sought when it needed a boost during the course of the season. (Remember how in any number of games Blue "disappeared", or "faded" in the second half?)

Regardless, the paradox is Gardner, who was basically a three-two star, or no star, has turned out to be the last man standing of his class. Reggie Smith, who was actually playing ahead of Junior, at point guard, has transferred himself into basketball no-where-land. Mellow, who looked liked he had turned the corner at the home Notre Dame game, blew his big opportunity in the first half of the West Virginia game ... never to heard from again. Now Blue is gone, hopefully, to the NBA.

Gardner, I think, is both smart and instinctive. Each of the previous three years he has improved by about 50 percent from the year before. He never seems to get rattled and obviously thrives on pressure and like the lights of the big stage.

I think this is going to Gardner's team.

[bilsu]

To me the leader has to be a maximum effort guy. Until he tires, Gardner is putting out maximum effort while Jamil is coasting.

[MU82]

It's not always the case, but it sure helps if your leader is the guy who has the ball in his hands a lot. That's why guards are leaders of lots of teams. A forward or center can lead in other ways: verbally, by example, as a "big brother" to other players, etc.

For most of the season, I considered Junior to be the leader, and he certainly showed those tendencies when he made the 3 vs. UConn and when he tried to make the game-tying shot in OT against Cinci. The team always played better when Junior was having a good game, no matter who else did well.

Vander obviously became the leader down the stretch of the season.

Both "led" by being willing and able to produce when the game was on the line.

Jamil? We'll see. He certainly made a couple of big threes against Davidson. But he doesn't create opportunities for others -- which is something a leader usually does on the court. And he's actually pretty bad with the ball, which is why I don't think he's much of an NBA prospect at this point. Needs to improve.

[ATL MU Warrior]

To me the leader has to be a maximum effort guy. Until he tires, Gardner is putting out maximum effort while Jamil is coasting.

Gardner puts out maximum effort only when it's going well on the offensive end.  If he's not getting buckets, he's not doing much else.

[willie warrior]

Gardner puts out maximum effort only when it's going well on the offensive end.  If he's not getting buckets, he's not doing much else.

The problem with that off the cuff comment is that it is not true, because in most gamesHE IS GETTING BUCKETS
In MU's 35 games this year, Gardner scored 6 points or more in 25 of them(71%)
In another game that he was not getting buckets, UCONN, he was 1 for 8 but 13-15 on FT's and had 11 rebounds,
In other games where he was less than 6 points, he shot 42%, averaged 2.8 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assist.
So, guess what, he gets buckets in most games, and for the most part contributes in other ways when not scoring.
You could analyze most MU players stats and find that in a number of games, they did not contribute as well as Gardner, so why single him out?

[ATL MU Warrior]

The problem with that off the cuff comment is that it is not true, because in most gamesHE IS GETTING BUCKETS
In MU's 35 games this year, Gardner scored 6 points or more in 25 of them(71%)
In another game that he was not getting buckets, UCONN, he was 1 for 8 but 13-15 on FT's and had 11 rebounds,
In other games where he was less than 6 points, he shot 42%, averaged 2.8 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assist.
So, guess what, he gets buckets in most games, and for the most part contributes in other ways when not scoring.
You could analyze most MU players stats and find that in a number of games, they did not contribute as well as Gardner, so why single him out?

Uh, because I was responding to a comment about Davante Gardner always putting forth maximum effort, which I believe, based on watching all of our games this year, is completely incorrect.

[MU82]

The problem with that off the cuff comment is that it is not true, because in most gamesHE IS GETTING BUCKETS
In MU's 35 games this year, Gardner scored 6 points or more in 25 of them(71%)
In another game that he was not getting buckets, UCONN, he was 1 for 8 but 13-15 on FT's and had 11 rebounds,
In other games where he was less than 6 points, he shot 42%, averaged 2.8 rebounds, 1 block and 1 assist.
So, guess what, he gets buckets in most games, and for the most part contributes in other ways when not scoring.
You could analyze most MU players stats and find that in a number of games, they did not contribute as well as Gardner, so why single him out?

Jeesh, willie ... as my kids used to say to me and my wife: "You don't have to yell at me!"