Offensive Problems v. Southern

[GGGG]

No one taking the ball to the rim.  We either pounded it inside or took a 3 point shot.  Rarely did we get a paint touch on dribble penetration.  Mayo had a couple good moves...both Wilsons had a couple...but outside of that pretty much nothing.  Could be a problem.

[TVDirector]

ugly O, especially in 2nd half.
13 FG's made in the entire game?
amazing.

[Jay Bee]

Didn't see the game, but I do know Southern has some interior D talent that is rare for its level - specifically Calvin Godfrey, a Milwaukee/Minneapolis kid who spent a little time at Iowa State. He's a big, physical D-I talent.

And he's new there this year... to a team that was actually among the NCAA's best in defensive 2FG%.

So... not making excuses, but for MU to not convert a lot of 2FG's.. what were they at? Looks like 39%ish? Which is about what Southern gave up last year.. 40.5%ish.

OR's & TO's concerning as well... but again, good defense relative to the quality of Southern overall. .89 ppp is pretty brutal... looks like 63 pts in 71 possessions...

Anyway... blabbing, but for now more worried about trends and playing this poorly offensively against a bad defense, which I'd say Southern isn't....although Hiroshima is nice this time of year.

[Windyplayer]

The team is obviously in the early stages (the earliest stage) of discovering who they are, but how nice is it to have a couple of scorers that can carry the load until the rest of the team catches up, which won't be long, hopefully. We have rarely had a tandem like this step up early on and post legit point totals--it's nice. It's guys like Gardner, Mayo, and J. Wilson that are going to keep us from dropping one to a cupcake (and gulp, destroying our RPI). 

[NotAnAlum]

This game did nothing to relieve my fears of our point guard situation.  Offensively Derrick looks pretty much like the same guy that finished the year.  If your point guard can't drive, can't finish, can't shoot the 3 and can't make free throws your offense is going to bog down.  One positive was that Dawson didn't look totally lost.  He should be an adequate backup.  But Duane Wilson can't get healthy soon enough and until he does the offense will struggle.  

[Mobot]

53 free throw attempts.  Southern was hacking at every opportunity.  I am sure that had something to do with our fg% and ugly offensive performance.

[brewcity77]

Nothing to worry about. As Jay Bee pointed out, Southern is not a bad team. How quickly we forget that they made 1-seed Gonzaga look bad last March. The game was never in doubt. There are wrinkles to iron out, but this game was our version of the exhibition game. Work out the kinks and get the W. That's all that matters. We did both.

[Jay Bee]

Where was the OReb'ing though? Big Steve we need that 15.5% again this year!!

@JBBauer612
#mubb's 13.3 OR% was lower tonight than any game last yr. It was closer to 19% excl'g DR of MU FT misses but still, rough.

[brandx]

53 free throw attempts.  Southern was hacking at every opportunity.  I am sure that had something to do with our fg% and ugly offensive performance.

No way to get any rhythm or even a lot of shots when you are at the line all night.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Where was the OReb'ing though? Big Steve we need that 15.5% again this year!!

@JBBauer612
#mubb's 13.3 OR% was lower tonight than any game last yr. It was closer to 19% excl'g DR of MU FT misses but still, rough.

MU's 36 FG attempts were the fewest (tied) it has attempted in a game in Statsheet's recorded history. Hard to rebound when fouled every time down the court. 

http://statsheet.com/mcb/games/stats?season1=1997&season2=2012&conf=&team=marquette&stat=fg_attempted&low=1

[Mumichfan06]

53 free throw attempts.  Southern was hacking at every opportunity.  I am sure that had something to do with our fg% and ugly offensive performance.

Let's keep making the free throws and let teams hack away. Need to make the freebies. I don't think we can rely too heavily on a great offensive perimeter game and need to make teams pay on the line.

[mu03eng]

Let's keep in mind that every year Buzz starts with the defense and once that is installed focuses on the offense.  Given the new rules or emphasis or whatever it is, it will likely take longer to get the defense up and running, hence the offense will struggle for a while.  Let's talk at the end of the non-con where the offense is and then panic.

[avid1010]

d. wilson was the only player that really disappointed me.  obviously mayo played well, which was a question mark.  i didn't think j wilson played great, but it seemed that he was anxious to show he's improved his outside shot (which wasn't bad to start).  gardner and otule are known commodities.  the freshmen were freshmen.  i guess taylor jr. disappointed to a degree as well.  it just worries me that d. wilson didn't do anything offensively, can't make free throws, and buzz needed to play him 34 minutes.  the fact that he played 34 minutes and only got to the line twice is bothersome in itself.  we'll see, but i think that's going to be a problem for mu this year. 

[4everwarriors]

Thank goodness it's a big man's game or the current lack of a high major 1 guard would be bitin' Buzz in the ass.

[raul]

The 2nd half was hard to watch. I know its the first game of the year and Southern kept committing fouls but the offense was disappointing.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Thank goodness it's a big man's game or the current lack of a high major 1 guard would be bitin' Buzz in the ass.

The season is young, plenty of ass-biting in the future if we don't get some better guard play

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Remember guys, Buzz doesn't do THAT much "coaching" in the non-conference season. It's more "teaching".

He was certainly into the game emotionally, and diagramming plays... but he was also letting the guys struggle through some growing pains. Buzz views these games as a teaching and learning opportunity.

We have seen this every year. It's not new.

I don't know if you will ever see a Buzz Williams team come in with a solidified rotation and blow the doors off early season non-conf. opponents. He's always going to be tinkering, especially when there is depth.

[brandx]

Remember guys, Buzz doesn't do THAT much "coaching" in the non-conference season. It's more "teaching".

He was certainly into the game emotionally, and diagramming plays... but he was also letting the guys struggle through some growing pains. Buzz views these games as a teaching and learning opportunity.

We have seen this every year. It's not new.

I don't know if you will ever see a Buzz Williams team come in with a solidified rotation and blow the doors off early season non-conf. opponents. He's always going to be tinkering, especially when there is depth.

+1000

[Dawson Rental]

Let's keep in mind that every year Buzz starts with the defense and once that is installed focuses on the offense.  Given the new rules or emphasis or whatever it is, it will likely take longer to get the defense up and running, hence the offense will struggle for a while.  Let's talk at the end of the non-con where the offense is and then panic.

Okay, just as long as we still get to panic.

[bilsu]

d. wilson was the only player that really disappointed me. 

Why did he disappoint you? He is not a scorer and you are going to be disappointed all year, if you expect scoring out of him. He drove to the rim twice and got fouled twice. Officially he had no shots. 1-4 four from free throw line is not good. However, what is better no field goals on no shots or JJJ having no field goals on four shots? I would say Otule was disappointing, because I am expect him to make some baskets and he did not. Juan was disappointing also as I expected more out of him. Derrick exceeded my expectations, because I thought he would have trouble with the hand check rules and he did not.

[tower912]

Buzz is breaking in 3 freshman guards, a new starting PG, giving one of his SG's his first consistent run in 2 years.  He hasn't put in an offense yet.   As always, he is working on defense first.   OF COURSE THERE WERE OFFENSE ISSUES.    He teaches his players concepts, how to play, first.   Then he installs an offense.  He is willing to look bad in November in order to look good in March.   Who here can question the results? 

For the first time in Buzz's time at MU, he is breaking in an inexperienced backcourt all at once.    Do the math.   There will be struggles as the new guys figure out how to play buzzball.    Start worrying if MU still looks bad in February. 

[avid1010]

Why did he disappoint you? He is not a scorer and you are going to be disappointed all year, if you expect scoring out of him. He drove to the rim twice and got fouled twice. Officially he had no shots. 1-4 four from free throw line is not good. However, what is better no field goals on no shots or JJJ having no field goals on four shots? I would say Otule was disappointing, because I am expect him to make some baskets and he did not. Juan was disappointing also as I expected more out of him. Derrick exceeded my expectations, because I thought he would have trouble with the hand check rules and he did not.

the disappointing part was that he needs to play better for mu to be legit.  i don't believe anyone on mu, especially otule, will take a step backward over the off-season, so i'm not concerned about him.

so it was disappointing that in a game when fouls were being called so closely, our point guard played 34 minutes and only got to the line twice.  you stated in your post that he drove twice and got fouled twice...if he could make a damn free-throw he should have been driving all day.  i'm not expecting scoring, but if he's just in the game to bring the ball up the court, that's no reason to play him.  he has to be able to attack the basket, and i'm yet to hear anyone with a suggestion as to what mu will do at the end of games, when they need to ensure they don't turn the ball over and make free-throws. 

[GGGG]

I think calming down would do people some good.  Derrick wasn't great.  But he wasn't bad.  He's never going to be a big scorer...so I think we can just forget about him becoming one.  But if he continues to play solid defense and get the ball to others in a position to score, that might be enough.  You don't need every player score.  Will it be as the season rolls on?  I don't know.  But he is the best option right now.

[forgetful]

Why did he disappoint you? He is not a scorer and you are going to be disappointed all year, if you expect scoring out of him. He drove to the rim twice and got fouled twice. Officially he had no shots. 1-4 four from free throw line is not good. However, what is better no field goals on no shots or JJJ having no field goals on four shots? I would say Otule was disappointing, because I am expect him to make some baskets and he did not. Juan was disappointing also as I expected more out of him. Derrick exceeded my expectations, because I thought he would have trouble with the hand check rules and he did not.

He disappointed me because as a point guard he did not create any offense for the rest of his teammates.  That is job number 1 of a pg.

I was not disappointed by Otule.  He didn't take any shots because he was fouled every time he got the ball.  He needs to make his FTs though.  but 0 shots and 8 FTs is solid for 16 minutes.  He also had a block and a steal and matched Devante for rebounds during that 16 minutes.  He did what he is suppose to.  Play solid defense (block and a steal) and not make mistakes on offense.  He hits 6 out of 8 FTs instead and he is one of the best players on the floor for the night.

I'll agree that Juan did struggle a bit.  I think the problem though is that he has an ill defined role on the team right now and doesn't have a pg to get him the ball in a position to score.  The TOs were a big issue.

[Earl Tatum]

For What it's worth-----We should been sitting on Sam Dekker's doorstep during recruiting. Also, Bronson Koenig should be a
WARRIOR! I like the Wisconsin players we have, but we blew it on these two. Luke Fischer isn't bad either.