Gotta start it...Dawson needs to be starting PG

[tower912]

Not true. I'm sure Aaron Craft would be beside himself with joy if Dawson started Saturday.

Good point. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Ah backup QB syndrome. It happens to everyone. There are still some down in here in Aggieland who cry out for Hill or Joeckel to come in after Manziel makes a dumb pass. Glad to know it effects everyone, even basketball schools.

[NersEllenson]

Ah backup QB syndrome. It happens to everyone. There are still some down in here in Aggieland who cry out for Hill or Joeckel to come in after Manziel makes a dumb pass. Glad to know it effects everyone, even basketball schools.

What I wouldn't give if Derrick Wilson were the returning Naismith Winner.  Nice analogy.

[Mutaman]

Second-string QB syndrome

The unsophisticated fan always thinks the set up man should be the closer.

[MU82]

Ah backup QB syndrome. It happens to everyone. There are still some down in here in Aggieland who cry out for Hill or Joeckel to come in after Manziel makes a dumb pass. Glad to know it effects everyone, even basketball schools.

Maybe for some it is the backup QB syndrome. But maybe for others -- myself included -- it is hoping that the team has somebody better than Derrick and allowing that as a possibility.

I don't like being lumped in the "everybody wanted Junior benched and everybody wanted James benched" crowd. I liked Junior for what he brought and though I saw his limitations, I knew we didn't have anybody better. I definitely appreciated James, even after he stopped being an effective scorer, and knew we definitely didn't have anybody better there.

But Derrick ... we don't know if we have somebody better yet. I, for one, hope we do because I don't think he is a high-major PG. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, and if he does, I'll be the first to admit it.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Maybe for some it is the backup QB syndrome. But maybe for others -- myself included -- it is hoping that the team has somebody better than Derrick and allowing that as a possibility.

I don't like being lumped in the "everybody wanted Junior benched and everybody wanted James benched" crowd. I liked Junior for what he brought and though I saw his limitations, I knew we didn't have anybody better. I definitely appreciated James, even after he stopped being an effective scorer, and knew we definitely didn't have anybody better there.

But Derrick ... we don't know if we have somebody better yet. I, for one, hope we do because I don't think he is a high-major PG. Maybe he'll prove me wrong, and if he does, I'll be the first to admit it.

He has already proved you wrong.  He is the starting point guard on the 17th ranked basketball team in the country.  Unless our coach is a total moron, he is the very definition of a "high-major" point guard. 

[MU82]

He has already proved you wrong.  He is the starting point guard on the 17th ranked basketball team in the country.  Unless our coach is a total moron, he is the very definition of a "high-major" point guard.  

You are technically right, yes. But you also know what I meant.

If Buzz had somebody the caliber even of Cadougan, Derrick would be on the bench hoping to get 10 minutes a game. Which, of course, was the case last season even though Buzz publicly liked to say Derrick deserved to play over Cadougan. Which, of course, wasn't true or else Buzz would have played Derrick over Cadougan.

[brewcity77]

I'm not convinced of that at all. I can't believe how much people get stuck in the past. No one saw Vander improving, no one saw CO develop post moves, and no one saw the increased effort from Gardner on defense even though it was right in front of us.

Through these two games, for what they are worth, he is playing at a higher level than he did last year. I don't know if he'll sustain it against high-major opponents, but if DeWil can continue to play like this he doesn't need to be a scoring threat. His incisive passing will more than make up for it. I rewatched much of the Grambling game today and was really impressed with DW's game. He has gone from game manager to facilitator. I can't remember Junior having the kind of control that Derrick had last night.

Sadly, for some, it will always be next man up.

[MU82]

I'm not convinced of that at all. I can't believe how much people get stuck in the past. No one saw Vander improving, no one saw CO develop post moves, and no one saw the increased effort from Gardner on defense even though it was right in front of us.

Through these two games, for what they are worth, he is playing at a higher level than he did last year. I don't know if he'll sustain it against high-major opponents, but if DeWil can continue to play like this he doesn't need to be a scoring threat. His incisive passing will more than make up for it. I rewatched much of the Grambling game today and was really impressed with DW's game. He has gone from game manager to facilitator. I can't remember Junior having the kind of control that Derrick had last night.

Sadly, for some, it will always be next man up.

I hope you're right, brew. I happen to disagree that a great team can have a caretaker PG who is a total non-scorer, but I hope I'm wrong and you're right.

Just as I won't base much on these past two games, I'll try hard not to base everything on the next one. But Ohio State should provide a lot clearer look at things.

[brewcity77]

The thing is, when DeWil is passing like he was last night, he's not a caretaker. If the defense wants to go 5-on-4, that gives him more space to whip alley-oops to Burton or laser beams to Gardner like he did last night. Just because someone else touches the ball after Wilson releases it doesn't make him any less responsible for the basket. His offensive performance last night was just as good as Gardner's was on Friday. If DG and Steve don't mishandle passes or if they counted trips to the line, DeWil was good for 13-15 assists last night instead of the 10 (minimum 22 points including Jake's threes).

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

One thing I think we can all agree on - Derrick is the steadiest ball handler we have. But what do we do at the end of games that we're winning? Ball protection is obviously important, but so is the ability to make free throws. Unless Derrick can figure that out he sits in those situations. Mayo, Thomas, Jamil, Davante and someone TBD will be on the floor.

+2

I don't have any issues with Derrick's performance so far other than his free throws. Everything about them looks Dwight Howard ugly. I'm hoping that doesn't keep him off the court in end of game situations when we need him.

All this Dawson fever after two games is insane.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

What I wouldn't give if Derrick Wilson were the returning Naismith Winner.  Nice analogy.

You are talking about Luke Joeckel. I'm talking about his twin brother Matt Joeckel who is currently the second string quarterback at Texas A&M.

Hope you enjoyed the knowledge

[bilsu]

We would all like Derrick to be a better scorer, but at least he does not take a lot of shots. I hated it when James kept on shooting even though he could only make dunks.

[MU82]

The thing is, when DeWil is passing like he was last night, he's not a caretaker. If the defense wants to go 5-on-4, that gives him more space to whip alley-oops to Burton or laser beams to Gardner like he did last night. Just because someone else touches the ball after Wilson releases it doesn't make him any less responsible for the basket. His offensive performance last night was just as good as Gardner's was on Friday. If DG and Steve don't mishandle passes or if they counted trips to the line, DeWil was good for 13-15 assists last night instead of the 10 (minimum 22 points including Jake's threes).

Again, we'll see. If the defense totally sloughs off Derrick and he can't hit a shot, we'll actually be playing 4-on-5. They stuff the lane, just as Syracuse did in the tourney. We still haven't seen evidence that Derrick can drive and dish, and if the lane is packed, he'll have even less chance. Then, throw in the fact that you can't have a 40-50% shooter at PG late in games, and, well, there is a LOT for this young man to prove.

Maybe I'm expecting too much (though I don't think it's too much to expect a PG to occasionally knock down a shot and hit 60-70% of his FTs), or maybe you're giving him too much of a benefit of a doubt, or maybe it's somewhere in between.

Either way, we'll start finding out soon enough ... not that Buzz has any proven options at this point.