What Will Buzz Do?

[Lighthouse 84]

Ok, the concept of "what was Buzz doing" has been beaten to death.  The next question is "what will Buzz do in the future?"  I know everyone on here will merely be speculating, but rather than giving an opinion as to what you think he should do, what do people think he'll actually do?

I think that he trots the same lineup out Thursday night that he's had the past two games.  To do otherwise, especially making a change at either guard position, would be admitting that the fans know more than Buzz or than Buzz sees at practice, and I don't think Buzz gives a rat's a$$ what we fans think.  I think he slowly starts to insert some other lineups though, and unless we've got a blowout against NH (which I hope and expect there is), we'll continue to see Jake and DeWill get the lion's share of minutes at guard.  Until JJJ or Dawson asserts himself into practice though (especially on the defensive end), I don't expect Buzz to play either many minutes.

[MerrittsMustache]

Buzz will play the players who give Marquette the best chance to win games.

[Windyplayer]

Buzz will play the players who give Marquette the best chance to win games.

What about rewarding players who practice hard? Are they always the players that give MU the best chance to win games?

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

#1 Buzz will start Derrick in every game.
#2 Derrick will play the majority of the minutes at PG.
#3 MU will be successful and make a good tournament run (S16).

Buzz isn't a reactionary guy.
He's VERY calculated.
We've seen it before.
I don't know why some of you are surprised.

[GooooMarquette]

I suspect Derrick will start all season, but we will gradually see Dawson and possibly others (Todd?) getting more minutes at PG.  Still, Derrick will get the lion's share of PG minutes.  In contrast to his 38 minutes vs tOSU, I'd guess Derrick will average about 25-30 mpg.

Jake will probably start the next few games, but his minutes will likely tail off much more quickly.  He got 29 minutes vs tOSU, but I'll be surprised if he averages much more than 10-15 as the season goes on.  It's also possible that he continues to start all season even while his minutes are decreasing, like Juan last season or Erik Williams.

[willie warrior]

1. Start Derrick every game giving him 30+ mpg
2. Gush over Derrick whenever he scores 4 or more points in a game
3. Continue to ride JT for 20 minutes a game.
4. Likely relegate Du. Wilson to 3 minutes per game/or redshirt him
5. Continue to develop Otule and hope he can get a 7th year out of him
6. Continue with his Texas homilies about life philosophy
7. Stay with MU "as long as they will want him"
8. Allow Mayo to shine one game and go off the ledge the next
9. Immediately pull Ox from each game whenever he takes a shot beyond 12+feet, at the same time encouraging Jamil and Mayo to chuck up 3 point attempts
10. Explain how tough the NBEast is in order to justify our 5th place standing
11. Start Steve Taylor at the 5 next year and sign 3 more switchables between 6'4" and 6'6" next year, all in the top 100.
12. Redshirt Satchel next year so he can get him on the Otule path
13. Go back to scheduling cupcakes early in the year, "fixing what is broken" from this year.
14. Dance on the Bradley floor after blowing out New Hamp. by 9 points.

[Dreadman24]

1. Start Derrick every game giving him 30+ mpg
2. Gush over Derrick whenever he scores 4 or more points in a game
3. Continue to ride JT for 20 minutes a game.
4. Likely relegate Du. Wilson to 3 minutes per game/or redshirt him
5. Continue to develop Otule and hope he can get a 7th year out of him
6. Continue with his Texas homilies about life philosophy
7. Stay with MU "as long as they will want him"
8. Allow Mayo to shine one game and go off the ledge the next
9. Immediately pull Ox from each game whenever he takes a shot beyond 12+feet, at the same time encouraging Jamil and Mayo to chuck up 3 point attempts
10. Explain how tough the NBEast is in order to justify our 5th place standing
11. Start Steve Taylor at the 5 next year and sign 3 more switchables between 6'4" and 6'6" next year, all in the top 100.
12. Redshirt Satchel next year so he can get him on the Otule path
13. Go back to scheduling cupcakes early in the year, "fixing what is broken" from this year.
14. Dance on the Bradley floor after blowing out New Hamp. by 9 points.

funny but sounds accurate unfortunately.

[bilsu]

I think (speculate) that Buzz's offensive design is based on taking advantage of the new foul rules. It always has been his style to get paint touches and draw fouls. Ohio St played very sound defense, so they did not foul a lot. Also, the refs seemed to look more at the offensive players battling for position in this game. Once the refs did not allow for Otule and Gardner to battle for position our offensive plan was in the toilet. Otule was called for two offensive fouls battling for position. Gardner was called for a foul backing down the defender. There also was a double foul called for battling in the post. I think posters here are ignoring the fact that the style of game called was not beneficial to our team. What amazed me about Ohio St was how quick everyone of their players hands were. We may not see a better defensive team than they were in that game the rest of the season. The inside game was definitely taken away in this game. It reminded me a lot of the NCAA tournament loss to North Carolina. Buzz's plan to get the ball to Otule on that game was a complete bust. Otule did not score and MU probably turned the ball over at least 7 times trying to get the ball to him. We got killed in that game just like this one. Also, in that game Buzz did not seem to want to change his game plan in that game. It was like he decided that the only way we could beat either team was to dump the ball inside and if that was not going to work there was no reason to try anything else. The big advantage to this loss is that Buzz has more games to make changes. The season was over after the North Carolina loss. I think Buzz will work on a secondary offense to use, if the inside is shut down.

[brewcity77]

Buzz will play the players who give Marquette the best chance to win games.

This is definitely the simple (and correct) answer. Regarding the OP, I agree Buzz doesn't give a rat's ass about admitting that the fans know more than he does. I'm pretty sure Buzz hasn't spent a second on MUScoop, Marquette Hoops, or brewcityball to get the fan perspective.

Derrick will continue to start and play the lion's share. I think Jake keeps starting, but I do think Mayo will start to cut into his minutes and will eventually supplant him as the starter. Mayo just has to prove he can play consistently on both ends of the court.

As far as the freshmen, my hope is that Dawson gets more of a run. His defense was okay against the two SWAC teams and I'd like to see him get a shot against a team like ASU. Either way, it's clear the offense doesn't work well without a true point on the floor and while I think Derrick will get the bulk of the minutes, he should be able to rest at least 8-10 minutes per game.

I think we'll start to see more of the jumbo package. Otule and Gardner got some run together, but the problem was we couldn't get the ball inside much to take advantage of our size. That shouldn't be as much of a problem as we see easier defenses (and they'll pretty much all be easier defenses than we saw Saturday).

I'd also really like to see Taylor come off the bench but start getting more minutes. Not sure that will happen, but he's the ultimate energy guy and I think he'd be a great "second five" player. Getting 22 mpg off the bench would be perfect.

[JakeBarnes]

The same thing he always does, Pinky: Try to take over the world

[brewcity77]

1. Start Derrick every game giving him 30+ mpg
2. Gush over Derrick whenever he scores 4 or more points in a game
3. Continue to ride JT for 20 minutes a game.
4. Likely relegate Du. Wilson to 3 minutes per game/or redshirt him
5. Continue to develop Otule and hope he can get a 7th year out of him
6. Continue with his Texas homilies about life philosophy
7. Stay with MU "as long as they will want him"
8. Allow Mayo to shine one game and go off the ledge the next
9. Immediately pull Ox from each game whenever he takes a shot beyond 12+feet, at the same time encouraging Jamil and Mayo to chuck up 3 point attempts
10. Explain how tough the NBEast is in order to justify our 5th place standing
11. Start Steve Taylor at the 5 next year and sign 3 more switchables between 6'4" and 6'6" next year, all in the top 100.
12. Redshirt Satchel next year so he can get him on the Otule path
13. Go back to scheduling cupcakes early in the year, "fixing what is broken" from this year.
14. Dance on the Bradley floor after blowing out New Hamp. by 9 points.

Why do you even cheer for Marquette when you seem to have genuinely dislike the coach, the team, and the players so thoroughly? Do you just revel in trolling, are you a masochist, or is there some other reason you keep pissing and moaning about the same damn things for literally years and years and years on end?

[NersEllenson]

As far as the freshmen, my hope is that Dawson gets more of a run. His defense was okay against the two SWAC teams and I'd like to see him get a shot against a team like ASU. Either way, it's clear the offense doesn't work well without a true point on the floor and while I think Derrick will get the bulk of the minutes, he should be able to rest at least 8-10 minutes per game.

Sounds like someone is starting to hedge their beliefs....weird since I've read about 25-30 posts in the last few days defending how good of job Derrick did - and that PG wasn't even one of the Top 6 issues MU faces this year from BrewCity 77??  And plus, let's face it per Brew - Derrick created the 31 great looks Jake, Todd, and Jamil got - not his fault they couldn't make him.  Not Derrick's fault the defense was sagging off of him clogging the lane, (because they know he can't shoot), and thereby limiting the ability to get penetration/paint touches and dump offs.  Pure comedic analysis.  But I am glad that Brew is now suggesting Dawson needs more run...because he does.

[ErickJD08]

#1 Buzz will start Derrick in every game.
#2 Derrick will play the majority of the minutes at PG.
#3 MU will be successful and make a good tournament run (S16).

Buzz isn't a reactionary guy.
He's VERY calculated.
We've seen it before.
I don't know why some of you are surprised.

Agree 100%.  Don't know about the tourney run just yet.  But Buzz isn't a reactionary guy AND he is a loyal guy.  He backs his kids 100% and DW will be at the helm for the rest of the season barring injury.

[Coleman]

I think we all got caught a little off guard. Everyone thought this team would be top 10 all year and run away with the Big East.

As far as I can tell, that's just not going to happen. Its time to adjust expectations. But this is still an NCAA tournament team. And anything can happen in March. I would not be surprised one bit if this team ends up playing in the Sweet 16.

[tower912]

If you only watch the defensive sets and rebounding during the Buckeye game, you would guess MU won by 15 instead of lost by 20.   So, I am guessing that he will be working on installing the offense, working on bringing the freshmen up to speed on both ends.   He will be putting in in-bounds plays.   And he will be yelling a lot at the upperclassmen trying to ramp up their intensity.    He might be checking on STjr's conditioning, to see if he can handle more minutes.   

[Silkk the Shaka]

Dreadman & willie are the worst. Embarrassing, really.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Agree 100%.  Don't know about the tourney run just yet.  But Buzz isn't a reactionary guy AND he is a loyal guy.  He backs his kids 100% and DW will be at the helm for the rest of the season barring injury.

You're right, tourny success is hard to predict. I guess I'll say that they will be a top 4 seed.

MU just played a top 5 team, played horrible, and was still in the game until the last 10min or so. I don't think they are that bad.

If MU can continue to improve throughout the year, I think they can be a top 10-15 team at the end of the year. The key is: How much can MU improve, and will their improvement be significantly better than other high major D1 teams? Buzz seems to do well with in-season improvements, so we'll see if he can do it again.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Dreadman & willie are the worst. Embarrassing, really.

Maybe they're the same person

[willie warrior]

Maybe they're the same person

JawannaCracker sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

MU just played a top 5 team, played horrible, and was still in the game until the last 10min or so. I don't think they are that bad.

I watched the first half again last night. It was UNBELIEVABLE the amount of very makeable shots that were missed in the 1H.  I didn't want to subject myself to the 2H again, but man, MU could have easily have been up 15 at the half if they just made some damn shots.  They looked good on the glass, the ball movement was decent.  Too many dumb turnovers, but they were still tied with a legit top 10 team at the half, after playing horribly.  Obviously, eveything got worse in the 2H, but watching the game again has sort of pulled me off the ledge. This team is still going to be good - I don't know that it can get any worse than Saturday.   

[Aughnanure]

1. Start Derrick every game giving him 30+ mpg
2. Gush over Derrick whenever he scores 4 or more points in a game
3. Continue to ride JT for 20 minutes a game.
4. Likely relegate Du. Wilson to 3 minutes per game/or redshirt him
5. Continue to develop Otule and hope he can get a 7th year out of him
6. Continue with his Texas homilies about life philosophy
7. Stay with MU "as long as they will want him"
8. Allow Mayo to shine one game and go off the ledge the next
9. Immediately pull Ox from each game whenever he takes a shot beyond 12+feet, at the same time encouraging Jamil and Mayo to chuck up 3 point attempts
10. Explain how tough the NBEast is in order to justify our 5th place standing
11. Start Steve Taylor at the 5 next year and sign 3 more switchables between 6'4" and 6'6" next year, all in the top 100.
12. Redshirt Satchel next year so he can get him on the Otule path
13. Go back to scheduling cupcakes early in the year, "fixing what is broken" from this year.
14. Dance on the Bradley floor after blowing out New Hamp. by 9 points.

Why do you hate everything?

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I watched the first half again last night. It was UNBELIEVABLE the amount of very makeable shots that were missed in the 1H.  I didn't want to subject myself to the 2H again, but man, MU could have easily have been up 15 at the half if they just made some damn shots.  They looked good on the glass, the ball movement was decent.  Too many dumb turnovers, but they were still tied with a legit top 10 team at the half, after playing horribly.  Obviously, eveything got worse in the 2H, but watching the game again has sort of pulled me off the ledge. This team is still going to be good - I don't know that it can get any worse than Saturday.   

You have to play well to beat a top 5 team (or top 10). If you play poorly, you will lose, and it might look really ugly.

MU played poorly. They lost. It was ugly.

It's not the first or the last time MU will look ugly in a November match-up.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

You have to play well to beat a top 5 team (or top 10). If you play poorly, you will lose, and it might look really ugly.

MU played poorly. They lost. It was ugly.

It's not the first or the last time MU will look ugly in a November match-up.

Right. But that is my whole point.  They played literally as poorly as possible, and it still was a realistically winnable game until the 10 minute mark of the 2nd half, against a top 10 opponent.  The boys will be alright. 

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

1. Start Derrick every game giving him 30+ mpg
2. Gush over Derrick whenever he scores 4 or more points in a game
3. Continue to ride JT for 20 minutes a game.
4. Likely relegate Du. Wilson to 3 minutes per game/or redshirt him
5. Continue to develop Otule and hope he can get a 7th year out of him
6. Continue with his Texas homilies about life philosophy
7. Stay with MU "as long as they will want him"
8. Allow Mayo to shine one game and go off the ledge the next
9. Immediately pull Ox from each game whenever he takes a shot beyond 12+feet, at the same time encouraging Jamil and Mayo to chuck up 3 point attempts
10. Explain how tough the NBEast is in order to justify our 5th place standing
11. Start Steve Taylor at the 5 next year and sign 3 more switchables between 6'4" and 6'6" next year, all in the top 100.
12. Redshirt Satchel next year so he can get him on the Otule path
13. Go back to scheduling cupcakes early in the year, "fixing what is broken" from this year.
14. Dance on the Bradley floor after blowing out New Hamp. by 9 points.

I don't really disagree with this list.

But, as long as #15 is "win a lot of games, especially in March", I'm fine with #1-#14.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Right. But that is my whole point.  They played literally as poorly as possible, and it still was a realistically winnable game until the 10 minute mark of the 2nd half, against a top 10 opponent.  The boys will be alright.  

Agreed.

If they play "average", it would have been a close game to the end.

If they play "well", they have a great chance of winning.

The key is, can Buzz keep the guys improving so they can play "well" against the toughest opponents?