Vote for your starting PG

[CTWarrior]

Those are some lofty goals. Last year there was only one player in the entire country that accomplished that, and Matthew Dellavedova is now playing in the NBA.

Okay...how does this wager sound:

• Make NCAA Tournament
  
• Derrick averages 6.0+ points per game
  
• Derrick averages 3.7+ assists per game
  
• Derrick averages <2.0 turnovers per game

.

Wow, that's a fair bet.  He's going to be close to all of those numbers, I think.  I'd take that wager for charitable donations or a case of beer or something.  I think it is 60/40 brew would lose (those 3.7 apg will be difficult, particularly if Duane Wilson starts playing major minutes at PG).  I wouldn't bet a year off of scoop, since living out in CT, this is my only real recourse for discussing MU hoops.

And though I have said a lot of negative things about Derrick's game, he seems a good kid, and I love MU hoops, and I would love nothing more than eating some serious crow when it comes to him.

[Sunbelt15]

The thing that separate most of us is that some feel Derrick is the best point guard MU has to offer right now. And others, including myself, feels other players on the team, if given a couple of 35min per game opportunities, would shine brighter than Derrick has thus far.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

The thing that separate most of us is that some feel Derrick is the best point guard MU has to offer right now. And others, including myself, feels other players on the team, if given a couple of 35min per game opportunities, would shine brighter than Derrick has thus far.

Open question to everybody:

If there is a better option than Derrick, why doesn't Buzz play him?

Buzz isn't stupid. If he could get more production, he'd put in somebody else, right?

[MerrittsMustache]

My bad....if you can live with a high major PG who scores 6 points on 2 of 12 shooting, and gets 2 assists, 4 turnovers in 77 minutes of play against the two very good teams we've played....your standards must be exceedingly low...

You seriously are going to argue Derrick hasn't been awful??  I'd gladly take Brust, Gasser, or Traveon Jackson over Derrick in a heartbeat...and none of those guys are going to smell the NBA..

Derrick has not been "awful." Period. If he had been awful, he'd be on the bench and Buzz would be rotating Jamil, Dawson, Mayo, JJJ, etc at the point to try to find something that worked. A player who is "awful" is not going to see the floor for a high major team, let alone see it for 30+ minutes a game.

Of those UW guys you mentioned, which one is going to fill the 10/6/<2 criteria you laid out earlier?

[Sunbelt15]

Open question to everybody:

If there is a better option than Derrick, why doesn't Buzz play him?

Buzz isn't stupid. If he could get more production, he'd put in somebody else, right?

Not if he doesn't trust freshmen to play those type of minutes. Also, Buzz can be wrong. There are many coaches that second guess themselves when it's over (game, season, career)...we just don't know it.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Not if he doesn't trust freshmen to play those type of minutes. Also, Buzz can be wrong. There are many coaches that second guess themselves when it's over (game, season, career)...we just don't know it.

You don't play a kid 38, 39 and 39min in the 3 toughest games by accident (Derrick also played 33 in the SDSU game).

If Buzz was really second guessing himself, we would have seen a change in behavior in the UW game (had a week to prepare), right?

[brewcity77]

Wow, that's a fair bet.

Interesting how everyone seems to think that except the guy it was offered to, who is making every excuse he can to not accept.

If Derrick gives us 6 ppg, 3.7 apg, and only 2 tpg while leading us to the NCAAs, I'd say that's as big a contribution numerically as Junior gave us last year as a senior. Yet somehow that's not good enough...

[Sunbelt15]

You don't play a kid 38, 39 and 39min in the 3 toughest games by accident (Derrick also played 33 in the SDSU game).

If Buzz was really second guessing himself, we would have seen a change in behavior in the UW game (had a week to prepare), right?

Game, SEASON, CAREER...we'll never know, but he can be wrong.

[NersEllenson]

Derrick has not been "awful." Period. If he had been awful, he'd be on the bench and Buzz would be rotating Jamil, Dawson, Mayo, JJJ, etc at the point to try to find something that worked. A player who is "awful" is not going to see the floor for a high major team, let alone see it for 30+ minutes a game.

Of those UW guys you mentioned, which one is going to fill the 10/6/<2 criteria you laid out earlier?

Well Buzz has tinkered with having Jamil and Dawson run the point.  Maybe he doesn't want to take Jamil out of his switchable role.  JJJ isn't an option, came here as a 2 guard.  Dawson's gotten a limited look, maybe Buzz isn't confident enough in him, and still thinks Derrick and his 6 points, 2 assists, on 2 of 12 shooting and 4 turnovers in 77 minutes of action is better than what Dawson would give - I just don't see it being probable that Dawson would be worse.  Sorry.

And here's Traveon Jackson's numbers for the year...pretty on target..

Traevon Jackson   10   31.3   11.2   5.2   4.8   1.1   0.3   1.9

[NersEllenson]

Interesting how everyone seems to think that except the guy it was offered to, who is making every excuse he can to not accept.

If Derrick gives us 6 ppg, 3.7 apg, and only 2 tpg while leading us to the NCAAs, I'd say that's as big a contribution numerically as Junior gave us last year as a senior. Yet somehow that's not good enough...

So reviewed the numbers and Junior gave 8.5ppg, 3.5apg, and 2.5tpg playing 28 minutes on average last year...while playing in a much more rugged Big East than what Derrick will face this year...

So....I'll go with those above numbers as benchmarks and a Sweet 16 birth, as Junior's teams achieved that his sophomore, junior years, and then of course the Elite 8 last year.

So the bet as I see it from this point forward - Derrick needs to average:

7ppg, 3.5 assists, 2.5 tpg, while taking the team to the Sweet 16.  If he fails in just 1 category - we call it a push.  If he fails in 2 categories, I win...

Deal?  Seems fair to me...

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Game, SEASON, CAREER...we'll never know, but he can be wrong.

You're right. It's entirely possible that Buzz is just wrong. I can admit that.

I'm just gravitating towards what I think is the simplest answer.

Dawson isn't ready yet.

[4everwarriors]

Nancy Lieberman

[NersEllenson]

You're right. It's entirely possible that Buzz is just wrong. I can admit that.

I'm just gravitating towards what I think is the simplest answer.

Dawson isn't ready yet.

And you may very well be right Guns...and it is no more than Buzz not feeling Dawson is ready yet....all I'm trying to say is that it really can't get much worse, and why not trot Dawson out there for 30 and see what happens?  Maybe it is a disaster both offensively and defensively....but let's at least get a benchmark....just don't see the downside at this point at all...

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

And you may very well be right Guns...and it is no more than Buzz not feeling Dawson is ready yet....all I'm trying to say is that it really can't get much worse, and why not trot Dawson out there for 30 and see what happens?  Maybe it is a disaster both offensively and defensively....but let's at least get a benchmark....just don't see the downside at this point at all...

I disagree with this premise.

I never expect to D1 coach hand meaningful minutes to a kid "to see what happens".

Dawson has his chance in practice and against cupcakes. If he does well, then he'll get more meaningful minutes.

[Wojo'sMojo]

It simply amazes me that so many people on this board still support Derrick WIlson. Do you even watch the games or just look at the stats? It should be apparent to anyone who watches basketball that WIlson is absolutely horrendous...I dont need stats to tell me that. He is a 3rd string caliber PG and that is it. If I was the opponent I would be ecstatic to have to face Wilson knowing his extreme limitations.

[MerrittsMustache]

And you may very well be right Guns...and it is no more than Buzz not feeling Dawson is ready yet....all I'm trying to say is that it really can't get much worse, and why not trot Dawson out there for 30 and see what happens?  Maybe it is a disaster both offensively and defensively....but let's at least get a benchmark....just don't see the downside at this point at all...

Because it CAN get worse, particularly defensively. As I posted on a different thread, of all the scholarship players on MU's roster, Dawson has played the fewest minutes and he's a PG, which is the team's thinnest position, yet when he's in the game, he doesn't even run the point. What does that tell you?

[MerrittsMustache]

It simply amazes me that so many people on this board still support Derrick WIlson. Do you even watch the games or just look at the stats? It should be apparent to anyone who watches basketball that WIlson is absolutely horrendous...I dont need stats to tell me that. He is a 3rd string caliber PG and that is it. If I was the opponent I would be ecstatic to have to face Wilson knowing his extreme limitations.

It simply amazes me that so many people on this board know so little about basketball.

[Wojo'sMojo]

It simply amazes me that so many people on this board know so little about basketball.

Wow that was a good one! 

[MerrittsMustache]

Wow that was a good one! 

I know.

[NersEllenson]

It simply amazes me that so many people on this board know so little about basketball.

Please Merritt - would you regal those basketball neophytes and the 75 percent of us that would prefer Junior running this team - and Junior was a guy who took a lot of sh$t from this board....Please do tell us how Derrick Wilson is such a good PG?  Why is this Marquette team the most inefficient, and ineffective offensive team in Buzz's 6 years?  We have more Top 100 talent on the roster than ever before, yet rank 270 in Field Goal percentage and 242 in points per game.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Dawson or Duane Wilson should play point and the coaches should get them ready.  We can't continue to play De Wilson and Thomas.  They are the worst guard tandem MU has ever had.

[GooooMarquette]

Dawson or Duane Wilson should play point and the coaches should get them ready.  We can't continue to play De Wilson and Thomas.  They are the worst guard tandem MU has ever had.

Even if we agree that this is a bad tandem...what immediately brings you to the conclusion that Derrick is the one to be replaced?  I'd replace Jake with JJJ or Todd long before I'd replace Derrick with Dawson.

[mu03eng]

Please Merritt - would you regal those basketball neophytes and the 75 percent of us that would prefer Junior running this team - and Junior was a guy who took a lot of sh$t from this board....Please do tell us how Derrick Wilson is such a good PG?  Why is this Marquette team the most inefficient, and ineffective offensive team in Buzz's 6 years?  We have more Top 100 talent on the roster than ever before, yet rank 270 in Field Goal percentage and 242 in points per game.

Man if I didn't have a podcast I was saving some information for I would throw some information in here that would have some relevance.  But the bottom line is these sorts of things don't happen in a vacuum and opponents matter correct?  Also you do realize that Wilson guarded Wisconsin's best perimeter player and guarded Janii Carson a consensus top 30 PG and no one in their right mind would do with Junior?  Lastly, no one is saying Derrick is a fantastic point guard....neither was Junior, simply saying he is serviceable for the needs of the team and by far the best option on the CURRRENT team.

[buckchuckler]

Can I vote for Chris Paul?  I think he would really help out. 

[NersEllenson]

Man if I didn't have a podcast I was saving some information for I would throw some information in here that would have some relevance.  But the bottom line is these sorts of things don't happen in a vacuum and opponents matter correct?  Also you do realize that Wilson guarded Wisconsin's best perimeter player and guarded Janii Carson a consensus top 30 PG and no one in their right mind would do with Junior?  Lastly, no one is saying Derrick is a fantastic point guard....neither was Junior, simply saying he is serviceable for the needs of the team and by far the best option on the CURRRENT team.

Really?  So what did we do when Junior had to defend all the Big East point guards last year - Napier, Siva, and in the Wisconsin game last year, etc.?  Junior didn't start, nor play the majority of minutes and Derrick did?? It's fine if you disagree with me, but don't manufacture total b.s. 

And, saying Derrick is "serviceable" is a stretch, though I won't completely dismiss that as B.S. - he's a serviceable backup PG in my opinion....but guess he's apparently a lot better than Dawson, for Dawson to not even be able to take minutes from him - which absolutely shocks me.