UNM Observation

[nyg]

3 point defense was brutal.  Too many doubles, then kick outs.

Jake had great first half and only one FG made in second half late.

Gardner - Who knows, not the same guy.

J. Wilson 7 for 19 from field, 1 for 6 from three, 3 rebounds.  Bairstow was much better.

Jake, D. Wil and Mayo all missed front end one/one.  Ugh.

Burton - 3 for 5 from field and hardly played.

JJJ - one minute

S. Taylor - one minute

Juan went from stud of game to stud on bench.

That was a winnable game, but didn't happen.  Probably be a long season, as next year also and it happens to programs. 

[Bricky]

Burton - 3 for 5 from field and hardly played because he doesn't rotate on defense.

FIFY

[brewcity77]

Bricky hit it dead on. Anyone who didn't understand why Burton was on the bench doesn't understand Marquette basketball. It was painfully obvious why Buzz pulled him.

[Norm]

Bricky hit it dead on. Anyone who didn't understand why Burton was on the bench doesn't understand Marquette basketball. It was painfully obvious why Buzz pulled him.

enlighten us neophytes, oh master of basketball....

[Wojo'sMojo]

Bricky hit it dead on. Anyone who didn't understand why Burton was on the bench doesn't understand Marquette basketball. It was painfully obvious why Buzz pulled him.

there was a lot things painfully obvious while watching this game. The two that stood out the most is with Derrick running this team we will be lucky to get to the NIT. The other being Gardner has really taken a step back with his poor shot selection and body language this year.

[mileskishnish72]

There were SO many times when Derrick had a wide open 3 and never thought to put it up. I love the kid, but his limitations re: shooting  are killing us.

[chapman]

Juan went from stud of game to stud on bench.

Was the most confusing to me - was the ankle bothering him?

[Markusquette]

Was the most confusing to me - was the ankle bothering him?

He disappears vs. any sort of decent competition. 

[77ncaachamps]

There were SO many times when Derrick had a wide open 3 and never thought to put it up. I love the kid, but his limitations re: shooting  are killing us.

This.

No NCAA dance with Derrick as our PG.
He can't score and has no confidence in doing so.

Even Tony Miller could shoot the occasional three.

UNM slacked off DWilson exposing his inability to shoot the ball and hunkered the key for defensive positioning and rebounds.

[Nevada233]

There were SO many times when Derrick had a wide open 3 and never thought to put it up. I love the kid, but his limitations re: shooting  are killing us.

W I D E Open!!! Like 8-10 Times..

Unless Duane Wilson is all hes said to be and can get more min than dylan flood and Dawson which i doubt after missing all season.

Pg play will be the downfall of this team

[forgetful]

There were SO many times when Derrick had a wide open 3 and never thought to put it up. I love the kid, but his limitations re: shooting  are killing us.

Honestly D. Wilson's play on offense did not dramatically affect this game.  What killed us was poor performance in the post (our bigs Otule/Gardner had 5 rebounds total) and poor defensive rotations.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The post play was bad today, but it is because our team is terrible at entry passes...that and the new rules are killing us. Davante can't get a call to save his life

[forgetful]

The post play was bad today, but it is because our team is terrible at entry passes...that and the new rules are killing us. Davante can't get a call to save his life

I agree on the entry passes.  D. Wilson's man sags all the way to the post, so he can't make any entry passes.  Today, there also weren't a lot of opportunities to feed the post. Gardner did a horrible job getting position in the post tonight. I think it largely stemmed from them having guys big enough to push back.

I don't think the new rules are affecting Gardner that much though.  I think it is more a reflection his playing this style for 3 years now.  He always is the one who initiates contact.  Coaches are doing a better job of telling the defenders to just play straight up and down and coaches are also emphasizing it to the refs that Gardner is the one initiating contact.  That's isn't always the case....I also think Gardner's tendency to do some acting has come back to bite him a bit...refs reluctant to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[CTWarrior]

It is a conundrum with Derrick.  As usual, I watched him closely tonight.  I counted 5 assists (5 times his was the last pass before a score-he was only given credit for 3), but 4 of them came when we were swinging the ball around the perimeter and he threw a pass from behind the arc to another guy who was behind the arc who then made a shot or a quick move and a shot.  The fifth was the inbounds pass late in the game where Jamil Wilson made the running catch and shoot 3.  One one other occasion he drove and kicked out to Jake who missed a 3 but was fouled.  He obviously doesn't get an assist for that, but that was really the only time the entire game where he "created" an opportunity for us to score.  As usual, his man sagged off and clogged the lane making life more difficult for everyone else.

Here is the conundrum.  On those occasions where he sat, our offense flowed much better and we scored a bit better, but our defense was terrible.  Guys open everywhere.  Whatever we gained on offense we gave back on defense.  I can see why Buzz wants to keep him on the floor.  That said, late in the game when we are desperate to score, he has to be on the bench.  He had the ball a ton late when we HAD to score quickly and he was still left alone and he still was not looking to penetrate or do anything but make another perimeter to perimeter pass.

[brewcity77]

enlighten us neophytes, oh master of basketball....

Defense.

[GGGG]

I only saw the last 12 minutes.  Burton twice got lost on a switch and he was quickly pulled.

The boxscore said JJJ played 7 minutes...is that wrong?

The biggest thing this team misses is someone who has the ability to create their own shot.  Jamil and Todd can do it occasionally, but neither of them are going to remind us of Vander, DJO, etc. 

[forgetful]

I only saw the last 12 minutes.  Burton twice got lost on a switch and he was quickly pulled.

The boxscore said JJJ played 7 minutes...is that wrong?

The biggest thing this team misses is someone who has the ability to create their own shot.  Jamil and Todd can do it occasionally, but neither of them are going to remind us of Vander, DJO, etc. 

I don't know if he played 7 minutes, but he did play some in the first half.  Was non-existent on offense and had a defensive lapse or two.

[brandx]

This.

No NCAA dance with Derrick as our PG.
He can't score and has no confidence in doing so.

Even Tony Miller could shoot the occasional three.

UNM slacked off DWilson exposing his inability to shoot the ball and hunkered the key for defensive positioning and rebounds.

I have said this repeatedly and have been slammed for attacking DW. But make no mistake about it - once conference play starts, the defenses will be sagging EVERY game. Makes it hard for him or anyone else to drive into the lane and also makes entry passes harder to make.

With all the non-conf losses, this team will have to finish 3rd or better to make the dance. But for some reason, I think they will.

Gotta remember that PG wasn't a strength last year with Junior either. You put a Peyton Siva at the point of that team and I believe they were Final Four (I know, I'm dreaming).

[77ncaachamps]

Derrick Wilson is persona non grata to me until he leads this team to key victories this season.

HIGHLY UNLIKELY.

Conundrum will be negated when you get the players on the court. The freshmen will understand with playing time.

Talk about conundrums: Buzz stuck with his guy Junior and Derrick only really started to gain significant minutes when Junior was a senior. Now that he's moved on, what is Buzz going to do to prepare his freshmen to replace Derrick? Let them ride the pine? Not give them minutes?

Derrick better hope Duane doesn't recover completely.
Depending on how he improves, the PG position is probably Duane's to lose in 2014-15.

[tower912]

I missed the last 15 minutes.   When the tones started going off, it was a 1 point game.    The ball movement in the first half was as good as it has been against a good team all year.   Everybody was touching the ball and everybody was scoring.   MU had clearly committed to stopping Barstow at the expense of guarding Neal.   It cost them in the second half, as the kid came out unconscious.   I was anticipating a defensive adjustment, but apparently it didn't happen.     
I have always thought that Gardner was overvalued.   This year, his body language is atrocious.   In the 25 minutes of game I watched, I wanted the ball in Jake's hands and then going up quickly.  If not his, then Todd's.   I thought the freshmen looked lost on defense.    Though Burton continues to amaze with his fearlessness on offense and ability to get a shot off that he has no business taking.  Was shocked to see STjr out there.   He looked lost in his brief time.     
   To my eyes, the Oxtule experiment has failed.   Ball movement stops when they are in the game together.     Would rather see a front line of Jamil, Juan and Deonte rather than more Oxtule.     Maybe time to try a rotation with no true point and no true post.    Jamil, Todd, Jake/JJJ, Deonte and Juan/STjr for a few minutes at a time. 

[Earl Tatum]

Play the future. Like JJJ, Dawson, Burton, Juan and if Taylor can do it then let him play his style.
Looks like Gardner is becoming a pouter.  Some the vets never improved or are pounters. Not putting out. Hopefully Duane is the answer.

[WarriorFan]

I'd like to see a few minutes in the next game of "small ball".  Jamil at point, then Mayo, Jake, DBurt/JJJ, Juan.  It's hard to play the point and guard the 5, so Juan would have to guard the big man, but this lineup would be so quick and fast they could be worth 10-12 points in a 2-3 minute stretch... especially if they press and trap.  The DBurt/JJJ is whoever is the least lost defensively or has the hottest hand on the day.  I personally would prefer DBurt with a trapping press because he has a nose for the ball.