Tip of the hat to Ners

[keefe]

Ners and Nevada and others are vindicated. A legitimate offensive threat at the 1 forced the game open. Notice how certain experts are conspicuous by their absence?

Again, congrats to those who advocated change that was necessary. And Buzz has proven that his OCD tendencies can be overcome.

[Nevada233]

Thank you! Ners and I were trashed on hundreds of Posts
About this kid. I knew Dawson was legit from Day 1.
I just hope he doesnt let 1 game get to his head and stays
Focused.

The naysayers are awfully quiet tonite.

[Dreadman24]

Thank you! Ners and I were trashed on hundreds of Posts
About this kid. I knew Dawson was legit from Day 1.
I just hope he doesnt let 1 game get to his head and stays
Focused.

The naysayers are awfully quiet tonite.

I was on board all along! Dawson should be starting!

[Archies Bat]

The naysayers are awfully quiet tonite.

Good call.  What will you fix next?

[BallBoy]

Ners and Nevada and others are vindicated. A legitimate offensive threat at the 1 forced the game open. Notice how certain experts are conspicuous by their absence?

Again, congrats to those who advocated change that was necessary. And Buzz has proven that his OCD tendencies can be overcome.

As I mentioned in the Georgetown Thoughts thread.  Dawson had a very nice game.  I will add that before we anoint him as the savior, lets see the second game:

• In the first half, there were two five minute stretches with no points.  I don't blame Dawson for that as it was mostly Mayo taking bad or contested shots.  Regardless, the offense did not look good.
• This game is very reminiscent of the Arizona State game.  MU does nothing in the first half and then make a great run in the second half.  A point guard puts up a very good game.
• Unlike other games, Taylor played what looked like a healthy game and he turned in 14 points and 8 rebounds. Also notice that he took Otule's minutes which allowed Gardner to play more of a post game.  I think a Taylor Gardner lineup should get 25+ minutes a game.  Taylor could even do the tip
• Someone else mentioned that the zone was a very good match up for Dawson
• Dawson is definitely not afraid to put up a shot which is a very good thing
• As much as Marquette won this game, Georgetown lost it.  This makes up for the Butler game.
• I am very concerned with the Villanova game.  They just had a clunker and got blown out.  I am hoping they don't have a rebound game
• If Dawson continues to have this type of game I will gladly admit I was wrong.

[GooooMarquette]

The naysayers are awfully quiet tonite.

Please be a TEAM fan and take the chip off your shoulder.  I have been one of the more vocal "naysayers" all season long, but I was very quick to compliment Dawson on an awesome game.  He had some bad moments as I mentioned in the game thread...but he was incredibly clutch down the stretch...and I have acknowledged his huge contribution to this win.  Lots of other "naysayers" have as well.

Go Marquette!

[NavinRJohnson]

The naysayers are awfully quiet tonite.

Yes, the lack of traffic at 2AM was very surprising.

[Nevada233]

Good call.  What will you fix next?

The budget crisis.....

[Nevada233]

Yes, the lack of traffic at 2AM was very surprising.

Blah blah.... Yall have a good day. Go Marquette

[Nevada233]

I was on board all along! Dawson should be starting!

Good team win. Big shot by Mayo and Quality minutes by taylor also provided a lift.

[GGGG]

I am more than happy to be proven wrong about Dawson.  Hopefully he can string a couple games together now. 

[tower912]

What a difference two days makes.   On Saturday, in the first half Derrick was either the best or second best MU player and Dawson was dreadful in his minutes.   Monday, Derrick picks up a couple of early fouls and Dawson stepped up.   It was great to see.   He's come a long way and he looks ready.   

[CTWarrior]

Monday, Derrick picks up a couple of early fouls and Dawson stepped up.   It was great to see.   He's come a long way and he looks ready.  

Derrick did NOT pick up a couple of early fouls last night.  When he went to the bench for his first extended time he had at most one foul (the game log only lists 2 fouls though he had 3 in the box).  He did not pick up his third foul until 25 seconds were left in regulation.  Buzz played Dawson simply because he preferred to have Dawson in the game.  Now whether that is because Derrick was under the weather or because we were facing a zone, I don't know.  But it had nothing to do with foul trouble.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Yep, Need was right. When has our offense looked by far the best in conference play? @Xavier and @GTown when Dawson got extended minutes. The team looks completely different when he's out there. Totally opens things up. I've seen enough that I'm comfortable with him getting 25+ a night. Derrick can still start like Otule, but I think he will benefit from the 10-15 minutes he's used to as well. Win for everyone.

[NersEllenson]

Thanks Keefe.

Not surprised to see some resort to the "its only one game," "Dawson had some freshman moments," "His defense left a lot to be desired," "Steve Taylor finally showed up," "Dawson was awful in the 5 minutes against Butler," etc.

I didn't see anything fluke-ish about the shots Dawson took, and made.  Didn't see a freshman, rattled on the road.  Didn't see anything to suggest "things could/would be a lot worse with Dawson running the point."  Didn't see anything that made me think "Dawson must not be earning minutes in practice due to playing poorly, or Derrick outplaying him."

What I did see:  A basketball team that was finally fun to watch.  A basketball team that shared the ball well, and was able to execute.  Both Steve Taylor and Gardner being able to be effective from the high post area due to G'Town being forced to guard Dawson on the perimeter and not clog the lane.  A freshman play well on the road in a critical game, and a coach who finally was willing to ride the kid for 30 minutes and see what he could do.

I'm not going to expect 12 and 4 from Dawson every night going forward, but I will predict if Dawson gets 25+ minutes a game going forward, the team will have a legit chance at the NCAA and will be capable of winning - and Dawson will contribute solidly - 8ppg, 4 assists, limited turnovers - and the teams overall offensive efficiency will go up 10+%.

For all the guys who want to judge a player when he gets 2 minute stretches of run at a time, think this game by Dawson just shows you what a difference consistent playing time does for anyone that has talent and ability.  It's damn near impossible to show anything in basketball when you get in a game for 2 minutes, and also know that if you make 1 mistake, you likely are getting yanked even faster than 2 minutes.

[Abode4life]

Yep, Need was right. When has our offense looked by far the best in conference play? @Xavier and @GTown when Dawson got extended minutes. The team looks completely different when he's out there. Totally opens things up. I've seen enough that I'm comfortable with him getting 25+ a night. Derrick can still start like Otule, but I think he will benefit from the 10-15 minutes he's used to as well. Win for everyone.

This quote is quite bold.  If you want to break down the game into 4 minute segments, sure then there were times that our offense looked good, but not "by far" the best in conference play.  But Unless you watched every other Big East game, including the first 10 minutes of the Creighton/Nova game, that statement is just ridiculous.

Having said that, Dawson looked good.  He did have some plays, especially on the defensive end that showed his inexperience, but hopefully with getting more time that will help.

[MerrittsMustache]

Not surprised to see some resort to the "its only one game," "Dawson had some freshman moments," "His defense left a lot to be desired," "Steve Taylor finally showed up," "Dawson was awful in the 5 minutes against Butler," etc.

Which of those statements is untrue?

I'm not going to expect 12 and 4 from Dawson every night going forward, but I will predict if Dawson gets 25+ minutes a game going forward, the team will have a legit chance at the NCAA and will be capable of winning - and Dawson will contribute solidly - 8ppg, 4 assists, limited turnovers - and the teams overall offensive efficiency will go up 10+%.

So you expect a freshman who has played limited minutes to become Junior Cadougan as a senior? Dawson had a really nice game and should see his PT increase, but let's not get carried away.

[Silkk the Shaka]

This quote is quite bold.  If you want to break down the game into 4 minute segments, sure then there were times that our offense looked good, but not "by far" the best in conference play.  But Unless you watched every other Big East game, including the first 10 minutes of the Creighton/Nova game, that statement is just ridiculous.

Having said that, Dawson looked good.  He did have some plays, especially on the defensive end that showed his inexperience, but hopefully with getting more time that will help.

I'm talking about our own offense, not anyone else's. Creighton is an offensive juggernaut, I'm not that stupid man.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Dawson earned those minutes last night.

I hope he continues to do so.

[NersEllenson]

Which of those statements is untrue?

Uh....Freshman moments, defense left a lot to be desired.  No worries though Merritt, we'll see how it plays out the rest of the season.  Our two best games of conference play have coincided with Dawson getting more minutes - Xavier and Georgetown.  I also highly doubt Steve Taylor would have looked like the totally different player he looked like last night, if Derrick were running the point, and the high post area simply wasn't available.  And as for Butler - anybody with a clue about playing the game of basketball knows you cannot make judgements on a player getting 2 minutes of run and then the bench.

But, I'll gladly take freshman moments whereby a freshman scores 7 in OT, doesn't miss a shot in OT, and makes a critical stop/steal/block on a key possession in overtime.  I'll also gladly take a freshman who tied our previous PG's career makes through 20 games as a junior, with 2, 3pt FG's in one game.

Don't make me hate on Derrick by throwing out all of the relevant sample size data that shows he's and the team have pretty much been really bad under his direction at 30 minutes + per game.  

[CTWarrior]

Most noticeable thing when Derrick is not on the floor is ball movement is much, much better.  Has been true all season, though time without him on the floor is not regular.  He spends a lot of time just killing time around the 3 point line.  In my experience, ball movement is contagious.

Now, Georgetown zoned us last night, and I don't think that is a particularly smart thing to do, because we were able to work the high-low post effectively, more than we ever do against man to man.  How much of that was the zone, how much of that was freedom of movement because all the players were being guarded, I don't know.  Whatever the reason, hopefully Dawson has earned more minutes and he makes good use of them.

[MerrittsMustache]

I'm talking about our own offense, not anyone else's. Creighton is an offensive juggernaut, I'm not that stupid man.

Creighton can be an offensive juggernaut, but it's not a given. They just shot 4-19 on 3s in a loss to Providence and earlier this season they scored 53 points against GW. Creighton will be interesting come the NCAA Tournament. They're the type of team that could shoot their way into the Final Four or shoot there way out of the 1st Round.

[jsglow]

Totally agree that the need to at least spot cover JD made a huge difference getting the ball to flow much better through Steve in the high post.  Do you guys think it was somewhat because of the zone?  In other words, what's our sense as to how JD will develop while facing a man defense?  Also, do you guys recall that spectacular 9 pass possession in the first half?  One of the keys to that was both John's and Jake's decisiveness with the ball reversal.  MUCH quicker.

Another thought.  GTown has two absolute stud guards.  Sure they hit their shots, some absolute miracles, but I personally thought Dawson's on ball defense was pretty solid.  Certainly good enough given the fact that he adds a desperately needed offensive dimension.

I'm torn between continuing to start DWil while decreasing his minutes versus promoting John to the starting lineup.  I think it comes down more to a psychology question rather than anything and not personally knowing either kid I'm not in a position to judge.  I do believe that DWil is mature enough to keep his head in the game even if he comes off the bench.  Perhaps another solid performance by John on Saturday might result in a switch in a subsequent game.  

[MerrittsMustache]

Uh....Freshman moments, defense left a lot to be desired.  No worries though Merritt, we'll see how it plays out the rest of the season.  Our two best games of conference play have coincided with Dawson getting more minutes - Xavier and Georgetown.  I also highly doubt Steve Taylor would have looked like the totally different player he looked like last night, if Derrick were running the point, and the high post area simply wasn't available.  And as for Butler - anybody with a clue about playing the game of basketball knows you cannot make judgements on a player getting 2 minutes of run and then the bench.

But, I'll gladly take freshman moments whereby a freshman scores 7 in OT, doesn't miss a shot in OT, and makes a critical stop/steal/block on a key possession in overtime.  I'll also gladly take a freshman who tied our previous PG's career makes through 20 games as a junior, with 2, 3pt FG's in one game.

Don't make me hate on Derrick by throwing out all of the relevant sample size data that shows he's and the team have pretty much been really bad under his direction at 30 minutes + per game.  

Against Butler, Dawson came into the game, turned the ball over and committed a silly foul within a minute. He came into the game again and turned the ball over within 4 seconds. Maybe a basketball savant like you saw something else in that limited time, but I saw a player who looked lost and hesitant and was hurting the team. Apparently my fellow basketball stupid cohort, Buzz Williams, agreed because Dawson quickly found himself back on the bench for the remainder of the game.

I don't want to argue about Dawson's limitations, especially after he played so well. I'm just saying that you need to temper your expectations a little bit because John Dawson did not transform into John Stockton by having a nice game and making a couple 3s. His game still needs work but he's showing potential.

[NavinRJohnson]

I'm torn between continuing to start DWil while decreasing his minutes versus promoting John to the starting lineup.  I think it comes down more to a psychology question rather than anything and not personally knowing either kid I'm not in a position to judge.  I do believe that DWil is mature enough to keep his head in the game even if he comes off the bench.  Perhaps another solid performance by John on Saturday might result in a switch in a subsequent game.  

I don't think you can start him. Fouls a my biggest concern with Dawson. I think you bring him off the bench to protect him from himself a little bit, as well as to be a little bit of a change of pace. Then again, I don't like Derrik and Jake playing together, so its tough to say.