Draft Express weighs in on the game:
http://www.draftexpress.com/blogs.php?mod=comment&p=636Marquette Takes Down Duke: The Rise of a new Villanova?No, probably not this year.
Villanova went with two point gaurds, two combos, and a power forward. Marquette runs a point, a combo, two wings, and a true center. Crean’s bunch isn’t as talented or experienced anyways.
Nonetheless, one couldn’t help but think of the way Villanova systematically broke down and suffocated a bloated Conncecticut lineup last February when watching tonight’s CBE Classic Championship Game between Duke and the Golden Eagles.
Where Villanova’s true strength was its explosive threesome of Lowry, Foye and Ray, Marquette has a chance to do special things because of sophomore duo Dominic James and Jerel McNeal. The two completely dominated the Duke backcourt tonight, with James setting the tone early by relentlessly pushing the tempo and finishing the Blue Devils off with two beautiful jumpers in the closing moments, and McNeal aggressively making his presence felt literally everywhere on the court.
James may remind many of Lowry physically and athletically, though he is a much more talented offensive player and Lowry was special at the other end of the court. Where Lowry’s jumper was flat and defenses were able to play off of him, DeMarcus Nelson learned first hand what a mistake that is with James, who gets a ridiculous amount elevation on his J when he isn’t careening toward the basket for a hanging lay-in or throwing down a reverse dunk. James has a tendency to hang onto the ball a bit much at times, but generally does a good job of creating good looks for his teammates. Tonight, Marquette wouldn’t have been within 30 of Duke if not for James’ constant explosive presence.
Where James is Crean’s end-all when it comes to offense, fellow soph Jerel McNeal means just as much on the defensive end. With an attackers mentality similar to that of old Al Skinner enforcer Ryan Sidney, McNeal completely locked up whoever he was guarding, rebounded and altered shots like a big man, was a constant disruptive presence as an anticipator (6 steals on the night), slashed to the basket relentlessly on the offensive end, and displayed the ability to handle and pass in the open court. He blocked shots of 6’11 Josh McRoberts and 7’1 Brian Zoubek in one on one situations near the basket, but was called for fouls on both – probably because the official never even considered that a 6’2 guard could get a clean block in those situations.
In one sequence, he flashed off his man with lightning quickness to wrestle the ball out of Greg Paulus’ hands. After shoving the former elite football prospect to the ground, he controlled the ball and made a beautiful pass to a streaking teammate in the open court. When his teammate missed the bunny, McNeal managed to grab the rebound in between a pair of Duke players and put it back in for the basket.
This was James’ signature breakout performance, and the fully elevated 3-point dagger over Nelson is a moment that will go down as one of the season’s best. He was already on mock draft boards as a mid-first rounder, but expect the hype to really kick in now that he’s taken down the Blue Devils. James’ size limits his upside, but the soph is going to be a First Team All-American, and likely lead the Golden Eagles on a deep run in March. The one snag in this rise to lottery status could be the nagging health injuries he has faced in his year-plus at Marquette. They haven’t caused any loss of explosiveness yet (understatement of the century), but being injury prone doesn’t bode well for a 5’10 player so reliant on athleticism.
McNeal’s NBA future is substantially murkier, even if he is just as important for Tom Crean this season. He’s already got a “Ron Artest of the Big East” thing going for him, but there are a few critical flaws to his game. For as good as he looks off the dribble in the halfcourt and a passer in the open court, McNeal is a turnover waiting to happen. He forces the issue at times, and gets sloppy as a ballhandler. Furthermore, McNeal has no touch from the outside and isn’t much better as a finisher of his forays into the lane. Few have a better feel for how to create off the bounce, but this ability is seriously marginalized by the tendency to haphazardly chuck shots at the rim. If he develops an outside shot and can better toe the line between aggression and flat out forcing things that aren’t there, McNeal has some sort of future in the NBA. If not, at least we’ll get to watch the guy in college for the next two years…
Neither James nor McNeal offer a consistent outside shooting presence, so wings Dan Fitzgerald, Wes Matthews, and Lazar Hayward must make outside shots to give the lead guards good space to create. Fitzgerald in particular looked good tonight. He has the role “facilitator wing” down to a T, and hit a couple of big outside shots as well. Crean has little to work with in terms of true post options, so steadily improving big man Ousmanne Barro must work hard to stay out of foul trouble. Barro won’t be asked to score much with his back to the basket, but did a good a job of catching and finishing several flashy looks from James tonight.
