Jajuan J breakout

[Autoengineer]

I'm not hearing much about Jajuan Johnson.  Here's a guy that was ranked by Scouthoops as the 7th best shooting guard coming out of HS in 2013.  32nd overall.  Seems like expectations are low.  Not sure why that's the case.  Shouldn't we be looking for a breakout season from him?     

[Wojo'sMojo]

I'm expecting a big breakout from him! I think he is going to surprise a lot of people on this board who want to label him overrated and a bust already. With his up and down playing time last year, i think it was hard as a freshman to find his groove. I think with a less schizo coach and consistent minutes, we will all see the player he was hyped up to be coming out of high school.

[GGGG]

I'm expecting a big breakout from him! I think he is going to surprise a lot of people on this board who want to label him overrated and a bust already. With his up and down playing time last year, i think it was hard as a freshman to find his groove. I think with a less schizo coach and consistent minutes, we will all see the player he was hyped up to be coming out of high school.

Of course, no one has done that.

His issues last year went beyond consistent minutes.  He oftentimes floated on the perimeter without having much impact even when he was on the floor.  Hopefully he will be able to assert himself more this year.

[tower912]

I'm expecting a big breakout from him! I think he is going to surprise a lot of people on this board who want to label him overrated and a bust already. With his up and down playing time last year, i think it was hard as a freshman to find his groove. I think with a less schizo coach and consistent minutes, we will all see the player he was hyped up to be coming out of high school.

Last year's freshmen played like freshmen.   Highs, lows, little consistency.   Deonte got it going better than JJJ or Dawson.    Let this be a caveat a year from now when the MU world is expecting miracles from Heldt, Hellenson, Cheatham, and NN.     I expect JJJ to be better.

[MU82]

Not trying to lay it all on Buzz, but some coaches do have a better way with freshmen than others do. It took a lot for Buzz to play freshmen. Vander was a 5-star by some ratings, and he got 20 mpg, as did Mayo, who filled a total need (until he stopped making shots a few games into the conference season). In the next three years, Buzz mostly avoided playing freshmen.

Maybe Wojo will have a different philosophy, not only toward freshmen but toward younger players in general. I guess we'll see, won't we?

College hoops history is filled with highly touted freshmen not living up to the hype. But it also is filled with highly touted freshmen being major contributors. Again, we'll see how Wojo handles Ellenson & Co.

[Texas Western]

I am expecting big things from JJJ this year. Buzz did a very poor job utilizing him.  Wojo understands what this kid is all about and will give him the proper game flow he needs. He is a pure scorer and needs to be playing consistent minutes. He creates defensively also which is what we will be in dire need of this year .

[77ncaachamps]

Buzz held him back like Crean held back Wes.

Honestly, not sure if that deserves teal but I used it anyways.

[Daniel]

He will be fine. He has the skills, just needs to work on confidence and to a degree cockiness.

[Dawson Rental]

I'm not hearing much about Jajuan Johnson.  Here's a guy that was ranked by Scouthoops as the 7th best shooting guard coming out of HS in 2013.  32nd overall.  Seems like expectations are low.  Not sure why that's the case.  Shouldn't we be looking for a breakout season from him?     

Well, you came to the right place.  If you use the MUScoop search function, I think that you'll find a lot of people on this board that are expecting much more from JJJ this year.  Dawson seems to be the only sophomore who isn't getting strongly plugged for having a breakout year this year, probably because many are anticipating a lot from Duane Wilson this year.

[GurneeHitchkr]

I don't think our offensive sets worked well for JJJ's skill sets.  I think our defense creating offense will allow his athleticism to shine, both defensively and in the open court on offense.  I suspect he'll do much, much better under Wojo's style of play. 

[Earl Tatum]

Hope you're right.

[MU82]

I am expecting big things from JJJ this year. Buzz did a very poor job utilizing him.  Wojo understands what this kid is all about and will give him the proper game flow he needs. He is a pure scorer and needs to be playing consistent minutes. He creates defensively also which is what we will be in dire need of this year .

I don't think this can be stated enough. One of the main reasons we weren't good last season was our inability to force the kind of turnovers that create easy baskets. We weren't a good enough shooting team to play as much half-court basketball as we were forced to play.

I don't imagine we'll set the world on fire from half-court sets this season, either, so we had better get some steals and get our athletes flying down the court.

Although they were underutilized by Buzz last season, when JJJ and Burton did play, they did use their quickness to create these kinds of steals and opportunities. Sure, they were out of position on defense sometimes -- which is probably one thing that earned them time on Buzz's bench -- but hopefully they will improve in that part of the game while still taking the kind of educated gambles that lead to easy points.

We need easy points!

[jsglow]

I don't think this can be stated enough. One of the main reasons we weren't good last season was our inability to force the kind of turnovers that create easy baskets. We weren't a good enough shooting team to play as much half-court basketball as we were forced to play.

I don't imagine we'll set the world on fire from half-court sets this season, either, so we had better get some steals and get our athletes flying down the court.

Although they were underutilized by Buzz last season, when JJJ and Burton did play, they did use their quickness to create these kinds of steals and opportunities. Sure, they were out of position on defense sometimes -- which is probably one thing that earned them time on Buzz's bench -- but hopefully they will improve in that part of the game while still taking the kind of educated gambles that lead to easy points.

We need easy points!

+1

[DoggyDaddy]

Player Wojo was noted for his defensive skills, Coach Wojo stresses defense skills; JJJ and others will feed off of more turnovers which will benefit a smallish but very quick team.   

[MarquetteDano]

I don't think this can be stated enough. One of the main reasons we weren't good last season was our inability to force the kind of turnovers that create easy baskets. We weren't a good enough shooting team to play as much half-court basketball as we were forced to play.

I don't imagine we'll set the world on fire from half-court sets this season, either, so we had better get some steals and get our athletes flying down the court.

Although they were underutilized by Buzz last season, when JJJ and Burton did play, they did use their quickness to create these kinds of steals and opportunities. Sure, they were out of position on defense sometimes -- which is probably one thing that earned them time on Buzz's bench -- but hopefully they will improve in that part of the game while still taking the kind of educated gambles that lead to easy points.

We need easy points!

Agreed.  Not just off turnovers either.  We need to get easy points off of transition as well.  Which means defensive rebounding is going to be really critical.  I really think Luke and Teve in total need to average 12+ boards a game if we are going to be a good transition team.

[Loose Cannon]

Player Wojo was noted for his defensive skills, Coach Wojo stresses defense skills; JJJ and others will feed off of more turnovers which will benefit a smallish but very quick team.   

Absolutely agree.

I Think the Most important element to the defense are the communications between the players.  As the SI article explained, Wojo is trying to instill the "Get on the Line" (communicating) to All the players.  One weak link and it doesn't work.

It might be a good MU Cheer (Get on the Line) to keep the players constant aware of communicating.  Wojo might like all the help he can get..

[GGGG]

Although they were underutilized by Buzz last season, when JJJ and Burton did play, they did use their quickness to create these kinds of steals and opportunities.

Burton yes.  But JJJ didn't like the world on fire with steals.  The last one he had was against Creighton on New Year's Eve.  His steal percentage was 1.9 - not great by any means.

I know JJJ has a bunch of potential, but it really is easy to see why he didn't play much toward the end of the year.  He wasn't a great defender, and wasn't terribly assertive on the offensive end either.  If you read some of the scouting reports on him from high school, this isn't surprising.  He played exclusively zone in high school, and relied a great deal on his athleticism on the offensive end.  I don't think he was considered overly skilled when he got here.

IMO he was a better version of Jamail Jones.  Hopefully he will improve more than Jamail did.

[MU82]

Burton yes.  But JJJ didn't like the world on fire with steals.  The last one he had was against Creighton on New Year's Eve.  His steal percentage was 1.9 - not great by any means.

I know JJJ has a bunch of potential, but it really is easy to see why he didn't play much toward the end of the year.  He wasn't a great defender, and wasn't terribly assertive on the offensive end either.  If you read some of the scouting reports on him from high school, this isn't surprising.  He played exclusively zone in high school, and relied a great deal on his athleticism on the offensive end.  I don't think he was considered overly skilled when he got here.

IMO he was a better version of Jamail Jones.  Hopefully he will improve more than Jamail did.

I will defer to you on JJJ's steals stats. I remember him getting a couple of deflections or tips that led to steals ... and that's a couple more than I remember from Derrick. But I could just be remembering what I want to, that is entirely possible.

This will be an important year for JJJ. If he can't establish himself as a legit college player given our lack of depth, a new coaching staff coming in, plenty of opportunity, etc., he might never get it done.

[GGGG]

I will defer to you on JJJ's steals stats. I remember him getting a couple of deflections or tips that led to steals ... and that's a couple more than I remember from Derrick. But I could just be remembering what I want to, that is entirely possible.

This will be an important year for JJJ. If he can't establish himself as a legit college player given our lack of depth, a new coaching staff coming in, plenty of opportunity, etc., he might never get it done.

On the first issue, Derrick had a 2.5 steal percentage.  Pretty decent.  Deonte was over 5.

On the second, you are 100% right.  I am not writing him off in the least, but I don't think he was misused last year.  He was a non-entity for the most part.  Hopefully the new staff and a summer of hard work will do it for him.

[Wojo'sMojo]

On the first issue, Derrick had a 2.5 steal percentage.  Pretty decent.  Deonte was over 5.

On the second, you are 100% right.  I am not writing him off in the least, but I don't think he was misused last year.  He was a non-entity for the most part.  Hopefully the new staff and a summer of hard work will do it for him.

IMO, he was misused. What did playing Jake over him do for us? He could have learned a lot by getting playing time and sure he would have been a liability at times, but he also would have gained valuable experience.

[GGGG]

IMO, he was misused. What did playing Jake over him do for us? He could have learned a lot by getting playing time and sure he would have been a liability at times, but he also would have gained valuable experience.

Not this again.  There is no evidence to suggest that he would have been better this year with more playing time last year.  Thomas was the better player last year and that's all that matters.

[willie warrior]

Not this again.  There is no evidence to suggest that he would have been better this year with more playing time last year.  Thomas was the better player last year and that's all that matters.

Here it is, almost a year later and the Sultan of Slurpiness is still stealth shilling Buzz's handling of players last year. Like a book!!

[Wojo'sMojo]

Not this again.  There is no evidence to suggest that he would have been better this year with more playing time last year.  Thomas was the better player last year and that's all that matters.

You're right, young players usually get worse with more playing time the previous year   Thomas was a better player in your opinion last year, I disagree that JJJ wouldn't have been better with equal playing time. Just because it's what you think, doesn't make it a fact.

[GGGG]

You're right, young players usually get worse with more playing time the previous year  Thomas was a better player in your opinion last year, I disagree that JJJ wouldn't have been better with equal playing time.

Reading.  Is.  Fundamental.  I didn't say they get worse. I said there was no evidence that they get better.

And really, what was it about JJJ that gave you the impression that he would have been just as good as Thomas?  He didn't really do much of anything.

Here it is, almost a year later and the Sultan of Slurpiness is still stealth shilling Buzz's handling of players last year. Like a book!!

Here it is, almost seven years on this board and the willie witless is still a back bencher without an original thought.  Like a book!!  (One with a lot of pictures and real big letters.)

[chapman]

We're going to see why RSCI rankings had JJJ as our highest ranked recruit in a long time.