Marquette's Flaws For Now And What They Mean ...

[Ellisium]

Defense - MU was torched.... and torched badly.  They haven't had such a poor performance defensively since 2000.  There are several reasons for this:

Lack of Height - One of the main reasons Ohio St. effective FG% was 73% is that MU is just too small.  MU doesn't have enough height to affect the opponent's interior shot selection.  Not having a rim protector leads to easy baskets, of which, we saw many by Ohio St.  Fischer's addition in a few weeks, should help take the burden off Taylor's shoulders.

One on One Defense - This is the main flaw in MU's game that falls upon Wojo.  The team didn't play disciplined defense and help out others as well as they should have.

     1.  Steve Taylor - While he had a decent game offensively, he was horrid around the hoop on defense.  Several times he didn't give help and for being the lone big man on the team, he ended up with a paltry 7 rebounds.  He didn't hustle at all in transition and gave up several easy baskets.  Many questioned why buzz sat him last year.  This is the answer why.  He gives up points almost as easily as he gets them.

     2.  The same can be said for Juan Anderson.  He was toasted one on one several times.  Again ..... Juan didn't play much either during Buzz's tenure because defense was #1.  Too many people in here are focusing on his offense which was highly inconsistent. 

     3.  Matt Carlino - This guy can't guard one on one against quick guards.  Ohio St. overwhelmed Carlino with their quickness.  This guy is a liability on the defensive end.   

Offense

1.  No True PG that can bring the ball up - How many times did Ohio St. pressure MU with a 3/4 court press? -- plenty.  MU had too much difficulty getting the ball across half court.  Any teams that have a physical press are going to give us issues.  The absence of a quick PG who can handle the ball, really hurts our tempo on offense. 

2.  No player that can create his own shot - at times the offense lagged and we took some very poor shots where we were double teamed.  There isn't anyone on this team yet, that can carry the load by being able to get their own shot.  In time, Deonte Burton may become more effective along with Steve Taylor.  The problem is that we're just too small, which allows the defense to stretch out.  Carlino can't get open looks when this happens. 
  Regardless, I thought the game would be a 20+ point blowout.  MU showed tenacity which is an extension of the coach.  The zone offense effectively got the ball down to Steve Taylor, which looked promising.  Sloppy play permeated the game for both teams.  Had Marquette played more efficiently, it would have been closer.  Of course, there were many stupid mistakes on our end.  Taylor dribbling down the court and not passing it to the guard on the fast break ..... Juan Anderson's hideous shot selection, etc. 

Fortunately, a lot of MU's mistakes are correctable and are due to youth.  Remember these flaws and take a look to see if they have been cleaned up by the time conference play begins.  That will be a great way to judge Wojo's ability to teach the game and develop players.

The season will be difficult, but there will be flashes of greatness that will get fans excited for next year , especially with the incoming #4 Nationally Ranked Recruiting Class.   Work in progress.  There will be disappointments, but this team is headed in the right direction.  Wojo has the potential to do some great things here.  Next year is when the magic will begin to happen.  For now... let the trials and tribulations be the first chapter to an anthology of greatness. 

[GGGG]

Yeah I think this is a pretty good summary.  Although I think Carlino is fine bringing up the ball.  The final score is deceiving because MU got hot at the very end of the game.

[mileskishnish72]

Yeah, some miscues are related to youth, but Juan's a senior.

[vogue65]

Let's face it, it was more like a scrimmage than a game.  Did anyone take a charge?  Lots of good film to watch and learn how to close the back door, run a fast break, and break a press.  Work in process.

[mu_hilltopper]

Actually, I was impressed by MU's ability to break the pressure and get the ball to half court.  I was distracted during the game, but did we have a single 10 second violation?   (I do recall one timeout called when things weren't working.) 

[vogue65]

By breaking the press I mean getting the opponent to take it off.  OSU knew we were troubled by the press so they kept in on for most of the game.

[CAGASS24]

I saw a team last night that lost by 11 because of some inexperience/immaturity - there was certainly no deficit of skill or talent - that encourages me.  I thought in general we looked pretty relaxed on offense.  Defense was not great; rotations were slow.  Thought we were attacking with our D on the perimeter which is a strength but once OSU started attacking the post and kicking back out it was tough sledding.  Likely going to be our Achilles heel until we can have Steve and Fish able to play man coverage down there - seemed like we were always double teaming and leaving a shooter open - congrats to OSU, they knocked down some open shots

MU RAH!!

[mug644]

Actually, I was impressed by MU's ability to break the pressure and get the ball to half court.  I was distracted during the game, but did we have a single 10 second violation?   (I do recall one timeout called when things weren't working.) 

I agree. Overall the team was successful in getting the ball up court. There was a brief stretch in the first half where we seemed to have 2 or 3 turnovers (and that called timeout) in a row, but we made it through that. While I wasn't so keen to see Juan bring it up, I imagine Wojo's thinking is that he is taller and so can pass over the defense more easily, making OSU less likely to double team him and leave someone else open.

The one drawback to not effectively breaking the press (and leading OSU to call it off) was that we started virtually all of our offensive sets with only about 26 seconds on the shot clock.

My guess is that Wojo saw a lot of things to work on from this game, unlike the exhibition and cupcake so far. The team will get better, though I'll assume that inconsistency will be a hallmark of the season.

[vogue65]

Our game plan was to not commit fouls and win with our superior shooting ability.  OSU had a game plan to commit fouls and win with their superior shooting ability.  OSU won.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I saw a lot of promise in last night's game. Not happy with the result, but optimistic. Taylor doesn't kick the breakaway dunk out of bounds, TreyJ finishes that dunk (or makes a three), or tOSU just shoots a normal 3P% in the first half, all of the sudden this could have been a close ball game. Getting Derrick/Duane to full strength will help, hopefully Dawson will earn some playing time, and Luke transferring in will all be great assets in curing what ails this team.

[vogue65]

It's not difficult, just change the game plan next time.

[MerrittsMustache]

The one drawback to not effectively breaking the press (and leading OSU to call it off) was that we started virtually all of our offensive sets with only about 26 seconds on the shot clock.

Not necessarily a bad thing. Wojo eventually wants to play a fast-paced, pressing style but he knows that this team at this time is not going to stay with OSU playing that style. MU wanted to slow the pace in the half-court anyway and the offense ran rather smoothly (for the most part). I don't recall any desperation shots late in the shot clock.

If MU consistently shoots 46% from the floor, 35% from 3 and assists on nearly three-quarters of the FGs, they're going to win a lot of games.

Defense on the other hand, that needs some cleaning up.

[MerrittsMustache]

Our game plan was to not commit fouls and win with our superior shooting ability.  OSU had a game plan to commit fouls and win with their superior shooting ability.  OSU won.

I don't think any team has ever had a game plan that included "commit fouls."

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

It's not difficult, just change the game plan next time.

To what?

[mug644]

Not necessarily a bad thing. Wojo eventually wants to play a fast-paced, pressing style but he knows that this team at this time is not going to stay with OSU playing that style. MU wanted to slow the pace in the half-court anyway and the offense ran rather smoothly (for the most part). I don't recall any desperation shots late in the shot clock.

If MU consistently shoots 46% from the floor, 35% from 3 and assists on nearly three-quarters of the FGs, they're going to win a lot of games.

Defense on the other hand, that needs some cleaning up.

Good points. But, I gotta say that I didn't see any indication of this team being able to run, to play a fast-paced, pressing style, whether against OSU or anyone else. (I didn't see Friday's game where I know we had better pressure and created turnovers.) De Wilson is just so tentative/conservative bringing the ball up, Carlino didn't seem quick in terms of getting the ball up court, Du Wilson didn't show much at all for pushing the ball. I'll have to see it before I am convinced that this is a team that can run effectively.

[Lennys Tap]

I saw a lot of promise in last night's game. Not happy with the result, but optimistic. Taylor doesn't kick the breakaway dunk out of bounds, TreyJ finishes that dunk (or makes a three), or tOSU just shoots a normal 3P% in the first half, all of the sudden this could have been a close ball game.

And if tOSU doesn't have 13 mostly unforced TOs in the first half their 20 point lead with 3 minutes left would have been 30. Sorry, but in reality this game was no closer than our win over Tennessee-Martin. The second half was a lay up line for the Buckeyes.

[mug644]

While I wasn't so keen to see Juan bring it up, I imagine Wojo's thinking is that he is taller and so can pass over the defense more easily, making OSU less likely to double team him and leave someone else open.

Quoting myself here, but now I'm wondering if Dawson might've been an option to try in that role instead of (or in addition to) Juan. He's a bit taller than other guards and has a decent handle.

[MUfan12]

Defense - MU was torched.... and torched badly.  They haven't had such a poor performance defensively since 2000.  There are several reasons for this:

Lack of Height - One of the main reasons Ohio St. effective FG% was 73% is that MU is just too small.  MU doesn't have enough height to affect the opponent's interior shot selection.  Not having a rim protector leads to easy baskets, of which, we saw many by Ohio St.  Fischer's addition in a few weeks, should help take the burden off Taylor's shoulders.

One on One Defense - This is the main flaw in MU's game that falls upon Wojo.  The team didn't play disciplined defense and help out others as well as they should have.

I never once felt like Ohio State's size was a reason for MU's defensive struggles. It's not like they were dumping it into the post, or cleaning up their own (rare) misses. The individual defense on the perimeter was poor. Their coverage on screens was laughable. Especially Taylor, who has apparently never seen a pick and roll in his life.

They scrambled a ton on defense, which let OSU get hot from three. It was five guys trying to guard as individuals, instead of communicating as a unit. It's correctable, but Wojo will have his work cut out for him.

[frozena pizza]

As bad as we looked at times, I would rank this game as our toughest test of the entire season.  Only our second game with a new coach and a young team going on the road against a far bigger and more talented team that will be in the mix for a Big Ten title.  So we lost by 11.  Last year we had a team that was light years ahead of this group, got OSU at home in front of a sellout crowd and they absolutely dismantled us in the second half to win by 17 and hold us to 35 points.  We clearly have some flaws but we will get better, Luke is going to help quite a bit and overall I am encouraged.

[vogue65]

O.K., then let me say, play aggressive and if you get called for a foul, so be it.  Playing defensibly vs. aggressively is my point.  The goal to me was to not commit fouls at any cost, even giving up a basket uncontested....

[MerrittsMustache]

O.K., then let me say, play aggressive and if you get called for a foul, so be it.  Playing defensibly vs. aggressively is my point.  The goal to me was to not commit fouls at any cost, even giving up a basket uncontested....

I don't recall any lay-ups by OSU that could have been easily prevented by MU taking a foul. There's not a chance that Wojo's strategy was to avoid fouling, which is another way of telling your team to be tentative. Teams that don't foul are typically playing horrible defense...like MU last night. 

[Lennys Tap]

I don't recall any lay-ups by OSU that could have been easily prevented by MU taking a foul. There's not a chance that Wojo's strategy was to avoid fouling, which is another way of telling your team to be tentative. Teams that don't foul are typically playing horrible defense...like MU last night. 

This. You can't foul a guy going up for a lay up or a dunk if you're not within 5 feet of him.

[axaguy]

You play defense with your feet, not your hands........ We were woefully beaten, often, by not being in the right place at the right time, or even close. the guys gotta communiucate, rotate and help each other.  Our defense wasn't bad because they were bigger it was because we weren't where we should have been....... Definite work to do here. The only cure isn't waiting for a guy in December to help............

Offensively we looked tentative. ST has got to stop putting the ball on the floor each time he gets it. When he's close in he needs to go straight up with it......not dribble. We have to be quicker on offense. Though we won't be great we must capitalize on mismatches and quick openings to score.

Overall.........not bad as we feel ourselves and coach out in real games....who the players are, who listens and who tries..............

[ThatDude]

This team is two big men away from winning the big east. I love this team but they are just too small

[Ellisium]

I never once felt like Ohio State's size was a reason for MU's defensive struggles. It's not like they were dumping it into the post, or cleaning up their own (rare) misses. The individual defense on the perimeter was poor. Their coverage on screens was laughable. Especially Taylor, who has apparently never seen a pick and roll in his life.

They scrambled a ton on defense, which let OSU get hot from three. It was five guys trying to guard as individuals, instead of communicating as a unit. It's correctable, but Wojo will have his work cut out for him.

Agreed.  MU wasn't helping each other out on double teams.  There were way too many open lanes to the hoop.  MU needs to learn how to seal off those lanes.  I hope this youth related and not a coaching issue.