NJIT thoughts

[tower912]

1.  Ugly wins are better than ugly losses.
2.  Wojo has a quick trigger for dumb mistakes.   (Deonte, Sandy, Carlino, Derrick)   He just doesn't have options to replace them.
3.   There were a couple of possessions in the second half with actual defense.   Not many, but a couple.
4.   Rebounding?    Time to bring back the tackling dummies.   Try not to break any bones.
5.   Duane continues to show flashes on offense.   I would be critical of his defense, but nobody is playing it well right now.   So celebrate the offense.
6.  STjr has to make bunnies against little guys.   And not get beat to so many rebounds.   
7.  Where would this team be without Juan?    Reading that, I just threw up a little in my mouth. 
8.  Anybody still predicting 20 wins and a tourney team?

[RubyWiscy]

Let's forget for a minute who we were playing. This was a gut check, character building win. This team is in new territory for MU vs. last 10 teams. Got a lot to figure out and little experience to fall back on. I say forget about post season and focus on the excitement of seeing players and the team develop. There is talent there and with experience it will eventually start to show. Relax and enjoy the ride.

[dgies9156]

I'm not optimistic but not giving up either.

This team needs Luke Fischer.

This team needs a leader.

Maybe we'll learn to play defense.

[jsglow]

Well said Ruby. We're going to lose a bunch this year. I want to see our team develop and will he focused on how Wojo holds them together through the process.

[Avenue Commons]

A Win Is A Win. Onto the next game.

[brewcity77]

1. Yes
2. Fischer will help. Marginally with depth, more by allowing guys to pay their natural positions.
3. Loved seeing it, even if sporadically.
4. Hopefully Fischer helps here too. In the short term, Georgia Tech will be a pain.
5. Of the younger players, Duane is the one I think Wojo would have recruited. Hopefully he can mostly play off the ball this year and be a true PG next.
6. Can we trade him for a clone of Dwight Burke?
7. Took Juan 4 years to look like that kid we saw YouTube clips of in high school.
8. I'll be happy with double digit wins and visible progress. Actually, I'll just take the progress. Ten wins may be too much to ask.

[BCHoopster]

The lack of growth from Deonte, JJJ and Dawson is perplexing. They are showing nothing, with the typical game from Derrick, and Carlino not really a point guard this team is going to struggle.
It is hard to believe that Derrick will not pull the trigger after taking 20,000 jump shots this summer, he has open looks all the time.  Can not see them winning any games until Fisher joins
the team.  Hope he brings more offense then Steve Taylor in the post.  Overall, pretty weak team.  As much as I like the recruits coming in, still needs a mid-size kid as Burton is not tall enough
and good enough to be a rebounder.  Should be interesting that is for sure.

[tower912]

I have been bearish on this team and counseling patience. Focus on the process and not the results.   I hold to that.    I think this team will get better.   I think that Wojo can coach.  I think there is talent, but the combination of talent isn't the best.   I think Luke will help, but he is not a savior.     I think that having only one proven scorer (who isn't scoring right now), no size, no depth, a new coach and a new system is inevitably destined to have struggles.   I have been saying it all along.   I didn't expect the struggles to start so soon, but I have always said that .500 was the ceiling for this team.    May they pull together and prove me wrong.  

[Anti-Dentite]

1.  Ugly wins are better than ugly losses.
2.  Wojo has a quick trigger for dumb mistakes.   (Deonte, Sandy, Carlino, Derrick)   He just doesn't have options to replace them.
3.   There were a couple of possessions in the second half with actual defense.   Not many, but a couple.
4.   Rebounding?    Time to bring back the tackling dummies.   Try not to break any bones.
5.   Duane continues to show flashes on offense.   I would be critical of his defense, but nobody is playing it well right now.   So celebrate the offense.
6.  STjr has to make bunnies against little guys.   And not get beat to so many rebounds.   
7.  Where would this team be without Juan?    Reading that, I just threw up a little in my mouth. 
8.  Anybody still predicting 20 wins and a tourney team?

There were flashes of defense in the second half, particularly when the run was made to get our huge 4 point lead and then...they let up again. Picked it up again with the game on the line at the end. It's a mindset that is just not there yet. This is gonna take a while....

[BCHoopster]

I have been bearish on this team and counseling patience. Focus on the process and not the results.   I hold to that.    I think this team will get better.   I think that Wojo can coach.  I think there is talent, but the combination of talent isn't the best.   I think Luke will help, but he is not a savior.     I think that having only one proven scorer (who isn't scoring right now), no size, no depth, a new coach and a new system is inevitably destined to have struggles.   I have been saying it all along.   I didn't expect the struggles to start so soon, but I have always said that .500 was the ceiling for this team.    May they pull together and prove me wrong.  

Tower, if that happens, 500 season, then Wojo is one of the great coaches of all time. 

[tower912]

I agree.   I thought .500 was the ceiling, not the starting point.   Right now, the only way that happens is if Luke is really good, really fast.    And that isn't fair to him. 

[Blackhat]

Duke defense isn't going to work here. Right now at least.

We need to play more of a condensed, pack line defense.    

Wojo needs to learn.   The good thing about Buzz was he had been around seen a lot of different ball.  Self made coach.

Wojo has seen McD's execute his high pressure d.   It does not work for all talent levels, especially when you haven't taught them/they haven't executed basic tenets of help defense.

[Dawson Rental]

The lack of growth from Deonte, JJJ and Dawson is perplexing. They are showing nothing, with the typical game from Derrick, and Carlino not really a point guard this team is going to struggle.
It is hard to believe that Derrick will not pull the trigger after taking 20,000 jump shots this summer, he has open looks all the time.  Can not see them winning any games until Fisher joins
the team.  Hope he brings more offense then Steve Taylor in the post.  Overall, pretty weak team.  As much as I like the recruits coming in, still needs a mid-size kid as Burton is not tall enough and good enough to be a rebounder.  Should be interesting that is for sure.

"The lack of growth from Deonte, JJJ and Dawson is perplexing"

Nah, it's just that Wojo has decided to throw the season.

[tower912]

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400588342

Box score.

[JTBMU7]

Again, I'm not sure everyone understands how short(talent, and height) this team is or bad it will be this year. It took a pretty marginal charge call to escape a disaster to ITT Tech. Forget all the rankings and Wojo  talk, this group will have over achieved if it matches last years record. The big east is pretty good so far, which is good for the conf, not for MU... Going to be a tough and humbling season...

[kmwtrucks]

You need more from SR guards then 0-10 and 1-5 for 1 point in 54 minutes.    they have played about 4500 minutes of HM Div 1 basketball between them, could you have a more experienced back court than that?   Also we got lucky with Derrick bringing up the ball late in the game.  Somebody should have fouled him.  That is bad scouting from the other coaching staff.  he is 56-128 for his career. 43%.  I give Duane credit for making his FT's and NJMITTI or what ever there name was for missing some easy mostly uncontested shots from in close and got a pretty bad call on the late charge.  I thought They changed that rule and I think that REf was calling it like it was 2-3 years ago.  He was in the air long before Juan was set.

[Blackhat]

Really surprised Wojo was actively calling for Derrick to get the ball in the last minute.  Trying to give him the benefit but that is just a dumb move.

[madtownwarrior]

Derrick playing this much, this team does suck...

[mattyv1908]

1.  This is not a good team, or at least the whole is playing worse than the collection of parts.  There is talent on the roster but little semblance of a team.

2.  I think Carlino is a detriment and not a benefit.  He doesn't fit with this group and if he was a sophomore I'd be ok with it as a rental senior on a bad team I don't get it.

3.  I think it's obvious that the Duane Wilson redshirt was really due to injury as I find it hard to believe he wouldn't have been one of our three best backcourt options last season.

4.  I wish Jamil Wilson played with Juan Anderson's heart last season and we might have been looking at a vastly different year last year.

5.  Defense is still as bad as I've ever seen.  Thankfully NJIT's shots didn't fall in the second half because they were open.

6.  The officials calling a much tighter second half should be the SotG.

7. The better team - the group of players that executed as a cohesive unit - lost tonight.

8.  Anybody clamoring for a little bit of Dawson need not worry, but it won't be in the games expected.  Since we're either losing or barely beating 200+ RPI teams he'll have plenty of garbage time when we get obliterated by any meaningful competition.

Sorry for being negative but this team is vastly underperforming to already extremely low expectations.  This team has the personnel to win 14-17 but will be lucky to win 10.  Wojo makes Mike McCarthy look like a fabulous x's and o's coach and that's saying something.

[brandx]

1.  This is not a good team, or at least the whole is playing worse than the collection of parts.  There is talent on the roster but little semblance of a team.

2.  I think Carlino is a detriment and not a benefit.  He doesn't fit with this group and if he was a sophomore I'd be ok with it as a rental senior on a bad team I don't get it.

3.  I think it's obvious that the Duane Wilson redshirt was really due to injury as I find it hard to believe he wouldn't have been one of our three best backcourt options last season.

4.  I wish Jamil Wilson played with Juan Anderson's heart last season and we might have been looking at a vastly different year last year.

5.  Defense is still as bad as I've ever seen.  Thankfully NJIT's shots didn't fall in the second half because they were open.

6.  The officials calling a much tighter second half should be the SotG.

7. The better team - the group of players that executed as a cohesive unit - lost tonight.

8.  Anybody clamoring for a little bit of Dawson need not worry, but it won't be in the games expected.  Since we're either losing or barely beating 200+ RPI teams he'll have plenty of garbage time when we get obliterated by any meaningful competition.

Sorry for being negative but this team is vastly underperforming to already extremely low expectations.  This team has the personnel to win 14-17 but will be lucky to win 10.  Wojo makes Mike McCarthy look like a fabulous x's and o's coach and that's saying something.

I think you just shot yourself in the foot. To make a point about bad coaches - maybe you'd want to use.... I don't know..... a bad coach rather than one who wins 2/3 of his games.

[mattyv1908]

I think you just shot yourself in the foot. To make a point about bad coaches - maybe you'd want to use.... I don't know..... a bad coach rather than one who wins 2/3 of his games.

McCarthy is a horrible situational coach, makes poor midgame adjustments and should have the challenge flag permanently stripped from his possession and he looks like a genius compared to what I've seen through four games so far with MUBB 2014.  You may disagree but the other serious candidate for the coaching job (Peyton) would have at least 2-3 Lombardi trophies in the same stretch.  If you think McCarthy is a good coach that's you're opinion.  He may be a great OC, but a quality head coach he is not yet get's bailed out by outstanding QB play regardless of if it was Favre or Rodgers.

[Ellisium]

McCarthy is a horrible situational coach, makes poor midgame adjustments and should have the challenge flag permanently stripped from his possession and he looks like a genius compared to what I've seen through four games so far with MUBB 2014.  You may disagree but the other serious candidate for the coaching job (Peyton) would have at least 2-3 Lombardi trophies in the same stretch.  If you think McCarthy is a good coach that's you're opinion.  He may be a great OC, but a quality head coach he is not yet get's bailed out by outstanding QB play regardless of if it was Favre or Rodgers.

Payton only has 1 superbowl trophy, all due to the fact that the Vikings gave away the NFC Championship game.  Take away Brees and that team is the worst team in the league.  Go win a game on the road Payton. 

[Tums Festival]

McCarthy is a horrible situational coach, makes poor midgame adjustments and should have the challenge flag permanently stripped from his possession and he looks like a genius compared to what I've seen through four games so far with MUBB 2014.  You may disagree but the other serious candidate for the coaching job (Peyton) would have at least 2-3 Lombardi trophies in the same stretch.  If you think McCarthy is a good coach that's you're opinion.  He may be a great OC, but a quality head coach he is not yet get's bailed out by outstanding QB play regardless of if it was Favre or Rodgers.

So after 4 games you've already decided Wojo is a bad coach? Should we fire him then and hire Ben Howland since he's known as a defense-first coach? Give me a break. It's way too early to accurately know what kind of a coach Wojo is going to be. He's learning along with the rest of the team and the chances are probably better than 50-50 he'll improve as time goes on. When K started out at Duke he went 17-13 his first year with a team that was 2 years removed from the NCAA title game. He then went 21-34 his next two seasons. Would you say K is a pretty good coach now? Is he a better coach today than he was when he first started out? Yes it sucks to lose, or barely beat a bad team, but things aren't going to be like this forever. There is help on the horizon.

[Avenue Commons]

To say that the season will be a disaster is to accept that this team will not improve. There's no where to go but up. They will get better and they will compete. Remember, this is the same team that was competitive with OSU.

[GGGG]

1. Mike McCarthy is a very good football coach.  He might be the best locker room coach I have seen in Green Bay.

2.  Wojo looks like a freshman coach. I think there are some things that he could have done better with regards to defense and rebounding. New coaches can struggle. If they are smart, and I think he is, he will get better.

3. Duane Wilson is going to be good. If Carlino doesn't stop sucking, Duane should be point.

4. Outside of Juan, I see no improvement from any returning player.

5.  I feel bad for Dawson and want to see him out there.

[real chili 83]

We gave up so many easy baskets in the last three games.

If we dial that in, we will be a decent team.  Until then.....

[CTWarrior]

There were flashes of defense in the second half, particularly when the run was made to get our huge 4 point lead and then...they let up again. Picked it up again with the game on the line at the end. It's a mindset that is just not there yet. This is gonna take a while....

I disagree about the flashes of defense.  If NJIT could make a layup we'd have lost by a dozen.  It's finally beginning to dawn on me that maybe Buzz didn't do such a poor job of coaching last year after all.  As frustrating as it is to watch Derrick Wilson play offense, it's even more frustrating watching some of the other guys play defense.  How many wide open back cuts can one team allow while still not guarding the three point line?

[tower912]

  It's finally beginning to dawn on me that maybe Buzz didn't do such a poor job of coaching last year after all. 

Disinterested seniors, freshmen who really didn't play defense, a substandard point guard who couldn't shoot, a shooting guard who couldn't drive, a head case scorer who destroyed what little team chemistry there was.....just a bad, unhealthy combination.   

[Loose Cannon]

It was very revealing reading the posts as the game was in progress.  I thought most posters were Passionate and completely frustrated.

Apparently they didn’t get the memo about what most basketball gurus predicted. This is a work in process team with many shortcomings which were on full display during this game.  It’s pretty easy to point out our many deficiencies and then rush to conclude impending Doom.   Bur it might help to survive the season if we switch our focus from wins and losses to the development of a) Individual Players b) Defining roles and c) Team cohesiveness.  Let’s see if there is any improvement in the development (Not the wins & Losses) after 14 games.  Oh, and those that have coaching suggestions might consider sending them to Wojo together with their coaching Resume.


But with 4 games being played and reading posts like:
1) we’ll not win another game this season.
2) That guy has no heart.
3) This guy can’t coach
4) Blah, Blah, and Blah

Easy to understand comments like these in the heat of the game, but if after the game reflection and you still feel the same then the phase that I think of is:
“Still wet behind the ears”

[GGGG]

I disagree about the flashes of defense.  If NJIT could make a layup we'd have lost by a dozen.  It's finally beginning to dawn on me that maybe Buzz didn't do such a poor job of coaching last year after all.  As frustrating as it is to watch Derrick Wilson play offense, it's even more frustrating watching some of the other guys play defense.  How many wide open back cuts can one team allow while still not guarding the three point line?

Buzz made the best of the poor hand he dealt himself.

[MU82]

If NJIT could make a layup we'd have lost by a dozen. 

This might be true. But didn't we also miss numerous bunnies?

If Vander didn't make that layup, we lose to Davidson. But Vander DID make that layup, you know what I'm sayin'?

[Galway Eagle]

Disinterested seniors, freshmen who really didn't play defense, a substandard point guard who couldn't shoot, a shooting guard who couldn't drive, a head case scorer who destroyed what little team chemistry there was.....just a bad, unhealthy combination.   

You forgot power forward who didn't lead, defensive master with no depth perception and offensive master with endurance problems.

[MU82]

I wish Jamil Wilson played with Juan Anderson's heart last season and we might have been looking at a vastly different year last year.

Sorry for being negative but this team is vastly underperforming to already extremely low expectations.  This team has the personnel to win 14-17 but will be lucky to win 10.  Wojo makes Mike McCarthy look like a fabulous x's and o's coach and that's saying something.

Your first point here is excellent. Anderson is playing EXACTLY as I hoped Jamil would play last year. Those who say Jamil couldn't play with passion, aggressiveness and heart because Derrick was on the floor ... well, Anderson did all those things -- and scored 20 -- with Derrick on the floor almost the entire time. Jamil simply didn't have the drive to excel, and that's too bad. It hurt our team and it might have kept him from making a decent buck as a pro. Juan doesn't have Jamil's skill level, but I'll take the senior Juan over the senior Jamil a bazillion times.

Your second point ... ugh. Wojo is a kid. He's learning, too. Anybody who thought we were getting Coach K right out of the box, please. Coach K wasn't Coach K right out of the box. Look what he did at Army and his first few years at Duke. It takes time for coaches, too, and this season will be a very good laboratory for Wojo because we weren't going to win anything anyway. By this time next year, he'll be a better coach and he'll have better talent at every single position.

I'm not a Packers fan, but I do know McCarthy is on his way to a seventh postseason appearance in 9 years as Packers coach. He has won six playoff games and a championship. I think most of us would be fairly satisfied if Wojo duplicates those kinds of results. (OK, I'd like a few more tourney wins than that, but you get the idea.)

[mu03eng]

This team will likely finish no better than 0.500, but I'm still excited about this team.  Maybe it's the optimist in me, but I saw improvement in the team from Saturday to Monday, even within the game on Monday.  It's hard to see it through all the crap on the court most of the time, but it's there.  The team had a couple of trips where they executed their defensive plan very well.  The out of bounds play after the last media timeout was good.  The offense in the hands of Du Wilson and Juan late in the game was solid.

I think your level of vitriol is based entirely around your expectation for this team.  I think they are a little worse than I anticipated but for a lot it seems they are a lot worse than expected.  I think everyone needs to adjust their expectation and start watching for improvements and almost ignore the score because more than likely it's not going to be good.

#respecttheprocess

[LAMUfan]

Duke defense isn't going to work here. Right now at least.

We need to play more of a condensed, pack line defense.    

Wojo needs to learn.   The good thing about Buzz was he had been around seen a lot of different ball.  Self made coach.

Wojo has seen McD's execute his high pressure d.   It does not work for all talent levels, especially when you haven't taught them/they haven't executed basic tenets of help defense.

+1 they need to stop giving up uncontested layups and back cuts, I would rather take my chances giving college kids some space for jumpers and 3's and cut down on the easy stuff. 

[mu03eng]

+1 they need to stop giving up uncontested layups and back cuts, I would rather take my chances giving college kids some space for jumpers and 3's and cut down on the easy stuff. 

Some of that is the maturation process of young players.  They are having to think too fast and recognition isn't there yet.  Give it a couple of months and this defense looks different, not because we change it but because the players can execute without thinking.

Except for Carlino....I think he is a lost cause on defense.

[warriorchick]

This might be naiveté on my part, but what about this theory:

Coach Wojo is a defensive expert.  Obviously Marquette's defense blows right now (at least near the basket; I actually think they have been pretty good at forcing turnovers).

Perhaps Wojo is creating a new defensive strategy completely from scratch this season, and it just hasn't come together as quickly as he would have hoped.  Just like rearranging a closet, things are its messiest when you pull everything out, and but aren't done putting it back together.  


Just my two cents.

[LAMUfan]

Some guys are just getting beat off the dribble in one on one situations though, Carlino, JJJ etc, they might need to back off a little unless they are on a 3 point specialist or something.  Trust me I'm a tall slow guy, I know what I'm talking about

[MUfan12]

They'd solve a lot of their issues by not switching every GD screen.

[MerrittsMustache]

This might be naiveté on my part, but what about this theory:

Coach Wojo is a defensive expert.  Obviously Marquette's defense blows right now (at least near the basket; I actually think they have been pretty good at forcing turnovers).

Perhaps Wojo is creating a new defensive strategy completely from scratch this season, and it just hasn't come together as quickly as he would have hoped.  Just like rearranging a closet, things are its messiest when you pull everything out, and but aren't done putting it back together.  

Just my two cents.

Good points. Sometimes you have to make a mess before you can clean.

[mu03eng]

They'd solve a lot of their issues by not switching every GD screen.

The switching is fine, as long as Teve is not involved

[dgies9156]

1.  This is not a good team, or at least the whole is playing worse than the collection of parts.  There is talent on the roster but little semblance of a team.

Bingo!

Best analysis yet. Players are good but they have to learn to be a team.

They aren't right now.

Maybe that's one of the reasons why we hear Coach Wojo talk about "talking to each other." About picking up for and after each other.

Until we begin to act as a unit, we're going to struggle mightily.

[CTWarrior]

This might be true. But didn't we also miss numerous bunnies?

If Vander didn't make that layup, we lose to Davidson. But Vander DID make that layup, you know what I'm sayin'?

True, but my point was that just because NJIT shot a lower pct in the second half doesn't mean our defense was any good.  You can't say we were playing good defense because NJIT kept missing easy shots and mishandling gimme buckets.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Wait a minute...people think Mike McCarthy is a bad coach? You Packer fans have gotten SPOILED! Judas Priest...probably 28 teams would be glad to take him off your hands.

[Anti-Dentite]

I disagree about the flashes of defense.  If NJIT could make a layup we'd have lost by a dozen.  It's finally beginning to dawn on me that maybe Buzz didn't do such a poor job of coaching last year after all.  As frustrating as it is to watch Derrick Wilson play offense, it's even more frustrating watching some of the other guys play defense.  How many wide open back cuts can one team allow while still not guarding the three point line?

But their were flashes. Poorly played on defense again but in the second half on a couple occasions we did prevent the back cut and actually got a body in front of someone cutting off the drive, not often but it did happen. The word flash is the key, I did not say they played well and there were no flashes in the Omaha game.

[CTWarrior]

Your first point here is excellent. Anderson is playing EXACTLY as I hoped Jamil would play last year. Those who say Jamil couldn't play with passion, aggressiveness and heart because Derrick was on the floor ... well, Anderson did all those things -- and scored 20 -- with Derrick on the floor almost the entire time.

Lets not go overboard.  20 and 9 against NJIT.  Jamil had 24 and 9 at Cal-State Fullerton last year, too.  Call me when it is against a real team.  

I do not dispute that Juan Anderson plays with great heart, effort and aggression, however.  I just think the knocks against Jamil are overblown.

We are a long way from being a competitive team against real competition, let alone a winning one.  Hopefully the addition of Fischer will improve the team by moving Taylor and Anderson one position over.

[GGGG]

Wait a minute...people think Mike McCarthy is a bad coach? You Packer fans have gotten SPOILED! Judas Priest...probably 28 teams would be glad to take him off your hands.

It is inexplicable to me.  There is absolutely no drama on this team.  He is in charge of the locker room.  He doesn't make rash decisions.  He has no desire to be a general manager and get's a long great with Thompson.  He has no trouble dealing with younger players and "teaching them up" in accordance with Thompson's wishes.  His offense has evolved to fit the strengths of his quarterback - look at the offense he ran the first year with Favre.  Very different.  He completely changed the way he practices, the conditioning, and the nutrition program based on injury problems from years past.  He adopts new ideas.

Now he isn't smooth and can be dismissive with reporters.  He can be stubborn with his play calling.  He can't figure out the challenge flag thing.  

I'm not saying he is the best coach in the league.  But he is better than 95% of them.  And he comes without the drama that the likes of Harbaugh brings.  

[brandx]

Wait a minute...people think Mike McCarthy is a bad coach? You Packer fans have gotten SPOILED! Judas Priest...probably 28 teams would be glad to take him off your hands.

We are not spoiled. One poster is just clueless.

[Galway Eagle]

Bingo!

Best analysis yet. Players are good but they have to learn to be a team.

They aren't right now.

Maybe that's one of the reasons why we hear Coach Wojo talk about "talking to each other." About picking up for and after each other.

Until we begin to act as a unit, we're going to struggle mightily.

They need the basketball of version of the mighty ducks two scene where all the players are tied up and trying to skate together

[Ellisium]

We are not spoiled. One poster is just clueless.

I commend you on speaking the truth about yourself.  McCarthy is deemed one of the best coaches in coaching circles.  Great player development, no team issues that blow up in the media, no one late to practice etc.  Green Bay even takes in players who have had trouble with the law and they end up being staying out of trouble in Green Bay.  He has one of the best records in football among many other accolades. 

Your analysis is flimsy and holds no merit.  Learn how to make a coherent argument rather than rambling on.  Push yourself ........ because if you were on McCarthy's team he'd push you to make you better. 

[brandx]

I commend you on speaking the truth about yourself.  McCarthy is deemed one of the best coaches in coaching circles.  Great player development, no team issues that blow up in the media, no one late to practice etc.  Green Bay even takes in players who have had trouble with the law and they end up being staying out of trouble in Green Bay.  He has one of the best records in football among many other accolades. 

Your analysis is flimsy and holds no merit.  Learn how to make a coherent argument rather than rambling on.  Push yourself ........ because if you were on McCarthy's team he'd push you to make you better. 

Calm down, Ellisium.

It was my mistake - I quoted the wrong guy. I meant to quote MattyV who attacked McCarthy. I was defending McCarthy.

[paddyquakes]

Sorry to be dumb but I watched my first game last night. Will we play man the whole season you think ? I like man D but we don't seem physical enough.
As for Wojo, it seems that guys have the green light. Again I like it but we seem rushed on O and may not get to the rim against big teams.
As for next year, Wojo's first class is amazing and if he was at all inmvolved with recruitiong Jabari Parker to Duke, he will likely have more solid recruiting years ahead. I hope.

[brewcity77]

Sorry to be dumb but I watched my first game last night. Will we play man the whole season you think ? I like man D but we don't seem physical enough.
As for Wojo, it seems that guys have the green light. Again I like it but we seem rushed on O and may not get to the rim against big teams.
As for next year, Wojo's first class is amazing and if he was at all inmvolved with recruitiong Jabari Parker to Duke, he will likely have more solid recruiting years ahead. I hope.

Right now, man might still suit us best. I just can't see this team playing zone. They don't have the length to keep guys out of the lane, and when drivers do get through, there are no rim protectors. The reason zones like Syracuse and this year's Ohio State are so effective is because they have long, athletic players and at least 1-2 really big guys down low to make you pay when you do drive. If we played zone right now, it would usually consist of Juan and Taylor down, with Jajuan and Burton the most likely guys to relieve them. Matt, Derrick, and Duane would be the primary perimeter guys. Not a ton of lateral quickness to shut down lanes and not a lot of height to trouble shooters trying to fire over the zone.

While it's only one guy, Fischer could really help with a zone. If he can be a reliable interior presence with Juan or Steve alongside for rebounding, you actually have a little something. That would allow either Juan or Steve, Jajuan, and Burton to help out on the perimeter. That at least would allow Wojo to regularly put 1-2 guys on the perimeter that are 6'5" or so. Still not ideal, but far better than what we'd have now.

I don't think it's something we'd use all game long, but when Luke is back, I could definitely see it being effective as a change-up option. It would also massively help mask some of the defensive liabilities, especially for Jajuan, who I believe played zone at Southwind.

[WarhawkWarrior]

Recruiting may get difficult with a 2 and 20 record.  Maybe we need to switch to zone and periodically bring out man to man when we can learn to play it.  I have never seen more layups than we gave up in the last two games.  Very fortunately, NJIT couldn't finish them.  I will go to every game regardless, I am a fan.  Lots has to change for us to win any game in the Big East.  
Remain hopeful.

[21rooster]

I think our expectations are skewed because of the last coaching transition, but there is a key difference: Indiana versus Virginia Tech.  Crean left four starting seniors behind because he had the opportunity to coach at an elite program.  Buzz seemingly left for Virginia Tech because he had one returning senior starter (one that would not start on most other teams), and he was facing a fading star with back-to-back poor seasons.  When Crean left, Buzz walked into a team that could coach itself, so rookie mistakes were covered up.  For Wojo, every rookie deficiency is magnified because the talent, experience, prior development or discipline is lacking for his players.  I believe Wojo will learn, similar to Buzz...it just won't be as pretty this year because he's left cleaning up the mess that was left behind.  Given the recruiting class that Wojo has assembled for next year, a little patience doesn't seem like too much to ask. 

[StCroix64]

New Team, New Coach, New System, Undersized.

It takes time.  Yes, the cupboard was pretty bare for Wojo.

Size will help, but until everyone can focus on executing fundamental defense, this team will struggle.  Lets hope coach can get this group to assimilate to his system and we can have a "marginally" good season (think NIT at this point).

[brewcity77]

Recruiting may get difficult with a 2 and 20 record.  Maybe we need to switch to zone and periodically bring out man to man when we can learn to play it.  I have never seen more layups than we gave up in the last two games.  Very fortunately, NJIT couldn't finish them.  I will go to every game regardless, I am a fan.  Lots has to change for us to win any game in the Big East.  
Remain hopeful.

I still think we can win 10-15 games. 15 might be a stretch, but it's not impossible. No one wants to hear it, but UNO really was a horrible matchup for us. This team is horrible at transition defense and we played the fastest team in the country. Once they start to grasp the defense, figure out how to slow the game down, and learn what it means to be a team and not just a group of players, we will have something. Maybe not what we all want, but it will be better than this.

[MU82]

Lets not go overboard.  20 and 9 against NJIT.  Jamil had 24 and 9 at Cal-State Fullerton last year, too.  Call me when it is against a real team.  

I do not dispute that Juan Anderson plays with great heart, effort and aggression, however.  I just think the knocks against Jamil are overblown.

Fair enough about needing to see how Juan does against real opponents. I don't think the knocks against Jamil are overblown, though. IMHO, his senior season was one of the more disappointing by an individual Warrior in recent years.

[Silkk the Shaka]

I still think we can win 10-15 games. 15 might be a stretch, but it's not impossible. No one wants to hear it, but UNO really was a horrible matchup for us. This team is horrible at transition defense and we played the fastest team in the country. Once they start to grasp the defense, figure out how to slow the game down, and learn what it means to be a team and not just a group of players, we will have something. Maybe not what we all want, but it will be better than this.

Hysterical! Was NJIT a "horrible matchup" for us too? They took us down to the wire on our own court. Come on, no need to play these games. We are a young team that will be fun to watch grow. We might even jell over the three-cupcake stretch once Fischer gets added. But then again, we just might not. Right now though, we're not very good, no matter the "matchup problem." And I'm okay with that. It's a rookie HC with a young, small team. Better days are ahead. Villanova was 13-19 a few years ago. College hoops is cyclical, this is our down period. Hopefully it's brief (I think it will be), but right now it is what it is.

[MerrittsMustache]

Fair enough about needing to see how Juan does against real opponents. I don't think the knocks against Jamil are overblown, though. IMHO, his senior season was one of the more disappointing by an individual Warrior in recent years.

Many MU fans had expectations that Jamil was going to follow in the footsteps of Lazar, Jimmy and Jae and become "the man" and a surefire, All-Conference performer. That's not who he was. That's not what he was capable of. His peak was as a third option, and I don't say that as an insult. He was much more Olouma Nnamaka than he was Lazar Hayward. If you were truly that disappointed in him then your expectations were set too highly.

[San Diego Warrior]

I think our expectations are skewed because of the last coaching transition, but there is a key difference: Indiana versus Virginia Tech.  Crean left four starting seniors behind because he had the opportunity to coach at an elite program.  Buzz seemingly left for Virginia Tech because he had one returning senior starter (one that would not start on most other teams), and he was facing a fading star with back-to-back poor seasons.  When Crean left, Buzz walked into a team that could coach itself, so rookie mistakes were covered up.  For Wojo, every rookie deficiency is magnified because the talent, experience, prior development or discipline is lacking for his players.  I believe Wojo will learn, similar to Buzz...it just won't be as pretty this year because he's left cleaning up the mess that was left behind.  Given the recruiting class that Wojo has assembled for next year, a little patience doesn't seem like too much to ask. 

Agree 100% with this.

[MU82]

Many MU fans had expectations that Jamil was going to follow in the footsteps of Lazar, Jimmy and Jae and become "the man" and a surefire, All-Conference performer. That's not who he was. That's not what he was capable of. His peak was as a third option, and I don't say that as an insult. He was much more Olouma Nnamaka than he was Lazar Hayward. If you were truly that disappointed in him then your expectations were set too highly.

How 'bout this: I didn't think he'd be Lazar/Jimmy/Jae but I thought he'd be more than Nnamaka. Unfortunately, he was far closer to the latter.

I agree that those who expected All-Conference were setting themselves up for disappointment, but I just wanted him to play with passion and purpose, and to use the offensive skills he obviously possessed. I don't think that was unfair.

[MerrittsMustache]

How 'bout this: I didn't think he'd be Lazar/Jimmy/Jae but I thought he'd be more than Nnamaka. Unfortunately, he was far closer to the latter.

I agree that those who expected All-Conference were setting themselves up for disappointment, but I just wanted him to play with passion and purpose, and to use the offensive skills he obviously possessed. I don't think that was unfair.

He did play with passion and purpose but he just didn't possess the offensive skills that many MU fans believed he did.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

He did play with passion and purpose but he just didn't possess the offensive skills that many MU fans believed he did.

I agree with you, but I'll say this:

- Buzz kept telling everybody how good Jamil was.
- When I watched Jamil at scrimmages, he was getting directions from Buzz and translating it to the team. He was clearly the leader
- Buzz made comments that Jamil could play any position on the floor
- Jamil appeared to have supreme athletic ability
- I believe Jamil was picked for pre-season all conference (if I remember right)

So, my expectations were built up.

Ultimately, Jamil was a good college player. Nothing more, nothing less. I was hoping for all-conference, and unfortunately, it didn't happen.

[brandx]

Hysterical! Was NJIT a "horrible matchup" for us too? They took us down to the wire on our own court. Come on, no need to play these games. We are a young team that will be fun to watch grow. We might even jell over the three-cupcake stretch once Fischer gets added. But then again, we just might not. Right now though, we're not very good, no matter the "matchup problem." And I'm okay with that. It's a rookie HC with a young, small team. Better days are ahead. Villanova was 13-19 a few years ago. College hoops is cyclical, this is our down period. Hopefully it's brief (I think it will be), but right now it is what it is.

Was Louisiana -Monroe a "horrible matchup" for #8 ranked Florida? You're right that we aren't a very good team right now. But matchups are important. That's why seeds 13 and 14, can beat 3 and 4 seeds in the tourney. It's not because they are better teams.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Was Louisiana -Monroe a "horrible matchup" for #8 ranked Florida? You're right that we aren't a very good team right now. But matchups are important. That's why seeds 13 and 14, can beat 3 and 4 seeds in the tourney. It's not because they are better teams.

I understand how matchup problems work in the tournament. When two consecutive horrible teams that play differing styles come into your building and one beats you fairly soundly then the other takes you to the last minute, it's no longer a "matchup problem" issue. At that point you're just playing bad ball.

I'm okay with this. It's extremely early in a season with a new coach, new system, young players, and a massive height deficiency. I think we will improve throughout the season, and may even get to a fairly respectable level once Fischer comes on board. I just find it funny when people go through mental gymnastics to try to say these last two performances were anything but a young team going through a massive adjustment period that is simply not playing very well at this point. That's all.

[brewcity77]

Hysterical! Was NJIT a "horrible matchup" for us too?

Actually...they were. I said as much before the game. We did a good job of slowing the pace of the game which (especially in the second half) allowed us to nullify their speed advantage at the guard positions. I wrote something up on Pace of Play. These last two games were the fastest teams we'll see this year.

We are a small team that is best suited to slow down the tempo, just like the 2010 team with Lazar. I don't think we're as good as that team was, but when we play teams that aren't trying to kill us in transition and our defense has time to get set, I think we'll see improvement.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but Nukem and I discussed on another board that this year we could legitimately lose to a cupcake. This was before the UTM game where we struggled for a bit. Losing to UNO disappointed but did not surprise me. Struggling yesterday didn't surprise me either. We would have been far better off if we had played our cupcakes in reverse order. The teams we see in December should be far smoother games than what we saw this month, and not just because our team will have the benefit of a month's experience. Those teams play slower, which will allow us to do what we want to do on both ends far easier.

[MU82]

Ultimately, Jamil was a good college player. Nothing more, nothing less. I was hoping for all-conference, and unfortunately, it didn't happen.

I believe you and I have different definitions of "good college player."

8.5 ppg on .437/.336/.708 shooting with 4.6 reb, 1.6 asst and 1.4 TO. Even as a senior, his pctges were down. (He got 11.7 ppg because he played a ton more mpg.)

To me, that adds up to "OK college player."

Damon Key was a "good college player."

Lazar Hayward was a "very good college player."

Dwyane Wade was a "great college player."

So I say, anyway. Others are allowed to disagree.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I believe you and I have different definitions of "good college player."

8.5 ppg on .437/.336/.708 shooting with 4.6 reb, 1.6 asst and 1.4 TO. Even as a senior, his pctges were down. (He got 11.7 ppg because he played a ton more mpg.)

To me, that adds up to "OK college player."

Damon Key was a "good college player."

Lazar Hayward was a "very good college player."

Dwyane Wade was a "great college player."

So I say, anyway. Others are allowed to disagree.

That's fair.

We don't need to get into a debate about Good vs very good vs serviceable vs ELITE!! (hellooooo ESPN).

[MU82]

That's fair.

We don't need to get into a debate about Good vs very good vs serviceable vs ELITE!! (hellooooo ESPN).

Oh ... you're no fun!

In fact, I'd say you're very good -- though not quite borderline elite -- at being no fun.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Oh ... you're no fun!

In fact, I'd say you're very good -- though not quite borderline elite -- at being no fun.

Well, I don't have the abilities of Dr B. or Sugar, but I think Jamil's advance stats might tell a story of why he was a "good" player.

I don't know if Pts and rebounds are the be-all, end-all stats.

[brandx]

I understand how matchup problems work in the tournament. When two consecutive horrible teams that play differing styles come into your building and one beats you fairly soundly then the other takes you to the last minute, it's no longer a "matchup problem" issue. At that point you're just playing bad ball.

I'm okay with this. It's extremely early in a season with a new coach, new system, young players, and a massive height deficiency. I think we will improve throughout the season, and may even get to a fairly respectable level once Fischer comes on board. I just find it funny when people go through mental gymnastics to try to say these last two performances were anything but a young team going through a massive adjustment period that is simply not playing very well at this point. That's all.

I agree with you,  Reunion. I thought Omaha was a bad matchup, but that still doesn't excuse the way we played.

[Johnny B]

Wojo should burn his Defensive and offensive playbooks and go get some new ones.