Recruiting as of 4/15/25

[tower912]

Isn't Michael Phillips the guy that has the highest ceiling? Why aren't we talking about him?

He has to be better than Chase, Zaide, DO, Parham.   Which would be awesome.

[GoldenEagles03]

Believe me I think you guys are right. Shaka leans towards the vets. I'm just keeping an open mind on this one. As my former posts will show I'm a big Sean Jones fan so I definitely think he starts and plays well.  But James looks interesting to me. As said above, D is the key no matter how good he handles the ball his first year.  I could be way off base but fun to speculate.

As good as Nigel looks, Sean Jones is faster, better with the ball, and a better defender.

Sean is so highly underrated on here it's amazing to me!

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

He was talking about before the injury last season........

Which is completely hypothetical unless he was talking before Sean got injured last year

[MuMark]

Which is completely hypothetical unless he was talking before Sean got injured last year

That is correct.....that is what he was talking about..........before Sean got injured last season the plan was for him,to be the starting point guard this season......

I thought I made it clear in my post but apparently not......

[Vander Blue Man Group]

As good as Nigel looks, Sean Jones is faster, better with the ball, and a better defender.

Sean is so highly underrated on here it's amazing to me!

Have high hopes for Sean next season and we've been through this before but you seem to be massively overrating him.

[GoldenEagles03]

Have high hopes for Sean next season and we've been through this before but you seem to be massively overrating him.

Nope

[Stretchdeltsig]

He has to be better than Chase, Zaide, DO, Parham.   Which would be awesome.

Good question. Wish we had weekly updates on our new recruits.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Nope

Yep

[The Sultan]

Nope

Again, you are basing all of your hope for growth coming in a season when he hasn't played for nearly two years. Furthermore he wasn't all that great offensively even when he played - probably the worst offensive player who was regularly in the rotation.  Defensively a positive no doubt, but offensively he was incredibly streaky.

All of us love the guy. All of us hope he comes out kicking ass all over the place. But your evaluation of him is based on coach's comments and hope. Many of us are basing it on what we have seen in games so far.

I hope he proves me wrong, but I think its going to take awhile for Sean to have an impact.

[Big Papi]

Again, you are basing all of your hope for growth coming in a season when he hasn't played for nearly two years. Furthermore he wasn't all that great offensively even when he played - probably the worst offensive player who was regularly in the rotation.  Defensively a positive no doubt, but offensively he was incredibly streaky.

All of us love the guy. All of us hope he comes out kicking ass all over the place. But your evaluation of him is based on coach's comments and hope. Many of us are basing it on what we have seen in games so far.

I hope he proves me wrong, but I think its going to take awhile for Sean to have an impact.

He has been practicing with the team for well over a month and bouncing between the second unit and first unit when needed.  Shaka and Jen Lada said he has looked really good.  Its not like he is sidelined and on crutches still.

And I would take Coach's comments over the last month over what any of us see on a high schooler's mixtape.

[The Sultan]

He has been practicing with the team for well over a month and bouncing between the second unit and first unit when needed.  Shaka and Jen Lada said he has looked really good.  Its not like he is sidelined and on crutches still.

And I would take Coach's comments over the last month over what any of us see on a high schooler's mixtape.

Oh no doubt. Just want to see it in actual games before I set high expectations for him.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

He has been practicing with the team for well over a month and bouncing between the second unit and first unit when needed.  Shaka and Jen Lada said he has looked really good.  Its not like he is sidelined and on crutches still.

And I would take Coach's comments over the last month over what any of us see on a high schooler's mixtape.

Hey! Cool it with the mixtape slander.

[Jables1604]

Isn't Michael Phillips the guy that has the highest ceiling? Why aren't we talking about him?

Not very often Marquette gets a guy with that many gold medals in swimming so I think his ceiling as a hooper is unlimited.

Check that...being told the swimmer is actually Michael Phelps..as you were.

[GoldenEagles03]

Again, you are basing all of your hope for growth coming in a season when he hasn't played for nearly two years. Furthermore he wasn't all that great offensively even when he played - probably the worst offensive player who was regularly in the rotation.  Defensively a positive no doubt, but offensively he was incredibly streaky.

All of us love the guy. All of us hope he comes out kicking ass all over the place. But your evaluation of him is based on coach's comments and hope. Many of us are basing it on what we have seen in games so far.

I hope he proves me wrong, but I think its going to take awhile for Sean to have an impact.

Disagree.

I am basing it on him getting more opportunity with no Kolek or Kam in the fold. Not hope.

I've seen how dynamic Sean is. He is impossible to stay in front of and he's going to create a ton of points for this team.

Shaka has called him the fastest player in Country. Kam said just the other day that guarding Sean makes games so easy because guarding any point guard in the Big East is easier than staying in front of Sean.

He's just good. If you need to see more to believe it, that's fine.

[The Sultan]

Disagree.

I am basing it on him getting more opportunity with no Kolek or Kam in the fold. Not hope.

I've seen how dynamic Sean is. He is impossible to stay in front of and he's going to create a ton of points for this team.

Shaka has called him the fastest player in Country. Kam said just the other day that guarding Sean makes games so easy because guarding any point guard in the Big East is easier than staying in front of Sean.

He's just good. If you need to see more to believe it, that's fine.

Of course you are basing it on hope. What objective evidence suggests that he will be better with more playing time?

[tower912]

I saw a 41% shooter, 29% from 3 who got into the paint at will but was unable to cash it in  or make his teammates better often enough.  I saw him beat his man at the 3 point line only to have them recover and block his shot at the rim.  I saw the opponents force switches with the sole intention of having him isolated down low against a big.

I believe in growth.  I believe he will learn to harness his speed.  I believe he may one day be a difference maker.  I believe that recovering fully from major knee surgery while simultaneously getting better is a large hill to climb.  I will remain optimistic for him long term, as I think it will take even more time.

[brewcity77]

Isn't Michael Phillips the guy that has the highest ceiling? Why aren't we talking about him?

I love his upside, but he's young for his class and probably has the most positional competition with Royce, DO, Zaide, and Chase all fitting that wing mold. I do get excited every time I watch his clips, but would recommend tempering that excitement as he steps up to the Big East.

[Zog from Margo]

James and Stevens could transition to D-1 a bit faster given the level of HS competition they play against.

[MuMark]

" under promise and over deliver " is a good way of managing expectations in life and college basketball recruiting hype.........

Hoping a guy can come in.....play well.....and be a rotation piece from the start is ok to hope for......but expecting it just leads to disappointment.

Respect the process.

[brewcity77]

Owens is a perfect example. Every report out of summer practices was that he would be an instant impact guy and basically a sixth starter. I do think the injury slowed his development, but while he's shown flashes, he's still probably a year away.

[wadesworld]

Owens is a perfect example. Every report out of summer practices was that he would be an instant impact guy and basically a sixth starter. I do think the injury slowed his development, but while he's shown flashes, he's still probably a year away.

And it's similar to the discussion above about Sean and how Shaka talks about him.  Shaka hypes his guys up, especially when guys might need a little confidence boost, which it's pretty clear Sean probably did since he decided he wasn't ready to play despite being medically cleared.  Shaka talked about how big of a role Caedin would have on this team all offseason last year.  He used to talk about Jop leading the BE in scoring.  Shaka will give you some truth, but he'll also hype guys up.

[Its DJOver]

Fans in general are awful at interpreting coach talk.

General rule of thumb should be to temper expectations for incoming Freshman and players returning from significant injuries. Not as a knock against them, but just the reality of the situation. Sure there are outliers, but they are infrequent enough that they should never be expected.

[GoldenEagles03]

I saw a 41% shooter, 29% from 3 who got into the paint at will but was unable to cash it in  or make his teammates better often enough.  I saw him beat his man at the 3 point line only to have them recover and block his shot at the rim.  I saw the opponents force switches with the sole intention of having him isolated down low against a big.

I believe in growth.  I believe he will learn to harness his speed.  I believe he may one day be a difference maker.  I believe that recovering fully from major knee surgery while simultaneously getting better is a large hill to climb.  I will remain optimistic for him long term, as I think it will take even more time.

Sean shot 55% from inside the arc last season and is 51% for his career. How do you possibly see that as not cashing in?

[GoldenEagles03]

In addition to Sean be an explosive player (who does finish well inside the arc) he also had the 2nd highest assist rate on the team behind Kolek with a turnover rate slightly better than TK as well. Obviously Tyler was going to have the ball which made Sean's role a heck of a lot different than it will be moving forward.

With Sean running the show as the primary guy it is easy for me to see how good he will be. Hearing the players and Shaka describe how unstoppable he remains, I expect him to be a force for Marquette.

[The Sultan]

In addition to Sean be an explosive player (who does finish well inside the arc) he also had the 2nd highest assist rate on the team behind Kolek with a turnover rate slightly better than TK as well. Obviously Tyler was going to have the ball which made Sean's role a heck of a lot different than it will be moving forward.

With Sean running the show as the primary guy it is easy for me to see how good he will be. Hearing the players and Shaka describe how unstoppable he remains, I expect him to be a force for Marquette.

What does "a force" mean? Where do you expect him to be in minutes, scoring, EFG, etc.?