Get a Freaking Grip

[Loose Cannon]

Okay...lots of Chicken Littles after last night's loss. One loss and suddenly the team is too soft, they're out of their depth, Wojo can't coach, no one can shoot, and the sky has most certainly fallen. Man...feels like it's November 19 all over again. Have we really forgotten the last six weeks? I'd like to stop for a moment and consider the situation.
.

• We were blown out at home after leading by 1 at the break. That tells me we can play with teams like SHU, we just had an abysmal half. It happens. Still just one loss.
  
• The last time we had a loss like this (Iowa), Wojo was irate. Last night, Wojo was irate. Last time, we won our next seven, which included three high majors (LSU, ASU, UWM) and four cupcakes. This time, our next seven includes four high-majors and three cupcakes (SJU, DePaul, SJU). Let's see how they respond.
  
• This is effectively Year One of a rebuilding project. 77 minutes were played by freshmen last night. And we were 13-19 last year. It won't all be seashells and balloons.
  
• This is the Big East. Yes, we fattened up on cupcakes, but these games are tougher. The kids can learn from this.
  
• Wojo's contract is irrelevant. Say it with me, THE CONTRACT DOESN'T MATTER. How many coaches see out their contracts? Marquette can still fire him, he can still leave before it's done, but it is good PR, shows a good relationship between the staff and management, and allows Wojo to walk into any recruit's house and say (true or not) I'll be at Marquette for your entire career. There is no downside except MU would have to pay more to make him go away.
  
• During a 12-minute stretch in the second half, Seton Hall went on a 29-11 run that turned a 2-point lead into a 20-point lead. We had 12 bad minutes. Otherwise, we were right there. 12 bad minutes does not a season make.
  
• Everyone has been saying all along this team will be much better in February and March than it will be in November and December. This team will have to adjust to the Big East. It's a step up. I still think they could beat SHU, Georgetown, DePaul, St. John's, and Creighton anywhere. And on the right night, they could beat anyone in the league.
  
• Even if this isn't a tourney team (it likely isn't and never was) they still could get to the NIT or CBI, which would be a big step up from last year. Let's celebrate the positives of what we have (especially compared to last year) than throwing in the towel because of what we don't.

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BOTTOM LINE: The rebuild is still just starting and we had a bad 12-minute stretch. The sky is still intact, we can still win games, and there's a lot of season left. This place is a lot more fun when we try to enjoy it.

I really like your thinking 

[We R Final Four]

What does this team need most right now? Patience from its fan base.  Get back from the ledge, people.

Here I thought it was a true PG, but it turns out it was patience. I didn't know scoop had so much impact on the team.

[warriorchick]

Thank you, Brew! Disappointing to come back from vacation to the good old, sky-is-falling Scoop. Y'all need some Prozac or something. As others have said, this team will lose when we expect them to win and win when we expect them to lose.  While you are all wringing your hands, you may want to remember that last year, Seton Hall was this year's Marquette. A bunch of talented freshman playing on a team with few veteran leaders.  Remember how Marquette (which was dead to most of you by March) destroyed them in the BEast first round?  As Kevin Willard said, the difference between this year and last year is that now he has sophomores.  Next year, with or without Henry, we will have sophomores.

For a program that Buzz left in the toilet, I think Wojo's doing pretty well for 1.5 years.  Last year he had 1 recruit and 1 grad transfer and lost Dawson and Burton mid year (whether or not you think those were losses).  This year he has a top 10 recruiting class, Rowsey waiting in the wings, and he has nailed down the top Wisconsin player for next year, plus a nationally ranked NBA scion. What does this team need most right now? Patience from its fan base.  Get back from the ledge, people.

Kinda ironic that the only two chicks on this board are among the voices of reason.  I thought our lady hormones were supposed to make us irrational and hysterical.

[source?]

Can you articulate ,"the process"? Seems like Providence and Butler have a process. What is ours?

Seems like Cooley's first two years  were  15-17  (4-14) and 19-15  (9-9). If we get to 9-9 in conference then we are on the same time line as PC. Cool analysis.

[MomofMUltiples]

Kinda ironic that the only two chicks on this board are among the voices of reason.  I thought our lady hormones were supposed to make us irrational and hysterical.

Or maybe it's our mom hormones that understand that these are kids, and developing kids into adults is an unpredictable process.  It's not exclusively scoop, but do you think these guys don't know what "fans" are saying about them (and their coach?).  Do you think they aren't disappointed when fellow students and alumni don't show at games because "it's not a good product?"  These boys are happy and excited to represent their school, and grown men are trashing them for not meeting expectations overnight. 

For the record, my daughter dated a certain MU point guard for awhile, and he was fully aware of how the fans trash talked him.  He is a great kid from a great family and was determined to do the best he could for the team despite the rancor of some fans.  But coming from a military family, he was mature beyond his years. (I have four boys 21-30, trust me, I know).  Remember that most of these guys are typical 18-19 year olds.

It's going to be a roller coaster season.  Hope there will be some high highs to go with the low lows.  Looking forward to watching these boys grow up!

[rocket surgeon]

       i purposely didn't read any other posts/topics until this one-glad i didn't.  i just had a feeling the knee jerks would be jerking.  this was the kind of post that needed to be said right off the bat.  i'm sure the players and the coaches feel worse and they should.  i don't mean that in a bad way, but that is where the growth comes from.  just keep hangin and better things will come-Happy New Year!

[warriorchick]

Or maybe it's our mom hormones that understand that these are kids, and developing kids into adults is an unpredictable process.  It's not exclusively scoop, but do you think these guys don't know what "fans" are saying about them (and their coach?).  Do you think they aren't disappointed when fellow students and alumni don't show at games because "it's not a good product?"  These boys are happy and excited to represent their school, and grown men are trashing them for not meeting expectations overnight. 

For the record, my daughter dated a certain MU point guard for awhile, and he was fully aware of how the fans trash talked him.  He is a great kid from a great family and was determined to do the best he could for the team despite the rancor of some fans.  But coming from a military family, he was mature beyond his years. (I have four boys 21-30, trust me, I know).  Remember that most of these guys are typical 18-19 year olds.

It's going to be a roller coaster season.  Hope there will be some high highs to go with the low lows.  Looking forward to watching these boys grow up!

You need to go beat the crap out of Ners...just sayin...

[Norm]

Seems like Cooley's first two years  were  15-17  (4-14) and 19-15  (9-9). If we get to 9-9 in conference then we are on the same time line as PC. Cool analysis.

I highly doubt MU will get to 9-9 in conference play this season. Hope I'm wrong but I just don't see it - not just after last night but based on the teams we have to play in the Big East and how we match up this year. Still year away from being competitive standings wise.

[MU82]

Nicely done, brewski.

Go Marquette!

[GooooMarquette]

You need to go beat the crap out of Ners...just sayin...

Yep.

[MomofMUltiples]

You need to go beat the crap out of Ners...just sayin...

...one of the reasons I didn't become a regular poster until this year. By the way, the players' seats are pretty sweet, if any of you ever get a chance to use them!

Happy new year!

[dgies9156]

First of all Brew, you're right. Some of were and still are more optimistic about this team that we probably should have been. From the moment Henry was recruited, he was savior who would lead us to the promised land.

He may still be; then again, if he leaves he may not be.

It is interesting to compare Henry's role with us to Diamond Stone at Maryland. Henry is our mainstay and, indeed, is someone really special. Diamond is too but his role until now has been one cog in the fourth ranked team in the USA. Maryland is as good as it is because it has recruited well for several years and is far more experienced that we are.

Final thought. As I've said in here before, all Marquette fandom can be divided into three parts. The Al era, the Dukiet/Deane era and the Crean/O'Neill/Hillbilly era. We Al era fans want another national championship in our lifetime and see that falling further into the future. The Dukiet/Deane era fans see Bob Dukiet II emerging while the Crean/O'Neill/Hillbilly fans are just frustrated because of our success during much of the Hillbilly's reign.

[real chili 83]

Or maybe it's our mom hormones that understand that these are kids, and developing kids into adults is an unpredictable process.  It's not exclusively scoop, but do you think these guys don't know what "fans" are saying about them (and their coach?).  Do you think they aren't disappointed when fellow students and alumni don't show at games because "it's not a good product?"  These boys are happy and excited to represent their school, and grown men are trashing them for not meeting expectations overnight. 

For the record, my daughter dated a certain MU point guard for awhile, and he was fully aware of how the fans trash talked him.  He is a great kid from a great family and was determined to do the best he could for the team despite the rancor of some fans.  But coming from a military family, he was mature beyond his years. (I have four boys 21-30, trust me, I know).  Remember that most of these guys are typical 18-19 year olds.

It's going to be a roller coaster season.  Hope there will be some high highs to go with the low lows.  Looking forward to watching these boys grow up!

I had a chance to meet and spend a little bit of time with that young man. Outstanding individual. 

[Dr. Blackheart]

This was two of the five stinkers MU will have in a season, with Iowa being the other so far.  This was the worst offensively efficient game (78.7) this season. That isn't going to continue.

How do you prepare a young, inexperienced team for Big East play? The Big East is physical. MU has a finesse team. Seton Hall went right after Traci with pressure to throw off MU's composure just like Iowa want after Haanif.  The new, evil troika of Breeding, Corbett, and Anderson were on hand (replacing the retired Higgins, Burr and Hightower) to whistle a ridiculous 47 fouls, including a slew of offensive fouls we haven't seen called all year.  Seton Hall had an ugly number of turnovers (20) that MU quickly gave back (18). MU was manhandled on the boards, with our guards (including Sandy) MIA on the glass. MU actually attempted two more field goals than Seton Hall, however.

It was a grinder game, and until you face it, fail, and learn, you cannot be ready for it. The key will be the bounce back game on the road with a short turnaround. Welcome to the Big East. Adjust or die. I am awaiting for one of the five games in a season we play out of our minds. With a young team and coach, that may happen toward the end of the season, but you never know.

[MUDPT]

Understand everything that was said, but...

1. This is the third year in a row that MU will probably finish below preseason Big East projections.  Last year I'll give them the performance suffered because of the transfers.  After one game, I shouldn't believe that the SH performance is what we will see going forward, but MU shouldn't be losing to Seton Hall at home by 20 either.

2.  Over the last two seasons our point differential at home against Power 5 conference teams is -101.  Season ticket holders are either paying to see MU play some awful teams or seeing some really bad performances by the home team.

3. Our offensive efficiency will probably finish in the lower half of college basketball again this year, making the product even less watchable.

Add in the fact that I think there are teams in the Big East doing more with less talent (if you follow recruiting rankings), it can get frustrating for a lot of people.  I realize that we are very, very young (our experience is 343 now), but Seton Hall started 5 sophomores on Wednesday and is ranked 325 in experience.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Understand everything that was said, but...

1. This is the third year in a row that MU will probably finish below preseason Big East projections.  Last year I'll give them the performance suffered because of the transfers.  After one game, I shouldn't believe that the SH performance is what we will see going forward, but MU shouldn't be losing to Seton Hall at home by 20 either.

2.  Over the last two seasons our point differential at home against Power 5 conference teams is -101.  Season ticket holders are either paying to see MU play some awful teams or seeing some really bad performances by the home team.

3. Our offensive efficiency will probably finish in the lower half of college basketball again this year, making the product even less watchable.

Add in the fact that I think there are teams in the Big East doing more with less talent (if you follow recruiting rankings), it can get frustrating for a lot of people.  I realize that we are very, very young (our experience is 343 now), but Seton Hall started 5 sophomores on Wednesday and is ranked 325 in experience.

Good points, especially about defending the home court.  Paid attendance at the 1/3/15 break game (Providence) was 15,134. Wednesday's attendance was 13,314. That is a drop off of 1820 on season tickets, give or take some walk ups--or down 12%. Students sales counted in both. Lots of no shows too in the lower sweater-vested sections.

[murara1994]

This is an interesting comment if only because people said the same re Buzz on in game adjustments, and the opposite about recruiting athletes versus players with basketball skills.

While I do understand our personnel shortcomings, I do have some lingering concerns that are more long-term in nature:

1. Wojo doesn't seem to have a secondary plan of any sort.  They just seem to be doing the same things even when the game plan doesn't work out.  Mid game adjustments are non-existant.

2.  Reliance on slender players.  Outside of Anim, there aren't a lot of bulky players on this team.  As Atticus said, the BE is a rock fight and I don't think we have the players for that right now.

[jsglow]

...one of the reasons I didn't become a regular poster until this year. By the way, the players' seats are pretty sweet, if any of you ever get a chance to use them!

Happy new year!

Makes sense.  Hope they are still friends.  He's the type of student athlete we should all be proud of.

[GGGG]

This is an interesting comment if only because people said the same re Buzz on in game adjustments, and the opposite about recruiting athletes versus players with basketball skills.

Let me put it this way.  On Wednesday night, Wally made a big difference in the first half.  Not because he is an overly skilled player, but he is tough, experienced and hustles.  In the second half, he barely saw the floor.  Sandy was still out there even though he clearly was having a poor game.  And when Sandy has a poor game, he disappears.  He played 25 minutes with no points, rebounds or assists.  But Sandy IMO will usually win a "basketball skills" competition versus Wally.

You need a mix IMO.  Not just in the Big East, but in college basketball in general.  That is why I mentioned JJJ earlier.  He can make dumb mistakes, but he is quick and generally hustles. 

[Class71]

While I do understand our personnel shortcomings, I do have some lingering concerns that are more long-term in nature:

1. Wojo doesn't seem to have a secondary plan of any sort.  They just seem to be doing the same things even when the game plan doesn't work out.  Mid game adjustments are non-existant.

2.  Reliance on slender players.  Outside of Anim, there aren't a lot of bulky players on this team.  As Atticus said, the BE is a rock fight and I don't think we have the players for that right now.

3. We are very, very slow on passes, settiing up our bigs and 50/50 balls.

[willie warrior]

This was two of the five stinkers MU will have in a season, with Iowa being the other so far.  This was the worst offensively efficient game (78.7) this season. That isn't going to continue.

How do you prepare a young, inexperienced team for Big East play? The Big East is physical. MU has a finesse team. Seton Hall went right after Traci with pressure to throw off MU's composure just like Iowa want after Haanif.  The new, evil troika of Breeding, Corbett, and Anderson were on hand (replacing the retired Higgins, Burr and Hightower) to whistle a ridiculous 47 fouls, including a slew of offensive fouls we haven't seen called all year.  Seton Hall had an ugly number of turnovers (20) that MU quickly gave back (18). MU was manhandled on the boards, with our guards (including Sandy) MIA on the glass. MU actually attempted two more field goals than Seton Hall, however.

It was a grinder game, and until you face it, fail, and learn, you cannot be ready for it. The key will be the bounce back game on the road with a short turnaround. Welcome to the Big East. Adjust or die. I am awaiting for one of the five games in a season we play out of our minds. With a young team and coach, that may happen toward the end of the season, but you never know.

So...we have 3 more stinkers to look forward to miss...and 5 mind blowing good games to look forward to. Too bad it cannot be predicted which ones they will be, so we can avoid/watch as we choose.

[syscokid]

well said brewcity77.

[bilsu]

5 mind blowing games. Two wins in NY when everyone was expecting two losses and winning at UW when everyone expected Fischer & Ellenson to foul out have used up three of these, so we have 3 stinkers and two mind blowers left.

[real chili 83]

5 mind blowing games. Two wins in NY when everyone was expecting two losses and winning at UW when everyone expected Fischer & Ellenson to foul out have used up three of these, so we have 3 stinkers and two mind blowers left.

Madison was hardly a mind blower. I expected that, and not just because I was there in person to lend some kharma.

[MomofMUltiples]

1. This is the third year in a row that MU will probably finish below preseason Big East projections.

One Big East game and you're already conceding 6th place?  Take that sh*t over to the "right back where we started from" thread!