Returning Players

[vacinator]

What is the thinking on who doesn't return next year.   I think Henry is the only player really at risk and estimate there is at least a 75% chance he is gone. 

I have read on the board that Wally, Sandy and Sacar may also not return.  I don't see it:

Sandy kept getting playing time despite being in a funk during the entire BE season. Wojo gave him every chance he could - it just didn't happen this year.

Wally got solid minutes in many games and will only get more with his brother being gone.  I think MU needs more of the energy he brings off the bench. 

Sacar I don't feel as strongly about, but he sure seemed engaged with the other players during the BET tourney.

Thoughts?

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

JJJ is transferring. (again)

[HutchwasClutch]

What is the thinking on who doesn't return next year.   I think Henry is the only player really at risk and estimate there is at least a 75% chance he is gone. 

I have read on the board that Wally, Sandy and Sacar may also not return.  I don't see it:

Sandy kept getting playing time despite being in a funk during the entire BE season. Wojo gave him every chance he could - it just didn't happen this year.

Wally got solid minutes in many games and will only get more with his brother being gone.  I think MU needs more of the energy he brings off the bench. 

Sacar I don't feel as strongly about, but he sure seemed engaged with the other players during the BET tourney.

Thoughts?

Who knows what's going on off the court which would lead one or more guys to leave. 

But I feel as good as I ever have after a season in a long time the roster as it projects for next season will return intact.  Henry of course being 50/50. 

Agree with your analysis of Sandy, plus I would add after committing to MU under two completely different style of coaches, he just seems sold on the MU program.

I can't imagine Wally transferring a second time in his career.  Where is he going to find a better situation as far as minutes, opportunities etc. without a major drop off in competition?

I'd add the same for Sacar - schools weren't exactly burning a path down to get to him as a high school senior even, hard to believe better alternatives for him without like Wally having to accept a major drop off in competition.  If he would have wanted that, he could have committed much sooner to that type of program only a year ago.

Heldt maybe?  I do have some doubts if he's going to be up to playing at the level the Big East demands out of front line players.  That being said, too early to see he can't do it either.  Plus Wojo gave him meaningful minutes this year, and he seemed to be sold on Wojo and the program when he signed.

JJJ
Wilson
Fischer
Carter
Cheatham
Rowsey

Unless there's just something personally going on we don't know about, would be really be surprised, shocked in some cases if any of them bolted (Rowsey doesn't even need to be debated).  All are clearly major core guys to Wojo. 

With Henry, of course I'm going to have a bias toward any argument to him coming back, but if I were in his shoes, I'd be thinking, it seems I'm a late lottery pick this year.  If I return, improve as expected, I'm probably a top 5 pick in 2017.  Plus, there's the last go around with his brother angle, his family doesn't seem to have an overwhelming need for him to grab NBA money right now, he impresses me as a happy go lucky, enjoys the college experience type of kid, etc., so more intangibles indicating a more likely than not return. 

That all said, bottom line is he's turning down a lot of guaranteed money, which would be hard for anyone to say I'll risk it and wait a year.   So I'd say flip a coin as to what he'll do.  But I don't think anyone can say with certainty outside his own family of course what he'll end up deciding.  Should be interesting.

[rocket surgeon]

gut feeling-anim leaves.  the few second segments of playing time he did get were almost like insults, teasing...then seeing what's coming in next year or so...there wasn't much of a trend to his playing time either.  maybe wojo is just not comfortable with where he's at yet and they talk about it

one thing i heard wojo say in one of his last post-game interviews was that he was extremely proud of the young team and that he threw a lot of stuff at them regarding plays, defenses, offensive sets, etcso maybe he just fekt anim wasn't quite ready for the prime time YET. 

now we don't know what kind of conversation goes on behind closed doors

[ChicosBailBonds]

JJJ is transferring. (again)

Teal?

[NickelDimer]

JJJ is transferring. (again)

And Anim. And Sandy.

[tower912]

Everybody's coming back until Marquette announces differently. 

[Marcus92]

You can never tell. Every player has his reasons.

Jeronne Maymon was Buzz's first in-state recruit and a key part of the rotation (16.3 mpg, 4.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg off the bench) in his first season at Marquette. But he later stated that playing time was the reason he left: "I wasn't humble, and I thought I was supposed to be playing 20 or 30 minutes as a freshman."

http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/091815aad.html

Jameel McKay left before playing a single game for MU. From his comments about the transfer, the situation was more about his comfort level — not just with the team or coach, but with the school and returning to Milwaukee: "I realized that being home was not always the best thing for me...I had friends that already lived in Milwaukee and that kept me a little distant from the team."

http://www.iowastatedaily.com/sports/article_87fea400-8627-11e4-a7e9-2f241c222591.html

Steve Taylor Jr. played in every game the season before he transferred — averaging 5.9 ppg and 5.0 rpg in 22 mpg. But with Henry Ellenson coming in, his role would clearly be diminished. Being unhappy or uncomfortable had nothing to do with it: "I liked everything about it: the environment, the coaches, the players, the people. I was at home when I was there."

http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2015/5/17/8617081/marquette-transfer-steve-taylor-jr-picks-toledo

Deonte Burton played in the first eight games of the 2014-15 season (averaging 6.4 ppg and 1.4 rpg in 16.1 mpg)  before announcing his transfer.  He later said the reason was personal: "It was far enough away where I could leave the troubles of home. My mother just died, so I didn't want to be around the whole atmosphere of that."

http://www.scout.com/college/iowa-state/story/1500535-burton-prepares-for-lull-in-competition

If you go by what players say, playing time isn't always the main motivation.

I hope we don't lose anybody, especially Sandy or Sacar. I know Wojo values Sandy for his effort and team focus. He's a good athlete with a nice shot and has shown the potential to be a lockdown defender. There's a place on the team for him. We didn't see much of Sacar, and he rarely looked like he was in the flow of the game. But after leading his high school team to a state championship and being named Minnesota's player of the year, I think he's a winner. Now he's got a year under his belt and should be ready to take the next step.

[#UnleashSean]

Henry is easily a 99% goner.

Sandy is around 65%

Anim is a 0.001% - He knew what his role was this year. He decided to come with full knowledge he would be on the bench

Wally is a 0% of transfer. 20% of just deciding to not play basketball.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Henry is easily a 99% goner.

Sandy is around 65%

Anim is a 0.001% - He knew what his role was this year. He decided to come with full knowledge he would be on the bench

Wally is a 0% of transfer. 20% of just deciding to not play basketball.

These are some great made up numbers

[#UnleashSean]

These are some great made up numbers

I put them through my algebraic calculations of my ass.

[vacinator]

Henry is easily a 99% goner.

Sandy is around 65%

Anim is a 0.001% - He knew what his role was this year. He decided to come with full knowledge he would be on the bench

Wally is a 0% of transfer. 20% of just deciding to not play basketball.

I am far from an insider but I don't understand why Sandy would transfer.  He was in a season long funk and Wojo stuck with him.  Most coaches would have buried him on the bench.

[T-Bone]

The one thing we haven't seen is a decrease in minutes or outright benching. 

Sandy, was getting meaningful minutes at the end of the season - even with his offensive slump.

Heldt sidelined by injury, but I believe he would have played given Luke's foul situation.

Anim was getting spot minutes all along, and probably has been aware that's what he was getting for the foreseeable future.  If that's the case why wouldn't he have left at the semester.  Heck, he didn't even get time against 3 cupcakes. 

Then again Steve Taylor Jr surprised me. 

Haffner, though.  I'm putting him down as 50/50.

[Hards Alumni]

Let me just shut down this thread.

Only Henry is gone.

[Benny B]

I really hate these "who might transfer" threads. 

It's nothing more than trivializing what could be a very stressful and major life-altering decision for these kids for our own entertainment.

[mu03eng]

I really hate these "who might transfer" threads. 

It's nothing more than trivializing what could be a very stressful and major life-altering decision for these kids for our own entertainment.

Plus the kids themselves might not know. It may depend on circumstances with Marquette vs the ideal opportunity at another school....if just the right circumstances happen anyone could leave.

[CTWarrior]

If that's the case why wouldn't he have left at the semester. 

I'm surprised when anyone leaves at the semester break.  You are better off sticking it out for the season, then transferring and still having 3 full seasons at your new school, not too mention the ability to spread out your academic load.  Of course, I have no idea what Sacar is thinking.

[jsglow]

I'm not trying to stir anything up as all these guys are home on Spring Break and HE is out doing a little late season ice fishin' but I suspect any rumor mill would heat up next week just after Easter if anything were to happen at all.  Hope all the guys are having a relaxing week back home.  From Italy to now it's been a very long haul.  Again, thanks fellas.

[mu03eng]

I'm not trying to stir anything up as all these guys are home on Spring Break and HE is out doing a little late season ice fishin' but I suspect any rumor mill would heat up next week just after Easter if anything were to happen at all.  Hope all the guys are having a relaxing week back home.  From Italy to now it's been a very long haul.  Again, thanks fellas.

Rumor mill heated up a couple of weeks ago, but nothing solid. Literally a few kids need to make up their minds....when they do, we'll know.

#Respecttheprocess

[jsglow]

Rumor mill heated up a couple of weeks ago, but nothing solid. Literally a few kids need to make up their minds....when they do, we'll know.

#Respecttheprocess

Of course.  And nothing better than talking to mom and dad for a week.

[MerrittsMustache]

Of course.  And nothing better than talking to mom and dad for a week.

...or blowing off some steam in the Caribbean 

[Dawson Rental]

I think this is a really outstanding post.  It illustrates that these decisions go way beyond the simplistic thinking that those who try to predict these things usually rely on.

You can never tell. Every player has his reasons.

Jeronne Maymon was Buzz's first in-state recruit and a key part of the rotation (16.3 mpg, 4.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg off the bench) in his first season at Marquette. But he later stated that playing time was the reason he left: "I wasn't humble, and I thought I was supposed to be playing 20 or 30 minutes as a freshman."

http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/091815aad.html

Jameel McKay left before playing a single game for MU. From his comments about the transfer, the situation was more about his comfort level — not just with the team or coach, but with the school and returning to Milwaukee: "I realized that being home was not always the best thing for me...I had friends that already lived in Milwaukee and that kept me a little distant from the team."

http://www.iowastatedaily.com/sports/article_87fea400-8627-11e4-a7e9-2f241c222591.html

Steve Taylor Jr. played in every game the season before he transferred — averaging 5.9 ppg and 5.0 rpg in 22 mpg. But with Henry Ellenson coming in, his role would clearly be diminished. Being unhappy or uncomfortable had nothing to do with it: "I liked everything about it: the environment, the coaches, the players, the people. I was at home when I was there."

http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2015/5/17/8617081/marquette-transfer-steve-taylor-jr-picks-toledo

Deonte Burton played in the first eight games of the 2014-15 season (averaging 6.4 ppg and 1.4 rpg in 16.1 mpg)  before announcing his transfer.  He later said the reason was personal: "It was far enough away where I could leave the troubles of home. My mother just died, so I didn't want to be around the whole atmosphere of that."

http://www.scout.com/college/iowa-state/story/1500535-burton-prepares-for-lull-in-competition

If you go by what players say, playing time isn't always the main motivation.

I hope we don't lose anybody, especially Sandy or Sacar. I know Wojo values Sandy for his effort and team focus. He's a good athlete with a nice shot and has shown the potential to be a lockdown defender. There's a place on the team for him. We didn't see much of Sacar, and he rarely looked like he was in the flow of the game. But after leading his high school team to a state championship and being named Minnesota's player of the year, I think he's a winner. Now he's got a year under his belt and should be ready to take the next step.