Three Questions For Marquette vs Vandy Game

[mubbnation]

We wrote three questions about Marquette in advance of the season opener versus Vandy.

https://marquettenation.com/2016/11/07/three-questions-for-fridays-season-opener-versus-vandy/

Saving you a click, here the questions:

1) How will Hauser perform against better competition on a bigger stage?
2) How well will Luke rebound on the defensive end?
3) Who will emerge as THE go-to option?

How would you predict the answers to these?

I'd say Hauser will exceed expectations. He won't lead the team in field goals attempted and tie in field goals made like he did in the exhibition, but he'll contribute little things on almost a nightly basis.

I think Luke will again disappoint on the defensive end for rebounding. He's never been stellar in that area, so I can't expect anything more than another below average percentage.

I think Haanif will be our go-to option, along with Rowsey, JJ, Katin, and Markus getting late-game possessions/shots at times.

[lurch91]

If Luke could just get the easy rebounds....

[wadesworld]

I think Sam will be solid.  I have to think Luke and Heldt will be on Kornet a majority of the game.  They only have 2 other guys over 6'7" and they are both freshman.  Not sure if either is expected to contribute a lot or not, but I think Sam can get 7 points and 4 boards in 16 or so minutes.

I think Luke will grab 5 boards in this game, probably 4 of them defensively.

I think Haanif is our go to guy with JJJ as his sidekick.  I think Rowsey might hit some big shots down the stretch this year.

[MarquetteDano]

Luke's numbers will go up but remember last year he was asked to block out a lot while our best board man cleaned up.

I just dont think he will improve enough for us to be anything but a below avg. Defensive rebounding team.

[muwarrior69]

We wrote three questions about Marquette in advance of the season opener versus Vandy.

https://marquettenation.com/2016/11/07/three-questions-for-fridays-season-opener-versus-vandy/

Saving you a click, here the questions:

1) How will Hauser perform against better competition on a bigger stage?
2) How well will Luke rebound on the defensive end?
3) Who will emerge as THE go-to option?

How would you predict the answers to these?

I'd say Hauser will exceed expectations. He won't lead the team in field goals attempted and tie in field goals made like he did in the exhibition, but he'll contribute little things on almost a nightly basis.

I think Luke will again disappoint on the defensive end for rebounding. He's never been stellar in that area, so I can't expect anything more than another below average percentage.

I think Haanif will be our go-to option, along with Rowsey, JJ, Katin, and Markus getting late-game possessions/shots at times.

There is no way MU can lose this season with the Blessed Trinity joining Scoop.

[Marquette4life]

I think a bigger question is how many turnovers will we have? And  how well will Matt heldt play?

But to answer your questions i think
Marquette isn't gonna have one go to scorer but some of the guys that will score the most are rowsey cheat or Howard. Fish will get rebounds but everyone on MU has to rebound in order to be successful they have to do it as a team.

[MUBigDance]

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/commodores-adjusting-to-bryce-drew-as-vanderbilt-s-new-coach/article_99d6b601-843e-573d-a5eb-53e7bd8735f8.html

Above is a nice, recent article not only on the coach (remember Drew's 3 to get Valpo to the sweet 16) but also the team and what they're like.

First year coach and new team...advantage MU. But they sound like a decent program...a win will be worth some RPI love.

[brewcity77]

My thoughts:

Hauser will be a work in progress. He's clearly a smart kid and good shooter, but there will be some bumps in the road as he adjusts to defending high-major players (especially in the post) and dealing with the heightened speed of the game. I'd love to be wrong, but my guess is as the rotation shortens, he is probably most likely to see minutes trimmed. I expect him to play and develop into a stud here while continuing to get meaningful minutes, but my guess is he's more likely in the 7-10 mpg range than the 18+.

I expect to see Luke's rebounds go up, but do think he will continue to do most of his damage by boxing out. Guys like Rowsey, Jajuan, and Duane were going after loose balls on Saturday. I think the gang rebounding plan can work and will work best if our bigs aren't just getting boards themselves but keeping the opposing bigs off the glass.

There won't be a go-to option. It will vary on a nightly basis. Depending on matchups, we have 9-10 guys that could go for 20 on any given night. My expectation is that we will have at least 8 different guys lead us in scoring at least once. I also expect that everyone on the roster will have multiple games where they score in the single digits.

[GoldenDieners32]

Vandy has 7'1 big man who is a junior or senior im pretty sure and a 6'10 freshman

[GoldenDieners32]

I think Sam will be solid.  I have to think Luke and Heldt will be on Kornet a majority of the game.  They only have 2 other guys over 6'7" and they are both freshman.  Not sure if either is expected to contribute a lot or not, but I think Sam can get 7 points and 4 boards in 16 or so minutes.

I think Luke will grab 5 boards in this game, probably 4 of them defensively.

I think Haanif is our go to guy with JJJ as his sidekick.  I think Rowsey might hit some big shots down the stretch this year.

Vandy also lost 1 player to the draft im not sure if it was 1 or 2 but Wade Baldwin got drafted in the first round

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Vandy also lost 1 player to the draft im not sure if it was 1 or 2 but Wade Baldwin got drafted in the first round

They lost two players to the draft.

[GoldenDieners32]

They lost two players to the draft.

Who was the second player?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Vandy has 7'1 big man who is a junior or senior im pretty sure and a 6'10 freshman

They do have two centers, like we have two centers. Their 7 footer is good bit he doesn't play like a typical center on offense. He takes a ton of jumpshots. He is a better defender and rebounder than Luke though. Baptiste redshirtted last season because he wasn't sec ready. We'll see how much he's improved but I'd take Heldt over him.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Who was the second player?

Damian Jones

[GoldenDieners32]

Damian Jones

Ohh yeah

[wadesworld]

My thoughts:

Hauser will be a work in progress. He's clearly a smart kid and good shooter, but there will be some bumps in the road as he adjusts to defending high-major players (especially in the post) and dealing with the heightened speed of the game. I'd love to be wrong, but my guess is as the rotation shortens, he is probably most likely to see minutes trimmed. I expect him to play and develop into a stud here while continuing to get meaningful minutes, but my guess is he's more likely in the 7-10 mpg range than the 18+.

I expect to see Luke's rebounds go up, but do think he will continue to do most of his damage by boxing out. Guys like Rowsey, Jajuan, and Duane were going after loose balls on Saturday. I think the gang rebounding plan can work and will work best if our bigs aren't just getting boards themselves but keeping the opposing bigs off the glass.

There won't be a go-to option. It will vary on a nightly basis. Depending on matchups, we have 9-10 guys that could go for 20 on any given night. My expectation is that we will have at least 8 different guys lead us in scoring at least once. I also expect that everyone on the roster will have multiple games where they score in the single digits.

I disagree on Sam's adjustment period.  Guys like Sam and LaChance who come out of high school highly touted not because of their ability to dominate high school/AAU ball athletically (see guys like Tokoto and Jamil Wilson), but rather their ability to dominate based on decision making and fundamentals, have a much easier time adjusting to the college game but may have a lower ceiling than the freak athletes out there.  The good thing for Sam is that he is a sneaky good athlete on top of it (see his in bound ally oop dunk in the WIAA State Championship this year while going through shin splints for an example).  You saw LaChance come into Vandy his freshman season and make an immediate impact.  I think Sam is just a 6 inch taller version of LaChance.  Heady, smart, will make the right play, and really fundamentally sound.  When you can shoot it like Sam and aren't a complete liability in every other facet, you'll find time on the court, especially when you're really the only guy on the team who can even remotely play as any kind (stretch or traditional) of 4.

[brewcity77]

Could be, and I hope you're right. I know he put on weight, but the level of physicality he'll face this year will be unlike anything he's ever seen, and that includes in his time at Marquette in practice. Not many guys on our roster have the combination of strength and speed that the rest of the league has at the 4. I think he'll find a niche and earn some minutes, but as to the greater question, I feel that in terms of pecking order, he'll be further down the list than guys like Reinhardt, Jajuan, Haanif, and possibly even Cohen who have more experience at this level.

[bilsu]

The first part on Sam. I think it is a hard question, because whose expectations are you asking about. Sam could put up certain numbers that may exceed expectations for some of us, but be lower than expectations for the rest of us. I really like Sam and I have high expectations for him, which means I am more likely to be disappointed than maybe someone else with more realistic expectations. I am going to predict 10 pts 6 rbs for Sam.

Fischer is hard to predict, because we do not know how much Wojo is planning on playing him. Basically how many minutes is Heldt going to get or does Wojo use the Cohen/Hauser combo in this game? I suspect with the size of Vandy's center that we will not see Cohen/Hauser combo unless Fischer and Heldt are in foul trouble. I think Fischer/Heldt combine for 12 pts 6 rbs. You can say the points are too low, but Vandy's center is big and a shot blocker.

The primary go to guy for this game will be JJJ and secondarily go to guy will be Cheatham.

[GoldenDieners32]

Riley LaChance went to Brookfield Central. Also as a freshman 2 seasons ago he was on the All SEC - Freshman team averaging 12.3 ppg but last season he only averaged 6.9

[barfolomew]

Here's a general team primer from the Vandy student paper.
Or just something for those of you who miss "reading" Hustler:

http://vanderbilthustler.com/featured/vanderbilt-basketball-preview-2016-meet-the-team-and-a-z-guide.html

[mubbnation]

I think a bigger question is how many turnovers will we have? And  how well will Matt heldt play?

But to answer your questions i think
Marquette isn't gonna have one go to scorer but some of the guys that will score the most are rowsey cheat or Howard. Fish will get rebounds but everyone on MU has to rebound in order to be successful they have to do it as a team.

Those two questions are also very important--equally as important as the other three. I actually drafted those two in my list of three before scrapping them for time's sake.

Basically everyone's TO% needs to go down a bit. Traci and Haanif's TO Rates need to decrease significantly (Carter's moreso because he's still gonna play the point). I trust that the coaching, the depth at guard, and one extra year of experience will help this team become better at protecting the rock.

Matt Heldt must be competent. He finished last season with more fouls than rebounds. We need him to improve his game significantly to back up Luke. (In the end, though, Luke is playing more, and that's why I think his performance is more important than Heldt's)

[mubbnation]

My thoughts:

Hauser will be a work in progress. He's clearly a smart kid and good shooter, but there will be some bumps in the road as he adjusts to defending high-major players (especially in the post) and dealing with the heightened speed of the game. I'd love to be wrong, but my guess is as the rotation shortens, he is probably most likely to see minutes trimmed. I expect him to play and develop into a stud here while continuing to get meaningful minutes, but my guess is he's more likely in the 7-10 mpg range than the 18+.

I expect to see Luke's rebounds go up, but do think he will continue to do most of his damage by boxing out. Guys like Rowsey, Jajuan, and Duane were going after loose balls on Saturday. I think the gang rebounding plan can work and will work best if our bigs aren't just getting boards themselves but keeping the opposing bigs off the glass.

There won't be a go-to option. It will vary on a nightly basis. Depending on matchups, we have 9-10 guys that could go for 20 on any given night. My expectation is that we will have at least 8 different guys lead us in scoring at least once. I also expect that everyone on the roster will have multiple games where they score in the single digits.

Agree, agree, agree. All modest, sound projections. I think we'll have more like, MAYBE, 7 guys that could go for 20 on any given night (Cheatham, JJ, Luke, Duane, Rowsey, Katin, Markus, if you were wondering). I think Hauser and everyone else will be given the opportunity to play a significant amount but not (yet) be a first option

[mubbnation]

The first part on Sam. I think it is a hard question, because whose expectations are you asking about. Sam could put up certain numbers that may exceed expectations for some of us, but be lower than expectations for the rest of us. I really like Sam and I have high expectations for him, which means I am more likely to be disappointed than maybe someone else with more realistic expectations. I am going to predict 10 pts 6 rbs for Sam.

Fischer is hard to predict, because we do not know how much Wojo is planning on playing him. Basically how many minutes is Heldt going to get or does Wojo use the Cohen/Hauser combo in this game? I suspect with the size of Vandy's center that we will not see Cohen/Hauser combo unless Fischer and Heldt are in foul trouble. I think Fischer/Heldt combine for 12 pts 6 rbs. You can say the points are too low, but Vandy's center is big and a shot blocker.

The primary go to guy for this game will be JJJ and secondarily go to guy will be Cheatham.

I'd expect a little less than Hauser, but your prediction for him has backing to it (Wojo loves him, played well in exhibition, fills a need). I'd be excited to see him put up 10/6 against better competition on a bigger stage

Agree with Fischer/Heldt predictions

Agree totally with go-to guys. I think JJ and Cheatham are our go-to guys this year. They can both play well inside and outside the arc

[bilsu]

I'd expect a little less than Hauser, but your prediction for him has backing to it (Wojo loves him, played well in exhibition, fills a need). I'd be excited to see him put up 10/6 against better competition on a bigger stage

Agree with Fischer/Heldt predictions

Agree totally with go-to guys. I think JJ and Cheatham are our go-to guys this year. They can both play well inside and outside the arc

The one thing about this game that may not hold true in others is that it appears that Vandy's power forward (listed as 6'6") may be smaller than Sam. Vandy's PF does have a lot more experience.

[Freeport Warrior]

I watched as many Vandy games as I did MU last year because of LaChance. While their team had the potential to be great last year, Wade Baldwin just dominated the ball and really took the "team" out of them. A team with two NBA first round draft picks should have been much better than a play-in game NCAA team. No one was hurt more by Balwin's style of play than Riley Lachance. Plus, he was sick/run down most of the year

Matthew Fischer Davis is their Cheatham -- good two-way player. And Kornet may be 7' 1" but he loves to run the floor and shoot the 3. He had zero offers at the end of his senior year -- not even mid-majors. He  played AAU after his senior season and took off - he's now 3 inches taller than arriving at Vandy. He will be an NBA player. Certainly doesn't grind underneath like a typical center, but MU has to put a body on him. They are not big, but they have a Marcus Jackson type player in Roberson who can shoot it too. Lachance and Cam Justice can both shoot lights out if given space.

They have a freshman point guard coming in who supposed to be real good. Getting Kornet in foul trouble would be a good start. He takes centers out of the lane, so not sure if we would want our big guys out there with him. They have a huge redshirt freshman who I have only heard about from Haiti -- will be interesting to see if he plays at same time as Kornet.

Two of my favorite teams, can't wait. Go MU.