The problem with Luke

[rocky_warrior]

After Luke gets 3, or even 2 fouls, he stops playing defense.  I mean, he's not the best defender in the first place, but he goes all matador trying to avoid additional fouls.

JB says Luke doesn't have a foul problem, I say our defense suffers when Luke gets 2+ fouls.

[GGGG]

After Luke gets 3, or even 2 fouls, he stops playing defense.  I mean, he's not the best defender in the first place, but he goes all matador trying to avoid additional fouls.

JB says Luke doesn't have a foul problem, I say our defense suffers when Luke gets 2+ fouls.

Then Matt needs to play more.

[#UnleashSean]

Or Luke just needs to stop making stupid fouls. (Disclaimer, I didn't get to watch this game)

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Nothing good ever comes of it when they ask Fischer to play defense 20 feet away from the basket.

[RushmoreAcademy]

The problem could be that we often expect more of Luke than he's capable of.  He's done a good job IMO.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Luke would be just fine if the other four starters were named James, McNeal, Matthews, and Hayward.

[GGGG]

Luke would be just fine if the other four starters were named James, McNeal, Matthews, and Hayward.

I do think that is a fair point. 

[jsglow]

Nothing good ever comes of it when they ask Fischer to play defense 20 feet away from the basket.

I think that's the key.  I wish they would either stop doing that or find a way for Luke to recover better.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

It reminds me a bit of De Wilson -- for some reason we keep putting him in position to accentuate the worst parts about his game - particularly on D for luke.

[tower912]

Carter is just a wide body horse who had a good night.    A lot of Luke's fouls come from help on the pick and roll.    The pick, the roll, Luke is guarding a small while shuffling with his hands straight up.    The driving small initiates contact and because Luke is sliding and not an agile defender in space, the offensive player gets the call.    Smart offense.    This ALL goes back to how MU defends the high pick and roll.   

[jsglow]

Carter is just a wide body horse who had a good night.    A lot of Luke's fouls come from help on the pick and roll.    The pick, the roll, Luke is guarding a small while shuffling with his hands straight up.    The driving small initiates contact and because Luke is sliding and not an agile defender in space, the offensive player gets the call.    Smart offense.    This ALL goes back to how MU defends the high pick and roll.   

Yep.  Would it kill us to play some zone?

[GGGG]

Yep.  Would it kill us to play some zone?

It actually might.  They want the pace to be high.  They want to create steals and turnovers.  Hard to do with a zone.

[jsglow]

It actually might.  They want the pace to be high.  They want to create steals and turnovers.  Hard to do with a zone.

Truth in that.  We're at our best when we're getting defensive deflections/steals and runouts.

[Jay Bee]

JB says Luke doesn't have a foul problem, I say our defense suffers when Luke gets 2+ fouls.

He doesn't foul a ton is the truth. Is him picking up just 2 fouls an issue because of him mentally? Oh, that sure could be.

Tonight he played 31 minutes. Fouls didn't keep him off the floor - my issue is when people claim he can't stay on the floor. Do fouls negatively affect his play more than the avg player? Could be. That's an issue -- how addressable is it? That's a case by case matter - coaches, player

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I get the feeling that Wojo will be recruiting bigs with more mobility from now on. Like John. I also get the feeling that John won't have the same issues with the pick and roll hedge that Luke does.

[Herman Cain]

Luke is performing well this year. He is up in every major category. The guy has a big burden on his shoulders and he is handling it well.

Over the years I have noted when a team only has one true quality big the tension on foul trouble is increased. Look at Michigan State for example they have always seem to have lots of Big Bodies so no one guy ever matters that much.

[rocky_warrior]

I didn't mean this at a slight to Luke.  The opponents D has to respect his offense.  And I think he plays good defense until he gets 2-3 fouls (depending on time left in game).  After that, he just plays semi-disruptive (but not really) defense.   I'd rather he fouls out playing 25 minutes of tough defense, than what we've been seeing.  His teammates try to cover for him, but that just leaves another man open.

I don't know if the answer is 25 minutes of Luke (max D and 5 fouls) + 15 min of Heldt.  But I'd like to see if our D looks better without a timid Luke for > half the game.

[real chili 83]

Heldt is getting incrementally serviceable each game he plays.  They may be small increments, but the trajectory is up and to the right. 

[79Warrior]

Heldt is getting incrementally serviceable each game he plays.  They may be small increments, but the trajectory is up and to the right.

He was eaten alive in the second half.

[MU82]

The killer with Luke is that one of his fouls almost always is a moving screen and another is 20+ feet away from the basket when he is hedging on a little guy.

I don't mind my big getting some good hard fouls trying to defend my hoop. It frosts my fritters when my big gets those 2 fouls almost every game.

Some are his fault, some are just him being put in a poor situation. I am one Scooper who thinks Wojo is doing a good jbo, but I do wish he'd stop having Luke chase guards 25 feet from the hoop and I also wish he'd occasionally run a double-team at the other team's post player.

[real chili 83]

He was eaten alive in the second half.

So was Luke on D

[MarquetteDano]

To some degree the blame goes to Wojo.  If he is telling Luke to avoid fouls so much that he doesn't play defense,  then don't leave him in the game.  If Fischer was busy putting up 30 points and grabbing 14 boards it would be a different story.

However,  if he is scoring 17 and getting 5 boards but cannot play defense due to fouls then I say you take him out of the game until you are comfortable that he can play sufficient defense and if a foul comes so be it.

When Luke first came to Marquette he used to get more blocks and swipe at more shots.  This was good for defense.  I have noticed he rarely swipes any more.  Great for avoiding fouls but the defense is not afraid of Luke's size since they know he is not going to try to block it.

[Jay Bee]

If he is telling Luke to avoid fouls so much that he doesn't play defense,  then don't leave him in the game.  If Fischer was busy putting up 30 points and grabbing 14 boards it would be a different story.

... the defense (SIC)is not afraid of Luke's size since they know he is not going to try to block it.

Luke still has a 5% blk%, putting him around #200 in the nation. "Not going to block it" would be a bizarre thought by an opposing offense

Second, I think you underestimate the productivity of Luke's offense & its importance to the team. People don't put up 30 points a night in college bball... but Luke is putting up 138 Ortg on 21% usage. Very important, his offense

[Marcus92]

Luke had a great defensive play in the second half, getting a big block down low then a foul on the follow-up shot after an offensive rebound. The crowd didn't like the call. But I don't mind a foul in that situation. Luke was close to getting two straight blocks. And why give the other team easy shots down low? Make them earn it at the line (where Fresno State's big guys actually missed some shots).

That said, while Matt has clearly stepped up, there's a huge drop-off in terms of offensive production and efficiency when Luke comes out of the game. We need him on the court. He demands attention from defenders on the blocks, which opens things up for everyone else. That's the balancing act.

I'd point out that Luke's defensive rebounding percentage is far and away a career high. I've also been watching how the team hedges/switches on screens. I think there's been some improvement here, including Luke. We'll see how much better they can get.

[muwarrior69]

He can't jump! How often does he win the tip off?