Is Howard the leader this team has been missing?

[mu03eng]

If you want an illustration of why Markus is such a talent and this team will rise and fall on his performance/growth look at the last 2 minutes of regulation and the last 2 minutes of overtime last night.

In the last 2 minutes they took the ball out of Markus' hands and mostly kept it in Haanif's with the goal of making free throws and getting out of there with a win. They stopped attacking and creating, etc. While it was a reasonably sound strategy it did not work out at all obviously. Then in OT, even with a lead, the ball stayed in Markus' hands where he was able to create and/or score which allowed MU to survive.

I think this team will only win by playing aggressively on offense all of the time with Markus or to a lesser extent, Rowsey running the point

[brewcity77]

I am in no way criticizing Markus.   JB was right about him.   The real deal.    AT THIS MOMENT, I think Watson may be the better PG, simply by virtue of experience and speed.

Where Watson really excels is in creating for others. 5th in the country and 1st in conference play at assist rate. In addition to quickness, I think he sees the floor better. Now that said, Markus has vastly improved his assist rate in conference play, though much of that may be the small sample size and his 6 assist night last night. But if he could sustain his conference-only numbers through a full season, I think he'd probably have lottery pick numbers, height be damned.

[mu03eng]

I was thinking about this while watching him splash three after three last night. The 3 pt % will eventually regress back to a more sustrightble mean, but its great that he's enjoyed this early success. He's clearly a pretty natural leader anyway, but this gives him a ton of confidence out of the box and will accelerate his jumping into that leadership role.

What says his 3pt% has to fall? Only two games has he ever hit less than 50% of his 3s, one game was 40%(Western Carolina) and he missed his only 3 attempt in the season opener against Vanderbilt.

Statistically there is no indication that he can't sustain at least a 50% 3pt shooting. He certainly could fall off if teams start focusing on 3pt defense against him, but I suspect that would decrease the volume of 3pt shots, not necessarily the make % but we'll see.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I don't think Mo Watson comparisons are good ones for Markus. Markus' lethality comes from his three point shot. Watson's comes from his ability to drive and distribute. Really the only thing that connects the two is their height.

[MUBurrow]

What says his 3pt% has to fall? Only two games has he ever hit less than 50% of his 3s, one game was 40%(Western Carolina) and he missed his only 3 attempt in the season opener against Vanderbilt.

Statistically there is no indication that he can't sustain at least a 50% 3pt shooting. He certainly could fall off if teams start focusing on 3pt defense against him, but I suspect that would decrease the volume of 3pt shots, not necessarily the make % but we'll see.

I suppose that's true. As of today there are 35 guys in CBB shooting 50% or better from 3, and about three-quarters of those guys have a meaningful number of attempts (avg more than 2 per game or so).  Its certainly a tall order to sustain that for a full year, and then year over year, but it can be done.  I think as teams focus in on him, and given his size, there will be a learning curve to work on getting his shot off, and in the end his % settles out around .450 or so, which is still phenomenal, particularly for a sub 6 foot freshman pg.  Anything over that would be gravy, though the potential is certainly there.

[brewcity77]

What says his 3pt% has to fall? Only two games has he ever hit less than 50% of his 3s, one game was 40%(Western Carolina) and he missed his only 3 attempt in the season opener against Vanderbilt.

Statistically there is no indication that he can't sustain at least a 50% 3pt shooting. He certainly could fall off if teams start focusing on 3pt defense against him, but I suspect that would decrease the volume of 3pt shots, not necessarily the make % but we'll see.

I've been thinking this lately. Logically, you'd figure it would fall off in conference play, instead he's increased his 3P% to nearly 70% in the first four games, and those are against pretty good teams defending the three. Looking back, there are always a handful of guys that maintain over 50% for a season. I guess we'll see what happens if teams start gameplanning around him.

I don't think Mo Watson comparisons are good ones for Markus. Markus' lethality comes from his three point shot. Watson's comes from his ability to drive and distribute. Really the only thing that connects the two is their height.

Definitely different players. The reason I referenced both was the mention by tower and the considerations of them making the NBA. I think the biggest thing Howard will need to adjust to is once the defensive focus comes and teams start chasing him off the three-point line, can he exploit that pressure by distributing to others in better position to score and can he drive past people to score inside. I don't think he'll ever have Watson level quickness, but at some point he will likely have to evolve his game. From what I've seen in conference play, I believe he can do that.

[tower912]

I don't think Mo Watson comparisons are good ones for Markus. Markus' lethality comes from his three point shot. Watson's comes from his ability to drive and distribute. Really the only thing that connects the two is their height.

I make the comparison because they are two excellent point guards under 6'.    No comparison is ever going to be perfect.    Watson is older, quicker, and more of a push-the-pace/get-everybody-involved PG.   Markus is younger, shoots better, and right now is more of a shoot-first PG.   I have nothing but respect for both of them.   Markus is going to have to improve as a defender and become more of a creator to go with his lethal shooting to get to the next level.   I think we can and will.

[Silkk the Shaka]

It has become abundantly clear that a new mantra can be universally accepted as a scoop truism.

We currently have:

4everwarriors: Crean sucks
real chili 83: ND sucks. Did I mention? ND sucks.

These can be inserted into any thread, no matter the subject, and the world will seem more centered.

To those, we can now add Jay Bee's: Markus 2 NBA / M2N

Crean Sucks.
ND Sucks.
Markus 2 NBA.

Namaste

[tower912]

It is going to be interesting to see who Wojo is able to recruit to be the back up PG for 18-19 and going forward.   Who is going to want to come to MU knowing they are going to sit for two years?   He may have a dilemma similar to landing a PF knowing Henry is going to be on the roster and could be coming back.   

[SaveOD238]

I think the better comparison for Howard is not Watson, but a little guy who can shoot in the NBA.  Could he be Kyle Lowry or Isaiah Thomas (the current one)?

[brewcity77]

It is going to be interesting to see who Wojo is able to recruit to be the back up PG for 18-19 and going forward.   Who is going to want to come to MU knowing they are going to sit for two years?   He may have a dilemma similar to landing a PF knowing Henry is going to be on the roster and could be coming back.   

I'm not too worried about that. With 2017 all but done from a recruiting perspective (Elliott, maybe a grad transfer) and Joey planning to wrap up his recruitment somewhat early (remember him saying he wanted to decide by Spring 2017), that'll let them focus all their efforts on a guard.

In the past three years, Wojo has given significant minutes to Duane Wilson, Haanif Cheatham, Traci Carter, and Markus Howard. Ellenson and Hauser too, but I mention the first four because it shows that if you are a freshman guard who is ready to play and contribute, you will be given a chance to do so. I imagine that would be seen more as a positive to a prospective player like Ramey, Moss, or Dosunmu (or whomever else we'll go after) because they will know that the chance for PT is there if they earn it.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

It is going to be interesting to see who Wojo is able to recruit to be the back up PG for 18-19 and going forward.   Who is going to want to come to MU knowing they are going to sit for two years?   He may have a dilemma similar to landing a PF knowing Henry is going to be on the roster and could be coming back.   

I think you go after a combo guard who can backup the 1 but can also see minutes at 2. A la Jalen Brunson

[tower912]

I think you go after a combo guard who can backup the 1 but can also see minutes at 2. A la Jalen Brunson

If you go that route, go after about 3 of them, as Duane and HC aren't going to be around forever. 

[brewcity77]

If you go that route, go after about 3 of them, as Duane and HC aren't going to be around forever.

For 2018, we have three effective openings, though one is already committed through LOI in Bailey (I know...LOI not binding considering his age, but I expect him to be here). Gotta figure one will go to Joey Hauser if he wants it. That only leaves one spot. I think the hope would be that Elliott could contribute a little there as well, and the 2019 class would probably be where we looked for another PG as well.

[mu03eng]

I'll say this, I err on the side of having too many complete PGs than too few. I do not want to live in a world where it's Derrick Wilson or bust or a broken Diener hand away from disaster.

[tower912]

I have a mental picture of the year after Markus leaves having a Derrick Wilson situation or what Indiana has this year post-Yogi.

[Herman Cain]

It has become abundantly clear that a new mantra can be universally accepted as a scoop truism.

We currently have:

4everwarriors: Crean sucks
real chili 83: ND sucks. Did I mention? ND sucks.

These can be inserted into any thread, no matter the subject, and the world will seem more centered.

To those, we can now add Jay Bee's: Markus 2 NBA / M2N

Crean Sucks.
ND Sucks.
Markus 2 NBA.

Namaste

I agree with this analysis.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

For 2018, we have three effective openings, though one is already committed through LOI in Bailey (I know...LOI not binding considering his age, but I expect him to be here). Gotta figure one will go to Joey Hauser if he wants it. That only leaves one spot. I think the hope would be that Elliott could contribute a little there as well, and the 2019 class would probably be where we looked for another PG as well.

On the Bailey LOI:

It is binding.  We've been over this.  The only way Bailey does not need a release is if Marquette fails to provide a scholarship.

On PG recruiting:

No reason you can't play two PG together.  Duke has done it.  Jason Williams and Chris Duhon, or  more recently, Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook.  As long as one can defend SG, it is not a problem.  Look at the PGs MU is recruiting in 2018: Ramey, Moss, Dosunmu...all listed at 6-3.  Howard could easily play off the ball with a big PG and cross-match on defense.  Or let the younger player play off the ball for a year or two before becoming the primary PG.

[Lennys Tap]

If you go that route, go after about 3 of them, as Duane and HC aren't going to be around forever.

Three Jalen Brunsons...hmm...where do we sign?

[Herman Cain]

It is going to be interesting to see who Wojo is able to recruit to be the back up PG for 18-19 and going forward.   Who is going to want to come to MU knowing they are going to sit for two years?   He may have a dilemma similar to landing a PF knowing Henry is going to be on the roster and could be coming back.   

A quality young PG is going to be excited to play on the same team as Markus. Rowsey and Duane will both be gone, so the opportunity for a young phenom in 18-19 is definitely available.