Best 3-point shooting team in D-1

[Tower913]

Was browsing the Ken Pomeroy rankings, and looked at our team profile.  Some incredible findings:

Number 1 3-point shooting team in D-1 of 353.

Number 6 in D-1 in eFG%

Number 5 overall in Offensive Efficiency.

This is remarkable performance.  It surprises me to see us so highly ranked, yet we are on the Bubble with 12 losses?  Is it concerning, moving forward, that even with this lethal of offense we are only able to get to being a Bubble Team, 10-8 Big East finisher, and never sniffed a Top 25 ranking?

[fjm]

The defense really held us back. Our D has been considerably better the last 4-5 games I feel.

If we can play any sort of defense in the tourney, we could be playing second weekend.

(However I am getting a bit more nervous as tomorrow is approaching. I know jjjjjjjjjj and tamu and brew have done great with analysis and I'm optimistic as ever but sheesh, I've already started with the nervous poops today! Go MU!)

[brewcity77]

Our defense sucks. Hopefully as we add length and quickness in the coming years, that will improve, but for now, our only method of winning is to outscore the opponent.

Wojo has proven he can coach offense at a high level. In the next 2-3 years, we'll see if he can coach defense.

[wildbillsb]

 "...I've already started with the nervous poops today! Go MU!)"


Classic!

[Stronghold]

That has to be a scary stat for whoever gets matched up with us.  Obviously we aren't a consistently great team but any given night we could hit 10 or more 3's and win a game we shouldn't.

[Eldon]

So is that one banner or three banners?

I'll go ask the experts (VCU board)

[shoothoops]

MU needs to recruit more players with better lateral quickness to stay in front of their man on defense. Better athletes, yes, but better athletes who know, understand, and embrace the principles of individual and team defense.

Lateral quickness.

[Tower913]

That has to be a scary stat for whoever gets matched up with us.  Obviously we aren't a consistently great team but any given night we could hit 10 or more 3's and win a game we shouldn't.

I agree.  Would not want to face MU in NCAA tourney.  The 3-ball is a great weapon.  As I think about it, no way the committee would leave out the Number 1, 3-point shooting team, that is also a high major and plays in a Power 6 conference, and finished a respectable 10-8.

Seems there is often a disconnect between the guys who are prolific shooters, also being great athletes/strong defenders.  Don't ever see Markus being a + defender.  Yet, Sam is a really good defender.  Get more guys like Sam and the team will be solid defensively.

[tower912]

MU needs to recruit more players with better lateral quickness to stay in front of their man on defense. Better athletes, yes, but better athletes who know, understand, and embrace the principles of individual and team defense.

Lateral quickness.

I have to laugh.   I remember a common lament (from one 20k poster in particular, but by others, too) that Buzz recruited too many athletes and not enough shooters and traditionals.   The aforementioned poster swore that there were no racial connotations to that, just that MU needed shooters who were fundamentally sound and right-sized for the position they were playing.     Now, MU has a fundamentally sound team of shooters.    And the new common lament is that we need more athletic and bigger stronger players.   
I remember hearing Buzz say 4 games into the season that he had done nothing but work on defense and had not yet installed an offense and then people here losing their minds.     I remember Buzz's boot camps and him not working on free throw shooting in practice.      And people here complaining.   
   So now MU has a great shooting team.    And we have complaints that ....... aw, hell, we all know the complaints.       

[muwarrior69]

I have to laugh.   I remember a common lament (from one 20k poster in particular, but by others, too) that Buzz recruited too many athletes and not enough shooters and traditionals.   The aforementioned poster swore that there were no racial connotations to that, just that MU needed shooters who were fundamentally sound and right-sized for the position they were playing.     Now, MU has a fundamentally sound team of shooters.    And the new common lament is that we need more athletic and bigger stronger players.   
I remember hearing Buzz say 4 games into the season that he had done nothing but work on defense and had not yet installed an offense and then people here losing their minds.     I remember Buzz's boot camps and him not working on free throw shooting in practice.      And people here complaining.   
   So now MU has a great shooting team.    And we have complaints that ....... aw, hell, we all know the complaints.     

....actually we have lacked the right balance of athletic/shooter players for some time now. I believe Wojo is getting us there with the crop of "bigs" coming next year; and I can remember all the complaints about not being able to land a big not so long ago. With Hauser and Howard and the young "bigs" I see the beginning of a well balanced team.

[brewcity77]

....actually we have lacked the right balance of athletic/shooter players for some time now. I believe Wojo is getting us there with the crop of "bigs" coming next year; and I can remember all the complaints about not being able to land a big not so long ago. With Hauser and Howard and the young "bigs" I see the beginning of a well balanced team.

I agree completely. It's tough to create a team that is good on both ends. There are only 4 teams in the country that Pomeroy lists as being top-20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency; Gonzaga, Villanova, Kentucky, and Wichita State. Three of those are considered national title contenders.

Our offense is good enough to compete for the national title.

After 3 years.

That's huge. Seriously, did anyone who's watched Marquette the past decade ever see us having one of the best offenses in the country and the best three-point shooting team this quickly? And with the top three in makes and percentage all returning for the next season?

We'll see if the defense catches up. I think Eke, John, and Cain all have the length and quickness to be plus defenders. I think Haanif has the ability to be a very good defender. As long as guys like Heldt, Hauser, Howard, and Harry can all be average defenders, we should see significant improvements. But time will tell.

[mu_hilltopper]

Defense just sucks up time better spent scoring, man.  #mubb

[tower912]

Defense just sucks up time better spent scoring, man.  #mubb

Anything that takes time away from scoring is time wasted. 

[shoothoops]

I have to laugh.   I remember a common lament (from one 20k poster in particular, but by others, too) that Buzz recruited too many athletes and not enough shooters and traditionals.   The aforementioned poster swore that there were no racial connotations to that, just that MU needed shooters who were fundamentally sound and right-sized for the position they were playing.     Now, MU has a fundamentally sound team of shooters.    And the new common lament is that we need more athletic and bigger stronger players.   
I remember hearing Buzz say 4 games into the season that he had done nothing but work on defense and had not yet installed an offense and then people here losing their minds.     I remember Buzz's boot camps and him not working on free throw shooting in practice.      And people here complaining.   
   So now MU has a great shooting team.    And we have complaints that ....... aw, hell, we all know the complaints.     

I can't speak for your past board experiences.

Idealistically you want a good balance of a variety of things.  Marquette has a good team, especially offensively when sharing the ball, making the extra pass. MU has a great 3 point shooting team and great FT shooting team. The team overall is good but not great. One of the areas of improvement is lateral quickness. This will help both defensively and offensively. I also believe there is some room for improvement in both in and out of area rebounding. You asked if "this was concerning".....referencing the elite offensive stats yet being a bubble team. Several people including myself referenced defense in some form.  I was objective in my answer. The offense when well is really really good and aesthetically pleasing to watch. The hope is to play good enough defense with it.

I do not care about people's racial or political agendas. I don't have one.

[rocket surgeon]

anywhoo, wasn't wojo defensive player of the year?

[rocky_warrior]

You asked if "this was concerning".

Ahh...you've confused tower912, with his impostor tower913.  The person in the first post, and the post you replied to are not the same person.

[shoothoops]

Ahh...you've confused tower912, with his impostor tower913.  The person in the first post, and the post you replied to are not the same person.

Oh I see. Thanks. My bad. My apologies to the Towers

Regardless of all of the Towers, my general point(s) remain the same.  Marquette is a good basketball team, an NCAA team (if bubble).....and they often have elite 3 point shooting, elite FT shooting, and overall offense when spacing, moving the ball and making the extra pass. 

An area of need is lateral quickness defensively in order to stay in front of your man more frequently. Another benefit to this offensively is having more guys be able to create their own shots.  This can be with white guys black guys Asian guys, Hispanic guys, all kinds of guys.  You can be athletic and quick and not be as effective laterally. You can be less athletic and less quick and also not be as effective laterally.  Also there can always be room for some improvement rebounding the basketball too.

Overall, things are going well for Marquette, lots to like, very fun to watch often, lots to look forward to in the near future.

[rocket surgeon]

I have to laugh.   I remember a common lament (from one 20k poster in particular, but by others, too) that Buzz recruited too many athletes and not enough shooters and traditionals.   The aforementioned poster swore that there were no racial connotations to that, just that MU needed shooters who were fundamentally sound and right-sized for the position they were playing.     Now, MU has a fundamentally sound team of shooters.    And the new common lament is that we need more athletic and bigger stronger players.   
I remember hearing Buzz say 4 games into the season that he had done nothing but work on defense and had not yet installed an offense and then people here losing their minds.     I remember Buzz's boot camps and him not working on free throw shooting in practice.      And people here complaining.   
   So now MU has a great shooting team.    And we have complaints that ....... aw, hell, we all know the complaints.     

you had a good point here...UNTIL you had to poke someone, unfairly, inaccurately and one who cannot be here to defend himself. he addressed all this very sincerely and honestly in his heart-felt, clear the air post  back in november.  no dog whistles in "traditional".  you are better than this tower. 

[NotAnAlum]

This team is not real athletic and the most athletic guy JJJ, doesn't play good fundamental defense.  Plus 2 of your key players are freshman.  The freshman will become better defenders as will Heldt.  Add some athletic guys (which are coming) and the team will be more balanced.  As was said earlier MU is not going to get both great shooters who are also great athletics and great defenders because those guys go to Kentucky, NC and Kansas.  The best a team at MU's level can hope for is a good mix.

[tower912]

you had a good point here...UNTIL you had to poke someone, unfairly, inaccurately and one who cannot be here to defend himself. he addressed all this very sincerely and honestly in his heart-felt, clear the air post  back in november.  no dog whistles in "traditional".  you are better than this tower.

RS, what exactly did I write that wasn't accurate?    Also, what did I write about it that wasn't fair?    I did not insult him.  I paraphrased his initial recurring theme and his argument when challenged.   Was it not a recurring theme from him when Buzz was the coach?   IMO, this is pretty gentle.   

[MU82]

you had a good point here...UNTIL you had to poke someone, unfairly, inaccurately and one who cannot be here to defend himself. he addressed all this very sincerely and honestly in his heart-felt, clear the air post  back in november.  no dog whistles in "traditional".  you are better than this tower.

Way to step up, Boo-Boo!

You sure do complete Yogi!!

[rocket surgeon]

RS, what exactly did I write that wasn't accurate?    Also, what did I write about it that wasn't fair?    I did not insult him.  I paraphrased his initial recurring theme and his argument when challenged.   Was it not a recurring theme from him when Buzz was the coach?   IMO, this is pretty gentle.

this part-

   "The aforementioned poster swore that there were no racial connotations to that,..."

                             insinuates that chicos was being his usual racist self

    to your credit however, you did include, "but by others, too"

  what i guess wasn't fair was mentioning him,(indirectly) feeding red meat to the people out there who are still doing the happy dance that he is not here anymore and what i said above.  maybe "us guys" are a little overly sensitive to some of the past stuff-we lost a good guy(imho) who, whether you agreed with him or not(or not) provided a different point of view.  many here, who when they disagreed with him, personalized it and that's where all hell would break loose, but i didn't mean to open up old wounds   

     once again however, you had a great point because i was thinking the same thing you commented about minus the "red meat"     

[auburnmarquette]

Was browsing the Ken Pomeroy rankings, and looked at our team profile.  Some incredible findings:

Number 1 3-point shooting team in D-1 of 353.

Number 6 in D-1 in eFG%

Number 5 overall in Offensive Efficiency.

This is remarkable performance.  It surprises me to see us so highly ranked, yet we are on the Bubble with 12 losses?  Is it concerning, moving forward, that even with this lethal of offense we are only able to get to being a Bubble Team, 10-8 Big East finisher, and never sniffed a Top 25 ranking?

Yes, and Markus number 1 three-point shooter in history if he were to go 7 of 9 in NCAA for example.

We couldn't have a more exciting team - our three-point shooting means we can beat anybody and overcome a 10-point deficit, and our defense is so bad we can lose to anyone and blow a 10-point lead.

[GGGG]

this part-

   "The aforementioned poster swore that there were no racial connotations to that,..."

                             insinuates that chicos was being his usual racist self

    to your credit however, you did include, "but by others, too"

  what i guess wasn't fair was mentioning him,(indirectly) feeding red meat to the people out there who are still doing the happy dance that he is not here anymore and what i said above.  maybe "us guys" are a little overly sensitive to some of the past stuff-we lost a good guy(imho) who, whether you agreed with him or not(or not) provided a different point of view.  many here, who when they disagreed with him, personalized it and that's where all hell would break loose, but i didn't mean to open up old wounds   

     once again however, you had a great point because i was thinking the same thing you commented about minus the "red meat"     

You make a fine lap dog rocket.

[muwarrior69]

Anything that takes time away from scoring is time wasted.

Then you would have hated all of Al's teams. If you could not play defense you did not play. It was his trademark as a coach as MU was considered one of the best defensive teams in the country.