Wesley "Mr Basketball" Matthews

[mviale]

where have you gone?

[chapman]

Lately I'd feel better seeing Scott "Mr. Basketball" Christopherson in the game.

[Big Papi]

Had some serious pine time there in the second half with Acker getting a lot of his minutes.

[shaquilvaine]

HIs confidence is shot. Fortunately we are deep enough to make up for his lapse.  Hopefully he gets it gong.  Best thing Wes can do is start taking it to the whole more.  He got to the line at will second half of last year.  It would be nice to see a similar second half to this season.

[mviale]

This kid was supposed to be the cool customer that gives us 15-20 a game

[mviale]

HIs confidence is shot. Fortunately we are deep enough to make up for his lapse.  Hopefully he gets it gong.  Best thing Wes can do is start taking it to the whole more.  He got to the line at will second half of last year.  It would be nice to see a similar second half to this season.

sorry - I dont buy that one anymore. Its been that way for too long

[SoCalwarrior]

I don't buy the "where have you gone "argument.  When was he ever the 1st or 2nd option as billed to go anywhere?  Matthews has been a consistent 3rd or 4th option his entire career.  Give up the idea that he's going to be one of the greats and he starts to look pretty attractive as the fourth option.

[mviale]

maybe the guy should come off the bench

[Boognish_MU]

Lately I'd feel better seeing Scott "Mr. Basketball" Christopherson in the game.

I agree, and I am not even joking... Maybe sit Matthews and play Christopherson / Blackledge a little and see if that ignites Matthews?

[Niv Berkowitz]

Christopherson doesn't even look like a D1 player, first of all. He's slower than me in my prime, and his release is even slower.

I think everyone for whatever reason has suddenly made Matthews the star - or projected star - on this team. It was clear he'd never be that. Matthews is the guy that does a little of everything. Takes charges. Rebounds. Passes. Scores. Gets to the line.

With all the scorers on this team beside him, it's unfair to expect him to get 15ppg or anything close to that w/James, McNeal and Hayward on team. Throw in Cubillan and Fitz and Barro, and there's not enough shots to go around.

Now....Matthews TOTALLY looks like he's lost some confidence, especially when he is dribbling. He looks uncomfortable then. But at the end of the day, he's still an extremely valuable guy to have out there.

I think tonight he may have been sat down after getting hammered in the first half.

[Tommy Brice for Coach]

Christopherson doesn't even look like a D1 player, first of all. He's slower than me in my prime, and his release is even slower.

I think everyone for whatever reason has suddenly made Matthews the star - or projected star - on this team. It was clear he'd never be that. Matthews is the guy that does a little of everything. Takes charges. Rebounds. Passes. Scores. Gets to the line.

With all the scorers on this team beside him, it's unfair to expect him to get 15ppg or anything close to that w/James, McNeal and Hayward on team. Throw in Cubillan and Fitz and Barro, and there's not enough shots to go around.

Now....Matthews TOTALLY looks like he's lost some confidence, especially when he is dribbling. He looks uncomfortable then. But at the end of the day, he's still an extremely valuable guy to have out there.

I think tonight he may have been sat down after getting hammered in the first half.

Is that really Niv Berkowitz?

[Niv Berkowitz]

Of course it is! I always get up early in the morning here in Israel to keep up on Marquette.

[Daniel]

The last couple of games before tonight weren't bad for Matthews - he can still cut to the basket, hit free throws etc.  What it seems he has lost is his little 10 -12 foot jumper which was his shot!  We need that back.

Tonight tho, we missed so many chip shots right under the basket.  And lots of other shots.  D won tonight.

[Tommy Brice for Coach]

Of course it is! I always get up early in the morning here in Israel to keep up on Marquette.

Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool we have a former MU player posting on the board!

Anyways, I'll stop being OT now 

[NCMUFan]

I agree that Wes is a valued contributor whether he lives up to others expectations or not.

[ChuckyChip]

I love Wes, but please stop taking that three-point shot form the corner - how many airballs has he put up from there this year?

[muwarrior87]

Of course it is! I always get up early in the morning here in Israel to keep up on Marquette.

Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool we have a former MU player posting on the board!

Anyways, I'll stop being OT now 

Niv, didn't you say on another thread that you were at the game? Isn't the Israeli league playing now?

[TallTitan34]

Woah woah woah!  While I like Christopherson as much as the next guy, what exactly has he shown you that makes you trust him over Wes?

[NavinRJohnson]

Wes is not having teh season I thought he would, but I guarantee he will be heard from before this season is out.

[pbiflyer]

Not gonna lie, it's pretty cool we have a former MU player posting on the board!

Anyways, I'll stop being OT now 

Chuncken - I have some swamp property down here in Florida, I'll sell it to you cheap!
I think you may want to check your sarcasm detector. I think it is broken. 

[bartmiller#1]

Matthews looks out of synch.  Even on Fitz's 3 in the closing seconds-- Matthews had a herky/jerky drive to baseline and he got almost all the way under the basket, came close to traveling, and forced a pass that was lucky to get to Fitz. 

Fitz hits the 3 and all is absolved, it looks like a great play today.  But I was see a TO the whole time he was driving.  He seems to just be a little off-- just missing some shots around the hoop, not looking comfortable handling the ball in the open court, etc. 

I thought we played better last night when Acker was in, but I think that was because of the matchup.  Matthews is a very good player going through a rough patch.  I don't think he will ever be a 13-15 ppg. scorer on this year's version of the team-- Hayward is a more dependable scorer and has more of a nose for the ball, but Matthews does a lot of things well that don't show up on the highlights. 

He made some dumb mistakes yesterday, but it's a long season.  He's certainly a much better option than Christopherson.  Let's be real here.  MU relies on Matthews to defend 1-4, get rebounds, initiate offense, dirve, shoot jumpers, etc.  He's got a lot on his plate, which isn't an excuse for some of his problems lately, but he brings a lot more to the table than Christopherson. 

[AlumKCof93]

As mentioned previously, I think its just a matter of confidence with Matthews right now.  While he does a lot of things well, there is not one aspect of his game that he excels at.  It affects his confidence and his overall floor play. If he could improve his ballhandling, it would significantly improve his all-around game.

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

where have you gone?

I thought he was sitting most of the second half because he had his bell rung by Hayward's knee in the first half. Am I wrong on that?

As for SC, I'd venture to guess that when you add in the Frosh learning curve and a knee injury two weeks before the season starts perhaps things like confidence, movement, and understanding are going to lag.

[rocky_warrior]

came close to traveling,

i.e. - he traveled, but it wasn't called 

[Big Papi]

I think it would be ideal if we could replace Matthews in the starting lineup with someone who is more consistent from 3 point range and than bring him off the bench.  Not that I am extremely down on Matthews but I think he would be more valuable off of the bench especially if we could balance our offense out a bit early in games.  

Thing is I don't know if we have anyone who can defend at the 3 position that offers us good perimeter shooting.  Going with Cube or Acker and we are too small with McNeal at the 3.  Hayward at the 3 and Fitz at the 4 would be interesting offensively but our defense would be hurt badly.  Christopherson seems too slow at this point in time and his shot still seems a bit off.  

If we had Mbakwe we would have had even more flexibility this year to possibly have Matthews start on the bench as Mbwake would have had the muscle and ability to defend and rebound the 4 position better than both Hayward and Fitz which would have allowed either to slide into the 3 position and still be sound defensively in 4 out of the 5 spots.

We won't have that problem starting next year as Fulce seems like more of a 3/4 combo that fits the mold of scoring/defending the 4 while giving you more of an outside threat than what Matthews has offered this year.  In addition Nick Williams can hit the perimeter shot and provide us with a more typical 3.  Than the following year we add Williams from Texas and possibly Jamil Wilson where both fit the 3/4 combo mold of inside/outside scoring that TC wants.  We are still in transition but the future looks bright.  If Taylor can be a legit dynamic PG and if we land Jamil Wilson we are 2 to 3 years away from something really special but I am getting way ahead of myself.