PG Play

[CTWarrior]

Folks haven't been saying it, Wojo has been saying it. He has a high screen driven offense designed for shooters. A dribble penetration guard to advance the ball into the paint like Junior isn't the design.

Yeah, I guess I have to get used to that.  My favorite kind of offensive play is a penetrator who can pull up and shoot, penetrate and score or dish for a layup or open 3.  Howard is the only guy we have that can do all those things when he penetrates, except we don't ever seem to have the threat for the interior dump off pass.   

To me, that was the difference between us and Georgia on Saturday.  Their penetrators drove and when they got to Heldt, he had to decide to stop the ball or back off to guard against the dump off.  He seemed to make the wrong decision almost every time, but that was really because the penetrator made the right decision.  If Heldt challenged, they dumped the ball for a lay-up.  If he backed off to guard against the dump off the driver went right to the hoop.  Our penetrators either pulled up for the jumper or took it to the hoop (or dribbled through doing nothing and trying to get back outside to reset).  No threat of an interior dump off makes penetration easier to defend.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

We have a stretch 4 coming in a week or two, and a true 4 with experience coming next year.

PG continues to be an issue though.

Plus another 4 who is a top 25ish recruit. 

[MU82]

Folks haven't been saying it, Wojo has been saying it. He has a high screen driven offense designed for shooters. A dribble penetration guard to advance the ball into the paint like Junior isn't the design.

Who said anything about Junior? I'm thinking about the Wichita State PG - a player who can create for others and himself, and also play some D - something any coach would want.

If Wojo doesn't want somebody who can create for others and himself, why even bother pursuing Grimes? Why did he get Jones to run the Duke offense he and K prefer?

Heck, we could use somebody with JJJ's skill set this season. Maybe Elliott will be that - but hopefully better.

BTW, I also am in the positions-no-matta group. I would take a very good shooting guard or combo guard over a mediocre PG.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Grimes wasn't "unachievable." A couple months ago, we had 50 Scoopers who changed their screen names to include Grimes and who felt legitimately hopeful he'd choose Marquette. Stan's tweets seemed to suggest that the coaching staff also felt Grimes was very "achievable." Wojo would have loved to have had him rather than a combo guard.

Again, great PGs are hard to come by, and I believe Wojo would rather have a player he projects to be a very good combo guard instead of a mediocre PG. There are plenty of other coaches who feel the same.

All IMHO. You're allowed to have another opinion. It doesn't make either of our opinions facts.

Grimes is a combo guard.

[MU82]

Grimes is a combo guard.

OK. I'm no Grimes expert. Scoopers who seemed to know about him were calling on him to play PG and were saying Wojo was offering to let him run the show. I guess I foolishly assumed that meant he was a PG. I sit corrected.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

OK. I'm no Grimes expert. Scoopers who seemed to know about him were calling on him to play PG and were saying Wojo was offering to let him run the show. I guess I foolishly assumed that meant he was a PG. I sit corrected.

He probably would have played the point for us, and probably is better at it than Markus, but pretty sure he plays off the ball on his AAU squad.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Wojo recognized the problem in the middle and got Froling and Morrow.  Traci was supposed to be the PG, but kids will be kids; he'd have plenty of minutes this year.  He picked up Elliott to replace him in his next recruiting class, and made a huge push for QG.  Maybe he missed in getting a grad transfer PG but I don't know what was available.  Toss in two more talented 6'8" coming in next year.

I'm sure a PG transfer will be his top priority to fill out the roster for next year.

Who should he have gotten that he didn't?

It wasn't for a lack of effort, but this guy would have been nice:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/66297/allerik-freeman

Cam Johnson or Egor Koulechov.  All three were pursued.  Any of them would have been immensely helpful.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Who said anything about Junior? I'm thinking about the Wichita State PG - a player who can create for others and himself, and also play some D - something any coach would want.

If Wojo doesn't want somebody who can create for others and himself, why even bother pursuing Grimes? Why did he get Jones to run the Duke offense he and K prefer?

Heck, we could use somebody with JJJ's skill set this season. Maybe Elliott will be that - but hopefully better.

BTW, I also am in the positions-no-matta group. I would take a very good shooting guard or combo guard over a mediocre PG.

Cook was more the PG on that Duke team.  Him and Jones were both combo guards.  Btw, Hank preferred combo guards.  Like Butch and Boylan.

I used Junior as he was the prototypical MU PG under Buzz that posters are hankering for.  A Traci or Du type but not a great fit for Wojo.

[MU82]

Cook was more the PG on that Duke team.  Him and Jones were both combo guards.  Btw, Hank preferred combo guards.  Like Butch and Boylan.

I used Junior as he was the prototypical MU PG under Buzz that posters are hankering for.  A Traci or Du type but not a great fit for Wojo.

I actually think we generally agree but just might not be defining PG the same. For example, I definitely think Jones was Duke's PG. Ball in his hands constantly, especially big situations, to create for himself or others. But maybe that's a combo guard, too. How is what I described about Jones different from Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Kemba Walker, etc, etc, etc. Are they combo guards?

I just want a guard who can facilitate the offense well, create for others and himself. Don't care what we label him.

These are the kind of silly debates I don't like on Scoop and other interwebs sites. Not saying you're more guilty than I am. I'll give you the final word and drop out now. Have a good one.

[mu03eng]

               %Min ORtg  %Poss %Shots eFG% ARate TORate 2pt% 3Pt%
Player 1   77.2  128.2    25.1     32.2    63.2     15.5    10.8    70.7  39.5
Player 2   84.2  121.8    20.0     17.6    48.9     27.5    17.4    40.0  37.9
Player 3   88.9  127.3    18.6     22.5    56.9     13.2    11.0    53.6  39.5

Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook, and Markus Howard......who's who?

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

               %Min ORtg  %Poss %Shots eFG% ARate TORate 2pt% 3Pt%
Player 1   77.2  128.2    25.1     32.2    63.2     15.5    10.8    70.7  39.5
Player 2   84.2  121.8    20.0     17.6    48.9     27.5    17.4    40.0  37.9
Player 3   88.9  127.3    18.6     22.5    56.9     13.2    11.0    53.6  39.5

Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook, and Markus Howard......who's who?

1.  Howard
2.  Jones
3.  Cook

[mu03eng]

1.  Howard
2.  Jones
3.  Cook

Ding ding ding! You are either smart or have a KenPom subscription or likely both.

Either way, Markus is a PG and a good one at that. Rowsey has been playing PG because he really can't play anything else. Markus is the only one of the two who can create his own shot which is what you need out of a point guard.

[Newsdreams]

Ding ding ding! You are either smart or have a KenPom subscription or likely both.

Either way, Markus is a PG and a good one at that. Rowsey has been playing PG because he really can't play anything else. Markus is the only one of the two who can create his own shot which is what you need out of a point guard.

Think if you give the ball to Howard more his TORate will soar. I figured Markus was #1 by 3pt% and ORtg but didn't know enough of the other 2 to try and figure it out

[skianth16]

Ding ding ding! You are either smart or have a KenPom subscription or likely both.

Either way, Markus is a PG and a good one at that. Rowsey has been playing PG because he really can't play anything else. Markus is the only one of the two who can create his own shot which is what you need out of a point guard.

There's some semantics going on here, so call him a PG or SG or combo or whatever - he still struggles to handle the ball under pressure. In a tight game, going against a press or any tight D, I'm nervous to see Howard with the ball when we're not in a half court set. He also has a tendency to pick up his dribble in bad spots, and I'm not really sold on his ability to distribute without being double teamed. He's a good player and will likely continue to develop into a great player, but ballhandling is not his forte, not by a long shot.

[mu03eng]

There's some semantics going on here, so call him a PG or SG or combo or whatever - he still struggles to handle the ball under pressure. In a tight game, going against a press or any tight D, I'm nervous to see Howard with the ball when we're not in a half court set. He also has a tendency to pick up his dribble in bad spots, and I'm not really sold on his ability to distribute without being double teamed. He's a good player and will likely continue to develop into a great player, but ballhandling is not his forte, not by a long shot.

What evidence do you have to cite? He had 1 TO(out of a 17 total) against VCU and 2 TO (out of 9 total) against Wichita State. Hell, he was pressing hard late against Georgia and still only had 1 TO in the game. There is a reason Wojo benched Rowsey against Georgia and the game plan seemed to be give Howard the ball and let him do his thing.

[Dr. Blackheart]

I actually think we generally agree but just might not be defining PG the same. For example, I definitely think Jones was Duke's PG. Ball in his hands constantly, especially big situations, to create for himself or others. But maybe that's a combo guard, too. How is what I described about Jones different from Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Kemba Walker, etc, etc, etc. Are they combo guards?

I just want a guard who can facilitate the offense well, create for others and himself. Don't care what we label him.

These are the kind of silly debates I don't like on Scoop and other interwebs sites. Not saying you're more guilty than I am. I'll give you the final word and drop out now. Have a good one.

We do agree actually...I am just pointing out the roles of guards in Wojo’s scheme is very different than the Tony Miller, Junior, DJames type.

And people ripping on Andrew with his bad last game.  His assist rate is 27% and his turnover rate is 19.6%.  Junior, Traci were in the high 20% for turn rates. 

[skianth16]

What evidence do you have to cite? He had 1 TO(out of a 17 total) against VCU and 2 TO (out of 9 total) against Wichita State. Hell, he was pressing hard late against Georgia and still only had 1 TO in the game. There is a reason Wojo benched Rowsey against Georgia and the game plan seemed to be give Howard the ball and let him do his thing.

Watching him struggle in the exhibition was evidence enough to prove my point for me and many people around me. He had his fair share of conference games last year with several TO's, and he struggled against SC in the tournament too. Also, just because he may have a limited number of TOs, doesn't necessarily mean that he's handling the ball well or handling pressure well. Like I said, he has a bad habit of picking up his dribble, which may not lead to a TO, but could waste a time out or lead to wasted time or a bad shot.

[rocky_warrior]

Watching him struggle in the exhibition was evidence enough to prove my point for me

MU has played a number of games since then.  Howard has handled the ball well.  You should watch the games since the exhibition!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

It wasn't for a lack of effort, but this guy would have been nice:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/66297/allerik-freeman

Cam Johnson or Egor Koulechov.  All three were pursued.  Any of them would have been immensely helpful.

Al Freeman was not pursued.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Al Freeman was not pursued.

Really? I thought he was, but maybe it was just conjecture in here.

Probably should have been if he wasn’t. Dude can guard and fill it up.

[tower912]

Rowsey was a facilitator this evening.   Crazy. 

[Dr. Blackheart]

Rowsey was a facilitator this evening.   Crazy.

#drewski has a 29.6% assist rate for the season. Erase the UGA game from our memories.