PG Play

[tower912]

There has been a lot of kvetching about Rowsey yesterday.   Fair enough.   He played poorly.    But here is the major underlying issue.   He isn't a point guard.   He is a 5'10 shooting guard.   Same with Markus.   And therein lies a major problem.    Wojo and company rightly made a huge push to get QG, a PG with size.   They failed and are late starting on a plan B.   Right now, the guards on next year's roster are Howard, Elliot, and Sacar.    Fills you with confidence, doesn't it?
    I am not going to ruminate about who isn't here who might make a difference.    I am simply going to say that MU had better be out there trying to land a PG (or 2.  A grad transfer and a frosh) or next year is not going to be the golden year we want it to be. 

[Johnny B]

Are you ever not on mu scoop?

[Newsdreams]

Are you ever not on mu scoop?

When there is a fire

[Lennys Tap]

There has been a lot of kvetching about Rowsey yesterday.   Fair enough.   He played poorly.    But here is the major underlying issue.   He isn't a point guard.   He is a 5'10 shooting guard.   Same with Markus.   And therein lies a major problem.    Wojo and company rightly made a huge push to get QG, a PG with size.   They failed and are late starting on a plan B.   Right now, the guards on next year's roster are Howard, Elliot, and Sacar.    Fills you with confidence, doesn't it?
    I am not going to ruminate about who isn't here who might make a difference.    I am simply going to say that MU had better be out there trying to land a PG (or 2.  A grad transfer and a frosh) or next year is not going to be the golden year we want it to be.

In year 4 we have no point guard, no power forward (Sam is really good but not a PF), no starting center (Matt at best is a D1 backup) and two really good shooting guards who are 5'11" and 5'8".

[79Warrior]

In year 4 we have no point guard, no power forward (Sam is really good but not a PF), no starting center (Matt at best is a D1 backup) and two really good shooting guards who are 5'11" and 5'8".

A bit of a mess for sure. i am going to wait and see if Harry can help this team. Any presence down low will  be huge for us. Matt is a complete non factor. Still can't believe anyone thought he was better than Luke. wow.

[mu03eng]

In year 4 we have no point guard, no power forward (Sam is really good but not a PF), no starting center (Matt at best is a D1 backup) and two really good shooting guards who are 5'11" and 5'8".

Hauser sure guarded a true 4 yesterday and did so well...care to rethink this?

[brewcity77]

Hauser sure guarded a true 4 yesterday and did so well...care to rethink this?

Agreed. If you offered me 13/7 from Maten and told me he'd lead Georgia in scoring I'd have jumped for joy. We lost mostly because of turnovers and poor shooting from guys not named Markus. We're not going to win many games with an eFG of 44.4%.

[GGGG]

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. 

[Dr. Blackheart]

Agreed. If you offered me 13/7 from Maten and told me he'd lead Georgia in scoring I'd have jumped for joy. We lost mostly because of turnovers and poor shooting from guys not named Markus. We're not going to win many games with an eFG of 44.4%.

Sidebar but maybe missed in the loss, but M2N's % of Possessions yesterday was 58% with a high efficiency (Andrew's was 36%). Markus was carrying MU on its back. Impressive performance for the few minutes he played. The kid is special.

[brewcity77]

Sidebar but maybe missed in the loss, but M2N's % of Possessions yesterday was 58% with a high efficiency (Andrew's was 36%). Markus was carrying MU on its back. Impressive performance for the few minutes he played. The kid is special.

If Howard plays 30 minutes instead of 20 we win. Those first two fouls killed us and we still almost had the halftime lead if not for the circus shot at the buzzer. If we play them 10 times I bet we win 7. Yesterday just wasn't one of those.

[mu03eng]

If Howard plays 30 minutes instead of 20 we win. Those first two fouls killed us and we still almost had the halftime lead if not for the circus shot at the buzzer. If we play them 10 times I bet we win 7. Yesterday just wasn't one of those.

And quite frankly no way Rowsey plays that lousy in the other 9 games

[TSmith34, Inc.]

In year 4 we have no point guard, no power forward (Sam is really good but not a PF), no starting center (Matt at best is a D1 backup) and two really good shooting guards who are 5'11" and 5'8".

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?

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Who should he have gotten that he didn't?

I agree with you that his roster construction looks to be improving. 

The question at the end though doesn't make sense to me.  Wojo has the same resources and access to players as every other high major coach and deals with the same finicky kids. His roster construction to date has been poor and he is accountable for that.  That's why he gets the big bucks.

[MU82]

I agree with you that his roster construction looks to be improving. 

His roster construction to date has been poor and he is accountable for that.  That's why he gets the big bucks.

Agreed.

If Buzz had a PG commensurate to the rest of the talent in the rotation, we might have won it all in 2013. If he had any PG who wasn't a box of rocks, we would have easily made the NCAAs in 2014 and probably succeeded once there. If Wojo had a legit PG last season we might have had a shot at Sweet 16 or more. If Wojo had a real PG this season - one considerably better than Tracy Carter - we'd be a lot better off.

Gotta have a PG. I am bullish on Wojo, yet I acknowledge he dropped the ball here, just as Buzz dropped the ball before him. Gotta have a PG, preferably a couple of them. Severe injury is the only legit excuse, and it's one Wojo can't claim. He needs to bring in somebody who can play next season, and I'm confident he will.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Agreed.

If Buzz had a PG commensurate to the rest of the talent in the rotation, we might have won it all in 2013. If he had any PG who wasn't a box of rocks, we would have easily made the NCAAs in 2014 and probably succeeded once there. If Wojo had a legit PG last season we might have had a shot at Sweet 16 or more. If Wojo had a real PG this season - one considerably better than Tracy Carter - we'd be a lot better off.

Gotta have a PG. I am bullish on Wojo, yet I acknowledge he dropped the ball here, just as Buzz dropped the ball before him. Gotta have a PG, preferably a couple of them. Severe injury is the only legit excuse, and it's one Wojo can't claim. He needs to bring in somebody who can play next season, and I'm confident he will.

Duane Wilson was lined up to be Buzz's PG for those years, but he wasn't Wojo's. Du was All BE Frosh Wojo's first year as SG after he sat Buzz's last year with a hip fracture...and was the highest scoring BE newcomer over Blueitt. That said, Wojo then went Carlino and then inexplicably with Haanif instead as his PGs (which maybe was the head shaker off all time in Year 2).

We hear at Scoop Du isn't a PG, yet he starts there for #7 Texas A&M (for his main MU sponsor Chew). Has a 28% assist rate but also like Junior a high turnover rate with a high volume offense.

End of the day, Wojo wants combo guards for his offense not PGs. Get over it. Two different systems, two different fits.

[MU82]

Duane Wilson was lined up to be Buzz's PG for those years, but he wasn't Wojo's. Du was All BE Frosh Wojo's first year as SG after he sat Buzz's last year with a hip fracture...and was the highest scoring BE newcomer over Blueitt. That said, Wojo then went Carlino and then inexplicably with Haanif instead as his PGs (which maybe was the head shaker off all time in Year 2).

We hear at Scoop Du isn't a PG, yet he starts there for #7 Texas A&M (for his main MU sponsor Chew). Has a 28% assist rate but also like Junior a high turnover rate with a high volume offense.

End of the day, Wojo wants combo guards for his offense not PGs. Get over it. Two different systems, two different fits.

Folks keep saying things like "Wojo wants combo guards for his offense not PGs," yet he went hard after Grimes and he surely would be thrilled to land another Tyus Jones, the outstanding PG he helped recruit for Duke's 2014-15 national champions.

I'm guessing Wojo prefers excellent combo guards to medioce PGs. Further, I'm guessing he really would prefer a PG who can not only make everybody on the court better but also can be a major scoring threat, which describes Jones and Grimes. We haven't had one of those at MU for quite some time.

As for Duane ... I had high hopes for him as a PG - and as a 3-point shooter, given his ridiculous H.S. percentage - but it became fairly obvious early on that he wasn't really a PG. That he is starting for his new school doesn't make him any more of one. Maybe the Texas A&M coach, like Wojo, prefers combo guards, which is what Duane is.

Having said that, I'd be happy to have Duane on this year's team. Very well could have made the difference Saturday.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Folks keep saying things like "Wojo wants combo guards for his offense not PGs," yet he went hard after Grimes and he surely would be thrilled to land another Tyus Jones, the outstanding PG he helped recruit for Duke's 2014-15 national champions.

I'm guessing Wojo prefers excellent combo guards to medioce PGs. Further, I'm guessing he really would prefer a PG who can not only make everybody on the court better but also can be a major scoring threat, which describes Jones and Grimes. We haven't had one of those at MU for quite some time.

Isn't that a little bit like saying Wojo would love Chris Paul - you know he knows Chris Paul from being an assistant on USA basketball... 

Sounds great but he hasn't landed Grimes or another PG who was one-and-done.  When then presented with the achievable, he has chosen combo guards at the level that we have and hasn't favored true PGs.

[MU82]

Isn't that a little bit like saying Wojo would love Chris Paul - you know he knows Chris Paul from being an assistant on USA basketball... 

Sounds great but he hasn't landed Grimes or another PG who was one-and-done.  When then presented with the achievable, he has chosen combo guards at the level that we have and hasn't favored true PGs.

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.

[GGGG]

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.

IOW, he prefers Markus to Traci.

[SVL4]

This thread is silly.  You want a better PG than Markus?  I wonder if Davidson fans were like this when Steph played point his Junior year.

[GGGG]

Except he hasn't been playing PG for most of this year.  However at this point I think he is a better option than Rowsey.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

1. Positions no matta.  Who cares if the "PG" dribbles the ball across half court, makes one pass, and becomes a "SG" the rest of the possession.

2.  MU needs someone who can dribble drive, score, and dish.  This could be a PG, SG, or SF.  Cheatham wasn't good enough to fulfill this role.  Wojo missed on Amir Coffey and Quentin Grimes.  Now he's still searching.  Greg Elliott might be this player but I think it'll take until his junior year.  He needs to get stronger and refine his skill set; both dribbling and shooting.  Need someone to fill the gap next year.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

I love elliotts court vision and willingness to pass.  10 lbs of muscle and some minor improvements in ball handling n he might be sonething really special by his junior year at the point

[Dr. Blackheart]

Folks keep saying things like "Wojo wants combo guards for his offense not PGs," yet he went hard after Grimes and he surely would be thrilled to land another Tyus Jones, the outstanding PG he helped recruit for Duke's 2014-15 national champions.

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.

[Goose]

Sand-Knit

I think Elliott might be a player as well. I honestly feel he has far more upside than HC had as a freshman. He might end up being really good.