DePaul...... meh.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

It's so weird that JLP has been allowed to continue on as AD overseeing a 13-year tournament drought and four head coaching failures.  Around here the skies were falling after three tourney misses.

[tower912]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400988576

Great balance.   

Reading Wojo's post game comments, Howard has been sick all weekend.   Reading between the lines, if there were more options, he probably would have played even less. 

[SaveOD238]

Can we get off the Rowsey hate in this thread for a second?  I get as frustrated as many of you do with him, but he was the player we need him to be in this game. 

At one point late in the second half he had 5 points (all from the line) and 8 assists.  Clearly, he's been working on distributing when he knows that his shot isn't falling.  That's on Wojo for coaching him up and on Andrew for listening.

Found this interesting re: Rowsey's assist numbers across his career.  Notice the huge jump from his career averages to this year.

13-14: 2.9 a/g
14-15: 2.9 a/g
16-17: 2.3 a/g (by far the fewest minutes of his career)
17-18: 4.3 a/g

His per 40 mins stats show an even more impressive growth since coming to MU.

13-14: 3.3 a/40
14-15: 3.5 a/40
16-17: 4.5 a/40
17-18: 5.4 a/40

[connie]

Can we get off the Rowsey hate in this thread for a second?  I get as frustrated as many of you do with him, but he was the player we need him to be in this game. 

Not hate, frustration.  There was no need for a number of his turnovers.  He was trying for a SC highlight, needlessly.  I have no problem calling him out for that no matter the numbers he puts up in other categories.

[CTWarrior]

Apparently, our floor is 18 point better than DePaul's.

Nice to see Froling play with confidence and be active.  Hauser was solid, the frosh got some good run, but not much to get excited about here.  Nice stretch now to recharge the batteries and get ready for the upcoming gauntlet.  For some reason I think we have a very good chance to knock off X.

[4everwarriors]

" plenty of dribble penetration and shots near the rim"


Sounds like a productive nite ta mee, hey?

[GGGG]

We looked tired. Late tip and weather made the crowd quiet.

Thank God we were playing DePaul. They were legitimately awful.  It’s tough for me to find a bright spot with that team.

Now for nine days off. It will help.

[tower912]

It was a nice win.   It was not a pretty win.   Because of the sloppy play, it is easy to overlook the good.
- Defense was really locked in.   MU contested very well in the lane and DePaul didn't hit any threes until very late.
- Contributions from unusual sources.    Jamal, Theo, and Harry all played very well on both ends.
- 2 of our last 3 games have featured really good defense.   
- MU got an 18pt win playing its most sloppy game of the year.   
-13-6  4-3    Nine days off.   
- MU still does not have a truly 'bad' loss.    MU's 'worst' losses are to Georgia and Butler.   

[frozena pizza]

Pretty good on defense but no intensity overall.  Found myself strangely disinterested in this game (even flipping over to Cavs / Warriors periodically), especially once we were blowing them out.

Hauser seems like the one constant every night.  Markus and Rowsey were off, but really liked how Theo and Froling played.

Poor DePaul.  Even on an off night we beat them by 18.

[GGGG]

The re-hiring of Dave Leitao is proving to be the horrible decision most people thought it would be.  That looked like a horribly coached team with zero energy.  Hiring him after the uninspired hires of Wainwright and Purnell...At some point the athletic director has to be on the hook for this right?

[Galway Eagle]

The re-hiring of Dave Leitao is proving to be the horrible decision most people thought it would be.  That looked like a horribly coached team with zero energy.  Hiring him after the uninspired hires of Wainwright and Purnell...At some point the athletic director has to be on the hook for this right?

You would think. Don't worry she'll really make waves rehiring Joey Meyer or pat Kennedy next

[Nukem2]

The re-hiring of Dave Leitao is proving to be the horrible decision most people thought it would be.  That looked like a horribly coached team with zero energy.  Hiring him after the uninspired hires of Wainwright and Purnell...At some point the athletic director has to be on the hook for this right?

Actually, DePaul has been hanging tough with teams all year and even beat Oregon.  Last night was a horrible shooting night for DePaul.  Just one game sample.  That game at DePaul could prove to be quite a bit harder.  I would give Leitao a longer rope here.  Again, it was one game.

[brewcity77]

The re-hiring of Dave Leitao is proving to be the horrible decision most people thought it would be.  That looked like a horribly coached team with zero energy.  Hiring him after the uninspired hires of Wainwright and Purnell...At some point the athletic director has to be on the hook for this right?

I listened to the Big East Coast Pod this morning and they had a guy on from the DePaul student radio station. He said that it feels like DePaul just keeps hiring the same guy. Wainright, Purnell, even Leitao were all retreads that had some success elsewhere, but never really broke through. Also pointed out that all three of their last hires were guys in their 50s when they got there, so there's none of the young and hungry type fire.

He mentioned how he thought Tyger Campbell was a bit of a make-or-break recruit for Leitao, that if they can reaffirm that commitment, Leitao will get at least 2-3 years with Campbell to turn it around, but if not, they may make a move sooner rather than later. Not sure I believe that simply because it's DePaul, but he also pointed out how they missed on Bryce Drew and Bobby Hurley, both of whom are making big impacts at their new schools. Said he'd even be happy with an assistant type after watching Chris Collins (Jon Scheyer was mentioned as an Illinois native).

I have to say, I don't mind DePaul continuing to suck because in any league, someone has to lose and I'm glad it's not us, but it has to be really hard to cheer for that team. This will likely be their 11th straight season with 12+ conference losses, and the 14th straight without a NCAA bid. I have to imagine if that happened here, Scoop would be a ghost town by then.

[tower912]

I have to imagine if that happened here, Scoop would be a ghost town by then.

Nah, we'd still have each other and would bring insults, in-fighting,  and wallowing in self pity to even greater heights.

[MU82]

It's so weird that JLP has been allowed to continue on as AD overseeing a 13-year tournament drought and four head coaching failures.  Around here the skies were falling after three tourney misses straight bad games, even if we won one or two of them.

FIFY

[LAZER]

Actually, DePaul has been hanging tough with teams all year and even beat Oregon.  Last night was a horrible shooting night for DePaul.  Just one game sample.  That game at DePaul could prove to be quite a bit harder.  I would give Leitao a longer rope here.  Again, it was one game.

They didn't beat Oregon and they don't have any good wins and they have a serious lack of talent. MU sleptwalk to a 20pt win last night.  That program is an absolute disgrace.

[LAZER]

I listened to the Big East Coast Pod this morning and they had a guy on from the DePaul student radio station. He said that it feels like DePaul just keeps hiring the same guy. Wainright, Purnell, even Leitao were all retreads that had some success elsewhere, but never really broke through. Also pointed out that all three of their last hires were guys in their 50s when they got there, so there's none of the young and hungry type fire.

He mentioned how he thought Tyger Campbell was a bit of a make-or-break recruit for Leitao, that if they can reaffirm that commitment, Leitao will get at least 2-3 years with Campbell to turn it around, but if not, they may make a move sooner rather than later. Not sure I believe that simply because it's DePaul, but he also pointed out how they missed on Bryce Drew and Bobby Hurley, both of whom are making big impacts at their new schools. Said he'd even be happy with an assistant type after watching Chris Collins (Jon Scheyer was mentioned as an Illinois native).

I have to say, I don't mind DePaul continuing to suck because in any league, someone has to lose and I'm glad it's not us, but it has to be really hard to cheer for that team. This will likely be their 11th straight season with 12+ conference losses, and the 14th straight without a NCAA bid. I have to imagine if that happened here, Scoop would be a ghost town by then.

I think Scheyer would be a good hire for DePaul.

[Lennys Tap]

It's so weird that JLP has been allowed to continue on as AD overseeing a 13-year tournament drought and four head coaching failures.  Around here the skies were falling after three tourney misses.

Yes, most people's expectations here are that our program be better than DePaul's. Some (horrors and zounds!!!) dare to have expectations similar to Xavier's. A few total whack jobs see no reason that we can't be what Gonzaga or Villanova is. And many think that being entertaining and making the tournament some of the time is swell. Different strokes. All legit, I guess.

[mu03eng]

Actually, DePaul has been hanging tough with teams all year and even beat Oregon.  Last night was a horrible shooting night for DePaul.  Just one game sample.  That game at DePaul could prove to be quite a bit harder.  I would give Leitao a longer rope here.  Again, it was one game.

If by horrible shooting you mean, a little bit below their typical average then you are 100% correct. Their eFG% is 289th in the country....they shoot the ball horribly on the regular.

[MU82]

Yes, most people's expectations here are that our program be better than DePaul's. Some (horrors and zounds!!!) dare to have expectations similar to Xavier's. A few total whack jobs see no reason that we can't be what Gonzaga or Villanova is. And many think that being entertaining and making the tournament some of the time is swell. Different strokes. All legit, I guess.

Lenny:

We absolutely should aspire to at least Xavier-level success, and it is reasonable to believe that we could get to the level of Villanova and Gonzaga. We were pretty much there under Buzz, so it's obviously reasonable to think it could happen again.

Realistically, when a coach bails and leaves a bare cupboard, it takes time to rebuild. The realist in me is happy with the progress Wojo has made - 20 wins 2nd year; NCAAs 3rd (and hopefully 4th) year; postseason success (hopefully) 5th year and beyond. Having such an entertaining team is definitely a plus IMHO - sports are supposed to be entertainment.

As much as I love MU hoops and want us to be huge on the national scene again, I can't climb on the ledge every time we have a bad game - or even a bad season. It's basketball. Thankfully, most (not all, but most) Scoopers have other things to give our lives meaning.

I went to the Butler game, traveling from Charlotte to Indy for probably the only MU game I'll see in person this season. I was thrilled when we rallied to take the 67-60 lead. I was disappointed when we ended up losing (in the same arena where Villanova gave up 101 points in a loss just 2 weeks earlier). But I then had a fun weekend with my buddy and his family. A few hours after I got home from the trip, I watched our lads thrash DePaul. That's life, baby!

Those pining for Al-level success ... well, it's a different world. This just in: Other coaches go into inner cities to recruit black players now.

[jsglow]

Lenny:

We absolutely should aspire to at least Xavier-level success, and it is reasonable to believe that we could get to the level of Villanova and Gonzaga. We were pretty much there under Buzz, so it's obviously reasonable to think it could happen again.

Realistically, when a coach bails and leaves a bare cupboard, it takes time to rebuild. The realist in me is happy with the progress Wojo has made - 20 wins 2nd year; NCAAs 3rd (and hopefully 4th) year; postseason success (hopefully) 5th year and beyond. Having such an entertaining team is definitely a plus IMHO - sports are supposed to be entertainment.

As much as I love MU hoops and want us to be huge on the national scene again, I can't climb on the ledge every time we have a bad game - or even a bad season. It's basketball. Thankfully, most (not all, but most) Scoopers have other things to give our lives meaning.

I went to the Butler game, traveling from Charlotte to Indy for probably the only MU game I'll see in person this season. I was thrilled when we rallied to take the 67-60 lead. I was disappointed when we ended up losing (in the same arena where Villanova gave up 101 points in a loss just 2 weeks earlier). But I then had a fun weekend with my buddy and his family. A few hours after I got home from the trip, I watched our lads thrash DePaul. That's life, baby!

Those pining for Al-level success ... well, it's a different world. This just in: Other coaches go into inner cities to recruit black players now.

Well said 82.  Road trip to MKE sometime.  You'll enjoy yourself.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Yes, most people's expectations here are that our program be better than DePaul's. Some (horrors and zounds!!!) dare to have expectations similar to Xavier's. A few total whack jobs see no reason that we can't be what Gonzaga or Villanova is. And many think that being entertaining and making the tournament some of the time is swell. Different strokes. All legit, I guess.

Strawman.

There is little disagreement on what MU should aspire to; however, not everyone agrees how fast they should reasonably be expected to get there after a total teardown.

[Markusquette]

If anything this game actually made me more optimistic in a sense. Sam is emerging as truly the best player on the team.  I can see why Wojo said he's the smartest player he's ever coached. If Joey has similar basketball IQ....imagine them on the court together next year. Look out.

 To see continued progression from our young guys is promising. If Markus was sick + Rowsey had an off shooting night and we still destroyed Depaul it's a good sign. Yeah it's Depaul, but games like this help guys like Harry, Theo, Jamal, Matt, Sacar and Greg build confidence. We rely on our scoring back court a lot. Thought Rowsey distributed well and he did match 5 turnovers with 5 steals at least.

Nice to get some fast break points (Sacar's steal and dunk, Jamal in transition, Sam pulling up for three, etc).  It's refreshing to watch us pass into the post. All three of our biggest guys have some go-to moves and a variety of skills. Harry is going to get more and more comfortable. Theo is no longer picking up fouls when screening while maintaining his aggressiveness around the hoop. I love watching this team.

[hairy worthen]

Yes, most people's expectations here are that our program be better than DePaul's. Some (horrors and zounds!!!) dare to have expectations similar to Xavier's. A few total whack jobs see no reason that we can't be what Gonzaga or Villanova is. And many think that being entertaining and making the tournament some of the time is swell. Different strokes. All legit, I guess.

Explain why Marquette cant have Villanova type success? What does Villanova have that MU doesn't?  I believe MU will eventually be what Nova is. (Gonzaga is not a fair comparison) That doesn't make me a whack job.

[jesmu84]

Explain why Marquette cant have Villanova type success? What does Villanova have that MU doesn't?  I believe MU will eventually be what Nova is. (Gonzaga is not a fair comparison) That doesn't make me a whack job.

A head coach that has been there for 16 years. That continuity is the difference