beThune-cOokman (note the highlighted TO)

[We R Final Four]

Anybody who isn't excited about Joey's present and future, probably has never touched a basketball before (like the kid in the Qdoba shootout).

Joey can handle the ball and get to the basket in ways that others his size cannot.  As much as I love Sam, as a freshman he couldn't create or handle the ball like Joey, and might not be able to now.  Sam it a deadly outside shooter, but the team is giving the ball to Joey on the block and letting him go to work (on a regular basis).  He is quickly becoming a matchup nightmare, and I guarantee we will see him score 20+ points before the non-conference is over.  His coming out party will be here soon.

Ha—yes.....that was an impressive display.
0-8 from 6' was unbelievable.

[MU82]

Couldn't watch the game because my streaming service didn't give me access to FS2. Listened to the first half on MU feed ... oy, Tony Smith ... but that's another thread.

Listening to the first half, reading comments here, looking at box score, etc, I definitely don't come away thinking Joey is struggling. He had a line like Partridge In Pear Tree: 8 FGA, 7 Reb, 6 Asst, 5 TO, 4 FG, 3 PF, 2 FT and a ...

Morrow had a decent stat line, although rebs were low (2) and TOs were high (4).

Surprised to see Theo played only 10 mins.

It's really hard to make many concrete evaluations based on two devourings of cupcakes, except that we do have talent and depth.

Looking forward to getting a look at how our lads do against a real team on the road. Might not be ready for it yet ... but we'll see Wed!

[Mutaman]

Surprised to see Theo played only 10 mins.

As I recall he picked up two early fouls in first and a third early in second so thats why his time was limited. This could be a problem. But when he is out there he is a man against boys- a very confident aggressive man.

[wadesworld]

Will never forget this E:60 feature.

https://vimeo.com/160187880

Don't know why we need to make fun of a kid for not making basketball shots.  Sure, if a professional or college athlete makes an awful play it's kind of funny because they're obviously better than that or they wouldn't be where they are.  But you don't know what the kid's story was from the Qdoba shot today.  Maybe he was like Scot Parks and once played but got sick and physically can't make those same shots.  Or maybe he just never played basketball but got into rooting for the team when he got to MU.  Seems cool to me.  And if that's the case, how many people here would agree to go out and do something they've never done in their life, knew they wouldn't be good at, and do it in front of 10-15 thousand people who are interested in that thing?  I know I wouldn't.

[brewcity77]

Anybody who isn't excited about Joey's present and future, probably has never touched a basketball before (like the kid in the Qdoba shootout).

I'm excited for Joey's present and future. I still wish he'd knock the coast to coast crap off. He'll get there, but he isn't there yet.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Y'all, we just beat a team by 33. Last season teams like Eastern Illinois were taking us to overtime. Our Big East brethren are struggling to put away teams like Evansville and Central Connecticut. You got to enjoy yourselves more.

On the turnovers. Last season, Bethune-Cookman was #3 in the nation in adjusted tempo. Why? They forced a lot of turnovers. They returned almost every player from that team. Should we have given up 22 turnovers to them? No. Was it as bad as it looks on paper? No.

The first three games have given me nothing but optimism for the season. It's an exhibition and two cupcakes so I am not buying final four tickets or anything, but I am surprised that most of the comments here seem to indicate disappointment with today's performance.

[Marcus92]

We definitely need Markus to get teammates involved. It's worth noting that through 2 games, he's more than doubled his assist rate from last season. (He's currently ranked in the top 30 in the country according to KenPom).

[brewcity77]

Markus is also the #3 player in the nation per Pomeroy at the moment (that will fluctuate a lot). More impressive, 4 of the top 6 will be in Brooklyn (1-Dedric Lawson, 2-Grant Williams, 6-Udoka Azubuike).

[BM1090]

Thought Wojo's pressee today was very good. Funny moment with his son at the end. He has come off as extremely genuine and likable recently which hasn't always been the case.

[Jockey]

He was 100% chasing the 50 burger hard today.  And he wasn't trying to hide it.  He was waving his arms wildly pretty often when he was off the ball to call for it.

I've always heard the basketball mantra - "avoid the hot hand".

Guys like Howard and Kemba are just ball hogs


I agree with a couple guys here. LIGHTEN UP, people. These games, while far from perfect, went exactly as they should. Two easy blowouts that allowed Wojo to play all kinds of combinations to get us ready for BE play.

[jsglow]

'We turned it over.  And we had 3 guys on the court that quit on the play and one guy that didn't. And his name was Ed Morrow.'

NEVER give up the rim.  So refreshing.

[MU82]

Y'all, we just beat a team by 33. Last season teams like Eastern Illinois were taking us to overtime. Our Big East brethren are struggling to put away teams like Evansville and Central Connecticut. You got to enjoy yourselves more.

Bravo, TAMU!

Enjoy the journey, folks!

[tower912]

Definitely first world problems.     4 talented newcomers.    3 have not played organized basketball lately.  Trying to find their niche.   Of course there are glitches and room for improvement.    But it is obvious that there is a commitment to defense.  And it is obvious they want to play team basketball.    It will take time. 

[GGGG]

Y'all, we just beat a team by 33. Last season teams like Eastern Illinois were taking us to overtime. Our Big East brethren are struggling to put away teams like Evansville and Central Connecticut. You got to enjoy yourselves more.

On the turnovers. Last season, Bethune-Cookman was #3 in the nation in adjusted tempo. Why? They forced a lot of turnovers. They returned almost every player from that team. Should we have given up 22 turnovers to them? No. Was it as bad as it looks on paper? No.

The first three games have given me nothing but optimism for the season. It's an exhibition and two cupcakes so I am not buying final four tickets or anything, but I am surprised that most of the comments here seem to indicate disappointment with today's performance.

Amen brother. Very little of substance to complain about. We are well set for Wednesday.

[fjm]

Thought it was a great overall win. I thought Joey played just fine! His stat line is solid also!

Bad TO's that we HAVE to fix. I am very encouraged! Now having said that, I'm not trying to be a Debbie downer but I don't see us winning this Wednesday at IU.

[Big Papi]

We definitely need Markus to get teammates involved. It's worth noting that through 2 games, he's more than doubled his assist rate from last season. (He's currently ranked in the top 30 in the country according to KenPom).

After the game 1 shooting performance, we needed Marcus to get going.  It was great to see him get hot from deep and show off his repertoire. We will need nights when he has to carry the team offensively and go for 30 plus points a game.

[MomofMUltiples]

When Markus is shooting the way he was yesterday, I want the ball in his hands all the time! We shouldn't be complaining when he's dropping everything within 20 feet of the basket. If he were hogging the ball and missing, Wojo would pull him out.

I don't know about hero ball, but I am really comfortable watching Joey bring the ball up the court. Solid ball handler. Now, could he pass it more instead of dribbling into traffic in the middle? Probably. But I bet in a couple years watching Joey go end to end will be a thing of beauty.

[We R Final Four]

Amen brother. Very little of substance to complain about. We are well set for Wednesday.

Agree with first statement.
Disagree with second.

[GGGG]

Agree with first statement.
Disagree with second.

The statements go hand-in-hand so...

[skianth16]

Couldn't watch the game because my streaming service didn't give me access to FS2. Listened to the first half on MU feed ... oy, Hall of Famer (!)Tony Smith ... but that's another thread.

FIFY

If you turned this into a drinking game, it would end very poorly. Very quickly, and very poorly.

[CTWarrior]

It seems like everyone is playing like they're playing for minutes instead of making the right play for the offense.

I have no way of knowing if this is true, but this it what it feels like to me, too.

[CTWarrior]

On the turnovers. Last season, Bethune-Cookman was #3 in the nation in adjusted tempo. Why? They forced a lot of turnovers. They returned almost every player from that team. Should we have given up 22 turnovers to them? No. Was it as bad as it looks on paper? No.

I thought most of the turnovers were self-inflicted and not caused by the defense.  Just us trying some unnecessarily difficult passes and mishandling some good passes.  Feels like some of the new guys, particularly Chartouny, are pressing a bit.  No big deal.

I'm certainly not disappointed with the results, and I especially like the focus on defense.  I never expect too much early from freshmen, and the important thing is that it is obvious that Hauser the Younger and Bailey know what they are doing on the floor.  They'll be quite good as they get more game reps.  They're good now.  Good test Wednesday against a borderline top 25 team on the road. 

[DCHoopster]

I thought most of the turnovers were self-inflicted and not caused by the defense.  Just us trying some unnecessarily difficult passes and mishandling some good passes.  Feels like some of the new guys, particularly Chartouny, are pressing a bit.  No big deal.

I'm certainly not disappointed with the results, and I especially like the focus on defense.  I never expect too much early from freshmen, and the important thing is that it is obvious that Hauser the Younger and Bailey know what they are doing on the floor.  They'll be quite good as they get more game reps.  They're good now.  Good test Wednesday against a borderline top 25 team on the road.

Last few years there has been so called buy games that MU barely won.  Remember Belmont?  How about Chicago St.?  Finally MU played like a real Top 30 team with
2 blow-outs.  Sure there were some issues, but the D was way better than last year.  MU is long, take Rowsey out add Bailey, add Theo and Morrow take out Matt, and they are much quicker and stronger.  Indiana will be a good test, but I look at 45 days to get better to get ready for the conference.  These games really help the
strength of schedule.  Have to beat Wisco, K-State and Buffalo at home, maybe win a game in Brooklyn, if MU does that they will have a fine season.

[MUfan12]

Last few years there has been so called buy games that MU barely won.  Remember Belmont?  How about Chicago St.?

Chicago State? The one where they broke the school record for threes and won by almost 30?

[wadesworld]

Last few years there has been so called buy games that MU barely won.  Remember Belmont?  How about Chicago St.?  Finally MU played like a real Top 30 team with
2 blow-outs.  Sure there were some issues, but the D was way better than last year.  MU is long, take Rowsey out add Bailey, add Theo and Morrow take out Matt, and they are much quicker and stronger.  Indiana will be a good test, but I look at 45 days to get better to get ready for the conference.  These games really help the
strength of schedule.  Have to beat Wisco, K-State and Buffalo at home, maybe win a game in Brooklyn, if MU does that they will have a fine season.

If MU wins those 3 games and wins a game in Brooklyn they will be no worse than a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.