Morrow and Joe C.

[nyg]

I know its only been three games, but before you know it, it will be five.

Prior to the season, from what was discussed, from prior statistics and from the fact both played Division I hoops, I honestly thought:

Morrow - would be the PF that MU needed so badly over the years.  Someone who would be an intimidator, play defense and rebounds with authority.  His big Ten stats were very impressive and he would complement Sam Hauser on the front line, letting Sam go back to the SF position.  So far, Morrow has looked like a reserve on a Div II team.  I can't put my finger on it, but is he slow, clumsy, whatever?  He has played three games and has three total rebounds.  He has seven turnovers......Wojo has benched him most of the time.

Joe C. - I guess he was the playmaker, the point guard, the defensive specialist, the 6ft 3 200 lb big guard MU needed. Well, thats not working out too good.  When you are on the bench, you can't guard anybody. Like Morrow, he has seen a lengthy bench time and through three games he has yet to score a field goal, yes, not one basket.  He has four total points on free throws. 

Again, its only been three games, but with what we have observed, it is apparent to this point that expectations might be a tad bit high.  Things might changed, but along with the other pre season hyped player Bailey, MU is getting nothing at this point from three players expected to make a huge difference to this season.

Were the expectations too high and do you think they can turn something around?

[manny31]

Some subsequent poster will point out that Carlino, Lockette,Rhienhardt(sp) all took a while to get going and wound up making great contributions. True.
The IU transfer from St. Mary's didn't seem to have the problem our transfers do, why is that? Honest question....

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Just got in from the game. 

Morrow is no good, undersized, under athletic, and has zero offensive accumen.  He was supposed to be able to rebound?, does he have one this year?

Chatouney struggled the first two games but i thought he was solid tonight.  Made some really nice passes and no turnovers that i recall.  Marcus is every bit as horrendous at point guard this year as he has been the last two.  Chartouney must play PG or this season is over. Chartouney plays good intial on ball defense against the opposing point guard.  Howard allows him to run down the lane.  Chartouney also guarded Langford at timess and hung with him.  Is he a great dynamic scorer?  Heck no, but  if he started tonight we are prolly not down 15 at the first tv timeout because our PG cannot dribble n trys to split double teams the whole time

[Mutaman]

 undersized

He's 6'7' 235. That's undersized? Damn. If he isn't any good how did he put up 9 points and 7 rebounds a game in the Big 10?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

He's 6'7' 235. That's undersized? Damn. If he isn't any good how did he put up 9 points and 7 rebounds a game in the Big 10?

I've been trying to figure that out. Something is off there. He was much better at Nebraska.

[94Warrior]

Just got in from the game. 

Morrow is no good, undersized, under athletic, and has zero offensive accumen.  He was supposed to be able to rebound?, does he have one this year?

Chatouney struggled the first two games but i thought he was solid tonight.  Made some really nice passes and no turnovers that i recall.  Marcus is every bit as horrendous at point guard this year as he has been the last two.  Chartouney must play PG or this season is over. Chartouney plays good intial on ball defense against the opposing point guard.  Howard allows him to run down the lane.  Chartouney also guarded Langford at timess and hung with him.  Is he a great dynamic scorer?  Heck no, but  if he started tonight we are prolly not down 15 at the first tv timeout because our PG cannot dribble n trys to split double teams the whole time

I agree with everything you said about Chartouney.  He absolutely needs to start and play big minutes.  The team can't start a road team against a good opponent by kicking the ball away on 3 of the first 4 possessions.
 Joe's on ball defense alone makes a big difference.  And, offensively he can set the table for others.  Howard is far better off the ball on both ends of the floor.  I am sorry but Markus is not a point guard, and Wojo, being one, should know that.

Morrow, I'll give him some more time.

[JakeBarnes]

He's 6'7' 235. That's undersized? Damn. If he isn't any good how did he put up 9 points and 7 rebounds a game in the Big 10?

he didnt play the 5.

[CountryRoads]

Agree with some others that JC is the key piece to this team. He needs to play because he is the only PG on the roster. I think he’ll gain some confidence over the next few games.

Ed looks terrible. Looks and plays about 6’4. Concerning for a fourth year junior.

[Mutaman]

he didnt play the 5.

Well that doesn't mean "he isn't any good".

[JakeBarnes]

Well that doesn't mean "he isn't any good".

undersized for his position. Never said he wasnt good. but he didnt play 5 thst much at nebrasketball.

[DCHoopster]

I agree with everything you said about Chartouney.  He absolutely needs to start and play big minutes.  The team can't start a road team against a good opponent by kicking the ball away on 3 of the first 4 possessions.
 Joe's on ball defense alone makes a big difference.  And, offensively he can set the table for others.  Howard is far better off the ball on both ends of the floor.  I am sorry but Markus is not a point guard, and Wojo, being one, should know that.

Morrow, I'll give him some more time.

Joe can dribble but can not make a play off the dribble, that is playing 4 on 5.  Did not take or really look for his shot,  that is 3 games I have seen so far and has not
made a shot.  Hard to believe.  Markus showed he has a long way to go to becoming a point guard.  Let him learn from the first 5 minutes of the game.  This is what
these early season games are for.  Indiana playing in Milwaukee would not have shot 65 percent, but at home, in front of 17,000, it can and did.

[94Warrior]

We don't need him to shoot, we need him to facilitate and slow down the other teams point guard.  He does those two things better than anyone on the roster.

[WarriorFan]

joe C is a big Derrick Wilson.  No shot, slow, but a better passer.  Right now he clearly has no confidence.  He needs to start and get minutes.

I don't see any spark of anything in Morrow . He doesn't play big, can't board, doesn't get position, nothing special on D, has no hops and is very slow.  he deserves splinters.

[DCHoopster]

We don't need him to shoot, we need him to facilitate and slow down the other teams point guard.  He does those two things better than anyone on the roster.

I played point, and was smaller than Rowsey, but if they played off me I could shoot the ball so they had to play me straight up.   When we played a point that did not
have any O, and there was many I doubled the best player and that effectively took that player out of the game.  Can not play with a point that shows no O, even Derrick and Junior could score a tad.  Sure he can bring the ball up the court but to me he is out of his league, not sure how he scored 12 a game at Fordham,  They
must have really sucked.

[Silent Verbal]

Morrow averaged 9 and 7 on a Nebraska team that finished 12-19.  Juan Anderson averaged 8 and 6 on that first Wojo team.  It’s too early to call Morrow a bust, but perhaps his sophomore numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.

[skianth16]

I played point, and was smaller than Rowsey, but if they played off me I could shoot the ball so they had to play me straight up.   When we played a point that did not
have any O, and there was many I doubled the best player and that effectively took that player out of the game.  Can not play with a point that shows no O, even Derrick and Junior could score a tad.  Sure he can bring the ball up the court but to me he is out of his league, not sure how he scored 12 a game at Fordham,  They
must have really sucked.

I agree with all of this. Joe is needed for his ball-handling and defense, but if he continues to pose zero scoring threat, Markus or Sam will be double teamed all year long. Although at this point,  that might be a better pill to swallow than having Markus running point and turning the ball over so often.

Joe not starting and having no confidence, Jamal's limited playing time and limited offensive production, Morrow and Bailey struggling to find roles on the team.... these all point at Wojo in my opinion. Lots of things need to improve for us to contend in the Big East, and Wojo may be the most important right now.

[NorthernDancerColt]

I agree with all of this. Joe is needed for his ball-handling and defense, but if he continues to pose zero scoring threat, Markus or Sam will be double teamed all year long. Although at this point,  that might be a better pill to swallow than having Markus running point and turning the ball over so often.

Joe not starting and having no confidence, Jamal's limited playing time and limited offensive production, Morrow and Bailey struggling to find roles on the team.... these all point at Wojo in my opinion. Lots of things need to improve for us to contend in the Big East, and Wojo may be the most important right now.

There was a quote from Coach Miller earlier this week in the Indy paper relating how surprised he was that his guys haven't fallen victim to the typical early season pathology plaguing many good teams....namely, of failure to really move on offense and rotate the basketball. When I read this, I knew trouble was on the horizon, as our offense has indeed showed these tell-tale early flaws. Many cupcake-fed examples of over- dribbling and ball-stagnation. Against the UMBCs and Bethune-Cookmans of the world, it didn't matter. Coach Miller also succeeded in making Markus a passer alright....right to the guys in the cream and crimson.

[Charlotte Warrior]

Multiple Choice Question

What is our takeaway from yesterday?

1.) Our defense is in its normal mid-season form.
2.) We've got a coach who knows how to get the best out of his players.
3.) Kansas will punk us more than its IU IU.
4.) Its gonna be a long year, we'll be lucky to squeak into the tourney.
5.) Our recruits continually under perform their ranking due to poor coaching.
6.) We'll turn it around this next week, the game was a one off.
7.) We don't need to worry about our coach bolting for Duke.
8.) Yesterday was really really bad for the BEAST.   Our "two top ranked" teams got both got embarrassed and dismantled on national TV.
9.) Coach can mange and recruit a team well, but he is a terrible terrible game and fundamentals teacher and motivator.
10.) How many games can someone play without losing a year of eligibility?
11.) Again this year - we are so unlucky that each opponent has its best shooting day against us
12.) Again this year the refs hate us and don't call it both ways.
13.) At least it was over early so that we could go to bed and get a good nights sleep.   

[4everwarriors]

This is all on Wojo. He looks like a deer in the headlights and his defense sucks ass. I questioning his talent evaluating ability and his ability to field a complete, high major competitive team. MU looked lost and completely out coached by Archie. Look for Kansas and Louisville/Tennessee to lay another embarassing ass kicking on Wojo.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Morrow averaged 9 and 7 on a Nebraska team that finished 12-19.  Juan Anderson averaged 8 and 6 on that first Wojo team.  It’s too early to call Morrow a bust, but perhaps his sophomore numbers should be taken with a grain of salt.

Don't use basic stats, they will lead you astray

[MUBigDance]

Markus without a handle = No NBA

so I wonder if he was promised point guard minutes toward this end.

Right now MU needs a different PG and the NBA will find other guys.

[Lighthouse 84]

Ed looks tentative and lost on the floor, like he's still trying to figure out where to be.  He's gotten called for traveling way too many times and doesn't appear to be in the right position.

Joe's just not BEast speed, though his defense is needed.

[tower912]

Patience.   The alternative is to cancel the rest of the season.

[Oregon Warrior]

he didnt play the 5.

He primarily played the 5. That was one of the reasons he decided to transfer.

I agree with everything being said about both thus far but I’ll reserve judgement until later in the season. I remember watching Rowsey struggle in his first few games. Lockett and Reinhardt were the same way. Some kids just take longer to adjust

[shoothoops]

Thus far, the game is moving too quickly for some of MU’s new faces. Lots of time to improve upon that.