Walking it back, 2018-19 season

[tower912]

I bumped a couple of threads from after the IU game where some.....um......'interesting' takes were given.     But, honestly, we all say dumb stuff from time to time.    So, in this thread, the mulligans.     What dumb thing would you like to walk back?

In the 'who should red-shirt' thread, I advocated having Theo John red shirt, as I thought the combination of Matt, Morrow, and Ike would be adequate and Theo could use the season off to work on his jump shot and ball handling.   

Yeah, in hindsight, that was about as wrong as I could have been.   

[Warrior of Law]

I pegged this team as a 10-8 bubble team after the blowout at St. John's (0-1 in BE).  Stealing the @Creighton game seemed to change everything.  MU was 1-1 at the time, and less than a second away from 1-2.

[wadesworld]

This season has gone mostly as I expected.  I expected more out of Ed, but part of that is Theo being much better than expected.

I hope in about 10 and a half hours I can walk back my loss at Butler in the preseason predictions thread.

[pbiflyer]

Nice thread.

Early in the second half of the Louisville game I was attending, I complained that we are making the same stupid mistakes we have been making for years and I don't see us getting better. Oppsie!

[Skatastrophy]

I did not expect this team to be anything besides Markus Howard hero ball. I expected Theo to regress to playing wild and the Hausers to be unproductive if they had to carry the team on their backs.

I have to say I'm the most impressed with Theo. He has a duality about him where he brings an intensity and aggressiveness to every play, but that never seems to spill over after the whistle is blown. He doesn't snap at refs and he's respectful to coaches even after some BS just happened to him. He seems very emotionally mature.

[connie]

After 4 years of pathetic defense where we often looked confused, I seriously questioned the coaching staff's ability to teach basic concepts (even as I watched Wojo consistently freak out over these very mistakes).  Nothing to walk back, but I need to give credit where it is due, and this year, for whatever reason, it appears that everyone is on the same page and playing as a team.  Well done coaches!

[MU82]

I was overly excited about the prospects of JCS and Cain, and I probably underestimated what Sacar would bring to the table. Otherwise, as an optimist, I'm happy that I so far have been rewarded for my optimism.

Only my opinion, of course, but being optimistic really is a much better way to go through life.

[MUfan12]

I'll admit, I was hard on Markus as a PG. He's been a better distributor than I anticipated.

[THRILLHO]

I didn't think the defense would improve as much as it has. I was mildly optimistic after the first few cupcake games but then after Indiana I started to fear it hadn't improved at all. Thankfully it has continued to improve. It may be more consistent than our offense?

I thought that Markus would always be an average-at-best distributer, and his prime contribution as a PG was just that having the ball in his hands at all times would make him a constant threat. He had some bad turnovers in the first few games that made me think it might not event be worth it, and that teams would figure us out and just send pressure to force TOs. Then he had a lot of "heat check" type shots even in spots where we wasn't hot yet and I was worried about his decision-making as lead guard. But he has steadily improved all throughout the year at both. He is better at reading pressure and using teammates (Sam is really good at this, I've noticed him directing traffic the last few games).  I think the game against Xavier was his best in terms of decision-making, letting other guys go to work more and not having any overly hasty shots.

[1SE]

[1SE]

But seriously, I thought for sure Markus' style would "lose" us games. So far he/Wojo seem to realize when it's an off night and others have been able to step up. A very pleasant surprise.

[1SE]

And, granted, an "off-night" for Markus now seems to be 24 pts and 6 rebs....

[Marqevans]

After 4 years of pathetic defense where we often looked confused, I seriously questioned the coaching staff's ability to teach basic concepts (even as I watched Wojo consistently freak out over these very mistakes).  Nothing to walk back, but I need to give credit where it is due, and this year, for whatever reason, it appears that everyone is on the same page and playing as a team.  Well done coaches!

Height has cured a lot of ills on defense!

[LloydsLegs]

Me, in response to 11/24 post of Wades saying that “Nova will be fine.”  (Now I would argue that Nova is playing like a top 10 team)

“Agree that inconsistency in November is fine, and that Nova has a lot of new guys to acclimate, but I’m  not so sure that they’ll be fine. I guess it depends on what “fine” is.

 Only went 8 men deep, with no contributions from the bench (4 points).  With the talent they had last year, they could get away with that- not this year.  They’ll still be good, and I think they finish top 3 in conference and top 25 overall.  But they are not a top 10 team.

And Quinerly is in Wright’s doghouse- has not demonstrated any buy-in to Nova’s culture.  He has had several DNP coach’s decisions, including today. “

[goldeneagle91114]

After the Indiana game I questioned If wojo was ready for prime time. with 10 seconds left in the Creighton game i told a buddy that Wojo teams were extremely soft.

Both blew up in my face!!!:)

[brewcity77]

Going back through comments, even when I was critical, I don't think I was unfair. That said, I was wrong about Howard as a PG and really oversold Chartouny. I thought he would be a 25 mpg starter that changed our defensive footprint. He's had value, but not nearly as much as I expected.

[cheebs09]

Nice thread.

Early in the second half of the Louisville game I was attending, I complained that we are making the same stupid mistakes we have been making for years and I don't see us getting better. Oppsie!

I had similar thoughts. I figured this team still made the same mistakes and the defense was going to still be poor whenever we played a high major.

Glad to see I was wrong. That Louisville win was really big. I feel that first high major win of the year is always tough, and that relaxed the guys and helped with the run of wins beating Number 12 ranked teams.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I thought the ceiling for this team was a 6 seed.  But then again,  I didn't expect the Louisville and Wisconsin wins to be as good as they are.

[MU82]

At the time, I thought the Louisville game was going to be the biggest of the entire season. Nothing that has happened since has changed my mind.

In addition to doing a lot for our resume, I believe (though obviously can't prove) that it did a lot for the psyche of the team.

[MomofMUltiples]

I stayed away from Scoop for several days after the Indiana and Saint John's losses.  Come to think of it, that was a great idea.  I'm not walking it back.

[MU82]

I stayed away from Scoop for several days after the Indiana and Saint John's losses.  Come to think of it, that was a great idea.  I'm not walking it back.

Same, especially Indiana. There's just nothing to gain from an optimist visiting this site after those kinds of games. I never look at live game threads, either. I mean, the only thing worse than instant analysis after a game is instant analysis after every offensive or defensive possession!

[tower912]

Same, especially Indiana. There's just nothing to gain from an optimist visiting this site after those kinds of games. I never look at live game threads, either. I mean, the only thing worse than instant analysis after a game is instant analysis after every offensive or defensive possession!

I get that position.   But every now and then, when you counsel patience and big picture, it pays off.   

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Hmm, looking back at the Indiana thread I was gushing about Rob Phinesee, thought Indiana had found a diamond in the rough. He's been okay since then.

I also said a couple of times that Wojo could assemble a good roster but wasn't convinced he could make it better than the sum of its parts. Still not convinced, lots of season left, but he is changing my mind.

[brewcity77]

There's just nothing to gain from an optimist visiting this site after those kinds of games.

I disagree. I am definitely an optimist:

Non-conference: 11-2
Big East: 15-3 (1st)

26-5 regular season
2-1 Big East Tournament
2-seed NCAA
Elite 8

I think there's value in having those discussions. Getting the perspective of the dismayed fans can let you know your own thoughts on what warrants concern and there's value in taking on negativity.

And on those occasions where it all comes up roses, it's nice to be able to go back and see when you were a candle in the dark.

[DoctorV]

I made the trip to NYC/Brooklyn for my wife to check out the big apple as a first timer and to attend the preseason NIT. With that loaded field and high hopes for Marquette this season, I was really looking forward to it. I have always thought Markus was going to be a BE POY type, and after the first half of Kansas I was on an ultimate high because everything I was hoping for was right before my eyes.

Then the second half happened, and the first 3/4 of the Louisville game happened. I nearly lost it. I went on a massive rant and in an effort to ‘reverse jinx’ the season took off all of my MU gear at the Barclays Center, including my marquette shoes, and spent most of the second half just letting Wojo have it and wondering if he should be fired on the spot.

Needless to say the Kansas fans around me were terrified and the wife probably wondered why she chose me. The end of that game was awesome and much needed- seeing Stan give Markus a huge hug at the end helped me step off the ledge. That overreaction was my biggest regret. 

Marquette was minutes away from going 3-3 and is now 18-3 fifteen games later, who woulda thunk it?