Murray State.... and beyond.

[willie warrior]

1.  I had the foresight to park in the Front Street district away from the heavily congested XL.
2.  The rain in Hartford held off.
3.  Next week baseball season starts.
4.  It was great to see NYWarrior and JT92 who I have not seen in awhile.
5.  I had a great conversation with some alumni from Boston and St. Louis over a beer at City Steam. Thanks for coming to town.  And had fun at the game with the Alum and his son who I went with.
6.  Is it a Kentucky and basketball thing as I thought there were surprisingly a ton of Murray State fans.
7. This totally sucks horribly losing, but we were at least there and  this team should be way better next year as everyone should improve and we have players coming in who should help fill the known defecencies.

Yup. We will be way better next year. Wash and repeat. Same coach, same players  more of same. Wojo will be the man for eternity because ee cannot dare to look elsewhere, or dare to objectively look at the 
Crap performance.

[CleanishProgram]

Waking up this morning, I am surprised at how ticked off I still am about our pathetic performance yesterday. We are a laughing stock all throughout the media.

“We are...A Joke!”

There are gifs of Ja Morant murdering Joey Hauser on that nasty dunk (‘Ja Murders some White Dude’)

The only upside is, the typical slant is how amazing Ja Morant looked rather than how inept we looked, but the Maruqtte players are the rodeo clowns.

The part that upsets me is, the players gave up on this game and on this coach. And Marquette’s leadership will do nothing about it. When the Packers gave up on McCarthy after the loss to the Cardinals, Mark fired his ass because he knew the players were trying to tell him something. Wojo deserves the same.

[CTWarrior]

I have an idea of some things Wojo could’ve done. First stop collapsing on Ja when they were hitting open shots. Our gameplan wasn’t working. You have to change it up. Second play Markus off the ball more and let Sacar run some point. Third do a better job taking advantage of our size. Play through the post every possession. Fourth play more zone. We did one possession and got a stop. Last I would’ve played Heldt. He couldn’t have done worse. He’s very disciplined on D and stays home. He also would’ve done a better job boxing out.

The only thing Wojo couldn’t do was stick the an obvious bad game plan hoping it would magically start working

Our half court defense wasn't great but what killed us was our transition defense.  Ill advised shots, turnovers and poor rebounding led to countless runouts that led to scores or fouls.  Our panicked offense led to our constantly not being rotated properly for transition defense.  Howard was a big perpetrator, but I understand why Wojo is loathe to get after him too much because we have nobody else who can remotely handle the ball against defensive pressure.

[geps]

Would Murray State have won the Big East? Legit question and scary.

[CTWarrior]

For all of you saying athleticism will help...SJU was one of the most athletic teams in the country, where did that get them?? Wojo's comments in the JS article really REALLY piss me off even more...talked about having to "examine" why they didn't pkay well the last 7 games of the season...Uhhh you should have had that figured out after the 2nd straight loss...more proof he has no idea what he's doing.

SJU had no size, no depth and no discipline.  Yet they beat us 2 out of 3.  Athleticism goes a long way, but of course it is not the only thing.

[connie]

MU needs more playmakers and creators.  Today showed it.  It seems unbalanced rosters is a Wojo thing. MU current and future rosters need to get more athletic and stronger.

Will he recruit and land Chicagoland hs kids?  Will he land any of the Milwaukee area studs?

Last year we needed more size.  Size was the issue, and more size coming in would lead us to the promised land.  This year it's speed.  I flushed my memory of two and three years ago, but know we were in "cubbard is bare" territory or "Henry unbalanced us" or some other excuse.  After 5 years I think we can just cut to the bone: Every college team is going to have a deficiency.  Good coaches adjust to minimize theirs and capitalize on their strengths.  I thought WOJO might be getting to this point, but the end of this season demonstrates that was just wishful thinking.

[RJax55]

Last year we needed more size.  Size was the issue, and more size coming in would lead us to the promised land.  This year it's speed.  I flushed my memory of two and three years ago, but know we were in "cubbard is bare" territory or "Henry unbalanced us" or some other excuse.  After 5 years I think we can just cut to the bone: Every college team is going to have a deficiency.  Good coaches adjust to minimize theirs and capitalize on their strengths.  I thought WOJO might be getting to this point, but the end of this season demonstrates that was just wishful thinking.

Yep. Spot on post.

[Cheeks]

Waking up this morning, I am surprised at how ticked off I still am about our pathetic performance yesterday. We are a laughing stock all throughout the media.

“We are...A Joke!”

There are gifs of Ja Morant murdering Joey Hauser on that nasty dunk (‘Ja Murders some White Dude’)

The only upside is, the typical slant is how amazing Ja Morant looked rather than how inept we looked, but the Maruqtte players are the rodeo clowns.

The part that upsets me is, the players gave up on this game and on this coach. And Marquette’s leadership will do nothing about it. When the Packers gave up on McCarthy after the loss to the Cardinals, Mark fired his ass because he knew the players were trying to tell him something. Wojo deserves the same.

Who did MU lose to that was close to your example of the Cardinals?  Your analogy is so wildly off.  Our players certainly got frustrated, but they didn’t give up on the season like the Packers did....massive difference.  Also, McCarthy was trending down for several years, also completely opposite to MU. 

[GoldenEagle323]

0 toughness on this team, no chip, no fight

[Goose]

Golden
Lack of system, athleticism and talent is bigger issue.

[Cheeks]

0 toughness on this team, no chip, no fight

Go back one month and this board, along with a number of fans who say what you just did were praising the team and the fight it had after comebacks.....our fans have the memory of a 95 year old.

[NHMUFAN]

Wojo is not getting fired this week.

But he has 365 days to win an NCAA game, or he's 100% fired.

So there's that.

Sure hope that they don’t have a Friday opening day for the tournament next season or he’ll get fired night before game day....that would be awkward 😜

[Cheeks]

Would Murray State have won the Big East? Legit question and scary.

Could they?  Yes.  Would they shoot that well game in and game out?  That’s the question.

[Marcus92]

Wojo's brought in more athletic players the past two classes. But they're also our youngest players.

Ike (a redshirt sophomore next season) hasn't set foot on the court due to injury. Greg (another redshirt sophomore) played with an injury his freshman season and sat out all this year. Jamal looks like to me like the best athlete on the team -- but has also looked completely lost on the court.

That leaves Theo as the only player from that recruiting class who played significant minutes this season. He showed clear improvement, but remains foul-prone and needs to make better decisions on the court.

Bailey (a sophomore next season) is another high-level athlete. He showed enough this season to earn playing time off the bench as a defensive stopper. His decision-making on offense has been questionable at best.

Sacar has plenty of quickness and athleticism. He's the team's best defender for a reason -- he pays attention to the scouting report, works hard to stay between his man and the basket, and can defend without fouling. He's flashed offensive potential, but hasn't been consistent.

Next season, we lose two slower players (Matt Heldt and Joseph Chartouney) and should gain three quicker, more athletic players (Kobe McEwen, Dexter Akanno and Greg Elliott back from injury). Kobe and Greg will be expected to be big contributors, either starting or off the bench. Anything Dexter adds will be a bonus.

I'm less concerned with having enough athleticism and quickness. We need our most athletic players to stay healthy, for one. And we need them to make positive contributions, not jack up ill-advised shots or turn the ball over like it was hot.

[hairy worthen]

Go back one month and this board, along with a number of fans who say what you just did were praising the team and the fight it had after comebacks.....our fans have the memory of a 95 year old.

Right, well you just proved the assertion that Wojo failed. If they could play with toughness and win games except the last 7 or 8, then the players have the ability to succeed. The coaches didn’t get it out of them when it mattered most. The fact of the matter is they played like crap the last 7 or so games of the season. This isn’t a case of a hot mid major upset in the tournament. The injury and being tired argument is a joke. If they are healthy enough to play in the game then they need to perform. If being tired is an excuse in the biggest games of the year then this team is as soft as a marshmallow.

I am not one to over react and call for the coaches head every time they lose. But the coaching staff bears responsibility for this collapse no question. To claim otherwise you are sticking your head in the sand.

 And your repeated response of “Who are you going to get that is better” is a ridiculous argument fitting of the Chico way. Joe Schmo MUScoop poster isn’t the person who gets to pick the coaches. If a coach isn’t the right guy, then a change should be made. I am pretty sure there are plenty of qualified candidates.

[SERocks]

So life goes on and the world will not come to an end and MU basketball will reflect the expectations of the administration.

And I expect the only way the administration changes expectations will be a decline in interest at the door.  The new arena will help hold that off for a while....

[thekahoona]

This has been the single biggest problem since he has gotten here.

Yep.

I. I think it was the second St John's game during the regular season where they had Wojo mic'd up in a huddle and he was yelling at the team that they were allowing their offense to dictate their defense. He told them, "you're hanging your heads on a missed shot and losing a step on defense...knock it off!" In almost every loss this year, MU loses when they let their defense be affected by their offensive performance.

II. Someone up above said this team lacks toughness. Also agreed. In almost every loss there has been a critical turnover or series of bad shots that spark desperation... Al used to say that every team needs a "white-knuckler." As good as Howard is, he's not a white-knuckler. Every last second shot that has happened this year (and there were a couple) I chalk up to luck, not guts. There was a series of plays late in the second-half yesterday where it looked like the team was playing hot-potato...they looked like they weren't just moving the ball, they were getting rid of it.

[edit-addition] In the game yesterday there was a period in the first half where MU went on a nice little run... Everyone focuses on Marcus getting his second foul and sitting as the tipping point. Marcus' second foul also seems to have caused our team to stop rebounding the ball with serious physicality and aggression. Look at the tape, the team just stopped going aggressively to the glass - and it lasted the rest of the game.

In the off-season I hope Wojo can get a defensive mindset instilled in this team and find somebody to be the "un-rattle-able go to stud" when the game is on the line.

[mu_hilltopper]

Last year we needed more size.  Size was the issue, and more size coming in would lead us to the promised land.  This year it's speed.  I flushed my memory of two and three years ago, but know we were in "cubbard is bare" territory or "Henry unbalanced us" or some other excuse.  After 5 years I think we can just cut to the bone: Every college team is going to have a deficiency.  Good coaches adjust to minimize theirs and capitalize on their strengths.  I thought WOJO might be getting to this point, but the end of this season demonstrates that was just wishful thinking.

+1000.  This is entirely correct.

We should have a season-by-season wiki page on excuses, so we can keep them all straight.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

+1000.  This is entirely correct.

We should have a season-by-season wiki page on excuses, so we can keep them all straight.

This is the thing though and I know we see this differently. We don't need an excuse for this season. It was a good season with a sh*tty ending.

[Eldon]

My original post said "recruit hs kids", not transfers or walk-ons. Wojo doesn't even seem to dip his toe South of the Cheddar Curtain. It's intentional and I don't know why (and I am not just talking CPS kids).

What makes you say that it's intentional?

[PVMagic]

0 toughness on this team, no chip, no fight

One week ago people were complaining that Sacar didn't flop against Powell.

[Dr. Blackheart]

What makes you say that it's intentional?

Sorry that is unfair. I should have added the word “must” as in speculation. I see the majority of MU students being from Illinois, but I see no (as in zero) MUBB chatter about Illinois recruits. No mentions in pool that has been strong in the burbs for quite some time, including the kid from Rolling Meadows and the a traditionally strong ESCC and the CCL. 

I guess the charter doesn’t fly to PWK or DuPage airports? No effort at all in Chicago from the looks and sound of things. I would be happy to be proven wrong.

[Eldon]

Sorry that is unfair. I should have added the word “must” as in speculation. I see the majority of MU students being from Illinois, but I see no (as in zero) MUBB chatter about Illinois recruits. No mentions in pool that has been strong in the burbs for quite some time, including the kid from Rolling Meadows and the a traditionally strong ESCC and the CCL. 

I guess the charter doesn’t fly to PWK or DuPage airports? No effort at all in Chicago from the looks and sound of things. I would be happy to be proven wrong.

Doesn't want to intrude on Collins's turf?  Just throwing it out there.

[Jon]

That team had toughness. This team does not. 

That team had a proper coach. This team, clearly, does not...

[Pakuni]

Sorry that is unfair. I should have added the word “must” as in speculation. I see the majority of MU students being from Illinois, but I see no (as in zero) MUBB chatter about Illinois recruits. No mentions in pool that has been strong in the burbs for quite some time, including the kid from Rolling Meadows and the a traditionally strong ESCC and the CCL. 

I guess the charter doesn’t fly to PWK or DuPage airports? No effort at all in Chicago from the looks and sound of things. I would be happy to be proven wrong.

MU reportedly has offered 2020 CG DJ Steward from Whitney Young.
https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/four-star-junior-d-j-steward-talks-in-state-schools

They tried to get involved with and even offered Ayo Dosunmu, but he chose Illinois. Also recruited Barrett Bernom, who ended up at Northwestern and recently announced he would transfer.