2018-19, a retrospective

[TheREALwrk]

Thanks for the respectful and well thought out post. I can't help but ask your reasoning for your thoughts on Morrow, though.

He should have started at the end of the season. Theo was in free fall. Ed plays his a$$ off and was much more reliable stay in the Game, get boards and score points. Theo looked disinterested in basketball the latter quarter of the season.

[Billy Hoyle]

I had thought he would be the defensive point guard that Rowsey wasn't. The one asset MU was missing, a tall defensive guard, not two midgets.
Didn't he like lead country or conference in steals?  How did he do that as a backup at Fordham?  I must be missing something here. 
I have much more confidence in McEwen next year over what Joe was.

Back up for us, not Fordham

[Marcus92]

Great post, Tower. The past 3 weeks have served as a crushing end to a season that held so much promise. That doesn't erase what this team accomplished:

• Winning 24 games for the first time since 2013
• Finishing a game away from winning the Big East title
• Earning a 2nd NCAA bid in the past 3 seasons
• Beating 4 teams ranked in KenPom's Top 25 and 7 NCAA teams

But it doesn't mean I have zero concerns, either.

First and foremost is Markus. During the last 7 games, he shot 47-133 (35.3%) overall and 21-71 (29.6%) from beyond the arc. Per KenPom, his offensive rating for those games was 94 (Villanova), 106 (Creighton), 59 (Seton Hall), 95 (Georgetown), 123 (St. John's), 88 (Seton Hall) and 97 (Murray State). In other words, every game but one was well below his season average of 110.7.

That's simply not the same player. And you're not going to win many games when the player who far and away leads your team in usage (ranking 5th in the country) experiences such a dramatic drop in offensive efficiency.

Whatever the cause, I hope he gets his mojo back this offseason. Because as Markus goes, so goes Marquette.

[1SE]

This is a good post and a good thread. The only think I disagree with is putting missing Elliot at #1 - I agree that was a factor, but I don't think he would have been a savior. That said, maybe we would have done enough for us to win one more BE game and one NCAA game.

After sleeping on it i'm still pretty convinced Wojo isn't the answer. Frankly, he doesn't deserve another year, but the team he's put together does. I'm excited enough by its potential. Let's see if they catch lighting in a bottle next year, but like others have said, if we don't have an NCAA win by the end of March 2020 he should be gone.

[tower912]

Crean caught lightning in a bottle with Wade.    A great run.    His other 8 seasons produced 1 NCAA tourney win.    He put out competitive teams that provided some wonderful moments, but he never made a team more that the sum of its parts.   He went to the NCAA 5 times in 9 years, NIT 3, nothing 1.    You still don't see the Wojo comparison?     Odd.

Deane was a defensive coach who didn't recruit scorers and at the end had only recruited Krunti Hester.     He succeeded primarily with KO's players.    I see no comparison there. 

Morrow played extended minutes at Seton Hall after Theo was ejected.   He became less of a factor in each passing minute.   His best role is as a back up 5 providing energy.   

In October, we thought that MU was going to have Greg and Chartouny as additional guards.   So many had clamored for Greg to get more minutes as a freshman at the expense of either Rowsey or Markus.    He was a year stronger, healthy, and according to Wojo, was playing well enough in practice to start.      Chartouny was seen as a 6'3 PG who played great defense, held onto the ball.    What a great complementary pair to Markus!     Oops. 

[muwarrior69]

This is a good post and a good thread. The only think I disagree with is putting missing Elliot at #1 - I agree that was a factor, but I don't think he would have been a savior. That said, maybe we would have done enough for us to win one more BE game and one NCAA game.

After sleeping on it i'm still pretty convinced Wojo isn't the answer. Frankly, he doesn't deserve another year, but the team he's put together does. I'm excited enough by its potential. Let's see if they catch lighting in a bottle next year, but like others have said, if we don't have an NCAA win by the end of March 2020 he should be gone.

[/color]

I am just as disappointed in Wojo as you are, but let's wait and see what recruiting class he brings in 2020.

[CTWarrior]

What were expectations for Chartouny?  He was the third leading scorer on a garbage Fordham team and wasn't even all A-10. He was a back-up and little more. Even Cremo, who everyone was made we lost, only averaged 4.3 a game for Nova after averaging 17 at Albany. I feel many put far too much hope in graduate transfers.

One of my expectations for Chartouney that wasn't met was that as a PG he could run from here to there and dribble at the same time without turning the ball over.

[SaveOD238]

First and foremost is Markus. During the last 7 games, he shot 47-133 (35.3%) overall and 21-71 (29.6%) from beyond the arc. Per KenPom, his offensive rating for those games was 94 (Villanova), 106 (Creighton), 59 (Seton Hall), 95 (Georgetown), 123 (St. John's), 88 (Seton Hall) and 97 (Murray State). In other words, every game but one was well below his season average of 110.7.

That's simply not the same player. And you're not going to win many games when the player who far and away leads your team in usage (ranking 5th in the country) experiences such a dramatic drop in offensive efficiency.

This 1000x.  All of our struggles in the last seven games come back to one person: Markus Howard.  I don't know if he was injured or just got himself into a deep shooting slump, but the offensive collapse from MH killed us down the stretch.

Look at yesterday's game: in the second half, when Murray opened their big lead, it was because they were able to get out in transition, because we were missing so many shots.  Once Murray gets on the break, even Duke isn't stopping them.  The #1 culprit?  Markus.

I'd love to see our defensive stats for the last 7 games, because I think they'd be pretty good, with the possible exceptions of Georgetown (Akinjo couldn't miss) and Murray St (bad defense was the result of bad offense).

[CTWarrior]

Wojo's closest comp is Mike Deane.

Results wise that may be true, but coaching wise they are polar opposites.  One could coach but did not recruit, one can recruit but has more trouble coaching.

I think the current coach has been here long enough that he should decide on how he wants to play and start recruiting to fit that style.  While he brings in good players, we need more complementary skill sets.

[jsglow]

I'll put a little twist on this.  Based on the full collapse in '18-'19, Wojo will be under pressure to accomplish TWO things next year.  First, by November he MUST sign a top end recruiting class for '20.  Unfortunately, I personally think that that job got somewhat tougher as his performance over the last month calls much into question.  Second, as was said in another thread, he's got 365 days to win an NCAA game.

I don't know if the administration moves on immediately should he fail to achieve both objectives, but many fans will.  The '5-6 years to judge' mantra will fully kick in and folks will respond with apathy.  I for one am not down for another mediocre season (call that a 3rd or 4th place finish and an immediate NCAA exit) followed by a 'rebuilding period' because we're 'so young and inexperienced'. 'It's hard to get to the NCAA, you know.'       

[tower912]

BTW, for the record, me comparing Wojo to Crean is not a compliment.   I thought Crean had plateaued at MU and I was tired of clapping as an in-game adjustment.     I have not yet given up on Wojo, however.   

[TFlegend]

1.  I've been following MU since 1998.  Turning at 24-4 season into a 24-10 season with absolutely nothing to show for it is a new way to kick MU fans in the nuts.  Didn't see that coming.  Will be on guard for it from here on out. 
2.  We don't even have mid-major level athleticism.  That won't change next year.
3.  Why do people think Greg Elliott was what we were missing or will be the difference next year?  At no point last year did he show anything that made me think that.  He's not a PG.  In fact, I thought Jamal was going to be the more impactful player and we see how that turned out.  Greg is Sacar 2.0...do we need two of those? 
4.  The contrast between Markus and Ja was stunning.  Morant's ability to take on 3 or 4 players and fire on time, on target passes to his wide open teammates was incredible.  Markus can't do that against 1 good defender.  Markus is what he is at this point, the die is cast.  He's a gunner with tunnel vision.  How many times this year has Markus gotten the D to collapse and Sam is wide open and Markus simply doesn't see him, refuses to pass or turns it over?  Sam has got to be frustrated with that.
5.  I've been pretty neutral on Wojo.  He'll be back next year and I think he should be to see out Markus and Sam's senior year.  He's got to win something next year, right? 

       

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

1.  I've been following MU since 1998.  Turning at 24-4 season into a 24-10 season with absolutely nothing to show for it is a new way to kick MU fans in the nuts.  Didn't see that coming.  Will be on guard for it from here on out. 
2.  We don't even have mid-major level athleticism.  That won't change next year.
3.  Why do people think Greg Elliott was what we were missing or will be the difference next year?  At no point last year did he show anything that made me think that.  He's not a PG.  In fact, I thought Jamal was going to be the more impactful player and we see how that turned out.  Greg is Sacar 2.0...do we need two of those? 
4.  The contrast between Markus and Ja was stunning.  Morant's ability to take on 3 or 4 players and fire on time, on target passes to his wide open teammates was incredible.  Markus can't do that against 1 good defender.  Markus is what he is at this point, the die is cast.  He's a gunner with tunnel vision.  How many times this year has Markus gotten the D to collapse and Sam is wide open and Markus simply doesn't see him, refuses to pass or turns it over?  Sam has got to be frustrated with that.
5.  I've been pretty neutral on Wojo.  He'll be back next year and I think he should be to see out Markus and Sam's senior year.  He's got to win something next year, right? 

On point 3, if you though Cain was better than Greg last season that was just bad judgement on your part. I am also skeptical on Greg being a PG but we don't really know since he was playing one handed as a freshman. What he would have added is another lockdown defender on the perimeter and would have been someone who can get to the rim. The lack of players who can get to the rim is where I really see us hurting.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

I think Wojo gets two years minimum.  For some Marquette fans, it will be a long two years.

This year ended on a down note, but the season on the whole was a success.  I thought this team hit their ceiling.  Heck, at the start of the season I thought a 6 seed was a best case scenario.  Some will say my expectations need to be higher but I try to look at Marquette objectively.

My objective view saw plenty of flaws.  I'm actually surprised the team accomplished all they did.  Plenty of obstacles to overcome, too. Elliott's injury,  Chartouny not panning out, Cain taking a step back instead of a step forward, Bailey being rusty, Morrow being more limited on offense than I thought he would be, and half the roster rehabbing in the off season.

Only blown out 3 times.  Unfortunately yesterday was one of them, but it was huge progress to only lose 3 games by double figures.  16 wins by double figures.   8-6 in games decided by single digits; wins were clumped early and the losses late.

Heavy minutes for Howard,  Anim, and the Hausers lead to those early wins but they got worn out.  That lead to fading down the stretch.  Felt a lot like a Crean season.

Take another step next year.  I am looking forward to a better season.  Compete for the conference title and Sweet 16 potential.   Anything more than that,  I'll have to wait and see.   

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I think the answers to my question have been spread out over various threads.  And the answer is not "Wojo sucks."

What are the specific differences between the end-of-season swoon and the rest of the season?  What changed, what specifically was the team doing different and what specifically were teams doing different against us?  Who played differently and how and what reason were they playing different?  Etc.? 
Thoughts?

[Marcus92]

Wojo was asked basically that same question -- "If you look at the end of the season and losing 6 of 7, what could you point to that went wrong for you?" -- during the post-game press conference.

"I don't know if we can point to any one thing. Certainly we didn't play as well at the end of the season as we did for most of it. So we've got to really examine that and figure out why. And I don't think when we figure out why, it's going to be one thing. It's going to be a culmination of things."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4bHpV5iqEk
(The above question and answer starts at the 32:00 mark)

[mileskishnish72]

One of my expectations for Chartouney that wasn't met was that as a PG he could run from here to there and dribble at the same time without turning the ball over.

See? Some people expect EVERYTHING!

[WolfganghisKhan]

1.  I've been following MU since 1998.  Turning at 24-4 season into a 24-10 season with absolutely nothing to show for it is a new way to kick MU fans in the nuts.  Didn't see that coming.  Will be on guard for it from here on out. 
2.  We don't even have mid-major level athleticism.  That won't change next year.
3.  Why do people think Greg Elliott was what we were missing or will be the difference next year?  At no point last year did he show anything that made me think that.  He's not a PG.  In fact, I thought Jamal was going to be the more impactful player and we see how that turned out.  Greg is Sacar 2.0...do we need two of those? 
4.  The contrast between Markus and Ja was stunning.  Morant's ability to take on 3 or 4 players and fire on time, on target passes to his wide open teammates was incredible.  Markus can't do that against 1 good defender.  Markus is what he is at this point, the die is cast.  He's a gunner with tunnel vision.  How many times this year has Markus gotten the D to collapse and Sam is wide open and Markus simply doesn't see him, refuses to pass or turns it over?  Sam has got to be frustrated with that.
5.  I've been pretty neutral on Wojo.  He'll be back next year and I think he should be to see out Markus and Sam's senior year.  He's got to win something next year, right? 

     

1. Agree
2. Agree
3. I think Greg is a little better than you're giving him credit for, but he's nowhere near as good as some people here are saying he is. He's a role player.
4. This is my biggest agreement. He misses so many wide open guys it's unbelievable.
5. Agree.

[79Warrior]

BTW, for the record, me comparing Wojo to Crean is not a compliment.   I thought Crean had plateaued at MU and I was tired of clapping as an in-game adjustment.     I have not yet given up on Wojo, however.

That Stanford game in Anaheim was heartbreak hotel for TC.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Wojo's closest comp is Mike Deane.

Yeah, well, other than:

* Deane was handed a pretty solid roster of recruits while Wojo's was left very little
* Deane was a pretty good X's and O's coach, particularly defensively while Wojo gets about a C right now IMO
* Deane hated recruiting and was a pretty terrible recruiter as a result while so far recruiting has been Wojo's strength
* Deane felt an occasional NCAA berth was good enough and Marquette's ceiling while Wojo wants to be elite
* Deane's teams got progressively worse throughout his tenure as his lackluster recruiting began to show up while Wojo's teams have pretty consistently improved throughout his 5 years

...other than that, you're spot on.

[Cheeks]

We beat the 4,5 and 7 a loooong time ago. The last THREE times we played the 6 and 10 we lost. We were finished a month ago. Every potential 12, 11 and 10 were praying to get us. Didn't matter who, we were going down. This match up, crapshoot stuff is weak sauce excuse making. #bullshyte #slurper

Uhm, we beat an 11 last week by 30 points so yeah....there's that.

[Cheeks]

That Stanford game in Anaheim was heartbreak hotel for TC.

We would have been blitzed the next week just as Stanford was by Texas, but yes that game stung.  When they kicked their coach out the refs decided to even it up from there.  Jerel still had 16 footer to win the game, but not to be.

[Cheeks]

As remarkable as the 23-4 record was so is the record that closed out the season.  Completely erased anything positive that was built prior to the collapse.

And mu is treading water as a program another season

Three straight post season bids, our best finish in the Big East in 6 years by FAR and almost everyone coming back next year and we are "treading water".   

[NotAnAlum]

At the end of last there was real concern about replacing AR.  I thought we would have a very low ceiling if we had to rely on Markus all year at pg.  We signed Chartouny and i felt we had found the missing piece. 
By Dec it appeared Chartouny was a bust and Greg was done for the year.  BUT it Markus was playing so well that we'd be ok.  I believe it was our weakness at guuard particularly PG that was exposed at the end of the year.  College basketball is a guards game and we effectively had 2 Markus and Secar.
Im not a coach but I've talked to former players who say Wojo's flow offense depends on the players improvising off a few basic sets.  Players love it.  BUT i fear that when you've got a single PG who is calling his own number most of the time that kind of offense can lead to poor team execution and lots of one on one.  Sound like the last few weeks?  Since the team doesn't have a lot of plays Wojo can call im not sure how much he can do from the bench.  Im not giving him a pass.  Its his system and if it doesn't work well with his personnel that is ultimately on Wojo.
Im very concerned Wojo may not be able to succeed here.  Can the Duke system work without Duke talent.?
Im willing to give him one more year with a different PG and more depth in general at guard.  But thats it.  If next yeara team doesn't accomplish some meaningful goals its probably time to go a different direction.

[loid walden]

Tower, I think you pretty much nailed it, i.e. summarized  the year.. A few minor disagreements on this current analysis and a few, very few throughout the year...I like reading your post game's.
I  will try to move on to next year and  try to be an optimist.
Ohh by the way... sometimes intelligence is confused with arrogance.