2019-20

[tower912]

Starting line up:   Markus, Brendan, Koby, Sacar, Theo.     Koby is a 6'4, 200 lb 15/5/3 guy at Utah State.    Videos make him look like Vander, Buycks, and DJO in a blender.    The last month of the season, Brendan looked better on the floor than Joey.   The starting line up actually looks solid.   

Three guard offense, probably with Koby starting with the ball most of the time.   I think Bailey's shot improves and the Hauser's absence on the perimeter is barely noticed.    More slashing to the basket.     

Greg and Jamal need to step up.   I am confident about Greg, hoping for Jamal.     Theo and Ed are Theo and Ed.   Ed is not coming off surgery that will cost him a summer of work and I expect him to be more athletic.   

Ike..... get healthy young man.

I hope Torrence reclassifies.    I expect him to contribute and Akanno to redshirt. 

I would like to see a grad transfer 4.   A 3 and D type to help with the defensive rebounding.

Strengths:   Speed, bigger guards, hopefully a chip on their shoulder.
Weaknesses:    Defensive rebounding, depth at forward. 

[The Sultan]

I think Markus is still going to be the primary ball handler, for better or worse.

[We R Final Four]

Huge drop in defensive rebounding.

[tower912]

That and post defense are my two biggest concerns.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Hopefully Ike can provide 5-10 minutes of decent D and rebounding.

We need some size in the form of a grad transfer or two...not sure who is out there that would fit the bill.

I hope we get out in transition more and that Kobe is primarily responsible for initiating offense. More dribble drive and less reliance on three point shooting (which would seem to be a given). 

[genious expert]

I don't think Akanno would have redshirted in the first place, but now that we are down to 10 scholarship players I think it's extremely unlikely. Also, if I was Wojo I would want all hands on deck next season for obvious reasons.

[Silent Verbal]

How did Koby fare against high major competition at Utah State?  Like most other transfers, especially those from lesser conferences, we can probably expect some growing pains.

[fjm]

As long as Markus is NOT the PG (meaning koby is bringing the ball up)

And IF Brendan can make 25% of his corner 3's that he airballed.

And IF Theo can average 4 fouls a game instead of 7 fouls/40 min

And IF we get good Sacar that showed up a hand full of times last year.

And IF Ed, Greg and Jamal fill their roles...

I think we'll be OK. (I'm not saying great. But OK! Like 20-25 and a 5-6 seed in the tourney.)

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

I agree that Brendan will improve as will his shot. I like his game a lot and think he has a shot to be real good. But his shot better improve a lot if "we'll barely feel hausers absence on the perimeter."

Sam was also able to get his own shot any time in that wide post (wojo didn't go to it nearly enough). Hoping someone steps up to fill this void of being able to get their own shot as that's often needed at end of shot clock scenarios.

Outside shooting is a concern of mine and my biggest concern is still ball handling and taking care of the ball. I want Torrence here badly in 2019. Not only bc he'd add another ball handler but will also slightly reduce the odds of him leaving if wojo/marq part ways.

Bottom line barring chemistry issues, I think we'll be a solid team in and out of the top 25 all year and end up in the 7-9 seed range.

[MarquetteDano]

As long as Markus is NOT the PG (meaning koby is bringing the ball up)

And IF Brendan can make 25% of his corner 3's that he airballed.

And IF Theo can average 4 fouls a game instead of 7 fouls/40 min

And IF we get good Sacar that showed up a hand full of times last year.

And IF Ed, Greg and Jamal fill their roles...

I think we'll be OK. (I'm not saying great. But OK! Like 20-25 and a 5-6 seed in the tourney.)

Need to add who is going to pick up the defensive rebounding slack.  We will be missing a lot of rebounding from this past season.

[Nukem2]

Need to add who is going to pick up the defensive rebounding slack.  We will be missing a lot of rebounding from this past season.

Rebounding is a definite concern.  The Hausers were the best defensive rebounders by far.  This is a smallish team now.

[robertoc]

I like 4/5 of that lineup but I'm sorry I don't get the Brendan love.  I know his dad was a pro so thinking great genes there.  I know he was out for a few years, so could be some getting back to form.  I know he has the body type/length.  But every time I saw him on the floor last year, I cringed.  I absolutely could not understand why he got as much playing time as he did.  Looked lost, especially on the offensive end, and that jump shot, yikes...

[D'Lo Brown]

How has Brendan looked guarding bigs? I can only really remember him covering guards, and he looked good (also racking up some blocks in a few games). Without a new recruit, looks like he is probably slated to draw more bigs.

[tower912]

I like 4/5 of that lineup but I'm sorry I don't get the Brendan love.  I know his dad was a pro so thinking great genes there.  I know he was out for a few years, so could be some getting back to form.  I know he has the body type/length.  But every time I saw him on the floor last year, I cringed.  I absolutely could not understand why he got as much playing time as he did.  Looked lost, especially on the offensive end, and that jump shot, yikes...

I could not possibly disagree with this more.   Compare his turnover rate to Joey's.    Use the eyeball test to compare how quick his feet were on defense compared to Joey's.     I believe with every fiber of my being that one of Wojo's mistakes last year was not getting Bailey 20 mpg during the early part of the conference season.    Joey at almost 29 mpg and Sam at 33 mpg both coming off of surgeries was too many minutes.        Bailey's shot was not what it will be, but he was smoother in transition and got to the rack better.    Assuming he stays, I think many are going to be pleasantly surprised.

[robertoc]

I could not possibly disagree with this more.   Compare his turnover rate to Joey's.    Use the eyeball test to compare how quick his feet were on defense compared to Joey's.     I believe with every fiber of my being that one of Wojo's mistakes last year was not getting Bailey 20 mpg during the early part of the conference season.    Joey at almost 29 mpg and Sam at 33 mpg both coming off of surgeries was too many minutes.        Bailey's shot was not what it will be, but he was smoother in transition and got to the rack better.    Assuming he stays, I think many are going to be pleasantly surprised.

Well I hope you are right.  I agree he looked better on the defensive end is a good athlete.  But every time he airballed a wide open three or heaved up an awkward looking jumpshot, I cringed.  I hope his offense has improved.  We will need him.

[tower912]

I think he gains10 lbs of muscle.  I think the game slows down and his 3 PT shot starts falling.  I think BB replacing Joey cuts team turnovers by 3 a game.  I think he posts other numbers similar to Joey's.  I think Koby replicates his numbers as a sophomore, basically offsetting the loss of Sam.  I think Greg makes a big leap.  I think the only concern is defensive rebounding.

[Pakuni]

Rebounding is a definite concern.  The Hausers were the best defensive rebounders by far.  This is a smallish team now.

Defensive rebounding percentage last year:
Jamal - 19.9 percent
Sam - 19.5
Ed - 18.4
Theo - 16.3
Joey - 16.0

Koby's career at USU - 18.5

[muguru]

I think he gains10 lbs of muscle.  I think the game slows down and his 3 PT shot starts falling.  I think BB replacing Joey cuts team turnovers by 3 a game.  I think he posts other numbers similar to Joey's.  I think Koby replicates his numbers as a sophomore, basically offsetting the loss of Sam.  I think Greg makes a big leap.  I think the only concern is defensive rebounding.

The only concern is defensive rebounding?? Ummm, I think 3 point shooting is going ot be a MAJOR concern. As far as Koby offsetting Sam's #'s, that's likely true, however NOW he will have to, where as next year if he replicated his soph #'s, (which I believe he would have) that was going to be in ADDITION to Sam's 15PPG and Markus's 20+ PPG. Those 3 very well could have combined for 50+ PPG

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

We need someone who can play inside. I know the pickings for that are somewhat slim on the grad transfer market, but there has to be some options.

Also give me Symir and the best traditional transfer we can get and let's go to battle. Personally I'd move on from Eke for just about anything that is interesting (late 2019/grad/traditional transfer), but I know some of you will cringe at that. That being said, hope he contributes next season if he's here - we certainly have minutes at his position.

Speaking of Ike, anyone know how much he has actually been able to practice with the team in the two seasons he's been at MU?

[Pakuni]

The only concern is defensive rebounding?? Ummm, I think 3 point shooting is going ot be a MAJOR concern. As far as Koby offsetting Sam's #'s, that's likely true, however NOW he will have to, where as next year if he replicated his soph #'s, (which I believe he would have) that was going to be in ADDITION to Sam's 15PPG and Markus's 20+ PPG. Those 3 very well could have combined for 50+ PPG

Koby had a 28.2 percent usage rate his sophomore year and averaged 15.5 shot attempts per game. It's hard to imagine any circumstance he would replicate that with Sam (and Joey) still at Marquette.

[tower912]

I think Bailey will be improved.  I think Markus gets to catch and shoot.  I think we will have guards who can get their own shots, which will lead to catch and shoot 3s for lots of people.  I think there will be more transition opportunities.  Is it possible that the team 3point % drops?  Yes.  I see more lay ups to compensate.

[muguru]

I think Bailey will be improved.  I think Markus gets to catch and shoot. I think we will have guards who can get their own shots, which will lead to catch and shoot 3s for lots of people. I think there will be more transition opportunities.  Is it possible that the team 3point % drops?  Yes.  I see more lay ups to compensate.

Again, agreed...I think they will get the shots, but how likely is it they knock them down at the rates Sam/Joey did?? I'd say VERY unlikely. More layups to compensate...again probably true but...3pts>2pts. Look, I know it's going to be hard but I would prefer to see as little drop off as possible from what the projections were with the Hausers still there. The more the other guys have to step up...now you're eating into the depth that you otherwise would have had. In an ideal world, I'd like to see a "trade" so to speak..You have two players leaving that averaged combined 25PPG and 12 RPG..so i'd like to see that replaced(or as much of it as possible)with two players coming in, then the depth stays the depth and now you go. Obviously easier said then done...but Shakur Juiston would be a good start in my opinion.

[Jockey]

Huge drop in defensive rebounding.

Kobe averaged 5.0 defensive rebounds per game in his last year at Utah State. Joey averaged 4.4 defensive rebounds last year.

Just sayin'.

Athleticism matters.

[JakeBarnes]

I think Bailey will be improved.  I think Markus gets to catch and shoot.  I think we will have guards who can get their own shots, which will lead to catch and shoot 3s for lots of people.  I think there will be more transition opportunities.  Is it possible that the team 3point % drops?  Yes.  I see more lay ups to compensate.

Agreed. This is what I am seeing out of a Kobe and Greg guard team.

[MU82]

How did Koby fare against high major competition at Utah State?  Like most other transfers, especially those from lesser conferences, we can probably expect some growing pains.

Reasonable question, given JCS's inability to go from Fordham to the BEast.

Utah State didn't really play any top-tier non-con opponents in Koby's soph year (2017-18).

He had a 32-point game against MWC champion Nevada (and also a 10-point game against them). He had 15 against an NCAA-tourney bound San Diego State team. He had 20 against a decent BYU team. He had 21 and 18 in two games against an OK UNLV team.

Against Utah, one of the better non-con teams on the schedule and obviously a rival, he had 0 points on 0-4 shooting in 16 minutes, with 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. Utah focused its defense against him, and he struggled.

I wish he had a bigger body of work against better competition at Utah State, but he didn't. He did have 32 against a very good Nevada team, so that means something. By far better than anything JCS did in any game at Fordham. And I mean, just look at the two players athletically -- McEwen has been described as having the body of an NFL running back; JCS has the body of a sportswriter who covers the NFL.

McEwen no doubt would say he transferred to play against better competition, etc, but for those looking for other clues ... here's what Utah State coach Tim Duryea said after that Utah game:

"I thought he was awful in every area. Mentally, physically, on the offensive end, on the defensive end. Worried about things he shouldn't be worried about. Really just an awful performance. In a game like this, we can't have an awful performance from him."

Wow! That is worse than just about anything any Scooper has said about any Marquette player. Talk about being publicly called out by your coach.

I mean, can you imagine if Wojo had said anything like that about Joey ... who certainly gave cause in several games the second half of the season?