Symir!!! 2019!!!

[Markusquette]

People, come on, a bird in hand it always worth two in the bush. If the choice was Symir vs. someone else in 2019-2020 then maybe there is some discussion. But right now the choice is Symir vs. an empty schollie - no brainer - if he makes a single positive contribution this year it's a plus on the season.

Speculating about a trade off with 2023 is rediculous - any number of zillion things can and will have changed by then. You want to put the absolute BEST product you can on the floor in any given year. You deal with the future when it comes. (Exhibit 1, Hank).

You're right. I think his addition will improve the team. He could be the best point guard on the team in short order. Certainly a luxury we did not have last year.

[BCHoopster]

You're right. I think his addition will improve the team. He could be the best point guard on the team in short order. Certainly a luxury we did not have last year.

In 2023, I assume his first thought right now is he will be in the NBA

[The Sultan]

You're right. I think his addition will improve the team. He could be the best point guard on the team in short order. Certainly a luxury we did not have last year.

Markus will be our point guard next year.

[Silkk the Shaka]

People, come on, a bird in hand it always worth two in the bush. If the choice was Symir vs. someone else in 2019-2020 then maybe there is some discussion. But right now the choice is Symir vs. an empty schollie - no brainer - if he makes a single positive contribution this year it's a plus on the season.

Speculating about a trade off with 2023 is rediculous - any number of zillion things can and will have changed by then. You want to put the absolute BEST product you can on the floor in any given year. You deal with the future when it comes. (Exhibit 1, Hank).

Truer words have never been spoken

Take Symir this year 100 times out of 100

[muwarrior69]

Why would we want anyone to redshirt this year? I would rather have a body sitting on the bench then not being able to play. Perhaps next season depending on our recruiting class.

[brewcity77]

Why would we want anyone to redshirt this year? I would rather have a body sitting on the bench then not being able to play. Perhaps next season depending on our recruiting class.

Uhh...because there's no way we'll play 12 deep?

[Markusquette]

Markus will be our point guard next year.

Markus will be handling the ball and shooting a lot next year. I don't think he's going to make much of a jump in point guard skills. He would have by now if he were a natural point. When I say point guard, I mean a facilitator/distributor. Not a guy who starts as a 1 and takes the ball up court to shoot threes. I'm a big Markus fan but if we can divide the duties the team will be way better off.

[brewcity77]

Markus will be our point guard next year.

This is correct. They'll likely have more shared ballhandling, but Markus is our PG. His assist rate for the full season was 4th in the Big East. Just because he is a scoring point guard doesn't mean he doesn't also fulfill the passing role.

[MU82]

His assist rate for the full season was 4th in the Big East.

Markus had two elite 3-point shooters on the court with him. That had to help his assist rate quite a bit, right? In general, Markus does not appear to have either great court vision or a passer's mentality. If he did -- if he had demonstrated he was a "true PG" -- he'd have left and been a first-round draft pick.

This is absolutely not intended as a knock against Markus. Everybody can't do everything great. I love having him on our team, I enjoy watching him play and I've been impressed by how much he has improved over the course of his career. He is a great Warrior. I just wonder a little about a stat like "assist rate" in this situation.

I do agree with you and others that he will be our primary PG next season, but I think the ballhandling will be spread around much more. I also think a kid like Symir -- if as good as advertised -- could be much more of an asset than Chartouney was last season.

Markus averaged 33.6 mpg last season, when he just about always had to have the ball because Wojo had such few options at the position. Markus appeared worn out and banged-up late in the season. Let's say he averages 30 next season. You need another PG for the 10 minutes he doesn't play. You also can play him off the ball 5-10 of his 30 minutes. You also might want 4-guard sets against quite a few teams. I think there will be minutes to go around, especially if Akanno is not considered ready to play.

Based on what I know today, I want Symir to play next season. Obviously, it's a fluid situation. As I've said before, I want him to be happy, and I also trust Wojo on this.

[Dawson Rental]

Watch the video? Can play both, but has court vision

After people said that Sandy Cohen could play point guard based on his video, I got skeptical.

[Pakuni]

Markus had two elite 3-point shooters on the court with him. That had to help his assist rate quite a bit, right? In general, Markus does not appear to have either great court vision or a passer's mentality. If he did -- if he had demonstrated he was a "true PG" -- he'd have left and been a first-round draft pick.

Markus is an underrated passer. His passing ability isn't what's keeping him from being a first-round NBA pick. Size, ballhandling and decisionmaking are.
I'd absolutely prefer to have Markus play off the ball a little more next season, but not because he can't dish.

[Dawson Rental]

Markus is an underrated passer. His passing ability isn't what's keeping him from being a first-round NBA pick. Size, ballhandling and decisionmaking are.
I'd absolutely prefer to have Markus play off the ball a little more next season, but not because he can't dish.

I'm sure there's a lot of effort being put into grooming Markus to play point guard since that's his only way into the NBA, and having him in the NBA has obvious benefits for MU.  That's not to say that Woj will force it, if its costs the team games.  I'm guessing that Markus is working quite a lot on decision making and being a better distributor as a reaction to the transfers of the Hausers.  He was challenged, and he strikes me as the type of guy who doesn't back down from those.

[MU82]

Markus is an underrated passer. His passing ability isn't what's keeping him from being a first-round NBA pick. Size, ballhandling and decisionmaking are.
I'd absolutely prefer to have Markus play off the ball a little more next season, but not because he can't dish.

Ballhandling and decision-making ... I can live with that distinction. You are right, he definitely has made some good passes, although a nit-picker could argue that making the right decision is a major part of a pass being "good."

[muguru]

My own personal belief...I was under the assumption Koby would be the primary ball handler and Markus would play more off the ball. That makes more sense to me.

[Pakuni]

I'm sure there's a lot of effort being put into grooming Markus to play point guard since that's his only way into the NBA, and having him in the NBA has obvious benefits for MU.  That's not to say that Woj will force it, if its costs the team games.  I'm guessing that Markus is working quite a lot on decision making and being a better distributor as a reaction to the transfers of the Hausers.  He was challenged, and he strikes me as the type of guy who doesn't back down from those.

From The Athletic's story a few weeks back:

"The things we've talked to him about, is continuing to improve his decision-making," Wojciechowski says of Howard. "You always want him to follow his instincts to score, but when the defense is fully committed to taking those instincts away, then you have to make the right play. That's something that he knows, that he wants to get better at. The other part of it is we do have guys where at times he can be off the ball, so there isn't so much the pressure on him to handle and score and set up other people. Where he can learn to move better without the ball, which then creates different areas of attack, which may make it more difficult for teams to sit on him."

[bilsu]

Markus being schooled by the Murray St. guard might of been a real eye opener for Markus. I always felt Markus had a great desire to improve his game. It would not surprise me, if he became a better distributor. However, I think Koby will play point and Markus will play a few less minutes this year. He did seem to wear down at end of last year.

[brewcity77]

Markus had two elite 3-point shooters on the court with him. That had to help his assist rate quite a bit, right? In general, Markus does not appear to have either great court vision or a passer's mentality. If he did -- if he had demonstrated he was a "true PG" -- he'd have left and been a first-round draft pick.

This is absolutely not intended as a knock against Markus. Everybody can't do everything great. I love having him on our team, I enjoy watching him play and I've been impressed by how much he has improved over the course of his career. He is a great Warrior. I just wonder a little about a stat like "assist rate" in this situation.

I do agree with you and others that he will be our primary PG next season, but I think the ballhandling will be spread around much more. I also think a kid like Symir -- if as good as advertised -- could be much more of an asset than Chartouney was last season.

Markus averaged 33.6 mpg last season, when he just about always had to have the ball because Wojo had such few options at the position. Markus appeared worn out and banged-up late in the season. Let's say he averages 30 next season. You need another PG for the 10 minutes he doesn't play. You also can play him off the ball 5-10 of his 30 minutes. You also might want 4-guard sets against quite a few teams. I think there will be minutes to go around, especially if Akanno is not considered ready to play.

Based on what I know today, I want Symir to play next season. Obviously, it's a fluid situation. As I've said before, I want him to be happy, and I also trust Wojo on this.

This to me (not just from you) feels like the "Markus only gets the easy assists" argument. Does he benefit from having good shooters around him? Sure. But so did Chartouny. So did Sacar. They didn't have Markus' assist rate.

I fans have an inherent bias against score-first point guards. People want Junior Cadougan, or a PG like Dom James that suppresses his own scoring desires to give to others. Markus' ability to create for others might be taken for granted because he so often creates for himself.

His assist rating was as high as it was because he passed to others in positions to score. He doesn't get much credit for that because he scores 25 ppg, but in spite of that he's still one of the best providers in the Big East.

[brewcity77]

Markus is an underrated passer. His passing ability isn't what's keeping him from being a first-round NBA pick. Size, ballhandling and decisionmaking are.
I'd absolutely prefer to have Markus play off the ball a little more next season, but not because he can't dish.

I would agree, though would note Markus isn't a poor ballhandler. He's also not good, but he's pretty average at this level. His turnover rates are lower than Junior or Derrick ever had, not quite as good (but close) to Dominic James. His turnovers are exaggerated because of his high usage rate.

[MU82]

This to me (not just from you) feels like the "Markus only gets the easy assists" argument. Does he benefit from having good shooters around him? Sure. But so did Chartouny. So did Sacar. They didn't have Markus' assist rate.

I fans have an inherent bias against score-first point guards. People want Junior Cadougan, or a PG like Dom James that suppresses his own scoring desires to give to others. Markus' ability to create for others might be taken for granted because he so often creates for himself.

His assist rating was as high as it was because he passed to others in positions to score. He doesn't get much credit for that because he scores 25 ppg, but in spite of that he's still one of the best providers in the Big East.

Thanks for this perspective. I found it interesting and useful.

And for the record, I really really really like score-first PGs. I do like it when they also find more ways to get others involved, but I like a PG who can do what Markus did to Buffalo, K-State, Providence, Nova, etc.

I love me some Steph Curry, but there's only one of him in the world. I loved watching Allen Iverson, whose trip to the Finals proved a player like him could win. I enjoy watching Westbrook, despite his flaws.

Of course, many score-first PGs have wingmen who aren't traditional PGs but handle the ball and initiate the offense a lot -- Draymond is the perfect example. Maybe Koby or Symir (or both) will end up being Markus' wingman.

[The Sultan]

This to me (not just from you) feels like the "Markus only gets the easy assists" argument. Does he benefit from having good shooters around him? Sure. But so did Chartouny. So did Sacar. They didn't have Markus' assist rate.

I fans have an inherent bias against score-first point guards. People want Junior Cadougan, or a PG like Dom James that suppresses his own scoring desires to give to others. Markus' ability to create for others might be taken for granted because he so often creates for himself.

His assist rating was as high as it was because he passed to others in positions to score. He doesn't get much credit for that because he scores 25 ppg, but in spite of that he's still one of the best providers in the Big East.

Yeah and I have no idea why.  It's just not how the game is played any longer.

[romey]

For us old farts, arguably the best point guard of all time scored and passed - Oscar Robertson.

[Nukem2]

For us old farts, arguably the best point guard of all time scored and passed - Oscar Robertson.

Yes, he averaged a whopping 33.8 ppg for his collegiate career and 7.1 apg.

[brewcity77]

I love me some Steph Curry, but there's only one of him in the world. I loved watching Allen Iverson, whose trip to the Finals proved a player like him could win. I enjoy watching Westbrook, despite his flaws.

Of course, many score-first PGs have wingmen who aren't traditional PGs but handle the ball and initiate the offense a lot -- Draymond is the perfect example. Maybe Koby or Symir (or both) will end up being Markus' wingman.

At the NBA level, the best of those guys are few and far between. Steph and Westbrook are pretty unique. At the collegiate level, there's more. The really successful ones, like Young & Morant, end up lottery picks. But guys like Markus, Edwards, Winston, they can dominate the ball and still be All Americans.

I think some of the criticism comes because while those types of players are instrumental in wins, they are even more evident in defeat. In early losses, especially against Indiana & St John's, Markus took the brunt of criticism. In the late season skid, it was all centered on Markus not being right. And just like Yelp reviews, the negative is always more evident, more loud, more expressive than the positive.

He might not be Steph Curry, but against most of the teams we play, it probably feels that way (similar to how Shamorie Ponds felt to us). But it's easier up close to let the negatives outweigh the positives.

[Dawson Rental]

For us old farts, arguably the best point guard of all time scored and passed - Oscar Robertson.

Two things are obvious from this post:

1.  Yes, you are old, and

2.  Your memory is still stellar.

[MU82]

At the NBA level, the best of those guys are few and far between. Steph and Westbrook are pretty unique. At the collegiate level, there's more. The really successful ones, like Young & Morant, end up lottery picks. But guys like Markus, Edwards, Winston, they can dominate the ball and still be All Americans.

I think some of the criticism comes because while those types of players are instrumental in wins, they are even more evident in defeat. In early losses, especially against Indiana & St John's, Markus took the brunt of criticism. In the late season skid, it was all centered on Markus not being right. And just like Yelp reviews, the negative is always more evident, more loud, more expressive than the positive.

He might not be Steph Curry, but against most of the teams we play, it probably feels that way (similar to how Shamorie Ponds felt to us). But it's easier up close to let the negatives outweigh the positives.

OK, brew, I always respect your views.

I've been watching high-level basketball for a lot of years and I think I know a great or very good or good or mediocre or bad PG when I see him or her. IMHO, Markus does not have the greatest "PG skills." You apparently disagree. Others probably agree with you while some agree with me.

I still think Markus is a great college basketball player and I am glad he is back to lead our Warriors.