Pivot (al) Moments

[Galway Eagle]

Reminds me of the Bucks toiling away in 7-8 seed territory consistently for years between Ray Allen getting them to the semi finals and Giannis' coming out party.

[CTWarrior]

There is one high level player and a bunch of role players. The remaining guys are not high level D1 players and the coach does not have the game to coach them up.
This is Wojo’s program and at some point he has to be evaluated on overall team success. I do not see a great of progress in the state of the program.

Koby appears to be a high level player to me. 

Who knows about our bigs?  Twice in his short time in the game, Jayce rolled to the hoop uncontested and the driver instead went 1 on 2 to put up a circus shot (neither was Markus and once Elliott made the circus shot and got fouled to boot.)  Hard to score on the interior if you never look to get them the ball.  Also, I saw Greg Elliott do the Sam Hauser throw his hands up in the "I give up" pose when he was wide open on the wing and Markus chose to go the other way and attempt to jack up an off balance 3 while double-covered.  I would just love to see us move the ball via the pass rather than via the dribble constantly, but I don't think that will happen this year.

[tower912]

Honestly, I knew the game was over when Bailey missed the left handed finger roll instead of just dunking it.

Theo falling over while guarding Davidson iced it.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Koby is undoubtedly a high major player. Maybe not as a number two scoring option but whatever.

[tower912]

Theo, Jayce, Ed, Brendan, and Sacar combined for 84 minutes, 7 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 turnovers.    Really, unless Markus had gone into 'God mode', what else do you need to know?

[Silkk the Shaka]

Honestly, I knew the game was over when Bailey missed the left handed finger roll instead of just dunking it.

Theo falling over while guarding Davidson iced it.

Yeah that reminded me of Morrow's missed dunk as the Murray State game was slipping away. Bad dreams, man. Baaaaaad dreams.

[HowardsWorld]

I hate using the term this was their "Super Bowl" but it really was. We beat them the last 2 times including one at their house. Whether or not Wisconsin is a good /decent team they stepped up probably more they most expected. They also wont shoot 50% from 3 again this year. It was a combination of everything lining up.

The thing that concerns me the most is the defense gave up 77 points to them but again they hit the 3's at a ridiculous clip. The next big test is Davidson. If that happens there then we might have an issue but until then I remain optimistic.

I fully expect to be playing Maryland in the champioship game and beating them. Anything less than playing Maryland in that game would in my mind be a disappointment. What we have in Howard is worth the price of admission every game. He had a stinker but the Badgers D was suffocating.

[GrimmReaper33]

I hate using the term this was their "Super Bowl" but it really was. We beat them the last 2 times including one at their house. Whether or not Wisconsin is a good /decent team they stepped up probably more they most expected. They also wont shoot 50% from 3 again this year. It was a combination of everything lining up.

The thing that concerns me the most is the defense gave up 77 points to them but again they hit the 3's at a ridiculous clip. The next big test is Davidson. If that happens there then we might have an issue but until then I remain optimistic.

I fully expect to be playing Maryland in the champioship game and beating them. Anything less than playing Maryland in that game would in my mind be a disappointment. What we have in Howard is worth the price of admission every game. He had a stinker but the Badgers D was suffocating.

I don't understand these takes- from either fanbase.  Whenever one loses it's somehow a diss to the other team that they wanted it more?  I don't get it.  Both teams should want to win, and if the other team wants it more, that's not a good thing.

Also, both teams shot 47% from 3 and UW only had 6 more points from 3 than MU.  The difference in the game was MU getting nothing in the paint and UW keeping MU off the boards.  UW is probably not a great shooting team but they are likely to have other games here and there where they shoot 47% from three.

[Silkk the Shaka]

I hate using the term this was their "Super Bowl" but it really was. We beat them the last 2 times including one at their house. Whether or not Wisconsin is a good /decent team they stepped up probably more they most expected. They also wont shoot 50% from 3 again this year. It was a combination of everything lining up.

The thing that concerns me the most is the defense gave up 77 points to them but again they hit the 3's at a ridiculous clip. The next big test is Davidson. If that happens there then we might have an issue but until then I remain optimistic.

I fully expect to be playing Maryland in the champioship game and beating them. Anything less than playing Maryland in that game would in my mind be a disappointment. What we have in Howard is worth the price of admission every game. He had a stinker but the Badgers D was suffocating.

Yeah agreed, they contained very well and we didn't make them pay when the ball found an open role player. It made it easier to keep keying in on Markus & Koby's dribble drive action. Guys need to step up and hit the open J's when they present themselves. I think they will, and I think we'll be fine.

[tower912]

Yes.   Yesterday's game was lost in the paint and on the boards.     Pritzl posted up Sacar, called for the ball, got it, made a move, Sacar stood flat footed with his hands straight up.      15 pts, 13 rebounds in 26 minutes for their 6'3 senior glue guy. 

[skianth16]

Theo, Jayce, Ed, Brendan, and Sacar combined for 84 minutes, 7 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 turnovers.    Really, unless Markus had gone into 'God mode', what else do you need to know?

What's even worse is that we shot well from 3 yesterday too. Imagine how ugly it would have been if we would have shot 30%-35%. It will be a central theme this year, but we really need to find ways to be more than a one man show.

First off, we need more production from our seniors. Sacar and Ed can't keep having so many empty minutes on the floor. I know Sacar is a defense-first guy, but heeds to get to the hoop more often. Sure, he's had some issues converting in the paint before, but adding that element to our offense will change the way teams defend against us. And I think Ed needs a game or two to help build his confidence. He seems too tentative too often to me. I'd really like to see him step up as a leader on the floor.

Jamal and Greg have had some nice moments, but they seem hesitant to make a decision or to pull the trigger on a shot sometimes. When a team has a player with a presence on the floor as big as Markus does, it can be easy for younger role players to look to the superstar more often than not. These guys are both good enough to go get a bucket. They should be encouraged to do that more often.

Last, Wojo did a poor job of playing the right guys yersterday, IMO. Brendan was having as bad a day as we've seen from him, but Wojo kept putting him back out on the floor. That hurt the team. Ed was also struggling to make an impact but still played quite a bit. I know we're going to have limited depth this year, which might limit our lineup options to an extent, but I'd like to see Wojo do a better job of playing the guys who are playing the best each day. As a fan, it's kind of hard to hear that a guy is getting minutes for doing well in practice if it doesn't translate to the games.

[tower912]

He kept starting Joey late last season when Brendan was clearly playing better.     Yesterday, Greg got 26 minutes.    Cain and Bailey both got 19.   It is my recollection that Cain was playing well in the first half, but picked up his second and Bailey had to come back in.    I won't swear to that, though.   There was no good option between Jayce, Theo, and Ed. 

[Goose]

CTWarrior

I agree that Koby looks like a player. My point is that I do not believe he is a first or second option on a really good team. He looks like a clear cut second best option on MU and at this moment it does not look like MU is a really good team. Honestly, sometimes I believe some on here (not you) look to argue points for the sake of protecting the program's reputation.

It is like in the Do We Miss the Hausers thread, I cannot believe that anyone can truthfully say they are not missed. While I would not agree anyone on this, but if they said not missed because they were a cancer, that is an opinion. But, to think they are not missed as basketball players seems crazy to me.

[brewcity77]

It is like in the Do We Miss the Hausers thread, I cannot believe that anyone can truthfully say they are not missed. While I would not agree anyone on this, but if they said not missed because they were a cancer, that is an opinion. But, to think they are not missed as basketball players seems crazy to me.

There will be games where they are not missed when we are clicking on defense. But when the defense isn't doing the job (like yesterday) and the front court isn't productive (again, like yesterday) they will be very much missed. Sam in particular, who was a solid system defender, good at moving the ball from good to great looks, and excelled at shot selection.

[Silkk the Shaka]

He kept starting Joey late last season when Brendan was clearly playing better.     Yesterday, Greg got 26 minutes.    Cain and Bailey both got 19.   It is my recollection that Cain was playing well in the first half, but picked up his second and Bailey had to come back in.    I won't swear to that, though.   There was no good option between Jayce, Theo, and Ed.

I keep seeing similar things re: Theo (not picking on you, just seems to be a trend) and I swear I must be going crazy. I've been thrilled with Theo's play this year. His positional defense has been excellent, and he hasn't been picking up those ticky-tack fouls. He was tasked with guarding the reigning B10 player of the week and held him to 0-5 from 2 with 1 rebound. Theo did exactly what I wanted him to do and more.

[GrimmReaper33]

UW hedged & helped aggressively on Howard and we never made them pay.  Never fed Theo or Morrow on a roll to the hoop.  The fact that they aren't threats from the outside also makes it easier for defenses to guard Howard.  That is where the Hausers are really missed.  Could use one of them as a screener for Howard and defenses can no longer aggressively crowd Howard or you leave a deadly shooter wide open on the pop for 3.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

It would be nice of one of the bigs could be a semi-reliable scoring threat.

[HowardsWorld]

UW hedged & helped aggressively on Howard and we never made them pay.  Never fed Theo or Morrow on a roll to the hoop.  The fact that they aren't threats from the outside also makes it easier for defenses to guard Howard.  That is where the Hausers are really missed.  Could use one of them as a screener for Howard and defenses can no longer aggressively crowd Howard or you leave a deadly shooter wide open on the pop for 3.

Wisconsin's 26 year old junior was getting passed 2-3 screens and was still able to get to Howard. I give him props for that.  But yes we need bailey or Anim to step up and nail some 3's

[Goose]

brewcity

Sam Hauser would have gone down as one of the better four years player in MU history and will be missed every game this season. Joey Hauser likely will be a big time contributor at an elite program beginning next season and will be missed every game this season.

As for our clicking on defense, did you see the team that schooled us in the half court game yesterday? If our "long, athletic" guys cannot shut that offense down, what happens when they play a good team?

For the last two seasons I have been saying this program/Wojo does not have a system in place and many argued with me. Most said that we are a three point shooting, offensive system and we recruited player for that system. So, are we now a defensive system because we are filling in the holes left by the Hausers leaving?

[Mike Deane's Seat Belt]

I really dont think Joey is going to do much at an elite program.  He is still working on not traveling to start his move to the hoop.  Sam on the other hand was fantastic and sorely missed.

[hairy worthen]

I really dont think Joey is going to do much at an elite program.  He is still working on not traveling to start his move to the hoop.  Sam on the other hand was fantastic and sorely missed.

Joey was a freshman last year. Freshmen do that kind of stuff. Joey will eventually be a great player.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Joey was a freshman last year. Freshmen do that kind of stuff. Joey will eventually be a great player.

Yeah I know..."the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores."  But IMO you rarely see huge leaps from players.  You can see signs how a player can improve no doubt, but monumental progress?  It doesn't happen often.

IMO Joey will end up a solid player but not "great."  At best, he'll be MSU's Jamil Wilson.

[MUBurrow]

It is like in the Do We Miss the Hausers thread, I cannot believe that anyone can truthfully say they are not missed. While I would not agree anyone on this, but if they said not missed because they were a cancer, that is an opinion. But, to think they are not missed as basketball players seems crazy to me.

I agree that it is crazy to say they aren't/won't be missed. But I think when we talk about "missing" them, there are two conversations going on at once. On the one hand, we miss them from a pure qualitative standpoint. That just sort of is what it is. It was a lot of minutes and production to replace and it is a tough job to fill that efficiently.

The other, I think more interesting conversation to be had is missing them from a strategic, basketball identity standpoint. E.g., some people think the teams' ceiling is higher without them.  I think that is an uphill climb, but you can at least see the thought process. We're longer, more athletic, more in the "switchable" mode without them. But two things have to happen to give that even a snowball's chance of playing out. One, we need a lot of pretty raw guys to develop and grow up in a hurry. Elliot, Cain, Bailey all need to develop quick. Second, and more importantly, the gameplan has to change to fit this new squad. That's the real rub for me - I've been a huge critic of how much standing, iso and creating jump shots off the dribble we've seen out of Wojo's offenses. I think that lack of strategy has been saved by having MH and Sam who are unique talents who can make that offense work. But this team just won't be able to post the offensive numbers last year's team did with that kind of offense. To make this team click on offense, you need the ball to move a lot more. You need inside-outside game. You need to actually make that athleticism work for you. That will get the defense moving laterally and allow guys like Elliott (and Sacar who looks lost on offense with Koby's emergence) to do good things going to the basket.  Without that, we're not putting the guys we need to develop quickly in a position to succeed, and the only competitive games we'll win are where both MH and Koby get hot on their own.

[f/k/a humanlung]

It would be nice of one of the bigs could be a semi-reliable scoring threat.

It's hard to score when no one passes you the ball.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

It's hard to score when no one passes you the ball.

You want Theo shooting more than the 3-4 shots a game he does now - and has for the past two seasons?  Ed and Jayce who are similar?

We lost our best two interior post up scorers from last year.  Both Sam and Joey were good inside.  Our current bigs are defenders who are going to score 75% of their points off rebounds.