A win is a win is a win is a win

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

I don't like it.  The only reason I can see for it is that you have to believe the opponent's best defender is playing no help defense and that Wojo believes his other 4 can beat the opponent's other 4.

I think we all know they cannot. Ed?, Theo?, bailey?, sacar? Oye vey

[dgies9156]

What I really worry about is that teams will really force him (Howard) to give up the ball by hard doubling him and forcing our other guys to beat them and that those others won't be up to the task.

Look, if I was coaching a team playing Marquette, I'd do that all day. We saw in the Henry Ellenson year that teams would sometimes triple Henry knowing that Marquette was a Hero ball team. Without Henry that year, it's questionable whether Marquette could have beaten anybody in the Big East not named DePaul.

As a Coach, until someone can prove to me that Theo, Sacar, Kobe and Brendan can beat me, I'd cover Markus Howard so tightly that he couldn't breathe. Under these circumstances, I'm afraid for the worst this year.

[MU82]

Look, if I was coaching a team playing Marquette, I'd do that all day. We saw in the Henry Ellenson year that teams would sometimes triple Henry knowing that Marquette was a Hero ball team. Without Henry that it year, it's questionable whether Marquette could have beaten anybody in the Big East not named DePaul.

As a Coach, until someone can prove to me that Theo, Sacar, Kobe and Brendan can beat me, I'd cover Markus Howard so tightly that he couldn't breathe. Under these circumstances, I'm afraid for the worst this year.

Agree with the strategy.

Luckily for Marquette, we have one of the great players in basketball history in Kobe.

[Mike Deane's Seat Belt]

Question is , could we have a bad enough year that wojo gets fired or not?

I say at this point with Garcia my guess would be no, but once again another year with a can't win in march coach rolls on. 
his commitment all but guarantees wojo another year at marquette, regardless of whether or not we finish higher than depaul in conference......

We have one high quality / all american level starter the rest are horizon league level players (recruitment level ranking no matter )

[Pakuni]

We have one high quality / all american level starter the rest are horizon league level players (recruitment level ranking no matter )

This remains just as stupid as the first time you wrote it.

[Cheeks]

Question is , could we have a bad enough year that wojo gets fired or not?

I say at this point with Garcia my guess would be no, but once again another year with a can't win in march coach rolls on. 
his commitment all but guarantees wojo another year at marquette, regardless of whether or not we finish higher than depaul in conference......

We have one high quality / all american level starter the rest are horizon league level players (recruitment level ranking no matter )

Just a simple question for you since you give such simplistic feedback here.  If our other guys are on,y Horizon level players, why at the end of their recruitments when they chose MU were there on,y high major schools left?

All those schools didn't analyze the talent level either?  Lol

[Mike Deane's Seat Belt]

Over ranked / over hyped. 

[Cheeks]

Over ranked / over hyped.

Didn't answer / no one surprised at lack of answer

[dgies9156]

Agree with the strategy.

Luckily for Marquette, we have one of the great players in basketball history in Kobe.

Gosh, I hate it when the resident copy editor takes over.

Lucas G. Staudacher lives!

[The Sultan]

Question is , could we have a bad enough year that wojo gets fired or not?

I say at this point with Garcia my guess would be no, but once again another year with a can't win in march coach rolls on. 
his commitment all but guarantees wojo another year at marquette, regardless of whether or not we finish higher than depaul in conference......

We have one high quality / all american level starter the rest are horizon league level players (recruitment level ranking no matter )

I think Herman's thought that he would leave for another job is a more realistic scenario, even if it is a perceived lateral move.  I don't see any way he gets fired unless the bottom completely falls out.

[Warrior of Law]

This statement about the rest of the roster is not far off. UWM has transfers from Illinois & USC.  The simple act of a top-25-ish program recruiting a player likely improves the player's stock more than any other variable. 

Question is , could we have a bad enough year that wojo gets fired or not?

I say at this point with Garcia my guess would be no, but once again another year with a can't win in march coach rolls on. 
his commitment all but guarantees wojo another year at marquette, regardless of whether or not we finish higher than depaul in conference......

We have one high quality / all american level starter the rest are horizon league level players (recruitment level ranking no matter )

[dgies9156]

Question is , could we have a bad enough year that wojo gets fired or not?

I say at this point with Garcia my guess would be no, but once again another year with a can't win in March coach rolls on. His commitment all but guarantees Wojo another year at Marquette, regardless of whether or not we finish higher than Depaul in conference......

My concern is less whether we win in March but whether we even get to March. I know it is still very early in the spring for this season, but it already feels like winter. Unless there is a dramatic improvement in the coming weeks, I doubt we'll even be considered for the NCAA and, possibly not even the NIT.

If Purdue had hit their free throws, Marquette would be 2-2 and have not a single Top 100 win.

Make Marquette feared again is a long way away.

[Cheeks]

This statement about the rest of the roster is not far off. UWM has transfers from Illinois & USC.  The simple act of a top-25-ish program recruiting a player likely improves the player's stock more than any other variable.

Except it also means all the other programs recruiting them are complicit in the malpractice.  I don't disagree with you that depending on who LANDS the kid, the rankings can get bolstered, but let's also look at who else recruited them.

BB originally committed to Arizona State.  He was offered by Arizona, Arizona State, BYU.
Morrow originally committed and played for Nebraska.  He was offered by Georgia, Florida State, Creighton, Iowa, Minnesota
Jayce Johnson originally committed and played for Utah.  Offered by Kansas, Oregon, Notre Dame, Colorado, Auburn, Arizona State, Stanford, Vandy
Theo John offered by Cal, Oklahoma, Purdue, Texas Tech, Minnesota, Maryland, Nebraska, Illinois
Greg Elliotts offered by Michigan State, Providence
Jamal Cain offered by Florida State, Georgia, Cincinnati, Michigan, Xavier

And on and on.  This is why Mike Deane's Seatbelt comments make no sense.  Incidentally, I'm guessing at least 50 to 100 other message boards are saying this about their team....it's what fans do.

[Its DJOver]

My concern is less whether we win in March but whether we even get to March. I know it is still very early in the spring for this season, but it already feels like winter. Unless there is a dramatic improvement in the coming weeks, I doubt we'll even be considered for the NCAA and, possibly not even the NIT.

If Purdue had hit their free throws, Marquette would be 2-2 and have not a single Top 100 win.

Make Marquette feared again is a long way away.

365 days ago, we were 4-2, with a single top 100 win (that had a fair bit of luck involved), a record second half collapse on what could have been a marquee win, and a 20+ point blow out where we got outplayed for literally all 40 minutes, and many people here had the exact same idea; that we would be lucky to get an NIT invite.  We turned it around for a pretty good December, January, and February, and were set for a postseason run until our All-American got hurt.  Lets try to #MakeScoopNotPanicEveryNovember first.

[Warrior of Law]

There are very few "sure-things" in recruiting, except at the Duke/Kentucky level.  What you need are a few of the players to either meet or exceed their expectations.  There isn't a player on the team (outside of MH) that has met or exceeded their expectations during recruiting.  This season's roster is the cumulative effect of below-expectation players, and the loss of the key performers. Some will blame the coaches for not developing the players that are brought in, and that complaint has merit.

[Galway Eagle]

There are very few "sure-things" in recruiting, except at the Duke/Kentucky level.  What you need are a few of the players to either meet or exceed their expectations.  There isn't a player on the team (outside of MH) that has met or exceeded their expectations during recruiting.  This season's roster is the cumulative effect of below-expectation players, and the loss of the key performers. Some will blame the coaches for not developing the players that are brought in, and that complaint has merit.

I think you could make a good argument Sacar has met or exceeded. Not drastically, but he was never expected to be an impact recruit and he's now started three years often locking down opposing best players with a few explosive games.

[Its DJOver]

So when the 204th ranked prospect leads the conference in blocks that's not even meeting expectations?  I guess we'd better expect Dawson to be a four year All-American.

[Cheeks]

There are very few "sure-things" in recruiting, except at the Duke/Kentucky level.  What you need are a few of the players to either meet or exceed their expectations.  There isn't a player on the team (outside of MH) that has met or exceeded their expectations during recruiting.  This season's roster is the cumulative effect of below-expectation players, and the loss of the key performers. Some will blame the coaches for not developing the players that are brought in, and that complaint has merit.

I strongly disagree. 

Theo John was 204th nationally, a 3 star recruit.  He has easily met expectations, and some would say exceeded them.
Greg Elliott was 224th nationally, a 3 star recruit.  Was injured all of last year.  He certainly hasn't been BELOW expectations.  I'd say at expectations.
Sacar Anim, just under 200th nationally, a 3 star recruit.  Pretty much at expectations.


You were expecting what out of 3 star, 200ish level players?  18 points a game?  Come on. 

What we need is consistency out of BB and Cain, and a step up from each of them (Cain also a 3 star kid).  We will see how long it takes for Torrence to get into the mix, but he is raw with upside.

[Galway Eagle]

I strongly disagree. 

Theo John was 204th nationally, a 3 star recruit.  He has easily met expectations, and some would say exceeded them.
Greg Elliott was 224th nationally, a 3 star recruit.  Was injured all of last year.  He certainly hasn't been BELOW expectations.  I'd say at expectations.
Sacar Anim, just under 200th nationally, a 3 star recruit.  Pretty much at expectations.


You were expecting what out of 3 star, 200ish level players?  18 points a game?  Come on. 

What we need is consistency out of BB and Cain, and a step up from each of them (Cain also a 3 star kid).  We will see how long it takes for Torrence to get into the mix, but he is raw with upside.

I recall Cain being a 4 star by some services. But yeah him and Bailey are the only two that I'd put below expectations to date.

[Goose]

Warrior of Law

I completely agree with your post, with exception of Sacar. He has exceeded expectation, but that would be great if he were a 6th or 7th man on a good team. I have said this program lacks talent for the entire Wojo era and the loss of two big contributors only highlights that. Makes no difference to me who else recruited our guys or what they were ranked because results is all that matters.

I am very happy that Wojo is putting together a good recruiting class but there is a ton of work to be done to take this program to the next level. Having watched the start of this season bad memories are being revisited in my head.

[brewcity77]

Time to resurrect this maybe?

Season checklist
(x) Non-conference near-miss against inferior opponent (Robert Morris)
(x) Non-conference stinker to inferior opponent (UW-Madison)
( )Non-conference loss on big stage convinces board MU not ready for Big East
( ) Unmentionable conference loss
( ) Road Game we weren't supposed to win
( ) Late surge
( ) Top-half Big East Finish

[Its DJOver]

Warrior of Law

I completely agree with your post, with exception of Sacar. He has exceeded expectation, but that would be great if he were a 6th or 7th man on a good team. I have said this program lacks talent for the entire Wojo era and the loss of two big contributors only highlights that. Makes no difference to me who else recruited our guys or what they were ranked because results is all that matters.

I am very happy that Wojo is putting together a good recruiting class but there is a ton of work to be done to take this program to the next level. Having watched the start of this season bad memories are being revisited in my head.

Hmmmm.....

I am officially going on record that I believe this will be Wojo's best team to date and by a wide margin. On different thread I noted that that Bailey would be the difference maker this season and have a change of heart. I think the new big guy in the middle and Kobe are going to be time contributors this season. In addition, I think Ed M. is going to play a very major role this season and end up getting more PT than Theo.

Until the last few weeks I thought this season would be a repeat of previous seasons in regards to NCAA success. I now think that everyone stays healthy, this team will win a minimum of one NCAA game this season. My confidence level that we will not have a "fool's gold" season is quite high. While I still remain disappointed in losing the Hausers, this team might make some noise.

[Elonsmusk]

Except it also means all the other programs recruiting them are complicit in the malpractice.  I don't disagree with you that depending on who LANDS the kid, the rankings can get bolstered, but let's also look at who else recruited them.

BB originally committed to Arizona State.  He was offered by Arizona, Arizona State, BYU.
Morrow originally committed and played for Nebraska.  He was offered by Georgia, Florida State, Creighton, Iowa, Minnesota
Jayce Johnson originally committed and played for Utah.  Offered by Kansas, Oregon, Notre Dame, Colorado, Auburn, Arizona State, Stanford, Vandy
Theo John offered by Cal, Oklahoma, Purdue, Texas Tech, Minnesota, Maryland, Nebraska, Illinois
Greg Elliotts offered by Michigan State, Providence
Jamal Cain offered by Florida State, Georgia, Cincinnati, Michigan, Xavier

And on and on.  This is why Mike Deane's Seatbelt comments make no sense.  Incidentally, I'm guessing at least 50 to 100 other message boards are saying this about their team....it's what fans do.

Great post.  Our kids were recruited by high majors.  The kids in our system are old, experienced, were coveted by other good programs, so we should have high expectations for their performance this year.  So now it comes down to the nuts and bolts of coaching.

At some point Wojo has to prove he can win in a meaningful way.  Last year the Big East was awful, and we imploded in epic fashion.  That shouldn't happen in Year 5.  Nor should we expect anything less than an NCAA bid this season and at least 1 victory in tournament. 

[Tha Hound]

My concern is less whether we win in March but whether we even get to March. I know it is still very early in the spring for this season, but it already feels like winter. Unless there is a dramatic improvement in the coming weeks, I doubt we'll even be considered for the NCAA and, possibly not even the NIT.

If Purdue had hit their free throws, Marquette would be 2-2 and have not a single Top 100 win.

Make Marquette feared again is a long way away.

What the hell has happened to this website ? God this forum has become absolutely deranged. The sky is not falling. RELAX

[Cheeks]

Great post.  Our kids were recruited by high majors.  The kids in our system are old, experienced, were coveted by other good programs, so we should have high expectations for their performance this year.  So now it comes down to the nuts and bolts of coaching.

At some point Wojo has to prove he can win in a meaningful way.  Last year the Big East was awful, and we imploded in epic fashion.  That shouldn't happen in Year 5.  Nor should we expect anything less than an NCAA bid this season and at least 1 victory in tournament.

The difference and I think Goose is right, some of these kids are starting for us and would likely be reserves on those other teams.  That's the way it goes when you rebuild.  Lots of 3 star guys, a 4 here or there.  Now we signed Torrence, a 4 star...and two more 4's and a 5 coming in next year.  That's taking the talent up a level.

That's also why Wojo is going NOWHERE any time soon.  Victories in tournaments...crapshoot.  Depends on who you play, where you play, style of play, etc.