Bailey

[Elonsmusk]

If Brendan can give this team 10-15ppg on a consistent basis and do it while shooting 35% from 3?  Massively helpful.

Kid needed a confidence booster, and he sure got one against Maryland.  I don't see the high ceiling on Brendan some do (as in going down as an all-time great at MU), but his performance yesterday sure was special and gave me much more optimism about his potential ceiling.

[Lennys Tap]

Lenny, which three games did Bailey start? The first three. Which games did Joey start? The last 31. Do you think Wojo just started Bailey for sh*ts and giggles? The plan was to start Bailey and have Joey come off the bench. Joey outplayed Bailey and took his starting spot. If Bailey had outplayed Joey, that starting lineup wasn't changing.

You'll notice I'm saying "starting" not "play more minutes."

Do you think Markus didn't start the first 4 games as a freshman for "sh*ts and giggles"? Do you think Wojo planned to have Markus come off the bench that year? Or was he easing him in? At least 2 of the games Bailey started were against cupcakes. Do you really think Wojo chucked his season's plans on that small a sample? That would be the world's shortest leash - hard for me to believe.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Do you think Markus didn't start the first 4 games as a freshman for "sh*ts and giggles"? Do you think Wojo planned to have Markus come off the bench that year? Or was he easing him in?

Markus started the first game of his freshman year.

At least 2 of the games Bailey started were against cupcakes. Do you really think Wojo chucked his season's plans on that small a sample?

Yes. It's not like he couldn't adjust later in the season if it didn't work.

That would be the world's shortest leash - hard for me to believe.

You can believe it or not but it is the truth. The plan was always to have Bailey start and have Joey come off the bench. That doesn't mean Bailey was better than Joey (he's wasn't). That doesn't mean Bailey was going to get more minutes than Joey (he probably wouldn't have). That meant that Joey and Sam together were redundant. They created elite shooting and solid rebounding but problems on defense and made the offense less diverse. The hope was that Bailey could be an athletic defensive stopper to compliment the rest of the starters. In reality, Bailey got stagefright, Joey was game ready, and Wojo adjusted as a good coach should. It worked really well until it didn't. It could be argued that Wojo should have adjusted back at the end of the season.

[NorthernDancerColt]

Markus started the first game of his freshman year.

Yes. It's not like he couldn't adjust later in the season if it didn't work.

You can believe it or not but it is the truth. The plan was always to have Bailey start and have Joey come off the bench. That doesn't mean Bailey was better than Joey (he's wasn't). That doesn't mean Bailey was going to get more minutes than Joey (he probably wouldn't have). That meant that Joey and Sam together were redundant. They created elite shooting and solid rebounding but problems on defense and made the offense less diverse. The hope was that Bailey could be an athletic defensive stopper to compliment the rest of the starters. In reality, Bailey got stagefright, Joey was game ready, and Wojo adjusted as a good coach should. It worked really well until it didn't. It could be argued that Wojo should have adjusted back at the end of the season.

It worked out phenomenally. Brendan worked hard in the off-season knowing the team would need him all the more in Joey's absence. The kid with the pouty attitude, slow feet, and high floor/low ceiling is gone and replaced by a bought-in young man who is smiling all the time, long and athletic, with a very high ceiling, who is just starting to hit his stride. Don't be surprised if in a year , teams are game-planning to stop Brendan and an MU freshman has the kind of game Mr Bailey just had as a result of the focus on Markus.

[IrwinFletcher]

It worked out phenomenally. Brendan worked hard in the off-season knowing the team would need him all the more in Joey's absence. The kid with the pouty attitude, slow feet, and high floor/low ceiling is gone and replaced by a bought-in young man who is smiling all the time, long and athletic, with a very high ceiling, who is just starting to hit his stride. Don't be surprised if in a year , teams are game-planning to stop Brendan and an MU freshman has the kind of game Mr Bailey just had as a result of the focus on Markus.

I think we might be getting ahead of ourselves here after a single game.  Bailey looked great for sure and we are all hoping that this leads to more impact, but I am nowhere close to think he could be the focal point for an opponent. 

[Lennys Tap]

Markus started the first game of his freshman year.

You can believe it or not but it is the truth. The plan was always to have Bailey start and have Joey come off the bench.

And then didn't start the next 4. And then started again the rest of the season. An "always" grand plan written in very light #2 pencil on a cocktail napkin. Kind of like the "always" grand plan that was junked almost immediately so that two players who were "redundant" could end up being on the court together most of the time - while we won 23 of our first 27. When guys start 3 games out of 34 it's due to an injury, an attempt to light a fire under another player (Joey H?) or some other temporary "changeup"(Jamal Cain, like BB, also started 3 games last year). A really brief experiment (IMO) isn't a plan.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Lenny, you can choose to believe that but you are incorrect. There was no injury. There was no reason to light a fire under any butts. The coaching staff thought that Bailey starting and Joey coming off the bench was going to give us the best chance to win. When it wasn't working they adjusted. Im nor sure why this is such an impossibility to you.

[Elonsmusk]

Lenny, you can choose to believe that but you are incorrect. There was no injury. There was no reason to light a fire under any butts. The coaching staff thought that Bailey starting and Joey coming off the bench was going to give us the best chance to win. When it wasn't working they adjusted. Im nor sure why this is such an impossibility to you.

Yea.  This coaching staff has been totally on point with their playing time decisions and starting lineup personnel.  In fact on point is probably an understatement, Wojo has been brilliant in this department!

[Dr. Blackheart]

Lenny, I am with TAMU on this one. Bailey started as MU spent their entire summer on defense, and he was the better defensive player in practice. Joey was recovering from rehab as was being eased in. Then, IU happened and it was clear that the BB solution wasn't working...especially when Joey had a good shooting game when Markus was swarmed by IU.

By the end of the year, Bailey was back in the rotation with heavier minutes because of his defense (and Joey's lack of it). It purely was a defense for offense swap (and in reverse) as MU had Sam and his firepower.

[Silent Verbal]

Lenny, you can choose to believe that but you are incorrect. There was no injury. There was no reason to light a fire under any butts. The coaching staff thought that Bailey starting and Joey coming off the bench was going to give us the best chance to win. When it wasn't working they adjusted. Im nor sure why this is such an impossibility to you.

In 1925, a slumping Wally Pipp was replaced in the Yankees' starting lineup by Lou Gehrig.  In 1926, I wonder if some joe in the stands at a Yankees game told whoever would listen, "The plan last year, the plan you see, was to start Wally Pipp over Lou Gehrig!"  If he did, I'm not sure why anyone would care or what point this joe was even trying to make.  The better player ended up with more playing time.  Maybe this joe was just trying to show off his insider knowledge or something.  If that was his purpose, I hope someone pinned a star on him!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Yea.  This coaching staff has been totally on point with their playing time decisions and starting lineup personnel.  In fact on point is probably an understatement, Wojo has been brilliant in this department!

Ners, I never said anything about the quality of the plan, just that it was the plan. Bailey wasn't ready and they adjusted quickly.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

In 1925, a slumping Wally Pipp was replaced in the Yankees' starting lineup by Lou Gehrig.  In 1926, I wonder if some joe in the stands at a Yankees game told whoever would listen, "The plan last year, the plan you see, was to start Wally Pipp over Lou Gehrig!"  If he did, I'm not sure why anyone would care or what point this joe was even trying to make.  The better player ended up with more playing time.  Maybe this joe was just trying to show off his insider knowledge or something.  If that was his purpose, I hope someone pinned a star on him!

Or was trying to point out that the coaching staff saw something in that player to make them think that he could be an effective starter but kudos to the other guy for seizing the opportunity when it presented itself.

[MU82]

Yea.  This coaching staff has been totally on point with their playing time decisions and starting lineup personnel.  In fact on point is probably an understatement, Wojo has been brilliant in this department!

If only Wojo had your very large coaching brain at his disposal, Ners, we'd have won 8 of our first 7 games.

I think your 64th "permanent" ban came after you spent weeks arguing that Wojo's game-tying play against Creighton was stoopid, and that anybody who pointed out that the play worked was even more stoopider.

[Elonsmusk]

If only Wojo had your very large coaching brain at his disposal, Ners, we'd have won 8 of our first 7 games.

I think your 64th "permanent" ban came after you spent weeks arguing that Wojo's game-tying play against Creighton was stoopid, and that anybody who pointed out that the play worked was even more stoopider.

Are you referencing the game where Wojo had the best shooter in college basketball who'd scored 53 in the game, inbounding the ball with 1 seconds left, down one?

As for the "play," are you referencing the one where Sam just floated back to 28' away from the basket, for Markus to execute the super high degree of difficulty pass?, and for Sam to throw in a prayer?

No doubt it "worked," yet I'd postulate that is more a result of a blind squirrel finding a nut, than sound coaching.  But hey, agree to disagree.

That aside, I'm happy to say we certainly could be doing worse had we hired a different coach. Hopefully Wojo has acquired enough "experience" now in Year 6 to guide us to our first NCAA tourney win under his leadership.  I thoroughly enjoyed the USC game and was more excited to tune in to the Maryland game than perhaps any other since he took over.

[Pakuni]

If only Wojo had your very large coaching brain at his disposal, Ners, we'd have won 8 of our first 7 games.

I think your 64th "permanent" ban came after you spent weeks arguing that Wojo's game-tying play against Creighton was stoopid, and that anybody who pointed out that the play worked was even more stoopider.

Wojo couldn't dunk in high school.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

If only Wojo had your very large coaching brain at his disposal, Ners, we'd have won 8 of our first 7 games.

I think your 64th "permanent" ban came after you spent weeks arguing that Wojo's game-tying play against Creighton was stoopid, and that anybody who pointed out that the play worked was even more stoopider.

You really didn't need to give Ners the opening to re-litigate this for the 973rd time.

[Eldon]

Wojo couldn't dunk in high school.

Probably true.

[tower912]

You really didn't need to give Ners the opening to re-litigate this for the 973rd time.

May be tossing out the bait to see if the Asian carp will start down the path to another banning.

[jesmu84]

How many permabans does it take to get someone legitimately permanently banned?

[BM1090]

How many permabans does it take to get someone legitimately permanently banned?

Too many.

[mu03eng]

How many permabans does it take to get someone legitimately permanently banned?

All of them

[Lennys Tap]

Lenny, you can choose to believe that but you are incorrect. There was no injury. There was no reason to light a fire under any butts. The coaching staff thought that Bailey starting and Joey coming off the bench was going to give us the best chance to win. When it wasn't working they adjusted. Im nor sure why this is such an impossibility to you.

TAMU

Perhaps you're right. If so, my apologies. It still sounds more like a brief experiment than "the plan all along", but no big deal.

[mu03eng]

Not to be the pessimist because I think Bailey will deliver more consistently this season but keep in mind that Bailey "flashed" during the road Georgetown game last season when Markus went down and then never delivered that level of performance again.

Trying to be positive though, outside of the Wisconsin game he has definitely looked better overall on offense which tells me he is trending upward. Expectations would be something like averaging a hilly(pops of 20 and lulls of 5) 13ppg over the season with something like 36% 3pt shooting. And quite frankly if Koby and Sacar can play to their potential on offense that is plenty out of Bailey.

Where I'm most excited for Bailey? When he slides down to the 3 next year.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Not to be the pessimist because I think Bailey will deliver more consistently this season but keep in mind that Bailey "flashed" during the road Georgetown game last season when Markus went down and then never delivered that level of performance again.

I'm going to optimistically hope he has turned the corner into a steady upward trend and not an Amoroso-at-the-Great-Alaska-Shootout abberation.

[MarquetteDano]

not an Amoroso-at-the-Great-Alaska-Shootout abberation.

Or Duane Wilson's 30 at exactly the same venue.

Though Wilson ended up averaging 11. Guess I would take that from Bailey.