ESPN Classic right now

[HarveysWallbangers]

If you're near a TV, ESPN Classic has Marquette at Cincinnati 2002 on right now.

I still think that team was Crean's best. Wade, Diener, Blankson, Henry. Wow.

[jmayer1]

If you're near a TV, ESPN Classic has Marquette at Cincinnati 2002 on right now.

I still think that team was Crean's best. Wade, Diener, Blankson, Henry. Wow.

I would still take the 2003 team.  We lost Cordell and ODB but added RJax (can't understate him importance) and Novak, plus factor in the improvement of the other guys, especially DWade and TD.

[NYWarrior]

If you're near a TV, ESPN Classic has Marquette at Cincinnati 2002 on right now.

I still think that team was Crean's best. Wade, Diener, Blankson, Henry. Wow.

was that the Donald Little game-winner game?

great effin' game

[RJax55]

The '03 team was the best. It had the best talent and balance of all the teams in the Crean era.

The '02 team was good, but like this year's team, it lack a true big man who could both rebound and score. Wade was MU leading rebounder that season. I wonder what team is better, the '02 team or this current squad??

[HarveysWallbangers]

We had Merritt, Harris, Sanders and Nmamaka...all superior to our current inside players. And I'd take Blankson over either McNeal or Matthews.

They may not have been better than 2003, but they sure were exciting, played well together and had a ton of guys who could score.

[RJax55]

We had Merritt, Harris, Sanders and Nmamaka...all superior to our current inside players. And I'd take Blankson over either McNeal or Matthews.

They may not have been better than 2003, but they sure were exciting, played well together and had a ton of guys who could score.

Those guys were not better. Here are the stats:

Merritt 5.9/4.3 compared to Barro 4.6/4.8.
Nmamaka 7.8/4.3 compared to Hayward 13.4/6.3
Sanders 2.3/1.9 compared to Burke 3.4/3.4
Harris 4.5/3.6 compared to Fitzgerald 5.0/2.1

Merritt and Barro are pretty much a wash. Same with Burke and Sanders. Nmamaka was a solid player who did the little things, but Hayward is a far superior performer. The only one I would consider to be better would be Harris and only because of his defense. Fitz is definitely the better player offensively.

As for the ODB comparsion, again both McNeal and Matthews are better. The ODB was a better rebounder averaging 6.1 boards a game, but he only averaged 8.4 points per contest. Also, IMO McNeal and Matthews are better defenders.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Are you seriously going to use scoring and rebounding averages to determine who is the better player?

Claiming Barro is better than Merritt is laughable. Merritt was twice the player Barro is...and I like Barro.

Also, has Fitzgerald suddenly become one of our post players?

[RJax55]

Are you seriously going to use scoring and rebounding averages to determine who is the better player?

Claiming Barro is better than Merritt is laughable. Merritt was twice the player Barro is...and I like Barro.

Also, has Fitzgerald suddenly become one of our post players?

Yes, using stats can help determine who was more productive. I was disproving the earlier statement that the '02 frontline was "superior" to this year's team. The stats don't support that claim.

In regards to Merritt, back in '02 he was not twice the player that Barro currently is. Did he have more talent and potential, yes, but much like Barro he struggled to produce consistently.

As for Fitz, Crean plays him at the 4. So although he not a post player, I do consider him to be part of our front court.

[NavinRJohnson]

Yes, using stats can help determine who was more productive. I was disproving the earlier statement that the '02 frontline was "superior" to this year's team. The stats don't support that claim.

In regards to Merritt, back in '02 he was not twice the player that Barro currently is. Did he have more talent and potential, yes, but much like Barro he struggled to produce consistently.

As for Fitz, Crean plays him at the 4. So although he not a post player, I do consider him to be part of our front court.

You are out of your mind. If we replaced our 4 current guys with the 4 from '02, is there any chance on God's green earth that we would have been out rebounded in 7 straight games or whatever its been? Absolutely not. Hayward is the only reason its even close.

[mu03eng]

The worst part of that game wasn't Little's shot, it was the fact that Logan gave Cordell a uncalled forearm shiver to clear space for his 3.  Then Wade turns around and missed the front end of a 1 and 1.  The only game to kick me in the junk more than this game was Reese Gaines Louisville game at the BC because I was at that game and stood in line for 8 hours in the freezing cold to sit in the front row.