The End Of Peak Markus???

[JakeBarnes]

It's like we have the most angst ridden fanbase in the world.  Just in the last few days, we have the following topics:

**Markus scores too much
**Markus doesn't score enough
**Is Wojo a good coach?
**Is Wojo a bad coach?
**Is there a problem playing in the Fiserv Forum?
**We should move back to the Arena.
**Why is Wisconsin hockey playing there?  Is it going to harm our new 20 game conference schedule?
**Why are we ignoring Tyrese Hunter?

I mean jeez, I'm not the biggest Wojo fan in the world, but even I can recognize that we are rooting for a near top 25 team, playing in a world-class arena that was sold out against DePaul FFS, and are witnessing one of the greatest players in program history.  Yesterday before the Super Bowl, I was watching UCLA struggle against Utah in a half-empty Pauley Pavilion.  UCLA!!  And you're worrying about Marquette?

This fanbase needs to take a Xanax and calm the f*ck down.

I think you just found the next promotion for a game. Forget a bobblehead...take some xanax.

[TheREALwrk]

I just read the first page of this thread... is it supposed to be entirely teal?

[Pakuni]

Stan must be reading Scoop this morning.

Stan Johnson @MUCoachJohnson
Don't take greatness for granted. It doesn't come around often. Don't be that person after it has passed to say "I didn't realize what I was seeing in the moment." Greatness also isn't perfect. Nitpick all you want, but making "PERFECT"  the enemy of "GREAT" is foolish.

[The Sultan]

Now we have Stan's random buzzword generator.  This topic is something.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Just stop answering/posting these trolls and stupid posts...  They will go away ! ! !   

Sadly, they won't.  Even when banned multiple times, they insist on coming back where not wanted with 2, 3, or 4 user names.

[tower912]

What a ridiculous post.

Bitch

[Cheeks]

Umm, you have heard of the concept of "Peak Oil", right? It refers to the point in Energy history where there is both the maxed-out global production of and global dependence on fossil fuels. So, in a sense, the original post was brilliant. It asks whether MU has reached a point beyond "Peak Markus", whereby MU can survive or even thrive with Markus at less than his best levels. It also addresses our dependence on him.

Peak Oil has been proven to be a hoax thus far...as a son of a petroleum geologist / geophysicist it used to make him laugh.  Get the concept, but the end is near predictions of the last 50 years have been comical.  Especially now with shale which they have known about for decades.  So much oil out there not yet even discovered.

[WhoaJoe2020]

I have become at least partially immune to crazily negative posts on Scoop (thank God), but saying that Markus sucks because he only put up 31 points after someone literally broke his face a few days earlier sets a new standard.

Who in the Sam hell said " Markus sucks"???

If pointing out that he's hurt and it will likely limit his game and his ability to take over if the rest of the team is struggling is hating on him then you people are too sensitive.

I don't think it would be smart or safe to have Markus driving to the hoop when he's still dealing with his injury.
The X game showed others can pick up some of the scoring load and they should.

If anything the post was an indictment of the other guys who don't consistently step up.

Others got the point but some it seems chose not to.

If people think Marquette is going to do anything this year by repeating the approach from last year, that's the definition of crazy.

Other guys need to contribute every game, so Markus can be fresh and healthy for post season play.

For that to happen, the team has to get out of this Peak Markus mindset.

Markus would almost literally leave his heart on the floor to win and has at times. Should that be necessary as often as it has been in the past??

The silver lining to the injury is that it may force the team to move away from relying so heavily on Markus.

What a dumb, crazy, hateful  thought.

[The Sultan]

The criticism of your initial post is that it comes after one game.  A game where his stats weren't significant different than the most recent Butler and St. John's games.  So there isn't even evidence that his injury would "likely limit" his game, much less change his approach to offense.

[WhoaJoe2020]

Peak Oil has been proven to be a hoax thus far...as a son of a petroleum geologist / geophysicist it used to make him laugh.  Get the concept, but the end is near predictions of the last 50 years have been comical.  Especially now with shale which they have known about for decades.  So much oil out there not yet even discovered.

Yeah, and just like Markus is still readily available, is using him so much and being so dependent on him really the best way to achieve sustainable success moving forward this season.??

Shouldn't Marquette be switching over to other sources of production??

Especially after the injury??

[MUBBau]

Markus hasn't shot 50%+ on 3's since his freshman year; he hasn't been Peak Markus in 3 years.

[WhoaJoe2020]

Markus hasn't shot 50%+ on 3's since his freshman year; he hasn't been Peak Markus in 3 years.

How many games over 30 has he had??
How many in the high 20s??
How much responsibility has he carried bringing the ball up or initiating the offense, creating his own shot or others, as well as drawing  fouls??

Marquette has been heavily dependent on Markus for a long time.

[warriorchick]

Markus hasn't shot 50%+ on 3's since his freshman year; he hasn't been Peak Markus in 3 years.

Depends on how you define "Peak Markus".  It certainly isn't by that stat alone.

[MU82]

Markus hasn't shot 50%+ on 3's since his freshman year; he hasn't been Peak Markus in 3 years.

There was at least one thread discussing whether or not Markus would shoot 60% or better from 3-point range as a sophomore. Such pessimists. Why not 90%?

But as chickadee said, Markus has added so much to his game since he was a freshman - floaters, reverses, pull-ups, even some defense. He's is much more than a 3-point shooter, his role on the team has changed significantly, and the sheer volume of 3s he takes makes it impossible that his 3-pt % wouldn't go down quite a bit.

[MUBBau]

Sorry everyone, it was a tongue in cheek comment, just wanted to be as ridiculous as the OP

[WhoaJoe2020]

The Big East has had 4 years to try to figure out how to stop Markus from scoring, and they have been unsuccessful.  Teams double- and triple-team him and he still puts up an average of almost 30 points a game. The rest of his game has improved every year.

No, Markus has not peaked.

Markus is amazing, and has been amazing. No question.

The less obvious observation, at least to some, is that being expected to be amazing all the time is unrealistic. Add in a busted face, and those expectations become even more unrealistic, and quite frankly, unsustainable.

I was disappointed that Sacar, Brendan, and to a lesser extent Koby, didn't pick up more of the slack, and Markus was still required to do the lions share of the scoring in the DePaul game despite his condition. I basically gave them a pass due to possible fatigue from the X game, but the Butler game I expect better.

If people truly want post season success, Markus probably needs to step back a little and others need to step up more.

It's not necessarily a bad thing if Peak Markus is over.

[mu03eng]

Markus is amazing, and has been amazing. No question.

The less obvious observation, at least to some, is that being expected to be amazing all the time is unrealistic. Add in a busted face, and those expectations become even more unrealistic, and quite frankly, unsustainable.

I was disappointed that Sacar, Brendan, and to a lesser extent Koby, didn't pick up more of the slack, and Markus was still required to do the lions share of the scoring in the DePaul game despite his condition. I basically gave them a pass due to possible fatigue from the X game, but the Butler game I expect better.

If people truly want post season success, Markus probably needs to step back a little and others need to step up more.

It's not necessarily a bad thing if Peak Markus is over.

Peak Markus is a feature, not a bug.

Koby, Theo, Jayce, and Symir all had ORtg's over 100 per KenPom so they did a just fine job of "picking up the slack". Markus missed shots he normally hits within the flow of the offense, sometimes that happens.....nothing really to change ESPECIALLY on a single data point.

[The Sultan]

Shouldn't Marquette be switching over to other sources of production??

Yes.  It's just like an assembly line. 

[warriorchick]

Sorry everyone, it was a tongue in cheek comment, just wanted to be as ridiculous as the OP

Unfortunately, even the most ridiculous comments can't be assumed to be tongue in cheek.  Not on Scoop.

[MU82]

Sorry everyone, it was a tongue in cheek comment, just wanted to be as ridiculous as the OP

Don't be sorry. Thanks for not putting it in teal. Keeps the rest of us sharp.

[rocky_warrior]

Don't be sorry. Thanks for not putting it in teal. Keeps the rest of us sharp less dull.

Fixed

[WhoaJoe2020]

Peak Markus is a feature, not a bug.

Koby, Theo, Jayce, and Symir all had ORtg's over 100 per KenPom so they did a just fine job of "picking up the slack". Markus missed shots he normally hits within the flow of the offense, sometimes that happens.....nothing really to change ESPECIALLY on a single data point.

I see the injury as an opportunity to balance the scoring load. I noted that it was a small sample size in the OP, and that is why I don't know if the team will proactively try to shift the load moving forward. I expected it to happen in the DePaul game, but to my dismay, the team looked about  the same as before Markus got injured.

If Marquette barely beat the worst team in the conference at home, something needs to change. I think it will. I truly believe fatigue played a major factor in the DePaul game and I expect Sacar and Brendan, to come out on fire against Butler. Koby actually was a solid contributor in the DePaul game, and I expect that to continue moving forward. I don't expect Jayce to be as big of a factor moving forward, but who knows.

It may be only one data point but it could be the beginning of a trend away from Peak Markus, and I think that would be the best thing for Markus and the teams long term success. Especially in the NCAA tournament, IF Marquette makes it.

[mu03eng]

I see the injury as an opportunity to balance the scoring load. I noted that it was a small sample size in the OP, and that is why I don't know if the team will proactively try to shift the load moving forward. I expected it to happen in the DePaul game, but to my dismay, the team looked about  the same as before Markus got injured.

If Marquette barely beat the worst team in the conference at home, something needs to change. I think it will. I truly believe fatigue played a major factor in the DePaul game and I expect Sacar and Brendan, to come out on fire against Butler. Koby actually was a solid contributor in the DePaul game, and I expect that to continue moving forward. I don't expect Jayce to be as big of a factor moving forward, but who knows.

It may be only one data point but it could be the beginning of a trend away from Peak Markus, and I think that would be the best thing for Markus and the teams long term success. Especially in the NCAA tournament, IF Marquette makes it.

Again, it is a feature not a bug. Wojo's entire offensive strategy is built on Markus being a high usage guy, if nothing else it opens up for other guys and if Sacar and Brendan hit at the season long clips against DePaul this isn't even a debate. Wojo isn't (nor should he) going to change his entire offensive strategy now.

And if you don't think MU is going to make the tournament at this point, I don't know what to tell you. MU can go 3-5 down the stretch and not even be on the bubble. Barring some sort of disaster or injury they aren't going 3-5 down the stretch.

Also if you think DePaul is the worst team in the league Georgetown and St John's would like to have a word. Hell DePaul took Seton Hall to the wire, should Willard restructure his offense to de-emphasize Myles Powell because of that??

[The Sultan]

The injury isn't going to change anything.  It didn't on Saturday.  Why would it when he is likely more healthy next Sunday?

[Golden Avalanche]

I see the injury as an opportunity to balance the scoring load. I noted that it was a small sample size in the OP, and that is why I don't know if the team will proactively try to shift the load moving forward. I expected it to happen in the DePaul game, but to my dismay, the team looked about  the same as before Markus got injured.

If Marquette barely beat the worst team in the conference at home, something needs to change. I think it will. I truly believe fatigue played a major factor in the DePaul game and I expect Sacar and Brendan, to come out on fire against Butler. Koby actually was a solid contributor in the DePaul game, and I expect that to continue moving forward. I don't expect Jayce to be as big of a factor moving forward, but who knows.

It may be only one data point but it could be the beginning of a trend away from Peak Markus, and I think that would be the best thing for Markus and the teams long term success. Especially in the NCAA tournament, IF Marquette makes it.

25 times a day of word salad like this iteration. A better use of time must surely be available.

Markus is a thoroughbred. Wojo will jockey that $hit into the ground for the next seven weeks. Sit back and enjoy.