Christopherson

[MUFanInGreenBay]

He really got the team out of their funk when he hit that corner three pointer. We looked awful on offense up until Scott nailed that three. After that it was lights out for Cincy. This kid is going to be big for us during his time at MU. Don't sleep on him.

[marquette09]

That was a huge shot, turned the momentum around when we were struggling

[romey]

Okay, so I ask the question - not to stir up controversy, but because I didn't see the game, but heard Homer and Mac raving about his contributions and I looked at the box score.  Why did he only play 4 minutes?  Our three point shooting was horrendous, he hits the only one he takes, and he sits down.  Just askin'

[MUFanInGreenBay]

Okay, so I ask the question - not to stir up controversy, but because I didn't see the game, but heard Homer and Mac raving about his contributions and I looked at the box score.  Why did he only play 4 minutes?  Our three point shooting was horrendous, he hits the only one he takes, and he sits down.  Just askin'

He's not up to par defensively. You can tell he looks somewhat out of place out there on the defensive side of things. I think that's just from not playing enough though in real games. He's obviously not the quickest guy, but I think he's not the slow white dude some people make him out to be though. He's a pretty good athlete.

[romey]

Fair enough. So then is Fitz getting the minutes because of his height and his experience?  He's not the quickest player nor the best defender.  Because it's looking like Scott may give us better minutes vs. Fitz based on recent performance.

[Big Papi]

His defense needs to shore up before he starts getting any consistent minutes.  He is ready to play some minutes if you just judge him on the offensive end.  He hit the three but he also didn't force anything and made the passes.  

On defense, I began to wonder if Scott was playing man and everyone else was in a zone at times as it looked like Scott was over extending and than getting caught with the pick way too easily.

[mviale]

we need his shooting badly - I am wondering if he is still slowed by his surgery.

[mu_hilltopper]

Indeed, SC deserved a few more minutes.  His 4 minutes at the end of the first half turned a 9 point deficit and march to a loss, into a 4 point lead.  Completely turned the game around.  Just for that, he should have gotten another couple minutes in the 2nd half!

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

As everyone has pointed out it's the defense -- as with most Frosh -- that keeps SC off the court. At one point it looked like Scott was playing a strict 2-3 whereas the rest of the team was in a match-up. Even Ousmane -- a guy that's been slated for being a bit behind -- was yelling Scott into the right position. A negative for SC but I also think that's a positive with OB.

[cheesey]

we need his shooting badly - I am wondering if he is still slowed by his surgery.

I had the same surgery at the end of last summer.   I'm still hampered by it buckling when I try to do too much.  Granted I'm not a young athlete, with a conditioning staff at my disposal, but I am amazed that he is able to run much at all.

[Doctor V]

i hope im wrong, but the kid doesnt seem to have the best basketball IQ. to me he seems very confused at all times, and i dont think its just because hes a freshman because we have seen other freshman have very effective seasons. also, he seems fairly slow and unathletic to me. that said, hes got a heck of a stroke.

we know how tc feels about players with a poor bball IQ

i feel like scott will be that player that scores 90% of his baskets from behind the arc, which is fine i supposed, but he needs to improve his defense to get on the court

[chapman]

Christopherson should have been given an opportunity way before now to provide a spark.  His off-the-ball movement was excellent.  He should be taking some of Cubillan's minutes.  Cubillan hasn't done anything since November besides taunt when he actually scores.

[lovebaroney]

I agree with needing perimeter offense, but with Christopherson on the floor that zone completely collapsed.  Give him a year or two develop his quickness and I think he'll be a solid player. 

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

I agree with needing perimeter offense, but with Christopherson on the floor that zone completely collapsed.  Give him a year or two develop his quickness and I think he'll be a solid player. 

To go along with quickness, let's not forget he had knee surgery on the eve of the season. That's obviously a physical setback but for a Freshman it can also be a very strong mental setback. \

By all accounts, Christopherson had been known to have a good basketball IQ in the prep level and that kind of stuff doesn't just go away. I think with some time in the system, especially healthy, he'll show his worth.

[mosarsour]

Christopherson should have been given an opportunity way before now to provide a spark.  His off-the-ball movement was excellent.  He should be taking some of Cubillan's minutes.  Cubillan hasn't done anything since November besides taunt when he actually scores.

But what Cubillan does very well is play very effective defense and is a much better ball handler than SC. I want the kid to play as much as the next guy. I think he's got a great shooter's touch, but as stated earlier, can look very lost on D. Cubillan is a much bigger asset to this team right now than SC. He'll get his minutes in time, he's only a freshman.

[RawdogDX]

i hope im wrong, but the kid doesnt seem to have the best basketball IQ. to me he seems very confused at all times, and i dont think its just because hes a freshman because we have seen other freshman have very effective seasons.

just because we've had some freshman be effective doesn't mean that all of the ones who aren't won't be later on.  Every kid responds to the jump in competition differently.

[bilsu]

I think Christopherson has a very high basketball IQ. He knows he is slow and uses smarts to offset it. He also has good size for a guard. He will be a very good player in the long run. Probalbly never a starter in his career, but will be a very valuable player.

[Doctor V]

I think Christopherson has a very high basketball IQ. He knows he is slow and uses smarts to offset it. He also has good size for a guard. He will be a very good player in the long run. Probalbly never a starter in his career, but will be a very valuable player.

If hes never a starter his career will be a failure. He was Mr. Basketball in the state, Im sure he expects more than a 10-15 mins/game bench role. And if his IQ is good he should be starting as a Jr., even if his defense is still suspect.

PS- i still think TC made a bad decision not redshirting him. Even if he has one or two games where he sees over 10 mins and contributes, thats not enough to waste a season over- poor read by crean. To his defense, i think he expected more from the kid, and I disagree with you and think crean was surprised by his lack of understanding of the plays and such...today he was clearly lost on defense and i have seen him at a home game asking teammates where hes supposed to line up for an inbounds play multiple times.

As a freshman, when u dont get alot of minutes, you better make sure that you atleast know the playbook inside and out and know where u are supposed to be on the court- is it lack of effort, basketball IQ, or just a slow learner? i hope its the 3rd

[spartan3186]

I would think the player may have something to do with the redshirt. SC seems like a bright kid... maybe he doesn't want to stick around for a 5th year of school...

[Eye]

Two thoughts.

FWIW, Christopherson was an academic all-conference player his senior year of high school.

And his basketball IQ was one of his definite strenghts in HS (watched him probably a dozen times in person his final three years of HS).

Give him a couple of years and he'll be fine. I'll predict at worst the first guard off the bench his junior year, and unless Williams and Taylor are really good (heres hoping they are), a starter his senior year.

[romey]

Ya know, based on his contributions to date, the redshirt option sounds like it may have been the way to go.  But, who knew?  If he starts to feed off of the positive momentum from the game yesterday and he contributes in a big way down the stretch, then he could prove me wrong.  Here's hoping he does.

[NavinRJohnson]

I think he will probably be used similarly in short stints the rest of the year. He can be a designated shooter here and there, but this year won't be much more. Frankly, that's cool with me. There are guys that just need to be thrown into the fire at some point, and Christopherson strikes me as that kind of guy. That said, I think this year his defense is just not where it needs to be for him to play any more. Pick a spot and throw him in there and he'll help you win a game - like he did yesterday.

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

I think Christopherson has a very high basketball IQ. He knows he is slow and uses smarts to offset it. He also has good size for a guard. He will be a very good player in the long run. Probalbly never a starter in his career, but will be a very valuable player.

If hes never a starter his career will be a failure. He was Mr. Basketball in the state, Im sure he expects more than a 10-15 mins/game bench role. And if his IQ is good he should be starting as a Jr., even if his defense is still suspect.

PS- i still think TC made a bad decision not redshirting him. Even if he has one or two games where he sees over 10 mins and contributes, thats not enough to waste a season over- poor read by crean. To his defense, i think he expected more from the kid, and I disagree with you and think crean was surprised by his lack of understanding of the plays and such...today he was clearly lost on defense and i have seen him at a home game asking teammates where hes supposed to line up for an inbounds play multiple times.

As a freshman, when u dont get alot of minutes, you better make sure that you atleast know the playbook inside and out and know where u are supposed to be on the court- is it lack of effort, basketball IQ, or just a slow learner? i hope its the 3rd

Seems like people in Wisconsin are pretty tough critics. I've seen Brian Butch, Wesley Matthews and now Scott Christopherson be considered disappointments and/or failures respective to their "Mr. Basketball" awards. With that kind of support, it's no wonder Jamil Wilson has jumped at the chance to stay in Wisconsin.

[Doctor V]

I think Christopherson has a very high basketball IQ. He knows he is slow and uses smarts to offset it. He also has good size for a guard. He will be a very good player in the long run. Probalbly never a starter in his career, but will be a very valuable player.

If hes never a starter his career will be a failure. He was Mr. Basketball in the state, Im sure he expects more than a 10-15 mins/game bench role. And if his IQ is good he should be starting as a Jr., even if his defense is still suspect.

PS- i still think TC made a bad decision not redshirting him. Even if he has one or two games where he sees over 10 mins and contributes, thats not enough to waste a season over- poor read by crean. To his defense, i think he expected more from the kid, and I disagree with you and think crean was surprised by his lack of understanding of the plays and such...today he was clearly lost on defense and i have seen him at a home game asking teammates where hes supposed to line up for an inbounds play multiple times.

As a freshman, when u dont get alot of minutes, you better make sure that you atleast know the playbook inside and out and know where u are supposed to be on the court- is it lack of effort, basketball IQ, or just a slow learner? i hope its the 3rd

Seems like people in Wisconsin are pretty tough critics. I've seen Brian Butch, Wesley Matthews and now Scott Christopherson be considered disappointments and/or failures respective to their "Mr. Basketball" awards. With that kind of support, it's no wonder Jamil Wilson has jumped at the chance to stay in Wisconsin.

well when you get a guy like alando tucker, who isnt supposed to be one of the top 5 players in the state of illinois his senior year, and he does what he does and then you get butch, matthews, etc etc you expect a little more out of these guys- esp when you dont snag top talent like the big dogs

i mean butch is gonna go from McDonalds All American to McDonalds employee of the year in a short 5 yr period

[HarveysWallbangers]

You guys need to relax and give him a chance. I think he's definitely a good player...but he's a freshman! Travis Diener didn't start as a freshman, either.