MU's guards, status quo edition

[MarquetteDano]

The last time we had guards this unproven we had a 17-15 record.  And that was with a frontcourt of Davante Gardner, Jamil Wilson, Chris Otule, Deonte Burton, Steve Taylor, and Juan Anderson.

My guess is the frontcourt probably is not a talented as that 13'-14' team.

I am very concerned.  You need good guards in college basketball.  If there isn't a quality addition this is barely an NIT team.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

The last time we had guards this unproven we had a 17-15 record.  And that was with a frontcourt of Davante Gardner, Jamil Wilson, Chris Otule, Deonte Burton, Steve Taylor, and Juan Anderson.

My guess is the frontcourt probably is not a talented as that 13'-14' team.

I am very concerned.  You need good guards in college basketball.  If there isn't a quality addition this is barely an NIT team.

As structured, there is no way this an NIT team.  We're a Greg Elliott injury (decent chance that happens based on historical data) away from needing to play walk-ons in the backcourt regularly.  We have three role playing guards and a complete unknown in Dexter.  I would sure think MU would be an attractive destination for a guy like Carton at this point, but several others have opted for other places.  So who knows. 

[panda]

As structured, there is no way this an NIT team.  We're a Greg Elliott injury (decent chance that happens based on historical data) away from needing to play walk-ons in the backcourt regularly.  We have three role playing guards and a complete unknown in Dexter.  I would sure think MU would be an attractive destination for a guy like Carton at this point, but several others have opted for other places.  So who knows.

I'm not sure I agree with that. Carton is good enough that he can start on most teams in the country. Given that, our available playing time may not be as appealing to him as it seems through our lens.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I'm not sure I agree with that. Carton is good enough that he can start on most teams in the country. Given that, our available playing time may not be as appealing to him as it seems through our lens.

Sure, he could start.  But he's not going to "the guy" on most top 25 teams.  He certainly would be at Marquette next season.  If his goal is to get the NBA ASAP, that has to be attractive.  Not to mention as system that just graduated a guard as a first team all american that had the ultimate green light. 

[DoctorV]

As structured, there is no way this an NIT team.  We're a Greg Elliott injury (decent chance that happens based on historical data) away from needing to play walk-ons in the backcourt regularly.  We have three role playing guards and a complete unknown in Dexter.  I would sure think MU would be an attractive destination for a guy like Carton at this point, but several others have opted for other places.  So who knows.

We wouldn't need to play walk ons. There are several current front court players that could play the 2G spot- Bailey, Cain, Dawson to name 3- so it isn't as extreme as you claim.

Sure, not ideal, but definitely better than walk ons. This is the point where someone jumps in and says Dawson can run the point!

We know wojo typically runs shorts rotations featuring his best guys. We also know that MU only really has one true 5 bruiser, at least from a defensive perspective. All the truly "need" is one of the guards to play PG and handle the ball 30 mins per game. Between Sy, Koby, GE, akanno they will have that too. Then you play 3 of the reminding 3/4 guys- Bailey, Cain, Garcia, Oso, J Lew- at the 2,3,4 positions and you're set, no walk ons needed!

Not seashells and balloons, especially from a depth perspective, but not disastrous either. It seems to me that Theos health and ability to play 25-30 mins per game is even more important than getting another stud guard (assuming wojo knows that no one is leaving.)

We all want another good player at MU but it's not as dire and gloomy as many make it seem

[WhiteTrash]

I'd take .500 for sure. Not where we want to be but this is the reality.

[wadesworld]

I'd take .500 for sure. Not where we want to be but this is the reality.

.500 overall? I'll bet over.

[WhiteTrash]

.500 overall? I'll bet over.

Get to Vegas my friend.

[Lennys Tap]

Get to Vegas my friend.

.500  overall is basically meaningless. DePaul (3-15, dead last in the conference) finished at .500 (16-16). Only Georgetown was overall below .500 (15-17), the other 8 were all over .500.

[MU82]

0-31. Damn.

[wadesworld]

.500  overall is basically meaningless. DePaul (3-15, dead last in the conference) finished at .500 (16-16). Only Georgetown was overall below .500 (15-17), the other 8 were all over .500.

Very cool. Maybe he should've considered that when he posted that we'd be under .500.

Get to Vegas my friend.

Not willing to put your money where your mouth is?

[Lennys Tap]

Very cool. Maybe he should've considered that when he posted that we'd be under .500.

Not willing to put your money where your mouth is?

He should have. If he wants to bet more than you want to I'll take your side. An under .500 overall season for a P6 program is borderline disastrous.

[bilsu]

The last time we had guards this unproven we had a 17-15 record.  And that was with a frontcourt of Davante Gardner, Jamil Wilson, Chris Otule, Deonte Burton, Steve Taylor, and Juan Anderson.

My guess is the frontcourt probably is not a talented as that 13'-14' team.

I am very concerned.  You need good guards in college basketball.  If there isn't a quality addition this is barely an NIT team.

I think our front court is more talented than 13-14 team, but lacks the experience. Wilson was very good. Otule was limited by having one eye. He had great size, but he had no perpetual vision on one side of the court. Gardner wanted to play forward, but he was not quick enough to do that. Gardner was great at scoring down low, but outside of that was not a great player. I refused to believe that our starting two guards next year will not be better than the Thomas/Wilson combo.

[WhiteTrash]

I refused to believe that our starting two guards next year will not be better than the Thomas/Wilson combo.

So let it be written, so let be done.

[WhiteTrash]

Very cool. Maybe he should've considered that when he posted that we'd be under .500.

Not willing to put your money where your mouth is?

I never said below .500. I think expecting more is unfair to this team. Wojo will be run out of town of the bar is the NCAA or NIT.

[wadesworld]

I never said below .500. I think expecting more is unfair to this team. Wojo will be run out of town of the bar is the NCAA or NIT.

Fair enough. You didn't say we would be below .500. You said you'd "take .500." Usually when I say I'd take a certain record it means I'm pretty sure our actual record won't be as good as that record I'd take.

[1SE]

Sure, he could start.  But he's not going to "the guy" on most top 25 teams.  He certainly would be at Marquette next season.  If his goal is to get the NBA ASAP, that has to be attractive.  Not to mention as system that just graduated a guard as a first team all american that had the ultimate green light.

He won't be "the guy" on a top-25 team at Marquette either.

[muguru]

Anyone that thinks this MU team, as currently constructed is anywhere near an NCAA tournament team..I want some of what you're smoking.

[The Sultan]

Anyone that thinks this MU team, as currently constructed is anywhere near an NCAA tournament team..I want some of what you're smoking.

Yep.  It would take a great coaching job by Wojo to get it there.

[Uncle Rico]

Anyone that thinks this MU team, as currently constructed is anywhere near an NCAA tournament team..I want some of what you're smoking.

Drugs are illegal in Wisconsin.  This includes marijuana because it is a gateway drug to bath salts.  If you're a fan of Marquette and live in a state where marijuana is legal, you've probably been overrun by crime and can't access a computer.  Tough scene.

My weed consumption leads me to believe this team is a borderline tournament team as constructed.

[Lennys Tap]

Drugs are illegal in Wisconsin.  This includes marijuana because it is a gateway drug to bath salts.  If you're a fan of Marquette and live in a state where marijuana is legal, you've probably been overrun by crime and can't access a computer.  Tough scene.

My weed consumption leads me to believe this team is a borderline tournament team as constructed.

Which tournament?

[MU82]

I think our front court is more talented than 13-14 team, but lacks the experience. Wilson was very good. Otule was limited by having one eye. He had great size, but he had no perpetual vision on one side of the court. Gardner wanted to play forward, but he was not quick enough to do that. Gardner was great at scoring down low, but outside of that was not a great player. I refused to believe that our starting two guards next year will not be better than the Thomas/Wilson combo.

I agree with this.

We all loved Davante but he was about as one-dimensional as a player could be. He was very good at that dimension (unless going against a taller and quicker defender), but it was just one dimension. I like to think Garcia will be a much better all-around player, though as you say he might not be ready to be that as a freshman.

Jamil is one of the most frustrating Marquette players ever, capable of taking over games occasionally (VERY occasionally) but disappearing far too often. As a 5th-year senior, he was expected to finally realize his potential, but in 14 of our 32 games, he scored 10 points or fewer; when we desperately needed him down the stretch he had games of 3, 5 and 7 points; he only shot 33% from 3 and 67% from the line - pitiful for a guy who was considered a good shooter; he had double-figure rebounds only 3x the entire season. In many ways, Bailey is very similar. Maybe he can take that next step to be consistently good.

Theo is quite a bit better than Otule if he stays out of foul trouble (a big "if").

And any two guards we throw out there will be better than the two from that season who amazingly combined to play more than 60 mpg.

That team had Burton, JJJ, Taylor, Mayo, Juan and Magic on the bench, and that would appear to be much better than next season's bench as presently constituted. But Buzz didn't like to use his bench very much.

Buzz, obviously, is a much better coach than Wojo is, though he wasn't a very good coach that season.

Having said all that, we should be striving to be far better than Buzz's last team -- in the backcourt and everywhere else.

[Uncle Rico]

Which tournament?

One that starts with a "N"

[JakeBarnes]

One that starts with a "N"

The NCAA Tournament!?!

[tower912]

Alright... starts with 'National.'