Difficult to be Optimistic

[Porky's Butthole]

Perhaps it's just Porky but very difficult to be happy about yesterday's W.   Now if we won a game like that against one of the top 4 teams in our league Porky would thrilled, but squeaking out a W against a team that's even more mediocre than us, knowing that game could just as easily have gone the other way?   That doesn't give Porky any confidence whatsoever.   

Porky's take is that when compared to the other 80 or so D1 high major teams (not sure the exact number if you add up all teams in the top 5 or 6 power conferences) but if you did MU is almost certainly in the lower half talent wise and probably the lower third.   

Wish it weren't so, but Porky believes that's reality, and Porky is not convinced it's all on Wojo either.  Porky is neither Projo nor Nojo, but is reasonably confident Wojo knows what he's doing and is a capable (nothing more, nothing less) high major D1 coach.   At the end of the day, the collective efforts of our players are simply not as good as they need to be.   

Sure Carton is a stud and Garcia and Lewis look very promising, but having those folks doesn't automatically make us a top 25 team anymore than St. John's having the Big East's current leading scorer makes them a great team.  We all want us to be a consistent top 25 program that is a shoe in for the tourney every year, but we're just not there yet. 

Porky isn't sure we'll ever be again unfortunately unless MU has the guts to hire a Calipari, Pitino or some other legendary coach with enough gravitas to attract the type of talent we need to get there.

What Iona College did took guts and there's no doubt in Porky's mind that if Pitino lasts, they'll be a consistent top 25 team despite their lackluster conference.  Not so much due to Pitino's superior coaching, but the superior talent his name will attract.

edit: Paragraphs are your friend.

[wadesworld]

 

[Johnny B]

do you always refer to yourself in third person?

[rocky_warrior]

do you always refer to yourself in third person?

Yes, he does.

In a vacuum yesterdays game was nothing to worry about.  CBB teams often over/under perform based on their opponent. But, given that MU has had a problem beating teams with aggressive D this year, it was actually encouraging. 

Given the erratic nature of MU's play to date - I understand the concern.  But, we've matched our longest winning streak of the year right now, and we'll just have to see how it all plays out.

[tower912]

Vegas spread was between 1 and 2.  Marquette dominated 26 minutes, lost 7 minutes badly, played even for 7 minutes, and gutted out a road win.

[MU82]

I hear Arby's is serving up a Spicy Prime Rib Cheesesteak now.

[MarqKarp]

I don't understand what the point of being a fan is, if you can't enjoy the wins, even the crappy ones.  Enjoy the wins, get pissed at the losses, and at the end of the season figure out how you feel about the season as a whole.

This doesn't mean we can't have discussions about legitimate problems and shortcomings we see in victorious games.  If you are only going to enjoy the pretty wins, that is a miserable way to spend your manhood.

  If there is one thing this pandemic has taught me, we all need to live in the moment more.

[The Sultan]

Yeah I agree.  Sure I'm not "optimistic" about the Wojo regime, but I will always enjoy the wins.

It's just sports.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Golden Warrior believes it's easy to be pessimistic.

[MU82]

I don't understand what the point of being a fan is, if you can't enjoy the wins, even the crappy ones.  Enjoy the wins, get pissed at the losses, and at the end of the season figure out how you feel about the season as a whole.

This doesn't mean we can't have discussions about legitimate problems and shortcomings we see in victorious games.  If you are only going to enjoy the pretty wins, that is a miserable way to spend your manhood.

  If there is one thing this pandemic has taught me, we all need to live in the moment more.

Why so stinking' reasonable? Shame on you!

[Markusquette]

Maybe if the OP used paragraphs I would read. But I read the responses instead.

[GooooMarquette]

I don't understand what the point of being a fan is, if you can't enjoy the wins, even the crappy ones.  Enjoy the wins, get pissed at the losses, and at the end of the season figure out how you feel about the season as a whole.

This doesn't mean we can't have discussions about legitimate problems and shortcomings we see in victorious games.  If you are only going to enjoy the pretty wins, that is a miserable way to spend your manhood.

If there is one thing this pandemic has taught me, we all need to live in the moment more.

This is WAY too pragmatic for Scoop...but I totally agree.

We won, and that's good enough for now.

[The Sultan]

Maybe if the OP used paragraphs I would read. But I read the responses instead.

You're not missing much.

[bilsu]

We had lost four straight games at St. John's, so winning there was a very good thing.

[burger]

I think the issue is the "obvious" talent disparity vs. what the score should be when the talent is that unequal.....

We with our talent should pound a team of that ability by 20......

[brewcity77]

We turned it over like we usually do and gave up too many open threes, but this is a fixture we'd lost four years in a row. St John's has always been a bad matchup for Wojo teams. Sorry, but this isn't the one to get your panties into a bunch about. Take the win and move on.

[jesmu84]

If our talent is in the lower third of the top 80 D1 teams, but we consistently rank higher than that, doesn't that mean Wojo is actually a really good coach?

Please note that I don't have the opinion of the OP, but logic would dictate my above statement.

[BallBoy]

MU is currently 2-6 against the top 50. Worst loss is #50 Xavier on a fluke last second shot.

They have two top 15 wins and are 2-1 against the Top 15. If we hold against DePaul, Georgetown, Butler, Providence, St John's and pull out a few games against UCOnn, Xavier, Nova, Creighton or seton hall we should be fine as we would have no bad losses.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Creighton lost to Butler last night. I'm okay with an ugly win.

[mileskishnish72]

miles thinks you talk funny, Pork.

[Newsdreams]

Perhaps it's just Porky but very difficult to be happy about yesterday's W.   Now if we won a game like that against one of the top 4 teams in our league Porky would thrilled, but squeaking out a W against a team that's even more mediocre than us, knowing that game could just as easily have gone the other way?   That doesn't give Porky any confidence whatsoever.   

Porky's take is that when compared to the other 80 or so D1 high major teams (not sure the exact number if you add up all teams in the top 5 or 6 power conferences) but if you did MU is almost certainly in the lower half talent wise and probably the lower third.   

Wish it weren't so, but Porky believes that's reality, and Porky is not convinced it's all on Wojo either.  Porky is neither Projo nor Nojo, but is reasonably confident Wojo knows what he's doing and is a capable (nothing more, nothing less) high major D1 coach.   At the end of the day, the collective efforts of our players are simply not as good as they need to be.   

Sure Carton is a stud and Garcia and Lewis look very promising, but having those folks doesn't automatically make us a top 25 team anymore than St. John's having the Big East's current leading scorer makes them a great team.  We all want us to be a consistent top 25 program that is a shoe in for the tourney every year, but we're just not there yet. 

Porky isn't sure we'll ever be again unfortunately unless MU has the guts to hire a Calipari, Pitino or some other legendary coach with enough gravitas to attract the type of talent we need to get there.

What Iona College did took guts and there's no doubt in Porky's mind that if Pitino lasts, they'll be a consistent top 25 team despite their lackluster conference.  Not so much due to Pitino's superior coaching, but the superior talent his name will attract.

edit: Paragraphs are your friend.

Is Porky code for George Constanza?

[BallBoy]

Perhaps it's just Porky but very difficult to be happy about yesterday's W.   Now if we won a game like that against one of the top 4 teams in our league Porky would thrilled, but squeaking out a W against a team that's even more mediocre than us, knowing that game could just as easily have gone the other way?   That doesn't give Porky any confidence whatsoever.   

Porky's take is that when compared to the other 80 or so D1 high major teams (not sure the exact number if you add up all teams in the top 5 or 6 power conferences) but if you did MU is almost certainly in the lower half talent wise and probably the lower third.   

Wish it weren't so, but Porky believes that's reality, and Porky is not convinced it's all on Wojo either.  Porky is neither Projo nor Nojo, but is reasonably confident Wojo knows what he's doing and is a capable (nothing more, nothing less) high major D1 coach.   At the end of the day, the collective efforts of our players are simply not as good as they need to be.   

Sure Carton is a stud and Garcia and Lewis look very promising, but having those folks doesn't automatically make us a top 25 team anymore than St. John's having the Big East's current leading scorer makes them a great team.  We all want us to be a consistent top 25 program that is a shoe in for the tourney every year, but we're just not there yet. 

Porky isn't sure we'll ever be again unfortunately unless MU has the guts to hire a Calipari, Pitino or some other legendary coach with enough gravitas to attract the type of talent we need to get there.

What Iona College did took guts and there's no doubt in Porky's mind that if Pitino lasts, they'll be a consistent top 25 team despite their lackluster conference.  Not so much due to Pitino's superior coaching, but the superior talent his name will attract.

edit: Paragraphs are your friend.

That lowly team just beat a top 25 on the road so I am not disappoint that MU won by 2 to that same on their court.

[Silent Verbal]

That lowly team just beat a top 25 on the road so I am not disappoint that MU won by 2 to that same on their court.

UCONN was missing superstar James Bouknight, who was averaging 20 and 5.  That's why they lost today.  Without him, they're probably not even mediocre, and they're *definitely* not top 25.  How do people not understand this?  They lost today because they didn't have Bouknight.

[Newsdreams]

UCONN was missing superstar James Bouknight, who was averaging 20 and 5.  That's why they lost today.  Without him, they're probably not even mediocre, and they're *definitely* not top 25.  How do people not understand this?  They lost today because they didn't have Bouknight.

Excuses, everyone has to deal with injuries. Blew a 14 point lead.

[BM1090]

UCONN was missing superstar James Bouknight, who was averaging 20 and 5.  That's why they lost today.  Without him, they're probably not even mediocre, and they're *definitely* not top 25.  How do people not understand this?  They lost today because they didn't have Bouknight.

They were 9 point favorites without Bouknight. They are good with or without him but obviously better with him.