Coaching

[drbob]

St John’s just came back from 14 point deficit to beat Connecticut. Poor coaching by Hurley or great effort by St John’s ?  Knowing this board if we had lost Saturday Wojo would have been crucified!! Just wondering

[tower912]

Rohrschach test.    But what Creighton/Butler and this game has shown that big comebacks are part of the Big East DNA this season and not just a Marquette thing.

[BCHoopster]

St. John’s plays really hard, do not have great ballers, but are very athletic. Anderson gets his kids to play D, 94 feet.  Good victory, MU has more talent which helped them win the game. Can not take them lightly which UConn might of. No lead in BE is big enough.

[Shooter McGavin]

MU winning at St. John’s was big for MU.  That frenetic style of play offered MU a good test and they passed.  They looked much more comfortable in that game against that style of play which they normally look terrible against.   They are getting better and the new talent is taking over and the best basketball is ahead.

[Silent Verbal]

UCONN’s undisputed best player was hurt.  End of story.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

UCONN’s undisputed best player was hurt.  End of story.

Ah...

[MU82]

UCONN’s undisputed best player was hurt.  End of story.

Was he there when UConn was building its 14-point lead?

Are “excuses” only allowed for coaches not at MU?

[Uncle Rico]

I sometimes wonder if people have ever watched college basketball.  Great teams, mediocre teams and bad teams build leads, blow leads of double digits a lot.  This isn’t unique or strange

[tower912]

Thank you, Rico.   That is one of my pet peeves.   So many angry posters act as if MU exists in a vacuum.   

[Uncle Rico]

Thank you, Rico.   That is one of my pet peeves.   So many angry posters act as if MU exists in a vacuum.

I’m not absolving the staff of blame in some of those instances but I saw people on social media early in the St. Mary’s-Gonzaga game start acting like the Zags didn’t have 30 minutes to right the ship

[drbob]

My point exactly Tower !!

[ATL MU Warrior]

UCONN’s undisputed best player was hurt.  End of story.

Sure

[MU82]

I sometimes wonder if people have ever watched college basketball.  Great teams, mediocre teams and bad teams build leads, blow leads of double digits a lot.  This isn’t unique or strange

Basketball is a game of runs. One of the biggest cliches in sports, but it’s true.

And not just college hoops. NBA teams build and lose big leads all the time, sometimes multiple times in a game. Happens in high school, too.

For me, the question is always, “How did my team respond?”

Blowing a lead but still having the fortitude to win says a lot about a team IMHO.

[Viper]

UCONN’s undisputed best player was hurt.  End of story.

Agreed. Credit to UConn for getting that lead without their go-to, BUT...without their top ‘dog’, they couldn’t hold it. Contrarians here act like it shouldn’t matter that the stud is out. Do you forget how MU did with Dominic James on a bum wheel in the ncaa’s?

[fjm]

Agreed. Credit to UConn for getting that lead without their go-to, BUT...without their top ‘dog’, they couldn’t hold it. Contrarians here act like it shouldn’t matter that the stud is out. Do you forget how MU did with Dominic James on a bum wheel in the ncaa’s?

Contrarian your Webster dictionary word of the day or what?

Also if you can build a lead without a player, shouldn’t you be able to keep that lead without that player?

[Newsdreams]

UCONN’s undisputed best player was hurt.  End of story.

EXCUSES!!!!

[MU82]

Agreed. Credit to UConn for getting that lead without their go-to, BUT...without their top ‘dog’, they couldn’t hold it. Contrarians here act like it shouldn’t matter that the stud is out. Do you forget how MU did with Dominic James on a bum wheel in the ncaa’s?

There is no question Markus was hurting at the end of the 2018-19 season, and many who say they know stuff also were convinced Sam wasn’t near 100% either. And Joey had slammed hard into the freshman wall. But any mention of any if that was considered “an excuse.”

So this reaction is just a natural pushback, and much of it (at least from some) is tongue in cheek.

Obviously, missing your best player matters.

And yet, UConn was a big favorite even though everybody knew he was out, they were at home, they were good enough to build a 14-point lead ... and, mostly, St. John’s must really, really suck because they couldn’t even beat the worst coach in the history of mankind.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The once great Tyler Polley went 1-7 from deep against St. John's, with most of those being unguarded.

Prior to today's game, Posh Alexander and Marcellus Earlington combined to go 15-51 (~29%) from three on the season. Against UConn, they went 6-8 (75%).

College basketball is weird. Strange sh*t happens sometimes. This is why coaches get evaluated based on an overall season, not on individual games.

[1SE]

Right, weird stuff happens which is why you evaluate the body of work. And Wojos,  after 6.5 sessons, is still meh.

I'm glad we won, but having a 2 game winning "streak" against middling BE teams that has us on the outside of the bubble looking in isnt exactly what I thought I'd b getting excited about in the middle of year 7.

If we get to 4 or 5 in a row, then we can start to talk of cabbages and kings.

[willie warrior]

St John’s just came back from 14 point deficit to beat Connecticut. Poor coaching by Hurley or great effort by St John’s ?  Knowing this board if we had lost Saturday Wojo would have been crucified!! Just wondering

On a related note Bradley is 9-4 this year. Just sayin.

[wadesworld]

On a related note Bradley is 9-4 this year. Just sayin.

YOU want Brian Wardle?! lol!

[Uncle Rico]

On a related note Bradley is 9-4 this year. Just sayin.

The Drake is 13-0.  Just sayin

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Contrarian your Webster dictionary word of the day or what?

He's called me that a couple of times, which leads me to believe he has no idea what the word means.

[tower912]

Well, if he called YOU that, he might actually by on to something.   

[Dr. Blackheart]

On a related note Bradley is 9-4 this year. Just sayin.

So you called Crean "The Used Car Salesman", Buzz "The Lonesome Cowboy", and Wojo "The Golden PowerPoint Boy" and you wanted them all fired. Fine, but your choice to set us straight is "Pied Piper" Wardle?

[MU82]

The once great Tyler Polley went 1-7 from deep against St. John's, with most of those being unguarded.

Noticed that, too. And I also noticed that Adam Kunkel is 1-for-15 from 3 since he hit that circus shot to beat us. Jimmy Nichols, who made a few against us including one from behind the backboard while falling out of bounds, is a career 28% 3-point shooter.

Then again, Zegarowski went 0-for-7 against us, helping us pull off the upset. He was significantly outplayed by none other than Greg Elliott.

Gotta love sports!

One reason many of us love sports is because unpredictable stuff happens all the time. It's why I don't ever watch reality TV -- the only real reality TV is live sports.

[BM1090]

Noticed that, too. And I also noticed that Adam Kunkel is 1-for-15 from 3 since he hit that circus shot to beat us. Jimmy Nichols, who made a few against us including one from behind the backboard while falling out of bounds, is a career 28% 3-point shooter.

Then again, Zegarowski went 0-for-7 against us, helping us pull off the upset. He was significantly outplayed by none other than Greg Elliott.

Gotta love sports!

One reason many of us love sports is because unpredictable stuff happens all the time. It's why I don't ever watch reality TV -- the only real reality TV is live sports.

In addition to Kunkel's struggles, Xavier as a team has the worst 3P% in conference play at 29.6%. That's despite a 13-24 performance against MU.

[MU82]

In addition to Kunkel's struggles, Xavier as a team has the worst 3P% in conference play at 29.6%. That's despite a 13-24 performance against MU.

Ugh.

[naginiF]

In addition to Kunkel's struggles, Xavier as a team has the worst 3P% in conference play at 29.6%. That's despite a 13-24 performance against MU.

And yet X posted a 'W' over the great Bradley Braves this year. Doesn't that make them awesome, or we need to target Steele as our next coach, or something?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Right, weird stuff happens which is why you evaluate the body of work. And Wojos,  after 6.5 sessons, is still meh.

I'm glad we won, but having a 2 game winning "streak" against middling BE teams that has us on the outside of the bubble looking in isnt exactly what I thought I'd b getting excited about in the middle of year 7.

If we get to 4 or 5 in a row, then we can start to talk of cabbages and kings.

Sigh. Not every post is about Wojo.

I find no fault with anyone who looks at Wojo's overall body of work and says "meh." I'm in that camp myself. I also find no fault with anyone who looks at Wojo's overall body of work and says "He's not the guy, I want him fired." I may be there myself depending on how the rest of the season plays out.

I do find fault with, or maybe "am amused by" is the better terminology, those who put a ton of emphasis on single game performances.

[1SE]

Sigh. Not every post is about Wojo.

I find no fault with anyone who looks at Wojo's overall body of work and says "meh." I'm in that camp myself. I also find no fault with anyone who looks at Wojo's overall body of work and says "He's not the guy, I want him fired." I may be there myself depending on how the rest of the season plays out.

I do find fault with, or maybe "am amused by" is the better terminology, those who put a ton of emphasis on single game performances.

Right, we agree, that was my point.

It's far better that we beat SJU than we lost to SJU, but it didn't move my needle much on how the season is going.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Right, we agree, that was my point.

It's far better that we beat SJU than we lost to SJU, but it didn't move my needle much on how the season is going.

Agreed on how it's gone, but the win did move the needle a bit for me on how it will go. At St. John's was the "Bottom 4" game that I thought we had the greatest chance of losing. Preseason, I had them pegged as a loss. Now that we've won, I more confident that we can go 7-1 or even 8-0 against the Bottom 4 which will be necessary to make the tourney.

[MU82]

Agreed on how it's gone, but the win did move the needle a bit for how it will go. At St. John's was the "Bottom 4" game that I thought we had the greatest chance of losing. Preseason, I had them pegged as a loss. Now that we've won, I more confident that we can go 7-1 or even 8-0 against the Bottom 4 which will be necessary to make the tourney.

Hopeless optimist that I am, I'm still thinking 10-0 vs the bottom 5!

[Viper]

He's called me that a couple of times, which leads me to believe he has no idea what the word means.

haha. I’m good with some banter.

[Lennys Tap]

Also if you can build a lead without a player, shouldn’t you be able to keep that lead without that player?

Huh?

It’s been pointed out (correctly) by several Scoopers that teams at full strength blow leads all the time. It’s the nature of the game, especially since the shot clock and thr three point line were established. And if a team is playing without its best player it stands to reason that blowing a lead would happen with even greater frequency.

[fjm]

Huh?

UConn built a 16 point lead (or something) without bouknight.

Shouldn’t they be able to keep that lead against SJU without bouknight?

Someone was saying it was expected UConn would lose because they didn’t have their star player. But they also built quite a lead without that star player.

So why is it ok to use it (not having said star player) as an excuse for blowing the lead?

[MU82]

Maybe Ben Howland would have been the right choice for MU, after all.

In Mississippi State’s lopsided home loss to archrival Mississippi, Howland’s team failed to handle the Ole Miss 2-3 zone.

As a bonus, “They really just came out and played harder than us,” MSU guard DJ Stewart said.

[tower912]

Huh?

It’s been pointed out (correctly) by several Scoopers that teams at full strength blow leads all the time. It’s the nature of the game, especially since the shot clock and thr three point line were established. And if a team is playing without its best player it stands to reason that blowing a lead would happen with even greater frequency.

I think the point is that leads get blown all the time.   It happened under Buzz, it happened under Crean, it happens.   Not so much under Deane because MU never got big leads playing that slow.   

[willie warrior]

YOU want Brian Wardle?! lol!

Better coach than the current mediocrity

[wadesworld]

Better coach than the current mediocrity

Outside of the Marquette fanbase, Wardle is not even on the radar for a high major coaching job.  There are numerous mid-major coaches who are much more qualified than Brian Wardle to coach at a Big East level.

[Uncle Rico]

Better coach than the current mediocrity

You wouldn’t want him if he graduated from any other school. 

[TSmith34, Inc.]

You wouldn’t want him know who he is if he graduated from any other school.

[Lennys Tap]

I think the point is that leads get blown all the time.   It happened under Buzz, it happened under Crean, it happens.   Not so much under Deane because MU never got big leads playing that slow.

Of course it happens all the time. That’s one point. Another is it’s even more likely to happen if you’re missing your best player. Or even more likely if you’re missing your two best players. Etc., etc., etc. Obvious, to be sure - though I guess not to some.

[GooooMarquette]

The once great Tyler Polley went 1-7 from deep against St. John's, with most of those being unguarded.

I want dis guy to show up next time we play ‘em.

[GooooMarquette]

Maybe Ben Howland would have been the right choice for MU, after all.

In Mississippi State’s lopsided home loss to archrival Mississippi, Howland’s team failed to handle the Ole Miss 2-3 zone.

As a bonus, “They really just came out and played harder than us,” MSU guard DJ Stewart said.

MSU was probably just more tired than Ole Miss.

[willie warrior]

So you called Crean "The Used Car Salesman", Buzz "The Lonesome Cowboy", and Wojo "The Golden PowerPoint Boy" and you wanted them all fired. Fine, but your choice to set us straight is "Pied Piper" Wardle?

You have your opinion wrong. Never called Crean a used car salesman
Never called Wojo the Golden PowerPoint boy. I have referenced his PowerPoint because many have rumored that got him the job. Along with his Duke pedigree. Wojo has only been mediocre at best. And you know it.

[MU82]

MSU was probably just more tired than Ole Miss.

Made me smile, something I’ve done a lot of today.

[Newsdreams]

Creighton must suck