2023 Team Outlook

[brewcity77]

I have been patient for ten years now and yes those teams won with "late bloomers" but now with the new transfer rules and NIL do you think a player that has a standout or even a decent season will not be tempted to look elsewhere? I am not sure how this new landscape is going to play out.

Maybe more accurately, Shaka is here BECAUSE we had to be patient for the better part of 10 years. Results thus far are overachieving national expectations every time out (though admittedly, one is a small sample size).

He knows the transfer rules and will have the pulse on NIL, but we have to let him play this new landscape out because that's what he was hired to do.

[Herman Cain]

I continue to be bullish on the prospects for this years Team.

[Scoop Snoop]

As bad as the last decade has been, I can't hold the last year of Buzz and the 7 years of Wojo against Shaka. This staff is clearly prioritizing relationships, which can be seen in the comments from pretty much anyone in, around, or being recruited by the program. We won't know until we see it in action as far as how it will play out, but not having any transfers out this year (I don't count Greg, they made it clear he wasn't coming back on Senior Day) feels like a good sign and Shaka's own history of retaining players is better than any of our recent coaches. And as much as it's a new landscape, the thing we have always known about college basketball is that no matter how much it changes, the blue bloods remain the blue bloods, then there's a fight for who's in the 6-40 mix when it comes to programs. Between the BTD NIL and us prioritizing basketball above all else, I'm sure we will have the opportunity to succeed provided we have the right leadership. Is this the right leadership? We'll see. I have faith in the coaching staff. I have questions about other parts of leadership. But the next 1-3 years will tell us a lot.

Care to explain the bolded?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Ah, I see we've found a new reason to be critical of Markus.

I mean, I am as big of a Markus fan as there is, but I can't think of a time where he hit a game winner. Which isn't a huge knock, most players make it through college without hitting a game winner.  He certainly had plenty of daggers that finished opponents off, but the game winner eluded him despite many attempts.

[muwarrior69]

Maybe more accurately, Shaka is here BECAUSE we had to be patient for the better part of 10 years. Results thus far are overachieving national expectations every time out (though admittedly, one is a small sample size).

He knows the transfer rules and will have the pulse on NIL, but we have to let him play this new landscape out because that's what he was hired to do.

[/color]

...but will he have the means ($$$$$$) to play this new landscape.

[MUfan12]

"F You Tour"?

Yep. Heard all the criticism last year and is having a terrific summer. I hope it translates come November.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

"F You Tour"?

Not sure if you are making a funny, but the student section and twitter (and Scoop at times) was brutal to Kolek all of last season

[Uncle Rico]

Not sure if you are making a funny, but the student section and twitter (and Scoop at times) was brutal to Kolek all of last season

He reminded me of Travis Diener

[Dr. Blackheart]

Not sure if you are making a funny, but the student section and twitter (and Scoop at times) was brutal to Kolek all of last season

Not making a funny. I thought the MU message boards were very balanced if not complimentary. It didn't help that Skaka labeled him the "best shooter" on the team last summer. If fact, with Carton not returning, he did fine last season learning a new position and stepping up a level. Up and down. I don't remember Twitter being out of control. I think Jones helps him immensely this season.

As for the students, there may have been more going on.

[lawdog77]

I mean, I am as big of a Markus fan as there is, but I can't think of a time where he hit a game winner. Which isn't a huge knock, most players make it through college without hitting a game winner.  He certainly had plenty of daggers that finished opponents off, but the game winner eluded him despite many attempts.

Yeah, I agree. How many opportunities do people actually have to hit a "game winner"? What defines a game winner? Last second shot, last 30 seconds?
Looking back at the old scores and play by plays, he really had very few opportunities. He did have quite a few games where he dropped 30+ and won by a basket or 2.  Like this, where he dropped 38,
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401083262

[panda]

Yeah, I agree. How many opportunities do people actually have to hit a "game winner"? What defines a game winner? Last second shot, last 30 seconds?
Looking back at the old scores and play by plays, he really had very few opportunities. He did have quite a few games where he dropped 30+ and won by a basket or 2.  Like this, where he dropped 38,
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401083262

He just doesn't have the clutch gene

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Not making a funny. I thought the MU message boards were very balanced if not complimentary. It didn't help that Skaka labeled him the "best shooter" on the team last summer. If fact, with Carton not returning, he did fine last season learning a new position and stepping up a level. Up and down. I don't remember Twitter being out of control. I think Jones helps him immensely this season.

As for the students, there may have been more going on.

I actually wondered if something off the court was fueling the vitriol from the student section. Personally I can't think of another player who got that much targeted hate from the students.

[tower912]

The  students are future scoopers.  So there is no surprise there would be vitriol directed toward players.

[cheebs09]

I actually wondered if something off the court was fueling the vitriol from the student section. Personally I can't think of another player who got that much targeted hate from the students.

Not in the student section for Kolek, but I know Dom James and Vander weren't exactly beloved in the student section.

[Scoop Snoop]

The  students are future scoopers.  So there is no surprise there would be vitriol directed toward players.

They probably read Scoop and decided that Scoopers were on to something. It would be more accurate, based upon their posts, that some Scoopers are more likely to on something rather than on to something.

[brewcity77]

...but will he have the means ($$$$$$) to play this new landscape.

I see no reason why not. We have the BTD NIL program and multi-millionaire donors who have expressed a desire to help this program win a national championship. It is also the coach's job to create the culture and excitement around the program to bring in those donors and that money to both the program and the organizations surrounding it that can help fund those goals.

If we were talking about football, I would say the answer is probably no. But we aren't. And as much as someone like Nijel Pack or Oscar Tshiebwe is getting this year, if Marquette had a player who was the difference between a tourney team and a title contender, there are people with the means to bridge that gap at the same level Pack and Tshiebwe are being paid. The price to make Wojo go away was more than double what those two will get this year and that was raised overnight.

I believe we have to walk before we run. No one is going to start laying out that money without some proof of concept. But if we make a little run this year, then a deep run next year, and NIL could bring back a couple seniors for COVID seasons that are the difference between a league contender and legitimate national title contender, I think you'll see those donors come forward and put their wallets on the table.

After all, it's not 80 scholarships, it's 13. And even if you're paying serious coin to the best players, it will still be only 3-4 that are really compensated at the highest level. Prove the concept and I have little doubt the money will be there, no matter how much Scoopers worry about being a small school that can't compete with the big boys.

[Lennys Tap]

I actually wondered if something off the court was fueling the vitriol from the student section. Personally I can't think of another player who got that much targeted hate from the students.

White guilt.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

White guilt.

I don't know him.  Was he a Dukiet recruit?

[Dr. Blackheart]

I don't know him.  Was he a Dukiet recruit?

Whitey really could play the ivories.

[jfp61]

I actually wondered if something off the court was fueling the vitriol from the student section. Personally I can't think of another player who got that much targeted hate from the students.

I think it has more to do with the fact that there are a handful of students in open gyms at Marquette that can shoot 28% from three and 37% from the field

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I think it has more to do with the fact that there are a handful of students in open gyms at Marquette that can shoot 28% from three and 37% from the field

Against Big East defenses? I'm sure there's a handful of students who think they could do that.

[Viper]

Against Big East defenses? I'm sure there's a handful of students who think they could do that.

There are, and they can.

[The Sultan]

There are, and they can.

Over the course of a season? Not a chance.

[tower912]

There are, and they can.

Sure.  And Muggsy, Goose, and Jesmu84 can shoot 75 on a US Open course

[Uncle Rico]

Sure.  And Muggsy, Goose, and Jesmu84 can shoot 75 on a US Open course

They'd leave some shots out there, too