Jamal Cain is all world this year

[auburnmarquette]

http://www.pudnersports.com/2021/12/horizon-league-top-15-mens-basketball.html?m=1

Obviously having 2 transfers go to UNC and Duke drew the most attention, but in calculating and writing about the top 15 players in all 32 conference, I realized Jamal Cain was actually in the top 1% of all players this season. Here is the Horizon League link - and yes www.valueaddbasketball.com is adjusted for opponents faced, which is why Jamal's 33 against Alabama was pretty enormous.

[RubyWiscy]

I know it looks like 20/20 hindsight but I could never understand why Jamal had such a hard time getting and staying on the floor under Wojo, especially as an upper classman. He was never allowed to develop a flow and get comfortable. A complete mismanagement of his talents. The fact that he is blowing up now is no surprise to my very untrained eyes.

[Mu8891]

Well ... it also sucks that Shaka could not get him to stay ( or Dawson Garcia).

Add one or both and this is a Far better team. 

I’m happy for Cain.  May go see Oakland play UWM

[RubyWiscy]

I was actually very surprised he didn't transfer 1 or 2 years earlier the way he was not being used. Seemed to me he was wasting his time at MU under Wojo.

I would have liked to see him play under Smart and agree he would have added greatly to the teams success.

[tower912]

He was one rumored to be leaving if the Hausers had stayed.

[MU82]

Maybe Jamal stayed 4 years because he actually liked Marquette, because one of his best friends in the world was on the team, and because he also liked being around most of his other teammates.

Maybe he didn't like Joey and/or Sam, and once they were gone he saw an opportunity for team harmony, as well as for more playing time (which he received).

Maybe he didn't want to sit out a year, which he would have had to do under the old rules.

And I know this is unthinkable ... but maybe he didn't even hate the evil Wojo.

Maybe he didn't even give Shaka a chance to re-recruit him because he wanted his own team, and he knew that Marquette was gonna be all about Shaka and the rebuild.

Until Cain talks about any and all of that, all we can do here is speculate.

I'm very happy for Jamal's success. He always seemed like a good kid, and he improved a lot during his time at Marquette.

I never saw the NBA in his future, but I'd absolutely love to be wrong about that, just as we all were about Juan.

[tower912]

Fair.   And I wish him nothing but the best.   

[StillWarriors]

It is amazing how much impact playing with confidence, or the inverse, can have on someone's play. In either case, it just feeds on itself. Jamal clearly had lost his confidence early on in his MU career to the point where it seemed like a sure turnover every time he touched the ball. As I recall, he was instantly pulled in many cases. It had to be incredibly frustrating for the coaches and it was hard to blame them at the time.

It becomes a chicken or the egg scenario...did he lose confidence because he was pulled all the time or was he just pulled all the time because he was too tight and so prone to mistakes? Perhaps if he had been allowed to play through it a bit more we would have seen glimpses of what he has become earlier. It seemed he played confident last year from the start, and he has just taken off from there.

Wish it was happening in a MU uniform, but couldn't be happier for him that he is flourishing.

[Nukem2]

Happy for Jamal. But, seriously, he has had ample opportunity to show his game as a junior and senior at MU.  He averaged about 30 mpg as a senior and had nowhere near the numbers he has this year.  He simply was never meant to be a primary scorer at MU being behind Howard, the Hausers, Bailey, Garcia, Carton, etc.  Sometimes moving down a level reallly helps.  In any event, kudos to Jamal.

[jesmu84]

He was one rumored to be leaving if the Hausers had stayed.

Why? They wanted to share the ball

[Jay Bee]

Playing differently - able to use athleticism vs. weaker opponents.

With MU 45% 3fga/fga %. This season, only 27.5% (and a weak 30.6% efg%).

59/81 for 72.8% at the rim this year. 46% of his FGA’s are at the rim because now he can get there.

A year ago, was 37/65 at the rim for 56.9%. Only 29% of his attempts were at the rim.

In evaluating HS guys, there are numerous who you know will likely go D1 and be ok, but it’s clear they could be studs at a MM or LM

[NCMUFan]

I look forward to following his Pro career.
Definitely a diamond in the rough.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Morsell is # 83overall and #4 defensively of all players.  Does MU beat UCONN if he plays?  Scoopers here said it was a good thing he sat.

[NCMUFan]

Maybe next game against UCONN we'll have an answer.

[FrennA]

I agree with everything Ruby said.  I’ll also add that Cain was given no leash when it came to turnovers despite everyone else having one…….especially Howard with every last possession with the game on the line.  I loved Howard but talk about a guaranteed turnover when it came to the last possession.  But if Cain turned it over once, Wojo pulled him quicker than Dean could call a timeout after play resumed.  I’m happy for Cain and wish him well. 

[Viper]

Maybe Jamal stayed 4 years because he actually liked Marquette, because one of his best friends in the world was on the team, and because he also liked being around most of his other teammates.

Maybe he didn't like Joey and/or Sam, and once they were gone he saw an opportunity for team harmony, as well as for more playing time (which he received).

Maybe he didn't want to sit out a year, which he would have had to do under the old rules.

And I know this is unthinkable ... but maybe he didn't even hate the evil Wojo.

Maybe he didn't even give Shaka a chance to re-recruit him because he wanted his own team, and he knew that Marquette was gonna be all about Shaka and the rebuild.

Until Cain talks about any and all of that, all we can do here is speculate.

I'm very happy for Jamal's success. He always seemed like a good kid, and he improved a lot during his time at Marquette.

I never saw the NBA in his future, but I'd absolutely love to be wrong about that, just as we all were about Juan.

“Until Cain talks about any and all of that, all we can do here is speculate.” Isn’t that what Scoop is all about? Speculation? Conjecture?

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Playing differently - able to use athleticism vs. weaker opponents.

With MU 45% 3fga/fga %. This season, only 27.5% (and a weak 30.6% efg%).

59/81 for 72.8% at the rim this year. 46% of his FGA’s are at the rim because now he can get there.

A year ago, was 37/65 at the rim for 56.9%. Only 29% of his attempts were at the rim.

In evaluating HS guys, there are numerous who you know will likely go D1 and be ok, but it’s clear they could be studs at a MM or LM

JB, do you think Jamal would be useful on this team?  We could certainly use the shooting and ability to rebound. 

[Jay Bee]

JB, do you think Jamal would be useful on this team?  We could certainly use the shooting and ability to rebound.

Absolutely. Would have him in the starting lineup.

[Elonsmusk]

I know it looks like 20/20 hindsight but I could never understand why Jamal had such a hard time getting and staying on the floor under Wojo, especially as an upper classman. He was never allowed to develop a flow and get comfortable. A complete mismanagement of his talents. The fact that he is blowing up now is no surprise to my very untrained eyes.

I was actually very surprised he didn't transfer 1 or 2 years earlier the way he was not being used. Seemed to me he was wasting his time at MU under Wojo.

I would have liked to see him play under Smart and agree he would have added greatly to the teams success.

I agree with everything Ruby said.  I’ll also add that Cain was given no leash when it came to turnovers despite everyone else having one…….especially Howard with every last possession with the game on the line.  I loved Howard but talk about a guaranteed turnover when it came to the last possession.  But if Cain turned it over once, Wojo pulled him quicker than Dean could call a timeout after play resumed.  I’m happy for Cain and wish him well. 

Yes.  100% to all the above.  Wojo had a terrible sense/feel for how to handle mistakes, and a distinct double standard.  Wojo was a confidence crusher if you weren't one of his favorites.  The way he coached Deonte, JJJ, and Jamal was absurd.  JJJ and Jamal should have transferred.  I know I sure as hell would have if I were coached the way he coached those three players.

So unfortunate Shaka couldn't get Jamal to stay.

[MU82]

I agree with everything Ruby said.  I’ll also add that Cain was given no leash when it came to turnovers despite everyone else having one…….especially Howard with every last possession with the game on the line.  I loved Howard but talk about a guaranteed turnover when it came to the last possession.  But if Cain turned it over once, Wojo pulled him quicker than Dean could call a timeout after play resumed.  I’m happy for Cain and wish him well.

So what you're saying is that a college basketball coach didn't treat a first-team All-American the same way he treated a role-playing reserve? That's preposterous!

There's a little selective memory going on with Jamal's situation.

When he was a sophomore, in 2018-19, we had a team that had one of the best 3-month stretches in the nation and moved into the top 10. Jamal was buried on the bench and was given the "short leash" treatment. That's quite common in such situations.

After The Lettermen left, Cain's playing time more than doubled. He averaged 18.4 mpg for the season and about 20 down the stretch. One could argue that Wojo was wrong to start Bailey and give Bailey more minutes in most games -- and it is an debate that went on constantly among Scoopers -- but it's not as if Cain didn't play about half of most games.

And his last season at MU, Jamal averaged 30 minutes, had the green light to shoot, was never yanked after TOs, etc.

He was a 3-star recruit, and his career progressed fairly similarly to that of many such recruits.

As to how he's doing as a Year 5 guy ... see the stats JB provided.

[PGsHeroes32]

Jamal is a unique case.

He probably was treated a bit unfairly over his career with Wojo. Not given consistent run even after mistakes.

But he’s blowing up now not just because he has more opportunity. It’s because he’s 6’7 athletic and in his 5th year playing the horizon league. If he was here this year he’s still be a solid piece(one I wish were here) but not some star.

He was a better shooter at MU cause he was taking mostly catch and shoot spot 3s. Now he’s got high usage and shooting from all over and his 3 pt shot is way down.

We’d be better off with Jamal this year by quite a bit imo. But I think Jamal himself is better off where he went. Glad he stuck around loyally for his standard college run.

[Nukem2]

So what you're saying is that a college basketball coach didn't treat a first-team All-American the same way he treated a role-playing reserve? That's preposterous!

There's a little selective memory going on with Jamal's situation.

When he was a sophomore, in 2018-19, we had a team that had one of the best 3-month stretches in the nation and moved into the top 10. Jamal was buried on the bench and was given the "short leash" treatment. That's quite common in such situations.

After The Lettermen left, Cain's playing time more than doubled. He averaged 18.4 mpg for the season and about 20 down the stretch. One could argue that Wojo was wrong to start Bailey and give Bailey more minutes in most games -- and it is an debate that went on constantly among Scoopers -- but it's not as if Cain didn't play about half of most games.

And his last season at MU, Jamal averaged 30 minutes, had the green light to shoot, was never yanked after TOs, etc.

He was a 3-star recruit, and his career progressed fairly similarly to that of many such recruits.

As to how he's doing as a Year 5 guy ... see the stats JB provided.

Those are the facts.  Happy to see Jamal get a nice run with a decent Horizon League team with that free extra season as an almost 23 year old.

[Elonsmusk]

So what you're saying is that a college basketball coach didn't treat a first-team All-American the same way he treated a role-playing reserve? That's preposterous!

There's a little selective memory going on with Jamal's situation.

When he was a sophomore, in 2018-19, we had a team that had one of the best 3-month stretches in the nation and moved into the top 10. Jamal was buried on the bench and was given the "short leash" treatment. That's quite common in such situations.

After The Lettermen left, Cain's playing time more than doubled. He averaged 18.4 mpg for the season and about 20 down the stretch. One could argue that Wojo was wrong to start Bailey and give Bailey more minutes in most games -- and it is an debate that went on constantly among Scoopers -- but it's not as if Cain didn't play about half of most games.

And his last season at MU, Jamal averaged 30 minutes, had the green light to shoot, was never yanked after TOs, etc.

He was a 3-star recruit, and his career progressed fairly similarly to that of many such recruits.

As to how he's doing as a Year 5 guy ... see the stats JB provided.

100% a valid point.  However, it is pretty rare to see a guy fall off so much from a promising freshman season to a sophomore one.  My feeling during Jamal's sophomore year was that Wojo started off with an ultra quick hook on Jamal and his performance steadily declined.  "Mind games" was meme'd here, but it just sucks as a player if you go out on the floor and know one mistake and you are coming out.  You play tight which ultimately leads to poor performance.  Bailey as a freshman got a longer leash and nearly 2x the minutes Jamal did as a sophomore. 

[Elonsmusk]

Those are the facts.  Happy to see Jamal get a nice run with a decent Horizon League team with that free extra season as an almost 23 year old.

Nice way to slight Jamal's performance year to date.  He's in the Top 1% of players in Value Add and has faced the 25th more difficult schedule.  Hasn't even stepped foot into Horizon League play yet.  Give the kid his due.

[Nukem2]

Nice way to slight Jamal's performance year to date.  He's in the Top 1% of players in Value Add and has faced the 25th more difficult schedule.  Hasn't even stepped foot into Horizon League play yet.  Give the kid his due.

What slight?  I said he is having nice run.  Factually, he is on a Horizon League team (where he is able to get a lot of usage which is probably what he was hoping for in his extra season of eligibility).  Hope he continues his level of play thought out the season.