Cooley, oh! A fantastic voyage

[Goose]

82

Sadly, there were folks on here that were excited about Heldt and his role on the team. That kind of goes hand in hand with the cult of low expectations. There are folks on here that would love nothing more than GE to flourish to be proven correct. I want GE to be a solid 10-15 minute guy and know his role. It is not because I do not GE to do well, it is like wanting Hedlt to play 6-8 minutes a game. It is a sign the program is going in the right direction.

[brewcity77]

Definitely just a statistical comparison in that both were pretty one-dimensional scorers on the inside but uber-efficient when called upon. I would take Oso 100/100 times over Heldt, but remembering Heldt ranking #2 in national offensive efficiency in 2018 still makes me laugh.

[Shooter McGavin]

What I found interesting about the game was how lethargic PC looked for a ranked team.  If that was solely due to MU putting the clamps down on defense that is a tremendous sign going forward.  I said before the game I thought our defense was trending better, especially the half court defense.  If we can play stifling defense like that consistently we can make the NCAAs without question.  PC looked foolish and lazy out there.  I really hope that was mostly MU.

I love our athleticism as well.  Theo would be blocked by the rim on half the dunks that Oso makes easily.  Very refreshing. 

[MU82]

82

Sadly, there were folks on here that were excited about Heldt and his role on the team. That kind of goes hand in hand with the cult of low expectations. There are folks on here that would love nothing more than GE to flourish to be proven correct. I want GE to be a solid 10-15 minute guy and know his role. It is not because I do not GE to do well, it is like wanting Hedlt to play 6-8 minutes a game. It is a sign the program is going in the right direction.

The difference is that Elliott does one thing better than most players in all of college basketball, and that one thing has become a crucial element to the game. Heldt was a tall guy who tried hard.

As I said, there will be games in which Greg either doesn't have it or isn't needed. But it's nice to know Shaka has an elite 3-point shooter at his disposal.

I don't know whether you're talking about me, but I don't want Greg to "flourish" any more than I want any other Marquette player to flourish. I want them all to flourish so the team flourishes. I did say that I thought it was dopey for some folks to be so willing to throw a 45% 3-point shooter into the trash can. Not saying you, but more than a few Scoopers felt that way. Thankfully, Shaka agreed that Greg had real value, and thankfully Greg agreed to come back.

[brewcity77]

What I found interesting about the game was how lethargic PC looked for a ranked team.  If that was solely due to MU putting the clamps down on defense that is a tremendous sign going forward.  I said before the game I thought our defense was trending better, especially the half court defense.  If we can play stifling defense like that consistently we can make the NCAAs without question.  PC looked foolish and lazy out there.  I really hope that was mostly MU.

I love our athleticism as well.  Theo would be blocked by the rim on half the dunks that Oso makes easily.  Very refreshing.

Not having Reeves is a dent in their shot-making and passing ability. They have a ton of guys that can be the third or fourth best player, but no one else who can be Robin to Watson's Batman. I also think Watson is a guy that, if you take him out of his game, can turn from asset to liability in a hurry. Having Watson out of sorts and Reeves out period put a lot of pressure on the rest of their team and none of them have shown the ability to consistently step into that alpha role.

[Marquette Overload]

This got me thinking.  With thanks to http://muoverload.com/, I found that tonight looks like our 6th Big East win by over 30.  Second biggest ever.  Something we've only seen 1 other time in over a decade.

Big East wins by >= 30
Buzz: January 4, 2009 - Cincinnati (34)
Shaka: January 4, 2022 - Providence (32)
Wojo: March 14, 2019 - Saint John's (32) [Big East Tourney]
Buzz: January 18, 2011 - DePaul (30)
Buzz: January 17, 2010 - Providence (30)
Crean: February 23, 2008 - Rutgers (30)

Big East losses by >= 30
Wojo: Villanova - March 12, 2015 (35) [Big East Tourney]
Wojo: Villanova - February 10, 2021 (32)

Buzz and Crean never lost a Big East game by more than 30.  What I did notice is that Buzz's biggest loss ever (33 at Florida) and biggest Big East loss (25 to Louisville at MSG) are two road games I had the misfortune to attend.

Glad you used the site!  I created it specifically to try to look up random stuff like this.

Maybe I should add a margin of victory column. 

[Spotcheck Billy]

I'm not picking at any posters in this thread but I chuckle how giddy scoop is after wins like this vs. the posts after the last 4 games.

[Goose]

Spotcheck

I wish we had wins like this more often.

[warriorchick]

Interesting….not even a peep (so far) this morning about the game in the Providence Journal.

There is an article for subscribers only.

Second newest article is one from yesterday morning titled "Friars are the hottest team in the Big East". 

[MarquetteMike1977]

It was Marquette’s biggest margin of victory versus a ranked team in Marquette Basketball history.

[mu.n8ball]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh2p8v8qbNI

Post game presser

have you seen a link to Cooley's press conference? I was interested in hearing his take. I didn't see anything on providences channel. does the away coach not do an interview?

[DoctorV]

have you seen a link to Cooley's press conference? I was interested in hearing his take. I didn't see anything on providences channel. does the away coach not do an interview?

Cooley seems like a great dude and I kind of felt for him last night.

This was one of the best years in the programs history up to that point in the season and they were coming off of a lot of momentum, so a game like that is really painful.

He looked pained too.

I always love Shakas energy and I think it’s good for the program and the team, but I didn’t like that sprint out to mid court to give slap of the 5s for that reason. It was sort of near Providence’ bench when MU was throttling them, and Cooley is a class act.
Call me old fashioned, and I know coach Smart is allowed to get excited, but he should be a bit more mindful of these things going forward.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Cooley seems like a great dude and I kind of felt for him last night.

This was one of the best years in the programs history up to that point in the season and they were coming off of a lot of momentum, so a game like that is really painful.

He looked pained too.

I always love Shakas energy and I think it’s good for the program and the team, but I didn’t like that sprint out to mid court to give slap of the 5s for that reason. It was sort of near Providence’ bench when MU was throttling them, and Cooley is a class act.
Call me old fashioned, and I know coach Smart is allowed to get excited, but he should be a bit more mindful of these things going forward.

It was fine.  I doubt Cooley gave it two thoughts.  It's how Shaka coaches.

Anyway, I think Cooley knew his team was going to struggle with this game.  Brian Butch mentioned that Cooley told him something like he hopes they are ready to play.  I think in retrospect his concerns were legit.

[brewcity77]

Cooley seems like a great dude and I kind of felt for him last night.

I believe it was at the 4:14 mark of the first half, Ed Croswell fouled Justin Lewis. The arena was naturally silent as Justin was taking his free throws. Not sure if it came over the broadcast, but Cooley yelled "Ed, what the hell did you do?!?" at Croswell. My entire section started laughing and talking about what a good dude Cooley is. Absolutely hilarious.

[Lennys Tap]

Interesting fact brought up by the announcers was that Providence’s starting lineup is really old - the average age is 23*. To put it into perspective they are (on average) about 1.5 years older than the Oklahoma City Thunders starting 5. I guess they should be good.

Re Shaka’s enthusiasm - I generally like your posts Doctor V, but you are being old fashioned. And I’m 73.

[DoctorV]

Interesting fact brought up by the announcers was that Providence’s starting lineup is really old - the average age is 23*. To put it into perspective they are (on average) about 1.5 years older than the Oklahoma City Thunders starting 5. I guess they should be good.

Re Shaka’s enthusiasm - I generally like your posts Doctor V, but you are being old fashioned. And I’m 73.

That’s fair, I’m 38 I think.

I’m all about showing people up, but I don’t like doing it when I’m whoopin they arse. I really don’t like doing it when I’m the new guy in the room and the other guy is an established good guy.

I don’t think Shaka was intentionally showing anyone up. I actually think Shaka is a great guy and the other coaches in the conference will see that. He’s a very bright guy that seems to just get it and very rarely does the wrong thing, almost always does the right thing when it comes to respectability.

I’m just saying if I’m Ed I’m thinking “tone it down a touch there, chief. You’re walloping me as is.”

Instead Ed was probably thinking he wished a bat would come out and just cancel the rest of the game

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I don't think showing enthusiasm is showing someone up.

[panda]

Cooley seems like a great dude and I kind of felt for him last night.

This was one of the best years in the programs history up to that point in the season and they were coming off of a lot of momentum, so a game like that is really painful.

He looked pained too.

I always love Shakas energy and I think it’s good for the program and the team, but I didn’t like that sprint out to mid court to give slap of the 5s for that reason. It was sort of near Providence’ bench when MU was throttling them, and Cooley is a class act.
Call me old fashioned, and I know coach Smart is allowed to get excited, but he should be a bit more mindful of these things going forward.

How dare he

[DoctorV]

He must’ve not talked to Vander Blue

[JWags85]

I can guarantee Cooley was far more annoyed with his team getting throttled and not playing well.  He was very excited when Shaka came to Marquette and said as much in the off-season.  He’s a fan of the guy and I’m sure his enthusiasm and energy is part of the reason

[djvern414]

The forum was quiet last night. Got some great audio courtside.

Cooley was hilarious. His commentary and f bombs cracked up our entire section behind bench. At 1 point in first half he said sarcastically after Oso scored “it’s the f-ing Harlem Globetrotters”.

[lostpassword]

Glad you used the site!  I created it specifically to try to look up random stuff like this.

Maybe I should add a margin of victory column.

I did indeed download and add a colum for that.

[MarquetteMike1977]

I believe it was at the 4:14 mark of the first half, Ed Croswell fouled Justin Lewis. The arena was naturally silent as Justin was taking his free throws. Not sure if it came over the broadcast, but Cooley yelled "Ed, what the hell did you do?!?" at Croswell. My entire section started laughing and talking about what a good dude Cooley is. Absolutely hilarious.

Cooley said something last night to his team like You are making Marquette look like the Harlem Globetrotters and everyone started laughing too haha.
Watched the tape today and felt Shaka was on point during a timeout saying something like you can put it down on the floor too and be aggressive among other things. Marquette followed that timeout with a 20-0 run.

[rocky_warrior]

Interesting fact brought up by the announcers was that Providence’s starting lineup is really old - the average age is 23*. To put it into perspective they are (on average) about 1.5 years older than the Oklahoma City Thunders starting 5. I guess they should be good.

But PC sucks, MU clobbered them!

The comparison to the Thunder was interesting, but by the same stats MU's starting lineup average age was about the same as the Thunder - so I guess we're basically an NBA team 

edit: I'm a geek and like numbers...yesterday MUs  starting lineup was an average age of 21 years, 3 months, and 10 days.   In March of 2021, the Thunder started a lineup with an average age of 20 years, 8 months and 6 days.