Zaide Lowery

[Shooter McGavin]

Smooth, effortless athleticism.  That's Zaide.  Looks like slow motion but it's not.  Can't wait til he gets full confidence on the court.

[Elonsmusk]

We know you're trying to claim Zaide as your "discovery." Congrats!

You're welcome:

Totally agree and almost brought this up in original post, as while Chase is very athletic, it is a different kind of athletic - one I would suggest is the elite athleticism possessed by football players versus a basketball player.   There is just a difference.

DJO is a good comp for Chase's athleticism - both very athletic but I would say more in the straight line sense versus great lateral athleticism. Zaide has "pogo stick" type of athleticism..super quick off the ground.

I think Chase will be a very good player during his time at MU, but I don't see superstar written all over him like I do Zaide. Hope I'm wrong on this though and that Chase does blossom into a full blown superstar.

Right on.  Zaide shut Abams down.  Great call by Shaka to put Zaide and his length/athleticism on Abams.  I think we will continue to see Zaide emerge as the season moves forward.

Was great to see Joplin play with more effort on the D-boards and to see him make a couple of 3s.

Zaide will see an uptick in minutes as the season goes on...and I know you are all aboard the Chase Ross to the NBA hype train but Zaide is a better prospect.  Bookmark this one.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

I thought both Zaide and Lowery played well. High ceiling for the two of them.

[onepost]

I thought both Zaide and Lowery played well. High ceiling for the two of them.

Zaide "Frankenstein" Lowery

[Scoop Snoop]

I thought both Zaide and Lowery played well. High ceiling for the two of them.

Damn! You beat me to it by only a couple of minutes.

Let's hope Monday's game was not a fluke and that Norman figures out how to avoid fouls once in a while. Both Tre and Norman have high ceilings too.

[Elonsmusk]

Don't curse Zaide like this. We couldn't stop hearing about John Dawson against Grambling, don't ruin Zaide the same way.

Dawson was a much better option than Derrick Wilson, but Buzz was out totally checked out that year.  Dawson pretty much got us a win on the road at GTown hitting a couple of 3's in OT when he got 31 minutes, but never got more than 18 in the next 13 games, including a few DNPs and then had the disservice of inheriting Wojo as a coach who was clueless. 

You can ridicule my bullishness on him all you want but he made/played in the G League for several years after finishing at Liberty.

I do applaud you though for finally getting a clue and realizing Wojo didn't have it after 6 years at the helm, when some of us knew it 10 games into his time at MU.

[Goose]

There has been a lot of talk about Shaka and his recruiting, and it surprises me. I am going simply by what I see, not rankings, and I 100% believe that each year Shaka has recruited a better group than the previous year and looks like the incoming kids are going to be very good. I have said it many times, but I believe a Shaka recruited team is going to look a lot different than the current makeup of the roster. There is not one kid that he has recruited that does not fit the mold of a Shaka team.

IMO, anyone that has dismissed Norman and Zaide was doing it for the sake of doing it. None of us have any idea how they might end up being, but I sure as hell am not dismissing them because of limited action. Plus, I find it funny that some on here are very jacked about Al because he has much more limited playing time thus far. I think all three have potential to be good to very college players and time will tell.

[wadesworld]

Dawson was a much better option than Derrick Wilson, but Buzz was out totally checked out that year.  Dawson pretty much got us a win on the road at GTown hitting a couple of 3's in OT when he got 31 minutes, but never got more than 18 in the next 13 games, including a few DNPs and then had the disservice of inheriting Wojo as a coach who was clueless. 

You can ridicule my bullishness on him all you want but he made/played in the G League for several years after finishing at Liberty.

I do applaud you though for finally getting a clue and realizing Wojo didn't have it after 6 years at the helm, when some of us knew it 10 games into his time at MU.

Love the "He played in the G League" argument.

[Scoop Snoop]

There has been a lot of talk about Shaka and his recruiting, and it surprises me. I am going simply by what I see, not rankings, and I 100% believe that each year Shaka has recruited a better group than the previous year and looks like the incoming kids are going to be very good. I have said it many times, but I believe a Shaka recruited team is going to look a lot different than the current makeup of the roster. There is not one kid that he has recruited that does not fit the mold of a Shaka team.

IMO, anyone that has dismissed Norman and Zaide was doing it for the sake of doing it. None of us have any idea how they might end up being, but I sure as hell am not dismissing them because of limited action. Plus, I find it funny that some on here are very jacked about Al because he has much more limited playing time thus far. I think all three have potential to be good to very college players and time will tell.

I think much of the excitement about Amadou is/was because his dunks were so spectacular. If he gets his D looking good and avoids silly fouls, we will see more of him. Norman's contortionist form enroute to his basket was beautiful. Both Zaide's and Lowery's 3 pointers were so smooth, confident, and inspired hope in Marquette fans eager for someone, anyone who can make 3s.

[withoutbias]

Dawson was a much better option than Derrick Wilson, but Buzz was out totally checked out that year.  Dawson pretty much got us a win on the road at GTown hitting a couple of 3's in OT when he got 31 minutes, but never got more than 18 in the next 13 games, including a few DNPs and then had the disservice of inheriting Wojo as a coach who was clueless. 

You can ridicule my bullishness on him all you want but he made/played in the G League for several years after finishing at Liberty.

I do applaud you though for finally getting a clue and realizing Wojo didn't have it after 6 years at the helm, when some of us knew it 10 games into his time at MU.

Know who else was drafted into the G League?  Derrick Wilson.

Buzz started Derrick Wilson over John Dawson (oh wait that's right, to stick it to the MU administration.  Because that's how you want to go out looking for your next job.  Burning your current one down, when wins and losses determine who might come calling for you next!).  Wojo started Derrick Wilson over John Dawson.  Joe Chapman started Derrick Wilson over DJO.

John Dawson was 17th in MPG on his G League team his first year, behind the likes of Jalen Jones, Cat Barber, Julyan Stone, Terry Henderson, Sam Thompson, Charles Cooke, Mangok Mathaing, Luke Petrasek, LG Gill, Roscoe Smith, and TJ Williams.  A real whose who of studs!

His second year in the G League he was dead last in minutes per game on his team behind similar names, but add in Zach Smith and Jaylen Barford.

His third year in the G League he was 3rd from last in minutes per game, adding in superstars like Max Montana, Tai Odiase, Trey Phills, Tyler Nelson, Jeff Roberson, and Raymond Spalding.

John Dawson was never a high major basketball player.  Get the eff over it you clown.

[Uncle Rico]

John Dawson sucks

[Elonsmusk]

Know who else was drafted into the G League?  Derrick Wilson.

Buzz started Derrick Wilson over John Dawson (oh wait that's right, to stick it to the MU administration.  Because that's how you want to go out looking for your next job.  Burning your current one down, when wins and losses determine who might come calling for you next!).  Wojo started Derrick Wilson over John Dawson.  Joe Chapman started Derrick Wilson over DJO.

John Dawson was 17th in MPG on his G League team his first year, behind the likes of Jalen Jones, Cat Barber, Julyan Stone, Terry Henderson, Sam Thompson, Charles Cooke, Mangok Mathaing, Luke Petrasek, LG Gill, Roscoe Smith, and TJ Williams.  A real whose who of studs!

His second year in the G League he was dead last in minutes per game on his team behind similar names, but add in Zach Smith and Jaylen Barford.

His third year in the G League he was 3rd from last in minutes per game, adding in superstars like Max Montana, Tai Odiase, Trey Phills, Tyler Nelson, Jeff Roberson, and Raymond Spalding.

John Dawson was never a high major basketball player.  Get the eff over it you clown.

More worthless drivel from Scoop's LVP.  But you're right, Derrick was probably a better player than DJO, so Joe Chapman, like Wojo made the right call there.  No doubt Derrick making 11, 3 point shots in a 4-year career in which he played 30+ minutes every game as a Junior and Senior was epic performance, as compared to John Dawson's 94 makes in a 3-year career, in which one of those years was at MU when he played a total of 240 minutes in 32 games and made 7 3-point shots.  Not to mention our offensive efficiency bottomed out to 154th in Derrick's junior year, but saw a slight uptick his senior year to 116th (the only 2 seasons) since 1999 that we finished worse than 100th in OE.

And btw - If you think Buzz had to accomplish jack that last year coming off Sweet 16, Sweet 16, and Elite 8 to have multiple great offers, you are even dumber than I thought.

[Elonsmusk]

John Dawson sucks

Uncle Rico blows.

[dgies9156]

There has been a lot of talk about Shaka and his recruiting, and it surprises me. I am going simply by what I see, not rankings, and I 100% believe that each year Shaka has recruited a better group than the previous year and looks like the incoming kids are going to be very good. I have said it many times, but I believe a Shaka recruited team is going to look a lot different than the current makeup of the roster. There is not one kid that he has recruited that does not fit the mold of a Shaka team.

IMO, anyone that has dismissed Norman and Zaide was doing it for the sake of doing it. None of us have any idea how they might end up being, but I sure as hell am not dismissing them because of limited action. Plus, I find it funny that some on here are very jacked about Al because he has much more limited playing time thus far. I think all three have potential to be good to very college players and time will tell.

Brother Goose:

Absolutely right.

What folks often forget is a coach like Shaka builds on both his past classes and his own success. As we rebuild a reputation and as Shaka establishes himself, we will become a "go to" destination for the folks Shaka wants. I have all the confidence in the world he's right.

The other thing to keep in mind is Tre, Zaide and Al all are freshmen. As good as they might be, given our depth we have much more established guards ahead of them. It's a luxury not to have to rely on freshmen to run our offense. I'm confident Zaide, Tre and Al will be really good in the years ahead.

[willie warrior]

Uncle Rico blows.

Consistently, constantly, and continuously

[MU82]

You're welcome

Yep. You, not Shaka (nor the other college coaches who recruited him), discovered Zaide.

I do agree with you that Zaide will be a far better high-major player than your last discovery was. I sincerely hope we're both right about that!

[brewcity77]

"Played in the G League" is about as meaningful as "invited to an NBA draft workout." Some of those guys are just there as practice bodies, not because they are any good.

Dawson played in about half the games for the worst team in the G League in 2019-20, averaging 11 minutes per game. And yes, he was a mediocre player on Ritchie Davis' two worst Liberty teams.

Lowery and Ross are both far better than John Dawson. Don't put that evil on them.

[Uncle Rico]

Uncle Rico blows.

John Dawson sucks

[Uncle Rico]

Consistently, constantly, and continuously

Thanks, Wilmer

[Scoop Snoop]

Brother Goose:

The other thing to keep in mind is Tre, Zaide and Al all are freshmen. As good as they might be, given our depth we have much more established guards ahead of them. It's a luxury not to have to rely on freshmen to run our offense. I'm confident Zaide, Tre and Al will be really good in the years ahead.

Mostly agree dgies, but the frosh may be put to the test if we get into serious foul trouble or a starter becomes injured. For now, we (mostly) have the luxury you mentioned. I added "mostly" twice because with Sean gone and Ross still watching from the sidelines, our frosh may have to help save the day in a game or two, perhaps more.

[withoutbias]

More worthless drivel from Scoop's LVP.  But you're right, Derrick was probably a better player than DJO, so Joe Chapman, like Wojo made the right call there.  No doubt Derrick making 11, 3 point shots in a 4-year career in which he played 30+ minutes every game as a Junior and Senior was epic performance, as compared to John Dawson's 94 makes in a 3-year career, in which one of those years was at MU when he played a total of 240 minutes in 32 games and made 7 3-point shots.  Not to mention our offensive efficiency bottomed out to 154th in Derrick's junior year, but saw a slight uptick his senior year to 116th (the only 2 seasons) since 1999 that we finished worse than 100th in OE.

And btw - If you think Buzz had to accomplish jack that last year coming off Sweet 16, Sweet 16, and Elite 8 to have multiple great offers, you are even dumber than I thought.

That's why Buzz ended up at Virginia Tech.  Great offer!  And not just one, but multiple!

Mizzou, Wake Forest, Houston, Tennessee, Auburn all had coaching changes that offseason.  Buzz ended up at Virgnia Tech.

Glad you finally took the L on the G League garbage.  Talk about drivel.

[JakeBarnes]

There has been a lot of talk about Shaka and his recruiting, and it surprises me. I am going simply by what I see, not rankings, and I 100% believe that each year Shaka has recruited a better group than the previous year and looks like the incoming kids are going to be very good. I have said it many times, but I believe a Shaka recruited team is going to look a lot different than the current makeup of the roster. There is not one kid that he has recruited that does not fit the mold of a Shaka team.

IMO, anyone that has dismissed Norman and Zaide was doing it for the sake of doing it. None of us have any idea how they might end up being, but I sure as hell am not dismissing them because of limited action. Plus, I find it funny that some on here are very jacked about Al because he has much more limited playing time thus far. I think all three have potential to be good to very college players and time will tell.

Agree Goose. I think you've nailed it with this comment. I probably am highest on zaide in current class--he made hard things look easy when in his and seems to be adjusting well. Still think people are gonna be blown away with Tre running point in the near future. I thought he looked like our Brunson and he's definitely here to be the evolution of the pg spot in Shaka's system (I'm not saying he's better than Tyler, just that it is clear to see he fits the mold of that).

[Shooter McGavin]

Posters need to quit dissecting every Elon post.  Elon is an enthusiastic MU fan who makes predictions like we all do and those predictions get more enthusiastic as he sees more evidence on the court, like all of our predictions.   All of us have made bad predictions as well.

Elon, don't take the bait on this stuff. 

[MU82]

Posters need to quit dissecting every Elon post.  Elon is an enthusiastic MU fan who makes predictions like we all do and those predictions get more enthusiastic as he sees more evidence on the court, like all of our predictions.   All of us have made bad predictions as well.

Elon, don't take the bait on this stuff.

Agree with every word of this. We all make predictions, or give expectations, and it's a big part of what a fan board like this is for. In the post just before this one, Jake Barnes predicted that Tre Norman is gonna be a really good PG for Marquette.

The difference: If Jake is right, he won't use 100 posts to remind us how he and he alone brilliantly discovered Tre Norman.

It's not the prediction, it's the execution.

Ners knows basketball, and he makes a lot of very good points in these threads. When he makes it about Ners instead of about Marquette hoops, that's when he draws some criticism.

I actually like Ners and it would be fun to grab a beer with him someday.

[Lennys Tap]

Posters need to quit dissecting every Elon post.  Elon is an enthusiastic MU fan who makes predictions like we all do and those predictions get more enthusiastic as he sees more evidence on the court, like all of our predictions.   All of us have made bad predictions as well.

Elon, don't take the bait on this stuff.

+1. I've had my disagreements with Ners/Elon (especially re "Magic" Dawson) but he knows the game and is one of Scoop's most insightful commentators on our players. I look forward to his evaluations and more often than not agree with them.