Scrimmage vs Missouri in Chicago tomorrow (10/29)

[jfp61]

Omax started at the 3 in both scrimmages. He will play the 3 on opening night. MU will not start 3 guards to start the year it will either be Writsil or Joplin as the 5th starter as the 4 position.

[wadesworld]

Omax started at the 3 in both scrimmages. He will player the 3 on opening night. MU will not start 3 guards to start the year it will either be Writsil or Joplin as the 5th starter as the 4 position.

With Kolek and Kam or Kolek and Stevie?

[jfp61]

With Kolek and Kam or Kolek and Stevie?

I'm pretty convinced its Kam. I didn't even bother asking. I doubt he wouldn't start. He started more last year.

[Shooter McGavin]

Omax started at the 3 in both scrimmages. He will play the 3 on opening night. MU will not start 3 guards to start the year it will either be Writsil or Joplin as the 5th starter as the 4 position.

Hope it's Joplin that starts at the four and if not that he gets the most minutes.  Need his defense and rebounding to be good enough for this to happen.  Love the offensive potential. 

[TheGym]

With Kolek and Kam or Kolek and Stevie?

It is Kam, the person most likely to lose their starting position is Kolek unless he can prove he can shoot.

[Shooter McGavin]

It is Kam, the person most likely to lose their starting position is Kolek unless he can prove he can shoot.

Seems like Sean Jones is the real deal and will push for significant playing time.  But my hope is Kolek has a monster year and we are deep as hell at the point guard spot.

[Elonsmusk]

It is Kam, the person most likely to lose their starting position is Kolek unless he can prove he can shoot.

Wrong.

[jfp61]

It is Kam, the person most likely to lose their starting position is Kolek unless he can prove he can shoot.

No. Kolek's floor is just higher than every other guard we have. He was a NET positive offensive player without shooting competently last year and his defense was numerically comparable to Stevie's.

[panda]

No. Kolek's floor is just higher than every other guard we have. He was a NET positive offensive player without shooting competently last year and his defense was numerically comparable to Stevie's.

Yep - Kolek is the most important player to the teams success this season. We can greatly exceed my expectations if he improves his shooting while maintaining his floor spacing abilities.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Glad to hear Joplin has raised his game.  I was pretty skeptical about him contributing much this year, but sounds like he will be a solid player that occasionally goes off.

[panda]

Hope it's Joplin that starts at the four and if not that he gets the most minutes.  Need his defense and rebounding to be good enough for this to happen.  Love the offensive potential.

Been high on Joplin since high school. He's going to be a massive piece this year and will probably be the most reliable scorer by end of season.

[PGsHeroes32]

It is Kam, the person most likely to lose their starting position is Kolek unless he can prove he can shoot.

About 8 others beat me to this but this is just blatantly wrong.

Koleks starting spot is not in any trouble.

[UWW2MU]

It is Kam, the person most likely to lose their starting position is Kolek unless he can prove he can shoot.

Seriously though, how does one even come to this kind of conclusion??   How hard do you try to not follow the team to think this could possibly be the case?

This isn't some sort of attack, I really want to understand how this happens.

[DoctorV]

While I agree that TyKo is one of the most important pieces on this years team, I can see where the idea that he is the first replaceable starting lineup G comes from.

In this context, we are talking about a lineup with OMax at the 3, Jop/Wrightsil at the 4, and Oso at the 5, so a two guard lineup.

If one were to assume that Kam Jones stars on this team, either as leading or second leading scorer (which is a fair assessment at this point), AND TyKo struggles mightily with his shooting while Stevie or Sean Jones start to take the game by storm it would seem more logical that Tyler would be the guy that heads to the bench.

In most cases, I'd argue that in a two guard lineup Tyler and Kam are mortal locks to start, and continue to start the entire season. However, I'd say that it's more conceivable that if one were to get replaced in the starting 5- again in a two guard starting lineup- it would by Tyler and not Kam. I do think that the first change, if needed, would be to a 3 guard starting lineup with Stevie/Sean, TyKo, and Kam.

Let's not forget that Tyler lost plenty of his minutes later in the season last year as he faded, so it's not that far fetched.
I will say though that if Tyler does lose his starting spot it's probably a bad sign for Marquettes season as a whole

[Vander Blue Man Group]

It is Kam, the person most likely to lose their starting position is Kolek unless he can prove he can shoot.

Kolek is the least likely to lose his starting position this season, assuming he's healthy.

[The Sultan]

Let's not forget that Tyler lost plenty of his minutes later in the season last year as he faded, so it's not that far fetched.

He didn't really lose many minutes toward the end of the year.  The first half of the BE season he averaged 30.7 mpg.  The second half, including the BE, he averaged 28.2.  If you exclude the clunker at Creighton, he averaged 29.5.  He also started every game.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Kolek is the least likely to lose his starting position this season, assuming he's healthy.

I would say it's Oso, but Kolek is a very close second.

[tower912]

Oso, because his back ups aren't ready for extended minutes.


Coach Smart:
TK is the linchpin.
Oso is the most important and will handle the ball more than any 6'10 player in the country.
Joplin could one day lead the Big East in scoring.
Mitchell and Sean are lock down defenders.
Kam and Omax are primed to break out.

[Jay Bee]

Oso, because his back ups aren't ready for extended minutes.

Extended, or ANY. That is the question.

[duanewade]

We just lost 6 of 9 of our last games and lost by 30 in the NCAA tournament.  In this stretch we got killed by DePaul and swept by Creighton.

Having said the above nobody's job is safe or should be safe!  Hate to state the obvious which this board never seems to do. 

Kolek is very effective at times and can be the straw that stirs the MU offensive drink.  However he also has his Worts, and when he's not hitting shots, not able to effectively penetrate, and turning the ball over... his blatant lack of athletic ability compared to the other guards just gets amplified and can lead to some ugly losses.   

Let the best players play!  After the 1st third of season is over it should be very clear who our starters and rotation should be... too early to tell right now. 

[tower912]

We just lost 6 of 9 of our last games and lost by 30 in the NCAA tournament.  In this stretch we got killed by DePaul and swept by Creighton.

Having said the above nobody's job is safe or should be safe!  Hate to state the obvious which this board never seems to do. 

Kolek is very effective at times and can be the straw that stirs the MU offensive drink.  However he also has his Worts, and when he's not hitting shots, not able to effectively penetrate, and turning the ball over... his blatant lack of athletic ability compared to the other guards just gets amplified and can lead to some ugly losses.   

Let the best players play!  After the 1st third of season is over it should be very clear who our starters and rotation should be... too early to tell right now.

I am sure that the best players will play, just like last year.   Omax and Stevie. got hot at the end and played more.  Kam quit hitting 3's and played less.   Kur and Oso had minutes dictated by performance.   

For me, the wild card starter is Wrightsil v Joplin.   My instinct is to bring Joplin off the bench if Kam is starting.   If Stevie starts over Kam, start Joplin.    We will have a better idea next week.

[MUUWUWM]

Wrong.

Absolutely correct.

[jfp61]

We just lost 6 of 9 of our last games and lost by 30 in the NCAA tournament.  In this stretch we got killed by DePaul and swept by Creighton.

Having said the above nobody's job is safe or should be safe!  Hate to state the obvious which this board never seems to do. 

Kolek is very effective at times and can be the straw that stirs the MU offensive drink.  However he also has his Worts, and when he's not hitting shots, not able to effectively penetrate, and turning the ball over... his blatant lack of athletic ability compared to the other guards just gets amplified and can lead to some ugly losses.   

Let the best players play!  After the 1st third of season is over it should be very clear who our starters and rotation should be... too early to tell right now.

In the final 9 games of the season. Kolek shot horrifically. 29% from 2. 35% from 3. A high TO% for 29%.

AND STILL he had a higher net rating than Kam Jones.  Nice try.

[duanewade]

Is this amateur hour?  Never mind that is 24/7 for this board? 

Who ever said anything about Kam Jones?  He's definitely not a full-time 1.

If Sean jones is the best point that helps us win the most games then he should get the lion share of the minutes. If kolek is so be it but doesn't mean it should be guaranteed it if we lose two games in a row. The bench is the best coach there is.

Now go back to your computer and find a new silly stat. In meantime let me know when you want to play one on one as I guarantee I'll beat you without my calculator.

[bilsu]

We just lost 6 of 9 of our last games and lost by 30 in the NCAA tournament.  In this stretch we got killed by DePaul and swept by Creighton.

Having said the above nobody's job is safe or should be safe!  Hate to state the obvious which this board never seems to do. 

Kolek is very effective at times and can be the straw that stirs the MU offensive drink.  However he also has his Worts, and when he's not hitting shots, not able to effectively penetrate, and turning the ball over... his blatant lack of athletic ability compared to the other guards just gets amplified and can lead to some ugly losses.   

Let the best players play!  After the 1st third of season is over it should be very clear who our starters and rotation should be... too early to tell right now.

I believe Kolek had 10 assists against North Carolina, which is pretty amazing considering how bad MU shot in this game. Omax also played well. Lewis and Morsell stunk.