Offseason thoughts

[Stretchdeltsig]

I don't see how - or really why -
Keeyan and Ellis would stay.  If everyone else is back ( or almost everyone) they will never play.


And ... do we really think S. Jones can cut it in the BE at 5' 8" ?

Yrs. He's a muscular 5'10" with great quickness and moves. He'll do well.

[The Lens]

I know Shaka is anti-portal, but at a certain point to get from great you're gonna need to pick up one of those guys. Not saying this year because of the scholarship crunch.

Obviously Shaka has shown he can develop his own guys, and that's great. But you gotta play the game to win the whole thing.

My one big worry about Shaka is he's gonna get left behind because he'll be stubborn with transfers, even if they're a great fit.

He's brought in Kur, Daryl, O Max & Tyler.

All he's said is he won't over pay for a transfer when a solution is on his bench.  Worrying about Shaka at this point is ridiculous.  He's proven each year he'll get this team better. Trust the process.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

It is going to be a long 225 days until next season, but next year's squad will be worth the wait. This loss will provide plenty of fuel for continued development of our core and the sky is the limit with the talent we have. Might lose a piece here or there, but the core is set and we're adding a couple very talented  freshmen. I'm excited to see what Shaka can do with this group. My expectation is that we absolutely throttle the Big East next year.

[tower912]

Shaka isn't anti the portal. He was seeking   a back up center.   This past off-season the available bigs were seeking bags of cash.  He did not want to give bags of cash to a one year rental.

[Herman Cain]

First, the entire team Needs to spend the summer developing their mon dominant hands .  Being able to confidently use either hand is a big asset and it makes opponent game planning much more difficult.

Second , work on Free Throw shooting. Our league is only getting tougher and we need to pick up production where ever we can find it. Also really helps in tournaments situations.

Finally, everyone needs to get  after it hard in the weight room . Put on some more muscle and improve speed and jumping .

[rgoode57]

I fully agree that an effective big is needed for rebounding and rim protection. If you look at the teams left standing, they all have at least one - some of them have two. But, I do not see any evidence that Shaka is recruiting that big, and it does not look like he can get one from the portal due to the scholarship situation. It is a problem that Shaka will eventually have to solve, but he undoubtedly knows that.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

This game was lost in the first 10 minutes as there was no plan to counteract the dribble penetration defense.  MU was down 18-8 in the first ten minutes. Game over. That's on the game plan.

Honestly, how it that true when Marquette lead the game in the 2nd half?

[1990Warrior]

What is the approximate time frame for the major decisions? 

Will we know almost everything by the end of April?

[MuggsyB]

I fully agree that an effective big is needed for rebounding and rim protection. If you look at the teams left standing, they all have at least one - some of them have two. But, I do not see any evidence that Shaka is recruiting that big, and it does not look like he can get one from the portal due to the scholarship situation. It is a problem that Shaka will eventually have to solve, but he undoubtedly knows that.

That's all fine and dandy but our offense was the biggest problem yesterday.  The fact that Michigan State really couldn't make a three and still beat us is really tough to stomach..  We got hurt on the offensive glass but this was a 56-54 game with like 2 mins to go.  Oso is a solid big and Gold has a lot of potential.  As others have mentioned I think Gold should have gotten a few more mins in the 2H.  The fact is you're not winning rd  of  32 games when your best player plays really poorly .  It's just not going to happen. 

[IrwinFletcher]

https://twitter.com/DelaneyBrey/status/1637599227382583297?s=20

Doesn't look like a guy who is going to bolt because someone offers him money to do so.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

https://twitter.com/DelaneyBrey/status/1637599227382583297?s=20

Doesn't look like a guy who is going to bolt because someone offers him money to do so.

Nope. I think his love for the team and Shaka run deep. AND, seems to me that MU can come up with some NIL love for its leading scorer.

[Tyler COLEk]

There seems to be a common opinion on this board that NIL makes it less likely for players to stay at MU. I see it as the opposite.

1). Our program is extremely well-funded and in great position to be competitive with the top universities.

2). NIL provides strong incentive for future pros who probably aren't draft picks to stick in college longer. Consider Omax. Perhaps he could leave after this year and make $300k/year overseas. He's leaving a lot less on the table comparatively through NIL, where he (probably) stands to make $200k+ at MU.

It's the same calculus that kept Oscar Tshibwe at Kentucky. Maybe he (delusionally) thought he could improve his draft stock with another year at college. But no way would he have stayed if not for his massive NIL deal. We're much more likely to see fringy pros stick around MU if they can make some real money here.

[cheebs09]

I thought the reason Tswhiebe didn't go pro was he was a good college player that likely didn't fit in the NBA.

[lawdog77]

Absolutely. A big that can block shots and can stop drives to basket

One's that do that in college usually bog down the offense. Who's minutes is he going to take? IMO, the guys we already roll with need to improve their rebounding.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

There seems to be a common opinion on this board that NIL makes it less likely for players to stay at MU. I see it as the opposite.

1). Our program is extremely well-funded and in great position to be competitive with the top universities.

2). NIL provides strong incentive for future pros who probably aren't draft picks to stick in college longer. Consider Omax. Perhaps he could leave after this year and make $300k/year overseas. He's leaving a lot less on the table comparatively through NIL, where he (probably) stands to make $200k+ at MU.

It's the same calculus that kept Oscar Tshibwe at Kentucky. Maybe he (delusionally) thought he could improve his draft stock with another year at college. But no way would he have stayed if not for his massive NIL deal. We're much more likely to see fringy pros stick around MU if they can make some real money here.

That may be the case but it's the uncertainty right now considering NIL is new and this is the first time our team has been really good in the NIL era.  I think if we see the team stay in tact for next season a lot of concerns, whether unfounded or not, will be alleviated, including mine. 

This year was special and I would hate to see next year impacted because of NIL-related losses as it could be more special. 

Also, I thought OMax couldn't get NIL money because he's Canadian but I hope I'm wrong about that. 

[We R Final Four]

There seems to be a common opinion on this board that NIL makes it less likely for players to stay at MU. I see it as the opposite.

1). Our program is extremely well-funded and in great position to be competitive with the top universities.

2). NIL provides strong incentive for future pros who probably aren't draft picks to stick in college longer. Consider Omax. Perhaps he could leave after this year and make $300k/year overseas. He's leaving a lot less on the table comparatively through NIL, where he (probably) stands to make $200k+ at MU.

It's the same calculus that kept Oscar Tshibwe at Kentucky. Maybe he (delusionally) thought he could improve his draft stock with another year at college. But no way would he have stayed if not for his massive NIL deal. We're much more likely to see fringy pros stick around MU if they can make some real money here.

The way it has been explained to me Is OMax and Ben are international players who are nor allowed to collect NIL $. So I don't think $200K+ is happening.

[We R Final Four]

https://twitter.com/DelaneyBrey/status/1637599227382583297?s=20

Doesn't look like a guy who is going to bolt because someone offers him money to do so.

Maybe....maybe not. No one knows what Kam and family are thinking. It was a tough loss....and it is very difficult when your season ends.
However, a player crying after a loss in the NCAA tournament is not indicative of their future plans. As the tournament goes on, and players lose and cry.....those players may return next year, they may transfer, they may go pro, etc. But Kam crying certainly doesn't mean anything regarding his future plans.

[Tyler COLEk]

I thought the reason Tswhiebe didn't go pro was he was a good college player that likely didn't fit in the NBA.

That is certainly true. I don't think NIL provides much counter incentive for draft picks, particularly first round picks.

[GoFastAndWin]

Just wanted to say that although Izzo is oft-maligned for the Nasser thing and issues with some of his own previous players, if you look at how he speaks after both wins and losses and then look at this handshake line... he and his players have empathy and class. Maybe some of it is because of what that campus has been through lately.

[The Equalizer]

There seems to be a common opinion on this board that NIL makes it less likely for players to stay at MU. I see it as the opposite.

1). Our program is extremely well-funded and in great position to be competitive with the top universities.

Is this published somewhere?  I haven't seen anything public regarding the level of NIL funding compared to other major programs.

[LAZER]

One's that do that in college usually bog down the offense. Who's minutes is he going to take? IMO, the guys we already roll with need to improve their rebounding.

If the rebounding is going to get better it needs to be addressed by the coaching staff. It's hard to say how much is on the personnel when Shaka has literally never had a good rebounding team.

[Tyler COLEk]

That may be the case but it's the uncertainty right now considering NIL is new and this is the first time our team has been really good in the NIL era.  I think if we see the team stay in tact for next season a lot of concerns, whether unfounded or not, will be alleviated, including mine. 

This year was special and I would hate to see next year impacted because of NIL-related losses as it could be more special. 

Also, I thought OMax couldn't get NIL money because he's Canadian but I hope I'm wrong about that.

We'll certainly learn a lot over the next few months, but I'm bullish on Marquette's positioning within NIL and the portal environment. Predicting Marquette will lose no more than one player from the rotation:

Kolek
K. Jones
Oso
Stevie
Omax
Joplin
Ross
Gold
S. Jones

I forgot about the international concern — that's a good point. Perhaps the federal government will change rules to allow student visa holders access to NIL, but can't count on that. Still betting that Omax and Gold think their path ahead is best by staying at MU another year.

[Tyler COLEk]

Is this published somewhere?  I haven't seen anything public regarding the level of NIL funding compared to other major programs.

MU has been mum on this, IMO smartly. But it's very hard for me to believe that the program is having a difficult time soliciting funds for NIL. The boosters that support MUBB care about these players and understand the importance of being competitive here. We have money for everything else — why would NIL be any different?

[tower912]

There is a fund.  We can all contribute.