New season, NIU opponent

[Dr. Blackheart]

Lost one of the four factors and MU has Illinois, UCLA, Kansas, and one of three (Purdue, Tennessee, Gonzaga). Really disappointed with the lack of emphasis on rebounding tonight.

[MUfan12]

Thought a few of those O rebounds in the first half were bad bounces. But the entire defensive effort in that second half was atrocious. Got cooked on the dribble, slow to recover on shooters, gave up too many second chances. Not many "multiple efforts."

Glad to get a win, offense looks like it could be a bunch of fun. But they gotta get some stuff figured out before next week.

[MuggsyB]

Thought a few of those O rebounds in the first half were bad bounces. But the entire defensive effort in that second half was atrocious. Got cooked on the dribble, slow to recover on shooters, gave up too many second chances. Not many "multiple efforts."

Glad to get a win, offense looks like it could be a bunch of fun. But they gotta get some stuff figured out before next week.

Our traps weren't particularly effective in the 2H and we constantly got burned on the dribble drive.  We do need to clean that up and we can. 

[Newsdreams]

Only notable thing to come out of the game was seeing that Stevie Mitchell didn't work on his shot in the off-season.

Oh fck took my jokes, no trolling available now. Stevie has too many cougars after him...

[avid1010]

MU didn't cover, not a win

If I bet MU...I'm not happy with the 2nd half whistle.

Absolutely amazing crowd for a gimme game.

[DoctorV]

Thought a few of those O rebounds in the first half were bad bounces. But the entire defensive effort in that second half was atrocious. Got cooked on the dribble, slow to recover on shooters, gave up too many second chances. Not many "multiple efforts."

Glad to get a win, offense looks like it could be a bunch of fun. But they gotta get some stuff figured out before next week.

Yup, rebounding wasn't great.

You could tell Shaka wasn't particularly happy with the 2H effort.

Defensive intensity was good, but over committed a lot and then didn't crash the boards or get after loose balls the way you'd like to see.

Offense is just so elite that it covers it all up, unlike MSU tonight.

That said, the road to the promised land resides inside those dirty boards.
That offense has so many weapons and is one of the most elite we've ever seen

[Daniel]

And Al 's first 8 seconds was awesome - was a great crowd - lots of students  and good to see so many players get some decent minutes.   Rebounding and block outs still an issue, but it's the first game.    Let eat another cupcake Friday then get on with a great test next week at Illinois

[1SE]

Yup, rebounding wasn't great.

You could tell Shaka wasn't particularly happy with the 2H effort.

Defensive intensity was good, but over committed a lot and then didn't crash the boards or get after loose balls the way you'd like to see.

Offense is just so elite that it covers it all up, unlike MSU tonight.

That said, the road to the promised land resides inside those dirty boards.
That offense has so many weapons and is one of the most elite we've ever seen

NIU is bad. Sure they have some height, but so do most teams and we made it look like a brawl on the board. I get rebounding isn't a point of emphasis in Shaka's approach but there were a number of times when we were in position and literally just couldn't grab the ball - we may not have super height or strength but we have guys that can jump - for some reason though they just don't sky and grab very well - hopefully it is something that can be improved otherwise I think it could bite us at some key times.

TKO - still seeing some tendency for hero-ball which we really don't need on this team with so many options. That one possession in the first half where he turned his back in the lane and then tried to force up a shot and got blocked was really bad. But his stroke was looking much sweeter - we really need pass-first Tyler back but who can then also make the pay when they sag. With Kam, Chase (and Jop), Tyler should be the 3rd or 4th option when we need a guy to just go get a bucket.

Sean - I love a lot of what he does but he's not a shooter. 3 3FGAs is too many, even against SIU.

But otherwise, lots of encouraging signs. I like the fact that we have 3 or 4 guys who might be able to light it up on any given night. Chase looks legit, but will be interesting to see what he can do against faster competition. Illinois will be a real test but a game we should win if we're a legit top-5 team. And as MSU will tell you - a win is a win!

[tower912]

Gold, Joplin, Sean, and Stevie combined to shoot 1-13 from 3.     Still a higher percentage than Sparty.

[tower912]

My favorite play of the night was the Ross lob to a cutting Gold for the dunk.

[tower912]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0vyRv8TbYY

Shaka post game

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

Ben and Sean

[CTWarrior]

Defense and defensive rebounding not so good.

One thing that surprised me was that Sean Jones had trouble staying in front of his man.

Kam Jones is an absolute joy to watch play basketball.  Chase Ross looked really good.  Could we have back to back 6th man of the year winners in Big East?

I thought he NIU coach did a good job prepping for us.  They were ready to jump the passing lanes and had a little success doing it.  We are just too much better than they are.

[StillAWarrior]

Has any Marquette player in the history of the program had a more exciting play in his first eight seconds on the floor than Al? That was fantastic.

[Uncle Rico]

Lack of an aircraft carrier glaring last night

[MuggsyB]

Yup, rebounding wasn't great.

You could tell Shaka wasn't particularly happy with the 2H effort.

Defensive intensity was good, but over committed a lot and then didn't crash the boards or get after loose balls the way you'd like to see.

Offense is just so elite that it covers it all up, unlike MSU tonight.

That said, the road to the promised land resides inside those dirty boards.
That offense has so many weapons and is one of the most elite we've ever seen

Doctor V,

How would you utilize Ross and Jones the Younger?  I thought both looked very solid but they're playing behind maybe the best backcourt in the country.  Is it reasonable that we could play 4 guard line-ups for extended mins?

[MuggsyB]

Has any Marquette player in the history of the program had a more exciting play in his first eight seconds on the floor than Al? That was fantastic.

That was awesome as was the spin move that led to the dunk.  I think Sean got fouled there. 

[muwarrior69]

Gold, Joplin, Sean, and Stevie combined to shoot 1-13 from 3.     Still a higher percentage than Sparty.

If we put James Madison on our uniforms we just might have a shot at beating Sparty.

[wadesworld]

NIU is bad. Sure they have some height, but so do most teams and we made it look like a brawl on the board. I get rebounding isn't a point of emphasis in Shaka's approach but there were a number of times when we were in position and literally just couldn't grab the ball - we may not have super height or strength but we have guys that can jump - for some reason though they just don't sky and grab very well - hopefully it is something that can be improved otherwise I think it could bite us at some key times.

TKO - still seeing some tendency for hero-ball which we really don't need on this team with so many options. That one possession in the first half where he turned his back in the lane and then tried to force up a shot and got blocked was really bad. But his stroke was looking much sweeter - we really need pass-first Tyler back but who can then also make the pay when they sag. With Kam, Chase (and Jop), Tyler should be the 3rd or 4th option when we need a guy to just go get a bucket.

Sean - I love a lot of what he does but he's not a shooter. 3 3FGAs is too many, even against SIU.

But otherwise, lots of encouraging signs. I like the fact that we have 3 or 4 guys who might be able to light it up on any given night. Chase looks legit, but will be interesting to see what he can do against faster competition. Illinois will be a real test but a game we should win if we're a legit top-5 team. And as MSU will tell you - a win is a win!

I think you may be the first and only person who has ever considered TKO's style of play as hero ball.  Also, I think I'd go Kam and then TKO to go get me a bucket in crunch time.  He gets to his spots and is very crafty with his footwork.  Jop can't create his own shot, so I'm not going there.

Illinois is a road game in a really tough place to play against a top 20 KenPom team.  Nobody "should" win there, top 5 or top 1.  Winnable?  Yes.  But I'd bet we are underdogs.

[79Warrior]

Lack of an aircraft carrier glaring last night

Will be interesting how the big dude at UCLA will be deal to deal. He had a monster game last night.

[mumi27]

If anyone suggests that Kolek shouldn't be one of the main guys to go to when the team needs a basket, I suggest they rewatch the end of the game at Creighton last season

[Goose]

The least of my worries is Tyler Kolek not playing with chip on his shoulder, followed by him playing hero ball. Now, I do expect him to be a bit more fancy this year and I am fine with that.

As for Chase, I agree with 1SE that he very likely will be playing on the right side of the pond down the road. I still think Gold is the best NBA prospect, but Chase is a dude.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Lack of an aircraft carrier glaring last night

Yeah, rebounding and interior defense look like it will still be an issue this season.  But that's largely a product of how Skaka wants to build his teams.

[LloydsLegs]

Oh fck took my jokes, no trolling available now. Stevie has too many cougars after him...

😱

[muwarrior69]

Lack of an aircraft carrier glaring last night

...but our F22s were on target.

[DoctorV]

Doctor V,

How would you utilize Ross and Jones the Younger?  I thought both looked very solid but they're playing behind maybe the best backcourt in the country.  Is it reasonable that we could play 4 guard line-ups for extended mins?

I think Chase will average more minutes than Stevie in conference play if he keeps it up, even though he will continue to come off the bench.

We all love Stevie, but as Shaka said you just love having Chase out there for so many reasons. He is effective on both ends and his athleticism will be needed against more elite competition.
Whether he eats up more of Jops minutes or Stevie's depends on the opposing teams size and how those two start the game off or how effective they look, but regardless Chase will get his.

As for Jones the younger and smaller, I'm sure Shaka will have to pick and choose his moments more carefully.
He's perfect against good/organized defenses since his speed and ability to weave thru tight spaces becomes invaluable. He gives Marquette a wrinkle that the other guards don't, and it makes Marquette harder to guard by elite defenses that game plan well to take away Tyler because the team becomes more unpredictable.

Seems like Shaka really likes Tre and what he brings as well, so it'll be trickier for SJ22 to carve out a roll. He's got to get better at giving guys easy buckets, and hitting some open 3s would obviously help. That drive to the hoop last night was nice.

If both Kam and TyKo leave it'll be interesting next season to see a back court trio of Tre, SJ22, and Stevie trying to create and score. It'll be quite the drop off, so I'm hopeful that even though the team doesn't need their scoring this season one of them starts showing a better knack for getting his own.