Open practice

[tower912]

Would MU be better with this lineup:

Play small

Jones
Ross
Lowery
Owens
Parham

Very athletic or can Ben actually play
Better then 7 points and 4 boards a game?

Would MU be better with this lineup:

Play small

Would MU be better with this lineup:

Play small

Jones
Ross
Lowery
Owens
Parham

Very athletic or can Ben actually play
Better then 7 points and 4 boards a game?

Than.

No.

Why take last year's best defender, who also happens to be 6'11, off the floor?   How does that make the team better?

[wadesworld]

Would MU be better with this lineup:

Play small

Jones
Ross
Lowery
Owens
Parham

Very athletic or can Ben actually play
Better then 7 points and 4 boards a game?

You do realize that none of Zaide, Damarius, Royce, or Sean have ever averaged either 7 points or 4 rebounds per game in their careers, right?

Some of the stuff thrown around here is so unbelievably stupid.

[MU82]

Would MU be better with this lineup:

Play small

Jones
Ross
Lowery
Owens
Parham

Very athletic or can Ben actually play
Better then 7 points and 4 boards a game?

Maybe you'll be lucky and Ben won't be allowed back in the country.

[BCHoopster]

Summer nothing else to discuss

[Jay Bee]

How often does someone start every single game of their Junior year and then lose their staring spot their SR year (non-injury related)?  The only one I can think of is Heldt, and I don't believe it has ever happened under Shaka. I anticipate that remaining true this season.

..except those aren't the facts re: Heldt (assuming staring means starting).

[tower912]

Summer nothing else to discuss

And we are discussing it.

Philosophically, I do not think a small, skinny, inexperienced line up is the right way to go in the Big East.  The usual rebuttal is 'what about Buzz's midgets?'   Which is fair, but they weren't young players.  And a fair number ultimately saw time in the NBA. 

This is going to be a young team with many players filling new roles.  Removing size and stability from the line up doesn't work for me.

[Galway Eagle]

How often does someone start every single game of their Junior year and then lose their staring spot their SR year (non-injury related)?  The only one I can think of is Heldt, and I don't believe it has ever happened under Shaka. I anticipate that remaining true this season.

Not junior year but Duane Wilson went from starting 29->15->7 over three years.

Greg Elliot went from starting 5 junior year to only starting 1 senior year.

[The Sultan]

Not junior year but Duane Wilson went from starting 29->15->7 over three years.

Greg Elliot went from starting 5 junior year to only starting 1 senior year.

Coaching changes right?

[Shaka Shart]

Buzz's 2012-13 team had 13 players on the roster. The bottom 4 in minutes - Dylan Flood, Jamal Ferguson, Jake Thomas and Steve Taylor - contributed next-to-nothing all season.

The next 2 fewest in minutes were Derrick Wilson and Juan Anderson; they also contributed precious little, though each had a moment or two.

So Buzz had 4 non-Big East-caliber players and 2 borderline-BE-caliber players on a team that went 26-9, won the regular-season title in a strong conference, and reached the NCAA Elite 8.

But yeah, the last 4 players on Shaka's bench are gonna drag us down this season.

*Teve

[willie warrior]

MUs listed height for Sean Joned is 5'10". So now I have become 6'3"

[The Sultan]

MUs listed height for Sean Joned is 5'10". So now I have become 6'3"

Your IQ?

[Uncle Rico]

MUs listed height for Sean Joned is 5'10". So now I have become 6'3"

Not to be confused with Seen Ramsey

[pbiflyer]

MUs listed height for Sean Joned is 5'10". So now I have become 6'3"

Eh, Doc was listed as 6'4" which made me about 6'3 at the time.

[DoctorV]

What a pile of crap. Every single team in every single conference has end of the bench players.  So, to say that a 15 player roster has 2-4 players that may not contribute this season and that is a failing of the coach...  play that back in your head a few times.

PARTICULARLY, when part of the plan is to red-shirt, develop, retain.

"To wit, look at our bench, perhaps 2-4 guys who may not belong in BE."

This wasn't my comment, but this comment says nothing about 'this season.'

It says that the team has 2-4 guys that do not belong in the BE Conference.

All I'm saying is that IF that is true, it is an indictment on Coach Smart and the rest of the coaches who recruit the players to Marquette.

It's really easy to get up in arms in defense of everything MUbb and Shaka, just as easy as it is to be a downer/pessimist about everything- as we very well know on this board. I'd rather one gets up in arms in defense of Shaka than the alternative...

That said, the tricky part is having open and honest dialogue about the good WITH the bad.
If we give Coach kudos for development and growth we must also point out shortcomings.
If the above comment is true and 2-4 guys on the current roster are not BE quality players in their careers then that is a shortcoming.
Even if coach gets them to become borderline serviceable BE type of guys by year 4.

You don't have to agree with me and Shaka knows what he's doing, so even if it was a shortcoming or "black eye" as I put it it's his black eye to own, he runs the show.
Perhaps he doesn't want 12 "BE quality" guys on the roster at all times?

I would hope he recruits BE quality guys and coaches them up to All Americans, as he already has. Or, recruits BE quality guys and they become useful 3rd and 4th year guys as he has time and time again.

My opinion? This years roster probably does have 2-3 non BE quality guys. Players don't leave coach Smart unless he asks them to for the most part, because he's a great guy and they buy into the vision he sets for them in the careers and futures.
The ones that go are the ones that are usually the non BE quality guys, and that's ok they can still be great young men with a solid future elsewhere.
I think we will know the answer next offseason.

[Captain Quette]

Dr V, leaning your way. The top 4 players under shaka were tko, Kam Jones, omax, and oso. Tko and omax were transfers and shaka did not recruit/evaluate Jones or oso out of high school.

I look forward and am amped to see how shaka develops the players he recruited out of high school and how they play this year. Namely, Chase, Zaire, Owens, Norman, Hamilton, etc. Dhould be very fun, interesting year. Shaka's grand experiment front and center.

[wadesworld]

Dr V, leaning your way. The top 4 players under shaka were tko, Kam Jones, omax, and oso. Tko and omax were transfers and shaka did not recruit/evaluate Jones or oso out of high school.

I look forward and am amped to see how shaka develops the players he recruited out of high school and how they play this year. Namely, Chase, Zaire, Owens, Norman, Hamilton, etc. Dhould be very fun, interesting year. Shaka's grand experiment front and center.

Oso's final 3 were Marquette, Texas, and Stanford. Shaka was coaching Texas.

He also recruited Kolek and OMax to Marquette.

[Uncle Rico]

G-A-P