Open practice

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Shaka sai

He talked about the freshmen because he was asked about them. I don't recall him talking about Zaide Lowery or Chase Ross either.

But we will see. Stevens and James have to do it in real, actual games.

He talked about the freshmen because he was asked about them. I don't recall him talking about Zaide Lowery or Chase Ross either.

But we will see. Stevens and James have to do it in real, actual games.

Shaka said Zaide struggled last night, but he has been a top 4 or 5 player this summer.

Pretty sure he also mentioned Chase shot the ball well, but I can't swear to it under oath.

But thanks for explaining how press conferences work, Mr. Dunning-Kruger. As a former media member, who has covered the Packers, Bucks, Brewers, and Badgers, I really needed it explained to me.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Defensively and culturally absolutely. However, take away his name and if I told you that the 16th best recruit ever at Marquette, who averaged 22.3ppg, 5.4 rpg and 1.9 apg his senior year, was going to have a career average here of 7.4ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.1 apg there is no way you say he lived up to the hype.

How about a 3 year starter for BE champ and Sweet 16 team?  Does that qualify as living up to the hype?

I guess the hope was for Stevie to be a better offensive player.  But an Ok offensive player and elite defender is still a valuable player and recruiting success.

[Jay Bee]

Stevie willed us to victory more than once. I'm a big stats guy, but some guys have intangibles that are crazy valuable.

[94Warrior]

Reading through a number of posts it is clear there isn't a great deal of appreciation for what Sean did on the court last night.

More than 1 person said Chase and Stevens we the best players on the court, and hardly a mention of Sean.  While Chase was very aggressive and deserving of the recognition, and Stevens was a pleasant surprise - Sean is the clear leader and most valuable player on the roster.  He dominated whoever was in front of him offensively and defensively!!!
Sean and Chase controlled the scrimmage, and will be the backbone of this team.  Coming off a torn acl, that was far and away the most impressive thing I saw last night.

[The Sultan]

Shaka sai

Shaka said Zaide struggled last night, but he has been a top 4 or 5 player this summer.

Pretty sure he also mentioned Chase shot the ball well, but I can't swear to it under oath.

But thanks for explaining how press conferences work, Mr. Dunning-Kruger. As a former media member, who has covered the Packers, Bucks, Brewers, and Badgers, I really needed it explained to me.

Well, then you would know why Tre may not have been mentioned.

I had no idea that you used to be a sports media member - that explains a lot.

[Galway Eagle]

How about a 3 year starter for BE champ and Sweet 16 team?  Does that qualify as living up to the hype?

I guess the hope was for Stevie to be a better offensive player.  But an Ok offensive player and elite defender is still a valuable player and recruiting success.

I agree, he was extremely valuable, I am definitely team Stevie. Did he live up to the hype of being the 16th best recruit in MU history? Nope but he was a huge recruiting success. I think people are reading my list and interpreting that I'm saying he was a failure, I'm not. Junior was also instrumental on a sweet 16 team, and a two year starter on a second place/S16 team and a Big East Champions/E8 team. Did he live up to the hype as the 4th best recruit ever when he came in? No.

keep in mind that 247 projected Stevie above Markus, Jerel, Wes, Kam, Justin, Oso, Sam, Jop, Chase, etc. Not to mention a transfer like Kolek.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Well, then you would know why Tre may not have been mentioned.

I had no idea that you used to be a sports media member - that explains a lot.

My media tenure was predominantly news (videographer and editor) but sports was my passion, so I always was happy to help cover games and practices.

[Markusquette]

Adrien seems like he could be the Stevie replacement. Ross, Royce and Sean need to take things up a level this year. Still concerned about the front court, but hopeful Caedin or Clark surprises. Maybe Ben will go the Chris Anderson "Birdman" route and add some edge to his play style 

[The Sultan]

I agree, he was extremely valuable, I am definitely team Stevie. Did he live up to the hype of being the 16th best recruit in MU history? Nope but he was a huge recruiting success. I think people are reading my list and interpreting that I'm saying he was a failure, I'm not. Junior was also instrumental on a sweet 16 team, and a two year starter on a second place/S16 team and a Big East Champions/E8 team. Did he live up to the hype as the 4th best recruit ever when he came in? No.

keep in mind that 247 projected Stevie above Markus, Jerel, Wes, Kam, Justin, Oso, Sam, Jop, Chase, etc. Not to mention a transfer like Kolek.

He was ranked the 92nd player in his class. I would say that he performed better than I would normally expect the 92nd rated player would perform. He lived up to the hype.

[MUbiz]

Maybe Ben will go the Chris Anderson "Birdman" route and add some edge to his play style 

Ben coming back after playing with the tall blacks with bird themed tattoos?  Perhaps a golden eagle?

[Uncle Rico]

Ben coming back after playing with the tall blacks with bird themed tattoos?  Perhaps a golden eagle?

I'd prefer he comeback with cartoonish Native American look to confuse Willie

[MuMark]

I agree, he was extremely valuable, I am definitely team Stevie. Did he live up to the hype of being the 16th best recruit in MU history? Nope but he was a huge recruiting success. I think people are reading my list and interpreting that I'm saying he was a failure, I'm not. Junior was also instrumental on a sweet 16 team, and a two year starter on a second place/S16 team and a Big East Champions/E8 team. Did he live up to the hype as the 4th best recruit ever when he came in? No.

keep in mind that 247 projected Stevie above Markus, Jerel, Wes, Kam, Justin, Oso, Sam, Jop, Chase, etc. Not to mention a transfer like Kolek.

If Stevie was " projected " above Markus.....it's only because Markus reclassified.

I think that also shows the limitations of projection systems when it comes to prospects ranked outside the top 10-15.

For a guy ranked near the back end of the top 100 there should really be no " hype" and I don't recall any hype when Wojo signed him.........what I do recall is some people were pissed that we ended up with both Stevie and Kam instead of Tyrese Hunter........

If anything those other players far exceeded what you would expect considering where they were slotted as recruits.

Markus, Kam, Jerel and Kolek all became All Americans........that is remarkable considering none of them were 5 stars......and Kolek wasn't even a high major recruit.

Henry Ellenson was hyped..........Markus was hyped because of his reputation and reclassication........Garcia was hyped......

Stevie wasn't hyped.......he was a nice recruit that had potential........just like a lot of other guys.

[We R Final Four]

All of the other guards can defend, too.  Jones, Ross, Lowery, James, and Stevens... that's a deep group of perimeter defenders.

I think all 5 are better offensive players than Tre.  Tre's not all that quick or explosive on his drives.  His shooting struggles are well documented.

It's unfortunate Tre gets dumped on so much for not living up to his recruiting rankings.  But if we're being honest, I have a hard time seeing him getting more than spot minutes this year.  I don't think Shaka even mentioned him in yesterday's media session after the open practice.

Not every recruit is going to work out. Just the way it is.

He didn't mention Royce and he certainly will play.

[MU82]

Thanks to everybody who reported from the scrimmage. Just makes me more psyched about the future of Marquette hoops.

Particularly happy to hear about Sean's progress, and how well Stevens played. Obviously, hoping James' situation isn't serious; I think somebody said it was cramps, which would be a relief.

Stevie was a very valuable player and a 3-year starter for a team that won 79 games, including a Big East title and a Sweet 16 appearance. I got the overall point of Galway Eagle's post, but I strongly disagree that Stevie - barely ranked as a top 100 recruit in his class - underperformed.

[Galway Eagle]

If Stevie was " projected " above Markus.....it's only because Markus reclassified.

I think that also shows the limitations of projection systems when it comes to prospects ranked outside the top 10-15.

For a guy ranked near the back end of the top 100 there should really be no " hype" and I don't recall any hype when Wojo signed him.........what I do recall is some people were pissed that we ended up with both Stevie and Kam instead of Tyrese Hunter........

If anything those other players far exceeded what you would expect considering where they were slotted as recruits.

Markus, Kam, Jerel and Kolek all became All Americans........that is remarkable considering none of them were 5 stars......and Kolek wasn't even a high major recruit.

Henry Ellenson was hyped..........Markus was hyped because of his reputation and reclassication........Garcia was hyped......

Stevie wasn't hyped.......he was a nice recruit that had potential........just like a lot of other guys.

This is a better way of saying what I was trying to get at. Essentially bringing it back to Tre, stating he's the 17th best in MU history isn't saying a lot because the vast vast majority of our recruits are from the 50-150 range and that's largely interchangeable with a ton of misses, i used the term "hype" because when you frame it as the "17th best recruit in MU history" it creates hype and expectations exceeding what their ranking realistically is telling us. As far as Stevie goes, he was a success given his ranking, he also did not ultimately perform as the 16th best recruit in MU history, other players out played theirs it's not an insult to the guy to say I'm picking three big east players of the year or multiple all Americans over him.

I would add Vander to that hyped group though.

[MuMark]

Yep.....Vander was hyped.....and it took him until his 3rd year to live up to it.......even though he certainly added value before that.

[BCHoopster]

Stevie's defense was off the chart when he was healthy, offensively when he was good, MU was really good. Stevens is a better shooter than Stevie already, good technique, not afraid to shoot, many times Stevie did not want to shoot. He had a great career just ended poorly due to his injuries.

[wadesworld]

We've already decided a guy is a better shooter than Stevie based on a summer scrimmage, even though his shooting is what's been mentioned as a "weakness."

[The Sultan]

Post-scrimmage summertime is usually silly season around here.

[BrewCity83]

Ben coming back after playing with the tall blacks with bird themed tattoos?  Perhaps a golden eagle?

Someone with Photoshop skillz:  give us Ben with a Mohawk and some crazy throat tats!

[The Sultan]

Post-scrimmage summertime is usually silly season around here.

For instance...

Since Owens looks like a player that can sub at the 2,3,and 4 I see him as at least 20-25 minutes a game

[Shooter McGavin]

Stevie willed us to victory more than once. I'm a big stats guy, but some guys have intangibles that are crazy valuable.

Ethan Johnston your table is ready.

[AverageJoe]

Reading through a number of posts it is clear there isn't a great deal of appreciation for what Sean did on the court last night.

More than 1 person said Chase and Stevens we the best players on the court, and hardly a mention of Sean.  While Chase was very aggressive and deserving of the recognition, and Stevens was a pleasant surprise - Sean is the clear leader and most valuable player on the roster.  He dominated whoever was in front of him offensively and defensively!!!
Sean and Chase controlled the scrimmage, and will be the backbone of this team.  Coming off a torn acl, that was far and away the most impressive thing I saw last night.

In my opinion, no one could really stay in front of Sean defensively, but I'm not sure how effective he was overall on offense. He has a tendency to drive hard to the basket and then get caught in no-man's land, which leads to some erratic passes and turnovers. That said, I'm not too worried — it was an open practice, so he may have been a little extra amped up, and there's still three months before the season starts for him to build chemistry with his teammates.  There is no question he will be one of the two or three most important players on the team.

[AverageJoe]

My observation of Caedin as a ball handler was that he showed some decent passing ability out of the post but that when they had him bring the ball up he struggled.  In general, the white team looked really lost without Nigel to initiate offense.

I was really impressed with how much slimmer Hamilton looked this year, but I didn't notice much improvement overall — at least based on the limited sample from a preseason open scrimmage. He still struggles to contest shots at the rim, and his free throw motion looked even more awkward than I remember. I'm curious if Clark might end up being the third center, assuming Parham is the second. Clark brings real value as a lob threat and rim protector. It might ultimately come down to who rebounds better.

[Scoop Snoop]

In my opinion, no one could really stay in front of Sean defensively, but I'm not sure how effective he was overall on offense. He has a tendency to drive hard to the basket and then get caught in no-man's land, which leads to some erratic passes and turnovers. That said, I'm not too worried — it was an open practice, so he may have been a little extra amped up, and there's still three months before the season starts for him to build chemistry with his teammates.  There is no question he will be one of the two or three most important players on the team.

As you said, it was open practice, but...I agree with the bolded. I really loved watching Sean for the short time before his ACL, but I want to see both better decision making and knowing when it is wise to slam on the brakes this season.