Simon & Garfunkel said it best

[tower912]

1.  Slow down, you're moving too fast.  On offense.   
2. Hazy Shades of Shaka's first winter, when the team struggled to figure out what a good shot was.
3. Counting deflections on the Milwaukee turnpike, all turned into transition basketball.
4. Where have you gone Stevie and Kam Jones, MU nation turns their lonely eyes to you.  So much speed. 
5.  I am heaving, I am heaving, while the driving still remains.  Going back to the learning what a good shot is, they were firing up 3's with open driving lanes.
6. Look around you all you see is sympathetic eyes.  Everybody knows MU is young, planning to play fast, etc.  Patience, often preached, rarely practiced.
7.  Enough.  I liked the second half Ben/Tre better than first half Ben/Tre.    Oh, my goodness, Josh's upside.  NJ and AS looked comfortable.
8.  The defense is miles ahead.  Everybody understands their role. 
9.  Defensive rebounding issues. DO had some real d rebounding issues.
10. MU pulled away when they started attacking the rim and quit shooting 3s.
11. I remain giddy about the possibilities.  And I am feeling groovy.

Praying it is only a cramp for NJ.

[GoFastAndWin]

1.  Slow down, you're moving too fast.  On offense.   
2. Hazy Shades of Shaka's first winter, when the team struggled to figure out what a good shot was.
3. Counting deflections on the Milwaukee turnpike, all turned into transition basketball.
4. Where have you gone Stevie and Kam Jones, MU nation turns their lonely eyes to you.  So much speed. 
5.  I am heaving, I am heaving, while the driving still remains.  Going back to the learning what a good shot is, they were firing up 3's with open driving lanes.
6. Look around you all you see is sympathetic eyes.  Everybody knows MU is young, planning to play fast, etc.  Patience, often preached, rarely practiced.
7.  Enough.  I liked the second half Ben/Tre better than first half Ben/Tre.    Oh, my goodness, Josh's upside.  NJ and AS looked comfortable.
8.  The defense is miles ahead.  Everybody understands their role. 
9.  Defensive rebounding issues. DO had some real d rebounding issues.
10. MU pulled away when they started attacking the rim and quit shooting 3s.
11. I remain giddy about the possibilities.  And I am feeling groovy.

Praying it is only a cramp for NJ.

Oh no. This was scary. My first thought: "hello, darkness my old friend..."
Please God, let Nigel be ok. For his own sake. I can't tell you how bad I felt for SJ when he went down two seasons ago.

[MuggsyB]

I think Dr.V made an excellent observation during the game.  MU will need Parham and Owens to be solid contributors for us to reach the promised land.  We have great guard depth assuming Nigel is okay. I thought Zaide and Tre were really good in the 2H.  Parham and Owens need to rebound and play with confidence in space. 

[MuggsyB]

Oh no. This was scary. My first thought: "hello, darkness my old friend..."
Please God, let Nigel be ok. For his own sake. I can't tell you how bad I felt for SJ when he went down two seasons ago.

I think Paul Simon was 21 when he wrote the S of S.

[muwarrior69]

Oh please don't let our rebounding be our Bridge Over Troubled Waters.

[tower912]

When times get tough
And boards just can't be found

[CountryRoads]

Loved the overall effort. Hard to get a good feel for this team due to the fast substitutions and so many different lineups. Hoping we keep the same level of effort Wednesday. That team may be a little more of a pisser.

[ski44]

No one got hurt (I don't think...)
MU covered
I took the under 62.5 on Albany 

[mileskishnish72]

Tower, I love your recaps but this must have been preprepared. If it's off the top of your head you should be a poet. Even if it was precooked I love it.

[We R Final Four]

Great to see the Joplin's sitting along Stevie's bro, behind thr bench.
Great to have MUBB back.
Students showed up.
So many substitutions made it difficult to take much away from this one.

[Scoop Snoop]

I think Paul Simon was 21 when he wrote the S of S.

The sound of your silence would be music to my ears.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Nigel is gonna be a good one.

[MuggsyB]

The sound of your silence would be music to my ears.

Paul Simon is 5'3.  Prince was 5'1.

[Scoop Snoop]

Paul Simon is 5'3.  Prince was 5'1.

Good thing they had their musical talents. Just like you, they would be totally worthless on a basketball court.

[Scoop Snoop]

Loved the overall effort. Hard to get a good feel for this team due to the fast substitutions and so many different lineups. Hoping we keep the same level of effort Wednesday. That team may be a little more of a pisser.

Nice post. Spot on.

[MuggsyB]

Good thing they had their musical talents. Just like you, they would be totally worthless on a basketball court.

I could hoop Scoop.  But I'm past my prime now. 

[GoFastAndWin]

🎶 It took Goose 3 days to hitchhike from Waukesha! 🎵 🎶

[Shaka Shart]

I could hoop Scoop.  But I'm past my prime now. 

Yeah usually they raise the baskets to the full height no later than age 12

[DoctorV]

I think Dr.V made an excellent observation during the game.  MU will need Parham and Owens to be solid contributors for us to reach the promised land.  We have great guard depth assuming Nigel is okay. I thought Zaide and Tre were really good in the 2H.  Parham and Owens need to rebound and play with confidence in space.

Thanks.

I enjoyed the game, was a lot of fun to watch that defense and great to have Marquette basketball back.

The new guys are enjoyable to watch, they play with a lot of heart.

Can't remember the last time I watch a Marquette game where the leader in shot attempts took less than 10 shots in the game.
Tonight it was Zaide with 8.

^^For this reason I didn't really hate the offense as much as most seem to have. They shot poorly, both from the line and outside, but no one really forced the issue when it comes to chucking. They all got involved and looked for the open guy, didn't see much if any selfishness.

That said, we will hear A LOT of complaints about this years team moving too fast, and in some games, turning it over too much because of that.
Won't matter because it won't change. It's this years squads DNA.
They will move fast and continue to move fast, mistakes or not, good or bad.

Tonight they won the turnover battle 22-14, we will see against better teams, but this years squad is pesky as hell defensively.
I'd hate to be a team that plays against Marquette, except for when it comes to crashing the offensive glass to gather misses.

Nigel was more composed than SJ22 tonight but I really like both of the PGs and hope they can stay healthy. Outside of Chase it'll be the most important part of the team when it comes to maintaining health.
I also like many other guys handling the ball, and chase running point in a pinch is serviceable.

Muggsy is right on guard depth- it seems solid and sufficient. Tre can give solid spurts, as can Adrien in the depth dept.

This years ceiling, and perhaps the most important part of Marquettes immediate future, could be determined by the development of the Parham/Owens combo.
Let's not forget that at some point last season many of us thought we were looking at 2 three year starters.
Shaka knows how to motivate his talent, and their body language and buy in seemed fine tonight, so I'm confident one or both will have solid enough seasons to make this team a solid tourney team.

Oh and Ben, cmon son find a way to turn into a steady 10&7 type of cat, while getting hot from 3 in some important games, and this teams trajectory changes for the best

[jfp61]

Chase is very good.

Nigel will start soon.

Defense is good.

Sean and Caedin might confuse me this season being on the court as often the were, and project being as starters

[MuggsyB]

Thanks.

I enjoyed the game, was a lot of fun to watch that defense and great to have Marquette basketball back.

The new guys are enjoyable to watch, they play with a lot of heart.

Can't remember the last time I watch a Marquette game where the leader in shot attempts took less than 10 shots in the game.
Tonight it was Zaide with 8.

^^For this reason I didn't really hate the offense as much as most seem to have. They shot poorly, both from the line and outside, but no one really forced the issue when it comes to chucking. They all got involved and looked for the open guy, didn't see much if any selfishness.

That said, we will hear A LOT of complaints about this years team moving too fast, and in some games, turning it over too much because of that.
Won't matter because it won't change. It's this years squads DNA.
They will move fast and continue to move fast, mistakes or not, good or bad.

Tonight they won the turnover battle 22-14, we will see against better teams, but this years squad is pesky as hell defensively.
I'd hate to be a team that plays against Marquette, except for when it comes to crashing the offensive glass to gather misses.

Nigel was more composed than SJ22 tonight but I really like both of the PGs and hope they can stay healthy. Outside of Chase it'll be the most important part of the team when it comes to maintaining health.
I also like many other guys handling the ball, and chase running point in a pinch is serviceable.

Muggsy is right on guard depth- it seems solid and sufficient. Tre can give solid spurts, as can Adrien in the depth dept.

This years ceiling, and perhaps the most important part of Marquettes immediate future, could be determined by the development of the Parham/Owens combo.
Let's not forget that at some point last season many of us thought we were looking at 2 three year starters.
Shaka knows how to motivate his talent, and their body language and buy in seemed fine tonight, so I'm confident one or both will have solid enough seasons to make this team a solid tourney team.

Oh and Ben, cmon son find a way to turn into a steady 10&7 type of cat, while getting hot from 3 in some important games, and this teams trajectory changes for the best

Thanks.

I enjoyed the game, was a lot of fun to watch that defense and great to have Marquette basketball back.

The new guys are enjoyable to watch, they play with a lot of heart.

Can't remember the last time I watch a Marquette game where the leader in shot attempts took less than 10 shots in the game.
Tonight it was Zaide with 8.

^^For this reason I didn't really hate the offense as much as most seem to have. They shot poorly, both from the line and outside, but no one really forced the issue when it comes to chucking. They all got involved and looked for the open guy, didn't see much if any selfishness.

That said, we will hear A LOT of complaints about this years team moving too fast, and in some games, turning it over too much because of that.
Won't matter because it won't change. It's this years squads DNA.
They will move fast and continue to move fast, mistakes or not, good or bad.

Tonight they won the turnover battle 22-14, we will see against better teams, but this years squad is pesky as hell defensively.
I'd hate to be a team that plays against Marquette, except for when it comes to crashing the offensive glass to gather misses.

Nigel was more composed than SJ22 tonight but I really like both of the PGs and hope they can stay healthy. Outside of Chase it'll be the most important part of the team when it comes to maintaining health.
I also like many other guys handling the ball, and chase running point in a pinch is serviceable.

Muggsy is right on guard depth- it seems solid and sufficient. Tre can give solid spurts, as can Adrien in the depth dept.

This years ceiling, and perhaps the most important part of Marquettes immediate future, could be determined by the development of the Parham/Owens combo.
Let's not forget that at some point last season many of us thought we were looking at 2 three year starters.
Shaka knows how to motivate his talent, and their body language and buy in seemed fine tonight, so I'm confident one or both will have solid enough seasons to make this team a solid tourney team.

Oh and Ben, cmon son find a way to turn into a steady 10&7 type of cat, while getting hot from 3 in some important games, and this teams trajectory changes for the best

Any concerns about the brutal 3pt shooting?

[JTJ3]

Would have been nice to not face a  1-3-1 zone the entire game considering we'll never see that again this year.

I get it from Albany, considering the few times they went man we got an easy layup each time.  I was encouraged by the offense considering we probably have nothing more than one or two sets to run against a 1-3-1.  It just would have been nice to get more warmup reps running our real offense.

[Johnny B]

Chase is very good.

Nigel will start soon.

Defense is good.

Sean and Caedin might confuse me this season being on the court as often the were, and project being as starters

Who is nigel starting over. He wont take seans place and doubt shaka wants to go supersmall starting a 5"10 and a 6 foot guy in the backcourt

[jfp61]

He wont take seans place

why?

[Johnny B]

Shaka wou;dnt give the nod to a frosh over a vet like sean imo, unless he was wayyyy better

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Chase is very good.

Nigel will start soon.

Defense is good.

Sean and Caedin might confuse me this season being on the court as often the were, and project being as starters

Zaide was second in minutes 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Defense was superb.

Offensive rebounding was excellent.

Defensive rebounding was putrid.

Loved how much we got to the line. Didn't love what we did when we got there.

Turnovers were fine in context. First game, Sean's first game in years, Albany plays a funky defense, last year Albany was very good at forcing turnovers, it's part of their DNA.

Shooting was putrid. Last year, I would have said that it will come around. After watching Joplin and Kam struggle all season, I'm a bit gun shy. But statistically, it should come around.

Spread was 21, we won by 27 with a terrible shooting game. Definitely more positives than negatives in this one.

[Mutaman]

Good thing they had their musical talents. Just like you, they would be totally worthless on a basketball court.

Not so fast my friend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff8LEx9Mw54

[DoctorV]

Any concerns about the brutal 3pt shooting?

Nope. Unfortunately I've kind of become accustomed to it.

This years team has two drive and distribute or finish first PGs, so I doubt it becomes settle for 3 happy.

When they see good defenses that collapse the lane it'll become a problem, but both SJ22 and NJ0 are more adept at breaking down bigger and more organized defenses than their predecessors.

We had better passing PGs and finishing PGs in the past, but I said this before Sean's injury- his biggest strength was breaking down organized good defenses. They just attack off the dribble and are shifty enough to break a defense down. They will turn it over plenty, but they will also succeed plenty amongst the trees.

This years team will be more effective at one on one attacking, so hopefully we see more of a version of last years StJ offensively- relentless attacking.
StJ settled for plenty of mid range shot, and Marquette will settle for plenty of 3s, but hopefully they start to go down a bit more.

I highly doubt Nigel starts over Sean soon- Shaka has said that SJ22 spends the most amount of time being a student of the game than anyone on the team and he will reward that.
I suppose I could see a smaller lineup with Sean and Nigel together in the backcourt and Benny moving to the 5, Chase at the 4, but I don't think Shaka wants to do that.
So more than likely, given health, Nigel is one of the first off the bench all season

[Mutaman]

Simon & Garfunkel recorded Sounds of Silence initially as an acoustic song and it bombed. Without telling them, their producer, Tom Wilson, remixed it with a rock backing band and released the new mix. According to Simon he was in Europe when he got a telephone call from Wilson : "Are you sitting down, you've got the number one single in the United States".

Those were the days when having the #1 song was a really big deal.

[BM1090]

Liked what I saw from NJ and AS.

Phillips shot looks smooth, it'll fall. But he's behind the others on defense.

Need a lot more from Royce. Aggressiveness is good, but too many dumb plays.

Nice to see Ben playing tough. Not sure playing at warp speed will help his shooting though.

Tre looks improved. Zaide looks real solid.

Chase looks like he has the mentality to lead the team. I'm not convinced he's skillful enough. Not sure where this team goes end of shot clock, but lots of time to figure it out.

Overall I thought it was a promising start. There will be some big clunkers but the ceiling is high. Speed, length, and athleticism increase is notable.

[MU82]

Everything in context - Albany is quite bad. Also, as someone else said above, there was so much substituting and so many combinations out there, it undoubtedly hurt continuity on offense.

The biggest positive IMHO is that James only had cramps and that he's OK. He actually looked great in his 2-3 minute stint after returning to the court.

Ross was the best player on the court by far. Got loose with the ball a couple of times, but otherwise was in control and got to where he wanted. His shot looked good, and he was awesome on D. He's gonna have a big season.

Our defense was superb throughout. Loved causing havoc with the 1-2-2 press. Owens is a tough player to pass around or over. James, Jones, Ross, Lowery, Norman ... they were all active and effective.

Sean showed no traces of knee problems, still looked quick as hell. But watching him drive into all the trees with nowhere to go and nowhere to pass is painful.

The whole team looked more comfortable offensively in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Ross, Owens and Lowery really settled in and made some nice plays. Norman had a nice stretch, including an impressive drive; I'd take what he contributed tonight in every game.

Gotta shoot better than that from 3 - hopefully we can, because those 3s are gonna be open all season. We also have to convert after we get steals. There were a few too many poor decisions and missed shots when we should have had layups. Would be nice to make more of our FTs, too. An airball, Ben? Really? (Gold played well on D, though.)

I was really surprised that Parham played so little in the first half - I thought maybe he was hurt or something. He played a lot more in the second half and was OK.

James is definitely going to be a stud. Stevens certainly looked like he belonged out there. Some decent work by Clark, as well - an intriguing prospect.

Some of the offensive rebounds we allowed were fluky - off airballs, deflections, etc. But still far too many given up. A familiar refrain, of course.

We're used to Kolek and Kam controlling the pace and keeping the offense organized. The combination of new PGs and the pace Shaka wants them to play will be a huge change. Here's hoping we can be fast but not rushed and careless.

All in all, a good first game to shake off the rust and any jitters. Covered the spread, and still a ton of room for improvement.

We Are Marquette!

[tower912]

Tower, I love your recaps but this must have been preprepared. If it's off the top of your head you should be a poet. Even if it was precooked I love it.

I started it early in the second half.  It all came from 'slow down, you're moving too fast.'   

[tower912]

A switch was flipped at halftime.   The first half was spent hoisting 3s.  The second half was spent getting to the rim.  The 3 pt shots weren't bad shots, per se, but they young team had too much energy and adrenaline. 

[MuggsyB]

Liked what I saw from NJ and AS.

Phillips shot looks smooth, it'll fall. But he's behind the others on defense.

Need a lot more from Royce. Aggressiveness is good, but too many dumb plays.

Nice to see Ben playing tough. Not sure playing at warp speed will help his shooting though.

Tre looks improved. Zaide looks real solid.

Chase looks like he has the mentality to lead the team. I'm not convinced he's skillful enough. Not sure where this team goes end of shot clock, but lots of time to figure it out.

Overall I thought it was a promising start. There will be some big clunkers but the ceiling is high. Speed, length, and athleticism increase is notable.

Solid points. 

[tower912]

What bothered me. 
Damarius at the 4.  There were at least 3 sequences where Ben helped and contested the shot.  Damarius was the 4, along with Chase, and both found themselves under the basket when the ball came off the rim.  Not in position for the rebound.  All resulted in baskets, two in fouls on Ben contesting the shot after the offensive board.

Sean trying so hard to be a facilitator that he passed on a lay up to throw a wraparound d bounce pass at Clark's shins.  Clark ain't catching that pass.

Settling 4 3s early.  They got out of it.

Sean and Nigel are still short and both had get in the paint with nowhere to go moments.  To be expected.

Rebounding. 

The rotations and substitutions were a Jackson Pollock painting.   Which is OK for opening night.

By the way, the answer to the high pick and roll appears to be double and recover, at least on opening night.

[MuggsyB]

Not so fast my friend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff8LEx9Mw54

Yes.  Prince actually could hoop.  This is completely based on a true story and Scoop Snoop as usual was Whistling Dixie. 

[tower912]

...it took them 4 tries
To rebound the basketball...

[tower912]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm4rJs-TNzo

11 minutes for your ride to work.    Need better rebounding.   Caedin earned the starting role by how he practiced and worked over the 6 weeks of practice.   


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFO41SYiX0U

Players talk

[MU82]

Sean and Nigel are still short and both had get in the paint with nowhere to go moments.  To be expected.

Hopefully, as both settle into their roles and become more accustomed to playing at this level (in Sean's case, re-accustomed), it happens less and less.

There have been a lot of fine, shorter guards who didn't repeatedly get in trouble like that. They learned from experience and adapted.

It only happened a couple of times to Nigel last night. Sean, it seems to be in his DNA.

[MuggsyB]

Nope. Unfortunately I've kind of become accustomed to it.

This years team has two drive and distribute or finish first PGs, so I doubt it becomes settle for 3 happy.

When they see good defenses that collapse the lane it'll become a problem, but both SJ22 and NJ0 are more adept at breaking down bigger and more organized defenses than their predecessors.

We had better passing PGs and finishing PGs in the past, but I said this before Sean's injury- his biggest strength was breaking down organized good defenses. They just attack off the dribble and are shifty enough to break a defense down. They will turn it over plenty, but they will also succeed plenty amongst the trees.

This years team will be more effective at one on one attacking, so hopefully we see more of a version of last years StJ offensively- relentless attacking.
StJ settled for plenty of mid range shot, and Marquette will settle for plenty of 3s, but hopefully they start to go down a bit more.

I highly doubt Nigel starts over Sean soon- Shaka has said that SJ22 spends the most amount of time being a student of the game than anyone on the team and he will reward that.
I suppose I could see a smaller lineup with Sean and Nigel together in the backcourt and Benny moving to the 5, Chase at the 4, but I don't think Shaka wants to do that.
So more than likely, given health, Nigel is one of the first off the bench all season

Ty.  I wasn't particularly thrilled with Parham's defense yesterday.  I don't think it can be emphasized enough how important Owens and Parham are to this team.  Unless we want to go ultra diminutive and play 4 guards a lot.

Zaide, Tre, and Chase are all capable of rebounding the ball.  My gut feeling is Zaide is ready to take that next step and be on the floor a lot.  I was most pleased with his passing off the bounce.  This is a skill some of our guards have struggled with and it's vitally important.  As for JTY, I think he'll be better.  It was his first game in a long time.  The key to this team will be our front court and whether they can consistently produce.  My initial thought is they have to rebound/defend and diversify their offensive games.  Simply launching spot 3's isn't enough. 

[avid1010]

They are doing everything they can to not play against a set defense, and to make a defense defend against multiple close-outs.  All that said, they're obviously going to have to make 3's.  In a game where advanced stats are so important, I stil think it comes down to 3-pt % for this team. 

[tower912]

It comes down to 3 pt shooting for a lot of teams.  Most encouraging to me was that a young team heeded what the coaches said and quit hoisting 3s in the second half.  That has not always been the case.

Eventually, the team will have to make some 3s.

[BallBoy]

First games with a new set of team members are always a challenge to play well across all aspects of the game.  Coming from the game, things I will keep an eye on as "areas of concern." 

1.  Shooting - We weren't hitting the outside shot.  We were getting open looks so is that a first night jitters thing or a trend.  If we don't improve in this category, I think we are fringe tournament.  If we do, then we are solidly in just on our defense.
2. We were all over the place on defense and there was an amazing stretch but we didn't convert on those turnovers.  I think some of that was the first game attempt to do too much.  I think with our shooting we need to improve points off turnovers.
3. Point guard - When James went down and Jones got in foul trouble, the question became who can run point. 
4. The growth of Gold, Lowery, Owens, Parham, and Ross isn't where it needs to be.  I don't know who on that list I can trust to get a basket when we need one. The next wave of players Jones, Norman Hamilton, Clark, Phillips and Stevens aren't game changers on the offensive end.  James looked to be the best of the new class and someone who could step be the offensive engine.
5.  If we don't improve from the outside, I think we see a healthy dose of packed in D with limited help D, especially against teams with a big guy down low who can defend/alter a shot when James and Jones get into the paint.
6.  We won on defense today but that won't carry us against UConn, SJ, and Creighton.

No one player got a normal amount of minutes, which I think was also part of the problem.  As the season progresses, I think we Gold, Ross, Lowery, Jones get the lion's share of the minutes with James, Hamilton, Owens, and Parham filling out the main rotation.  Everyone else will fill in as needed.

[dgies9156]

Shaka wou;dnt give the nod to a frosh over a vet like sean imo, unless he was wayyyy better

Exactly.

James may be the most talented guard on the team but the experience of a year on the bench, subbing out for players with more experience, is a critical part of the "G" in RGV.

Otherwise, you end up with Henry Ellenson. Yuck!!!!

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Ty.  I wasn't particularly thrilled with Parham's defense yesterday.  I don't think it can be emphasized enough how important Owens and Parham are to this team.  Unless we want to go ultra diminutive and play 4 guards a lot.

Zaide, Tre, and Chase are all capable of rebounding the ball.  My gut feeling is Zaide is ready to take that next step and be on the floor a lot.  I was most pleased with his passing off the bounce.  This is a skill some of our guards have struggled with and it's vitally important.  As for JTY, I think he'll be better.  It was his first game in a long time.  The key to this team will be our front court and whether they can consistently produce.  My initial thought is they have to rebound/defend and diversify their offensive games.  Simply launching spot 3's isn't enough. 

I think you can retire JTY as Kam is gone. 

[Vander Blue Man Group]

First games with a new set of team members are always a challenge to play well across all aspects of the game.  Coming from the game, things I will keep an eye on as "areas of concern." 

1.  Shooting - We weren't hitting the outside shot.  We were getting open looks so is that a first night jitters thing or a trend.  If we don't improve in this category, I think we are fringe tournament.  If we do, then we are solidly in just on our defense.
2. We were all over the place on defense and there was an amazing stretch but we didn't convert on those turnovers.  I think some of that was the first game attempt to do too much.  I think with our shooting we need to improve points off turnovers.
3. Point guard - When James went down and Jones got in foul trouble, the question became who can run point. 
4. The growth of Gold, Lowery, Owens, Parham, and Ross isn't where it needs to be.  I don't know who on that list I can trust to get a basket when we need one. The next wave of players Jones, Norman Hamilton, Clark, Phillips and Stevens aren't game changers on the offensive end.  James looked to be the best of the new class and someone who could step be the offensive engine.
5.  If we don't improve from the outside, I think we see a healthy dose of packed in D with limited help D, especially against teams with a big guy down low who can defend/alter a shot when James and Jones get into the paint.
6.  We won on defense today but that won't carry us against UConn, SJ, and Creighton.

No one player got a normal amount of minutes, which I think was also part of the problem.  As the season progresses, I think we Gold, Ross, Lowery, Jones get the lion's share of the minutes with James, Hamilton, Owens, and Parham filling out the main rotation.  Everyone else will fill in as needed.

I'm not sure how you can say the growth of Gold, Lowery, Owens, Parham, and Ross isn't where it needs to be based on one game with disjointed rotations against a bad team.  That's way too small of a sample size to come to that conclusion. 

[WhiteTrash]

The past few years we didn't seem to get much better during the season, just very good teams game 1 to the end. I'm hoping this is the year we see significant growth/improvement during the season. I trust in Shaka that we will.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

The past few years we didn't seem to get much better during the season, just very good teams game 1 to the end. I'm hoping this is the year we see significant growth/improvement during the season. I trust in Shaka that we will.

In Shaka year 2, there was significant in season growth. 8-3 non-conference to 17-3 BE proves that.

[Elonsmusk]

First games with a new set of team members are always a challenge to play well across all aspects of the game.  Coming from the game, things I will keep an eye on as "areas of concern." 

1.  Shooting - We weren't hitting the outside shot.  We were getting open looks so is that a first night jitters thing or a trend.  If we don't improve in this category, I think we are fringe tournament.  If we do, then we are solidly in just on our defense.
2. We were all over the place on defense and there was an amazing stretch but we didn't convert on those turnovers.  I think some of that was the first game attempt to do too much.  I think with our shooting we need to improve points off turnovers.
3. Point guard - When James went down and Jones got in foul trouble, the question became who can run point. 
4. The growth of Gold, Lowery, Owens, Parham, and Ross isn't where it needs to be.  I don't know who on that list I can trust to get a basket when we need one. The next wave of players Jones, Norman Hamilton, Clark, Phillips and Stevens aren't game changers on the offensive end.  James looked to be the best of the new class and someone who could step be the offensive engine.
5.  If we don't improve from the outside, I think we see a healthy dose of packed in D with limited help D, especially against teams with a big guy down low who can defend/alter a shot when James and Jones get into the paint.
6.  We won on defense today but that won't carry us against UConn, SJ, and Creighton.

No one player got a normal amount of minutes, which I think was also part of the problem.  As the season progresses, I think we Gold, Ross, Lowery, Jones get the lion's share of the minutes with James, Hamilton, Owens, and Parham filling out the main rotation.  Everyone else will fill in as needed.

Talk about jumping to some negative conclusions after 1 game!  A game in which we set a program record for kills, held the opposition to .69 points per possession, and won by 27 on a night where we shoot 5-24 from three - I was very pleased.

Chase Ross was running A LOT of PG during the game - that's the answer to your question about after SJ/Nigel.

Lowery is going to be a stud.  Stevens looks like a great wing.  Nigel showed great promise.  Gold was okay. Owens started slow, but finished well. Tre Norman played a very nice game.  Josh Clark?  Talk about some serious upside potential.  The two guys who didn't play as well as we might expect - Royce and Caedin.

I'd be shocked if this isn't an NCAA team, even if it is a poor shooting 3 point team.

[muwarrior69]

Talk about jumping to some negative conclusions after 1 game!  A game in which we set a program record for kills, held the opposition to .69 points per possession, and won by 27 on a night where we shoot 5-24 from three - I was very pleased.

Chase Ross was running A LOT of PG during the game - that's the answer to your question about after SJ/Nigel.

Lowery is going to be a stud.  Stevens looks like a great wing.  Nigel showed great promise.  Gold was okay. Owens started slow, but finished well. Tre Norman played a very nice game.  Josh Clark?  Talk about some serious upside potential.  The two guys who didn't play as well as we might expect - Royce and Caedin.

I'd be shocked if this isn't an NCAA team, even if it is a poor shooting 3 point team.

C'mon! Our defense really sucked. They allowed 53 points!

[WhiteTrash]

In Shaka year 2, there was significant in season growth. 8-3 non-conference to 17-3 BE proves that.

I agree with that. Shaka has done it before.
(I should have said the last 2 years, not few year)

[BallBoy]

I'm not sure how you can say the growth of Gold, Lowery, Owens, Parham, and Ross isn't where it needs to be based on one game with disjointed rotations against a bad team.  That's way too small of a sample size to come to that conclusion. 

My first statement was it is opening night which makes it hard to judge.  Also pointed out the amount of minutes each player got as impactful.  We need that to be an opening night thing but we can also mix the results from last year with the first game this year to see a trend.

That group of players, especially Gold and Ross, have been with the program for a several years.  Based on the one game (again we need to monitor), that group looked to be similar players as last year.  None of them looked like a break out player.  Again hopefully that is just a minutes/first night jitters thing but we need a break out player.  Based on the game last night, did you see who that was?  Ok, me neither, so if we don't see that emerge we are going to have a tough season. Especially against the top tier Big East. 

The Big East sent just three teams in 2024 and 5 teams in 2025.  In 2025, no team outside of the Big 4 made it to the Sweet Sixteen.  Going into this season, it is conceivable that only 3-5 teams make it in and based on the S16 results, it is not a stretch that fewer non-Big 4 teams are in the tournament.  If MU struggles offensively then it is highly possible that we aren't top 3 in the Big East putting us at risk.   

When you compare to last year, we saw an immediate set of breakout players stepping up but in that first game it also showed we had a bench problem.  That bench problem carried itself all the way through the season. 

If it is a one night thing then this is moot but if it isn't we could be on the outside looking in. 

[Its DJOver]

That's a whole lot of words for very little substance, even less of which made sense.

[BM1090]

I agree with that. Shaka has done it before.
(I should have said the last 2 years, not few year)

I disagree on 2023. Started 12-5. Then won 11 out of 12 including some massive routs before TK got hurt. Battled hard against a really tough Creighton team without Oso and TK and against UConn without TK. Then won three more without TK to get to the big east final. They were rolling.

[BrewCity83]

Nobody's mentioned this, but that Ramsey kid can play!

[brewcity77]

A few thoughts...

• Sean looked like he hasn't played in awhile. He had some moments where it felt like he was trying to do too much, some passes that could've been great (the bounce bullet to Ben) but missed and were turnovers. Forgettable night but there were some flashes if he gets it more under control.
• If he doesn't, Nigel looks ready to go. Man, he was so active on defense. Really promising start. Another small sample, but I can see him being remembered as one of the greats when his time here is done.
• Fetch did not happen. Though a 1-3-1 zone really takes away what he wants to do, so withholding judgment.
• But Josh looked ready. Rebounded well, legit lob threat, altered shots on defense, I'm really excited for what he can become. Thinking of him and Nigel together the next four years is tantalizing.
• Chase and Zaide were both very good. They looked every bit the part of dynamic wing duo on both ends.
• Gold was pretty good on the boards. If he's the fourth/fifth offensive option, can hit some shots, and be a presence on the glass, he'll be okay. Want to see more but not disappointed.
• That defense was insanely fun to watch. Shadows of the old Havoc system. Damarius Owens' length and athleticism at the top of the three-quarter court press was insanely effective.

[MuggsyB]

A few thoughts...

• Sean looked like he hasn't played in awhile. He had some moments where it felt like he was trying to do too much, some passes that could've been great (the bounce bullet to Ben) but missed and were turnovers. Forgettable night but there were some flashes if he gets it more under control.
• If he doesn't, Nigel looks ready to go. Man, he was so active on defense. Really promising start. Another small sample, but I can see him being remembered as one of the greats when his time here is done.
• Fetch did not happen. Though a 1-3-1 zone really takes away what he wants to do, so withholding judgment.
• But Josh looked ready. Rebounded well, legit lob threat, altered shots on defense, I'm really excited for what he can become. Thinking of him and Nigel together the next four years is tantalizing.
• Chase and Zaide were both very good. They looked every bit the part of dynamic wing duo on both ends.
• Gold was pretty good on the boards. If he's the fourth/fifth offensive option, can hit some shots, and be a presence on the glass, he'll be okay. Want to see more but not disappointed.
• That defense was insanely fun to watch. Shadows of the old Havoc system. Damarius Owens' length and athleticism at the top of the three-quarter court press was insanely effective.

Brew,

NJ has tremendous, tremendous, hand quicks.  I understand you can't count on consistent ball thefts, but dude was  wreaking tier 1 havoc in his first collegiate game. 

[MU82]

My first statement was it is opening night which makes it hard to judge.  Also pointed out the amount of minutes each player got as impactful.  We need that to be an opening night thing but we can also mix the results from last year with the first game this year to see a trend.

That group of players, especially Gold and Ross, have been with the program for a several years.  Based on the one game (again we need to monitor), that group looked to be similar players as last year.  None of them looked like a break out player.  Again hopefully that is just a minutes/first night jitters thing but we need a break out player.  Based on the game last night, did you see who that was?  Ok, me neither, so if we don't see that emerge we are going to have a tough season. Especially against the top tier Big East. 

The Big East sent just three teams in 2024 and 5 teams in 2025.  In 2025, no team outside of the Big 4 made it to the Sweet Sixteen.  Going into this season, it is conceivable that only 3-5 teams make it in and based on the S16 results, it is not a stretch that fewer non-Big 4 teams are in the tournament.  If MU struggles offensively then it is highly possible that we aren't top 3 in the Big East putting us at risk.   

When you compare to last year, we saw an immediate set of breakout players stepping up but in that first game it also showed we had a bench problem.  That bench problem carried itself all the way through the season. 

If it is a one night thing then this is moot but if it isn't we could be on the outside looking in. 

Thanks, Eeyore.

[PointWarrior]

It's not Scoop with absolute bold declarations about a player after a single game.

I'm not sure how you can say the growth of Gold, Lowery, Owens, Parham, and Ross isn't where it needs to be based on one game with disjointed rotations against a bad team.  That's way too small of a sample size to come to that conclusion. 

[Big Papi]

My quick, off the cuff, jumping to conclusions after 1 game.

1. NJ impressed me. He is ready to play lots of minutes. Great pest defensively, a better offensive threat than Sean.

2. Need more out of Gold.  Better on the boards but need more offensively from him and consistency.

3. Hamilton's body transformation has him looking like Oso.  Hopefully his game reaches those heights.

4. Most disappointed in Owens.  I don't like his shot.  Its like a shotput in the air.  I don't see him reaching his potential until he gets that figured out. Maybe my expectations were too high.

5. Parham looked way too slow defensively.  Off game offensively but I worry our pace is going to cause him problems.

6. Love Zaides progress. He is our number 2.

7. Stevens is going to be a good one.

8. Team overall is bubble team.  We are going to struggle.in the half court offense.

[Big Papi]

C'mon! Our defense really sucked. They allowed 53 points!

Our defensive pressure caused them issues but Albany had a lot of unforced turnovers.

[We R Final Four]

What bothered me. 
Damarius at the 4.  There were at least 3 sequences where Ben helped and contested the shot.  Damarius was the 4, along with Chase, and both found themselves under the basket when the ball came off the rim.  Not in position for the rebound.  All resulted in baskets, two in fouls on Ben contesting the shot after the offensive board.

Sean trying so hard to be a facilitator that he passed on a lay up to throw a wraparound d bounce pass at Clark's shins.  Clark ain't catching that pass.

Settling 4 3s early.  They got out of it.

Sean and Nigel are still short and both had get in the paint with nowhere to go moments.  To be expected.

Rebounding. 

The rotations and substitutions were a Jackson Pollock painting.   Which is OK for opening night.

By the way, the answer to the high pick and roll appears to be double and recover, at least on opening night.

DO got caught looking several times on the weak side rebound.

[BM1090]

Owens has been a 34.4% three point shooter so far in his career. His shot looks a little funky but it's gone in. I'll wait until he starts missing for it to be a concern for me.

He does need to improve defensively in the half court. Looks great in the press.

[Shaka Shart]

This team has no Kenpom top 25 wins. Time to panic

[MUbiz]

I am very intrigued on how we do against Indiana. That has been my standard answer since after the win vs Albany - "talk to me after Indiana".

Questions I have are:

1. How will our defense look against a high major?
2. Will we be able to shoot the 3 ball consistently?
3. Will we make foul shots consistently?
4. How does our front court look against a legit front court?

I think I will have some answers to questions 1-3 after Indiana, but IU is not a big team and they do not have a Zuby type center, so I will have to wait for my answer to #4.

[Jay Bee]

Questions I have are:

1. How will our defense look against a high major?
2. Will we be able to shoot the 3 ball consistently?
3. Will we make foul shots consistently?
4. How does our front court look against a legit front court?

1- our defense is good. Offense is the concern
2-no. We will be volatile all year
3- This doesn't matter
4- will be interesting to watch

[MuMark]

Billy Joel
" Slow down you crazy child.....you're so ambitious for a juvenile "