Absolutely awful basketball

[axaguy]

Feel sorry for the players but it was evident early on in the season and reconfirmed Sunday that we are playing awful basketball this year. I've witnessed a lot of basketball of all levels in my 70+ years and 20+ as a season ticket holder and without question say we are among the worst I've seen. Sorry, but true.
We can't make 3s, shoot yes but make no. Can't make a layup or close in basket to save our lives or capitalize on turnovers won. We shoot free throws poorly. Have absolutely no idea of what we are doing on offense. We pose no offensive threat with any consistency.
We have played good defense often but result in no points after turn overs or stops. Saw no one on the floor Sunday going after loose balls, no one.
Looks like no floor leadership. WAY too much dribbling on O. No one moving toward the basket to pass to. Picks? Give and gos? Rare. Way to much driving and kicking back out to the point on O or all five beyond the three line with no intention of moving to the basket.
Haven't seen what, if any, coaching changes or teaching has gone on. Blame the coaches for not being able to alter our strategy to fit our current group of players skills or lack of. Get them to play to their strengths and recognize that. Where's the bench? At this point everybody should see the floor. What have we got to lose? They are all D1 guys, right, at MU? Forget ego and feelings....
Don't want to name players here but some guys are forcing the play without an idea of who else needs to be involved. Some guys keep doing the same things over and over with the same results.
The only way we get to the post season is buying a ticket.
Seems like no coaching plan. No way should we be or accept being in last place in the Big East, no way.
Just my thoughts. Would like to see better.

[Jay Bee]

They are all D1 guys, right, at MU?

No.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Feel sorry for the players but it was evident early on in the season and reconfirmed Sunday that we are playing awful basketball this year. I've witnessed a lot of basketball of all levels in my 70+ years and 20+ as a season ticket holder and without question say we are among the worst I've seen. Sorry, but true.
We can't make 3s, shoot yes but make no. Can't make a layup or close in basket to save our lives or capitalize on turnovers won. We shoot free throws poorly. Have absolutely no idea of what we are doing on offense. We pose no offensive threat with any consistency.
We have played good defense often but result in no points after turn overs or stops. Saw no one on the floor Sunday going after loose balls, no one.
Looks like no floor leadership. WAY too much dribbling on O. No one moving toward the basket to pass to. Picks? Give and gos? Rare. Way to much driving and kicking back out to the point on O or all five beyond the three line with no intention of moving to the basket.
Haven't seen what, if any, coaching changes or teaching has gone on. Blame the coaches for not being able to alter our strategy to fit our current group of players skills or lack of. Get them to play to their strengths and recognize that. Where's the bench? At this point everybody should see the floor. What have we got to lose? They are all D1 guys, right, at MU? Forget ego and feelings....
Don't want to name players here but some guys are forcing the play without an idea of who else needs to be involved. Some guys keep doing the same things over and over with the same results.
The only way we get to the post season is buying a ticket.
Seems like no coaching plan. No way should we be or accept being in last place in the Big East, no way.
Just my thoughts. Would like to see better.

Well said. Agree with your sentiment. As an alum and lifelong Marquette basketball supporter, I am shocked at poorly this team plays. They cannot make free throws; cannot block out and grab rebounds; cannot shoot and rarely followup to get offensive rebounds; cannot set effective screens for shooters; are awful running out of bounds plays. The coaching seems awful. A complete turnover of coaches seems necessary to get coaches who can teach the basic skills - free throws, rebounding, shooting, screening, out of bound plays, how to win instead of struggle.  What has happened to Shaka? Has he lost it? He is failing this year.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Well said. Agree with your sentiment. As an alum and lifelong Marquette basketball supporter, I am shocked at poorly this team plays. They cannot make free throws; cannot block out and grab rebounds; cannot shoot and rarely followup to get offensive rebounds; cannot set effective screens for shooters; are awful running out of bounds plays. The coaching seems awful. A complete turnover of coaches seems necessary to get coaches who can teach the basic skills - free throws, rebounding, shooting, screening, out of bound plays, how to win instead of struggle.  What has happened to Shaka? Has he lost it? He is failing this year.

So the staff responsible for two #2 seeds no longer knows how to develop and coach 2 seasons later?

Seems to me this is a talent/recruiting issue more than anything, which is also the responsibility of the staff. 

No issue if some new blood is added to the staff but I'm pretty sure Shaka and company didn't completely "lose it" so quickly.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

I blame coaching for an offense that pushes endless dribbling with no off ball movement; no cutters no back door options just stand around. Against DePaul why bring Phillips in and not run a few sets for him to get open for a shot. Maybe hitting a few threes opens up the lane for our drivers.

[GBPhoenix1993]

Some of the guys that were here for some of Shaka's first few years just had terrific basketball IQ and a really good feel for the game. Some of it was experience and some of it was just innate to those guys. Kam Jones, Ighodaro, Mitchell, and of course Kolek all were smart players with different skillsets that really knew how to work with each other.

Joplin's decision making on offense wasn't quite at the level of those others but I thought he actually had a high IQ on defense. He had a knack for getting in passing lanes, and even came up with timely blocked shots and rebounds despite not being an explosive athlete.

I don't know that anyone amongst the current sophomore through senior classes shows the basketball smarts of the guys mentioned above. Ross is excellent at getting into passing lanes on defense but as a senior that seems to be his only above average trait.

The freshmen do show some promise as being a step above the sophomore through senior classes in hoops IQ but they've got a long ways to go to get where we want them to be.

Hopefully whomever they add this offseason has a better feel for the game and are better decision makers plus a bit more polished offensively than most of this year's team was. It's been a tough watch although occasionally there have been very brief fun moments like national Marquette day.

[BCHoopster]

Shaka's runs ghost screens all the time, never tough hard nose picks, because the bigs are to soft. Zero pick and roll, Tyler was as good as any guard doing that. Zero inside game, hard to get easy buckets then, so they jack up threes.  It would be fine if they ran more plays for Stevens as he is not good enough to create his own shot, has no midrange game. Getting one shot a half does not work for me.

[Billy Hoyle]

So the staff responsible for two #2 seeds no longer knows how to develop and coach 2 seasons later?

Seems to me this is a talent/recruiting issue more than anything, which is also the responsibility of the staff. 

No issue if some new blood is added to the staff but I'm pretty sure Shaka and company didn't completely "lose it" so quickly.

there is it - talent and recruiting. You can't develop a player into a high major, Big East level talent if their celing is Horizon or Missouri Valley.

[Mu8891]

Or ... in the case of Hamilton a ceiling of
D2.  Alas ... Shaka luvs him , and RGV ... EGBs ... ABCs ... so he will be back to waste a scholarship for another year!

[BCHoopster]

That would be pathetic!

[CTWarrior]

Our offense revolves around getting drivers to the rim and, if we can't get a shot off, kicking out for the three.  Our improvement for the stretch that we were playing better was because we were getting to the rim and finishing.  DePaul collapsed on our drivers and dared us to shoot threes and we couldn't make them because we don't shoot very well.

I would say some of this is on coaching, but, bottom line, it is hard to have a good offense if you can't shoot.  Need better players, which is not exactly a revelation.

Our recent improved play had me thinking we could be a bubble team next year and a really good team in two years.  The DePaul game broke me. 

[CTWarrior]

No issue if some new blood is added to the staff but I'm pretty sure Shaka and company didn't completely "lose it" so quickly.

We have been poor rebounders under Shaka, even our good teams. Our style of defense contributes to that, but we are fundamentally not sound at blocking out and chasing the ball.

It seems like every team has a 6-10 guy with some muscle who can play a little, defend the rim and rebound.  I cannot remember the last guy we had who was all those things.  Robert Jackson for one season, I guess, more than 20 years ago.

It is unbelievable how we never have one of those guys.  It derailed the amigos teams, was our Achilles heel on the peak Hauser/Howard teams, and killed our two recent #2 seed teams when the threes weren't falling.  It boggles my mind that we can never come up with one of those guys when the teams we play all seem to have at least one of them.

[rgoode57]

I am very much looking forward to the end of this season. Unfortunately, I cannot convince myself that next year will be a lot different.

[Billy Hoyle]

Or ... in the case of Hamilton a ceiling of
D2.  Alas ... Shaka luvs him , and RGV ... EGBs ... ABCs ... so he will be back to waste a scholarship for another year!

I'm sure Hamilton is a really good kid; we know he's a strong student and seems like a great teammate and excellent representative of our university. With 15 scholarships now, there is a place for him... at the end of the bench and being Practice Shaq as he's purported to be. Not starting for a Big East program with championship aspirations.

[Billy Hoyle]

We have been poor rebounders under Shaka, even our good teams. Our style of defense contributes to that, but we are fundamentally not sound at blocking out and chasing the ball.

It seems like every team has a 6-10 guy with some muscle who can play a little, defend the rim and rebound.  I cannot remember the last guy we had who was all those things.  Robert Jackson for one season, I guess, more than 20 years ago.

It is unbelievable how we never have one of those guys.  It derailed the amigos teams, was our Achilles heel on the peak Hauser/Howard teams, and killed our two recent #2 seed teams when the threes weren't falling.  It boggles my mind that we can never come up with one of those guys when the teams we play all seem to have at least one of them.

If only Shaka had looked in the same place as DePaul, Butler, Seton Hall, Villanova, Xavier, St John's, UConn, et al found one (or more)...

[WhiteTrash]

I am very much looking forward to the end of this season. Unfortunately, I cannot convince myself that next year will be a lot different.

It is Shaka's job to convince you and everyone else. I think he will.