Open practice

[Vander Blue Man Group]

I think Oso is a bad comparison.  Didn't play freshman year but in his second year was a very adequate backup to Kur.  The talent and athleticism were apparent.  Then the following year he took off.    Apples to Oranges. 

I hope Clark has a year like Oso's third year in the program but I don't think that will happen. 

It wasn't remotely a direct comparison. He was simply stating that Clark still has an opportunity to become a productive player even thought his contributions have been minimal thus far.

[MU82]

What VBMG said. Shaka never even suggested that Clark could be the next Oso or that he was on the same developmental timeline as Oso was. Shaka simply used Oso as an example of a 5 who took time to develop.

[Scoop Snoop]

What VBMG said. Shaka never even suggested that Clark could be the next Oso or that he was on the same developmental timeline as Oso was. Shaka simply used Oso as an example of a 5 who took time to develop.

I remember posting about an impressive performance by Josh in one game last season and then you replied and agreed. It was not a lot of playing time or a typical performance, but he had one really nice game. And THEN...the sh!t hit the fan. One scooper in particular simply was not having it. We were pretty much accused of saying that Clark was a really good player.

Wash, rinse, repeat. Once again, a scooper is insisting upon twisting a comment about Clark to fit his personal opinion.

[muwarrior69]

To be fair, 40 years ago there weren't any 'nice' bars, either.  But they were ours and we loved them.

I remember the Avalanche and then my favorite was Calahans. It was on the corner of 15th and Clybourn just south of the Weir Life Science Building. It was actually nice inside. On St. Patrick's day they had nickle beer and your date went free.

[JoanofArcMascot]

Starters:  Nigel, Stevens, Owens/Minnesale, Royce, Fru

Rotation: Minnesale/Owens, Phillips, Hamilton, Johnston

Not sure yet: Clark, Egbuonu

Deep Bench: Miletic, Walker

Based on watching them play today and how the coaches rotated them through the scrimmages today.

Clark played more minutes than Hamilton and was far better. Not sure how anyone could watch that and put Hamilton ahead of Clark.

[Jay Bee]

Clark played more minutes than Hamilton and was far better. Not sure how anyone could watch that and put Hamilton ahead of Clark.

Remember who the HC is.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

What VBMG said. Shaka never even suggested that Clark could be the next Oso or that he was on the same developmental timeline as Oso was. Shaka simply used Oso as an example of a 5 who took time to develop.

Easy to complain when you don't actually listen to what he said.

[Shooter McGavin]

I remember posting about an impressive performance by Josh in one game last season and then you replied and agreed. It was not a lot of playing time or a typical performance, but he had one really nice game. And THEN...the sh!t hit the fan. One scooper in particular simply was not having it. We were pretty much accused of saying that Clark was a really good player.

Wash, rinse, repeat. Once again, a scooper is insisting upon twisting a comment about Clark to fit his personal opinion.

Ha!  Not sure it's like that at all.  Hope Clark develops (as all players do to some degree) into an impact player.  The point is it seems a little over the top to mention Oso who was, at baseline, way more talented than him. Clark showed flashes (small e in epiphany) last year of filling a role that can be very valuable.  Rebounder, rim protector and dunker.  Hope he does really well.  If you look at your and 82s posts about him last year I likely agreed with you.

[pbiflyer]

[Scoop Snoop]

Ha!  Not sure it's like that at all.  Hope Clark develops (as all players do to some degree) into an impact player.  The point is it seems a little over the top to mention Oso who was, at baseline, way more talented than him. Clark showed flashes (small e in epiphany) last year of filling a role that can be very valuable.  Rebounder, rim protector and dunker.  Hope he does really well.  If you look at your and 82s posts about him last year I likely agreed with you.

Fair enough. Where we differ is in the comparison to Oso. I think the point was it was simply that bigs typically take a while. And Shaka in "happy talk" mode in a presser is exactly where he should be after the first public scrimmage of the year. We both hope Clark "does well".

I would like to see Josh develop to the point where he earns the slot to be Fru's backup rather than (oh, I better not mention his name as it will trigger JayBee) . Josh has a long way to go.  Imagine an opponent enroute to the basket colliding with him, especially if he adds 25 more pounds. What's not to like? 

 

[BM1090]

I think Oso is a bad comparison.  Didn't play freshman year but in his second year was a very adequate backup to Kur.  The talent and athleticism were apparent.  Then the following year he took off.    Apples to Oranges. 

I hope Clark has a year like Oso's third year in the program but I don't think that will happen. 

I'd love Clark to have a year like Oso's 2nd year in the program. If he could average 3-4 points efficiently over 10 MPG that'd be a win and give me hope he'd double that as  Jr and be a legitimate starter candidate as a Sr

[Shooter McGavin]

Agreed it would be nice.  If he is truly lagging only one year behind Oso's productivity  (year 3 Clark vs year 2 Oso) but continues that trajectory it will be a huge bonus. 

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

The lack of bars on campus is sad but I know that's what the university wants

#BringBackAngeBloWs

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Ha!  Not sure it's like that at all.  Hope Clark develops (as all players do to some degree) into an impact player.  The point is it seems a little over the top to mention Oso who was, at baseline, way more talented than him. Clark showed flashes (small e in epiphany) last year of filling a role that can be very valuable.  Rebounder, rim protector and dunker.  Hope he does really well.  If you look at your and 82s posts about him last year I likely agreed with you.

You're still not getting it.

[onepost]

Hey fellas, and chick if she's still on the board. I went up for practice last week in Mequon (Al court was sweating) and sent my thoughts to a couple people. Wasn't worth starting my own thread (s/o Muggsy) but worth it to add here.

- Nigel is such a stud. Has gotten stronger, always making great reads, didn't see many 3's but hopefully that becomes more consistent to go with his rim finishes.
- The Nigel-Fru connection could be fantastic. Lobs, PNR, post feeds. Fru is really quiet and a bit passive though and I'm sure that's personality/newness to team, but Shaka really pushed for him to speak up and be heard. Fantastic hands, good defense.
- Adrien and Nolan look like the next-in-line ball handlers. Adrien and Royce clearly the 2nd/3rd steady hands that will be consistent for us.
- I'll be curious who stands up to be our vocal leaders. With Kolek, Oso, Kam, Stevie I took for granted having incredible leaders at the top. We saw how much that screwed us last year with Chase and Ben being total duds on that front. Nice guys, awful leaders. Shaka was constantly pushing for vocal leadership. Nigel and Royce looked like and should be the logical choices to keep guys in line. Caedin is a total zero BUT...he does bring energy and hype and on a team of young-to-passive leaders, I do think it's important for this group. Sad as that is.
- Egbuonu really struggled, he was terrible. Looked too heavy and way too slow. No confidence that day. Shaka laid into him ad nauseum. To be expected but I was as unimpressed as I could be which is a shame. He'll get much better, sounds like the scrimmage was an improvement.
- If Ethan Johnston can get some consistency with his offense and shot, he could be VERY interesting. He's so long and athletic, he was in passing lanes and making defensive stops left and right. Was disruptive with Nigel on multiple occasions. We all know that's the first indicator to be PT ready. Really encouraging.
- Damarius and (less so) Ian are the wildcards for me. DO keeps making strides, hopefully he makes that jump as our go-to 6th/7th man. But I thought the back half of last season was that springboard and he kinda plateaued. Ian is no doubt the best non-Phillips shooter on the team, would love for him to show flashes, but sounded like the scrimmage was meh.
- Michael Phillips stood out as my most impressive player today. By far. Shot is pure as ever, but he's put on a LOT of muscle. And his athleticism can be jaw dropping too, ala Jamal Cain. He JAMMED on Adrien (?) and soared for a block on Ian where he actually landed very scarily. Head at the rim. Got up and kept pushing. I'm so glad Mark Miller and others felt the same.
- If he can improve his handles and gain confidence going to the rim, he could be really REALLY good. My most exciting development at practice.
- Minessale I didn't get a real read on. Looks like he can be a Tyler Lockett 2.0 as more of a ball handler and is just a solid rotation piece every good team needs.
- Josh Clark will look absolutely pathetic one possession, then look like an NBA talent the next. Shaka even made a comment like "that face you make when I get on you for getting boxed out by CB (GA Cam Brown) is why you're not good". Hatt was on him hard. But he responded and had some nice moments.
- Crowdis looks like a walk-on to me. Basically Fran Fraschila's "he's 2 years away from being 2 years away". If he ever plays here I'd be stunned.
- Nash I hear all these things about from people on the board but haven't seen anything from the guy. Didn't do anything the day I was there.
- Shaka was as fiery and animated as I've ever seen him. Getting on guys constantly, hammering mistakes, lighting people up, but still showing the love and support we all know during good plays. Any thoughts the guy is checked out (a valid concern last season) are just flat out wrong.
- Hope to make it up for another practice this summer.

[DoctorV]

Nice post onepost, thanks for sharing.

One concern that keeps coming up in my mind, you made a comment on in that post
"Hopefully he makes that jump as our 6th/7th man" in regards to Damarius.

I understand the comment, and, not to put words into your mouth but it seems like you are saying Damarius' ceiling could be a very nice 6th man role, or even 2nd off the bench.

I'm not disagreeing, I'm just having a hard time finding 5/6 better players on this Marquette squad, and that could be a problem.
I agree that what we've seen from DO should be a 6th/7th man quality piece, at least in an elite year like Marquette had with the b2b 2 seeds.
Problem is, I count NJ, Royce, Fru as the 3 players this years team can count on as good to great BE players- you include Adrien, and again I won't doubt it but it's no sure thing that he will take the step into elite status.

If NJ and Royce don't fill those lofty expectations I think Marquette is f'ed. As for Sunny- no offense to the young man because I have never really seen him play and I'm sure he's a good player give his track record with the national team and what he showed last year- but he will/should be a product of Nigel's stardom. He should be able to fall out of bed and get 12-14pts on dunks and layups, and I think Shaka knows it would be very hard for Fru to not get the numbers he's looking for at the 5 given his abilities that you mentioned.
That's not to downplay Fru, just to say that he should be locked into a hopefully foolproof star role if Nigel is who we hope he is.

So then you've got the others.
— Adrien is a sophomore like NJ, so to expect an elite BE player, although possible, seems like a stretch. I'd be shocked if he wasn't an elite BE player as an upperclassmen, but would also be slightly surprised if he hit that level as a 2nd year player.
—Love the MikePhill hype, and he's got all the things you'd want- athleticism, great looking shot, improving motor and familiarity/comfort with the game, etc, but again would be surprising if he was much better than a very good 6th man. If the game slows down enough for him he will be a good/great BE starter years 3/4.
—Nolan sounds like a solid addition, and from things I've read (haven't seen him much) I get the feeling that guys like him find a way to make a difference, but again he's not going to knock down the door in year 1 at MU

So, if the above holds true I'd really beg and plead that a guy like DO is a solid starter and major difference maker, and it just seems like unfortunately we aren't there yet. Hopefully it clicks and when the bright lights come on it's there, because I think this years team might need it.

Either way, this is a long winded way of saying that if a guy like DO is considered a good 6th/7th man you'd better have 5/6 other guys that are ready to be better, and I just don't know that this years team has it.

1-3 ok, sign me up. After that, at least at this early stage, and I'm still looking for more. Hopefully Adrien locks up that 4th bonafide good BE starter (not good enough, but good) and then we just need to worry about 5-7 guys.

Additionally- love the stuff in reading about Ethan, but a bit bummed about Ian, Nash, Egbuonu at this stage. Ian especially, after a RS year, I would've hoped could become a sniper that gets minutes.
Like what I'm reading about Josh- I'd like for him to bypass Caedin on the pecking order and find a way to make a difference so that when Sunny leaves it's not bare at the 5.

Still can't believe Shaka didn't bring in a wing scorer. This years team needs it badly, and it'll show quickly. Could've been a 2G that plays at the 3, or a 3/4 that plays smaller, but just a dude that can get buckets. That would've taken a ton of pressure off of Nigel and let him do his thing, while not having to take on the role of doing everything. There is little chance that DO/MikePhill/NolanMinn can become elite scorers this season, so Adrien will have to really learn how to get a lot of buckets very fast.