Game thoughts...

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

There was some good and some bad... I am glad the OSU game wasn't played though because we just didn't look ready and I think we will need a few games to get our flow together. I think the early season might be a struggle but I can see this team coming on late. I was very surprised at Jake Thomas' minutes, I thought he would play but not that much... That will be huge for this team. I was a little disappointed with Vander's play as I was hoping for a big step from him, obviously it's one game though. I liked what I saw from Ferguson too, I hope Buzz gives him a little more time Tuesday as he might be able to contribute...

Eager to hear what others thought.

P.S for what it's worth the Student Section really brought it tonight, kudos to them as they have been real lackluster for a couple years.

[lougrant]

Concerned about rebounding. Our starting 4 and 5 don't get on the glass much. Just a combined 2 boards from Jamil and Chris in 43 minutes (zero for Chris in 17 minutes).

[IrwinFletcher]

Was surprised with Thomas' minutes as well and equally disappointed with Blue's lackadasical play. Seemed out of sync and disinterested.

Locket was great. He played like Crowder with a ton of energy. Always around the ball and making plays. Get his outside shot going and he will be a huge impact.

Thought Taylor would have a bigger role/impact, but regardless looking forward to a great career from him.

Love the post offense we got tonight. Hoping Diamond Stone noticed that tonight.

Nice to see Junior draining threes. Got schooled on a spin move in the lane, but at least he was solid tonight.

[warriorfan4life]

Concerned about rebounding. Our starting 4 and 5 don't get on the glass much. Just a combined 2 boards from Jamil and Chris in 43 minutes (zero for Chris in 17 minutes).

Along with Lockett and Blue being good rebounders for guards, I think this earns Juan Anderson solid tick down the line as he has a great nose for boards. We were further along offensively then I thought, but thought that we would be better on the defensive side of the ball. We have to clean up the perimeter defense before Butler.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

I'm worried about the guard play---I know we will get more offense from the forward/center position than we are used to at MU but the college game in my opinion has evolved to the point where guards make plays at the end of games and are the position to carry a team deep into the tournament. Call me concerned about this position on our current roster. That being said, I love our forward rotation--I dont remember seeing this amount of talent/depth at that position at MU in a long time.

[Nukem2]

This is a very inside oriented team compared to Buzz's first four. Lockett is a forward. MU really not playin a 3 guard lineup. Love what Lockett does. He will be the star some nights and a real glue guy otherwise.

[Markedman]

I thought overall it wasn't a very good performance. When we play better teams we will need guys who can make plays off the dribble andf get their own shot. Jamil looks like he is the only guy capable of doing that with any level of success.

Defense was poor, rebounding from our bigs was poor and jump shooting looks to be an issue.

Now Buzz did play everybody lots of minutes and he used combinations we will not see often. It is only the first game so that should also be taken into account but my concerns remain.

Teams will pack it in and make us beat them from the perimeter. They will double team Gardner and maybe CO.

Our guys really looked out of synch on defense. Lots of guys didn't look like they knew what they were doing.

I liked the energy that Juan brought and he did lots of good things today but he still looks lost on D.

I like Lockett but he looks more like a glue guy then a go to guy to me.

[MUMac]

This is a very inside oriented team compared to Buzz's first four. Lockett is a forward. MU really not playin a 3 guard lineup. Love what Lockett does. He will be the star some nights and a real glue guy otherwise.

First thing I noticed today is this is a more traditional team (no, not in Wisconsin traditionals). Partly due to the losses of TJ Taylor and Mayo, MU will not be playing many 3 guard sets. This is a true PG, SG, WF, PF and C team this year. Playing with more size, MU will be scoring in the paint much more this year than in past years.

[MUMac]

I thought overall it wasn't a very good performance. When we play better teams we will need guys who can make plays off the dribble andf get their own shot. Jamil looks like he is the only guy capable of doing that with any level of success.

Defense was poor, rebounding from our bigs was poor and jump shooting looks to be an issue.

Now Buzz did play everybody lots of minutes and he used combinations we will not see often. It is only the first game so that should also be taken into account but my concerns remain.

Teams will pack it in and make us beat them from the perimeter. They will double team Gardner and maybe CO.

Our guys really looked out of synch on defense. Lots of guys didn't look like they knew what they were doing.

I liked the energy that Juan brought and he did lots of good things today but he still looks lost on D.

I like Lockett but he looks more like a glue guy then a go to guy to me.

It was the first game and Colgate had one under it's belt. I thought they lacked some focus and energy, but I also wondered how they would come out after Friday night's cancelled game. It was the first true travel game, and a game that wasn't played. I know how they would react to a win or loss against OSU, but a DNP was unchartered waters.

Last year I recall some concern early about DJO and Crowder. It's early. Don't over analyze the team as it showed in one game.

[TulsaWarrior]

Guys, Buzz was able to do a lot of experimenting with different combinations on the court. You think he would have done this kind of substitution against Ohio State? As much as he wanted to win this game he also wanted to see what individual players could do in different situations -- what combinations worked well and which ones didn't.

As to our post players rebounding -- hey Colgate was jacking up a lot of three point shots and a high percentage missed causing long rebounds that do not favor post players reaching them.

I was disappointed by not seeing a clear go to guy from three point range, for Marquette. Maybe this is a committee efforts and this is a team without a clear star?

With Lockett and Anderson -- Marquette has too glue guys. Despite the early exit of TJ Taylor and Mayo this team appears to be the deepest at Marquette in my memory. I am getting old ; - )

[bleedbluegold03]

I am coining lockets nickname as Mr. clean. That guy had no plays ran for him but he still put up a great Statlight. A very buzz like player

[Mucrisco]

I'm surprised there aren't more comments about Cadougan. He was very impressive today. He got people wide open looks, he pushed the ball well, ran the offense well and he was aggressive with the ball. All of this while committing zero turnovers. Sure, he got burned on the spin move, but there was no help either. They entire team defense failed on that play. Everyone gets burned one on one.

[bleedbluegold03]

I was not impressed with Junior at all. I'll admit that I have never liked Junior or his game and think next year it will be addition by subtraction.

He is a constant defensive liability with the elite speed most top-half BEast team PGs.

We won't win a lot of games with him shooting 25% from the floor while taking 12.5% of this teams shots

---

For my positives, you've got to like Juan Anderson's line and I think the most interesting development I will be following in the OOC is Buzz's choice for the 8 slot in the rotation. From his first four years Buzz likes to keep a small rotation going mainly with a 8.5 man lineup. Today Jake Thomas was in the top 8 and Juan Anderson probably the .5 but we'll see if that switches come January.

Also very good to see for me that Jamil starts off on the right foot; made two very good 3 point shots and looks to be the next-man-up star for MY

[Mucrisco]

I find it interesting that so many people judge a point guard on their shooting percentage and how much they score.

[MUBasketball]

Disagree with bleed entirely. Have always loved Junior.

[bleedbluegold03]

on the contrary crisco, I don't think the biggest issue is how much he scores, it is shooting 12.5% of the team's shots that is my beef

i respect anyone else's opinion and a strong argument can be made to the contrary, but his defensive inefficiencies are not outweighed by his offensive contributions.

no doubt some one will argue the team "runs better with him at the helm" and for me I'll counter with you're not looking at the other half of the game

[TheSultan]

Most of the shots Junior took were in transition when he was forcing the pace. I'm not concerned about that. I love the fact that he hit two three pointers. I love even more that he had no turnovers....and neither did Wilson. Seriously, after one game I think everything was fine from the PG position.

They are going to struggle with outside shooting this year.

[Mucrisco]

That's where statistics will get you in trouble. Just saying 12.5% of shots is misleading. What types of shots were they? Was the shot clock running down? We're they forced shots that didn't flow in the offense. Junior does such a good job of getting other people great looks. His teammates don't do as good of a job when they are getting him a look. Defensively, you are highly overstating his defensive inefficiency in my opinion. In fact, I never look at one on one defense. It's team defense and guys aren't in good help position right now.

[Nukem2]

That's where statistics will get you in trouble. Just saying 12.5% of shots is misleading. What types of shots were they? Was the shot clock running down? We're they forced shots that didn't flow in the offense. Junior does such a good job of getting other people great looks. His teammates don't do as good of a job when they are getting him a look. Defensively, you are highly overstating his defensive inefficiency in my opinion. In fact, I never look at one on one defense. It's team defense and guys aren't in good help position right now.Yes, the defense looked rather disorganized at times.

[Nukem2]

First thing I noticed today is this is a more traditional team (no, not in Wisconsin traditionals). Partly due to the losses of TJ Taylor and Mayo, MU will not be playing many 3 guard sets. This is a true PG, SG, WF, PF and C team this year. Playing with more size, MU will be scoring in the paint much more this year than in past years.Agreed. After watching the fish fry scrimmage and yesterday's game at the BC, this is a markedly different teams than we've seen in recent years. Absolutely love Lockett, but he is more of a 3/4 in his style of play than a 3/2. Far different than, say, Wes Matthews or Vander in his role last year. The loss of Todd and TJ simply makes this team more "traditional" as Mac states. We'll not be blowing past opponents on the court this year. Also, this team has to avoid large deficits that we experienced last year. This year's team simply does not have the explosiveness and perimeter shooting to overcome those large deficits. Defense is stil a work in progress as well. The "D" needs to improve quickly. Still very optimistic for this team, its just going to be different.

[IWB]

Guys - sorry for the lack of posting yesterday during and after the game, has been a long few days for me..... Was in Charleston on Friday, flew back Saturday morning then had to put together and emcee our parish's "Trivia Night". Long night followed by an early morning with a double header of 4th grade basketball, came home, changed, headed down to Mu, caught the first half, left and went and coached a 2 hour basketball practice, came home cooked dinner, and headed to bed.

Anyway, was only able to catch the first half yesterday, but here are some of my notes from the first half. (http://www.brewcityball.com/forums/content.php?453-Marquette-Brushes-Off-Colgate-84-63)

[MayorBeluga]

Guys - sorry for the lack of posting yesterday during and after the game, has been a long few days for me..... Was in Charleston on Friday, flew back Saturday morning then had to put together and emcee our parish's "Trivia Night". Long night followed by an early morning with a double header of 4th grade basketball, came home, changed, headed down to Mu, caught the first half, left and went and coached a 2 hour basketball practice, came home cooked dinner, and headed to bed.

Pathetic slacker.