Trent

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

Was anyone else incredibly frustrated by Trent tonight?! He had 5 TO's by himself and it just seemed everytime he was on the court something had happened.

[Phantom Warrior]

I really hate to say this, but Trent is nowhere near the player I'd expected. I figured we'd see at least the same kind of offenisve production from him that he had displayed at ASU.

As a sophomore he shot 52% from the field; as a junior he shot 50%. This year he's shooting 42%.

As a soph he averaged 13.4 ppg and 13.0 ppg as a junior when he had to take over at the point for a good portion of the season. This year's he's at 7.1 ppg.

He had problems with turnovers at ASU, so I did expect that. But what I didn't anticipate was how foolish many of those turnovers have been - those that resulted from just plain poor judgment.

Based on comments by ASU fans, I also expected to see a lockdown - or near lockdown - defender. He has had some solid games defensively, but at times he's really had difficulty staying in front of his man or being out of position.

I don't doubt that Trent has been a solid addition to the team in many respects both on and off the court. But his overall game and offensive production have been a level or two lower than I had figured. Heck, I even recall opining that he might be our leading scorer this year. Instead, he ranks fifth, barely ahead of Mayo, who has played just a tad over half as many mpg as Trent has.

Trent has shown himself to be a decent complementary player. But after gaining some all-conference recognition at ASU as either a soph or a junior (I don't recall which) that's not what I'd expected. I was actually thinking he might be in the mix for some all-Big East recognition as well.

[TedBaxter]

Was anyone else incredibly frustrated by Trent tonight?! He had 5 TO's by himself and it just seemed everytime he was on the court something had happened.

Yes, I was extremely frustrated. Steve Taylor should have been in with Jamil moving over to the 3. Did Buzz forget about Steve? Steve will at least board.

[DCwarrior]

I was screaming for Taylor to be in the game the 2nd half. Trent needs to find a comfortable seat on the bench and stay there the rest of the season...he has really been terrible the past few games. You can tell he has lost all of his confidence out there and the NCAA tournament should not be the place for Buzz to let him try to get it back.

BTW, Mayo was equally bad last night so there really was no reason and no good alternative other than for Taylor to be in and move Jamil over to small forward.

[MUMac]

I said the same in another thread. Tonight was a brutal game for Trent. He had 5 turnovers, but some of the shots he took were just like turnovers. Such as the 3 on 2 break with MU down 2. MU never recovered. Also, some of his passes put teammates in bad position.

Why Steve did not play is mind boggling to me. I seldom question coaches and strategy, but last night, sticking with Trent and keeping Steve on the bench, was a head scratcher to me.

[bleedbluegold03]

the bigger travesty is that Juan Anderson gets minutes at all. Steve Taylor Jr is Juan in every way, only significantly better and a year younger.

I call for any person to tell me one thing Juan brings to the team that justifies him getting minutes over Steve.

[CaribouJim]

Trent is either feast or famine. Does a lot of the little things very well, but has a brutal handle and is afraid to take an open shot, but all too often forces drive - you're right that 3 on 2 break was ugly. Junior should have just pulled it back and set the offense up.

[dw3dw3dw3]

Did anyone else get worried about Buzz when Trent had that turnover at the beginning of the second half near half court? They showed it a few times, but Buzz basically crouched down and cover his head in disgust. When he came up it looked like he was having some sort of stress/anxiety/heart issue.

[Orlando]

Does anyone else just think this game is a case of we are who we are? We are a flawed team. I wanted to win the St. John's game more than I have wanted to win a game in a long time, because I really thought that the regular season title would be the signature of this season. We just have too many flaws to make any serious post season runs. I am not going to get into them, because we all go over them ad nauseum everytime we lose.

I feel that when we win big games, it is more of a case of us overcoming our flaws with hard work and determination rather than correcting them. We are team that thrives on adversity rather than prosperity. When I see our kids on the court smiling, I get nervous. Our margin for error is so thin, if we lose concentration for even a moment, we get burned.

The reality is that we should all be very happy that we have had the season we have. Any post season success to me is gravy. This season had the potential to be far worse. In my opinion, it really was a remarkable feat to share the title this year.

[dw3dw3dw3]

Trent is either feast or famine. Does a lot of the little things very well, but has a brutal handle and is afraid to take an open shot, but all too often forces drive - you're right that 3 on 2 break was ugly. Junior should have just pulled it back and set the offense up.

I remember thinking I've never seen a 3-2 look exactly like how it's practiced a million times from when you are a kid. The defenders were running back and the wings on offense were split out perfectly symmetrical with the ball in the middle.... and then it all just got real ugly real fast.

[TheSultan]

Does anyone else just think this game is a case of we are who we are? We are a flawed team. I wanted to win the St. John's game more than I have wanted to win a game in a long time, because I really thought that the regular season title would be the signature of this season. We just have too many flaws to make any serious post season runs. I am not going to get into them, because we all go over them ad nauseum everytime we lose.

I feel that when we win big games, it is more of a case of us overcoming our flaws with hard work and determination rather than correcting them. We are team that thrives on adversity rather than prosperity. When I see our kids on the court smiling, I get nervous. Our margin for error is so thin, if we lose concentration for even a moment, we get burned.

The reality is that we should all be very happy that we have had the season we have. Any post season success to me is gravy. This season had the potential to be far worse. In my opinion, it really was a remarkable feat to share the title this year.


Yes. I agree with you. This team has a cap...it doesn't shoot well enough from the outside and makes too many turnovers to be a serious contender. If they get to the S16 this year, they would have pretty much wildly exceeded my pre-season expectations.

[Mucrisco]

The thing about Lockett is, how many people actually saw him play? Are they disappointed because only because people had higher expectations of him, based upon reports from other people? Besides, he could have been a lockdown defender at ASU in their eyes. Do they know what defense looks like on the west coast? Joking. Personally, I always reserve judgement on players until I've seen them with my own eyes. What I heard from my brother, who lives in AZ, is that he was just a guy who steadily improved, made himself into a player, and became more popular. He might have a lower ppg, but what is it per minute? However, I, also, fell into the trap of putting expectations on him. I thought he would have an easier time adjusting. It was my assumption, that Herb Sendek ran the Princeton Offense, like he did at NC State. That is a read and react offense, which is what Buzz runs. So, I expected his transition to be easier. It turns out that they don't run that offense, and Sendek even gets mad since other coaches use that against him in recruiting. Instead, he runs a lot of NBA style set plays. That's a tougher transits ion, especially given the fact that he didn't sit out a year, learning the system, like other transfers.

Knowing that it took a while for Lockett to become more and more effective at ASU, like my brother described, we can only assume that he was not a star, and slowly made an impact in the game. He said he just worked hard and slowly improved. That tells me that he was not an athletic stud that will make outstanding plays right off the bat. He has to learn the offense and become more comfortable in his role in order to become effective. He is not like Vander Blue, who was effective with his rebounding, defense, and especially slashing, right off the bat, even though he too, had to learn to become more comfortable in the offense.

Since Lockett was running NBA style sets, he wasn't making the same reads. He was given less freedom. He didn't solely have to depend on his understanding of how the defense is playing him and what types of plays he should be making in response. In sets, you are shown the opportunities, when you can score, through repetition and timing. You face similar conditions and you become more comfortable with them. In Marquette's offense, more options are given to you, and you find yourself in more situtations than in a set play offense. As a result, there is more hesitation. So, even though Lockett is a senior, he is was in an uncomfortable situation. Even at ASU, it took him a couple of years to make a bigger impact. With unfamiliarity and hesitation, it really isn't that surprising that shooting percentage will go down and TO's may stay up. Still, Lockett made some outstanding plays this year. Did I think he would play a bigger role? We all did. However, and this is a different discussion, I always thought Wilson was the key to our season. He has to be huge in the tournament for us to make a run. If he, Blue, and Gardner are clicking, we will be a tough out. I can't wait to see what Buzz comes up with in the dance.

[Nukem2]

Wonder if Buzz will shake things up a bit in the NCAAs with Taylor getting more minutes. Or keep the ball out of Trent's hands and make him more of a catch and shoot guy given his bad handle and propensity for bad passes. Then again, its rather late for changes...? Hoping for good matchups in the tourney.

[Mucrisco]

They do have a few days now though, where they can just work on Marquette stuff, instead of having to also prepare for an opponent. Personally, I would like to see more of the Wilson, Taylor, and Otule/Gardner lineup. With Junior, Blue, Wilson, Taylor, and Gardner/Otule, we don't lose any perimeter shooting, are athletic enough for man to man defense, and man, would we be big!

[MUAlphaBangura]

Trent is either feast or famine. Does a lot of the little things very well, but has a brutal handle and is afraid to take an open shot, but all too often forces drive - you're right that 3 on 2 break was ugly. Junior should have just pulled it back and set the offense up.
I'll put some of the blame on Junior for that one. Had a guy on the right wing to dish to also. Thought he may have taken it too deep so either wing was going to get caught up in traffic. For me, dishing it to Trent would have been the last option.

[MUMac]

Does anyone else just think this game is a case of we are who we are? We are a flawed team. I wanted to win the St. John's game more than I have wanted to win a game in a long time, because I really thought that the regular season title would be the signature of this season. We just have too many flaws to make any serious post season runs. I am not going to get into them, because we all go over them ad nauseum everytime we lose.

I feel that when we win big games, it is more of a case of us overcoming our flaws with hard work and determination rather than correcting them. We are team that thrives on adversity rather than prosperity. When I see our kids on the court smiling, I get nervous. Our margin for error is so thin, if we lose concentration for even a moment, we get burned.

The reality is that we should all be very happy that we have had the season we have. Any post season success to me is gravy. This season had the potential to be far worse. In my opinion, it really was a remarkable feat to share the title this year.

Yes, I do believe we are who we are. I agree MU is flawed. They are completely different away from home than in the friendly confines of the BC. I also went into the season "hoping" to make the tournament, as I thought this was a rebuilding campaign. What MU has done, thus far, has far exceeded my expectations. At times, I get greedy, but I do realize that much of it has been done with smoke and mirrors.

I am hoping for a friendly matchup in the NCAA's, wishing for a Sweet 16, but realistically hoping to win the first.

[Phantom Warrior]

Our conference record is also a bit misleading in that we caught a few breaks along the way via opponents' misfortunes. That is not to take anythng away from winning the league title, which was a tremendous, and hard-earned accomplishment.

But we caught a break when Woodall played only 2 or 3 minutes against us in our overtime win due to being injured.

We caught another break when Carter - Rutgers' leading scorer - was injured and didn't play against us in another close game.

A third break was St. John's playing without both Harrison - their leading scorer - and then Pointer in a yet another overtime victory.

And we did catch a break when Cooley played only 15 ineffective minutes against us due to illness at the BC.

That's four games. No one knows what might have happened without those fortuitous situations. Maybe we still win all of those games, though I think that's a stretch.

If those four W's had been L's, our record would have been 10-8, which is much closer to where many of us thought we'd be. (I had figured 9-9 with a shot at 10-8.)

Injuries, illness, suspensions, foul trouble, however, are all part of the game, and the bottom line is that we took advantage of each of those circumstances. That's a credit to the team.

But, talent-wise, viewing us as having the kind of talent a 14-4 BE team usually is would be a stretch.

My expectations for the Big Dance are minimal. We could very easily lose to a #12 seed or #13 seed in the first round. I would not be surprised one bit - though I would be disappointed - if that happened. Winning a game in the second round will be a real challenge. We certainly could win in that round, but I certainly would not expect it.

[dw3dw3dw3]

I'd be a little disappointed too, but not surprised or disappointed for too long. Wisconsin win + Cuse Win + ND Win + Last Real Big East Championship + 2013 recruiting class = Good F'n Year.

[MUMac]

I keep hearing the break on Woodall, but no one ever mentions that Junior was out for more than half and that DWilson was also injured on the play that Woodall was hurt.

Injuries and suspensions happen. So MU caught a couple of breaks. They do not even come close to matching the bad luck MU has had with injuries, but so what?!?

[MUAlphaBangura]

Our conference record is also a bit misleading in that we caught a few breaks along the way via opponents' misfortunes. That is not to take anythng away from winning the league title, which was a tremendous, and hard-earned accomplishment.

But we caught a break when Woodall played only 2 or 3 minutes against us in our overtime win due to being injured.

We caught another break when Carter - Rutgers' leading scorer - was injured and didn't play against us in another close game.

A third break was St. John's playing without both Harrison - their leading scorer - and then Pointer in a yet another overtime victory.

And we did catch a break when Cooley played only 15 ineffective minutes against us due to illness at the BC.

That's four games. No one knows what might have happened without those fortuitous situations. Maybe we still win all of those games, though I think that's a stretch.

If those four W's had been L's, our record would have been 10-8, which is much closer to where many of us thought we'd be. (I had figured 9-9 with a shot at 10-8.)

Injuries, illness, suspensions, foul trouble, however, are all part of the game, and the bottom line is that we took advantage of each of those circumstances. That's a credit to the team.

But, talent-wise, viewing us as having the kind of talent a 14-4 BE team usually is would be a stretch.

My expectations for the Big Dance are minimal. We could very easily lose to a #12 seed or #13 seed in the first round. I would not be surprised one bit - though I would be disappointed - if that happened. Winning a game in the second round will be a real challenge. We certainly could win in that round, but I certainly would not expect it.

Phantom, I know you have ties to UW, so maybe that's why you remind me of Wisconsin fans that never want to put any expectations on their beloved Badgers. That way, when they have a successful season, it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's OK to have some expectations for these guys, They did win 14 conference games you know. Several other teams got to play Rutgers, St. Johns, etc. without their full squads too. like MUMac said, injuries and suspensions happen, and Marquette has had their share in the past. But make no mistake, this team has worked hard enough to deserve their championship. I will have some expectations for post season also. Sure, they could lose in the first round, but that's not what I will be expecting.

[warriorfan4life]

Bottom line for me on Lockett is we saw the significant difference in quality between the Pac 12 these past few years and the Big East. Plays that Trent could make successfully at that level did not translate to this level, and it took a good while for him to adjust (along with adjustments from system at ASU to our system).

[IWB]

I think the biggest difference between Big East and Pac 12 with the style of game is the speed.

[ziggysfryboy]

Trent is somewhere between Russell Wilson and that other transfer QB that WI got for this year.

[JohnnyRev]

I'm with those of you who love this team, have enjoyed this season (most of it), am thrilled with the Big East shared title, and see depth but not talent like that of many other Big East teams and most of the USA top teams. We don't have a single star who can consistently take over to save a game. Vander is very inconsistent, as is Jamil. Davante plays incredibly stupid some games (like yesterday). Not only Trent but Todd make the most god-awful turnovers and so many of them, either in passing or dribbling through crowds. Junior sometimes is wonderful, other times many turnovers. Our play away from home gives me very little confidence we can meet and beat a really good team in the NCAA, so I think one win may find us losing to a pretty good team second game. If we play all-out defense, cut turnovers way down, stay consistent on free throws at ends of games, get much more lucky on threes than we have been able to make, we can beat a really good team (as we have). But our play, especially away from home, late in the season makes me expect little in the NCAA until maybe next year.

[DCwarrior]

Trent is somewhere between Russell Wilson and that other transfer QB that WI got for this year.

Funny Danny O'Brien reference

[DCwarrior]

By the way, I was watching the end of the G'town and Cuse game, and our refs from last night were just as bad tonight.

[Gato78]

More awful officiating. It keeps getting worse. Something has to change. Worst year I can remember. There have to be young refs ready to take a step up. The usual suspects are no good. Ed Corbett has become really bad. Jim Burr had a terrible game--at least he didn't leave the floor early tonight. When Double Technical Pat Driscoll is the best college hoops has to offer, there are problems.

[MUMac]

Yeah, that crew did themselves proud again today. I really hate the way BE officials call the game. Hoping that changes. Doubt it will.