Game thoughts..

[IrwinFletcher]

I know most people are at the game, so I will take a first crack at this....

Not much need to comment on Gardner, Mayo and J Wilson. All three played well. Mayo a nice bunch of energy on both ends. I think Gardner prefers to shoot FT's as opposed to FG's. So adept at drawing fouls.

Derrick Wilson is a nice player and plays some tough defense. But he is a liability on offense. I think I counted two times he drove to the hole. Otherwise he was feeding the post (good) or just swinging the ball around. Not a threat at all. At the end of the game when it was getting close, he wasn't in the front court to receive the ball at all because he can't shoot FT's. On missed shots, he doesn't push the ball like Junior did as we only had 1 fast break bucket on a Mayo steal.

Of the freshman, I think Burton looked the best. Had a real nice pull up jumper. dawson was fine but looked tentative which is understandable. As he gets comfortable, he could get some more minutes. JJJ was fine, needs some shots to go in and maybe he will feel better.

Juan didn't contribute much and had a real bad turnover, especially for a junior, at the end when Southern showed some pressure. He should be comfortable in those situations by now.

Still not getting the Jake Thomas thing either. Missed his shots badly, and committed some poor fouls. I am sure his minutes will diminish as the season goes along.

People complain that Buzz doesn't recruit bigs, or at least can't sign them. This game shows how important perimeter guys are in college as our guards did little in this game (Mayo the exception) and it was much closer than it should have been.

Anyway, a great game to learn from. Southern had some shooters and were well coached. Great adjustment in 2nd half on Davante.

[TheSultan]

The lack of dribble penetration was a problem. Junior and Vander excelled in that phase of the game so that is going to be something that needs to be replaced. None of the freshmen looked terribly good...but none looked bad. Juan and ST didn't play all that well.

[mufansince72]

My thoughts from the game were that it was pretty sloppy all around. We are playing 4 on 5 though. Derrick Wilson needs to step up or be replaced. I would rather start Dawson now and Dwayne Wilson when he is healed, than watch a point guard that is not even a threat to take a shot.

[TheSultan]

Let me add one more thing. I don't think Jake does much of anything on the offensive end. However in the team concept, he really understands where to be defensively. I see why he plays.

[bleedbluegold03]

derrick wilson was offensively horrendous. again, I state, we will not win conference with him getting the most PT

[TheSultan]

derrick wilson was offensively horrendous. again, I state, we will not win conference with him getting the most PT


I'm not sure there are better alternatives right now. He played good defense and got the ball where it needed to go. I guess I could see Todd running the point, but then who do you play at guard?

[Mark Miller]

Who do you folks think SHOULD play PG? Good God, Derrick Wilson is by far MU's best option at this point.

[kneelb4zerg]

derrick wilson was offensively horrendous. again, I state, we will not win conference with him getting the most PT

I guess we won't win the conference then.

[bleedbluegold03]

Mark, since that's clearly directed at me, the fact that we don't have anyone better (healthy - see Duane Wilson) doesn't mean he's worth the playing time.

I'd rather have someone play out of position - Mayo ? - then have an inept offensive player hindering our offensive productivity. His potential defensive benefit is without a doubt outweighed by his offensive absence. He didn't take a shot and was 1-4 from the line. I am not sure how that can be defended...

[Markedman]

I thought Mayo played great....Gardner was Gardner..... Jamail was ok.......other then that...really not very good at all.

Steve Taylor wasn't good at all which was surprising.

Vander is sorely missed....he could have played point guard this year.

Not a fan of the way Buzz coached the end of the game. If you want to mix in the freshmen no problem...but a lineup of Dawson, Johnson, Burton Taylor and Juan really shouldn't be on the floor with 3 minutes left in a 12 point game....

IMO

[bleedbluegold03]

on a general note, the fact that we made 13 FGs is slightly concerning. We won't average 50+ (!) FTs most nights...

[kneelb4zerg]

Mark, since that's clearly directed at me, the fact that we don't have anyone better (healthy - see Duane Wilson) doesn't mean he's worth the playing time.

I'd rather have someone play out of position - Mayo ? - then have an inept offensive player hindering our offensive productivity. His potential defensive benefit is without a doubt outweighed by his offensive absence. He didn't take a shot and was 1-4 from the line. I am not sure how that can be defended...

Weren't you the one constantly complaining about Cadougan for the last three years?


Personally, I want to see more out of Wilson before I declare him worthless.

[bleedbluegold03]

or even worse, sans Gardner and Mayo, 3-21. yeesh...

[mufansince72]

Who do you folks think SHOULD play PG? Good God, Derrick Wilson is by far MU's best option at this point.

Then this team will not be very good. He has to at least be a threat to score.

[bleedbluegold03]

Weren't you the one constantly complaining about Cadougan for the last three years?


Personally, I want to see more out of Wilson before I declare him worthless.

yes, for a school with a proud tradition of PG in recent past - Henry, Diener, James - we have been severely lacking in recent years. I fail to see how my critical view of Cadougan impacts my view of Wilson. They are the opposite equivalents of one another in their inabilities to excel in both ends of the floor. After two years, how much more do you need to see to gather that he is offensively zilch? At least Wilson knows he's challenged I guess...

[IrwinFletcher]

I think you will see teams like OSU have a good defender like Craft not guard Derrick and instead guard a guy like Mayo when he is in, which will curtail Mayo's affect on the game.

Derrick needs to take the ball to the basket and look to score more or the defense will ignore him. He has to draw his man out and force his man to actually guard him.

[MU/Panther]

14,000+, huge student crowd! New
banners look sharp.

[MUBasketball]

Mark, since that's clearly directed at me, the fact that we don't have anyone better (healthy - see Duane Wilson) doesn't mean he's worth the playing time.

I'd rather have someone play out of position - Mayo ? - then have an inept offensive player hindering our offensive productivity. His potential defensive benefit is without a doubt outweighed by his offensive absence. He didn't take a shot and was 1-4 from the line. I am not sure how that can be defended...

A PG does not need to score. Is it nice if he's a threat? Of course. But run the team, lead, set guys up. Derrick does that. I dont understand the criticism.

Now, you can't have both guard positions providing no points. Jake needs to pick it up. He's too tentative to just let it fly. I assume Todd gets more minutes as we move along.

Derrick is fine.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

on a general note, the fact that we made 13 FGs is slightly concerning. We won't average 50+ (!) FTs most nights...

Do you understand why we only made 13 FGs? It was BECAUSE of all the free throws. It was because we were getting hacked constantly. That's why the attempt disparity was so great. Because they don't count the FG attempts when a hack is called. And do you think they called all the hacks? Of course not, they never do. Southern tried to turn the game into a brawl and still lost.

On nights we don't have 53 FTAs, of course the guys are going to make more shots. Because they'll be getting looks where they aren't mugged in the process.

[bleedbluegold03]

fair point point brew

[TheSultan]

Mark, since that's clearly directed at me, the fact that we don't have anyone better (healthy - see Duane Wilson) doesn't mean he's worth the playing time.

I'd rather have someone play out of position - Mayo ? - then have an inept offensive player hindering our offensive productivity. His potential defensive benefit is without a doubt outweighed by his offensive absence. He didn't take a shot and was 1-4 from the line. I am not sure how that can be defended...


The way the freshmen played tonight, I think assuming Duane would have played better is a poor assumption.

[TheSultan]

A PG does not need to score. Is it nice if he's a threat? Of course. But run the team, lead, set guys up. Derrick does that. I dont understand the criticism.

Now, you can't have both guard positions providing no points. Jake needs to pick it up. He's too tentative to just let it fly. I assume Todd gets more minutes as we move along.

Derrick is fine.


Jake took good shots when he was open. He's not an offensive threat at this level. He's a smart player who does well within the team concept...but that's about it.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

I think the majority of us feel Mayo is the better player on both ends of the floor.

Is Buzz bringing Mayo off the bench to try and light a fire underneath him (which I have no problem with early on in the season)? Or does Buzz genuinely think Jake is the better option to start the game?

[TheSultan]

I think the majority of us feel Mayo is the better player on both ends of the floor.

Is Buzz bringing Mayo off the bench to try and light a fire underneath him (which I have no problem with early on in the season)? Or does Buzz genuinely think Jake is the better option to start the game?


It's just Buzz being Buzz. Like starting Juan over Jamil last year.

[MUAlphaBangura]

The way the freshmen played tonight, I think assuming Duane would have played better is a poor assumption.

Having watched Duane play many games in high school, I think assuming Duane would have played better is a reasonable assumption. No one will know for sure until he is back and proves it one way or the other, but my impression of Duane is that he is very composed on the court. He is not strong enough yet, but he has offensive skills that Derrick has not shown, including the ability to penetrate, which defenders will have to honor. At this point, defenders do not have to key on Derrick.

[Mark Miller]

The absolute statements about some of MU's personnel in this thread, after a mere 40 minutes of play, are ridiculous.

It's a process. Guys will play better. Coaches will coach better. MU lost three backcourt starters. It will take some time before the newcomers settle in.

[MUBasketball]

Jake took good shots when he was open. He's not an offensive threat at this level. He's a smart player who does well within the team concept...but that's about it.

He's a better offensive threat than he's shown.

[TedBaxter]

Buzz has a different mentality with how he handles early games and rotations.

Buzz went with 11 players with only John Dawson (6 minutes) seeing less than double digit minutes and I would have liked to see him more. Buzz seems to like to see how his players handle adversity and he juggled lineups all night.

Call me if this team is playing the same way January 1st.

[TheSultan]

He's a better offensive threat than he's shown.


Yeah....been hearing that for awhile now. At some point he's gotta show it.

[TheSultan]

Buzz has a different mentality with how he handles early games and rotations.

Buzz went with 11 players with only John Dawson (6 minutes) seeing less than double digit minutes and I would have liked to see him more. Buzz seems to like to see how his players handle adversity and he juggled lineups all night.

Call me if this team is playing the same way January 1st.


I agree with this.

[MUMac]

Buzz has a different mentality with how he handles early games and rotations.

Buzz went with 11 players with only John Dawson (6 minutes) seeing less than double digit minutes and I would have liked to see him more. Buzz seems to like to see how his players handle adversity and he juggled lineups all night.

Call me if this team is playing the same way January 1st.

Spot on Ted. I would add that with all the fouls called, MU's offense became disjointed. Especially in the 2nd half.

As for the freshman, this was their first game under the lights. No exhibition means this game is their first. Southern is a good team. Not one you typically schedule to open the season. It was obvious to me that the frosh were thinking too much on offense. Where should they be? What should/can they do? Are they in the right position ... That will change. When it does, they will be much smoother.

The new rules made the game unwatchable at times. That will change as players adjust to the rules.

[MUfan12]

Yeah....been hearing that for awhile now. At some point he's gotta show it.

He's a 2:00 shooter. Great in practice, but can't make them in the game.

It's a shame he hasn't clicked yet, because there's a place for him on this team if he's making shots.

[TulsaWarrior]

Last night was a classroom game for Buzz. You win the game but also use it to test players and combinations. A tougher test against a brawling opponent.

[Nukem2]

Sure was an odd game at the BC last night. Was going to post last nite after getting home, but waited till this morn.

The backcourt is certainly a work in progress. Certainly can't go on with no FGs in 53 minutes from your starting guards and have your PG shoot 25% from the charity stripe. Just one game, but a continuing flow from last year. Best looking guard group was Derrick, Todd and JaJuan who played together for several minutes before Buzz cleared the bench too soon. I suspect we'll see more of that grouping. Too bad Duane is out indefinitely. Will be hard for him to get into the flow due to all the missed practices ( and, now, games ).

Davante was outstanding on offense but needs to contribute more otherwise. Otule looked so-so last nite (and ate the Hauted Hoops scrimmage). Certainly he can't shoot 25% on FTs along with the PG.

The new rules did bring more fouls and FTs, though Southern was really hacking MU's frontcourt guys so a lot of those had nothing to do with the new rules.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Last night was a classroom game for Buzz. You win the game but also use it to test players and combinations. A tougher test against a brawling opponent.

Spot on! So much of last night was just seeing how guys worked in actual game scenarios. Playing a close game last night was the equivalent of having a close exhibition game. The game was never in doubt, and the result was close because we played 10 people double-digit minutes, because guys like Johnson and Burton are just trying to find their feet, because players like DeWil, Mayo, and Thomas are adjusting to different roles. In some regards, there were successes. I thought Burton and Mayo both looked good. In some regards, it was clearly still a work in progress.

I feel confident we'll see tighter and smarter rotations as the year goes on, better play as this team comes together, and really feel there's little to worry about.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

Spot on! So much of last night was just seeing how guys worked in actual game scenarios. Playing a close game last night was the equivalent of having a close exhibition game. The game was never in doubt, and the result was close because we played 10 people double-digit minutes, because guys like Johnson and Burton are just trying to find their feet, because players like DeWil, Mayo, and Thomas are adjusting to different roles. In some regards, there were successes. I thought Burton and Mayo both looked good. In some regards, it was clearly still a work in progress.

I feel confident we'll see tighter and smarter rotations as the year goes on, better play as this team comes together, and really feel there's little to worry about.

I think any smart coach will typically start out with more liberal rotations to see what he's working with and as the season wears on tighten up the rotation. I believe Buzz has done a nice job with this over the years and agree with you that he will do so again this year.

Question though, with such a huge game very early in the season vs OSU will Buzz stick to his liberal early season rotation or tighten things up a bit? I would be for tightening things up and putting our best foot forward to give us the best chance of winning.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Question though, with such a huge game very early in the season vs OSU will Buzz stick to his liberal early season rotation or tighten things up a bit? I would be for tightening things up and putting our best foot forward to give us the best chance of winning.

Honestly, I'm not sure. I remember hearing him say in the past something to the effect of "the season doesn't start until January". As much as we are loving the home court winning streak and as big as this Ohio State game is to MU fans that want to see a marquee win, I would guess that for Buzz, this is less important than a game in January or February with DePaul or Seton Hall.

Yet looking back over the years, while we ran a deep rotation against Butler last year, we have cut down against teams like Washington, Duke, Wisconsin, and Florida. My guess is everyone will see the floor, but the freshmen and guys that aren't seemingly in form will play fewer minutes. Just a guess on past history, though. I don't pretend to truly know the mind of Buzz.

[warriorfan4life]

This years team reminds me a lot of a Michigan State type team. Physical, pound it inside, play sound fundamental defense. There will definitely be a role for Duane Wilson as a change of pace PG off the bench. Expect and believe that we will get more out of Anderson and Taylor at 3-4 spots. We will not be real pretty, but still expect us to win 25+ games.

On a side note, disappointed in Georgetown losing to Oregon without Dominic Artis. The Ducks are still a tough team, but these are type of games we need to win as a league to finish as a top 3-4 conference.