Some Observations from X Game

[TheSultan]

The Good:

**John Dawson I think is going to develop into a real nice point guard. Would like to see more out of him.
**Jake Thomas is proving me wrong, and I happily admit that.
**Deonte is going to be a very, very good college basketball player.


The Bad:

**How we can trot out a team that big and lose the rebounding numbers 39-20, I will never know.
**Does anyone really want to see all three freshmen on the floor again at the same time? There's a reason these guys don't get big minutes together.
**Outside of ASU, JJJ really has yet to put together a good game against quality competition. Plenty of run tonight and a complete non-factor.


The Ugly:

**Horrific team defensive effort. Couldn't get stops when we needed them.
**Jamil may have fouled out on the softest five fouls I have ever seen. I don't care how talented or athletic people think he is, at some point he's gotta step up and play the game of basketball.

[MUBasketball]

The Good:

**John Dawson I think is going to develop into a real nice point guard. Would like to see more out of him.
**Jake Thomas is proving me wrong, and I happily admit that.
**Deonte is going to be a very, very good college basketball player.


The Bad:

**How we can trot out a team that big and lose the rebounding numbers 39-20, I will never know.
**Does anyone really want to see all three freshmen on the floor again at the same time? There's a reason these guys don't get big minutes together.
**Outside of ASU, JJJ really has yet to put together a good game against quality competition. Plenty of run tonight and a complete non-factor.


The Ugly:

**Horrific team defensive effort. Couldn't get stops when we needed them.
**Jamil may have fouled out on the softest five fouls I have ever seen. I don't care how talented or athletic people think he is, at some point he's gotta step up and play the game of basketball.

So why do so many people scream for JJJ to get more minutes? That's something I don't understand. I'm sure he'll be good, but right now he shouldn't be getting many minutes. Which is to be expected from a true freshman. Speaking of true freshman, Burton is unbelievable. And unlike a few of his teammates, not afraid to check into the game and be aggressive offensively and attempt to score. Great to see.

Jamil had numerous fouls from jumping 5 feet in the air on a shot fake and coming down on the guy. One time, OK. After that? Geez. There was a sequence burned in my mind from last night (possibly his 5th?) late in the game where someone drove and shot faked in the lane. Derrick stayed down and didn't bite and contested the shot (which was missed). Xavier got the rebound and shot faked and Jamil again jumped in the air and fouled. He's long...stay down and contest!

Tough place to win, had their opportunities. Come home tomorrow and start a winning streak!

[IWB]

One thing that bothered me more than anything is the rebounding. I know Buzz has guys that are "get back guys", but there were times last night where MU would put up a shot and everyone would head in the other direction, including Davante. Now I know Davante fancies himself as a ball handler, but who on this team instills the confidence that when a shot goes up, everyone can head in the opposite direction?

MU missed 33 shots and had 6 offensive rebounds!!!

[TheSultan]

So why do so many people scream for JJJ to get more minutes? That's something I don't understand.


I completely agree. I have been saying this for a couple of weeks now. I think people are clamoring for him because of his Scout ranking and that he has looked real good against bad teams.

But look at his game log:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/66169/jajuan-johnson

Against good teams he hasn't done anything. He's just not ready yet.

[MUBasketball]

I completely agree. I have been saying this for a couple of weeks now. I think people are clamoring for him because of his Scout ranking and that he has looked real good against bad teams.

But look at his game log:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/66169/jajuan-johnson

Against good teams he hasn't done anything. He's just not ready yet.

Correct, which is infuriating. People treat those damn recruit rankings as the gospel. These kids usually aren't ready to contribute much as freshmen!

[warriorfan4life]

I think there is a good chance that JJJ will be one of the 30 best players in his class after they all complete their college careers. Also, I think he will be much more effective when we accelerate the tempo next season. However, he is not good enough now to change our style of play to cater his skills, and it will be tough for him to find spots in the half court.

[TheSultan]

I think there is a good chance that JJJ will be one of the 30 best players in his class after they all complete their college careers. Also, I think he will be much more effective when we accelerate the tempo next season. However, he is not good enough now to change our style of play to cater his skills, and it will be tough for him to find spots in the half court.


Excellent observation.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

I don't follow the pomeroy stats as close as I should, but what team's of Buzz have played at an uptempo pace? To be honest, I always thought with the style of player he's recruited (athletes) that all of his teams would be up tempo but I know that hasnt been the case. I'd imagine some of the DJO teams were up tempo from a numbers standpoint?

[Goose85]

The Good:


The Ugly:

**Jamil may have fouled out on the softest five fouls I have ever seen. I don't care how talented or athletic people think he is, at some point he's gotta step up and play the game of basketball.

This is what disappoints me the most this season, and about the game last night. Last night Jamil picked up two fouls by just standing in bad position, like he wasn't paying attention. As someone pointed out, he bit on every single head fake too.

We really could have used an engaged Jamil last night, and if he had been I think we get the win this team needs to turn the season around. Instead he seemed to have no focus. Frustrating with his skill set and talent, and with the senior team leaders we have seen come before him. For this team to make a run, Jamil has to step up as Sultan and many others suggests.

[warriorfan4life]

I don't follow the pomeroy stats as close as I should, but what team's of Buzz have played at an uptempo pace? To be honest, I always thought with the style of player he's recruited (athletes) that all of his teams would be up tempo but I know that hasnt been the case. I'd imagine some of the DJO teams were up tempo from a numbers standpoint?

Here are where we rank tempo wise in the Buzz tenure:
2009-84th
2010-304th
2011-129th
2012-16th
2013-239th
2014-215th

Buzz is one of the few coaches that will play at whatever tempo best suits his personnel. A major issue this season is that some personnel (De Will, Jake, Jamil, Davante) are better in the the half court and others (JJJ, Mayo, Deonte) would be best in a more open tempo game. I think Buzz is starting to reconcile that and the offense has pretty good the last month save the Creighton game. Even though the defensive numbers were odorous last night, I think that was more of fouls hurting the defense and Xavier hitting a lot of tough shots from deep. I think the offense and defense will be both be good more consistently going forward, hence me remaining optimistic about this reason (relative to our current position).

[Markedman]

My guess(and it is only a guess) that this was a Buzz decision because he was worried about the transition game of Xavier. In the first half Xavier was constantly beating MU down the court on makes and misses and getting layups or fouls.

Otule only played 15 minutes and got only 2 rebounds. Gardner played an unbelievable 37 minutes and got only 4.

To me the biggest problem was the defensive boards. They missed 22 shots and got back 11…..MU only had 14 defensive rebounds(and that counts missed free throws).


One thing that bothered me more than anything is the rebounding. I know Buzz has guys that are "get back guys", but there were times last night where MU would put up a shot and everyone would head in the other direction, including Davante. Now I know Davante fancies himself as a ball handler, but who on this team instills the confidence that when a shot goes up, everyone can head in the opposite direction?

MU missed 33 shots and had 6 offensive rebounds!!!

[Markedman]

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/92368/marquette-continues-to-disappoint

[warriorfan4life]

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/92368/marquette-continues-to-disappoint

That be would be an acceptable if not decent post for Anonymous Eagle or Paint Touches (though Paint Touches guys are actually really good writers when digging deep into things and not being young smart asses on Twitter). Absolutely awful coming from a national outlet, as it reads like it was written by a jilted Marquette fan. Passing mentions about the quality of competition, no mention of the venues for the losses, and rambling all over the place like a message board post. I know local Minnesotans thought very little of Medcalf's work in the Twin Cities rag, and I can see why now.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

well written and unfortunately pretty darn accurate.

[Markedman]

MU is now 1-7 vs RPI top 100 teams. Only 1 of those games have been at home but to say that record is disappointing is an understatement…..

[mufansince72]

well written and unfortunately pretty darn accurate.

I thought it captured what has happened to date!

[warriorfan4life]

MU is now 1-7 vs RPI top 100 teams. Only 1 of those games have been at home but to say that record is disappointing is an understatement…..

This is a huge factor, and an underrated one. Also, these losses are not just to your run of the mill top 100 losses, but to really good teams that will likely be in the NCAA's as good seeds (only New Mexico and ASU are not NCAA locks to me). This Marquette team was simply not a good team at the start of the season, and has made some significant improvements that have yet to show up in the win column. I am hoping that timing will meet opportunity when we get a chance to play some key games at home.

[MUfan12]

There was absolutely nothing wrong with what Medcalf wrote. You are what your record is. In MU's case, that is mediocre.

[warriorfan4life]

There was absolutely nothing wrong with what Medcalf wrote. You are what your record is. In MU's case, that is mediocre.

You're my man, but I fundamentally disagree with this. Last year's team was not as good as their record, and this year's team is nowhere near as bad as it's record.

My issue with Medcalf's column is that it is lazy on the national stage. It would be not be a bad opinion piece on ESPN Milwaukee, but does not work for me on ESPN's national site.