LF Rebounding

[Nukem2]

Luke is averaging 2.5 rebounds per game in BE play (27.3 minutes per game). He really does need to amp up his rebounding. Also needs to keep his hands up and not lunge at guys on defense or he will continue to have foul trouble. Otherwise, his presence is obviously a big plus for this MU team.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I think being the lone big man is taking a huge toll. Creighton just abused him physically in that game. You could see their plan was to rough him up and try to take him away. They denied easy entries and when he did get the ball swarmed him. I think Luke is going to have a rough go of it the next two months. That's one more reason I really hope we add an experienced big man this offseason. Henry will help, but it'd be really nice if we had another experienced (grad transfer or JUCO) big to help suck up some of that pressure inside.

[Nukem2]

I think being the lone big man is taking a huge toll. Creighton just abused him physically in that game. You could see their plan was to rough him up and try to take him away. They denied easy entries and when he did get the ball swarmed him. I think Luke is going to have a rough go of it the next two months. That's one more reason I really hope we add an experienced big man this offseason. Henry will help, but it'd be really nice if we had another experienced (grad transfer or JUCO) big to help suck up some of that pressure inside.Creighton plays a pack line defense (see Xavier and Virginia) in which the ball handler is hounded and the rest of the guys pack the lane. As such, there is very little room in the lane to maneuver. Different than some of the double/triple teaming Luke has been seeing. Later in that game, he was situated higher at the FT line to help open things up. Against a pack line defense, really need to locate the open 3 point shooter (as MU did twice when Derrick made his back-to-back treys, which is another whole story! but, it was good to see Derrick take those open treys.).

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

A bit off topic, but love seeing Derrick taking and making open shots.

Right now, his 31.8% 3-point percentage is higher than any single season by Dominic James or Junior Cadougan. His 44.3% total FG% is also higher than any single season by either of those two. In the last 11 games, Derrick is hitting 37.5% from 3 and 61.9% from the stripe. Neither are stunning numbers, but when you consider his history, it looks like the combination of off-season shooting and added confidence is paying off.

[Nukem2]

A bit off topic, but love seeing Derrick taking and making open shots.

Right now, his 31.8% 3-point percentage is higher than any single season by Dominic James or Junior Cadougan. His 44.3% total FG% is also higher than any single season by either of those two. In the last 11 games, Derrick is hitting 37.5% from 3 and 61.9% from the stripe. Neither are stunning numbers, but when you consider his history, it looks like the combination of off-season shooting and added confidence is paying off.Had a very slow shooting start this season, but he has looked confident lately and is 4 of 8 from the 3 point line in BE play. If he can take and hit those regularly, things will be easier for MU.

[Markedman]

The problem is he isn't taking/making enough to make people guard him out there and open things up for everybody else. Most of the 3s he takes are at the end of the shot clock.

I know it isn't his role but he seems to be comfortable with the corner 3.....if the opponent becomes worried about him taking them before the end of the shot clock I think it would help the offense out.


Maybe Wojo doesn't want him taking them ealier in the clock ? He mentioned a few times on his radio show that some guys who shouldn't were taking 3s early in the shot clock....I assumed he was talking mostly about JJ and Taylor....Juan took a few as well and although his 3% is good I don't think any of us(or Wojo) are convinced that the good % isn't mostly a product of a small sample size.

ps. And I agree that Luke needs to rebound better.....

[Nukem2]

The problem is he isn't taking/making enough to make people guard him out there and open things up for everybody else. Most of the 3s he takes are at the end of the shot clock.

I know it isn't his role but he seems to be comfortable with the corner 3.....if the opponent becomes worried about him taking them before the end of the shot clock I think it would help the offense out.


Maybe Wojo doesn't want him taking them ealier in the clock ? He mentioned a few times on his radio show that some guys who shouldn't were taking 3s early in the shot clock....I assumed he was talking mostly about JJ and Taylor....Juan took a few as well and although his 3% is good I don't think any of us(or Wojo) are convinced that the good % isn't mostly a product of a small sample size.

ps. And I agree that Luke needs to rebound better.....Derrick needs to take open 3s. Otherwise lots of possessions just kind of dead end. Yes, he does seem more comfy with the corner 3.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

Agree with h Nukem that he is still a work in progress on defense regarding his positioning and going straight up with the defender. He has a tendency for his arms to really lean over the shooter which makes it an easy call for the ref. He got away with this quite a bit in the nonconference games but lately hasn't been as fortunate.

I had no idea his rebounding was that poor in conference - definitely needs to step that up.

Offensively, as brew alludes to, it will be a big time challenge for Luke to adjust as he's now the focal point of opponents' game plans. It will also be interesting to see what adjustments wojo makes to keep Luke involved or at least what can be done to exploit the over-help on Luke. That being said you can only do so much as a coach if you don't have the horses.

[WarriorNich]

A bit off topic, but love seeing Derrick taking and making open shots.

Right now, his 31.8% 3-point percentage is higher than any single season by Dominic James or Junior Cadougan. His 44.3% total FG% is also higher than any single season by either of those two. In the last 11 games, Derrick is hitting 37.5% from 3 and 61.9% from the stripe. Neither are stunning numbers, but when you consider his history, it looks like the combination of off-season shooting and added confidence is paying off.

Dominic James made 41, 50, 45 and 33 three pointers in his four seasons. Don't overinflate Derrick Wilson being 7-22 this year. Sample size is too small. Given that Derrick was 2-23 over his first three seasons, it is a monumental improvement. But it irritates me when people use a small sample size to compare his shooting percentage to Dominic James. I'm not taking away from Derrick's improvement but let's hold off on making comparisons to Dominic James, who launched no fewer than 116 triples per year (and that was his injury shortened senior year).

[IrwinFletcher]

Dominic James made 41, 50, 45 and 33 three pointers in his four seasons. Don't overinflate Derrick Wilson being 7-22 this year. Sample size is too small. Given that Derrick was 2-23 over his first three seasons, it is a monumental improvement. But it irritates me when people use a small sample size to compare his shooting percentage to Dominic James. I'm not taking away from Derrick's improvement but let's hold off on making comparisons to Dominic James, who launched no fewer than 116 triples per year (and that was his injury shortened senior year).

I will use this same argument when everyone talks about his Assist/Turnover ratio. People will harp on it being 3/1, 4/1 5/1 or whatever but it isn't like he will have a game with 9 assits and 2 TO's. When you don't push the ball, when you don't consistently drive the lane, when you are passive in your approach, you aren't going to have many TO's.

Not saying this to rip on Derrick as I like him and what he does, but deeper analysis sometimes needs to be done.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

My point was more to demonstrate that while people revere James and Junior, they weren't all that great. James had hops and was a great defender, but was a poor shooter. Would I take him over Derrick? Yes, but it's not like he's an All American and Derrick is a walk on. Junior was a mediocre defender, bad shooter, and way too turnover prone. Could he give you 9/2? Sure, but he'd more likely give you 1/5. To me Junior was always just a guy. Probably a net even with Derrick. More likely to win you a game but also more likely to single handedly throw one away.

Derrick's not great, but way too many dismiss him as a waste of a scholarship. We'd have been far worse this year and last without him and he deserves credit both for what he does well and for the improvement he's made.

[Nukem2]

My point was more to demonstrate that while people revere James and Junior, they weren't all that great. James had hops and was a great defender, but was a poor shooter. Would I take him over Derrick? Yes, but it's not like he's an All American and Derrick is a walk on. Junior was a mediocre defender, bad shooter, and way too turnover prone. Could he give you 9/2? Sure, but he'd more likely give you 1/5. To me Junior was always just a guy. Probably a net even with Derrick. More likely to win you a game but also more likely to single handedly throw one away.

Derrick's not great, but way too many dismiss him as a waste of a scholarship. We'd have been far worse this year and last without him and he deserves credit both for what he does well and for the improvement he's made.

The thing with Junior was that he was a winner. He had trouble against teams with elite PGs, but otherwise he just helped his team win. And, his play rubbed off on others. He was a leader. Flawed...definitely. But.....

[trublufan]

Assist to turnover ratio is probably the most useless stat in all of sports. John Paxson had a 4:1 ratio. Pippen and Jordan were both slightly under 2:1. Would you rather have the ball in Paxson's hands or one of the other two? As far as Derrick and Junior being equal that is utter nonsense. Junior forced the action and the ball movement and spacing percolated as a result.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

The thing with Junior was that he was a winner. He had trouble against teams with elite PGs, but otherwise he just helped his team win. And, his play rubbed off on others. He was a leader. Flawed...definitely. But.....

This is where I differ with a lot of people. Is Derrick as good as James, Diener, or Acker? No. But I don't think Junior was close to those guys either. I think the real difference between him and Derrick in terms of net worth is how demonstrative they were. Everyone remembers UConn, and Derrick has never had a moment like that (maybe had Carlino passed to him for the corner three yesterday), but when I remember Junior, it's usually all the games we could have won but didn't because he couldn't elevate his play to match the guy across from him.

But this is way off topic...sorry to digress.

[Nukem2]

This is where I differ with a lot of people. Is Derrick as good as James, Diener, or Acker? No. But I don't think Junior was close to those guys either. I think the real difference between him and Derrick in terms of net worth is how demonstrative they were. Everyone remembers UConn, and Derrick has never had a moment like that (maybe had Carlino passed to him for the corner three yesterday), but when I remember Junior, it's usually all the games we could have won but didn't because he couldn't elevate his play to match the guy across from him.

But this is way off topic...sorry to digress.WVU in the BET...UW at the BC... UConn at the BC... just 3 off the top of my head. His tough games were against Siva/Ville and Florida in the NCAAs. Plus, Junior was just the heart of MU teams. Remember Lazar giving his award to Junior at a BB awards dinner following Junior's injury-plagued freshman season because of Junior's contributions to the team. Junior just had heart (and he got the ball to Davante and Chris, which no one could do last year against good opponents).

[Markedman]

Also Miami against Larkin.....or at least I remember him out playing Larkin in that game. Could be mistaken.

[Nukem2]

Also Miami against Larkin.....or at least I remember him out playing Larkin in that game. Could be mistaken.
Yep, another one...