Here's how I would summarize his legacy...
No one is thinking back and wishing that Junior had redshirted his Frosh year.
Here's how I would summarize his legacy...
No one is thinking back and wishing that Junior had redshirted his Frosh year.
Next year many MU fans may well be wishing that Junior had red-shirted.
If Duane Wilson/Dawson are not quite ready, and Derrick is running the show, a lot of the Junior-bashers may find themselves longing for the good old days.
Junior played 38 minutes against a top 10 team and had 1 turnover. I would take that any day.
"When March Madness spills into April.... that's the gravy!" - Homer Simpson
Agree with Phantom and IWB. Sure Junior has his flaws, just look at the Cuse NBA guys last nite...! 2 Sweet 16s and a solid NCAA berth this year. Cannot do that without a pretty good PG. Love Junior, warts and all.....
I'll remember him at the more micro level. Over his career on those offensive possessions where the shot clock is ticking away and no one is willing or able to take a shot he more than often would take it upon himself to take it to the basket from way above the key - regardless of whether he was on the left or right wing - and navigate his way through traffic and seemed to me more often than not hit pay dirt - either all the way to the basket or more recently pull up for a floater. It started with the BE tourney game against WVU. He's gotten to be a more than reliable FT shooter which is very important for a point. Can you imagine how many more points DJ would have had if he was half-way serviceable from the FT line?
One area that I didn't see progression was his "drive and dish" game. From his early reviews I thought he was going to be in the mix with the best of MU's in that department - Lloyd Walton, Mandy Johnson and Doc Rivers (when he was playing point - a position where should have been playing since day one IMO).
However, if MU did redshirt him I think he would be really dangerous and valuable for MU next year IMO.
I give Junior high marks for "attempting" to help his team by coming back after his achiiles injury when he was a freshman. However, I will always remember him for "the shot heard round the world" at the buzzer against UCONN on New Year's Day. It set the tone for our 2013 Big East season, IMO. If he hadn't hit that remarkable shot to force OT; we would have been in the Big East hole, right off the bat.
if you can't even rank a player in the top 1/3 (more like 1/2) of his conference for his senior season, he doesn't have a legacy in my mind from a career perspective.
we sugar coat it because he's "our player" and "Buzz's guy" but he is what he is: a "game manager" (fall back title given to a PG who doesn't do anything particularly well) who was most of the time serviceable, commonly below average and sometimes fantastic, lead guard.