For the second game this season, MU hung 100 points on the scoreboard, beating our regional rival (cough) Chicago State 106-87.Chicago State has some offensive weapons, as illuminated by their 87 points last night. CS's David Holsten racked up 33 points after his last outing of 32 in a 112-83 win over St. Xavier. He can play on my team.
On our side of the ball, Wes Matthews took his second consecutive high-scorer spot, at 26 points, while Lazar hit 21. Both Wes and Lazar grabbed 9 rebounds.
The game was ugly, with the refs blowing the whistle on FIFTY SIX occasions, sending someone to the line 68 times. There were large stretches of minutes where neither team even attempted a shot, as the refs were finding infractions well before any man could hoist one up. Redonkulous.
With attendance listed at 12,966, a new record was set for no-shows, as there were perhaps 4,500 people in the BC. Apparently, .001 of an inch of snow will stop two thirds of ticket holders from venturing out.
Here's a short highlight of Lazar:
And a fantastic slideshow was posted by "Matt" which is well worth your attention. (Picture of Wes above is from the Mystery Matt, who has many great photo sets of MU ball.)
I'll admit I missed the game but after analyzing the box score I've got to say once again it's positive to see Dominic NOT shooting the ball much. He missed 8 free throws and most of his shots - which is proof that he shouldn't be shooting anyway, but at least Williams has a better hold on him than Crean. Well Done Matthews and Lazar!
ReplyDeleteWho was guarding David Holston? Is MU's perimeter defense that bad that a 5'8" (maybe) guy can score 33? What will happen when we face some good guards?
Best of luck to the guys this year... it will be exciting!
I'm watching this season from afar, but I'm not seeing Dominic James's name very often mentioned. Is he injured, or is he just not scoring?
ReplyDeleteFYI: I'm not the photo Matt.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't the snow that kept me from the game, it was the 45 minutes from Goerkes Corners to Brookfield Square bumper-to-bumper traffic.
When I finally made it back home (another 45 minutes), I watched the game on TW Sports.
DJ's regression is sad. John, don't take his lack of shooting to mean progress. He only had three or four assists and the shots he took were poorly selected. He's hit his ceiling, in my opinion. A strong contributor, a great representative of the program, and an impressive athlete, but he's now about the fourth or fifth best scorer on the team. And being outshot at the line by Pat Hazel just doesn't bode well for him. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see him having a breakout Senior season, and I certainly don't see him being picked in the first or even second round.
This may sound odd, but I don't fault the MU defense too much for Holsten. He took shots that no one has any right taking...and they dropped. Hand in his face, feet not set, just crazy. This didn't look anything like the WVU 20+ debacle from a few years ago. He was guarded and still hit the shots. Occasional breakdowns in the paint, yes, but not out on the perimeter. Agree? Disagree?
I think that Buzz Lightyear needs to get Dwight Burke involved in the offense. He really disappeared after the first spurt. They need five contributors on the floor at all times. Perhaps they can run a play for him at the beginning of every game to get him into the flow. Phil Jackson used to force the Bulls to get the ball to Cartright at the beginning of every game just to get him into the flow before other players forgot about their big man. Marquette would be wise to do the same, because everyone else's shots are going to come.
ReplyDeleteI also think that any game Burke gets below ten boards is a disappointment. He has the ability to be a monster out there and he has shown some signs of being able to hit the boards, but he has got to show up.
I agree on the previous assessment of the perimeter defense being solid. They went for a few too many steals, but I know that they will be more disciplined on their reaching in the big games. I think they look for break away dunks in the gimme games.
Good sign also was that I though Acker, Cubillan, and Butler looked solid off of the bench. They contributed nicely.
Good win by MU. Did you happen to see that Michael Snaer is signed on for FSU?
ReplyDeleteMarc, yes we did catch the Snaer news.....it was included in the media updates of the Chicago State preview.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading
Regarding David Holston....He is absolutely legit! First of all, I believe that of the returning collegiate ball players he is the #2 returning scorer (I'm guessing #1 is Stephen Curry), so we're not the only team that he's went off on. And second, yes he is only 5'8", but because of that he has perfected this crossover stepback that is essentially impossible to stop and works perfect for shorter players. It is somewhat similar to what Diener would do, only Holston does it much quicker. He is ultraquick and can get to the rack, so he gets the defender falling backwards, steps back for the 3, and hits them at a high percentage. So needless to say that it wasn't the Marquette defense just taking the night off.
ReplyDeleteDom - agreed....his confidence is shot at this point and is completely evident when he's shooting ft's. His freshman year he came in cocky/confident after beating up on high school kids, so it carried over. His flaws became exposed, and there's nothing he can do about it anymore. Apparently all of the extra time shooting jumpers in the gym isn't helping his shot.
Burke - I agree with the fact that he has the potential to be a rebounding machine. 10rpg is a stretch in college hoops, but 7-8 is reasonable. Similar to D.James, I feel like it's somewhat mental in his case. Some games he has that mental toughness necessary to compete at a high level (see @Madison last December), but more often than not he doesn't seem to have the energy or urgency. It's a mystery.