Hoops download heading into the weekend

....and there's plenty of news and chatter about Marquette hoops to help you avoid the monotony of work today.

First up, congratulations to Marquette graduate Maurice Acker who signed his first professional basketball contract yesterday. Acker shared the news on Twitter and will suit up for the Bakersfield Jam in the NBA Development League this winter.

Travis Diener, the Sardinian Assassin, talks about his decision to take his game to Italy in this interview with local media there. Here's Diener's player page from the Dinamo Sassari web site. Prego.

After failing to include Jimmy F. Butler in his list of nominees for the 2010-2011 Naismith Award, Fox Sports' Jeff Goodman redeemed himself this week with two hat tips to the Marquette program. First, Goodman listed Vander Blue as one of the nation's top freshmen to watch this season and he followed that up by ranking MU's backcourt as the 9th best in the nation.

Pico Dulce of The East Coast Bias wrapped up his series of blogger-driven Big East previews with two more entries. First the blogging collective talks about contenders for the Final Four followed by a look at must-see games this winter.

MSG's Jon Rothstein, a must-follow on Twitter, figures that DJO is not getting enough love heading into the season (he's right) and talks up the MU junior on his list of underrated players in the Big East.

In the classroom MU hoops continues to separate itself from the pack in the classroom.

Finally -- if you can't get over the recruiting 'losses' this week, the Anonymous Eagle gives you 25 reasons to move on. Meanwhile Buzz Williams is hosting 6'0" guard Derrick Wilson on an official visit this weekend.

The Real Senior Night – Lazar, Mo and Coobie all hit double figures on 9 of 13 treys

The three seniors were unbelievable today, willing the Road Warriors to their 6th straight road victory, all by 3 points or less, heading into tomorrow’s quarterfinal game against a Villanova team that has beaten MU three straight times by two points or less.

As great as the seniors' speeches were after the Notre Dame game, on the court this was the truly great senior night. Lazar Hayward, David Cubillan and Mo Acker combined to score 41 of MUs 57 points, had 9 of the 13 assists and all 5 steals, with Lazar’s third and final steal sealing a 57-55 win in the closing minutes.

St. John’s, playing on their home floor after a 22-point drubbing of UConn, led 53-52 with just over a minute left before the key exchange of the game.

Moments after Coobie and Lazar argued during a timeout, Lazar set a perfect pick to give Coobie room to drain a three to give MU a 55-53 lead with 1:15 to play. With 38 seconds to go, 6-foot-6 D.J. Kennedy, one of the best at drawing fouls and dishing assists in the country, drove to the basket and Lazar stripped the ball from him. Lazar then hit two foul shots made it 57-53, and MU held on.

Those heroics would not have been possible without Acker, who twice plugged the sinking ship after MU had to call a timeout with 7:07 and St. John’s up 46-42 after a 20-8 roll.

Out of the timeout, Acker drained a three to make it 46-45, and then gave MU the lead with four minutes left when he drove to a few feet from the basket. Mo appeared to circle back to dump a pass out to the arc, but suddenly doubled back and put a high, soft bank shot over a leaping 6-7 Justin Brownlee to make it 52-50 Marquette.

The seniors' 9 of 13 from behind the arc led an 10 of 18 performance for a team that had fallen from 1st to 10th in the nation in 3-point accuracy in the previous month.

The heroics overcame weaknesses MU cannot repeat tomorrow at 1 p.m. CST against NOVA, including; 1) MU uncharacteristically losing the turnover battle 12-9, 2) Jimmy Butler sitting out the last 18 minutes of the first half with two fouls, and 3) only grabbing two offensive rebounds on their 24 missed shots.

In another indication of why Lazar is the Big East’s Most VALUABLE Player, he was the top rebounder in the game with 9 boards. Without those boards, MU lost the rebounding battle 32-14.

After all of the close losses last year and early this year, MU could improve their mark in close games to 8-8 if they pull off another nail biter against Villanova tomorrow, which has won the last three matchups 76-75, 74-72, 78-76. I took special note of several comments by the TV commentators:
1. Marquette is one of only seven teams in the country yet to lose by double digits (a fact I have been pushing for more than a month),
2. The fact that MU had lost their 7 Big East games by a TOTAL of 21 points was amazing when you consider that UConn lost by 22 points IN ONE GAME against St. John’s the day before,
3. Lazar Hayward was only selected to the Big East 2nd team even though, “some people thought he was the Player of the Year” in the Big East.

Back-to-back nights can be tough on shooters, but if the 3-point shot is back MU is a scary team for Villanova and heading into the NCAA.

Senior Night Speeches 2010

When we went into overtime, all I could think of was February 24th, 2001 at the Bradley Center. Louisville, triple overtime loss on Brian Wardle's Senior Night.

Just felt awful for Wardle that night. Felt it coming on for Lazar, Acker, and Coobie as time slipped away.

What a kick in the nuts.

For those who weren't at the BC today here are the senior speeches. (And for the inconsiderate who left the BC before giving a few minutes tribute to our seniors .. I really hope beating traffic was worth it.)





UPDATE: Added Highlight video

This off-season can't end soon enough

The injury-marred close to Marquette's 2008-2009 season was sure to give way to an off-season of discontent for Warrior Nation but the past several weeks can rightly be referred to as cruel and unusual punishment.

Other than receiving positive news about the eligibility of incoming freshmen Junior Cadougan and Youssoupha Mbao, Marquette has become Floyd Patterson to reality's Muhammad Ali, held up in the turnbuckle absorbing a barrage of hits and humiliation.

How bad are things for the Golden Eagles? The best news for the program in the last month and a half was the departure of 6'9" freshman Brett Roseboro and the oh-so-convenient reinstatement of the diminutive and unproductive Maurice Acker. While the news of Roseboro's departure validated months of rumors about the possibility some media reports left the impression that the 6'9" Pennsylvanian was run out of the program, at best a 'mistake' by both parties.

Acker clearly isn't a talent upgrade but he has the added benefit of freeing up an extra scholarship for a higher ceiling player in the incoming 2010 freshman class. At the very least this 'swap' reinforces negative stereotypes about what is really valued in college basketball.

More recently the Golden Eagles likely bid adieu to one of its top recruits for the incoming 2010 class when 6'10" Monterale Clark was charged in connection with a sexual assault on the campus of Hill College where he is a student. The details of the alleged sexual assault are gruesome, and while justice has yet to be meted out in the case it would be difficult to envision Clark ever suiting up for Marquette at this point.

Perhaps it's too bad Roseboro already completed his transfer to St. Bonaventure -- he can't take the convenient Acker U-Turn back onto the now depleted 2010 roster.

While Roseboro and Clark figured more heavily into Marquette's future plans, the upcoming campaign is already shaping up to be a long season. Capping off Marquette's 45 days of discontent, highly-touted point guard Junior Cadougan suffered a potential season-ending Achilles injury which is sure to sideline him for four to six months. Adding insult to injury sophomore transfer Darius Johnson-Odom injured his foot and will miss at least a month of action. Good thing Acker is back!?

There are few fates worse than early season injuries for unestablished talent in Buzz Williams' program. Last year early season injuries to freshman Chris Otule and junior college transfer Joseph Fulce stunted the development of these players, marginalizing their contributions for the entire season as the coach shortened the bench during conference play.

At this point one must presume that Cadougan will be fitted for a medical redshirt soon after the national signing period concludes. There's still hope for Johnson-Odom, who figures to be the most talented newcomer to the roster this year and, presuming an on-schedule recovery, would still have time to work his way into the backcourt rotation and take the lion's share of playing time along side Dwight Buycks.

Still, MU is not out of the woods with the current roster. While Mbao was cleared academically by the NCAA, his amateur status is still under review due to his participation on an overseas team that included a few professional players some years ago. Expect Mbao to miss a pair of games this season for each game he was on the roster of that team, compromising his development which, experience shows us, could make him a non-factor this year.

On the recruiting front, 2010 target Aaron Bowen de-committed but MU gained a better prospect when Jamail Jones cast his lot with the program. Bowen's summer performances were less than stellar and with lingering concerns over the health of his shoulder Buzz Williams was right to continue to pursue more talented options.

While Jones is in the fold, Williams has recently missed out on a host of talented kids from the 2010 class including Carson Desrosiers (verbal to Wake Forsest), J.J. Moore (eliminated MU from consideration), and Cameron Clark (verbal to OU). Additional reports indicate that top target Jay Pinkston is a Villanova lean while Doron Lamb is a pipedream.

With three scholarships presumably available who will Williams target next? The tide has to turn at some point for a program that is in desperate need of back-to-back strong recruiting classes. Wisconsin de-commit Vander Blue remains a possibility.

MU Player Videos .. part 2

More videos from MU:

Rosey out, Mo returns.

In cased you missed it last week ..

Freshman forward Brett Roseboro decided to leave Marquette before the school year began. Yesterday, Roseboro was picked up off the waiver wire by St. Bonaventure.

In his place, after Mo Acker left the team in June, he has now returned. Who knew there were sabbaticals in NCAA basketball?

Can't remember the roster? Check it here.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Coach Buzz!

Adios, Maurice Acker

In a decision that (unsurprisingly) confirmed a long-running rumor, MU today announced that Maurice Acker would not return for his senior season. In a statement released by the university this afternoon Buzz Williams said, "He is one semester shy of completing his degree and we all believed it was in Maurice's best interest for that to be his priority."

What? I wonder who "we" is in this equation. It's difficult to imagine a player willingly forgoing his final season of eligibility because he is on track to graduate a semester early. It is also difficult to imagine a coach telling a player to stop playing because he might graduate early. Frankly, finishing classes ahead of schedule is a great reason to stay in school because a student-athlete can play ball and enjoy campus life without a taxing academic workload.

The explanation is nonsense.

Explanation aside, on IM today Rob and I had a debate on what Acker's departure would mean to the team this season. As you'll see we have differing points of view on Acker's value to the program:

+++++++++++++++++

Tim: OK after months of rumors, Maurice Acker is gone....only two-Crean era players remain

Rob: I wonder who (if anyone) fills that spot

Tim: hopefully just Darius Johnson-Odom. I mean -- Acker was a spare part anyway, like Cubillan

Rob: leaves us short at point

Tim: I don't think so.......Acker played so many empty minutes last year where his greatest contribution was that he didn't turn the ball over. That's a very low bar. All Buzz needs is DJO, Buycks and Cadougan to be eligible

Rob: you and I have a different appreciation for not turning the ball over. I regard that skill quite highly

Tim: We agree there. Still, other than one game Acker was a lousy defender, he could not score a lick (no midrange game), and the offense was ineffective with him as a starter. Johnson-Odom averaged nearly 5 apg last year -- I figure he has a pretty good handle.

Rob: /really/? you're falling for the "grass is greener" argument?

Tim: falling on the "Acker was a MAC player who never became a high-major good role player" argument.

Rob: with experience, lots of experience

Tim: the new kids are better than him anyway and MU will play an advantageous slate early -- so by the time Big East play starts, experience will not be as much of a factor

Rob: I think you are undervaluing Acker

Tim: Acker shot 29% from the floor -- offensively bankrupt. We learned last year that as a role player he was particularly bad -- ie, 1 made 3pointer in BE play through the first 12 conference games (which included 2 DNPs!). He only got better when he had the gift of starter minutes from James' injury. He would not get 24-40 minutes per game next season....he'd be back to the spot duty role that he was so unproductive in last year.

Rob: let's be clear. I'm not saying he is a great player or even starter-worthy. I'm saying he was years ahead of the incoming players

Tim: He was awful in spot duty last year, that's what he'd get this year. You are basing your assessment of Acker by his performance in the last month of the season, I'd guess

Rob: you don't know that his contributions were bad just because of the new system/coach/transition etc

Tim: doesn't matter........they were bad, so bad that in 2 conference games he didn't command any minutes and in two others he played 3 minutes.

Rob: that's Buzz and his short bench... which you have yourself lamented

Tim: with Williams, Cadougan, DJO, and Buycks ....... Acker/Cubillan were likely 3-5 mins per game players anyway. I mean look at his game by game. He was an ineffective role player

Rob: so you think net positive he's gone?

Tim: net neutral, he'd go from DNP to 5 mins per game on a good day if he stayed.

Rob: see... I could see him getting more time than that. I think experience is huge in college basketball

Tim: his experience as a role player shows that he was particularly awful in that capacity

Rob: experience in practice

Tim: As Iverson said, "Practice!?"

Rob: you miss my point. A senior knows the effort that is required in practice, which earns PT on the court. is that not a big part of the transition for all the new players? understanding what it takes every day to perform in D1?

Tim: well, it's a good thing Cuby will be there

Rob: and then what if, say Cadougan and Buycks hurt their feet in boot camp

Tim: if any team loses their starting backcourt, they'll lose games. if the reason to worry about Acker leaving the program is a catastrophic series of injuries -- I can live with that.

Rob: I just see a lot of value in the senior experience and don't attribute his lack of success just to his capabilities

Tim: he'd fallen completely out of favor presumably because he failed to adjust to the role

Rob: or because Buzz was finding his way as a coach

Tim: that and Ackers' ineffectiveness

Rob: probably both

Tim: and with the coach getting his own kids here this year that he needs to develop, Acker would have been marginalized again

Rob: I'm not convinced that he would have been but I guess it doesn't matter. It's unlikely that in mid-January I'll ever say "if only we had Acker on the team"

Tim: if u say THAT, the team is kaput anyway

Tim: Buzz has to develop the newbies if the team is gonna win games. Let's just hope they are all on campus for second summer session starting on July 6

Rob: I'm excited about the team, but have a number of concerns, lots of new players....will they all make it?

Tim: right. Buzz needs'em all on campus

Rob: My guess is Mbao ain't gonna play at all this year with those eligibility questions

Tim: I am happy to know that Buycks is already there, that is huge IMHO. same with Maymon and grades -- he could allow Lazar some more flexibility

Rob: Maybe I'm jaded from Lazar and Mbakwe, but I'll be astonished if he qualifies before November

Tim: on Mbao. I wonder if this will be a clearinghouse drama

Rob: right... and then he's behind.

Tim: if all the other kids are on campus, my worries go way down. Mbao would not play much this year under the best of circumstances anyway.

Rob: because of all the frontline talent ahead of him?

Tim: it'll be a rough year down low even with Mbao

Rob: oh sure

Tim: that is why, despite his shorter stature, Maymon can help. Otule, Maymon, Lazar, 5 mins from Roseboro might have to be enough for MU in the winter

Rob: could be another long year with more excuses

Tim: I dont know that last year was one of those years....DJ's injury was not an excuse so much as an explanation. Anytime a team loses 4 starters the next season could be a long one

Rob: not a surprise, but there are different kinds of rebuilding years. I want to see the team improve as the year goes on, have a few players show promise and potential

Tim: right. this will be a complete reconstruction. but we knew that was coming....moving away from "TC and the Quest for the Best 6-5 and Under Team"

Rob: my big concern is injuries.

Tim: which is no different from any recent Marquette season

Rob: didn't you feel like there were a lot of injuries last year?

Tim: of course. MU had McNeal as a sophomore, Wesley as a freshman... MU has had its share of soul-crushing injuries in the last few years

Rob: true. I was thinking of it in terms of injuries that hamper development

Tim: it's a risk for any program

Rob: even more so for MU this year. Still, it should be an interesting year

Tim: definitely

Marquette Fails and Passes Test

#8 Marquette lost a game most expected to lose today, bowing to #6 Louisville on the road 58-62.

But how Marquette lost should give Warrior nation great hope for our immediate, Dominic James-less future.

Had you been told MU would be without their star PG, would be forced to start a 5'9" shrimp in his place .. and their star SG would have a miserable offensive night, missing 16 of 19 .. you'd have had nightmares of a 30 point thrashing at Freedom Hall.

That didn't happen. While DJ was missed, Marquette did not play like a team with an important cog missing. -- Other than McNeal perhaps trying too hard to make up for DJ's absence, forcing up too many shots that bricked.

This bodes well for MU's future, playing @Pitt, home vs. Syracuse, the BET, and the NCAAs. Simply put: Even without DJ, Marquette took the #6 team in the country down to the wire. -- Had McNeal been able to bring even his C+ offense, the Warriors would have walked out with a W.

Marquette never quit, broke the highly touted Louisville press well, committing only 11 turnovers .. and even managed to tie UL 37-37 on rebounds.

Acker was laudable in his 33 minutes of play, handling the ball well, with 3 assists, 3 rebs, and just 2 turnovers. Jimmy Butler had 6 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

Lazar notched another double-double with 16 and 10, on a very efficient 6-11 shooting, while Matthews poured in 19, and was unfortunate in a no-call at the end of the game. (See video below.)

Marquette goes to #1 Pittsburgh on Wednesday with their heads held high, and hopes up.

AP Recap
Box Score
Rosiak Recap

Last shot by Wes .. no foul? You judge:

Spiking the Kool-Aid

ESPN The Magazine says, "Don't count Marquette out just yet". Check it out right here.

Despite this loss, we still think Marquette has reason for hope. For one, UConn played one of their best offensive games in the last two years, and A.J. Price simply shot out of his mind. Not every week will Marquette run into such an opponent, and come the Madness, wouldn't have to stop a performance like that until a Saturday or Monday in April. More, the Marquette backcourt is still dynamic.

Need more Kool-Aid? Here's a nifty feature on McNeal and Acker.........backcourt mates since the 5th grade (more or less).

Need more? Signee Dwight Buycks scored 22 points leading his JUCO to a playoff victory.

2009 recruiting target Darius Smith was named first-team all public league in Chicago.

Luke Winn of CNNSI still has MU in his top 16. And he's a fan of Steve Rushin. Thanks, Luke

Smiles all around.



Oh......and Dominic James is having surgery today. All the best for a speedy recovery, DJ.


UPDATED
Andy Katz' latest podcast evaluates the impact of Dominic's injury on MU -- find the latest from Andy right here.

MU down 13, storms back to beat Providence by 9.

After trailing for most of the first 26 minutes, Marquette was in the odd position of NOT being the fastest team on the court. Providence's players were beating MU off the dribble, blowing by our guards with frequency. PC was shooting in the high 60s, and Marquette was DOWN THIRTEEN POINTS.

And then Marquette snapped out of their funk, and put together two 14-3 runs over the next dozen minutes to shock the Friars. Acker was instrumental with his defense, and coming up with 3 steals down the stretch. Lazar was amazing, draining 4 of his 5 three-pointers in the final 10 minutes.

MU had THREE 20+ point players .. Lazar with 25, McNeal with 25, Wes with 22. Tough to beat a team with those kind of numbers.

Marquette's lineups were odd all night, with Burke and Hazel sitting down in favor of Butler, Fulce, and Acker. Buzz later explained that Burke and Hazel "weren't running down the court" and with Providence's quick offense, were allowing points.

While MU took control those last 14 minutes, Buzz concluded with Homer: "We were absolutely pitiful in many ways and brilliant in others."

Coming back from 13 down was a huge statement by the Warriors and will be looked back upon as evidence that with DJ, Wes, McNeal and Lazar on the court, Marquette has a very high ceiling.

Marquette is now 5-0 in Big East play, has another week off, then plays a hapless DePaul team at the Bradley Center making a 6-0 start very likely.

---

One scary moment, at the 17 minute mark, in what was clean defensive play, PC player Jeff Xavier ran into Joe Fulce. Xavier went down clutching his face on the contact. Replays showed Fulce's play was clean, and Xavier simply caught Fulce's elbow in a bad spot. Apparently, the refs did NOT call that foul, yet called a foul 2 seconds later on Fulce.

In an unbelievable lapse of security, a fan from the stands, Xavier's brother, sauntered onto the court to confront Fulce. Buzz quickly yanked his players off the court and after a good 15 seconds, someone coaxed Xavier's brother off the court and out of the building. -- Coincidentally (or not) the Refs called a grand total of 3 fouls on Providence over the next 12 minutes.

Even Providence fans are upset: "That guy should have been tackled to the floor with a tire knocker in his throat. Where was security? Off having a beer and pretzel?" "I thought security was ho-hum about the incident. Disgrace that it happened but how security failed to act was even a more of a disgrace.. could have been worse!"



Note to Providence, note to DDCenter, note to Big East HQ: That security team needs a lesson in how to quickly respond to threatening fans on the court. That response was a total joke, and should not be tolerated in Big East play.

AP Photos
OFFICIAL Box Score
AP Recap
Rosiak Recap

Two more vids from the Buzz Show: Mo and Buzz Mic'd during TS Game

Mo Acker:



Buzz:

MUTV Interviews Butler & Acker

We've been remiss in posting MUTV's interviews with MU Basketball Players .. they've done a handful, and we'll slowly post them up.

First up, newcommer .. JIMMY BUTLER!



Mo Acker:

Getting Ready for Marquette Madness

The folks at MU just keep churning out great content. If you head to the front page of
GoMarquette.com, you'll see a teaser video for Marquette Madness. The event will start at 6:30 on 10/25, and doors to the Al McGuire center open at 6. Click here for more details, although it'll be the standard team introductions, dunk contest, scrimmages, and more. All fans in attendance will receive a free poster and Converse/Brand WADE T-shirt.

Can't make it up for the game? MUTV will broadcast live on GoMarquette.com. For more information, check out the MUTV Sports blog. Right now they have a short interview with Maurice Acker up on the site.

Also, MarquetteHoops.com has articles up on Tony Benford and Joe Fulce.

By the way, tomorrow is Big East Media Day (for the men). The ladies have their moment on Thursday. Here's a list of men's players attending from all schools (pdf). All four seniors will be there for Marquette. Also, to file away, here is a composite Big East Schedule, but of course we only care about this schedule. I'm sure that there will be plenty of updates coming out from Marquette and probably from Rosiak as well. Stay tuned for more information...

UPDATE: Big East Media Day

Jamil Wilson, UW tickets, Maurice Acker and more....

Morning grinds...........

Racine Horlick's Jamil Wilson narrowed his list to four schools and indicated he'll commit early. Wilson is down to Marquette, Michigan State, Texas and Oregon. The guys at MUScoop are talking this up.

Ballin Is a Habit is running through a preseason top 25 and slots MU in at #16. The guys there did a nice job analyzing MU, so check it out.

.......And hey, if you think being ranked 16th is impressive---consider that USA Today apparently picked MU to win the BIG EAST. The USA Today conference preview is here.

Maurice Acker is the latest to participate in MU's new podcast series. Just a few days ago, MU spoke with assistant coach Dale Layer too -- click here to listen to the Layer podcast. The landing page for the MU podcast series can be found here.

Remember the back and forth we had with the MU athletic department about the ticket policy for the UW@Madison game? Well, the MU/UW ticket limit for season ticket holders is four. Talk about it at MUScoop.

Finally, East Coast MU alums might consider making their way to Manhattan on October 23 for the latest installment of Marquette CIRCLES. The event, hosted by Fr. Wild, will be held at the Harvard Club that evening. Complete details are available here.

Big East Transfers: Maurice Acker

Nice work by the Big East Basketball report in their latest entry on impact transfers for the upcoming season. The author has good info on Maurice Acker - - a key for MU this year.

Anybody remember how predictable and boring MU's offense became last season when Jerel McNeal went down with a wrist injury? .........that can happen when your team only has one other player who can penetrate and create opportunities for his teammates. MU became incredibly easy to defend after McNeal went down - - shades of the Mike Deane offense were dancing in my head.

Well, this season Tom Crean will have three guys on his roster who can penetrate, create their own shots, and improve looks for others (not to mention the flexibility of playing DJ at the SG slot a bit more). The result? A more dynamic offense -- which has the added benefit of making snipers like Dan Fitzgerald, David Cubillan and incoming freshman Scott Christopherson potentially more effective from beyond the arc.

Look at it this way. Last season, folks figured MU had the best backcourt in the Big East -- and that was before anybody saw what the surprising David Cubillan could do on the court. Those guys are all back this season. Adding a unique, productive player like Maurice Acker into the mix will magnify MU's advantage in the backcourt this season.

Rosiak: MU working hard

Todd Rosiak has a great blog entry from yesterday's practice session.

Highlights:

• Lazar is the most improved player this summer
• Mo Acker is a stud
• Steve Novak is helping the team
• McNeal and Kobe
• Pan AM prep

Read it all here.