MU turns in 3rd best defensive effort of the decade allowing only 53 points in 72 trips – defensive box score shows Jamil took 11 points off the board

Marquette allowed 53 points in 72 trips today, or 0.736 points per trip down the court. In the past decade Marquette has only allowed fewer points per trip in 18 games, but this is only the third time Marquette’s defense has been that dominant against a team ranked in the top 150. Most have been against the likes of Mt. St. Mary’s. The following are the top three defensive performances beginning with the 2003 season:

Date	Opponent	Pomeroy	Pts All	Poss	Pts per trip
Jan 3 2006	Illinois State	122	32	59	0.542
Nov 28 2008	N. Iowa	81	43	61	0.705
March 17 2012	Murray State	44	53	72	0.736

With all respect to the outstanding defensive stands against Illinois State and Northern Iowa, those were nice early season wins. To hold perhaps the best backcourt in the country – featuring an All-American shooting guard and dominant senior point guard – to these numbers is simply the best defensive performance for Marquette in the past decade – and that includes the 2003 Final Four season.

In Murray State’s 72 trips down the court, Marquette ended:
16 trips by forcing a turnover,
31 trips by forcing a miss and defensive rebound,
4 trips with a made 3-pointer,
16 trips with a made 2-pointer, and
5 trips with a made free throw.

I watched the game again last night and recorded the two stats I’ve been advocating need to be added; 1) STOPS for times at which a player contests a shots or forces a bad shot by defending until near the end of the shot clock or trapping, and 2) TURNOVERS FORCED for times when a player forces a turnover without getting an actual steal. After viewing the entire game, and rewinding through stats, there were also 5 “team stops’ when a Murray State just missed a shot without being tightly guarded, and 2 “team turnovers” – so I divided credit for these 7 trips based on minutes played and ended up with the following defensive box score:

STARTERS	Min	Stl	ChT	TOF	T%	Blk	Stop	T%	DR	Pts. Stopped
Category Value		1	1	1	1	0.66	0.66	0.66	0.33
Jae Crowder, F	39	3	3	1	0.4	2	6	1.0	11	17
Jamil Wilson, F	29	0	0	2	0.3	2	7	0.7	6	11
Todd Mayo, G	25	2	0	0	0.3	0	3	0.6	5	6
Junior Cadougan, G	37	1	1	0	0.4	0	3	0.9	3	6
Darius Johnson-Odom, G	38	1	0	0	0.4	0	2	1.0	2	4
Vander Blue, G	18	0	0	0	0.2	0	2	0.5	2	2
Davante Gardner, F	12	0	0	0	0.1	0	0	0.3	2	1
Juan Anderson, F	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0
Derrick Wilson, G	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0
TOTALS	200	7	4	3	2.0	4	23	5.0	31	48

What caught my attention was that Jamil had 7 stops – contesting shots everywhere from the rim to the arc. He also forced 2 turnovers, blocked 2 shots and grabbed 6 defensive rebounds, and when you add the value of each of those things (see category value line) – Jamil took 11 points off the board in just 29 minutes. This is virtually the same ration as Crowder taking away 17 points in 39 minutes.

While the guards don’t show as many points taken off – they contained perhaps the best backcourt in the country.

So to use Crowder’s line to explain the table:

Crowder forced 7 turnovers total with 3 steals, 3 charges drawn, 1 other turnover forced, plus he gets 0.4 credit for his share of the team turnovers, so his first four lines add up to 7.4 turnovers forced – worth 7.4 points taken off the board.

As for forcing missed shots, Crowder blocked two shots, forced six misses, and gets 1.0 credit for his share of team misses to a total of 9, which takes a total of 6 points off the board.

And finally he grabbed 11 defensive rebounds, which takes 3.66 points off the board.

Mayo and Cadougan took 6 points off the board with their tough play against a phenomenal backcourt.

After Chris Otule was injured, MU struggled for several games and dropped to around the 50th best defense in the country. Since then they have climbed in Pomeroy and now calculate as the 16th best defense as a team that would give up an average of 0.895 points per trip to an average offense. Murray State is very well above average at 1.057 points per trip if they played an average defense, so put them together and you would have expected Murray State to score 0.939 points per trip down the court.

Murray St Offense	1.057
Marquette Def	0.895
Predicted game	0.939
Actual	0.726

As Rob has documented, it almost always takes a top 20 defense to make a Final Four run, and the fact is Marquette has the 16th best defense in the country but played yesterday like by far the best defense in the country.

Gardner part of 5-player offense against rugged Murray State defense

I did not track the specific turnovers forced and stops for Murray State’s defense, but they obviously played fantastic as well. Murray State is just behind Marquette with the 22nd best defense in the land, and help MU to 0.849 points per trip. Blue and J. Wilson really struggled on offense against the tough defense, but if we look at the NBA Efficiency model just for offensive figures from the game we see that the offense/defense substitutions netted solid efforts from Mayo and Gardner to provide a lot of support.

TOTALS	Min	FGM	FGA	3ptM	3ptA	FTM	FTA	OREB	AST	TO	PTS	OEff
Jae Crowder, F	39	6	13	1	5	4	7	2	2	1	17	10
Darius Johnson-Odom, G	38	6	14	1	6	4	6	0	1	0	17	8
Junior Cadougan, G	37	3	7	-	-	2	2	0	4	1	8	7
Todd Mayo, G	25	2	7	2	3	2	2	1	3	3	8	4
Davante Gardner, F	12	2	4	-	-	2	2	0	0	1	6	3
Juan Anderson, F	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-
Derrick Wilson, G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-
Vander Blue, G	18	1	5	-	-	2	2	1	1	4	4	(2)
Jamil Wilson, F	29	1	5	-	1	-	-	1	0	2	2	(3)
Total	200	21	55	4	15	16	21	5	11	12	62	27

Marquette is going to need a third offensive threat in Sweet 16 play, and while Crowder and DJO both had strong offensive performances – MU had the options.

Juniors 4-to-1 assist-to-turnovers against such a talented backcourt is phenomenal, and his ability to drive to the hoop for some baskets and hit the two clutch free throws to wrap up the win cannot be overestimated. While no one shot over 50% from the floor, our three upper classman were very solid offensively.

But Gardner and Mayo may have been the two most clutch offensive players when you look at when they made their big contributions. Mayo hit the two early treys when MU could have fallen way behind, and then he came back to draw the crucial foul to stop the bleeding.

Davante was overpowering as always in getting his 6 points playing on one leg and for just 12 minutes.

To have five players fight through a very tough defense to all contribute, on the same day as we turn in what I would argue is the best defensive performance since Pomeroy started tracking numbers in 2003 is a very good place to be heading out to Phoenix for the Sweet 16 to play the Florida-Norfolk State winner and then perhaps Michigan State for a chance at the Final Four.

The fact that we now know that Marquette spent the last couple of months finishing second place in a Big East Conference that is now 10-3 in the NCAA tournament and will have between three and six Sweet 16 teams is a good sign indeed. It may be a good time to dream big.

Is Marquette Unlucky?

The Marquette Warriors enter finals week with a perfect 9-0 record, and despite the winning streak this break in the action was perfectly timed.  After losing starting center Chris Otule for an indefinite period of time due to a knee injury he sustained in the Washinton game, the Ghosts of Tom Crean Tackling Dummies re-emerged at The Al, sending Juan Anderson (3-4 weeks, shoulder) and Jamil Wilson (day-to-day, ankle) into the infirmary. Just when fans were getting jazzed about the Warriors' prospects this season!  The news of the week prompted frequent guest contributor, Dr. Blackheart, to dance on the keyboard once more .... and now he asks, Is Marquette Unlucky?

************************

Jimmy Chones leaving for the ABA in the midst of an undefeated season…Dean Marquardt’s car accident… Bob “I Like to Watch” Dukiet losing star recruits to academics…Will Gates' blown out knee in “Hoop Dreams”…Travis Diener and the tackling dummy,…Jerel McNeil and the HIPPA finger…Trevor Mbwake, Dom James and the sinking feeling of the fans and the OrthoPods. And, now, in a matter of hours, the (possibly) torn ACL of our Defensive Stud Chris Otule, the shoulder of top rated freshman Juan Anderson, and the ankle of high potential Jamil Wilson. And, many more over the years.

“Why Marquette?” “Why always the big men?” ”Why Me?”… are the overriding fan questions ringing around our ears. How much bad luck can one fan absorb, never mind a diehard Cubs fan who is a Brewers season ticket holder, as dysfunctional as that is on the surface? In perhaps the best and earliest Marquette outlook in 30+ years, why do all the great feelings of the past week come to a crushing end? Isn’t it Marquette’s time, as ordained by our new President and AD?

The answer , of course, is “leave it to fate”. However, Pomeroy has a measure of “Luck” that, as a stat geek, I like to turn to in order to balance the emotional side of my brain with the rational. Pomeroy defines “Luck” as such: “The easiest one to understand is Luck, which is the deviation in winning percentage between a team’s actual record and their expected record using the correlated gaussian method. The luck factor has nothing to do with the rating calculation, but a team that is very lucky (positive numbers) will tend to be rated lower by my system than their record would suggest.” In other Poemroy analyses, “Luck” is most correlated to “Experience”, and Buzz has experienced guards.

Lucky Number?

Over the past ten Pomeroy seasons, Marquette has been “Lucky” in only 3 of them, including this season to date, pre-injuries. Buzz, on the other hand, has been as unlucky as it gets. MU has set school and Big East records in the number of close games that his teams have played in. Yet, MU seems to always overachieve its talent and “Luck” at year’s end. However, to date, MU 2011 is Final Four” Lucky” with an exact rating of the DW3 year at the Triple Snake Eyes rank. Until Tuesday, MU was that “Lucky”! But, things change quickly as we know and MU is now as lucky  as .

So, Where Does This Lead Us Irrationales?

To drink? Maybe…but time seems to be on our side. MU is waiting the Otule ACL sprain out to see its severity, Juan’s shoulder is seen to put him out until only the start of the Big East season, and Jamil’s ankle seems to be chronic but day to day, pending recovery time and Xmas practice/therapy time. Meanwhile, MU beat one of the most talented and perhaps the season’s-end best Pac 10/12 teams in Washington, without Chris Otule. His replacement, Gardner, is an offensive dynamo in the limited minutes he can offer—Pomeroy Offensive Efficiency Rating for the Ox of 124.4 vs. CO’s 92.2. Anderson, while showing flashes and providing height depth, still has only seen a few minutes. Is this unlucky? Yes, with Chris’s defense but not with his O, so DG has time to work on his game extensively, while Juice gets his chance to showcase his skills. In the end, this provides minutes to those that Buzz has had no qualms about playing in the Out of Conference anyway, making MU a stronger season’s- end team, waiting for the hopeful return of the injured. LSU and Vandy will give MU height problems, but MU’s experience will carry the day into the Big East, as my irrational mind tells me as I wish upon on northern star. MU buries the tortured artist, Judeo-Christian, Martyr syndromes, and assumes its rightful place as #1 in the country (says a fingers-crossed Cubs fan in a full body cast, but looking good it his Man Uggs). Go MU (I hope)! Regardless, I am playing my lucky 19 and 77 at the Potto Bingo Boat, but I sure wish Andre Walker picked MU over Xavier right about now.

Top transfers coming in 2011-12; Jamil Wilson ranks 23rd and best in Big East

Jamil Wilson is one of just 34 incoming transfers that already produced for their former team in 2010.

Jamil was the 16th most efficient offensive player on the list, accounting for 101.3 points per possession that he was part of the play. Due to his minutes falling off later in the season, Jamil’s overall Offensive Value add was 0.5%, meaning his presence in 2010 increased Oregon’s scoring by half a percent over the course of the season. Not a huge impact that year, but plenty of reason for hope after a year of getting stronger and working out.

The fact is most transfers leave their first schools without having added any value to the team, so Jamil already beginning to produce points as a freshman puts him ahead of schedule.

David Singleton’s was the top defensive player for High Point with a Defensive Efficiency Rating of 1.07. Unfortunately, despite being one of the top steals guys in the country, the fact that High Point was allowing almost 1.10 points per opponents trips down the court made it hard for any of their players - even the best defender, to get a good rating or show Defensive Value. Hopefully, his talents will complement Marquette’s defensive scheme.

Overall, Jamil’s contribution is the 23rd best of any incoming transfer in the country.

The two big catches of the transfer season are Dominique Sutton, who was the defensive specialist for the Elite 8 K-State team and was a very solid offensive contributor as well (21, 10 against Wagner) but transferred to a very poor NC Central team to be near his daughters.

The second best incoming transfer this year is 6-foot-11 Arnett Moultrie, who was not a strong offensive player at UTEP but gives Mississippi State yet another dominant defensive shot-blocker and rebounder.

Here is the list of the top 34 transfers this year based on the Total Value formula for their overall contribution to their last team in 2010. The only other Big East transfer to maket the list was Lamont Jones, who made a small contribution at Arizona before transferring to St. John’s.

Name	Height	2010	This year	ValueAdd	ValueSub	Total Value
Dominique Sutton	6-f-5	Kansas St.	NC Central	1.8%	-4.0%	5.7%
Arnett Moultrie	6-f-11	Texas El Paso	Mississippi State	0.2%	-4.7%	4.9%
Sam Maniscalco	6-f-0	Bradley	Illinois	4.2%		4.2%
Brandon Wood	6-f-3	Valparaiso	Michigan State	3.5%		3.5%
Chris Babb	6-f-5	Penn St.	Iowa State	2.9%		2.9%
Chris Allen	6-f-3	Michigan St.	Iowa State	2.1%	-0.7%	2.8%
Devoe Joseph	6-f-3	Minnesota	Oregon	1.5%	-1.2%	2.7%
Kevin Dillard	6-f-0	Southern Illinois	Dayton	2.7%		2.7%
Justin Hamilton	6-f-11	Iowa St.	LSU	2.2%	-0.2%	2.4%
Elston Turner	6-f-4	Washington	Texas A&M	1.2%	-1.2%	2.4%
Jeff Jones	6-f-4	Virginia	Rider	2.4%		2.4%
Miguel Paul	6-f-1	Missouri	East Carolina	0.9%	-1.2%	2.1%
Aaron Fuller	6-f-6	Iowa	USC	1.9%		1.9%
Jon Smith	6-f-5	St. Louis	Ohio	0.7%	-1.0%	1.7%
Marshall Henderson	6-f-2	Utah	Texas Tech	1.1%		1.1%
Ben Boggs	6-f-4	Virginia Tech	Valpo	0.1%	-0.9%	1.0%
Ramon Galloway	6-f-2	South Carolina	LaSalle	0.9%		0.9%
Michael Bizoukas	6-f-1	DePaul	Missouri State	0.7%		0.7%
Drew Gordon	6-f-1	UCLA	New Mexico	0.6%		0.6%
Travis Wear	6-f-10	North Carolina	UCLA	0.1%	-0.4%	0.6%
Mike Rosario	6-f-3	Rutgers	Florida	0.6%		0.6%
Evan Ravenel	6-f-8	Boston College	Ohio State	0.5%		0.5%
Jamil Wilson	6-f-7	Oregon	Marquette	0.5%		0.5%
David Wear	6-f-10	North Carolina	UCLA	0.1%	-0.4%	0.5%
Rakim Sanders	6-f-5	Boston College	Fairfield	0.5%		0.5%
Rian Pearson	6-f-3	Wisconsin Green Bay	Toledo	0.4%		0.4%
Justin Cobbs	6-f-3	Minnesota	California		-0.3%	0.3%
Chauncey Gilliam	6-f-5	MD Baltimore County	Akron	0.3%		0.3%
Demetrius Walker	6-f-4	Arizona St.	New Mexico		-0.3%	0.3%
Xavier Thames	6-f-3	Washington St.	San Diego State	0.2%		0.2%
Chaz Williams	5-f-9	Hofstra	Massachusetts	0.2%		0.2%
Carlon Brown	6-f-5	Utah	Colorado	0.2%		0.2%
Curtis Dennis	6-f-5	New Mexico	Toledo	0.1%		0.1%
Lamont Jones	5-f-11	Arizona	St. Johns	0.1%		0.1%

Morning Video

Start your day off right. Hit up this interview of Jamil Wilson.

Jamil is definitely going to be another player that represents well. His answers are well thought out. I was particularly impressed as Jamil rattled off the list of all the areas he is working to improve as he sits out this year.




Also, this article about "What's wrong with college basketball?" is super-interesting.

Friday Media Updates

Anything happen in the world of basketball last night?

Well, there's been plenty of action in the Marquette Universe, so here are some links that you may or may not have seen.

First things first, don't forget that the Warrior Day Golf Outing is coming up on Monday, July 26th. This is the third annual outing, and the coverage is starting to bloom as Journal-Sentinel gives a great story about Bo and the event. Here's a PSA about the event to get you ready. Take a vacation day... it's summer!



Buried in the story is also a note about Coach Hank Raymonds being ill. Our prayers are with you, Coach.

As many of you know, Vander Blue was part of the US team that won a gold medal in the U18 FIBA Championship. Want to go deeper on Vander's performances? Stellar Villanova blog Villanova By the Numbers gives some more detail on the entire tourney. Check out his initial view here, and then his recap of the USA-Canada game and the championship game against Brazil. Honestly, the early view of Vander's offensive performance has some questions. Despite some efficient shooting in the final game, his offensive rating numbers were sub-par, which was most likely impacted by a higher number of turnovers. Buzz will cut those turnovers down, but if Vander isn't making the floor early that may be a good indication why.

Rosiak also had more on Jamil Wilson, with a follow-up interview of Jamil and Buzz.

Speaking of roster turnover, there's a new walk-on. Dave Singleton is a 6'3 guard that played two seasons at High Point University under current MU Director of Basketball Operations Bart Lundy. He will sit out in 2010-11 and have two seasons of elibility left. Checking out his bio from High Point, Singleton does not appear to be your typical walk-on. As one poster on MUScoop said, this is exactly the type of player we wish was around when Diener broke his hand. One wonders if there might be a scholarship in Singleton's future.

On former MU players, follow the efforts of McNeal and James in this MUScoop thread.. In addition, former player Mbao is transferring to Marshall. We wish the very best luck to Yous.

If you are around Milwaukee the next few weekends, check out the Milwaukee Summer Pro-Am, which was initiated by IWB. The team rosters are a who's who of former Marquette and other local Wisconsin players. Here is the detailed schedule of games. The first set of games are this Saturday, concluding with a championship game at The Al on August 8th. Very cool, especially if you're jonesing for a little MU hoops action.

Finally, GoMarquette.com launched a revamped website. Go click around and spend some time. Start with the Men's Basketball Page, and maybe the rosters.

Go Marquette

Does Jamil Wilson = 30 wins in 2012?

Last year Syracuse and West Virginia were the two Big East teams who hit the 30-win mark, and the addition of Jamil Wilson gives MU the opportunity to do the same and be a true contender in 2012.

MU projects to win at least 29 games in 2012 based on the 10 players who will have eligibility left, and would be projected to top 30 wins with even one additional 4-star recruit for next season. As shown in past posts, the following is the table of the average progression of Big East players based on their star-ratings:

How many wins to expect based on a player's year and stars

Stars	Fr.	So.	Jr.	Sr.
0-2 Stars	0.1	0.7	0.9	1.1
3-star	0.3	1.2	2.1	3.2
4-star	1.7	3.1	4.3	4.4
5-star	2.4	4.7	6.3	NA

The addition of 4-star forward Jamil Wilson joining as a sophomore skyrockets MUs projected wins for the next few years, even assuming he is only an "average" 4-star as rated by Rivals, rather than a player who just missed being a 5-star as suggested by the other services. Based on stars, season, and Win Credits in the past year from returning players, MU projects to equal the 25 win performance of 2008 and 2009 in the upcoming season:

Blue 2.4 + Butler 5.8 + Buycks 2.5 + Cadougan 1.7 + Jae Crowder 2.1 + Frozena 0.0 + Fulce 1.1 + Gardner 0.3 + DJO 4.8 + Jones 1.7 + Otule 0.6 + Smith 0.8 + Williams 1.3 = 25.1 projected wins in 2011. If Jamil were given eligibility this season, then MU would project to win 28 games this season.

However, the addition of Jamil after sitting out a transfer year projects to put MU in the national elite:

Blue 4.7 + Cadougan 3.1 + Crowder 3.2 + Gardner 1.2 + DJO 5.3 + Jones 3.1 + Otule 0.8 + Smith 2.0 + Williams 2.3 + Wilson 3.1 = 28.8 projected wins in 2012 PLUS WHATEVER THE THREE NEW RECRUITS WOULD ADD.

Buzz has now put together four big JC stars (DJO, Butler, Buycks and Crowder) with five players rated 4-star or higher (Blue, Cadougan, Jones, Wilson and Williams). Even the two new 3-stars are looking a lot like four stars as Reggie Smith just missing a 4-star rating to be one of top few 3-stars in the country, and Davante Gardner was selected ahead of 4-star players for the Virginia All-State team.

The Win Credits system projected 19 wins last season, which MU exceeded by three wins. But 2012 always looked like the huge opportunity, since 5-star players like Vander Blue usually take over their sophomore season. However, the addition of Jamil Wilson truly gives the team a shot at their first Big East title and a deep NCAA run.

While this system gives a good measurement of the impact of players year-to-year, it also does not account for the team balance that MU now has. Subjective factors such as reports of Chris Otule's big improvement and the fact that Gardner finally gives MU size and a guy who can catch the ball inside and convert from 12 feet or the foul line are not factored into the projected wins.

Nor is the fact that MU looked like world beaters in the Disney classic last year due to their ability to steal the ball at will, only to have to slow games down dramatically due to the bench being so short. With another 6-foot-7 star in Wilson, MU now has a team with ample height across the front line in various combinations, as well as the depth to rotate two lines that can press full court or half without the threat of collapsing like they did against Florida State last year.

The following is the updated table with the additional of Jamil:


Projected Wins from each player from 2010 to 2013 seasons

Player	2010 actual	2010 proj	2011	2012	2013
Maurice Acker, Grad G, 0 Stars	2.7	0.8	G	G	G
Vander Blue, Fr G, 5 Stars	HS	HS	2.4	4.7	6.3
Jimmy Butler, Sr. G-F, 0 Stars	5.3	2.0	5.8	G	G
Dwight Buycks, Sr. G, 3 Stars	1.7	2.1	2.5	G	G
Junior Cadougan, So. G, 4 Stars	0.0	RS	1.7	3.1	4.3
Jae Crowder, Jr. F, 4 Stars	JC	JC	2.1	3.2	G
David Cubillan, Grad G, 0 Stars	1.7	1.3	G	G	G
Robert Frozena, Sr. G, 0 Stars	0.0	0.0	0.0	G	G
Joseph Fulce, Sr. F, 3 Stars	0.5	0.9	1.1	G	G
Lazar Hayward, Grad F, 4 Stars	6.6	6.4	G	G	G
Davante Gardner, Fr.. C, 3 Stars	HS	HS	0.3	1.2	2.1
Darius Johnson-Odom, Jr. G, 3 Stars	3.5	1.2	4.8	5.3	G
Jamail Jones, Fr. F, 4 Stars	HS	HS	1.7	3.1	4.3
Jeronne Maymon, So. G-F, 4 Stars	0.0	1.7	T	T	T
Youssaupha Mbao, So. C, 3 Stars	0.0	0.3	T	T	T
Chris Otule, Jr. C, 2 Stars	0.0	0.6	0.6	0.8	1.0
Reggie Smith, Fr. G, 3 Stars	HS	HS	0.8	2.0	3.0
Erik Williams, So. F, 4 Stars	0.0	1.7	1.3	2.3	3.2
Jamil Wilson, So. F, 4 Stars	Ore	Ore	RS	3.1	4.3
Projected Wins on known roster	22.0	19.0	25.1	28.8+++	28.5+++++

THE BOTTOM LINE
Key = a number indicates how many wins the player is projected to give MU that season, HS is a player in high school that year, G indicates graduated by that year, T indicates transferred out of MU, RS indicates red shirt season, JC indicates in Junior College that season. Each + sign by the season projection indicates additional wins for that many open scholarships to be signed, so the 28.8 indicates that is the total projected wins for the 10 players listed with three additional players still to be added to the rooster.

A New 2009 Name...MU among final two schools

With the recent commitment of Monterale Clark, the focus for MU fans may have shifted a bit towards the recruiting Class of 2010, but that doesn't mean Buzz Williams and his staff have shifted their focus from the Class of 2009.

We all know the names at this point: Dashonte Riley, Sherrod Wright, Jeremy Adams, Darius Smith, Victor Rudd, Latavious Williams and of course Jamil Wilson. Now it's time to throw a new name into the mix, because according to The Roanoke Times Marquette is in the final two for Glenn Bryant.

Who is Glenn Bryant and why haven't we heard of him before, you ask? Good Question. The shorter answer is, he's an athletic 6'8", 200 lb Combo Forward known mostly for his highlight real dunks. At this point, we know he great leaping ability and is a good rebounder, but the rest of his game is still a work in progress. ESPN did a nice review a month ago, but there's more to this story than just his leaping ability and shooting stroke.

Bryant is originally from the Detroit area, and through his sophomore year, he wasn't getting much high major love. Michigan State and Syracuse were showing some interest but hadn't offered him a scholarship. In an effort to get more exposure and increase his chances of going to a high major program, Bryant transferred to famed Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. The move worked, and prior to his senior year he picked up offers from programs like Memphis, Syracuse, Michigan, Arizona and Xavier. Additionally, according to ESPN he was receiving interest from Kansas, Texas, and North Carolina.

When MU became involved with him is a bit of a guess, but it's an educated one. Bryant and his Oak Hill teammates were in Milwaukee this past December for the Converse/Eastbay Classic at the Al McGuire Center, and members of the MU staff were seen in attendance at his game. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the recruiting really took off at that time, given that MU is in his final two schools not even two months later.

At this point, we don't know if MU is the leader for Bryant or how close he is to a decision. What we do know is that Buzz and his staff are still tirelessly recruiting the Class of 2009, and we can say for sure that the rest of the year is going to be interesting both on and off the court.

P.S. Thanks to Cracked Sidewalks for the invite.

Marquette Defeats Texas Southern

In an outcome that is really not a surprise, Marquette beat Texas Southern last night by a score of 85-68. Although the fan base was hoping that MU would top 100 for the third consecutive game, it just wasn't in the cards last night.


Last night, Marquette did worse than expected on both their offensive efficiency (AdjO) and defensive efficiency (AdjD). In the team's previous three games, they were averaging an AdjO of 123.8 and an AdjD of 90.3. On offense, the primary culprit dragging down the offensive efficiency was the (relatively) poor eFG%. Considering the team made a season-high 10 three-pointers and was still below the eFG% average (53%), we can see how poorly the team shot. Also, Marquette was really sloppy with the ball. However, the team achieved a season-best at Offensive Rebounding percentage (OR%), and did a great job getting to the line yet again.

On defense, Marquette lost on one of the Four Factors for the first time all season in eFG%. As noted by Buzz, Texas Southern shot 64% overall in the second half. They managed to be even looser with the ball at turnover percentage, however, and lost by a sizeable margin on OR%. Now, if you listen to the Buzz post-game podcast (link below), he talks about how the offensive rebound numbers are skewed because Texas Southern didn't miss much in the second half. Well, Marquette still crushed on the offensive boards.

Moving onto other coverage, here is Rosiak's blog entry from last night. Lots of good little nuggets, as he talks about Burke's lack of contribution, DJ's overall floor game, and positive contributions last night from Butler and Acker. Also, Rosiak rightly notices that a player wore black shoes last night for the first time in seven years.

Rosiak also filed a full story for this morning's paper, calling last night's game an educational experience for Marquette. Indeed, Marquette looked ugly for long stretches last night against the TSU zone.

Here is the official GoMarquette.com story. On top of the photo gallery and box score, I recommend checking out the postgame notes for lots of quotes, as well as the Buzz Williams podcast. I've come to really enjoy the post-game comments from Buzz, and I appreciate that they're now available online.

Finally, once again Marquette is no longer in the running for Jamil Wilson. The comments from Jamil paint Marquette in a pretty poor light. However, since this has been a fairly weird recruitment in general, we tend to give Marquette the benefit of the doubt here. These are the Days of our Lives.

News and Notes

Okay, there's just too much content out there right now, so here are a bunch of links to get you caught up.

Interviews
Didn't catch the Jim McIlvaine Q&A yesterday? Check it out here (or scroll down). Also, Kevin uploaded Homer's interview with the injured Joe Fulce (or scroll down).

Buzz managed to make time for a nice interview on ESPN Milwaukee's The D-List. The direct audio file can be found here. It's worth spending the ~20 min to listen. Have even more free time? Catch the repeat of the "Marquette Basketball Hour with Buzz Williams" on the Marquette Podcast landing page. Careful, the audio is reflective of a noisy background location.

Recruiting
Today is the first day of the national signing period. Marquette is hosting a press conference later this evening to discuss what should be a banner 2009 recruiting class -- Junior Cadougan, Erik Williams, Jeronne Maymon, Brett Roseboro and Dwight Buycks. Will there be more to announce (Colvin, Snaer, Smith, Wright)? And now rumors persist that Jamil Wilson is once again considering Marquette. While he might not commit today, Wilson seems determined to decide during the early signing period. Very interesting...

Previews
The Sports Nut at Milwaukee Magazine has a season preview of Marquette. He compares Buzz favorably to Bob Stoops of Oklahoma.

In the "looking for pessimism" category, Pat Forde from espn.com says that the bottom may fall out on Marquette. He also predicts Georgetown and Villanova as potential candidates to hit the skids in what promises to be an historically tough BIG EAST season. Take it for what it's worth... a throwaway line in a column covering lots of D1 names of which Marquette is one of three teams that might not do as well as expected.

Other news that's relevant
Finally, The Big East has a New Commissioner. It's John Marinatto (formerly of Providence). I'm sure that there will be more on this story in the future. Here's another link and some commentary.

This won't be the last of the content from Cracked Sidewalks... Stay tuned shortly for our season predictions.

....and the other shoe drops

With the Brett Roseboro commitment in-hand, Marquette coach Buzz Williams further narrowed the scope of his recruiting yesterday when he informed Racine's Jamil Wilson that he was no longer recruiting the 6'7" forward.

The reliable Mark Miller from the Wisconsin Sports Network and Wishoops.net broke the news yesterday afternoon. Talk about it on MUScoop.

By adding Roseboro to a group that already includes combo forward Jeronne Maymon, wing forward Erik Williams, point guard Junior Cadougan and combo guard Dwight Buycks, the Warriors have a balanced class hitting campus next summer. Unlike the tired Tom Crean strategy of over-recruiting at a key position or three, Williams seems to prefer a more diverse pool of talent, betting that a complementary mix of skills will take the program further than a kluge of redundant talent.

This is a good sign for the direction of the program.

As we've seen during the Three Amigos' tenure, excellence in just a few areas of the game can take a program only so far. In the case of James, McNeal and Matthews, 'so far' is relative. Many expected Marquette to struggle when it entered BIG EAST play, but this core of players elevated the program to an admirably successful level for a sustained period of time. Regardless, the inability to surround the Three Amigos with complementary, skilled talent has prevented the program from taking that next leap forward.

With that in mind, Buzz Williams is moving on from Jamil Wilson.

Yet, while the door may be closed for another forward, it appears that coach Williams is intent on adding one more guard (preferably a shooter?) to this year's recruiting class despite being full-up for scholarships at the present time. Marquette still has interest from a pool of sought-after talent including 6'4" Sherrod Wright from Mount Vernon, guard Chris Colvin from Chicago, former Seton Hall commit Jamel Jackson, and high school All-American shooting guard Michael Snaer from California. With the pending graduation of the Three Amigos and the limitations of David Cubillan and Maurice Acker, Buzz Williams' interest in these recruits is understandable.

Brett Roseboro, the new Warrior

Brett Roseboro, a 6'9", 220 pound forward from Quakerstown, PA, verbally committed to Marquette University last night at the program's annual Marquette Madness event at the Al McGuire Center. Roseboro, who just a few months ago seemed destined for a mid-major, showed well last summer and recently delivered strong performances at IS8 in New York City, generating interest from a number of Big East and ACC programs including Maryland, Louisville and Villanova.

Roseboro, a face-up power forward with nice range, joins what should become the most balanced (if not talented) recruiting class in recent Marquette history. Point guard Junior Cadougan, combo forward Jeronne Maymon, wing forward Erik Williams and JUCO combo guard Dwight Buycks are all expected to sign with Marquette during next month's early signing period.

Once again we see that Buzz Williams is a closer, and now he's poised to deliver the balanced, high-ceiling class the program desperately needs. In addition, based on what Williams told a small group of alumni last week at the New York Athletic Club, there's reason to believe the 2009 class is far from complete:

"I will continue to bring in new players until we have 13 kids with All-American talent who are also valedictorians. Until then, we're not done."

Michael Snaer, Jamil Wilson, or Chris Colvin? Time will tell.

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.

Media updates and more

As the dog days of summer wear on, bits and pieces of news and information related to the Marquette basketball program continue to pop up.....here's a quick look at the latest:

• According to HuskerExtra.com, the Warriors will scrimmage the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln on November 1. The scrimmage, yet to be confirmed by Marquette, would be the third scrimmage in as many years for MU. Marquette continues to match up against the Big XII, as they scrimmaged against K-State the previous two years.
• Buzz Williams remains active on the recruiting trail. Although MU is presently full-up for the 2009 recruiting class, the Warriors remain in the final seven schools for Racine's Jamil Wilson, and continue to be mentioned as a possible destination for NYC's Kevin Parrom and Omari Lawrence.
  
• Brendon and Dante are back with a new-look Web site and another installment of the informative Big East Cast. Nice work, fellas.
  
• You know we love lists -- and the folks at the Cards Hoops blog compiled a list of the top 75 players in the Big East. A fun read.
• For you Wisconsin hoops fanatics, Mark Miller of Wishoops.net updated his rankings of the state's best prospects for each of the next three classes. Marquette commit Jeronne Maymon tops the list for 2009.
• Ray Floriani, the New Jersey-based basketball writer and guest contributor on Cracked Sidewalks, just published his first book -- a pictorial history of the NIT. Check out Ray's interview with The Leader here.

Finally, kudos to Marquette University for fully embracing the digital age. In case you haven't noticed, Marquette has been slowly satisfying the desire for constant news about the basketball program through a steady stream of podcasts and video clip releases.

• Want to listen to player and coach interviews on your iPod? Then visit Marquette's podcast website. You could also just download the MP3's directly. Here are links to the files for Joe Fulce, Jimmy Butler, Liam McMorrow, Chris Otule, Assistant Coach Aki Collins, and the most recent entry, Steve Novak. Personally, we found the interview with Aki Collins to be the most insightful.
• Want some video with your Marquette hoops? Then look at how the summer includes video production. Or you could realize exactly how weak you are by looking at the Record Setting Summer in the Weight Room.
• Maybe you want to take Marquette on the go? You can sign up for Marquette Mobile, where you can register for Mobile Headlines and Score Alerts. You can even pick up Marquette Wallpaper and Ringtones. Too bad Marquette Mobile costs $3.99 / month. Although we have to wonder why the Athletic Department couldn't have found some way to make that free. How about to season ticket holders? We know you already have our phone numbers.
• Finally, if that's not enough, feel free to search through Marquette All-Access. There is a ton of archived information.
  

We think it's great that Marquette is moving towards more self-generated content. It's the natural evolution of PR and Marketing, and allows the university to more effectively manage the perception of its brand. Besides, it's not as if Marquette can expect local media to report on the team on a regular basis...

**Thanks to Henry Sugar for his contributions to this post.

Friday Updates

Just some quick updates for a Friday morning

• Buzz Williams was on Milwaukee SportsRadio 1250 yesterday. To hear the interview, click on their Audio & Video Vault (scroll down) or just open up the MP3 directly.
  

• Mark Miller from Wishoops.net has updated his 2009 rankings with a new number one for the state of Wisconsin. Marquette recruit Jeronne Maymon has been rated as the #1 player according to Mark Miller based on:
  

... his incredibly consistent productivity, both at the high school level for coach Steve Collins at Memorial and on the travel-team circuit this past spring for the Wisconsin Gators Elite and the Illinois Bobcats.

• Read Mark's full article for more information. Oh, and #2 on the list is Jamil Wilson.

• Also according to Mark, Johnnie Lacy has been extended a scholarship by Minnesota. Rumors abound that Marquette may be backing of their recruitment of Lacy.

• ESPN has updated their 2009 Player Rankings. BMA725 has a nice summary of Marquette targets on MUScoop. It's nice to see a lot of top 100 names associated with Marquette.

• In somewhat late news, a nice summary from NBE Basketball Report suggests that Marquette may soon see four unofficial visits. Names listed for unofficials with Marquette include Tobias Harris, Donald Williams, Kevin Parrom, and Omari Lawrence.
  

• In other news for stat-heads, John Hollinger has evaluated the greatest NBA Finals performances. Both Dwyane Wade and Bennett Salvatore appreciate the recognition.

Filling the void at the point: An update on Johnny Lacy

Johnny Lacy, a 5'10" whirling dervish of a point guard from Milwaukee, turned in an impressive performance at the King James Classic recently. According to HoopsReport.com, Lacy was one of the top performers in the camp where he ran the point for the Playground Elite squad (the same squad that MU target Jamil Wilson runs with). Per HoopsReport.com

We saw Lacy play in an event in Milwaukee last month and we came away highly impressed with both his quickness and shooting ability and after seeing him a second time this weekend in Akron, we are completely sold on this guy.

Lacy currently lists MU, Tennessee, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Cincy.

Talk about Lacy here on MUScoop.com.

Looking ahead -- Jamil Wilson, 2009 and beyond

Jamil Wilson of Racine has emerged as one of the nation's best players in the class of 2009, and is garnering strong interest from Michigan State, Duke, UCLA, and Kansas -- each of whom will host Wilson on an official visit. Texas, Tennessee and Purdue are also in the mix. Given the proximity to MU and UW, Wilson is not expected to take an official visit to either in-state program. Sam Webb from Detnews.com talked with Wilson about MSU and filed this report.

Wilson would be a huge get for Buzz Williams and Marquette, particularly given the premier programs the kid is interested in. And let's face it, a major talent influx by kids like Jamil Wilson must be in order if MU expects to remain a fixture in the NCAA tournament.

After what should be a successful 2008-2009 campaign (presuming Jerel McNeal returns), Buzz Williams has a number of gaps to fill if he hopes to strengthen a decidedly weak roster. Right now, Williams has a 2009-2010 group built almost exclusively with role players. Thankfully, Williams has early playing time to offer prospects as he closes out 2008 recruiting and looks ahead to 2009 and beyond.

With props to the slick scholarship table over at the MUScoop Wiki, here's a quick look at the current state 2009-2010 roster (walk-ons excluded):

Seniors: Lazar Hayward, David Cubillan, Maurice Acker
Juniors: Trevor Mbakwe, Patrick Hazel, Joseph Fulce, Jimmy Butler
Sophs: Chris Otule
Frosh: Erik Williams (verbal commitment)

By any measure, this roster won't get it done in the Big East. The talent needs a major upgrade. The Marquette basketball program will be at a crossroads in 2009. Will the program take a major step back, or will coach Williams right the ship with an influx of high-ceiling talent to populate the freshmen and sophomore classes?

Landing the uber-talented Erik Williams, who despite missing most of his junior season wowed scouts and projects to be a four-star talent, is a fine way to start the upgrading process. Here are some other likely recruiting priorities for MU in 2009:

• Pure point guard who can play big minutes immediately. MU was staring this same situation in the face four years ago when Crean landed James to replace Diener.
• Dead-eye shooter. With the three-point line moving back, it;s time for an upgrade.
• Skilled big man. Mbakwe could be a fine power forward if he's not forced into the middle because of a thin frontcourt roster.
• Jamil Wilson. Hey, a guy can dream right? Wilson will be tough to land but if he signs on with MU, the program immediately moves up a notch.
  

Marquette hired Buzz Williams largely based on his track record as a recruiter. In fact, derivatives of the term 'recruit' appeared sixteen times in the press release announcing his new position. Buzz Williams must deliver quickly to keep the Golden Eagles dancing for years to come.

Media Updates

With practice in full swing and Big East media day coming up tomorrow, here are a few notable updates on MU basketball from around the Web:

• 2009 SF Jamil Wilson has 'narrowed' his list to the so-called Great Eight -- which includes MU along with many of college basketball's elite programs. Looks like Jamil is a terrific volleyball player too.
• MU commit Nick Williams' squad improved dramatically overnight when one of the best players in the class of 2009 transferred to LeFlore. 6'10" center DeMarcus Cousins will lace'em up with Williams this winter.
• A new blog fave, Storming The Floor, is going through their own top 25 and ranks MU #19 in the pre-season -- and a 3rd place finish in the Big East along with a Sweet 16 bid. Check it out here.
• Similarly, the Big East Basketball Report is counting down our league's best -- and is up to #4 which could be reported later today. Not sure where MU will land, but its worth watching. Pitt came in at #5, followed by UConn at #6.
• Brendon Desrochers of SNY looks at Rick Pitino's whining about the conference schedule, and breaks down each team's slate. As for MU, he ranks the Golden Eagles' non-conference schedule as the 2nd easiest in the league and calls their Big East slate the 2nd toughest. Slamming MU's out of conference slate is fine -- but it is non-sensical that Brendon then rates Pittsburgh's non-conference slate as the 9th toughest in the league even though Pitt plays two teams that MU is likely to play in Maui (not to mention that Wisconsin is better than Washington, Duquesne and SLU - the other opponents listed on his his rundown of the Panthers schedule).

More updates as they pop on the Web.

Open practice tonight....Mbakwe update

Updated....
Nothing official just yet, but MU's new #33 is practicing with the team this week. Here's the link and photo.

Mbakwe is not yet cleared by the NCAA, but will participate in team activities for the next two weeks per Rosiak.

And just a reminder, tonight at the Al Center is an Open Practice at 8:30. Let's get a big crowd to watch our Warriors, and give a great show to the recruits who will be in attendance (Frank Ben Eze is expected to be in the house)!

"10 extra practices, +4 games, +1 open practice + recruits = HUGE!"

MU offers Isaiah Philmore

Nice pull from the guys over at the Big East Basketball Report, who note that MU has offered 6-7 junior forward Isaiah Philmore of Baltimore. The Baltimore Sun reported on the offer here - - and note that the junior has offers from MU, Miami, Delaware, VaTech and Loyola.

Jamil Wilson is clearly Tom Crean's priority recruit at the SF slot for the 2009 class - - but it is good to see MU associated with an increasing number of small forwards in the 08 and 09 classes. Talented small forwards have long been a weakness for the MU program; looks like that should change quickly.

Jamil Wilson among nation's elite; Crittle & Theodore updates

Jamil Wilson is ready for his closeup, Mr. DeMille.

After an impressive showing at a series of camps and tournmaents this spring with his AAU program, Racine Horlick junior Jamil Wilson is the consensus choice as the top player in his class within the state -- and one of the top 15 in the nation.

Here's a feature on Tom Crean's #1 recruiting priority for the 2009 class from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Here's some encouraging news........ the Bullseye Brothers report that MU "could be sitting pretty" with 6-8 Chicago strongman Josh Crittle. Crittle visited MU this past weekend --- he'd be a huge get for TC. Despite reeling in Mbakwe, Saunders and Hazel in 2007, MU will lack girth and strength on the baseline without a player like Crittle to solidify the rotation.

Courtesy of Adam Zagoria, Paterson Catholic PG Jordan Theodore will not transfer from his current school. Theodore recently tabbed SHU as the leader for his services -- but has not ruled out MU as an option.