Omax

[WellsstreetWanderer]

 I have a friend who is an NBA scout and we recently talked about their draft and who they took. He told me has was going to be in SF the coming weekend looking at 20 PGs. " 10 will be tremendous athletes and 10 will be basketball players who also happen to be tremendous athletes". He said everyone they draft is a project and they always have guys they don't draft in their pocket to develop. One guy they drafted this year they plan on leaving in Europe for several years . athleticism might get you a look but it is more than that to advance

[tower912]

Of course.    Eventually, you have to produce.   

[Newsdreams]

Newsie - knock it off.  Everyone else...WTF?  I'll get the snowplow out now...

You sound like my wife

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Of course.    Eventually, you have to produce.

Production is understood
They're looking for people who understand and get the game

[MU82]

O-Max seems to be a great guy whom his teammates love, he attacks the game with an all-out intensity, he appears to love playing defense, and he definitely has some offensive skills. I am very glad that Shaka brought him to Marquette.

But I'm not gonna lie: Just about every time he has the basketball and starts one of his damn-the-torpedoes, whirling-dervish drives, I think there's about a 50/50 chance he's gonna either lose the basketball or be called for an offensive foul.

[tower912]

He has a little bit of sophomore Cain in him right now.   He has to keep attacking, though.   The team needed it last night since Joplin phoned it in.   And the team will need it going forward.

[Pakuni]

O-Max seems to be a great guy whom his teammates love, he attacks the game with an all-out intensity, he appears to love playing defense, and he definitely has some offensive skills. I am very glad that Shaka brought him to Marquette.

But I'm not gonna lie: Just about every time he has the basketball and starts one of his damn-the-torpedoes, whirling-dervish drives, I think there's about a 50/50 chance he's gonna either lose the basketball or be called for an offensive foul.

Safe bet he's the NCAA leader in dribbling the ball off his own leg and out of bounds.
OMax has the tools to be a good basketball player and on the occasional magical night, it all comes together for him. But for the most part, he's not a good basketball player.

[tower912]

Yet.    And the improvement is there.   

[Pakuni]

Yet.    And the improvement is there.

Remains to be seen.
In three non-buy games, he's scored 14 points, had 15 boards, and had seven turnovers to zero assists, while shooting 31.2% from the floor, including 1-for-7 from behind the arc, and 42.8% from the line.

He's still young for a junior and, yes, he has tools, but besides feasting on cupcakes (one in particular) he really hasn't shown much this season.

[Goose]

At the game last night, I focused on Omax the entire time he was on the court. One thing that stood out to be was ability to use both hands very effectively around the basket. I get why many on here are not fans, yet many were big Cain fans, and I think there is still a tremendous amount of upside to his game. I am still very confident that he is going to play a big part in any team success that happens this year.

[MuggsyB]

At the game last night, I focused on Omax the entire time he was on the court. One thing that stood out to be was ability to use both hands very effectively around the basket. I get why many on here are not fans, yet many were big Cain fans, and I think there is still a tremendous amount of upside to his game. I am still very confident that he is going to play a big part in any team success that happens this year.

He has the ability.  What I'm looking for (and Tower mentioned this) is the counterattack Goose.  Not just from O-Max but from ALL of our perimeter players once they get into the paint.  There's no way to sugarcoat this dilemma, we do an exceedingly poor job passing off the dribble, seeing the floor when the help comes, planting two feet 6 feet from the rim and taking that point blank shot, and changing lateral direction on our straight vertical drives to find contact and get two free throws. 

The "counterattack" right now is either in ghost mode or doesn't exist and generating points in the paint is absolutely critical to future success.  Mentally I think we need to see the full picture here but right now it's a colossal struggle.  Can we get there Goose?  Perhaps the pressure of these next two foes will bring out better overall hoops from our guys?

[rgoode57]

It would be a huge help for the team if Omax slowed down, stopped trying to dribble so much, rebounded a bit better, and scored just 10 or 12 points consistently. What are the odds of that happening soon? Not good. He looks pretty much like the same player he was last year.

[Goose]

Muggsy

You are one of my favorite scoopers, but I think you spend more time worrying about the points you noted than the coaching staff. This team will get a ton of easy baskets if they make outside shots. I did not keep track, but they made a lot of layups and dunks last night.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Yeah, I honestly don't get the angst around this team.

[Viper]

It would be a huge help for the team if Omax slowed down, stopped trying to dribble so much, rebounded a bit better, and scored just 10 or 12 points consistently. What are the odds of that happening soon? Not good. He looks pretty much like the same player he was last year.

i'm worried about the Wisconsin game. RED will force tempo. However, that might play well to both Omax and Joplin. Forces our guys to slow down. If Kolek and Jones can 'create', Omax...and Joplin might have big games.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

You don't want this team to slow down and play Wisconsin's pace. That's how you have a half like they did v. Miss State.

[Goose]

Viper

Last year going to UW I worried about UW forcing the tempo and us struggling. I feel very confident that it will be the Marquette Warriors setting the tempo next week. I like MU to win by 10+ next Saturday.

[MuggsyB]

Muggsy

You are one of my favorite scoopers, but I think you spend more time worrying about the points you noted than the coaching staff. This team will get a ton of easy baskets if they make outside shots. I did not keep track, but they made a lot of layups and dunks last night.

I'm concerned about offensive droughts Goose which we have seen in our two losses.  We had a lot of trouble scoring in the h-court and missed quite a few in the paint and couldn't get to the FT line. 

[We R Final Four]

Viper

Last year going to UW I worried about UW forcing the tempo and us struggling. I feel very confident that it will be the Marquette Warriors setting the tempo next week. I like MU to win by 10+ next Saturday.

Really? 10+ win?
Man do I hope you are correct....but I see no way in hell this happening.

[MU82]

At the game last night, I focused on Omax the entire time he was on the court. One thing that stood out to be was ability to use both hands very effectively around the basket. I get why many on here are not fans, yet many were big Cain fans, and I think there is still a tremendous amount of upside to his game. I am still very confident that he is going to play a big part in any team success that happens this year.

For the record, Goose, I am a fan of O-Max. I like a lot of what he brings to the table, and I expressed that in my previous post.

He simply plays out of control too often.

I keep waiting for the game to "slow down" for him, and hopefully it will against opponents that actually have a chance to beat us. If it does -- kind of the way it did for Vander in his 3rd year under Buzz -- O-Max can be a heck of a weapon for our team.

[DoctorV]

For the record, Goose, I am a fan of O-Max. I like a lot of what he brings to the table, and I expressed that in my previous post.

He simply plays out of control too often.

I keep waiting for the game to "slow down" for him, and hopefully it will against opponents that actually have a chance to beat us. If it does -- kind of the way it did for Vander in his 3rd year under Buzz -- O-Max can be a heck of a weapon for our team.

Yup.

He usually brings the most energy on the defensive end. He's the most erratic/aggressive early and often.
Id imagine Shaka doesn't want to reign that in, he prefers it continues.

Problem is that it carries over to the offensive end, and he plays the game too fast or as you said it hasn't slowed down for him.
Other problem is that in a few big games this season, where nothing is going for the team offensively and you'd hope for some of his kamikaze drives in an attempt to open things up, he's just faded into the background and only attempted like 5 shots.

I've never seen it with OMax and I've been on record with that. I see more raw tools that I doubt will all come together to be an all BE type player than I see tools that will all mesh into the best player on the team.

Obviously I hope I'm wrong about that, and at this point I'd take something in between- a solid 3 year starter that's consistently the best defender on the team and earns his role in the Leaky Black mold, with a bit more offensive firepower.
If that's his ceiling Shaka needs to really get to work recruiting some more athletes in his mold.

[Newsdreams]

Yet Shaka seems most concerned about Joplin and normally calls him out to not playing to his potential. Shaka seems fine with Omax, yes has said he needs to play under control but has not asked him to totally slowdown. Wants to him to remain aggressive.

[tower912]

Go back to the Buzz years.    What is happening with Joplin and OMax should be familiar.    Right now, Joplin is a one trick pony.    And he is not playing the rest of the game, defense, rebounding, sharing the ball, the way Shaka wants.     OMax is out of control sometimes, but is nearly always playing the game the way the coach wants.    Working hard on defense, being disruptive on the press, attacking on offense, sharing the ball, taking the appropriate shots.    Yup, he sometimes is going too fast on offense.    Yup, he needs to be more consistent rebounding and also producing against the big boys.   But he is doing the work.   
     So, to me, the question isn't so much about OMax.    The question is when will Joplin start playing a complete enough game to take the minutes away from OMax when O is sloppy?

[DoctorV]

Yet Shaka seems most concerned about Joplin and normally calls him out to not playing to his potential. Shaka seems fine with Omax, yes has said he needs to play under control but has not asked him to totally slowdown. Wants to him to remain aggressive.

Yep- OMax clearly has more overall value than Jop at this point.

It's not about that though.
It about OMax having to be one of the go to guys for this to be a tourney squad.

Like Tyler, who has a skill that no one can match, he will get a lions share of the minutes at his position because of his defensive ability.
He will have to be a go to scorer, or at least a top 3/4 scorer with spurtability as the season progresses.
Same goes for TyKo- he won't have to go off for 15 or 20- but he will need to make enough shots to keep opposing defenses honest, especially defenses that are well coached and know MUs tendencies, as many in the BE are.

Oso, Omax, and Tyler will be held to a different standard this season because of their importance to the team and the sheer minutes played.

[Jockey]

At the game last night, I focused on Omax the entire time he was on the court. One thing that stood out to be was ability to use both hands very effectively around the basket. I get why many on here are not fans, yet many were big Cain fans, and I think there is still a tremendous amount of upside to his game. I am still very confident that he is going to play a big part in any team success that happens this year.

Goose, I agree he is very important to this team. By his senior year, he will be a very, very good college player.

I don't see the NBA hype, though that others have talked about.