Maybe Shaka will change his way of making roster

[wadesworld]

Debatable about 2nd best team, and we are talking about where we are now, not 2 or 3 years ago. The current roster is not as competitive in BEast as some posters believe. Cmon man, MU has already lost 6 conference games this year. And some feel satisfied with that.

And we're tied for third, even with this wild amount of conference losses.  Can't believe UCONN didn't fold their program when they lost 7 conference games 2 seasons ago.

[tower912]

I do not when this season will end.   Statistically, it will be with a loss.  However, and I have said this all season, get hot from 3 and this team doesn't need to fear anyone.  So, I like MU'S chances until they have a cold shooting game in the tourney.   Could be in the first round, could be in the final 4.

[Zog from Margo]

I think we are seeing a shift in Shaka's recruiting but, as others noted, it goes beyond shooting. I think he generally is focusing on longer more athletic players. I have no idea if they will end up being as good, but Lowery, Owens, and Parham are much more athletic than Stevie, Kam, and Joplin. I generally am not a huge fan of small PGs, but MU's small PGs (Sean Jones and Nigel James) are crazy athletes. Even though Stevens reminds folks of Stevie, Stevens dunks the ball with ease and Stevie cannot. Militec and Phillips are also longer players.

One of the big issues Shaka needs to address, IMO, is how MU becomes a better rebounding team. The aggressive man defense that MU plays requires a lot of switching. Gold is often out of rebounding position because he is helping on D. If Shaka sticks with his current defensive philosophy, he needs guys at 1-4 who are bigger, more physical and better rebounders than what he has. It is great that MU can force a lot of TOs, but they lose focus on rebounding. UConn's run to turn the game around last night started about the time of the tip dunk that would not have happened if Stevie was aware and boxed out the UConn player. Obviously, MU got killed on the glass for the game.

That said, shooting is a huge problem. I asked a while back if MU had a shooting coach and took some heat about it. Shooting coaches are common in the NBA. It is hard to understand Kam missing an FT a foot to the left.

[The Sultan]

I think he generally is focusing on longer more athletic players. I have no idea if they will end up being as good, but Lowery, Owens, and Parham are much more athletic than Stevie, Kam, and Joplin.

Just remember that Shaka didn't recruit Stevie or Kam.

[Hards Alumni]

Just remember that Shaka didn't recruit Stevie or Kam.

And Royce isn't super athletic. 

[MUbiz]

Lowery, Parham, and to a lesser degree Owens and Ross, were considered good high school three point shooters.

And Tre Norman led the NEPSAC in scoring at nearly 25 points a game. The jump from high school to high level D1 basketball does not translate much of the time.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Debatable about 2nd best team, and we are talking about where we are now, not 2 or 3 years ago. The current roster is not as competitive in BEast as some posters believe. Cmon man, MU has already lost 6 conference games this year. And some feel satisfied with that.

Yes, the horror that we're a pathetic 13-6 so far has really been getting to me. 

[panda2.0]

It's your old friend panda. I was checking in to the board and this thread compelled me to word vomit my thoughts on Shaka and his roster construction.

First - I love Shaka. He is a good man who proves to earn the trust of his players and families right away which leads to high quality people in the program as well as being in the living room of high quality recruits. With Shaka, we will always be in the mix for good players and will hopefully always have a very competitive roster, challenging for top of the BE.

Shaka is a smart and successful person. Smart and successful people should constantly be evaluating themselves and their surroundings to look to change/improve their situation. I hope Shaka looks back at this season as a learning experience in roster construction as well as takes a long hard look at the way they're playing on the offensive end.

 The makeup of the roster this season is borderline malpractice. The fact we have two project bigs redshirted and Caedin Hamilton taking up roster spots is absolutely killer. I'm sure he's a great kid, but Hamilton has no business ever being on a high major college basketball roster. He is completely lost on the floor and has no projectibles. With that said, we now have Ben Gold and Royce Parham sharing the 5 man responsibilities. Ben is such a frustrating player. There are plays where he looks like he's put it all together and then he goes silent for long stretches. He is nowhere near a good enough shooter to play the minutes he's playing to compensate for his lack of consistent offensive production. Royce is going to be an incredible talent, but because of lack of depth, he is playing far more than his current talent level shows.

I love the faith Shaka showed in Kam, letting him play point guard this year to display himself for the next level but I would have loved another body to spell him and allow him to play a bit off the ball.

As for the offensive strategy - Teams who make deep runs in March need to be able to score in a variety of ways when their plan A is not working. I've seen it time and time again this year that there is no plan B when the three ball isn't falling. Nevada's offense works great when you have the best point guard in the country, the best passing big in the country and a bunch of guys who can camp on the perimeter, knock down open shots or reverse the ball to get to the bucket. This year, we don't have that and we're constantly fighting to score at the rim, unless your name is mr. magic Kam Jones. My concern with the current offensive philosophy is without top tier players, it is never going to be very effective. It's easy to defend when no one is hitting outside shots and you have a bunch of players who aren't great scoring at the rim.

Just my two cents - Glad to see everyone is still pluggin along here.

[MU82]

During this season's first four games, Kam shot 52% from 3. Through the first 11 (the entire NC part of the sked), he was still at 41%.

Who knows what happened after that?

Wear and tear on the body? Poor mechanics? Loss of confidence? Teams defending him differently? Some or all of the above?

More recently, there was a 5-game stretch (Feb. 8-25) during which he was at 35%. Not up to his previous years' standards but certainly acceptable. But then 0-5 each of the last two games.

Some here might claim they know why, but nobody does.

I feel for the guy, because he's having a great season and he has a lot of pressure on him. I've so enjoyed having Kam in our program. I wish I could be there Saturday to cheer for him, Stevie and Jop.

[Viper]

I agree 100%..."The makeup of the roster this season is borderline malpractice. The fact we have two project bigs redshirted and Caedin Hamilton taking up roster spots is absolutely killer. I'm sure he's a great kid, but Hamilton has no business ever being on a high major college basketball roster. He is completely lost on the floor and has no projectibles. With that said, we now have Ben Gold and Royce Parham sharing the 5 man responsibilities. Ben is such a frustrating player. There are plays where he looks like he's put it all together and then he goes silent for long stretches. He is nowhere near a good enough shooter to play the minutes he's playing to compensate for his lack of consistent offensive production. Royce is going to be an incredible talent, but because of lack of depth, he is playing far more than his current talent level shows."
(In terms of guards, I agree w/Hutch and others that Tre Norman is a better fit a tier lower, i.e. MAC)

[wadesworld]

The makeup of the roster is borderline malpractice? We're going to be a 5-7 seed. People here are so dramatic.

[The Sultan]

The makeup of the roster is borderline malpractice? We're going to be a 5-7 seed. People here are so dramatic.

Because of the poor guy who averages 6.8 minutes a game.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

The makeup of the roster is borderline malpractice? We're going to be a 5-7 seed. People here are so dramatic.

Imagine what some of the comments will be like during a season when we're on the actual bubble and not comfortably in the field.

[Uncle Rico]

To me, this is art

[HutchwasClutch]

Because of the poor guy who averages 6.8 minutes a game.

I think Caedin will be good. Game speed is too fast for him this year.  But this is a legit 6'9" kid with bulk and length.  He's a redshirt freshman.  I don't know why people act surprised that he's rough around the edges.  Bigs usually take time to develop.  Too early to write him off.

[tower912]

I think Caedin will be good. Game speed is too fast for him this year.  But this is a legit 6'9" kid with bulk and length.  He's a redshirt freshman.  I don't know why people act surprised that he's rough around the edges.  Bigs usually take time to develop.  Too early to write him off.

Absolutely.

[MU82]

To me, this is art

It really is. Part sad comedy, part lame horror, mostly melodrama.

I mean, any person who isn't ready to jump off a ledge because the Marquette men's basketball team isn't 30-0 is a person who "accepts losing."

Woe is us!

[panda2.0]

The makeup of the roster is borderline malpractice? We're going to be a 5-7 seed. People here are so dramatic.

Is this a 5-7 seed team with an impact big and a PG who can spell Kam?

[Shooter McGavin]

Lots of hyperbole both ways.  The program is in good hands.  The roster has flaws.  The team plays well together.  Is it good enough, who knows?  Voicing concern, celebrating wins and talking basketball is what a fan board does. 

If it makes certain people feel better about themselves to say everyone is an imbecile for voicing concerns they have, fine.  If it makes people feel better to say everything is sea shells and balloons, fine.  I think most people just want to talk basketball, whether it's reactionary to a single game or more globally on the state of the program.

As in politics, the fringes of these people can come off as the complete d-bags they are accusing others of being.

[wadesworld]

Is this a 5-7 seed team with an impact big and a PG who can spell Kam?

Kansas would probably let us borrow Hunter Dickinson and AJ Storr. Self understands how to avoid roster building malpractice.

[panda2.0]

Kansas would probably let us borrow Hunter Dickinson and AJ Storr. Self understands how to avoid roster building malpractice.

That doesn't answer my question but thanks for the extreme and unrealistic example.

[wadesworld]

That doesn't answer my question but thanks for the extreme and unrealistic example.

Who would you have liked Shaka to have gone and gotten? You don't want what were considered the best transfers in their respective transfer class at the positions you want, so...?

[panda2.0]

Who would you have liked Shaka to have gone and gotten? You don't want what were considered the best transfers in their respective transfer class at the positions you want, so...?

AJ Storr isn't passing the Shaka personality test and we couldn't afford either Dickinson or Storr, hence poor example.

There are plenty of players every year in the transfer portal. There needs to be more flexibility with roster management on a year to year basis if we're going to compete on a top 25 level. There is going to be a significant talent drop off next season if no additions are made.

Which unless there is roster turnover there won't be any additions. Hence my initial complaint about carrying three bigs who most likely will not be able to contribute much if at all during their time here.

[wadesworld]

AJ Storr isn't passing the Shaka personality test and we couldn't afford either Dickinson or Storr, hence poor example.

There are plenty of players every year in the transfer portal. There needs to be more flexibility with roster management on a year to year basis if we're going to compete on a top 25 level. There is going to be a significant talent drop off next season if no additions are made.

Which unless there is roster turnover there won't be any additions. Hence my initial complaint about carrying three bigs who most likely will not be able to contribute much if at all during their time here.

There was going to be a significant drop off in year 2 for Shaka if there weren't portal editions. Same with year 4. Now year 5.

Shaka has proven incapable of developing what he has on his roster.

When you rely on the portal you might end up like SJU or you might end up like Kansas or Arkansas. There's way more volatility in building through the portal.

[GoldenEagles03]

Is this a 5-7 seed team with an impact big and a PG who can spell Kam?

Well...in March I don't want anyone playing for Kam. If he's healthy and not in foul trouble, no reason to take him off the floor.