Bold Predictions for Next Season

It is a fairly quiet time, so I think this could be a cool discussion point. These predictions can be good or bad, but good ones of course are more fun:cool:

My bold prediction is Steve Taylor averaging a double-double next season. It is pretty rare on the college level, and may be difficult for Taylor to maintain once Luke Fischer becomes eligible and plays 20-30 minutes a night up front, but I think Taylor will flourish with this opportunity. I expect him to get a ton of offensive rebounds and 2-3 putbacks a night, and also believe he will be highly effective in both pick and roll and pick and pop situations. Taylor was one of my favorite Buzz recruits, and I expect him to be healthy and have a major chip on his shoulder next season after a miserable sophomore campaign. I have referenced this earlier, but compare and contrast the Trevor Mbakwe we saw at 70 percent at Marquette with the healthy Mbawke for Minnesota his last two years (especially in his junior season). Mbakwe and Taylor are a bit different players (and Mbakwe admittedly has better overall tools), but both are excellent rebounders and are comparable to each other due to their injury pasts.

My other possibility is Jajuan Johnson leading the team in scoring at 14-15 points a night. I am not going to outright predict that, and expect JJJ to be more in the 9-10 point per game range, but I will bring up another interesting comparison between Johnson and Jordan McRae. I thought of this more when Cuonzo was going to potentially be our coach, but the comparison remains as both were highly rated, athletic, long, slender, scoring wings. As a freshman, McRae clashed with a popular coach that would leave after the season. He then went on to be a strong sixth man as a sophomore, SEC player of the year as a junior, and first team all-conference as a senior (and predicted to be drafted in the second round). In some ways, I think JJJ can even outperform McRae as he will likely be playing in a much faster tempo system and also has become stronger then McRae with two more years to add bulk.

Day drinking? :D

Well, I wanted to start the bold prediction thread in style. I was making a safe, easy prediction.

Todd Mayo: Big East POY

Too bold?

This does bring up an interesting point. I have no idea what to expect from this team this year.
This is the first time in a long time that we have had so many unknowns. When Buzz took over, you knew we were going to be lead by the 3 amigos.
Mayo may lead the team, probably best guess, but who else. Burton could have the breakout year. JJJ? Steve?
Heck, we don't even know what style of play we will have.

Going to be an interesting year.

In some ways, I actually think there are fewer question marks than in some years, certainly fewer than last year.

I'm pretty sure most of us would agree on four of the five starters, both prior to Luke's return and after. Or at least let's say will have starter's minutes.

Carlino, Mayo, Burton, and Taylor for sure at the beginning of the season. Have no idea who the fifth starter might be. Have to figure Luke will start at the 5 once he is eligible. But will that mean Taylor will move to the 4 and Burton to the 3, or will Taylor come off the bench with someone else at one of the wing spots.

There have been years when we could identify only three starters with any degree of certainty.

What else do we know? Well, we know Carlino, Mayo, and Burton all put up a lot of shots per minutes played.

Personally, I think we'll go with three guards most of the time with Fischer, Taylor, and Burton taking most of the minutes at the 4/5. Mayo, Duane, JJJ, and Dawson will divide the minutes at the 2/3.

I still think there are question marks with this team. I feel confident of Carlino starting. I can't see bringing him in unless you expect that. But who knows how far Duane may have come now that he's healthy? We also don't know what Wojo will do position-wise. I would think Mayo, Burton, and Taylor also, but of those three Taylor seems like the only lock. Might Jajuan be making that leap that could take him ahead of Todd on the depth chart? How much will we see Juan? I could see it being more or less than last year, and not sure where he'll play (3/4/5?). Will Fischer jump right into the starting lineup, or is it possible that Steve will hold onto the center spot if he's thriving?

I'm really excited to see this team get a fresh start. I think a lot of guys could do things we simply don't expect them to do. At times, Buzz put the clamps on many members of his teams. Derrick, Juan, Dawson, Jajuan, and Mayo have all felt this the past 2 years. Will Wojo be an unshackling for them? If so, what will they be able to do?

Phantom, it is pretty hard for me to state with any degree of certainty who the starters will be, but I think we can make some good guesses about playing time:

*Unless he is a bust, Carlino will get big minutes at PG and Derrick will slide into a back up role
*Todd Mayo will get most of the minutes at 2G.
*Duane could be the primary back up at 2G, but could run the point too
*We will see a lot of three guard offenses, so JJJ might be playing some big minutes.
*Steve Taylor will be guarding a lot of centers.
*Burton will be guarding a lot of power forwards.

I also see a lot of three and even four guard offenses. I also get the sense at least early on, Juan and Burton will be doing more than their share of guarding centers.

The Steve Taylor prediction is a good one. Even when Luke is in there, I don't see Steve coming out of a game. Big ? Is his health. He sure didn't have his lift after his return. But there was so much going on with the team, one has to wonder the cause: physical or mental or both.

I think Juan is being left out. Think he will flourish. One big prediction is MU will be and has to rely on the three ball due to size and roster imbalance. Record number of treys attempted.

Yeah, I didn't forget Juan, I just didn't mention him. I think he gets good minutes, but I am not sure what his role will be. Mostly because I am not sure what he is going to bring.

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Originally Posted by TheSultan

Yeah, I didn't forget Juan, I just didn't mention him. I think he gets good minutes, but I am not sure what his role will be. Mostly because I am not sure what he is going to bring.

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I'm also not sure as to how Juan factors in as well as Derrick Wilson. Depends on how Wojo sees them fitting in and whether they can fit those roles. Given the limited skills they have shown to date on offense, not sure of their fit in the kind of upbeat offense Wojo has indicated he would like to play (particularly Derrick ). Will be interesting to see how it all plays out. Far different than Buzz's first year as HC when he inherited DJ, Wes, Jerel and Lazar while having been an MU assistant the year before. This time, we have a roster of seniors and young guys with no coaching contnuity.

I'm not sure how bold this one is, but I think Mayo will be the leading scorer on the team and a first- or second-team all-conference selection. With a more balanced emphasis between offense and defense, Mayo's offensive skillset should get him on the court for much of the game. He started to show his quiet leadership last year, even when playing time was sporadic. This year, he likely won't have to worry about riding the pine after bringing his team into OT. His past off-the-court mistakes won't keep him off the court in key games. I think a coaching change will improve Mayo's focus, particularly in his last year to prove that he has a pro skillset.

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Originally Posted by 21rooster

I'm not sure how bold this one is, but I think Mayo will be the leading scorer on the team and a first- or second-team all-conference selection. With a more balanced emphasis between offense and defense, Mayo's offensive skillset should get him on the court for much of the game. He started to show his quiet leadership last year, even when playing time was sporadic. This year, he likely won't have to worry about riding the pine after bringing his team into OT. His past off-the-court mistakes won't keep him off the court in key games. I think a coaching change will improve Mayo's focus, particularly in his last year to prove that he has a pro skillset.

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I think Todd will perform better defensively, as well, in Wojos's scheme. He was a misfit for Buzz's protect the paint help defense which left him out of position too often.