Dumb & Dumber....& Dumbest

[Phantom Warrior]

I'm sure Kneel and the rest of the apologists will attack this post, but I don't give a crap. I've watched/followed MU hoops for 56 years, and I have seen 10 - 12 maybe 15 - 20 games in which MU has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. But at crucial junctures in tonight's game, I witnessed some of the dumbest basketball I've seen over the years.

1. With 10 seconds left in regulation and the score tied, Derrick WALKED THE BALL UP THE COURT! He didn't push the ball up the court to give us an extra few seconds to either execute a play, or, Heaven Forbid, get an offensive rebound. I watched the clock tick down...six...five...four... and there was still no sense of urgency. We end up with a 23-24 footer with no chance for an offensive put back. I'm sorry, but that was just plain DUMB! Was it Buzz's call? "Hey, Derrick, walk it up"? I just can't imagine that, but who knows? If not, then it's on Derrick, and if so, what the hell was he thinking?

2. We have the lead with nine seconds left in the second overtime and get the ball into Jake. What does Jake do? Ultimately he bends over at the waist and holds the ball waist high with both hands. Obviously, he was waiting/hoping to get fouled. I realize I only coach seventh/eighth grade girls, but even I know enough to teach them to never bend over and hold the ball waist high when pressured by a defender, let alone two defenders. You use your pivot foot to move, and you keep the ball moving. Make them move with you. That's the stuff of Basketball 101. And what do you teach your players to do if an opponent bends over at the waist with both hands on the ball? Grab the ball and tie them up. What Jake did is even DUMBER than Derrick's walk-the-ball-up-the-court routine at the end of regulation.

3. Now we get to Derrick's foul. Frickin' game is on the line with something like seven, eight, nine seconds left, and the opponent has the ball with double bonus. We're talking about one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country. What do you absolutely NOT want to do? Foul. And if that's not bad enough, he fouled one of the best free throw shooters in the country. He fouled the second leading scorer in the conference. On top of that, he had virtually no chance for the steal in the first place. In my mind, this was the DUMBEST of the three plays.

Until tonight, the individual play that has stood out in my mind as the dumbest I've ever seen by an MU player was Amoroso's turn-and-push foul on an Arizona free throw near the end of the Arizona game. We had that game pretty much won. I still can't imagine what he was thinking.

But these three tonight will also stick with me for a long time, not only because they killed our already minuscule chances for an NCAA bid, but also because all three were in one game. Watching each one, I just shook my head in astonishment.

I've seen MU teams shoot themselves in the foot before, but tonight they shot themselves in both feet and a kneecap for good measure.

Now, Kneel et al, you can start defending both players and question my fanhood. But if you don't agree that all three plays were really dumb, then I question your objectivity.

[mufan2003]

Summed up perfectly. Wanted Mayo to receive the inbounds pass. He is great at breaking double teams with an aggressive/strong dribble, throwing his head back and getting the ref to call a foul. Jake's weakness is dribbling, hurt us in that situation.

[MUMac]

I agree Phantom and commented on each of those when they happened in the game thread. Calling the play at the end of the first OT when Derrick walked the ball up dumb is being kind. It left only one option. A long 3. He has played horribly on the defensive side at the end of game scenarios. I don't know which is worse, how he played against Nova and De Paul on defense at the end of the game, or last night on offense. Frustrating to watch a D1 Junior make mental mistakes like that.

[kneelb4zerg]

So an apologist is what, someone who can't acknowledge that college kids and their coach sometimes make dumb mistakes? Or at least doesn't write a rambling 1,000 word screed about it?

Thanks for the shoutout, and screw you, PW.

[Phantom Warrior]

Just returning the favor as I believe it was you who called me out not long ago for making some critical comments about the level of certain individuals' production. You took some potshots at me for expressing my views because you did not agree with them.

Notice, by the way, I did not say Derrick or Jake were dumb players. I said they made some extremely dumb plays.

Please also notice that I never, and I mean never, have written "Screw you" in response to any individual's posts or perspectives. By the way, if it was not you, then I do apologize, but I'm about 95% certain it was.

As for the terms "apologist," I do believe that you go out of your way to - for lack of a better word - defend some players against any critical comments.

And for the record, my definition of an "apologist" is someone who continually defends or justifies something - in terms of MU hoops this year that would be playing time for certain individuals. Here is dictionary definition of an "apologist," though I confess I used the term in reference to those who have been apologists for Jake and Derrick throughout the season.

"apologist n : a person who argues to defend or justify some policy or institution;"

Here's another one from a different source:

"a person who writes or speaks in defense or justification of a doctrine, faith, action, etc."

I used this term because that is my perception of your point of view - a consistent defense or justification of Buzz giving Jake and Derrick, in particular, not just significant playing time, but more playing time than any other players on the team. Personally, I still think the term fits.

I anticipated that you would attack my position relative to the original post in this thread because that is what you have done in the past. Sorry that you took that so personally as to write "Screw you."

I do take offense, though not on a personal level, of the adjective "rambling." I thought I stated my thoughts on the three plays at least reasonably coherently, but then again it was past midnight.

Oh, one last thing (at the risk of this post being labeled "rambling" once again - though it probably is to some extent) I, too, have been, and still am, an "apologist," only my record of being one relates to my defense of Deonte, JJ, and Dawson. I confess that when I used the term in the original post, it referred to those who have been apologists for Jake and Derrick throughout the season.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

They did make dumb plays. Not sure they are any dumber than Mayo fouling Fortune twice, or all but handing the ball to Cotton for that steal, or at the other end, Fortune fouling Mayo on the three. There was dumb on both ends tonight. There was also a lot of fight back in this team. They showed a lot of toughness and showed why they deserve to have us cheering for them, despite the dumb plays.

By and large, I think Derrick and Jake have shown themselves to be a lot better than most of the keyboard jockeys like to give them credit for. Then they have a bad game and everyone piles on in droves, shouting "I told you so" from the mountains. When they do well, it's a backhanded compliment at best, when they do poor, people can't start shoveling turds fast enough.

Next year we'll miss Jamil and Gardner, I'm sure that's true, but we'll also miss Otule and Jake. And Derrick will still be getting a ton of minutes. On this one, PW, I don't fault you at all. At least you went after the individual play rather than the players. I'm not sure these were necessarily the worst transgressions on the night, simply because there were a ton of transgressions. Last night just felt unwinnable. No matter what we did right, it turned right around on us. Either a miracle shot by Providence or a dumb decision on our end or a combination of the two. It happens. Probably ended our season, unless we win the BET. Today is still another day.

[Halo]

Sums it up well. I also remember everyone saying how great this team looked in the Pro AM. These guys are not good. Can we still blame Larry Williams maybe for this debacle?

Not Buzz's best season.

I don't even want to watch the NCAA's now as it's going to be painful watching UW walk to a Final Four. I wish Buzz would value his roster more like Bo Ryan did and recruit kids who can play basketball and stay for 4 years. It's a huge difference and allows consistency.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I'm curious, how does Buzz value his roster less than Bo? Yes, Vander went pro, but Bo recruited him pretty hard to. Hard enough to get a commitment out of him. And sure, guys that didn't pan out here transferred, but how is Jamail Jones any different from Ian Markolf? How is Jameel McKay any different from Jarrod Uthoff? You give a guy a scholarship, you hope they pan out. If they don't, they leave, sometimes even when you don't want or expect them to.

Davante Gardner and Jamil Wilson stayed for 4 years. Otule stayed for 6. It looks like Derrick, Juan, and Mayo will all end up staying for four, and I'd be surprised to see Taylor leave any time soon. Are you assuming all the freshmen are either transferring or declaring early?

[MU/Panther]

Can't really blame D. Wilson for walking up the ball. MU, did have a timeout left. MU didn't want to take the ball to the hoop, since PC was blocking many shots. Open look at the top of the key for your hot player in Mayo. I think MU got the shot they wanted.

[mufansince72]

Can't really blame D. Wilson for walking up the ball. MU, did have a timeout left. MU didn't want to take the ball to the hoop, since PC was blocking many shots. Open look at the top of the key for your hot player in Mayo. I think MU got the shot they wanted.

Yes you can, you want time for an offensive rebound. If you don't get the rebound, you can still foul and maybe have a 1.5 - 2 seconds left for another possession. You need a sense of urgency there.