Quote Originally Posted by Phantom Warrior View Post
Crisco,

I'm not sure what your point is. No one has written anything about players not trying or putting forth maximum effort. No one is denying that we are undersized, inexperienced, and short-handed. In fact, everyone seems to be in agreement on those three points.

More than once you point out who we had on the floor and ask us to let those line ups "sink in." They have sunk in. We do not have a roster that is talented enough to be competitive game in and game out. There is a definite talent gap between MU and most of the other BE teams.

The debate appears to be on whether or not Wojo has done a good enough job with what he has to work with. Personally, I have no problem with the job Wojo has done. In fact, there have been numerous times this season when I was impressed with how competitive this talent-deficient, experience-deficient (percentage-wise), depth-deficient, size-deficient group has done, right up through the end of January.

The bottom line is that MU is in last place and has won only 1 of its last 12 games. Injuries to Carlino and Juan or no injuries to Carlino and Juan, the "reality" in your "reality check" is that this team is awful. Teams that lose 11 out of 12 games generally are awful. Were my initial expectations delusional? Maybe. I figured we'd fight it out for sixth or seventh in the conference. I had no illusions about an NCAA invitation.

Crisco, you've been there. In fact, you are/were there with your team this season. I've been there - had teams that were talent-deficient relative to the competition. That's where MU is now. And it is painful to watch. And that is very, very real.
Phantom, let me start by saying I generally respect and appreciate your opinions on this and Dodds' board. And I really appreciate the in depth analysis you do that I personally would never take the time to research. That being said, I really found your last thread offensive. This team in no way, shape, or form is awful. Any team that leaves 100% out on the court each and every game cannot EVER be described as "awful". Outside of a 4-5 minute stretch at Butler, I can't remember a minute this season that our guys have not been giving their all. Now I know that that in and of itself does not make them -not- awful.

Ok. Marquette is in last place. In the 2nd best rated league in the country. They have been mostly competitive with a depleted roster. They lost in overtime to the 2nd and 3rd place teams and actually beat the team in fourth place(Butler,Georgetown and Providence). That my friend is not awful. Just because YOU had higher expectations for them and they did not reach those expectations, that does not make them "awful".

I was at the game yesterday and sat behind the bench. There was nothing awful about the attitudes of our coaches or players. Never once, even when down by 24 did they ever think this game was over. Did they get their asses kicked on the boards-- yes. That does not make them "awful". An "awful" team would have packed it up and played out the string at that point. What I did see up close and personal was the effort and sheer exhaustion when the guys came back to the bench. I saw the frustration on their faces when they missed a big shot or allowed an important basket. I saw every single guy(including the walk ons) giving maximum effort in the jobs they were supposed to be doing. And that attitude got them back into the game. Pretty sure an "awful" team would not have cut that lead to 5 points near the end.

I talked to Juan after the game and asked him how bad he was hurting. He said, "So you can tell I'm still hurt? I'm trying to lace them up every game for my teammates, because I need to be there for those guys. They are my brothers. But yeah, I'm hurting pretty bad." That, my friend, is not the personality of an "awful" team.

There wasn't a second in this game that Duane Wilson thought our team was out of this game. That kid's fire gives me hope that he can be a leader on this squad going forward. You couldn't see half of how focused he was, especially in the 2nd half. Kid wasn't going to allow this team to lose. Again, certainly not the attitude of a player on an "awful" team.

Yes we are physically out-manned this year. Yes, that sometimes makes us look bad.Yes, sometimes our coaches make wrong decisions. Yes, some of those bad decisions make us look bad. We all get that. Sorry the team hasn't lived up to YOUR expectations.

Frankly, the only thing "awful" about this season is the attitude of some of Marquette's so-called fans.