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Post by bosoxfan3 on Feb 26, 2009 0:38:08 GMT -5
James is a huge part of that team... but people also need to recognize that he really hasn't gotten much better since his freshman year. Somehow he has become a worse tree throw shooter (who knew it was possible), the rest of his numbers are down, and he is the 3rd/4th option on offense. No question it hurts Marquette's already slim chances at winning the Big East/more than a round or two in the big dance, but that team is still plenty good to win games without James. Depends how you define better. He certainly hasn't become a better scorer; in fact, he may have regressed in that regard. I think it took him until this season, but I think he's shown he has become a better player. He is a better passer, perhaps a better ball-handler, better leader, better at running the break, better defender and he plays within himself. Freshman year, it almost seemed like he wanted to be DWade. Now, he wants to be a true point guard, and I think that has made a huge difference. His role changed, and he's finally embraced it, and I think that turned him into a very good senior, after being a rather disappointing junior. Tough loss for that team -- tougher than statistics would suggest, I think. I understand that his role has changed, but in the few Marquette games I've seen, he is almost invisible on the floor for much of them. What is especially disconcerting is that he is by almost every statistical measure worse than his freshman year- the only thing that he has done better this year than before is not turning the ball over. Maybe his leadership is really important (after all, what would I know about senior guard leadership from this year?), but his stats are unimpressive. He's definitely a huge loss for Marquette though, and it'll be interesting to see how the team handles that. |
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royski
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Post by royski on Feb 26, 2009 0:53:30 GMT -5
I think they've got a better shot of winning the BET without him honestly. What people seem to be forgetting is that D James OFTEN would totally shoot Marquette out of a game.
Cases in point: Last year, 2nd round of the NCAA tournament in a 1 point loss to Stanford in overtime, D James shoots 4-16 from the floor. In their 7 point semifinal loss to Pitt, he was an even uglier 3-16. Freshman year, when Marquette lost to us in the quarterfinals of the BET, he was a splendid 2-15, and 4-8 from the line.
Fact of the matter is that in a tournament setting the kid is a ticking time bomb. He WILL eventually lose you a game. I think he's a good guy and wish him all the best with his recovery and future career, but he is waaaaaaaaaaaay glorified. You can't win titles with him on your team.
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Hoya50
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Post by Hoya50 on Feb 26, 2009 10:04:47 GMT -5
hope he has a full and speedy recovery.
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Big Dog
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Post by Big Dog on Feb 26, 2009 10:12:17 GMT -5
I feel bad for him. He's one of the few kids who always had people in his ear telling him to go pro, but he never did. Granted, they were wrong, but most kids would have done it anyway. Tough way to go out. Um, huh? He tried to go twice--went through predraft camp and all that; it is just that he was so clearly not good enough that he had no choice but to come back. |
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hoyaLS05
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Post by hoyaLS05 on Feb 26, 2009 10:14:46 GMT -5
I think they've got a better shot of winning the BET without him honestly. What people seem to be forgetting is that D James OFTEN would totally shoot Marquette out of a game. Cases in point: Last year, 2nd round of the NCAA tournament in a 1 point loss to Stanford in overtime, D James shoots 4-16 from the floor. In their 7 point semifinal loss to Pitt, he was an even uglier 3-16. Freshman year, when Marquette lost to us in the quarterfinals of the BET, he was a splendid 2-15, and 4-8 from the line. Fact of the matter is that in a tournament setting the kid is a ticking time bomb. He WILL eventually lose you a game. I think he's a good guy and wish him all the best with his recovery and future career, but he is waaaaaaaaaaaay glorified. You can't win titles with him on your team. I can't believe I've become a Dominic James apologist, but this was all last year. He is still a solidly sub-50 percent shooter this year, but he's picked his spots much more. He HASN'T had any of those 3-16 Scottie Reynolds Specials. I think that team needed him to win the BET. |
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tashoya
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Post by tashoya on Feb 26, 2009 10:19:44 GMT -5
Agreed that DJ is playing a much smarter, efficient and better brand of ball than he EVER has in his 7 years at Quette. It's about time. That being said, I like watching them play with DJ accepting his role. Good luck for a speedy recovery.
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Big Dog
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Post by Big Dog on Feb 26, 2009 10:20:22 GMT -5
I do feel bad for D.J. though. I also feel bad because the injury gives MU fans an excuse when their team flames out, as they'd have done with him anyway. Hard to believe MU has played only 3 games against ranked teams all season (and lost 2 of them). I think they're looking at a 3 game losing streak here though.
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tashoya
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Post by tashoya on Feb 26, 2009 10:21:57 GMT -5
LOVE this quote though.... I wonder if he has any clue what he's saying....
"We are hurtful as a program and hurtful as an institution for Dominic," Williams said.
Priceless. And, it was the other way around I think for Dominic's first 3 years, so I guess it's time for Quette to be hurtful.
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Big Dog
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Post by Big Dog on Feb 26, 2009 10:24:54 GMT -5
LOVE this quote though.... I wonder if he has any clue what he's saying.... "We are hurtful as a program and hurtful as an institution for Dominic," Williams said. Priceless. And, it was the other way around I think for Dominic's first 3 years, so I guess it's time for Quette to be hurtful. I am speechless. |
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Post by RockawayHoya on Feb 26, 2009 10:26:07 GMT -5
I feel bad for James just because he hasn't acted like a jerk on or off the court like so many of our other BE opponents have. The kid has done nothing but go out and play hard since I've seen him at Marquette, and I can respect that.
Having said that, I'd love to draw Marquette on either Wed. or Thurs. of the BET now. I disagree with the posters that say they're a better team without him. The bottom line is he's still someone any defense has to account for, and now that he's not there, it will put more defensive pressure on Mcneal and Matthews. I'd like our chances now against them.
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NCHoya
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Post by NCHoya on Feb 26, 2009 10:49:32 GMT -5
For a team widely thought to have no depth, the loss of James is HUGE for MU. Acker is not a starting BE point guard yet and James has the experience factor that matters in March. Anyone who says MU is better off without James is fooling themselves. Who backs up Acker at PG? Who brings the ball up when McNeal needs to come off a screen to get a shot on the wing? This fundamentally weakens this team.
Tough break for MU and James. They had a special season going for the seniors and now they will have a tough time getting out of the quarterfinals in the BE tourney.
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GUJook97
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Post by GUJook97 on Feb 26, 2009 10:59:58 GMT -5
I feel bad for James just because he hasn't acted like a jerk on or off the court like so many of our other BE opponents have. The kid has done nothing but go out and play hard since I've seen him at Marquette, and I can respect that. Having said that, I'd love to draw Marquette on either Wed. or Thurs. of the BET now. I disagree with the posters that say they're a better team without him. The bottom line is he's still someone any defense has to account for, and now that he's not there, it will put more defensive pressure on Mcneal and Matthews. I'd like our chances now against them. No offense to anybody, but are people really saying that Marquette would be okay, and even better without James? Really? Wow. I am totally with Rockaway on this one. This could be big for team like us and ND, who can now play this team in the BET without James. Marq barely plays 7 guys, and most of their offense is dependant on a 3 guard set. Marquette is D-U-N, done. |
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GUJook97
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Post by GUJook97 on Feb 26, 2009 11:00:37 GMT -5
For a team widely thought to have no depth, the loss of James is HUGE for MU. Acker is not a starting BE point guard yet and James has the experience factor that matters in March. Anyone who says MU is better off without James is fooling themselves. Who backs up Acker at PG? Who brings the ball up when McNeal needs to come off a screen to get a shot on the wing? This fundamentally weakens this team. Tough break for MU and James. They had a special season going for the seniors and now they will have a tough time getting out of the quarterfinals in the BE tourney. Yep. |
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royski
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Post by royski on Feb 26, 2009 13:08:59 GMT -5
I think they've got a better shot of winning the BET without him honestly. What people seem to be forgetting is that D James OFTEN would totally shoot Marquette out of a game. Cases in point: Last year, 2nd round of the NCAA tournament in a 1 point loss to Stanford in overtime, D James shoots 4-16 from the floor. In their 7 point semifinal loss to Pitt, he was an even uglier 3-16. Freshman year, when Marquette lost to us in the quarterfinals of the BET, he was a splendid 2-15, and 4-8 from the line. Fact of the matter is that in a tournament setting the kid is a ticking time bomb. He WILL eventually lose you a game. I think he's a good guy and wish him all the best with his recovery and future career, but he is waaaaaaaaaaaay glorified. You can't win titles with him on your team. I can't believe I've become a Dominic James apologist, but this was all last year. He is still a solidly sub-50 percent shooter this year, but he's picked his spots much more. He HASN'T had any of those 3-16 Scottie Reynolds Specials. I think that team needed him to win the BET. Oh, when he's played within his role, good things have happened, but let's not pretend the guy suddenly became Jason Kidd. In games where DJ took 10 shots or less this season, Marquette is 14-0. When he takes more than 10, they were 9-4. He shoots his team out of games, he's been better about it this season, but I still believe he was a ticking time bomb. |
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Post by professorhoya on Feb 27, 2009 2:02:14 GMT -5
James is a huge part of that team... but people also need to recognize that he really hasn't gotten much better since his freshman year. Somehow he has become a worse tree throw shooter (who knew it was possible), the rest of his numbers are down, and he is the 3rd/4th option on offense. . I've heard of shooting Bricks before but Shooting Trees is a new one unless you are Mr. T. Too bad he got hurt, you don't want to wish that on anyone but if you are going to get hurt anyway why couldn't it have been before the two Hoyas-Marquette games. Now the BE teams that remain on Marquettes schedule are gonna get an unexpected windfall. |
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