jjfanec

He chose the one he could go to without losing a whole extra year of eligibility. He ruled out Big Tens schools because of this. Marquette was a good choice. Also historically you are right about Marquette's offense being more exciting but I am not sure how one can make that claim this year. Marquette's offense is dreadful against teams with a defensive pulse. Wisconsin on the other hand is scoring at a much better rate and just put up 51 in a half on Iowa.

Worst draft proposal ever but it doesn't surprise me with the NBA. They want so badly to see the Lakers, Bulls, Knicks, Heat, etc to be relevant every year. What I don't get is that the NBA worries so much about tanking but the NFL doesn't seem worried even though it is a shorter season and thus easier to manipulate the draft. If the NBA does this they might as well contract a few teams because it will be almost impossible for Milwaukee, Charlotte, and others who don't already have superstars to become championship contenders

The NBA is looking at changing the lottery system. Sounds like the dumbest system ever. Essentially even the best teams could end up getting a top three pick. Keep the lottery or just go to a system like the NFL. If teams decide to tank who cares. The small market teams need a chance to compete. Big name Free Agents already don't want to come to small markets so the small market teams need the draft. The NBA would do something like this

I don't know how much Wilson would have played. Buzz doesn't play freshman a ton. Jujuan Johnson was an even more highly rate recruit and he cant get ahead of Jake Thomas. Derrick Wilson was going to start over Duane even before the injury. The Big East has 5 teams that could be bubble teams - Georgetown, St. Johns, Marquette, Xavier, Butler. Even Creighton could be a bubble team with a bad loss or two.

MU now 7-5. No bad losses and one solid win against George Washington. I wonder what they need to finish in the New Big East to make the tourney. Marquette only has two games left against a team currently ranked and those are both against Villanova. In fact Creighton is the only Big East team receiving votes outside of Villanova. Not a lot of marquee wins available. This Marquette team simply does not look as talented or aggressive as previous versions.

I doubt Stone stays in state but if a big or wing watches Bronson Koenig UW would have to become more appealing. True pass first point guard who sets people up really well. They just need to ask Nigel Hayes how fun it is to play with a true point guard.

Saying Marquette backed off Aaron Durley is a pretty nice way of putting it. He signed a LOI with Marquette and they showed them the door. McKay was really unfortunate for Marquette because he will be needed next year. I highly doubt Pierce the big coming in next year will be ready to play. How often non top 50 bigs make a big impact their freshman year. They could get a JUCO but they are out of scholarships so someone would have to leave but there is a guy in this recruiting class who got suspended so I guess they could still have his spot. I don't know how many scholarships that leaves them with Next year Marquette needs Taylor in a big way. They lose Otule, Gardner, and Wilson. They will have to go Taylor, Anderson, Burton for size next year and Burton isn't really big. They will probably be able to put up some big points though

If Harris wouldn't have went pro that team would have been phenomenal. They made it to the Elite 8 anyway but they would have had Devin Harris, Mike Wilkinson, and Alando Tucker. They also had Sharif Chambliss, Kam Taylor, Zach Morley, and Clayton Hanson. That team would have been a national championship contender.

The nice thing about this Badger team is that it should continue to get better. They are replacing 3 starters from last year and one of those guys is coming off major knee surgery in Gasser. Their first three off the bench didnt even play college basketball last year. Dukan is the only one who was in college but he redshirted and really never played before that. Hayes and Koenig are going to be very good. Bo gave extremely high praise to Koenig in an interview on ESPN. If Traevon can play like he did against Marquette the Badgers are going to be incredibly tough to beat. He is the key to the team because he can be so bad some nights but when he plays as a pg - penetrate, look to pass, no dumb turnovers - this team is very good. Dekker has really asserted himself the past couple games, Kaminsky's improvement has been incredible, and Gasser and Brust give you very solid play. Once their 3 point shooting comes back up to even average they will be in good shape. Someone said they don't think they are a complete ball club. Currently they are top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency. Teams that do that usually make deep runs in the tourney. Fondy stated - "I don't think UW is anywhere near one of the Top 5 teams in the country. Kansas, Kentucky, MSU, Duke, Ok State, Arizona, Syracuse are probably all better teams in the long run altough UW could probably beat any of them on any given day." I will give you Arizona, Ok State, MSU, and Cuse for sure, but Duke simply has not impressed me yet and Kansas and Kentucky have a lot of freshman who need to step up and that doesn't always happen. I think UW is a better team than Duke. We are more well-rounded and have great upper-classmen leadership. I think people underestimate the potential improvement this Badger team has as well.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement. No but they definitely were more high upside type picks. A few of those guys were highly regarded by the posters who follow the Brewers farm system

Another huge win for the Badgers. It was weird to see a UW vs Marquette game where UW was the more offensively talented team. Dekker is a stud. The final score was closer than the game in my mind. Marquette got pretty hot right at the end but it was a 10 point game most of the way with Wisconsin missing wide open 3's - just 7 for 26

Well this is one way to spend nearly half of it. This isn't a terrible move for this year. It is a terrible move for 4-10 years from now. They might not have a lot of arbitration eligible players and a low payroll but if some of their young guys perform they will be expensive 3-4 years from now

This is a horrible contract. I really like Jack Z the scout and draft guru, but Jack Z the gm is not good.

This is a huge game for Marquette. They are in needed of a quality non conference in and they only have the Wisconsin game and the New Mexico one to get it. The Big East is not going to offer as many chances for Big Wins. With only one ranked team right now it is tough to find the quality wins needed for a really solid NCAA tourney resume. They are 5-3 and going 5-4 would make them look much more like a bubble team than a team that would do some damage in the tourney My biggest fear for the Badgers was their toughness. They showed a lot of toughness against St. Louis and Virginia and this game will be another big challenge. Jamil Wilson is the key to this game in my mind. He seems to disappear along with picking up cheap fouls. If that happens I don't see Marquette winning. This will be another low scoring game

Here is the question. Would any of you give up a high upside minor leaguer for Aoki? I highly doubt it. But some are acting like Doug could have gotten one

Nope. His minor league line is solid but not spectacular, apart from a couple years. There numerous guys who put him minor league numbers like Gamel and never make it.

The Big 10/ACC challenge was frontloaded with the good ACC teams. Duke and Cuse have played while MSU, and OSU have not. The Big 10 will more than likely win those 2 games especially with MSU and OSU playing at home. The Big Ten has a chance for some of lower teams to pick up wins with Nebraska and Purdue playing at home against the worst two ACC teams. The Wisconsin vs Virginia game will probably decide it. Virginia is a really solid team and very tough test

Huge game for Wisconsin tonight. On the road against a team that is just outside the top 25 (next team receiving votes). Virginia has one loss on a last second shot against VCU. They should be a tough matchup for the Badgers. If they Badgers get through Virginia and Marquette they have a shot to be undefeated heading into conference season

Hughes has been really bad 2 of the last 3 years but he still has talent. The Twins are spending some money this offseason to upgrade their rotation.

Buzz loves his guards and swing guys. The 2013-2015 classes are already full of them.

Even with Wilson's injury Johnson and Burton will be very interesting to see what they can do their freshman year. James, McNeal, and Matthews class was able to contribute right away, not sure how buzz will use these 2 at first. I know he was a juco transfer but loosing McKay really hurts, marquette was OK size wise this season with Otule and Gardner, but they are gone next season and they really don't have front court players to replace him. I have no idea what Marquette is going to do at the 4 and 5 next year. They will probably get a big or two in this upcoming class but bigs who are not elite dont often play early. Steve Taylor is their only big guy next year. I guess maybe Burton could play the 4 but he is just 6'4. Am I missing anyone else that can play big on the roster?

UW season really depends on if they have guys who can back up the 4 and 5. Their guard play will be very good with Gasser, Brust, Jackson, Marshall and Koenig this team is deep at guard. Dekker is going to have a big year. The offense will flow much better this year. Will the Badgers be able to defend the post and get rebounds? Not the normal questions the Badgers have going into the season. Which is funny because Marquette's questions are at guard. Derrick Wilson and Mayo have been incredibly inconsistent in their time at Marquette, but Wilson, Gardner, and Otule provide a lot of experience and depth. I question whether Gardner can guard the more athletic fours but he can score that is for sure

I dont have the same love for Gamel some here do so him getting cut makes sense. Green really surprises me.

I dont think you really followed Lawrie's season if you think it was a lack of interest down the stretch that caused him to struggle. He was horrible the first half of the year. He was barely breaking an OPS of .600 for a while. He had one hot month and then fell back. Also you cant discount injuries because they seem to be a norm of his time in the majors. He has missed significant time each year.

I agree and would say Gallardo has a chance to be a #2 again. After coming back from injury his K numbers were very solid. He could still be a #3 but the potential for him to bounce back up is there. He also averaged nearly 7 innings a start which is big for him as well.