This is Part 2 in our 4 part series as Ryan Ellerbusch takes a look back at the Marquette Golden Eagles players thus far and gives each postition a grade:
GUARDS : Grade B+
(Dwight Buycks, Junior Cadougan, Darius Johnson-Odom, Vander Blue, and Rob Frozena)
The importance of having a good backcourt has been a staple throughout the history of the Marquette basketball program and this year’s group of players are contributing by doing the things they know how to do best. Heading into the season, Dwight Buycks did not expect to be the starting point guard for the Golden Eagles, but has stepped into the role nicely and has kept up his scoring too, averaging 10.4 points per game in addition to leading the team in assists with 90. However, Buycks also leads the team in turnovers and that is where sophomore point guard Junior Cadougan has stepped up and excelled in that category this year. Cadougan is slated to be the point guard of the future for the Golden Eagles and has received a great deal of experience and playing time since the departure of freshman Reggie Smith who transferred during the early stages of the season. Cadougan’s progress over the next two years of his college career will definitely be exciting to watch him grow and lead Marquette. Starting the season off very slow shooting the ball, sophomore Darius Johnson-Odom has come on as of late and leads the Golden Eagles in scoring with 16.5 points per game. Johnson-Odom’s athleticism on his slam dunks and drives to the lane has been a big asset to not only the team, but to the Marquette Spirit Shop’s jersey sales too. Johnson-Odom is definitely showing scouts that he could potentially be an NBA caliber player one day and is a talented lefty who has a knack at finishing in the paint through traffic, which complements his great shooting stroke from the outside. Highly touted freshman Vander Blue has quietly made an impact this year not on the offensive end, but rather defensively. Blue has guarded some of the best talent in the Big East and isn’t getting quite the recognition he deserves because his performance game in and game out playing defense doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet. Blue is continually improving on his defense and shot, which down the road, could make him an elite player and all-around threat which is his goal. Lastly, fan-favorite Rob Frozena has tallied 20 minutes and 5 points in his senior campaign and continues to be the energetic cheerleader on the bench that we all have come to love and appreciate over the years
Part 3 of 4 COMING SOON: Mid-Season Report Card - Marquette Forwards
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The Milwaukee Bucks
Roberto Ruiz-Maki
Once again, there will be no players representing the Milwaukee Bucks during the NBA all star game. I cannot say that I am surprised, the Bucks are an underachieving team with no stars (unless you count Brandon Jennings, who has been injured for the majority of the season).
Andrew Bogut, the Bucks' only player with a decent shot at being chosen, was left out, again. Bogut has been one of the most consistent centers in the eastern conference, leading the league in blocks per game while averaging a double-double (double digit numbers in two statistical categories). Bogut might as well be invisible though. He does not average enough points (just under 14) to impress anyone, not even remotely; nor does he make flashy plays that would net him spots on ESPN's Sportscenter. While fans in Milwaukee know Bogut as the driving force behind this Bucks team, other fans barely notice him.
Other than Bogut, there were really no other players with realistic shots at being all stars. Jennings might be in the conversation next year (mainly because of his flashy, “me first” game), but as long as he is averaging less than 40% on field goals, he will not be strongly considered for any all star team.
On another note, the Bucks team has had a very sorry season up to this date. Did anyone honestly think differently though? We fans may have convinced ourselves that after our showing against Atlanta in the playoffs we had a decent shot at being good this year. We knew all along, though, that this team did not have what it takes to win 50 games. Maggette has never been anything more than a cancer, Salmons had a good run, but he will always be a role-player, Chris Douglas-Roberts still thinks he is playing at Memphis, and the Brockness monster really is just Jon Brockman.
The Milwaukee Bucks will not be contending team for a long time. Dewayne Wade and Lebron James will be ruling the east for years to come, and the Bucks will be overpaying free agents and playing in the worst arena in the NBA just like they always have been. Do yourselves a favor Bucks fans, don't get your hopes up, the second half of the season will not bring us any more joy than the first half.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Marquette Golden Eagles Mid-Season Report Card : PART 1
This is Part 1 in our 4 part series as Ryan Ellerbusch takes a look back at the Marquette Golden Eagles season thus far:
The Marquette University men’s basketball team (14-8, 5-4 Big East) has had an up-and-down season much like the rest of the Big East Conference throughout the 2010-11 season. Currently, eight teams in the Big East are ranked in the latest AP Top 25 poll, with Marquette narrowly missing the cut. The Big East is highly regarded as the best conference in college basketball and the Golden Eagles have had their share of close wins and losses in conference play thus far. Come NCAA tournament time in March, the Golden Eagles will have to prove to the NCAA tournament selection committee that their quality wins have outnumbered their close losses to a number of ranked opponents. Marquette’s victories over Notre Dame and Syracuse, both ranked 9th nationally at the time, have provided fans a reason to get excited about the possibility of making an NCAA tournament run. With approximately half of the Big East conference schedule left to play, the Golden Eagles will definitely have numerous opportunities to upset their opponents as they will played ranked foes Villanova, Georgetown, and Connecticut on the road and return home to The Bradley Center to face Cincinnati on Senior Night. Staying competitive and possibly pulling out a win or two out of those four games will put Marquette in great shape as long as they can continue to keep playing at a high level against the lower tier teams in the Big East, which will positively reflect on their resume. Overall, wins don’t come easy in the Big East and the Marquette Golden Eagles tournament chances are definitely within reach as seniors Jimmy Butler, Dwight Buycks, Joe Fulce, and Rob Frozena want nothing more than to end their careers at Marquette University on a high note.
Part 2 of 4 COMING SOON: Mid-Season Report Card - Marquette Guards
The Marquette University men’s basketball team (14-8, 5-4 Big East) has had an up-and-down season much like the rest of the Big East Conference throughout the 2010-11 season. Currently, eight teams in the Big East are ranked in the latest AP Top 25 poll, with Marquette narrowly missing the cut. The Big East is highly regarded as the best conference in college basketball and the Golden Eagles have had their share of close wins and losses in conference play thus far. Come NCAA tournament time in March, the Golden Eagles will have to prove to the NCAA tournament selection committee that their quality wins have outnumbered their close losses to a number of ranked opponents. Marquette’s victories over Notre Dame and Syracuse, both ranked 9th nationally at the time, have provided fans a reason to get excited about the possibility of making an NCAA tournament run. With approximately half of the Big East conference schedule left to play, the Golden Eagles will definitely have numerous opportunities to upset their opponents as they will played ranked foes Villanova, Georgetown, and Connecticut on the road and return home to The Bradley Center to face Cincinnati on Senior Night. Staying competitive and possibly pulling out a win or two out of those four games will put Marquette in great shape as long as they can continue to keep playing at a high level against the lower tier teams in the Big East, which will positively reflect on their resume. Overall, wins don’t come easy in the Big East and the Marquette Golden Eagles tournament chances are definitely within reach as seniors Jimmy Butler, Dwight Buycks, Joe Fulce, and Rob Frozena want nothing more than to end their careers at Marquette University on a high note.
Part 2 of 4 COMING SOON: Mid-Season Report Card - Marquette Guards
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Pro Bowl thoughts
Roberto Ruiz-Maki
The NFC beat the AFC 55-41 in an extremely ugly game. What is the point of having the Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl? The Super Bowl is the biggest game of the year, and one of the best parts is having two full weeks to hype the game. For the second straight year, though, the NFL decided to have the Pro Bowl squeezed in between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. Logically, this makes no sense. Not only are the players who should be representing the two top teams not involved (along with all the other players who come down with mysterious injuries during the week leading up to the Pro Bowl), but it detracts from the Super Bowl hype. Having two weeks to digest everything that is about to happen is excruciating, but the good kind of excruciating. Not only is the game hard to watch because neither team is really trying (tell me how, in a defense driven league, the scores seem straight out of a video game), but players are being more obnoxious than usual. At one point in the game, with the NFC leading 35-0, Steven Jackson took a hand-off and ran it in from 21 yards out; I became sick to my stomach while watching Jackson waltz around defenders while they played as if they didn't have enough money to get their jersey dry cleaned after the game.
The Pro Bowl is not a football contest, it means nothing to the players involved, and it is a disgrace to have it as the last football game played prior to the Super Bowl. The game used to be played after the Super Bowl, and that is where it belongs. Every player who wants to participate can do so, instead of leaving the players from the two best teams out of the game.
On a somewhat separate topic, the NFL does not have a site chosen for the Pro Bowl in 2012. Hawaii has payed four million dollars to have the game in Honolulu this year, and it has traditionally been held in Hawaii (every year since 1980 except last year, when it was held in Florida). Players have made it clear that if it is not held in Hawaii, they are less likely to go. The NFL should stop entertaining offers from other locations, and realize that the location that is best for them is Hawaii. Players view it as a vacation if it is in Hawaii, most players already live in Florida, so why take time out of their schedules to play another game there?
Go Packers.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Packers vs Bears, NFC championship recap
Roberto Ruiz-Maki
The Green Bay Packers will be representing the NFC in the Super Bowl on February 6th against the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Writing the previous sentence sans all-caps was quite an accomplishment for any Packers fan, so I am proud of myself.)
In what was easily the biggest football game ever played at Soldier Field, the Packers prevailed over the Chicago Bears and their third string quarterback Caleb Hanie. After the first drive it seemed as if the Packers were going to run away with this game just as they did last week in Atlanta, but the offense stalled after scoring two touchdowns and went into the fourth quarter leading 14-0. With the Packers defense dominating Chicago up to that point, Packers fans were expecting to coast to an easy victory over their hated rival. Hanie wouldn't let that happen though; he led the Bears on two scoring drives to make it a game at 21-14. Chicago had the ball at midfield with two minutes remaining, and images of the NFC championship game against the New York Giants started to fill the minds of Packers fans. But Hanie threw an interception to Sam Shields with less than a minute to go, and the game was sealed in thrilling fashion for Green Bay.
The play of the game was when 345 pound (on a good day) BJ Raji intercepted a pass from Hanie and ran it back 18 yards for a touchdown, giving the Packers a 21-7 lead late in the fourth quarter. The player of the game, however, had to be the rookie Shields. Shields had four tackles, one sack, two interceptions, and a forced fumble in the game, with the other interception coming at the Green Bay three yard line with less than a minute left in the first half. Shields played years beyond his age, owning the last minute of each half.
After winning three straight road games in the playoffs, the Packers will travel to Arlington, Texas to play in the Super Bowl. The Packers, who have kept winning despite having 15 players on injured reserve (every other team in the history of the NFL with that many players on injured reserve has failed to win even half of their games), will be the first six seed to represent the NFC in the playoffs.
(Please read this next sentence as if it were capitalized.)
The Green Bay Packers will be representing the NFC in the Super Bowl on February 6th!
Recap: Notre Dame 80 – Marquette 75
Ryan Ellerbusch
Looking for another 22-point repeat win over Notre Dame like the one just 12 days ago, Marquette got off a hot start in the first-half before a strong second-half surge propelled the 16th ranked Fighting Irish over the Golden Eagles 80-75.
Darius Johnson-Odom led Marquette with 25 points and the Golden Eagles led by as much as 12 points before Marquette’s 61.5% shooting from the field in the first half cooled off drastically. From that point on, they shot just 30% in the second-half and Notre Dame cracked down defensively therefore slowing down Marquette’s aggressive offensive attack to squeak out the win. Once again, Marquette failed to hold a second-half lead on the road despite a 45-36 advantage at halftime. Notre Dame grabbed the lead for good with 10:28 remaining in the game, their first since the score was 2-0, when Ben Hansbrough drained a timely 3-pointer and finished with a game-high 28 points.
Marquette saw extended playing time from senior forward Joe Fulce who saw 17 minutes of action and tallied 10 points and 5 rebounds in place of Jae Crowder and Chris Otule who both fouled out in the game with four minutes remaining. Jimmy Butler also put together another consistent performance with 12 points and is just one point shy of scoring 1,000 career points in Marquette basketball history.
Marquette will look to slow down Kemba Walker and the 8th ranked UConn Huskies Tuesday Night at 8 p.m. when the Golden Eagles return to The Bradley Center. Marquette will look to feed off the energy from their home court crowd and get back to their winning ways.
Looking for another 22-point repeat win over Notre Dame like the one just 12 days ago, Marquette got off a hot start in the first-half before a strong second-half surge propelled the 16th ranked Fighting Irish over the Golden Eagles 80-75.
Darius Johnson-Odom led Marquette with 25 points and the Golden Eagles led by as much as 12 points before Marquette’s 61.5% shooting from the field in the first half cooled off drastically. From that point on, they shot just 30% in the second-half and Notre Dame cracked down defensively therefore slowing down Marquette’s aggressive offensive attack to squeak out the win. Once again, Marquette failed to hold a second-half lead on the road despite a 45-36 advantage at halftime. Notre Dame grabbed the lead for good with 10:28 remaining in the game, their first since the score was 2-0, when Ben Hansbrough drained a timely 3-pointer and finished with a game-high 28 points.
Marquette saw extended playing time from senior forward Joe Fulce who saw 17 minutes of action and tallied 10 points and 5 rebounds in place of Jae Crowder and Chris Otule who both fouled out in the game with four minutes remaining. Jimmy Butler also put together another consistent performance with 12 points and is just one point shy of scoring 1,000 career points in Marquette basketball history.
Marquette will look to slow down Kemba Walker and the 8th ranked UConn Huskies Tuesday Night at 8 p.m. when the Golden Eagles return to The Bradley Center. Marquette will look to feed off the energy from their home court crowd and get back to their winning ways.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Recap: Marquette 94 - DePaul 64
Ryan Ellerbusch
Last time Marquette faced DePaul, the Blue Demons were about to snap a 24-game losing streak in Big East play by beating the Golden Eagles 51-50. However, on Tuesday night Marquette made sure that debacle didn't happen again and were victorious this time to extend DePaul’s current conference losing streak to 18 games, their most recent conference win was last year’s matchup.
Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler led the way for Marquette in the 30-point blowout win with 20 points apiece as the Golden Eagles combined to shoot 51.5% from the field. Butler and point guard Junior Cadougan also had four steals each, contributing to the 22 forced DePaul turnovers and a 40-10 Marquette advantage in points off turnovers. Jae Crowder had yet another big performance and played an all-around great game, contributing in many aspects on the stat sheets. Crowder tallied 18 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks on the night.
Marquette led 46-29 at halftime due in large part to a pair of 6-0 runs along with a 16-2 run to close out the first half. They later closed out the 94-64 win by converting at the free-throw line, playing strong defense, and cleaning the glass.
It was nice to see Marquette (13-6, 4-2 Big East) get back on track and beat the winless DePaul following their devastating 71-70 loss against Louisville on Saturday, in which they choked the game away in the closing minutes. Marquette on offense has seen their opponents play a 2-3 zone against them in nearly every game as of late and good shooting from the paint and three-point range will be the key in the upcoming games, all against ranked foes.
Notes:
- Washington Wizards rookie point guard, John Wall, was in attendance for the Marquette/DePaul game. He and Darius Johnson-Odom are both Raleigh, North Carolina natives.
- Junior Cadougan had to the leave the game temporarily in the first-half to have a band-aid placed above his left eyebrow where he had a cut. Luckily, he returned shortly thereafter.
- Vander Blue got back on track offensively tonight. Blue finished with 12 points on 5-6 shooting from the field and 2-3 from the charity stripe.
Last time Marquette faced DePaul, the Blue Demons were about to snap a 24-game losing streak in Big East play by beating the Golden Eagles 51-50. However, on Tuesday night Marquette made sure that debacle didn't happen again and were victorious this time to extend DePaul’s current conference losing streak to 18 games, their most recent conference win was last year’s matchup.
Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler led the way for Marquette in the 30-point blowout win with 20 points apiece as the Golden Eagles combined to shoot 51.5% from the field. Butler and point guard Junior Cadougan also had four steals each, contributing to the 22 forced DePaul turnovers and a 40-10 Marquette advantage in points off turnovers. Jae Crowder had yet another big performance and played an all-around great game, contributing in many aspects on the stat sheets. Crowder tallied 18 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks on the night.
Marquette led 46-29 at halftime due in large part to a pair of 6-0 runs along with a 16-2 run to close out the first half. They later closed out the 94-64 win by converting at the free-throw line, playing strong defense, and cleaning the glass.
It was nice to see Marquette (13-6, 4-2 Big East) get back on track and beat the winless DePaul following their devastating 71-70 loss against Louisville on Saturday, in which they choked the game away in the closing minutes. Marquette on offense has seen their opponents play a 2-3 zone against them in nearly every game as of late and good shooting from the paint and three-point range will be the key in the upcoming games, all against ranked foes.
Notes:
- Washington Wizards rookie point guard, John Wall, was in attendance for the Marquette/DePaul game. He and Darius Johnson-Odom are both Raleigh, North Carolina natives.
- Junior Cadougan had to the leave the game temporarily in the first-half to have a band-aid placed above his left eyebrow where he had a cut. Luckily, he returned shortly thereafter.
- Vander Blue got back on track offensively tonight. Blue finished with 12 points on 5-6 shooting from the field and 2-3 from the charity stripe.
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