Just saw the highlights – the surprise inbounds steal for a layup was a vintage Spike move. Very satisfying.
There’s just something about MAAR @ Maryland – remember last year he put Layman on a poster.
Even if it doesn’t fit your narrative on Donnal, I think that you should give him a little more credit than “good offensive game.” 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 for 4 on threes, against legit big men is really good. Who knows, he might reach Matt Costello heights by the time he’s a senior.
He had a great game. Hopefully shows more the rest of the way.
I just hope we don’t get a weak performance in one of our next two. What scares me is we put up a great game then lay a complete egg. I am not as worried about the Iowa game being we get a week of before that one so our guys should not be too fatigued. These next two games really scare me and we need at least one if not both. JB should give a few more off days like he did this past week it seemed to have a benefit.
I assuming they will get more time or they should if they’re not already getting it. This time of year practices are short and the more down time the better. Have to start saving legs
I am not sure how much you can take from this game since they really haven’t had a performance like this all year or certainly in the past 6 weeks. You can’t play 25 good minutes on the road and expect to win. Irvin did some good things but got destroyed defensively against a more athletic version of himself. This team needs a huge upgrade in the athleticism department. Neither team was very good defensively but Maryland was terrific for a 10 minute stretch and blocked a lot of shots.
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Hailtoyourvictor.
MAAR is becoming exactly the player I thought he would.
He gets better every week and has all the tools.
If he cleans up the defensive glass, he gets a good all around game from me. Can’t let put back after put back get dropped on your head when you’re the man in the middle.
He had a great game offensively.
Exactly even when he misses it was cleRly a great move. If he had gotten more pt all year you know he’d be balling by now. One huge mistake coach has made this year. Very frustrAting
If they match today they win both games. Wisconsin will not shoot like that to match us.
… The weird thing is that he is a Beilein Believer ™ but always disparaged MAAR for some reason. I take the opposite view.
MAAR’s kinda the lone bright spot for me. I hope the pundits add him to their “Big Three” next year. I don’t want to constantly read about how this is “Walton and Irvin’s team.” The more MAAR gets confidence as a leader on the floor, the better they will do.
I have to imagine that Wagner is making those mental mishaps consistently in practice. Otherwise, I see no reason why he gets the fewest minutes at the 5 of the four big men. His upside is greater at that position than anyone on the roster. Donnal has been doing a better job of staying out of foul trouble recently, so keep him on the floor as much as you can. Then throw Wagner on there. Even if he is not making buckets, I have to imagine he’ll provide some energy.
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Bacon I think you’re probably right about practice. Eventually though the guys who do it in practice but can’t do it a game need the same treatment. I think that might be happening right now.
He really needs to work on shot selection IMO. He really hurt us with a couple midrange jumpers in which he might as well have just stepped back and attempted the three. J will never be his strength, but I really hope he works hard at it this offseason. If I was a defender, I’d dare him to shoot and sag back.
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I imagine Wagner is too however, some kids are just gamers. When the lights come on, they play their best. The opposite is also true. I’m sure Doyle plays fine in practice however, when the lights come on, he goes into his shell.
He makes enough of them to keep the defense honest, so they can’t sag.
Whole team needs to work on shot selection Bacon
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Sometimes I wonder if McGary sat on the bench so much of the year because he was untameable – if he wanted to dribble coast to coast, he was going to do it. Thank goodness the leash finally came off… otherwise Kansas would have put Michigan to bed.
He hits the open spot up 3s. But off the dribble he’s not going to make them.