Marquette - Georgetown

[TooLiveBrew]

Isn't James still a suspect shooter? And how does his defense stack up to that of Flowers & Hughes?

 

Marquette would have to have a lot of things go their way to make it deeper than UW this season.

[Glennron]

Obviously steals aren't everything on D, and I'm not saying James is better at defense than Flowers, but James does average more steals/game than Flowers. He did an awesome job on Scottie Reynolds last Monday against Nova. Jerel McNeal gets a lot of credit for being solid on D, and deservedly so, but James is good too.

 

This has also been his best year in terms of assist/turnover ratio, 3 point shooting %, and FT %. Granted the last two don't exactly jump out at you (33% and 67%), but it proves that people who say he hasn't improved don't really know what they're talking about.

[Oldcity]

Hart: Yeah, I guess I misunderstood the point of your post. My bad.

 

James>Hughes this year, although it's debatable with Flowers. I probably put Flowers above James because Flowers has really elevated his game this season.

[TooLiveBrew]

My problem with James's game is that in what little action I've seen him play (probably less than 10 games), he looks like a shoot-first PG that has a terrible stroke. He's just not a very good shooter at all - does he do a better job being a distributor?

[PKBadger]

I don't deny James' skills, and I will be the first to admit that he has put together some impressive games (last season's victory over Duke at Cameron Indoor comes to mind). But I think his crunch time decision-making sucks. He doesn't have the discipline or control needed at the next level, which is surprising given that he has started ~90 games of Divison I basketball.

[don1481]

My problem with James's game is that in what little action I've seen him play (probably less than 10 games), he looks like a shoot-first PG that has a terrible stroke. He's just not a very good shooter at all - does he do a better job being a distributor?

 

TLB, for a less-than-10-game analysis, that's pretty accurate. James reminds me a TON of a more athletic, even worse-shooting version of one of my favorite whipping boys in the NBA:

http://www.hoopsvibe.com/IMG/mo_williams-arton21256-240x240.jpg

Neither of them is consistently capable of distributing the ball, neither can make good decisions down crunch time, and both are miscast in their positions: Both are more of the slashing type of SG rather than a legit PG.

 

I hate to say this but...

 

Travis Diener as PG > Dominic James as PG

 

What Diener lacks in athleticism, he more than makes up with game smarts. And without those game smarts, James will not succeed in the pros.

[Hart Of Milwaukee]

Too call him bad in the clutch I think is inaccurate ,because I think for every game that he has made poor decisions, there has been one where he has made excellent ones. Defensivly, he isn't in Flowers league, but all in all he is a pretty good defender. Overall, I think its more accurate to label him as inconsistent at this point of his collegian career.
As far as this team going farther than the Badgers I truly believe they will. The strength of schedule I believe is the reason why these two our so far apart in the rankings. The Badgers play an extremly weak one while Marquette night in and night out is challenged pretty hard. The education they recieved from their tougher schedule and the combination of strong veteran guard play in the end is what I see making the Golden Eagles go farther in March than the Badgers.

[bork]

does he do a better job being a distributor?

James is currently 6th on Marquette's all-time assist list. In another year, he could finish ahead of Deiner for 2nd on the all-time list, though Deiner was only a 3 year starter. But James assist numbers have declined every year. McNeal is only 13 assists behind James this year.

 

James is great when he can drive the lane and then get a layup or an assist. But when teams pack the middle, he can't do anything.

[Oldcity]

As far as this team going farther than the Badgers I truly believe they will. The strength of schedule I believe is the reason why these two our so far apart in the rankings. The Badgers play an extremly weak one while Marquette night in and night out is challenged pretty hard.

Marquette may have an harder SOS overall, but it doesn't really matter if they don't win those games. They are 3-7 against RPI 1-50 while Wisconsin is 4-4. It's very tough for me to guess who will go further, but I think I have to go with Wisconsin. Their defense is outstanding, which is something that can really carry you when you aren't shooting well. Marquette can get blown out when they don't shoot well.

[danzig6767]

Small point guards that can't shoot generally won't have much luck making it in the NBA