Cornholers @ Badgers

announcer just said that Bruiser is quoted as saying his new haircut is a "modified Kramer" ...



How can you not like that kid?

Gophers beat Indy. Road games are murder.

Evans with a jumpshot freethrow ...

Oy. whatever it takes I guess.

It's the Sam Dekker Show...

Am at the game. Wow Dekker coming out a bit tonight

Talk about a lock down defense. This half is amazing.

Dekker with 19 points on 6 shots

Another night where the offense is clicking. It's encouraging. Peaking at the right time.

Wtf is that thing on Bruiser's head?

Evans at the FT line is getting silly.

Dekker giving us a lovely preview of the coming years.

when Jackson plays well, wow

It seems to me that they've gotten more comfortable getting Dekker the ball and that's important because he's such a good shooter and scorer that he can be a really good weapon for them.

Earlier in the year he was more tentative but he can continue to give them 15-20 a night this team will be a tough out come tournament time.

Just imagine if this team still had Vander Blue on the roster.

Stop it...

I'd seen clips of Dekker from high school, but didn't appreciate his floor awareness on offense. That was the most pleasant surprise last night was how good a passer he appears to be. He got hot from 3 point range, so Nebraska started to help to his side and he had several great passes to Evans for easy FGs. He might end up being by far the most skilled offensive player the Badgers have had since Michael Finley.

While Finley was very good as a Badger I'd take Jordan Taylor over Finley as far as offensive skills.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=330570275

quote:

"It's not the blocks, it's the changes of shots and the intimidation and fact that he's there," Ryan said. "He doesn't intimidate because he's got a bad haircut. He doesn't intimidate because he looks mean. He doesn't intimidate because he's got 900 tattoos. He intimidates by his presence and his timing. It's not just the blocks."

Finley was a great scorer, but I would say that recent Badgers would be better as the total package.

Devin Harris probably ranks #1 to me- explosiveness, defense, passing, scoring. Alando Tucker was about the same as Finley to me- more a scorer than complete player. Jordan Taylor a step under Harris because of athleticism. Hughes was a dynamic player, but probably below Finley and Tucker overall.

Dekker will never be the athlete Harris was, but he has all the game and is a more pure shooter. And he seems to have that "it" factor. A swagger and savvy that will grow to the point that he'll be the guy that always makes the right play and it'll equal wins.

He could be the best we've ever seen... And he could be the guy that gets Bo Ryan that much deserved Final Four. Maybe the whole thing...

Yes. Next years team with Dekker, Brust, Gasser, Jackson, and Marshall returning may be as good and as deep an offensive group at the PG, SG, and SF that the Badgers have ever had. I don't know a lot about the new recruits but they sound promising. What will probably decide whether that team is another typical Ryan team (which is obviously always good and a Big 10 title contender) or if it is something really special is how well the younger big guys develop. Berggren is as good a post defender as there is in the country. If he played for Duke or another "glamour" program Dick Vitale would be screaming about him. The loss of him and Brusewitz (and Evans) will take a toll on the defensive end on guarding the rim. Will Kaminsky develop into a decent post defender? Is there any hope for Evan Anderson? That will probably decide whether next year's team is a Final 4 type of team.

quote:

Originally posted by ammo:
While Finley was very good as a Badger I'd take Jordan Taylor over Finley as far as offensive skills.

I've read this comment three times and I still can't believe it. And that is no offense to Taylor.

quote:

Originally posted by chickenboy:

quote:

Originally posted by ammo:
While Finley was very good as a Badger I'd take Jordan Taylor over Finley as far as offensive skills.

I've read this comment three times and I still can't believe it. And that is no offense to Taylor.

I'd agree. Finley had a poor senior season, mainly because of the goofy offense that Van Gundy decided to run. Maybe Dwight Howard was a little smarter than a lot of people give him credit for as Stan Van Gundy might have been one of the worse college coaches I've ever seen.

I think there is no comparison of the talent level between Finley and Taylor. Taylor went from being averaging 1.6 PPG with 26% shooting as a freshman to a great college player his junior and senior years. Finley averaged 12 PPG as a freshman and shot 47%. Taylor's development speaks volumes about Ryan's ability to maximize the ability of his players. If Finley would have had Ryan for a coach at UW, he might have been a contender for National Player of the Year.