MCW

This kid is the real deal! A great leader! How about in the first half of Long Beach game, Boheim gets all over RAK for some lazy def. He almost sits him down, but then puts him back in.  Next play MCW throws him a no look alley-oop, next play after that he gives it to him again down low and he turns and dunks it. Brought him right back into the game.

He's definitely got some room to grow with shot selection and turnovers, but come tournament time he will make the difference. Cuse hasn't had a point like him in a while.

MCw has been very good, but far from perfect. 

He is terrible at throwing alley oops.  I saw Southerland pointing for one before he got to the three point line coming down the side, MCW waited until he was standing right under the basket to throw it at the top of the back board, then he throws one for Michael Jordan later, but it ended up being Brandon Triche going to the hoop and I think we know how that works out.  And I think he put one about 2 feet about CJ or Rak as well in this game.  Every game I have watched he has missed someone on an alley oop, who did he play with in HS Dominique Wilkins; he has unreal expectations for the jumping ability of his teammates; as my wife says, maybe he is just trying to challenge them.  haha.

Really though, the turnovers need to come way down, the dude can finish on the break but he is about as good as B. Triche as far as spacing on the break and that isn't good. 

Defensive effort is great though and his turnovers are unforced so it can all be fixed and turn him into a first rounder this season which I think will happen.  And NBA guys don't care about turnovers anyways, they drafted Johnny Flynn and his 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio.   

I like the kid.  But even though he is studding up right now, I don't think he has the strength to go to the next level this year.  He is a future star at the next level and is going to knock down a great wage.  I would wait a year and give the ACC fits.....unless his family needs money now. 

I can almost guarantee you that you won't see MCW sporting Orange next year. When you're a lottery pick, you head to the draft, and that's just what he is. You have to remember, he hardly played last year. The game is still slowing down for him. When it comes to his speed, you will see his turnovers go down and assists go up (yes, even more up than they are already). The kid is an unreal talent, is a pure PG at 6'6'', and has started to show he has a nice little jump shot to go with the rest of his game. Come conference play, the kid will literally be unstoppable. Will be a triple-double threat every time he steps foot on the court. 

sportsfreak, I have the same outlook on him.  Even though I was ripping him pretty good for hit terrible alley oops and some of those other turnovers, I think those turnovers will come down and as you said a 6'6" point guard is something NBA teams want badly.  I think he has a very good shot at being a lottery pick.

Even if his numbers came down to 8apg, 3 tpg, and 10 pppg through big east play, I think he is still a first rounder next year.  He is still the best point guard in the best conference and he is 20 years old and 6'6".  But I fully expect his shooting to pick up a little throughout the year and his assists to stay pretty close to where they are with a slight decrease in turnovers. 

LOL this is a funny post.

Boeheim is sending MCW a message right now.  If he is not playing perfectly he will see extended trips on the bench.  Last night he sat from about 10 minutes in first half until the 2 minute point, right after he failed to convert on a 1 vs. 2 fast break.  He also sat for about 5 minutes in the Nova game late in the second half.

His minutes over the last 6 games.
38, 38, 36, 45, 30, 30    

Last night I felt like MCW's minutes on the floor were some of his best of the season and still a small error leads to a long time on the bench. 
8 asssist, 1 to, 3 steals and a block.  He had a dominant end of the first half after that long stretch on the bench and I think Boeheim has clearly got him playing at a very high level right now, he is learning the level of intensity he must maintain to be the dominant player on the floor and he showed it last night.  I believe he can dominate opponents the rest of the season from the defensive end first and I look forward to watching it happen.   

MCW went through a little mid season slump especially as the competition got tougher, but he will continue to get better.  Also not having Southerland to kick it out to hurt the entire offense, especially MCW's game. 

I like to see Cooney playing well like he did against Notre Dame. They need him to step up his game and give some good minutes or MCW and Trische will be exhausted by the end of the year.

The entire back line played great against Notre Dame too.  Christmas really stepped it up.  Cooley only got 4 offensive rebounds and 10 points.

Just the presence of Southerland elevates everyone's game, most importantly Carter-Williams'. 17 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, and 6 steals? That's a monster game. I think he's just about settled down and is going to go on another big run. Getting Southerland back elevates this team right back into championship caliber. Just as this past weekend showed, it's anyone's year, there is no sure thing. Why not make it Orange? Lets go!

2 great games in a row for him now.  Having Southerland I think boosts everyone's confidence, it does open lanes to drive as well.  Unfortunately it is going to take alot of minutes from Jeremi Grant but I think he will still get his contributions in.  MCW playing at this high of a level can take this team very very far.  I think he may be the most effective defensive point guard in the country and his offensive game is pretty high up on the list as well.

He needs to realize when there's a 2 second difference in the shot clock to end the half, you take the last shot. His dumb decision let uconn have another possession & they hit a 3. Lot of momentum for huskies heading to the locker room. Elite pg's know better.

This is a much different team from when I posted this back on Dec. 7. Trische is clearly the leader of this team and having a great senior season.

I think CJ is the most consistant, the guards are not getting him the ball. He has the best shooting percentage on the team.

Pass the ball to Xmas high (foul line) and let him get it down to CJ on a cut, that play works. Let CJ work off a sreen or two and and shoot jumpers, that works too.

MCW has to get back to distributing the ball and not disrupting the offense. He barely is dishing on drives anymore. I like the kid, I think he is trying to rack up points instead of assts for possible NBA purposes. I liked the role he was playing earlier in the season. Would like to see him get back to that type of play. Seems to get rattled a bit on the road, but plays with tremendous confidence at home.

Go Cuse!

I agree completely with the first two remarks you made Khepera.

MCW is inconsistent that is for sure, he was great against notre dame and St. Johns.  Then he has stretches of terrible in some of these other games, he looked hopeless against Napier and Boatright.  He has to figure out how to handle the ball against smaller guards. 

I agree with you too Iroc. Watching the Cuse can be frustrating but I love it, win or loose. Gets my heart rate right up there, always watch with drink in hand. Every bad game MCW has I hope he learns from, the kid has skills. Wish he played a bit more last year but he has plenty of tough games comming up, hope is battle tested for March. Heading up to the Dome next Sat to see the front end of the last home and home with GTown. I want the kid to light it up. Should be a good one.

Its not easy to be an inexperienced point guard on a good team playing in the big east but he is learning and I think we all know he has NBA caliber talent its just a matter of going through the learning process are figuring out how to best use his skills and hopefully he gets it all figured out by March because he is key to the teams success.

I think that everyone agrees that MCW looked like a world beater earlier in the year against inferior competition, but has been less consistent and has struggled at times against the tougher defenses in the Big East.  He clearly has a body that NBA scouts drool over and has NBA talent once he improves his game somewhat.  Does anyone think that there is a chance that he stays one more year to perfect his craft or are we pretty sure that he is NBA bound after this year?

I read there were a few NBA scouts at the Seton Hall game.  My guess he is going pro cause I don't think they were there to look at anyone except MCW....maybe Triche and CJ too. 

I sure hope CJ returns for his senior year....and would love to see MCW return....but with the UK players stock dropping like bricks in the grand canyon, we may lose them both. 

I think MCW is definitely gone.  But the scouts could certainly be looking at Triche and Southerland as well who will most likely get invites to training camps next summer but doubtful they get drafted.  CJ I think will be back he isn't showing that he has a singular skill superior enough to get him by at the next level.

So we are thinking Fair, Grant, Coleman, Christmas, Keita, and Cooney will be the nucleus.  Hoping for 2-3 nice newcomers.  irocnek, you're right.  If C.J. can produce next year with those guys around him, he will be a sure fire draft pick.  I'm not 100% sure MCW will go.  He has had 3-4 games this year that were really bad from a decision making standpoint.  But if Fab Melo was a 1st round pick, MCW will be as well.