Player Grades: Marquette at South Florida

Vander Blue (13 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast) Thankfully Vander didn’t land two inches further on his big dunk in the first half, as that was an ankle sprain ready to happen under the the basket. He didn’t go off on the Bulls like he did last week, but he didn’t need to. Blue let the game come to him and still managed to reach double digits. He was also the recipient of a compliment for his shooting form for the first time in his career. A

Junior Cadougan (11 pts, 5 ast, 4 reb) A fantastic opening half for Junior, running the point like an All-American to the tune of six points, three assists and two steals. This Cadougan hasn’t shown up very often at Marquette, but it shows you why he was so highly ranked coming out of high school. The second half wasn’t half bad either, with Cadougan looking for his shot more and more often before airballing a 3-pointer.. A

Chris Otule (6 pts, 2 reb, 1 stl) Chris was much more aggressive on the offensive end, hitting a jump hook and even being called for a travel. That put back dunk late in the second half even made me forget about his three turnovers. Wowzers, it was that impressive. And who can forget to mention his seals, which were highlighted on the broadcast tonight. It’s not always about scoring A-

Juan Anderson (2 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast) Juan struggled offensively in this one missing both threes he took, but keying in on him in the second half on the defensive end, I saw a player that has to have Buzz salivating. He was tremendous on switches and did a great job to prevent penetration all night. His constant hustle doesn’t hurt either, grabbing a few boards that were in another area code. B  

Trent Lockett (5 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast) Lockett cooled oof offensively after a nice stretch of games, but did not commit a turnover all game. He had one very nice cut that led to a pair of free throws and contributed solid defense as always. B

Todd Mayo (13 pts, 2 reb) Goodness was he on fire in the first half. Everything he was putting up wasn’t just going in, it was barely touching the net as he hit on his first five shots. Although he cooled off as the game progressed, it served as a reminder as to just what a spark Mayo could be on the offensive end. A

Davante Gardner (8 pts, 4 reb, 4 to) Ox has range? Davante opened his scoring with a long 16-foot jumper and did a decent job getting fouled most of the game. However, Gardner held the ball way too long a couple of possession, turning it over instead of kicking out and re-positioning himself. It didn’t matter one bit tonight, but that is the next step the big man has to take. B-

Jamil Wilson (10 pts, 5 reb, 1 blk ) Jamil hit a nice early jummper in the soft spot of the zone and finally attacked the basket. The results weren’t earth shattering, but they were better than we’ve seen in weeks. Wilson also almost stuffed an oop from Blue straight over a defender, but was a bit strong with it. Hopefully this is the boost of confidence the junior needed to regain his form. B+

Steve Taylor (0 pts, 1 reb) Didn’t see much time with Wilson playing well. NA

Derrick Wilson (0 pts, 2 ast, 1 stl) Stifling defense. Limited turnovers. Conservative play. Wash, rinse, repeat. A-

Jake Thomas (1 ast) Thomas was on late and missed a long three. NA

Jamal Ferguson (2 pts) Jamal Saaw more than a minute for the first time in a while and scored his first points since Dec. 15. NA

Dylan Flood (1 fl) Almost reached club trillion status but was called for a foul. NA