Vander Blue

Vander Blue

Blue unexpectedly declared for the draft, after what was a good year for his program but not necessarily a good one for him. As of right now, it's not obvious what role he could fit. He has a shooting guard's height, great athleticism, and a strong transition game, yet his jumpshot is mediocre, and much as some may want him to play point guard on account of his decent passing vision and pick-and-roll game, he cannot handle the ball sufficiently to be a full time one. Blue needs to develop more, and while he can do so while still being paid to play, he needs consistent work somewhere and minimal upheaval to do so. The D-League, then, may be the place.

[...] Previous installments of the Buzz Williams Experience have seen Marquette be primarily guard reliant, and true to form, they still have some good ones. In addition to the aforementioned Johnson-Odom, prize recruit Vander Blue can defend any guard of any description, creating quite the defensive backcourt pairing. It's an even stronger defensive guard lineup when accounting for Junior Cadougan, a sophomore who nobly declined an entirely justified medical redshirt last season in order to play sparse minutes in a nothing season, earning brownie points and acclaim for his magnanimity. Both Blue and Cadougan are good, versatile, interested defenders, and Cadougan also thrives as a playmaker and facilitator. At this stage, however, neither can make a shot. The backcourt scoring therefore is built around Johnson-Odom, as well as fellow JuCo transfer Dwight Buycks (Bikes), who has emerged as a three point threat as a senior and plays some decent defense of his own.