Larry Drew Jr. Situation

[wusphlash]

For those unfamiliar with Larry Drew Jr., he was the point guard for UNC who took the brunt of Tar Heel wrath for the team's shortcomings last year and the first half of this year. A junior, he left the program several weeks ago.

Questions:
1) Have we created our own Larry Drew Jr. situation with Toure' Murry?
2) Has he become the main target or focus of people's disappointment with the 2010-2011 team?
3) Should a 20 year old carry the burden of the Shocker fan's expectations?
4) Should we all back off and let the kid sort things out in his head?


My answers:
1) We are probably closer than some might think.
2) Yes. TM, more than any other player, has borne the criticism of disappointed fans. He has his own thread on SN titled "Marshall's Loyalty to Murry" and is mentioned more than any other player by far in a negative context.
3) Absolutely not. The kid was given a scholarship to play at WSU with the only expectation that he work hard, study hard and be a good citizen. I believe he has done all of these things.
4) Absolutely. If he has done anything it is try to do too much and it's resulted in some negative performance results rather than the positive ones he would have desired. He wouldn't be the first athlete that tried too hard. Look closely at the kid and see how his frustrations are manifested in his face, his posture and his demeanor. Enough analysis and criticism has been posted on this board. Nothing more needs to be said. Let's all give it a rest, let the kid have some space and let him sort things out. He needs a break.

[RoyalShock]

1. I don't think so. There are plenty of negatives to go around. And I think WSU fans are
probably more forgiving than UNC fans.

2. Probably. But that's due to creating expectations from a good freshman year and decent sophomore year.

3. No one player carries that kind of burden. This is a team sport. But if you're going to place a majority of burden on a player, why not an upperclassman who has shown the ability and willingness to carry it?

4. Of course. He's still been a good defender and he graciously accepted playing out of position for most of the season. This is a game and should be treated as such.

[DwShock]

Re: Larry Drew Jr. Situation

Let's all give it a rest, let the kid have some space and let him sort things out. He needs a break.

So why start a post about it if you want to give it a rest?

[pinstripers]

There is a whole lot more to #3 than just being a nice guy.

[molly jabali]

I was hoping...'hey, would Larry Drew come to WSU?"

[AndShock]

I think UNC got better after Drew left. I'm not insinuating anything...but if you want to bring up the comparison...

[Aargh]

Murry had his share of problems this year. I have some opinions I will not share because it would be inflammatory and unfair to Toure.

Then I think about what Toure was asked to do this year and it appears he cooperated fully with playing a different position in his Jr. year.

That experiment may have been best for the team, but it may have taken a huge toll on Toure both physically and mentally. I don't blame Toure for having some adjustment issues that affected his game.

I think he did an outstanding job, considering what was asked of him. I don't think Toure feels he did an outstanding job - and that's where I see the source of his frustration that led to more frustration and resulted in a subpar year for an outstanding basketball player.

[shox8498]

Outside looking in.......I think that after this season Toure needs to just get away from basketball for a little while. His shots weren't falling, and I think it affected everything else, maybe a little more than it should have.

I still believe in the guy. It looked to me like HCGM gave him a green light during the Bradley quarterfinal game, and let him try to regain some of his shooting confidence. It didn't work, and then Saturday he continued along in the slump. Hence, my initial comment above.

[notquiteBWing]

I think UNC got better after Drew left. I'm not insinuating anything...but if you want to bring up the comparison...

Kinda what I was thinking...

[notquiteBWing]

I love Toure the person, but that doesn't keep me from noticing his relentless poor decision-making.

This is a guy that just keeps on taking 3 pointers with 25-30+ seconds on the shot clock. I wouldn't be so dumbfounded by that if he had a half decent percentage, BUT he's riding a whoppin' 28% from downtown. So in my mind, everytime he shots a three it's a turnover.

Then there is the over penetration.
Every. game.
Never fails.
Drives in and gets stopped and doesn't have a plan at that point, turns into a terrible shot (a turnover that isn't counted as one) or an actual turnover.

I feel like he wants to be superman, but I think he needs to accept a much smaller role and stop forcing.

[wsushox1]

I love Toure the person, but that doesn't keep me from noticing his relentless poor decision-making.

This is a guy that just keeps on taking 3 pointers with 25-30+ seconds on the shot clock. I wouldn't be so dumbfounded by that if he had a half decent percentage, BUT he's riding a whoppin' 28% from downtown. So in my mind, everytime he shots a three it's a turnover.

Then there is the over penetration.
Every. game.
Never fails.
Drives in and gets stopped and doesn't have a plan at that point, turns into a terrible shot (a turnover that isn't counted as one) or an actual turnover.

I feel like he wants to be superman, but I think he needs to accept a much smaller role and stop forcing.

He's thinking instead of reacting.