Marquette's Coaching Search

[mufan2003]

Buzz was great. His personality, his faith, Buzz's Bunch, success on the court. That being said, success depends as much on the university and its investment in the sport as it does on the coach. That investment was highlighted well by Michael Hunt in his article on Buzz's departure. No program in the country spends more per player than Marquette and Duke. We are not Duke, but that is damn good company. Marquette has developed its "basketball assets" over the years. Highlighted by building the state-of-the-art Al McGuire Center in 2003. There has been speculation that a new, posh, men's basketball or athletics residence will eventually be in the works. A new sports/entertainment venue will likely happen downtown, state-of-the-art made for basketball unlike the current venue which was constructed for hockey. If this all happens, it would only be a positive for the future of men's basketball at Marquette.

This is another lesson for MU fans. Never get too close to treating a coach like a God. Marquette Basketball has great history. Success with several coaches. Markedman made a great observation that the coaching options appear to be stronger than they were in 2008. In addition, MU is coming off more sustained success in recent years than it was in 2008. If I was conducting the coaching search, my plan of attack would be (1) Gregg Marshall, (2) Shaka Smart, (3) Ben Howland or Brian Wardle. Mike Hopkins is intriguing, but assisting 19 years at Syracuse would likely have him leaving for Syracuse upon Boeheim's retirement.

The NCAA championship game is Monday, April 7. Today is March 22. There are reports indicating Gregg Marshall would have interest in the MU job. If so, MU better wait a couple weeks and put the full court press on to get Marshall. He has a career .706 winning percentage and came into the BC when he was with Winthrop and beat Tom Crean. He took Wichita State to the Final Four last year, nearly defeating Louisville. This year, a #1 seed and undefeated. If Marshall can recruit talent to Winthrop and Wichita State, what could he do at MU with the assets at MU?

If Marshall does not work out, either Smart or Howland, both with Final Fours under their belt, would be quite a strong recruiting pitch when you add their individual success with the history of success at Marquette. Wardle, while similar to Buzz in being fresh to the coaching world, may be the closest thing to considering MU home for a long time. Wardle having grown up in Illinois, played at MU, was an assistant coach at MU, when combined with being young.....could make him ideal for the job.

I just hope MU does not eliminate any candidates because they want someone hired this week. This is an important decision. April 8 is not too long to wait if you can get the best option.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Marshall

[Halo]

Buzz was great. His personality, his faith, Buzz's Bunch, success on the court. That being said, success depends as much on the university and its investment in the sport as it does on the coach. That investment was highlighted well by Michael Hunt in his article on Buzz's departure. No program in the country spends more per player than Marquette and Duke. We are not Duke, but that is damn good company. Marquette has developed its "basketball assets" over the years. Highlighted by building the state-of-the-art Al McGuire Center in 2003. There has been speculation that a new, posh, men's basketball or athletics residence will eventually be in the works. A new sports/entertainment venue will likely happen downtown, state-of-the-art made for basketball unlike the current venue which was constructed for hockey. If this all happens, it would only be a positive for the future of men's basketball at Marquette.

This is another lesson for MU fans. Never get too close to treating a coach like a God. Marquette Basketball has great history. Success with several coaches. Markedman made a great observation that the coaching options appear to be stronger than they were in 2008. In addition, MU is coming off more sustained success in recent years than it was in 2008. If I was conducting the coaching search, my plan of attack would be (1) Gregg Marshall, (2) Shaka Smart, (3) Ben Howland or Brian Wardle. Mike Hopkins is intriguing, but assisting 19 years at Syracuse would likely have him leaving for Syracuse upon Boeheim's retirement.

The NCAA championship game is Monday, April 7. Today is March 22. There are reports indicating Gregg Marshall would have interest in the MU job. If so, MU better wait a couple weeks and put the full court press on to get Marshall. He has a career .706 winning percentage and came into the BC when he was with Winthrop and beat Tom Crean. He took Wichita State to the Final Four last year, nearly defeating Louisville. This year, a #1 seed and undefeated. If Marshall can recruit talent to Winthrop and Wichita State, what could he do at MU with the assets at MU?

If Marshall does not work out, either Smart or Howland, both with Final Fours under their belt, would be quite a strong recruiting pitch when you add their individual success with the history of success at Marquette. Wardle, while similar to Buzz in being fresh to the coaching world, may be the closest thing to considering MU home for a long time. Wardle having grown up in Illinois, played at MU, was an assistant coach at MU, when combined with being young.....could make him ideal for the job.

I just hope MU does not eliminate any candidates because they want someone hired this week. This is an important decision. April 8 is not too long to wait if you can get the best option.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Marshall

Bolded part is important for a few on here that could never see anything wrong with Buzz. He is flawed like all of us. I think some wanted him to be the President of MU. How long you think Buzz really lasts at Va Tech? I would be shocked if he sees through that contract.

[IrwinFletcher]

Actually, I think that is for more than just a few.

People were all over LW when it became apparent there was a feud between the two. Now that some of this stuff is leaking out, all of a sudden people are coming out of the woodwork saying they never really loved Buzz all that much.

I for one learned my lesson with Crean when it comes to coaches. Hope the stay. Hope they recruit good kids. Hope they don't do something dumb. Hope they win.

Anything above that is gravy.

[Halo]

I agree Irwin. I was being kind. I stuck up for LW at times on the basis we don't know what was really going on behind the scenes. When the news of those assaults made the front page of the Chicago Trib, there were plenty of pissed people. And they still haven't let it go (either have UW fans).

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I did love Buzz. He had me convinced. Emailed back and forth a little, met him a couple times, and I admit I also believed the press conferences. What gets me most is where he went and the timing. For a guy that preaches fighting through adversity and putting in hard work, this looks like him running away when things got tough and going to a clearly inferior program. Think about this, if Buzz makes ONE Sweet 16 at VPI it will be more success than their basketball program has had in over forty years. Talk about setting the bar low. Just seems to be the antithesis of what he's been saying the past 6+ years.

[warriorfan4life]

I will always thank Buzz for leaving after LW and Pilarz are gone (that the entire university is now a mess is not a coincidence). LW is a really smart dude, but not a people person and did not understand the Marquette culture. We are back in capable hands in the athletic department, and I expect Fr. Wild to ensure that will eventually be the case for the whole university (though that may be a decade long rebuild).