March 2014- Worst Month in MU Basketball History?

[ge1974]

1) Waxed by Villanova - terrible effort
2) Lose in 2 OTs to Providence
3) Lose in 2 OTs to St. Johns
4) Lose in first round of Big East Tournament to Xavier
5) Do not make in NCAAs for first time in nine years
6) Get snubbed by NIT
7) Buzz leaves for VA Tech
8) Recruits want to leave
9) Shaka doesn't come after great offer by MU
10) Wisconsin makes Final Four

The good news? Only two days left in March. April has to be better.

[CaribouJim]

Especially in the context of last March. Co-Big East champs w/ a 14-4 record (for the second straight year) with an exciting win over SJU in MSG and then onto the NCAA including the crazy win over Davidson and a win over the ACC champs Miami to get into the Elite 8 with a chance to play to a place in the FF.

Since that SU loss things have been pretty tough for MU.

[TulsaWarrior]

Think of the Dukiet years and it will put things in context. Marquette now has the leaders and the boosters to make things happen. The turning point was cemented with the hiring of a new can do president. Wild and Cords are the only people who could have turned the corner on the mess. I would not have trusted the old administration to run a bake sale.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Dukiet was a train wreck, but things had gone downhill since Al left. We may have come into this season with unrealistic expectations, but we had a veteran team with tons of tourney experience, a coach that had a track record of getting things done come March, and plenty of opportunities that time and time again were squandered. Further, we can't really point to dumb luck like the Diener or DJ injuries that derailed other seasons, this was just a team that never came together falling further apart, followed by the coach we had come to trust ducking out the back door, only pausing long enough to leave a "Your league sucks" upper-decker in the toilet while our most bitter current rivals had their greatest success in my lifetime.

As bad as some past years may have been, especially 20+ years ago, those teams were sort of hopeless from the start. This team had hope to start, rekindled that in February, only to see literally everything go wrong in March. Had you told me on March 1 that we wouldn't win another game, would lose Buzz, suffer some public shaming in the Shaka change-of-heart, and have to watch Bucky get to Arlington, man...it was just an awful month.

[RJax55]

It has been a long month for MU hoops.

Those OT loses seem like they happened months ago.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

One more thing...if Bucky manages to win 2 more games and cut down the nets in Arlington, that will pretty much kill any argument Marquette has of being the top state school for the next 20 or so years, unless we end up winning a title in that span. Last March we saw MU win the conference, make a run to the Elite Eight, and be one of those schools trending toward a possible title while Bucky got bounced on day one. What a difference a year makes.

[TedBaxter]

Think of the Dukiet years and it will put things in context. Marquette now has the leaders and the boosters to make things happen. The turning point was cemented with the hiring of a new can do president. Wild and Cords are the only people who could have turned the corner on the mess. I would not have trusted the old administration to run a bake sale.

So are we going to blame the on court problems this month on the previous regime? I'm not. Buzz flew the coop while he was still here.

Yes, this whole situation really, really pisses me off. In just about every work situation, an employee has to give a two to three week notice so things can be handed off and transitioned and in college coaching defections, the coach just says see ya later and off they go. I know MU will benefit from the guy coming in, but the last two coaching defections have really affected me to where I will NEVER, EVER put the coach on any pedestal.

[ydouask23]

So are we going to blame the on court problems this month on the previous regime? I'm not. Buzz flew the coop while he was still here.

Yes, this whole situation really, really pisses me off. In just about every work situation, an employee has to give a two to three week notice so things can be handed off and transitioned and in college coaching defections, the coach just says see ya later and off they go. I know MU will benefit from the guy coming in, but the last two coaching defections have really affected me to where I will NEVER, EVER put the coach on any pedestal.

If there's a lesson from all this- that might be exactly it. Never put a coach on a pedestal- especially at this school. If you are at Duke or Kansas- a school that can keep their coach and enjoy success forever- then you can appreciate your coach. We have to build a model like Pitt or Nova where young coaches come and want to stay and aren't enticed by the big boys offers. But until then- our coach is a rented mule and our school is just a stepping stone for him to get where he wants to go.

[CaribouJim]

If there's a lesson from all this- that might be exactly it. Never put a coach on a pedestal- especially at this school. If you are at Duke or Kansas- a school that can keep their coach and enjoy success forever- then you can appreciate your coach. We have to build a model like Pitt or Nova where young coaches come and want to stay and aren't enticed by the big boys offers. But until then- our coach is a rented mule and our school is just a stepping stone for him to get where he wants to go.

...and sometimes find out that the grass isn't greener on the other side, i.e., KO, maybe TC and Buzz TBD.

[ydouask23]

Just in case you are scoring at home- tack on Cuonzo Martin using us for a raise to the March honor roll