Buzz responsible for what we have become?

[IWB]

Getting caught up, here are a few comments.....

1. Talent level is woeful. Did he leave because he didn't want to deal with what he knew was a talent drop off? I think that is a big part of it.
2. What is the real story about Jameel McKay? I don't think we ever got the real story. My guess is he had some grade manipulation to get into MU and had to go. He obtained a ridiculous number of credits in a short time. How can anyone think he would need to redshirt with the lack of scoring and athleticism? Was Buzz that clueless? Doubtful.
It was not a short time period like Crowder. McKay committed early for a Juco and had more than a year to do it. A lot of work yes, but enough time. It was tougher because Larry wouldn't allow online courses, even though they were allowed for guys like Vander & DJO. High school kids are still using them to improve grades, need to do what you can, your classroom grades aren't everything so your GPA isn't always set in Stone.
3. We had more talent last year and did no better than this year. What the hell was going on last year? Good question, no clue.

I give this team credit. Doing everything they can but each player is somehow limited. Carlino can't dribble and guard; Derrick cannot score etc etc.
Carlino wasn't a Buzz recruit, he was a Wojo recruit. Derrick wasn't a big scorer in high school either, but he was a big physical guard which was a need in the old Big East with the old guard play rules. Now you can't touch a guy on the perimeter or its a foul, 5 years ago guards were getting abused at the top and Derrick fit that mold of someone who could protect the ball with that type of play.

Derrick and Juan are playing like dogs who have been beat too much, spend half their life just covering up.
Agree on Derrick and Juan, and love the Springsteen reference. Now thanks to you I haven't been able to get that song out of my head since I read your post.

The proof is Derrick on the line--made fts in high school at a good rate. Now, he is afraid of the line, shooting less than 50%. What the hell happened?
On Derrick's free throws - same as John Harris. John Harris was an 88% free throw shooter in high school, was a joke at MU. Does it get in guys' heads? I don't know.

I thought we had the real story on McKay.....Buzz discussed redshirting with him and he freaked out and quit......Hasn't IWB confirmed that version of events?

Mark - That is not accurate. There were three parts to his decision, besides outside influences. Here is what happened.
Part 1: Buzz held a clinic for high school & college coaches. Part of that clinic was an actual MU practice. After the practice Buzz held a Q&A. Some of the players took seats in the bleachers and stayed. During the Q&A one of the questions was 'How do you know when it is best for someone to redshirt?' Buzz answered that there are different circumstances, and said, "Jameel McKay would be a perfect example. A year off would help him gain some much needed body mass and also, coming from a Juco, the extra year would almost assure he graduates with a degree." McKay was one of the players in the seats. He told his people that "Buzz had really hurt his feelings". Buzz hadn't addressed it with him at that point.
Part 2: McKay said that he felt he was lied to when he was recruited because Buzz told him he would have a chance to start at the PF spot. However, when he was recruited Buzz expected that Otule would be gone. Otule stayed. That pushed Davante to the PF spot with Steve & Juan backing him up, so McKay had been working at the 5 spot. He didn't want to play the 5. Was he lied to? No, of course he was given the chance, but things changed and he wasn't better than Davante, Steve or Juan. Not yet anyway.
Part 3: He told Buzz that he wanted to transfer on Saturday morning. Buzz suggested they sit down and talk about it in the office on Monday morning. This would give McKay time to blow off some steam and Buzz could explain what he said, why he aid it etc. An hour later McKay was tweeting to other college coaches, tweeting that he was leaving etc. That was it.

I've been saying all along that Buzz hs a history of running when things get tough. He ran from New Orleans and Marquette. Yes, he can justify each individually. But there is a pattern.

He was running away from something, not to something.

Mayor - While I can agree that he was running away from the problems at MU, I won't accept that he "ran from New Orleans". None of us know what it was like to live in post-Katrina New Orleans. Buzz' number one reason for leaving was that he felt it was not a safe environment for his family. He had very young kids and was living in a very unstable environment. I don't believe he ever said that in the media, but on top of that his coaches weren't getting paid, his players weren't getting equipment, food, books etc. But the main reason was to get his kids out of there. Can't blame a guy at all for that.

Various comments on Jajuan post dunk - I agree, thought the same thing when it happened. Sure, go ahead and yell, pound your chest - it gets the team fired up. But don't stand there for a half hour, get your ass back on defense. That is when he finally moved, when St. John's inbounded the ball and started heading down court. Harrison did the same thing in second half, then had to sprint because Derrick inbounded and MU was running down court.

Final comment on Buzz - was going back and forth with him the other day, and like Crean, Karma can be a bitch. They suited up 7 guys against UNC. 4 freshman, 2 walkons, a soph PG and a 5'8 2G. Sounds a lot like Crean's first year at Indiana, proof that the grass ain't always greener!