Program Update

[Dawson Rental]

I posted what I felt was a reality check on this when Mike Edwards committed to Georgia...

Wojo's a great recruiter, but even the top recruiters in the country like Coach K and John Calipari miss out on recruits. That said, Wojo's track record has been fantastic for a guy with one year on the job. Of the recruits he's gone after the hardest, it seems like he is batting over .500, which is incredible. Jimmy Whitt, Akoy Agau, and Shonn Miller stand out as the ones we seemed to really go for and not get commitments from. That's pretty impressive, considering the wins he's had in the same timespan.

Shonn Miller might just have been the most impressive get yet considering that he has only one year left to play and that he plays the same position has MU's highest rated recruit in decades.  Ellenson was a phenomenal get, Traci Carter was amazing considering how late Wojo got into the race.  Sacar Amin, again, was gotten in on late.  Heldt and Cheatham were also highly sought after.  I think that this class would be extremely impressive for any coach to land for Marquette regardless on their time on the job.  Can Wojo not miss on any recruit?  Of course, not.  But, IMO it is unrealistic to expect that this year's recruiting class could have been any better.  Yet, it still could be.

Then again, we are responding to a Debbie Downer type who cut his teeth on Scoop in previous years by responding to every commitment with "We need bigs"!

BTW, Wojo did get a couple of those.

[Goose]

My money is DW is running the show next season at PG. If it ends being Carter it would not disappoint me because I like seeing freshmen play and not be eased into things.

[MU82]

Shonn Miller might just have been the most impressive get yet considering that he has only one year left to play and that he plays the same position has MU's highest rated recruit in decades.  Ellenson was a phenomenal get, Traci Carter was amazing considering how late Wojo got into the race.  Sacar Amin, again, was gotten in on late.  Heldt and Cheatham were also highly sought after.  I think that this class would be extremely impressive for any coach to land for Marquette regardless on their time on the job.  Can Wojo not miss on any recruit?  Of course, not.  But, IMO it is unrealistic to expect that this year's recruiting class could have been any better.  Yet, it still could be.

Then again, we are responding to a Debbie Downer type who cut his teeth on Scoop in previous years by responding to every commitment with "We need bigs"!

BTW, Wojo did get a couple of those.

Why would anybody care what a certifiably joyless non-MU grad thinks about Wojo's recruiting? He seems to have a "hate woody" for pretty much everything. But at least he's not a slurper!

[onepost]

My money is DW is running the show next season at PG. If it ends being Carter it would not disappoint me because I like seeing freshmen play and not be eased into things.

Everything that I have been told (and what BD has heard) is that Duane will not be playing PG, so I would have to disagree with you on this.  The staff values him much more at SG, or an off-ball position, that allows him to do what he did best last year: score.  I was told before he even committed that Traci was who they had in mind for running the show, and the Cheatham PG rumor turned out to have some legs too when BD threw it out as well.  I wouldn't expect Duane to be a PG the rest of his time here but crazier things have happened.

[BM1090]

Everything that I have been told (and what BD has heard) is that Duane will not be playing PG, so I would have to disagree with you on this.  The staff values him much more at SG, or an off-ball position, that allows him to do what he did best last year: score.  I was told before he even committed that Traci was who they had in mind for running the show, and the Cheatham PG rumor turned out to have some legs too when BD threw it out as well.  I wouldn't expect Duane to be a PG the rest of his time here but crazier things have happened.

Agreed. I think the clear ideal scenario at this point is to nab Lee and roll out a lineup of

PG - Carter
SG - Wilson
SG/SF - Lee
PF - Ellenson
C- Fischer

Which leaves a bench of W. Ellenson, JJJ, Heldt, Cohen, Anim, Cheatham

[Dawson Rental]

Agreed. I think the clear ideal scenario at this point is to nab Lee and roll out a lineup of

PG - Carter
SG - Wilson
SG/SF - Lee
PF - Ellenson
C- Fischer

Which leaves a bench of W. Ellenson, JJJ, Heldt, Cohen, Anim, Cheatham

If MU should miss out on Lee, five of the six bench players listed above would be competing for the SG/SF spot, so there's a good chance one of them would emerge.

[wadesworld]

But wait...but wait...Wojo always gets his man! He was 100%. How can Miller be gone? Looks like the old average and mantra are coming down. And that is not meant as a slam to Wojo. Looks like he is a very good recruiter. But the hyperbole on this board: "Wojo always gets his man"; "In Buzz we trust", etc. sometimes gets waaaaayyyy too overzealous.

R-E-L-A-X

[GGGG]

But wait...but wait...Wojo always gets his man! He was 100%.

No one said that and he wasn't 100%.

Other than that...great post.

[NotAnAlum]

Why would anybody care what a certifiably joyless non-MU grad thinks about Wojo's recruiting? He seems to have a "hate woody" for pretty much everything. But at least he's not a slurper!

I finally did it.  I put willie on Ignore.  Its the first time I've done that to any poster but I already feel better.

[willie warrior]

I finally did it.  I put willie on Ignore.  Its the first time I've done that to any poster but I already feel better.

Your loss. Sorry that you cannot tolerate somebody not drinking out of your Kool Aide jug.

[GGGG]

My money is DW is running the show next season at PG. If it ends being Carter it would not disappoint me because I like seeing freshmen play and not be eased into things.

Goose, I know you have always been high on Duane, but nothing I read indicates that he is going to be the primary guy at PG next year.

[MU82]

I finally did it.  I put willie on Ignore.  Its the first time I've done that to any poster but I already feel better.

Welcome to the club! It definitely makes the Scoop experience more enjoyable.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I finally did it.  I put willie on Ignore.  Its the first time I've done that to any poster but I already feel better.

Don't get too excited. He is still quoted wayyyyyy too often.

[Galway Eagle]

I finally did it.  I put willie on Ignore.  Its the first time I've done that to any poster but I already feel better.

Did it ages ago and you'll still hear a bunch of his stuff and then you'll click on the show post button and it'll be like he was never ignored

[willie warrior]

Did it ages ago and you'll still hear a bunch of his stuff and then you'll click on the show post button and it'll be like he was never ignored

I rest my case. Case closed. Done deal.

[willie warrior]

Don't get too excited. He is still quoted wayyyyyy too often.

Funny how the guys who brag about their "ignores" think that their opinion is the best and only one. Oh, I forgot, they are the diverse tolerant ones, but they do know more!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Funny how the guys who brag about their "ignores" think that their opinion is the best and only one. Oh, I forgot, they are the diverse tolerant ones, but they do know more!

You bragged about putting me on ignore, so are you one of those guys?

[Groin_pull]

Hate to interrupt this pissing match, but back to the topic. Looks like the new arena is hitting some significant roadblocks (big shock). So...if/when the Bucks leave, what does that mean for MU? No new arena...no NBA tie-in...no Sports Performance complex with the Bucks on that recently purchased land.

None of that is good news for MU.

[dgies9156]

Hate to interrupt this pissing match, but back to the topic. Looks like the new arena is hitting some significant roadblocks (big shock). So...if/when the Bucks leave, what does that mean for MU? No new arena...no NBA tie-in...no Sports Performance complex with the Bucks on that recently purchased land.

None of that is good news for MU.

I repeat what I have said before. The Arena is a done deal. The only question is not if, but who does what? And, "Who pays what?"

Government never does things easily. In any government project, there are "tag-alongs" that have to be dealt with. The arguments now are along the lines of who does what and who gets what?

From Marquette's standpoint, there is some benefit to having the Bucks in town. Wojo can call Jabari Parker and have him "drop in" during a recruit's visit, for example. Or the guys know they can scrimage a Buck or two every now and then. But as a practical matter, we have a 17,000 seat, world-class Arena that isn't going anywhere if the Bucks leave. We have a coach that by all measures can recruit and we have a team coming in that some think will spark a very noticable one year turn-around for MU.

Not worried about the Arena.

[MUfan12]

Not worried about the Arena.

Glad you're not, but there's a growing concern among the owners that it's not gonna happen.

[MU82]

Glad you're not, but there's a growing concern among the owners that it's not gonna happen.

If it doesn't, it doesn't. Marquette doesn't need either a new arena or the Bucks.

I agree that both would be preferable but I also agree that neither is essential to the long-term success of Marquette basketball.

[brewcity77]

Far more likely the arena project gets scaled back than gets nixed all together. It may not be the ideal $500M facility we've seen drawings of, but with $250M committed, it will get done, even if they hack a hefty chunk off it. The $220M request was always designed to ask for more than would be needed so there was wiggle room.

[4everwarriors]

Glad you're not, but there's a growing concern among the owners that it's not gonna happen.

Really? Hadn't heard that chit. Who, of the owners, has their sphincter tightenin' up?

[MUfan12]

Really? Hadn't heard that chit. Who, of the owners, has their sphincter tightenin' up?

Not sure specifically, just was told that they're starting to get worried.

It really boils down to the local government at this point. Fitz will get his 150M plan passed.

[GOO]

Not sure specifically, just was told that they're starting to get worried.

It really boils down to the local government at this point. Fitz will get his 150M plan passed.

If the State says fine, we'll go 150M and approve it but nothing more, it will get done.  I think it gets done anyway.  If the State says the locals have to kick in 100M or we don't pass the 150M, that is a problem and I'd say it probably get done.

250 + 150 puts it 100M short.  The city and county probably kick in 50M in various forms.  So being only 50M short is easy to make up, even if the money has to come from naming rights and other private donations.  If it's 50M short, it won't go down as long as the money doesn't have to come from the city/county as a condition for the State's 150M.  The city is already near 25M in contributions from land, the parking garage and infrastructure improvements.

If the State commits to the 150M, it gets done without a big hassle.  If the State says the city and county have to kick in 100M, which is just a political game to hurt local democrats, then it gets messy but it will probably get done.

Hopefully the State will commit to the 150M, which means that there is another 350M investment coming from other places and the State keeps tax revenue coming in.