[MattVelazquezSays]Marquette's Haanif Cheatham won't wear No. 24

[The Lens]

I think the number/jersey retirement argument is a joke.  I really don't care what number a player wore during his career. 

GT and those up in arms over this, need to get a life and get over it. 

He was a great player and ambassador for Marquette.  Awesome!!  He was recognized for his achievements.  Him.  George Thompson, the player, the man, not some stupid number.  Get over it. 

If someone wants number 24 or 3 or 31 or whatever.  Great.  Give it to them.  I don't see the big deal. 

Imagine if some once in a generation recruit wanted to come to Marquette and his name was George Thompson.  Would we tell him to go away because we once had a George Thompson at Marquette and he was the end all be all to all the George Thompsons of the world, at least Marquette world, so now change your name or just go away...shoo. 

As usual, making a mountain out of a mole hill.   

THEN WHY IN THE WORLD DO WE RETIRE NUMBERS???????

[keefe]

I feel better.  For some strange reason, this was really bothering me today.  I know it's not world peace or anything but...

Dude, you need to have a word with Chick about her...wifely duties...

[keefe]

Maybe George will adopt him.  

a la Tom Harmon!

[keefe]

First class organizations

Therein lies the rub, Goose...

[keefe]

Watch a Tom Crean press conference after every loss - essentially saying it's not his fault (team was well prepared, had the right game plan, etc.) is what he does.

My favorite was the presser where Tanned Tommy blamed the loss on Will Sheehey's subpar execution on his brilliant plan for an IU player to fake an elbow to the face...

[GooooMarquette]

And for those of you who think George should get over it, well why shouldn't Wade or Doc.  Let's hand out their numbers too.

Agreed.  All the numbers should be fair game.

[brandx]

And the radio guys (Belling/Sykes) used it to again mock the PR problems at Marquette.

Wow!!! They almost never mock anything.

I think we should hire them as consultants so we have access to their valuable opinions every day.

[Litehouse]

So did Diener really reach out to GT beforehand?

[Tums Festival]

This was definitely a blunder. Not a major one, but it was most certainly preventable with some due diligence. What's kinda sad is how so many people think the school should either un-retire some numbers or change the way numbers are retired in the future. Considering the retiring of uniform numbers was a non-issue until a couple days ago, why does it need to change now? Because some putz in the athletic department didn't do their job?

As for "running out of available numbers," perhaps the NCAA will one day allow all numbers on uniforms instead of just 0 through 5.

[Litehouse]

Considering the retiring of uniform numbers was a non-issue until a couple days ago, why does it need to change now? Because some putz in the athletic department didn't do their job?

It was an even bigger deal in 2006 when Crean tried to give it to Lazar, and then made up the ridiculous explanation about retiring jerseys, not numbers.  That's why this seems so absurd, we just went through the exact same thing 9 years ago, so why even open this can of worms again.

[Macallan 18]

I don't know George T, but he has to let this go in my opinion and should strongly consider allowing his number to be used.  Maybe the policy should be to do so only if he talks to the player to wear the number and agrees to do so.  There are only so many numbers.

Can anyone share the back story to Doc Rivers getting #31 which was retired for Bo Ellis? Was Ellis consulted first or did they just give it to Doc and Ellis didn't care?

[GooooMarquette]

Can anyone share the back story to Doc Rivers getting #31 which was retired for Bo Ellis? Was Ellis consulted first or did they just give it to Doc and Ellis didn't care?

Don't recall for sure, but I thought Bo's number/jersey(?) was retired after Doc wore it.

Edit:  Yep - this article indicates that Bo's jersey was retired in 1992.  http://www.nabc.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030502aaj.html

[4everwarriors]

Can't believe some of y'all are down with givin' up retired numbers. This honor is earned, signifies excellence, and is a reward others, who follow, should strive to attain.
Sometimes the continual pussification of this country is beyond comprehension, ai na?

[Sir Lawrence]

Wow!!! They almost never mock anything.

I think we should hire them as consultants so we have access to their valuable opinions every day.

Their shows have high ratings.  They shape the opinions of many of their listeners.  Don't make the mistake of assuming that everyone in their audience agrees with their viewpoint, but many certainly do. 

[Sir Lawrence]

Can't believe some of y'all are down with givin' up retired numbers. This honor is earned, signifies excellence, and is a reward others, who follow, should strive to attain.

Amen, brother.

[StillAWarrior]

It was an even bigger deal in 2006 when Crean tried to give gave it to Lazar, and then made up the ridiculous explanation about retiring jerseys, not numbers.  That's why this seems so absurd, we just went through the exact same thing 9 years ago, so why even open this can of worms again.

Fixed.  Hayward actually played a couple games wearing No. 24 at the beginning of the season.

Just looking back at the archives to confirm my memory, I found it interesting that in the box scores of those games Lazar is listed as No. 32 and there aren't any pictures of him in the photo galleries.  But, in the recap articles for a couple of the games (Hillsdale and Idaho State) the picture is of Lazar wearing No. 24.

[GooooMarquette]

Can't believe some of y'all are down with givin' up retired numbers. This honor is earned, signifies excellence, and is a reward others, who follow, should strive to attain.
Sometimes the continual pussification of this country is beyond comprehension, ai na?

I recognize and respect George's accomplishments at MU, and would continue to do so regardless of whether someone else wore #24.  Wouldn't you?

[Skatastrophy]

I recognize and respect George's accomplishments at MU, and would continue to do so regardless of whether someone else wore #24.  Wouldn't you?

No, if someone else wears #24 then everything that Thompson did is permanently erased from history.

This is just old timers being old timers. Once you've finished alphabetizing your pantry, the only thing left to do is to be angry about something inane on the internet.

[muwarrior69]

I recognize and respect George's accomplishments at MU, and would continue to do so regardless of whether someone else wore #24.  Wouldn't you?

Then let him wear #3 as I respect Wade"s accomplishments as well.

[bilsu]

They should only retire warrior numbers. They can retire Golden Eagle uniforms.

[GGGG]

This is just old timers being old timers. Once you've finished alphabetizing your pantry, the only thing left to do is to be angry about something inane on the internet.

This is the type of comment that drives me nuts.  Simply trying to diminish someone's argument by insulting them.

Look, I am not all that old.  I never saw Thompson play.  I just think that if you are going to honor that person through retiring their number, and market the fact that you retired the number, that you should....well...you know...keep the number retired.

Teams just need to be more judicious about whose numbers they retire in the future.

[We R Final Four]

What they should do is---either keep the number retired or don't. Either way make a Frickin decision and stick by it. Why do I get the feeling that this topic will arise yet again in ten years or so?

I'm with 4ever and others---they retired #24. That means that no one wears #24 again. That is what retiring a number means--across the board. I also agree that you should be very selective of the number that you retire. You know why? Cuz no one will ever wear that jersey # again. Seems pretty simple.

[StillAWarrior]

This is the type of comment that drives me nuts.  Simply trying to diminish someone's argument by insulting them.

Drives me nuts too.  But not nearly as much as when the little bastards won't get off my lawn!

[The Lens]

No, if someone else wears #24 then everything that Thompson did is permanently erased from history.

This is just old timers being old timers. Once you've finished alphabetizing your pantry, the only thing left to do is to be angry about something inane on the internet.

The University RETIRED his NUMBER what is so hard (old) about this?

[SWARM!]

Not old, never saw Thompson play and there's virtually no highlights of him. That doesn't mean I can't deduce his legendary status within MU ball. They retired his friggin number. That means no one wears it from now until the end of time. What the hell is there to debate?