George Thompson

[HoopsterBC]

Can somebody explain the rift between MU and George?

[Jockey]

Can somebody explain the rift between MU and George?

Maybe because MU gave Haanif GT's #24 when he arrived on campus.

I remember Thompson being pretty unhappy  several years back when Lazar was given the number, which by the way, is "retired".

[4everwarriors]

Started with you know who, disrespecting one of our Warrior greats. Gave his retired number to a newbie. Tried to pass it off like we retire jerseys, not numbers. More snake oil propaganda, ai na?

[HoopsterBC]

Started with you know who, disrespecting one of our Warrior greats. Gave his retired number to a newbie. Tried to pass it off like we retire jerseys, not numbers. More snake oil propaganda, ai na?

New regime, get over it, Wojo is respecting the past and embracing it,  move on

[cheebs09]

Wasn't there a rumored fall out over his job as a radio announcer?

[4everwarriors]

New regime, get over it, Wojo is respecting the past and embracing it,  move on

Your advice should be directed to George. I merely answered the op's question. Truth stings, hey?

[brewcity77]

We shouldn't retire numbers. There are only 36 available numbers in college basketball. And if we retired everyone who was deserving, probably half would be gone.

As is, there are only 25 numbers left Marquette can give out. And that's with 7 of our top 10 scorers, 8 of our top 10 rebounders, and 9 of our top 10 assisters not retired.

Retiring numbers in college basketball is senseless.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Bring back #11!!!

[Dr. Blackheart]

We shouldn't retire numbers. There are only 36 available numbers in college basketball. And if we retired everyone who was deserving, probably half would be gone.

As is, there are only 25 numbers left Marquette can give out. And that's with 7 of our top 10 scorers, 8 of our top 10 rebounders, and 9 of our top 10 assisters not retired.

Retiring numbers in college basketball is senseless.

But Marquette retired his number so let's not recreate history. Crean disrespected him and then Marquette under Wojo did it again. Not Wojo's fault but there are people in MUAD who were around for both (Broeker). Honor the Warrior!

[Nukem2]

Wasn't there a rumored fall out over his job as a radio announcer?

This.  # is old stuff.

[The Lens]

If Al lived 10 years longer, GT's number never goes to Lazar and the radio gig never goes to Mac (who is fantastic).  TC didn't start bullying Brute Force around until Al had passed away.  Character revealed.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Was george not at the benefit?  I know he was upset but i thought everything was smoothed over? No?

[Goose]

George had a right to be angry, but time to move on. He is still angry and missed out on a couple of great events this year.

[GooooMarquette]

George had a right to be angry, but time to move on. He is still angry and missed out on a couple of great events this year.

+1 

[B. McBannerson]

If Al lived 10 years longer, GT's number never goes to Lazar and the radio gig never goes to Mac (who is fantastic).  TC didn't start bullying Brute Force around until Al had passed away.  Character revealed.

Speaking of character revealed, it was so great to see Buzz Williams at the event with 7 months advanced notice.  Too busy.  His empty chair, would have been nice for him to participate. 

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/sVS90zFcDw0&amp;t=68s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/sVS90zFcDw0&amp;t=68s</a>

[wadesworld]

Speaking of character revealed, it was so great to see Buzz Williams at the event with 7 months advanced notice.  Too busy.  His empty chair, would have been nice for him to participate. 

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/sVS90zFcDw0&amp;t=68s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/sVS90zFcDw0&amp;t=68s</a>

Thank god Hoopaloop is back.  What would we do without our knight in shining armor every time Tom Crean's name comes up on Scoop?

[GGGG]

My understanding was that Buzz was invited but chose not to attend.  That was probably a smart choice by him.  It's just too soon.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

My understanding was that Buzz was invited but chose not to attend.  That was probably a smart choice by him.  It's just too soon.

The fact we got 3 former coaches on stage is a big win and seems to be a product of their employment situations and their desire to have a reunion with 'their guys' (which is pretty cool).  I would not be upset if any of those coaches declined as a HM coach at another university. 

[jsglow]

George had a right to be angry, but time to move on. He is still angry and missed out on a couple of great events this year.

This.

[MerrittsMustache]

We shouldn't retire numbers. There are only 36 available numbers in college basketball. And if we retired everyone who was deserving, probably half would be gone.

As is, there are only 25 numbers left Marquette can give out. And that's with 7 of our top 10 scorers, 8 of our top 10 rebounders, and 9 of our top 10 assisters not retired.

Retiring numbers in college basketball is senseless.

MU's retired number situation has gotten out of hand (not as out of hand as the Boston Celtics' but that's a different story).

It's nice to recognize former greats, but honoring them with their names and numbers on a banner is enough. Save the jersey retirements for 1st Team Consensus All-Americans.

 3 - Dwyane Wade
14 - Dean Meminger
15- Butch Lee
44 - Don Kojis

That's it.

[brewcity77]

MU's retired number situation has gotten out of hand (not as out of hand as the Boston Celtics' but that's a different story).

It's nice to recognize former greats, but honoring them with their names and numbers on a banner is enough. Save the jersey retirements for 1st Team Consensus All-Americans.

 3 - Dwyane Wade
14 - Dean Meminger
15- Butch Lee
44 - Don Kojis

That's it.

That's still four more than I'd retire. I know we're not these programs, but Duke and UNC have 18 consensus All-Americans each. Kentucky has 19. Kansas has 24. If the Jayhawks retired a number every time they had a consensus All-American, they wouldn't even have enough numbers left to fill a roster of 13 scholarships.

Retiring jerseys would allow us to still honor the history while also opening up the ability to retire jerseys for players like McNeal, Crowder, Hayward, and others that haven't yet received the honor. I think that's more than enough.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Speaking of character revealed, it was so great to see Buzz Williams at the event with 7 months advanced notice.  Too busy.  His empty chair, would have been nice for him to participate. 

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/sVS90zFcDw0&amp;t=68s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/sVS90zFcDw0&amp;t=68s</a>

Hologram Buzz.  Good to see Deano still wearing the sunglasses.

[TedBaxter]

Mike Deane showed up and he was fired.  I have more respect for him than someone who took another job and didn't show up.

[MuMark]

And Deane paid tribute to the guy who fired him. Thought that was pretty amazing ..... along with the story about KO thinking "Mother" was half a word......

[We R Final Four]

Sultan is right--too soon.
Additionally, If Jay would have asked Buzz an open ended question, Buzz would have spewed his convoluted answer for 12 minutes. Panel was great. Dynamic would have been completely different with Buzz--even though he is a living head coach of MUBB.

[T-Bone]

Not to further hijack this thread, but was there any compensation to the former coaches, or just travel/room/board?

[Dawson Rental]

We shouldn't retire numbers. There are only 36 available numbers in college basketball. And if we retired everyone who was deserving, probably half would be gone.

As is, there are only 25 numbers left Marquette can give out. And that's with 7 of our top 10 scorers, 8 of our top 10 rebounders, and 9 of our top 10 assisters not retired.

Retiring numbers in college basketball is senseless.

Except, of course, in the case of 77.

[B. McBannerson]

My understanding was that Buzz was invited but chose not to attend.  That was probably a smart choice by him.  It's just too soon.

It has been 3 years since he left.  There is only one event this great, celebrating 100 years of basketball.  No one here will be around for year 200, if MU basketball even exists then.

There is not a single person I know that attended this event that said it wasn't the best MU basketball event ever, and some of these people have been following Marquette hoops for close to 60 years. 

He should have been there.  In 2009, only one year removed, a former coach who left MU came back for a celebration in Milwaukee. It wasn't too soon.  It is never too soon when these once in a lifetime events happen.  http://www.gomarquette.com/genrel/051109aaa.html

Buzz would have been wildly supported and it would have been magnanimous of him to be there.  Not much character revealed on this one. An unfortunate choice. He was missed at the event and would have made it better.

[Nukem2]

It has been 3 years since he left.  There is only one event this great, celebrating 100 years of basketball.  No one here will be around for year 200, if MU basketball even exists then.

There is not a single person I know that attended this event that said it wasn't the best MU basketball event ever, and some of these people have been following Marquette hoops for close to 60 years. 

He should have been there.  In 2009, only one year removed, a former coach who left MU came back for a celebration in Milwaukee. It wasn't too soon.  It is never too soon when these once in a lifetime events happen.  http://www.gomarquette.com/genrel/051109aaa.html

Buzz would have been wildly supported and it would have been magnanimous of him to be there.  Not much character revealed on this one. An unfortunate choice. He was missed at the event and would have made it better.

There is a difference in events.  the recent one was all about MU.  The 2009 event was more about individuals, specifically Bill Cords and Dwyane Wade and other members of the 2002-03 Final 4 team.  Hard for a sitting Power 5 coach to come honor MU when there could be future recruiting issues as well as his personal issue with MU.  Far different than Harris and Wardle who are MU grads and former MU assistants.  Deane and Crean and O'Neill are obviously unemployed.  I'll give Buzz a pass here.

[GOO]

I would not expect Buzz to attend, and do not think any different about him, good or bad, for not attending.  Maybe slightly less if he attended.  A lot of strained relationships and it is too soon and he is employed by a direct competitor.  If he were employed by Kansas or UNC or Duke, I could see him coming and it not being an issue with his employer.

As I see it: If the ex-CEO of GM, now employed by a competitor, was invited to celebrate GM and the greatness and history of GM... I sure would hope the ex-GM CEO has enough respect for his current employer to not attend.

As for George Thompson, I think it is too bad he feels that way, if true.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

In theory I don't mind Buzz not coming to the hoopla. I can understand that it could be awkward or send the wrong message if he took time off from his job at another school to celebrate his former school. I'm not sure that Crean would have come back of he was still at I4. Same for KO and Deane if they were still coaching.

However,  my guess is that Buzz not coming had less to do with that and more to do with his bitterness towards MU.

Very few Buzz era recruits at the event too. But my assumption is that they are probably all still playing professionally and couldn't get away. It was nice to hear Jamil speak. And I saw Ners' favorite PG!

[brewcity77]

Except, of course, in the case of 77.

77 is fine to be retired. In fact, it's such a crucial number that I'm glad it isn't eligible for use not just at Marquette, but any Division 1 basketball program.

[GGGG]

It has been 3 years since he left.  There is only one event this great, celebrating 100 years of basketball.  No one here will be around for year 200, if MU basketball even exists then.

There is not a single person I know that attended this event that said it wasn't the best MU basketball event ever, and some of these people have been following Marquette hoops for close to 60 years. 

He should have been there.  In 2009, only one year removed, a former coach who left MU came back for a celebration in Milwaukee. It wasn't too soon.  It is never too soon when these once in a lifetime events happen.  http://www.gomarquette.com/genrel/051109aaa.html

Buzz would have been wildly supported and it would have been magnanimous of him to be there.  Not much character revealed on this one. An unfortunate choice. He was missed at the event and would have made it better.

When TC came back to recognize the '03 team he kept a very low profile.  My recollection is that he barely said any word publicly but just wanted to be around his team.  Furthermore the coach at the time was a former assistant.

Pretty stark contrast to a guy you are suggesting being part of a panel discussion on the history of Marquette basketball.

[B. McBannerson]

There is a difference in events.  the recent one was all about MU.  The 2009 event was more about individuals, specifically Bill Cords and Dwyane Wade and other members of the 2002-03 Final 4 team.  Hard for a sitting Power 5 coach to come honor MU when there could be future recruiting issues as well as his personal issue with MU.  Far different than Harris and Wardle who are MU grads and former MU assistants.  Deane and Crean and O'Neill are obviously unemployed.  I'll give Buzz a pass here.

A difference, yes, but even taking away the Hall of Fame event, the 100th only happens one time. There will never in our lifetimes be an all encompassing event like this again for Marquette that brings in generations of participants.  Crean and Deane committed when they were employed.  Crean and O'Neill are employed now, but in different jobs.  Only Deane is retired and he also committed when he was employed.  It is too bad that he chose not to.   Why is it hard for a sitting Power 5 coach to come?  Sitting Power 5 coaches are able to attend events all the time where conflicts may occur. 

[Silkk the Shaka]

It has been 3 years since he left.  There is only one event this great, celebrating 100 years of basketball.  No one here will be around for year 200, if MU basketball even exists then.

There is not a single person I know that attended this event that said it wasn't the best MU basketball event ever, and some of these people have been following Marquette hoops for close to 60 years. 

He should have been there.  In 2009, only one year removed, a former coach who left MU came back for a celebration in Milwaukee. It wasn't too soon.  It is never too soon when these once in a lifetime events happen.  http://www.gomarquette.com/genrel/051109aaa.html

Buzz would have been wildly supported and it would have been magnanimous of him to be there.  Not much character revealed on this one. An unfortunate choice. He was missed at the event and would have made it better.

Goddammit Chicos ruins everything

[Newsdreams]

Goddammit Chicos ruins everything

Pr is it Hoopaloop just trolling us?

[barfolomew]

77 is fine to be retired. In fact, it's such a crucial number that I'm glad it isn't eligible for use not just at Marquette, but any Division 1 basketball program.

And to think some people say Marquette is not a respected program!
I have a source who tells me that the '70 NIT championship is being similarly acknowledged throughout not only DI, but DII and DIII as well.