Donald Williams - Aki's first recruit?

[dwaderoy2004]

I hadn't heard this name for 2008 yet.  Apparantly down to us and St. John's...

http://njmg.typepad.com/zagsblog/2008/06/williams-lookin.html

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=45635

[lurch91]

Holy frequent flier miles!!!  Seems that Buzz and Co. are everywhere at once!!!!

[deerchaser]

We were also mentioned with a teamate of his at Progressive Christian.  Don't know whatever happened with that one.

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=9236.0

[MU Chi_IL]

Might want to update the Recruiting WIki...

[MUCrew]

So does this mean were not gonna bank that extra scholie? 

[1990Warrior]

Might want to update the Recruiting WIki...

I was going to add a section in addition to the current sections called Rumored to put names from credible posts like this one.  I have been too busy to do it.  I thought it could contain the link to the thread that identified the recruit as well as all other info people could find.

[esotericmindguy]

My interest in recruiting has been sparked since the coaching change.  I was wondering if Marquette was mentioned with so many highly touted recruits when Crean was here? 

[Mobot]

I don't know that you would consider this a highly touted recruit.  It is really hard to find information on this guy.  Rivals has him as a 3 star and scout has him as a 2 star.  Although, it seems that he would have to be pretty good to be named the most oustanding player in the select division of the Bob Gibbons tourney.

[Mobot]

"New Orleans Jazz wing Donald Williams was named Most Outstanding Player of the Select Division of the 17 and under division. The 6-foot-5 prep school guard averaged a hair under 23 points a game.

“He was the best player we played against all weekend,” said one AAU coach that tried to slow down Williams in North Carolina. “He’s really good. People need to know about him.”

Consider it done. Williams technically is part of the class of 2008, too. Let the phone calls begin to Progressive Christian in Maryland."

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=rivals-220093&prov=rivals&type=lgns

[nola03]

I was wondering if Marquette was mentioned with so many highly touted recruits when Crean was here? 

Wonder no more: yes, Marquette was mentioned with highly touted recruits.

[Pakuni]

My interest in recruiting has been sparked since the coaching change.  I was wondering if Marquette was mentioned with so many highly touted recruits when Crean was here? 

The answer to that question probably depends on who you ask.

I'd say Crean definitely got MU among the finalists of many highly touted/top 100 recruits, including at least four McDonald's AAs I can think of off the top of my head (Brian Butch, Shannon Brown, Luke Zeller, Iman Shumpert).
But I'd say he didn't land nearly as many of those players as we all would have liked.

[Mobot]

Williams spoke further about why these two schools are at the top of his list which also includes UAB (offer), East Carolina and New Orleans (offer).

“They are in a good conference. The Big East is strong. I like the way the coaches communicate, and they sound like they would be good coaches to play for.

“With St. John’s I like the atmosphere of New York City, and it would be cool to play in Madison Square Garden.

“And Marquette has a great winning tradition and has produced some great players like Dwayne Wade and Steve Novak.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=rivals-220634&prov=rivals&type=lgns

[deerchaser]

Consider it done. Williams technically is part of the class of 2008, too. Let the phone calls begin to Progressive Christian in Maryland."

I'm a little curious as to what that's supposed to mean.

[MR.HAYWARD]

Crean excelled at the all or nothing recruiting approach...that is too invest everything on a highly touted recruit and not land him, only to fill the scholarship with an unheard of lowly recruited 1 star type player in the spring.  

I will give Crean credit for 2 good recruiting classes in 9 years his first and the one with the 3 amigos...the other 7 were well below average.  

Kevin Oneil in the MCC and the Old Gym recruited Creans socks off.  Buzz will too.  

[MR.HAYWARD]

Brian Butch, Shannon Brown, Luke Zeller, Iman Shumpert...

Sorry pakuni but while Mu may have been 'in'n those guys to beleive that Mu had a chance with anyone of them besides Shumpert is to buy into what Crean was selling.  Sure Butch visited and considered Mu but to think Mu had a chance over UW is not realistic, Zeller and Brown were never coming.

[ChicosBailBonds]

My interest in recruiting has been sparked since the coaching change.  I was wondering if Marquette was mentioned with so many highly touted recruits when Crean was here? 

Yes

[ChicosBailBonds]

Crean excelled at the all or nothing recruiting approach...that is too invest everything on a highly touted recruit and not land him, only to fill the scholarship with an unheard of lowly recruited 1 star type player in the spring.  

I will give Crean credit for 2 good recruiting classes in 9 years his first and the one with the 3 amigos...the other 7 were well below average.  

Kevin Oneil in the MCC and the Old Gym recruited Creans socks off.  Buzz will too.  

Well below average....well then I guess he took well below average players and won a ton of games, ton of Big East games and got them into the tournament.  It's amazing how often I've read what a lousy coach and recruiter he was and yet all the success we had.  It must have been a miracle each year.   

[Nukem2]

Of course, Chicos, there are only 1st place and a tie for last place in recruiting. 

[The Lens]

DJ
Jerel
Wes
Novak
Travis
ODB
Wade
Merritt
Dameon Mason
Lazar

All of the above plus others were highly touted.  TC did have his share of 2am booty calls (horrible spring signees) but he definitely brought in some players.  He seemed to excel when he had PT to sell.  I think Crean was over-rated as a recruiter b/c he never got that Top 10 class that guys like Quinn Snyder got but he was so much better of a administrator than Quinn.  To me he was a decent recruiter, an unbelievable prep and plan guy and a woefully over-matched bench coach.  But bench coach can be overrated in college.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Of course, Chicos, there are only 1st place and a tie for last place in recruiting. 

On that, I agree.  I just find it funny how many bad (below average classes) we had, how poor of a coach he was and yet we ended up with the 2nd best run in MU history.  Miracles I tell ya....miracles.      Or an awful lot of CDS (Crean Derangement Syndrome).

[deerchaser]

Are you seriously suggesting MU didn't have a chance with Shumpert....wow, all I can say is wow.  Speaks volumes.  You have no clue what you are talking about on Shumpert.

Please re-read what Mr. Hayward said.  You may find yourself surprised.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Please re-read what Mr. Hayward said.  You may find yourself surprised.

yup...my bad...I'll do what Hayward is incapable of...admit to being wrong.  That being said, all four of those guys had MU as a finalist.  Why?

[Pakuni]

Brian Butch, Shannon Brown, Luke Zeller, Iman Shumpert...

Sorry pakuni but while Mu may have been 'in'n those guys to beleive that Mu had a chance with anyone of them besides Shumpert is to buy into what Crean was selling.  Sure Butch visited and considered Mu but to think Mu had a chance over UW is not realistic, Zeller and Brown were never coming.

Every single one of those guys publicly named Marquette as a finalist.
Perhaps they were in on the ruse with Crean.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

mis-posted 

[Pakuni]

Kevin Oneil in the MCC and the Old Gym recruited Creans socks off.  Buzz will too.  

Is that so?

Crean landed three NBA players in his first three recruiting classes and probably has at least two more on the current roster.
O'Neill landed two NBA players.

O'Neill's top recruit, Jimmy Mac, was a second-round NBA pick with a middling NBA career.
Crean's top recruit was a lottery pick, perennial all-star and one of the best players in the world.

Of MU's top 25 all-time scorers, four were O'Neill recruits.  Five were Crean recruits and Lazar Hayward will make it six before he's done.

Shall I continue?
CDS is sweeping the (Warrior) nation.

[downtown85]

I tend to agree that it is premature to pronounce Buzz "in" on more highly rated players than Crean was.  However, if I recall from the last few recruiting classes I do not remember MU being mentioned for so many 4 star player prospects on the scout site like we have now for 2009.  That being said, are we really being considered i.e., are we really "in" on all these guys mentioned?  

I thought Crean did an o.k. job in recruiting overall but aside from Wade's class and the 3 amigos class, he was getting like 1 stud recruit per year on average, (if that).  The question is that enough?  I think for a top tier BE team it isn't.  For a CUSA team it may be fine.  If Buzz can get up to 2 or 3 studs (i.e., top 100 recruits) year in and year out, this team will be successful beyond expectations.  We can only judge whether Buzz is in fact better than Crean was after the recruits actually sign and qualify and prove themselves on the court and off the court.  That means we will not really know for a couple of years.  In the meantime, Buzz seems to be doing just fine.

[bma725]

Crean landed three NBA players in his first three recruiting classes and probably has at least two more on the current roster.
O'Neill landed two NBA players.

O'Neill landed 3 NBA players.  McIlvaine, McCaskill and Crawford. 

[nyg]

Sort of getting back on track of the initial thread topic.  FYI, it is interesting that MU is considering this recruit, along with Latay Darden, a fellow team mate.  The reasoning is that Progressive Christian School is one of those private schools where the under achieving academic athletes fliter to, especially in the DC area. Think Kevin Durant, Mike Beasley, Ty Lawson, Sam Young, and other products of the Prince Georges County, Md who went the same route, not necessarily the same school.  Many of these schools have been met with scrutiny from the NCAA and have been the subject of media articles, the last of which was in Sports Illustrated and detailed Beasley's journey to K-State via this route.  

I have no knowledge about what the recruit's academic standing is, was or will be, but is just interesting because in years past, we would not be having this discussion.  

[Pakuni]

O'Neill landed 3 NBA players.  McIlvaine, McCaskill and Crawford. 

Oops. My bad. How I forgot the Predator is beyond me.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Is that so?

Crean landed three NBA players in his first three recruiting classes and probably has at least two more on the current roster.
O'Neill landed two NBA players.

O'Neill's top recruit, Jimmy Mac, was a second-round NBA pick with a middling NBA career.
Crean's top recruit was a lottery pick, perennial all-star and one of the best players in the world.

Of MU's top 25 all-time scorers, four were O'Neill recruits.  Five were Crean recruits and Lazar Hayward will make it six before he's done.

Shall I continue?
CDS is sweeping the (Warrior) nation.

Actually KO had three with Amal's cup of coffee.  All three second rounders. 

Crean landed a lottery pick and two second rounders.  It will be interesting to see if any of the guys he landed this year before he left will make it to the association (Nick Williams, Taylor, etc...unlikely but then again no one on planet earth said Chris Crawford was a NBA player until late in his college career too).

[ChicosBailBonds]

I thought Crean did an o.k. job in recruiting overall but aside from Wade's class and the 3 amigos class, he was getting like 1 stud recruit per year on average, (if that).  The question is that enough?  I think for a top tier BE team it isn't.  For a CUSA team it may be fine.  

Did you feel we weren't a top tier team in the Big East the last three years....winning the 3rd most Big East games despite having the 2nd toughest Big East schedule last year and the 3rd toughest the year prior?  I'm just asking.  I'd say we were a top tier BE team, but that's just my opinion.

[NYWarrior]

Is that so?

Crean landed three NBA players in his first three recruiting classes and probably has at least two more on the current roster.
O'Neill landed two NBA players.

O'Neill's top recruit, Jimmy Mac, was a second-round NBA pick with a middling NBA career.
Crean's top recruit was a lottery pick, perennial all-star and one of the best players in the world.

Of MU's top 25 all-time scorers, four were O'Neill recruits.  Five were Crean recruits and Lazar Hayward will make it six before he's done.

KO was a sublime recruiter.  In five years he delivered remarkable talent to MU -- exceeding TC by just about any measure given the circumstances, particularly notable in the volume of talent he crammed into campus.

 KO's kids could play......look at the top 15 list of all-time MU performers in just about any category - - players KO recruited are disproportionately represented across the board, ie: #1 and #3 in assists, three of the top 11 rebounders in MU history, 5 of the top 10 3pt shooters (FGs made) in MU history, 2 of the top 10 in steals, the top 3 shotblockers in the history of the program, 3 of the top 15 scorers in MU history.

That's quite a bit of production in just five years.  KO was a much better recruiter than Tom Crean, delivering consistently talented classes year to year.  TC was never able to pull that off -- but when he hit the Mother Lode, he nailed it (3 Amigos, Wade class).  Still, TC followed up a great class with a dud or a modest bunch at best.

[jmayer1]

Did you feel we weren't a top tier team in the Big East the last three years....winning the 3rd most Big East games despite having the 2nd toughest Big East schedule last year and the 3rd toughest the year prior?  I'm just asking.  I'd say we were a top tier BE team, but that's just my opinion.

MU was good the past 3 years but they never seriously challenged for a conference title.  I think better overall talent is needed to compete for a conference title year-in and year-out, or at least once every three years.

[NYWarrior]

MU was good the past 3 years but they never seriously challenged for a conference title.  I think better overall talent is needed to compete for a conference title year-in and year-out, or at least once every three years.

bingo.

Buzz has a better shot to do that than TC, IMHO.  Buzz is already recruiting to fill gaps and roster limitations that TC was content to have (short guards, lack of SFs, lack of athletic combo Fs).  this is goodness

[nola03]

bingo.

Buzz has a better shot to do that than TC, IMHO.  Buzz is already recruiting to fill gaps and roster limitations that TC was content to have (short guards, lack of SFs, lack of athletic combo Fs).  this is goodness

Why does Buzz have a better chance to win the Big East title then Crean did?

[Pakuni]

KO was a sublime recruiter.  In five years he delivered remarkable talent to MU -- exceeding TC by just about any measure given the circumstances, particularly notable in the volume of talent he crammed into campus.
 

No one is arguing that O'Neill was anything other than a stellar recruiter. But to say he "ran circles" around Crean isn't particularly fair or accurate.

As for the notion that O'Neill's classes were consistently talented and Crean was all hit or miss, that's not correct either.

O'Neill's 1993 class brought Roney Eford and Dwaine Streator. One very good player, one not. His 1995 class featured one great player (Hutchins) and then Richard Shaw and Zach McCall.
Again, I'm not trying to knock O'Neill's recruiting in the slightest. But I think you may be overrating some of his classes.

[jmayer1]

bingo.

Buzz has a better shot to do that than TC, IMHO.  Buzz is already recruiting to fill gaps and roster limitations that TC was content to have (short guards, lack of SFs, lack of athletic combo Fs).  this is goodness

I don't know if Buzz will recruit better than TC or not, only time will tell.  TC recruited some really good talent, it just seemed like he had some years where we had no one coming in to fill the gaps and even out the teams.  

There are not many schools that can recruit top talent (2-3 top 100 guys) year-in and year-out.  However, if MU wants to take that next step, I believe thats what they will have to do.  Getting 3 guys in one year is great, but then following up with only one each the next two years (Hayward, Mbakwe) who may not address weaknesses (low post scoring) isn't.  

That is what was kind of disappointing with the timing of TC leaving is that MU had some more guys in the pipeline (Williams, Taylor in '08, Williams in '09) which TC hopefully could have added to and produce consistently talented teams from year to year.  Of course, without any bigs, MU would have been the same type of team in 3-4 years that they are today.

[mugrad99]

Every single one of those guys publicly named Marquette as a finalist.
Perhaps they were in on the ruse with Crean.

He eliminated MU well before he was down to Kansas, Illinois, and Notre Dame.

Even though he has not done much at ND, he would sure look good in the middle at Marquette.

I'm not bashing the former coach, because he was sure in on alot of guys.

[ChicosBailBonds]

MU was good the past 3 years but they never seriously challenged for a conference title.  I think better overall talent is needed to compete for a conference title year-in and year-out, or at least once every three years.

True, then again in our history as a program we have only seriously challenged for a conference title three times.

1994 under KO won GMC
2002 under TC 2nd in CUSA
2003 under TC won CUSA

We haven't exactly been collecting conference titles and with the Big East as solid as it is, I'd still say we're an upper tier Big East team based on the results.  Better players should help assuming they play together and do what it takes to win.

[downtown85]

Did you feel we weren't a top tier team in the Big East the last three years....winning the 3rd most Big East games despite having the 2nd toughest Big East schedule last year and the 3rd toughest the year prior?  I'm just asking.  I'd say we were a top tier BE team, but that's just my opinion.

I do think we were a top tier Big East team. This is largely due to DJ, Wes and Jerel's class.  But the recruiting classes just before and the ones after the 3 Amigos were sub par. (Lazar can be considered the only upper tier BE caliber player of the last 5 recruiting classes if you exclude the 3 amigos.  The jury is still out on Trevor).  There was (and perhaps still is) going to be a big drop off once 3 amigos leave.  My point is we were (and are) always in danger of being a second tier BE team (ala De Paul or Seton Hall) without consistent and balanced recruiting. Are you telling me that Crean had consistently good recruiting classes? Also, we all recognize Crean's inability (for whatever reason to recruit quality at the PF and C positions.  I guess my point is not that Crean was bad but his recruiting effort was too inconsistent and imbalanced for MU to be a big east powerhouse in the long run.  I am hoping to have more consistency and balance from the new coach.  Time will tell whether Buzz will be better than Crean. 

[79Warrior]

Well below average....well then I guess he took well below average players and won a ton of games, ton of Big East games and got them into the tournament.  It's amazing how often I've read what a lousy coach and recruiter he was and yet all the success we had.  It must have been a miracle each year.   

Gotta agree with you. I think some folks on this board might be in for a rude awakening.

[MR.HAYWARD]

Sorry Chicos and Pakuni but the following statemnts are completely slanted towards the benfit of Crean he was here 9 years oneil 5....so to make the folowwing staemnt...."Of MU's top 25 all-time scorers, four were O'Neill recruits.  Five were Crean recruits and Lazar Hayward will make it six before he's done."
This is basically saying oneil did in fact out recruit Crean,  Also in 5 years versus 9 they both put 3 players in the pros.  Agina edge to Oneil.

Also Oneil MCC and oldgym..crean the Al and teh BE and C-usa.. again edge to oneil.  

lastly Crean got by on two classes his first class was very good but the team imploded when a few of those players left and his recruitng mistakes in the years following led to the 2004 and 2005 season debacles.  then his other good class, the big 3, saved the ship.  Crean got to 5 nacca's on the backs of 2 good classes
if Buzz does not sign a big time class this summer he will suffer from Crean not signing a good class since the big 3.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Sorry Chicos and Pakuni but the following statemnts are completely slanted towards the benfit of Crean he was here 9 years oneil 5....so to make the folowwing staemnt...."Of MU's top 25 all-time scorers, four were O'Neill recruits.  Five were Crean recruits and Lazar Hayward will make it six before he's done."
This is basically saying oneil did in fact out recruit Crean,  Also in 5 years versus 9 they both put 3 players in the pros.  Agina edge to Oneil.

Also Oneil MCC and oldgym..crean the Al and teh BE and C-usa.. again edge to oneil. 

lastly Crean got by on two classes his first class was very good but the team imploded when a few of those players left and his recruitng mistakes in the years following led to the 2004 and 2005 season debacles.  then his other good class, the big 3, saved the ship.  Crean got to 5 nacca's on the backs of 2 good classes
if Buzz does not sign a big time class this summer he will suffer from Crean not signing a good class since the big 3.

Hold on,

Because Oneil was only at MU for 5 years, we can only rate Crean on his first 5 years?

What if Crean had stayed at won multiple national titles? Would Oneil still be considered a better coach because his first 5 years were better than Crean's?

I know you are trying to get to an "apples to apples" comparison... but it's not as easy as simply taking their 1st 5 years. Also, Crean didn't have the Al or the Big East at first... he had CUSA and the old gym. Also, I would give Crean some credit for helping MU get the Al and to the Big East... so I don't think you can look at those factors in a vacuum. Crean had the advantages of the big east, but he also helped create those advantages.

Lastly, UW was down when KO was here, so are you going to hold that against him? I wouldn't... but for sake of argument you could.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Hold on,

Because Oneil was only at MU for 5 years, we can only rate Crean on his first 5 years?

What if Crean had stayed at won multiple national titles? Would Oneil still be considered a better coach because his first 5 years were better than Crean's?

I know you are trying to get to an "apples to apples" comparison... but it's not as easy as simply taking their 1st 5 years. Also, Crean didn't have the Al or the Big East at first... he had CUSA and the old gym. Also, I would give Crean some credit for helping MU get the Al and to the Big East... so I don't think you can look at those factors in a vacuum. Crean had the advantages of the big east, but he also helped create those advantages.

Lastly, UW was down when KO was here, so are you going to hold that against him? I wouldn't... but for sake of argument you could.

Exactly.  Wisconsin sucked balls while KO was coaching, now they are a power.  Big difference getting local talent.  The benefits of playing in the Big East are also some of the detriments.  KO could cherry pick more than half of his schedule in the GMC because there were only 12 conference games where today the team plays 18 and against much tougher competition.  Comparing the two coaches/programs can be done, but there are plenty of significant differences that must be taken into account.

The idea of only comparing the first 5 years is preposterous.  Using that analogy, Al McGuire doesn't come off that great either ...at least compared to the next 8 years following.  In Al's first two years he had an under .500 record combined.  At the end of three years he was barely above .500 at 43 wins and 39 losses.

[MR.HAYWARD]

2002 alum I am not saying that at all.  what iam saying is you cannoy say crean has 6 of the top scorers and Oneil 4 therefore Crean recruited better.   What i am saying is 4 in 5 years is better than 6 in 9 years.  i am also saying 3 pros in 5 years is better than 3 in 9. 
Additionally crean recruited from a significantly better position. I also feel Oneil had a far better eye for talent and we recruited far fewer busts than Crean signed.  Matter of opinion I guess but I felt Oneil was  afr better recruiter and got by on a sucession of good classes...crean had two good classes and some real stinkers.  I feel Buzz will out recruit Crean.
And unlike most coaches I will admit that winning is 90% talent on the floor.  Most coaches will not admit to this as it diminishes their greatness and negatively affects their egos.   

[CTWarrior]

O'Neill landed three future NBA guys:  McIlvaine, McCaskill and Crawford.

I'm pretty sure McCaskill didn't even start in High School but the others were highly touted.  Add in Miller, Gates, Eford, Key, Logterman, Hutchins, Peiper in the MCC and Great Midwest with the lesser facilities and the depths to which the program had plummeted under Dukiet I think he did the more remarkable job recruiting.  Doesn't mean Crean was bad, but I think O'Neill's record is more impressive.

[MuMark]

Crawford wasn't anywhere close to "highly touted".

He turned out to be a fine player at MU but to suggest he was some plum recruit is just revisionist history.

[RawdogDX]

When talking about buzz vs crean comparisons when it comes to recruiting i want to point out that buzz should be able to recruit better than crean could for his first 6 years.  People are acting like our recruiting classes weren't improving under him.  We would have landed a moster class if he had staid for '10, luckily we replaced him with a coach who will do the same.

And for the record I think that to say he was a bad recruiter means that he was a top ten xo guy. You can't have it both ways.

[77ncaachamps]

Crean excelled at the all or nothing recruiting approach...that is too invest everything on a highly touted recruit and not land him, only to fill the scholarship with an unheard of lowly recruited 1 star type player in the spring.  

I will give Crean credit for 2 good recruiting classes in 9 years his first and the one with the 3 amigos...the other 7 were well below average.  

Kevin Oneil in the MCC and the Old Gym recruited Creans socks off.  Buzz will too.  

I think I have to agree with your assessment of Crean's recruiting strategy, though I would suggest that he also went for team/niche players and not necessarily the best athlete. "Recruiting the intangibles" as one could put it.

Over his tenure, I would say he narrowed the field very quickly and went hard after players he wanted - even if he was running up against a Duke or UNC. But his problem was he would cast such a targeted net that if he didn't haul the recruit in, it seemed that he didn't have a fall back person with a similar ability.

The best thing about Buzz right now is he's generating it (buzz) throughout the recruits. But a caveat: spreading yourself too thin can also backfire.

[bilsu]

I think O'Neal had three recruits in NBA. MacIllvanie, MacGaskil, and Crawford. Also, if you take away the provisional teams and the additional man per roster, I do not think Novak and Diener even make the NBA. There are also more NBA teams now.

[DJAMES1]

Any way we could keep this thread on Donald Williams?  Any other info on this kid?

[detroitwarrior]

Agreed. I am a new "recruit" to the forum and stumbled on it shortly after Crean left. As someone who is 45 ( not sure of the average age of the posters) and enjoyed Crean's restoration of the Marquette name and program but faulted his game coaching and definitely the manner in which he left,loved Kevin O'Neill during his time at Marquette until he left, did not like the manner in which the Buzz hire came about ( although obviously not privy to the details)it doesn't seem that constructive to compare Buzz and Crean when Buzz has yet to coach a game let alone a season. While skeptical of the hire, I like the coaching staff he has brought in, think the Maymon signing is huge ( even if he may have an overzealous father or need to hit the books) and like the fact that he seems to be going after players to field a team along the lines of Memphis,Louisville,West Virginia etc in terms of 6 7,6 8 athletes.
Maybe one thread could be started for those who want to bitch or defend Crean and compare and contrast Crean and Buzz. I for one am someone who wants to look forward rather than backwards.
PS...the info on the recruits in the threads is great. Thanks to those who post it.

[RawdogDX]

enjoyed Crean's restoration of the Marquette name and program but faulted his game coaching and definitely the manner in which he left,loved Kevin O'Neill during his time at Marquette until he left, did not like the manner in which the Buzz hire came about ( although obviously not privy to the details)it doesn't seem that constructive to compare Buzz and Crean when Buzz has yet to coach a game let alone a season. While skeptical of the hire, I like the coaching staff he has brought in, think the Maymon signing is huge ( even if he may have an overzealous father or need to hit the books) and like the fact that he seems to be going after players to field a team along the lines of Memphis,Louisville,West Virginia etc in terms of 6 7,6 8 athletes.
Maybe one thread could be started for those who want to bitch or defend Crean and compare and contrast Crean and

Great early post from the new guy.  There are a lot of people on this board who are your age, not myself but i think ZFB is only 2 or 3 years younger and almost assuredly looks older.

I really do agree with every single thing you said.

It's your idea to start a post go do it.  And do a good job, because i don't like new posters and i don't trust them. *

Buzz is a talented recruiter.  He really gets people to buy into his system, but his success will always be partially because the program that he's selling is one that cean vastly contributed to.  Don't you think buzz says "You are going to be on espn constantly?".  Crean didn't have that as a tool early on.

*teal is sarcasm.

but i meant it.

[Markusquette]

It certainly might be nice to pick up another guard for the future this year and focus on C and PG next year for