Buzz and the Postives....

[MUCam]

I have no problem with a Buzz hire. We know the guy can recruit. We are not sure whether the guy can coach. However, the real question is whether the guy can continue the Marquette Basketball brand that Crean worked so tirelessly to establish. In my opinion, the order of decreasing importance in traits for our next coach is (and should be): (1) Marketing/PR of the MU Program, (2) Recruiting at an elite level (3) Coaching X's and O's (4) appeasing PRN.

The best thing Crean brought to this program - the best trait Crean possessed as a head coach - was the ability to market the idea of "Marquette Basketball." Crean was a master PR and Marketing guy when it came to MU Basketball. Look at the environment at the Bradley Center which was apparently copied by at least one big time program (Wake Forest). Look at the exclusive apparel contract with Converse. Look at the full page article in ESPN the magazine regarding MU Basketball and Converse. Crean was a marketing/PR genius. Crean may have been an egotistical maniac, but one thing is for sure...he took this program to new heights, at least insofar as national recognition is concerned.

My hope, above all else, is that in his one year at Marquette, Buzz not only bought into the idea that is Marquette Basketball, but he learned from Crean how to implement that vision.

[thatman32]

Here are some positives too:
1) His coaching Style and his offensive strategy
2) His ability to implement a low post game since the guy before him didn't believe in a lowpost game
3) Player development
4) Coaching ability
5) Why he took the job at New Orleans when anyone would tell you that job would suck ass
6) Everything else that I left out

Wait a second.  We don't know any of these things so how can there be anything positive about this 'unoffical' hire.  For those brent william lovers out there can you answer any of these questions since your fantasy to nowhere is about to be fulfilled.

[Marquette_g]

My hope is that he has a couple rabbits up his sleeves in terms of a 2009 recruiting class.  That would be my first priority for him.  This year's class is fine, but to be a success he is going to have to demonstrate the ability to bring in an even better class in 09.  

I couldn't care less if the players are from Texas, WI, or any other place on the planet.  What I do care about is his ability to put a stamp on the team with a win in the 09 class.

With that said, I think it is the wrong hire.  I'd love to be proven wrong in the end, but that doesn't make it a logical decision.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Positive: he's not Crean

Where do you guys get off talking about his recruiting? It makes no sense!

[thatman32]

He is going to be the head coach. He won't be the main recruiter.  He has a great story to tell too!!  Its about 1 page and its blank

[MUCam]

PRN -

What do you mean by "where do we get off talking about his recruiting?" If you mean, you don't think he deserves his reputation, I'll only point out that you are arguing that to more than just the people on this board who believe it. Much of his reputation as a recruiter has been cited nationally in press releases and articles. I cannot point you in the direction of a specific article...you'll just have to take my word for it, despite our differences. I know the articles exist. Keep in mind, also, that this guy brought a top 50 recruiting class to a hurricaine ravaged New Orleans. The guy can recruit, and it is not just MU people saying it.

[Marquette_g]

That may be, but he has been the main recruiter to this point and needs to close the deal on one of those 09 kids (which he has already been recruiting in his current role) to help buy him some support.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Well it's bs. There is no history of outstanding recruits that would warrant hiring him as a Big East head coach. Again, he could be the world's nicest guy, but really.

[thatman32]

MUCAM:
Care to address anything that I wrote down.  I would love to read it.

[MUCam]

PRN -

Typical response. Its "BS" is all you can muster? The guy is nationally recognized as a great recruiter, but you, in your infinite wisdom says everyone is wrong. Come on. Let's talk about the candidates. Is Brownell a better known recruiter? What has he done? How about McKillop? And, please don't point to Curry who was unwanted by the major players.

thatman -

Yes. I'll address things: We don't know what kind of offensive scheme Buzz will run. We don't know what his player development is like, or whether he can develop a post game. We don't know what his coaching ability will be like. I absolutely agree. There are a lot of unknowns. Most of those unknowns were similarly unknown about Crean, although I will agree that our program should have evolved to the point where we don't need to go down that same road. However, it apparently hasn't, or we just lost a coach at a very inopportune time.

That said, what are the positives? The positives are continuity within the program, that despite the sole year he's been here, will certainly exist. The positives include his recognized (by most other than PRN) recruiting prowess. The positives include the ability to watch and learn from the good that Tom Crean brought to this program.

I'll agree that Buzz is not my first choice. He is not my second choice. He is not my dream choice. But, we apparently didn't get our hands on the first, second, or dream choices, for whatever reason. I don't see Buzz as any worse of a candidate that any other of the "final four" being mentioned. They all have their ups and their downs.

I'd be interested to see who you think should be our coach and why that person is exceptionally better than Buzz. Keep in mind, if you say Miller or Bennett or Calipari or even Larry Brown, I won't disagree with you...except to say that they don't seem to be options anymore.

[rocky_warrior]

Well it's bs. There is no history of outstanding recruits that would warrant hiring him as a Big East head coach. Again, he could be the world's nicest guy, but really.

I posted this a couple days ago....to answer some other people's questions about who buzz has recruited, here's his interview with Rosiak:

You have the reputation as a recruiter. Texas A&M has had great success of late. Whom did you have a major hand in recruiting for the Aggies? I was at Texas A&M for the first two recruiting classes, and when I left to come to New Orleans last June 22, there were three players that had already committed in the 2007 class. I was a part of all of the signees during Billy Gillispie’s tenure except for one.

Was Acie Law one of those? No, Acie was there before Coach. Coach took the job at A&M, he hired me to come from Colorado State. We signed Josh Carter our first year, Antanas Kavaliauskas. In our second year we signed Donald Sloan, Derrick Roland and Brian Davis. In the ’07 class it was Nathan Walkup, B.J. Holmes, DeAndre Jordan. Derrek Lewis was the first ’07 kid that committed to us; he was the second-best player in Oklahoma. I was a part of all of those guys.

http://www.jsonline.com/blog/index.aspx?id=308

Here were their rankings at scout, followed by rivals
Josh Carter - 1 star, 3 star
Antanas Kavaliauskas - 3 stars
Donald Sloan - 4 stats, 4 stars
Derrick Roland - 3 stars, 3 stars
Brian Davis - 4 stars, 4 stars
Nathan Walkup - 3 stars, 3 stars
B.J. Holmes - 3 stars, 3 stars
DeAndre Jordan - 5 stars, 5 stars
Derrek Lewis - 2 stars, 3 stars

Seems like he recruit to Marquette's caliber, so I'm not sure what you're complaining about.

[Warrior1969]

Recognised nationally as a great recruiter according to who???  I think a lot of people are still drinking the tc kool aid!!!

[thatman32]

I pick Lowery - I have watched SIU multiple times in the past years and I have always been impressed by the motion offense and his ability to integrate big men (they scored) into the offense.  Those big men at SIU would give MU fits if we played them.  SIU this last year suffered some major injuries and because of this they did not get into the NCAA tournament.  SIU has been more successful then Marquette the last 4 years.  In addition, Lowery is known in Illinois and the Midwest and we would not have to establish new relationships with high school coaches.  Lowery also played College basketball which is something that Williams has not.

Lowery is exceptionally better then Brent because of what Lowery has accomplished a lot at SIU and his ability to recruit and coach is widely known to people in Illinois.

[rocky_warrior]

Recognised nationally as a great recruiter according to who???  I think a lot of people are still drinking the tc kool aid!!!

OK, I might just give up.  I can't find a single source that doesn't say he's an awesome recruiter.  I'm not saying he'll be a great coach, but I can't believe people think he can't recuit.

How about this...

Williams recently completed his season year at A&M, where he helped Coach Billy Gillispie engineer one of the most dramatic turnarounds in college basketball history.

A&M went 7-21 overall -- 0-16 in Big 12 play -- in 2003-04 before hiring Gillispie. The Aggies had not had a winning season since 1993-94, but went 21-10 in 2004-05 and followed with a 22-9 campaign last season.

A&M advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 19 years then beat Syracuse in the first round, its first NCAA victory since 1980.

Williams helped A&M land nationally-ranked recruiting classes in each of the last two years.

http://www.aggieathletics.com/pressRelease.php?PRID=11520

Or the fact that He had a top 50 class recruited for UNO.  Think about that - RPI 300ish UNO had a top 50 recruiting class.

We don't know if he's been hired, or is a good coach.  But I think we can safely say he can recruit.

[bma725]

Recognised nationally as a great recruiter according to who???  I think a lot of people are still drinking the tc kool aid!!!

Rivals named him one of the top 25 recruiters in the country in 2006 before he took the UNO job. 

Here's the link:  http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=910&CID=588230

And the quote:

Buzz Williams, Texas A&M
Before departing College Station for the head coaching position at New Orleans, Williams helped bring in perhaps the greatest recruiting class in Texas A&M history.

[NavinRJohnson]

Or the fact that He had a top 50 class recruited for UNO.  Think about that - RPI 300ish UNO had a top 50 recruiting class.

Can anyone provide any details on this class I have been hearing so much about? Soemthing thells me it was made up of a bunch of guys that may not be able to spell Marquette let alone be recruited to play basketball here. I could be wrong, but why do I get the feeling he got a bunch of guys looking for homes after UC fired coach Huggins.

[rocky_warrior]

This is what I found - I've only heard HoopScoop gave the top 50 ranking.  Not sure if this is *his* class - or the guys that committed after he left and had people de-commit.

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=2007&Sport=2&School=161

[MUCam]

Navin -

Are you serious? I mean really. First its "he cannot recruit." Then its, "he can recruit, but only thugs." Do you have something to substantiate this claim, or are you just grasping at straws to further support your agenda.

thatman -

Thanks for your opinion. The more I read about Lowery, the more impressed I am with him. I was not aware that injuries led to SIU's struggles this past year, and have not read anything (including on the SIU boards) to suggest as much. I think they just struggled. Mark Miller on the scout board posted that Lowery would recruit very well in this area, which makes me feel good about his candidacy. As I have said before (and as Al McGuire was known to have said), great talent can make up for okay coaching a lot easier than great coaching can make up for okay talent. I'd be happy with Lowery. I'd be happy with Buzz. I just don't think either is head and shoulder's above the others.
 

[bma725]

This is what I found - I've only heard HoopScoop gave the top 50 ranking.  Not sure if this is *his* class - or the guys that committed after he left and had people de-commit.

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=2007&Sport=2&School=161

That's half his class. Dykes and Mendoza were his, but the other two that got the rating were Joe Fulce who we all know and Tristan Worrell.  He also decommitted after Williams left UNO and ended up at Lamar.

[ATWizJr]

Hey, at this level it's about recruiting.  

If he can recruit he can get some x's and o's guys tohandle that aspect of things.  

The question I have is, once recruited, can he motivate?  Hell, Al sometimes didn't even know his player's names at times but had nicknames for 'em.  Hank was the x's and o's guy.  

He does come across as a little too submissive in the one interview that I saw which mkaes me wonder how he would stand up to a Pitino or Huggins, etc. in the BE.

[rocky_warrior]

Can anyone provide any details on this class I have been hearing so much about?

Ahh...finally found it on the UNO site:

NEW ORLEANS – University of New Orleans men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams came in with a reputation as an incredible recruiter, and his first, full-season Privateer signing class seems to back that up.

The Privateers’ current recruiting class is ranked in the top 50 nationally according to HoopScoop Online. The class is ranked 50th, tied with Southern Mississippi, and is the second-highest ranked group in the Sun Belt Conference (Middle Tennessee ranks 44th).

UNO has signed Kyndall Dykes out of Navarro Junior College; Joseph Fulce (Massanutten Military Academy); Jairo Mendoza (Miami-Dade CC); Troy Mathis (Lon Morris JC); Kechan Myers (Arkansas-Fort Smith); and Tristan Worrell (Angelina JC).

Article

So the rivals list is from after Buzz left. 

edit: bma beat me to it...but Troy Matthis (not mentioned) was also a 3 star recruit. 

[NavinRJohnson]

Navin -

Are you serious? I mean really. First its "he cannot recruit." Then its, "he can recruit, but only thugs." Do you have something to substantiate this claim, or are you just grasping at straws to further support your agenda.

What agenda is that? Wanting to know more about this guy? What the hell are you talking about? When did I say he couldn't recruit? Come to think of it, when did I say anything about him at all? When did I say he could only recruit thugs? Because I question the type of player that might be recruited to play at UNO, I have an agenda? Here's a tip fella....If you are gonna talk %$#@, try to have some idea what you're talking about.

Please educate me, what is my agenda? Anxiously awaiting your answers.

[MUCam]

Navin -

My apologies. You are right. Sorry I grouped you in with some of the others. For some reason, I had you in the "bash Buzz" group. A cursory review of your posts indicates I was wrong. That said, do you have anything to substantiate your belief that Buzz recruits Cinncy style thugs? I just don't get making a statement like that. Would you say the same about Bennett's recruits or Lowery's recruits?

My apologies to you again.

[THEGYMBAR]

Dear Buzz supporters,

Please take your business to UWM. His hire would prove to be the biggest mistake in MU history. I thought Hank was a mistake, but that hire will look brilliant compared to Buzz. You think MU can win by recruiting in Texas? The best we could ever get from there would be to 15-20 players from Texas. We have top players here in Milwaukee.

If MU hires Buzz it will not only be the BIGGEST joke in the NCAA coaching ranks it will mean the demise of MU bball at this level. Anyone that supports the hiring of Buzz show have their head's examined. TC wants him to get the job. Enough said.

Please, please, please MU grow a pair of stones and compete for a real coach. Buzz is not mentioned at any job, nor would he be because he is a STIFF.

Regards,
A fan that cares

[MUCam]

And that Navin, is the group I wrongly associated you with. Sorry. Glad to see we have such reasonable fans.

[NavinRJohnson]

Navin -

My apologies. You are right. Sorry I grouped you in with some of the others. For some reason, I had you in the "bash Buzz" group. A cursory review of your posts indicates I was wrong. That said, do you have anything to substantiate your belief that Buzz recruits Cinncy style thugs? I just don't get making a statement like that. Would you say the same about Bennett's recruits or Lowery's recruits?

My apologies to you again.

First of all, I refuse to use blue font to indicate sarcasm. The Huggins part was meant at least a little bit tongue in cheek, more around academics then thuggery. I know very little about UNO, but I am betting that the academic standards are not exactly high. That was the basis for that comment. That coupled with the fact that he was able to quickly pull together a somewhat highly rated class caused me to question exactly what type of players he was actually getting.

[MUCam]

"I refuse to use blue font to indicate sarcasm."

Why? The blue font is great!

I think we are on the same page there, even though I just went back on my refusal in the name of lame humor.

[NavinRJohnson]

Now, all of that said, after a cursory look at that Top 50 class, I do have a hard time putting much stock in it. Castoffs/JUCO's - not exactly MU material. I don't care much about that one way or the other though.

My bigger question I will need answered is, what on Buzz Williams resume suggests that he is qualified for this job? Perhaps its there, I just don't know what it is.