http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/11444212Buzz doesn't lie: Marquette in a tough spot
March 1, 2009
By Gary Parrish
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Some coaches would stand there and explain how no one player is bigger than the team, just spend an entire press conference talking around the issue, promising that if this guy makes more shots and that guy makes better decisions then everything should be fine, because basketball is a team sport and their team will figure it out, sooner rather than later.
It would be a lie, of course.
And no intelligent person would believe it.
But coaches do these things all the time, which is why it was refreshing to watch Marquette's Buzz Williams lean on the lectern here Sunday at Freedom Hall and be honest and realistic about things going forward given his remaining schedule is brutal and his four-year point guard is recovering from foot surgery.
"We may not win another game; I don't know," Williams said. "But I'll tell you this: I'm happy and proud to be their coach because of the effort they gave."
Louisville beat Marquette 62-58.
The Cards now seem on their way to at least a share of the Big East title, if only because the lone other team with just two league losses (Connecticut) has to close at Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh is not a simple place to close -- the Panthers haven't lost at home all season. Meantime, Marquette is eliminated from title contention, a long way from where it was less than a month ago when the Golden Eagles were 20-2 overall, 9-0 in the Big East and riding a senior trio of guards to a No. 8 ranking in the AP poll.
Why?
Because the senior trio is no more.
Now it's a senior duo.
And though the first game of the post-Dominic James Era was impressive in that Marquette competed hard and long enough to keep things suspenseful until the final minute, it also highlighted how difficult this will be going forward. Playing major college basketball with no traditional post threat or point guard doesn't lend itself to victories when the opponent defends well and uses NBA prospects to do it.
Marquette's Buzz Williams doesn't stay silent about his team's chances the rest of the way. (AP)
To Williams' credit, he recognized this long before tipoff.
James broke his foot during Wednesday night's loss to Connecticut, and with three days to prepare for sixth-ranked Louisville, Williams devised a plan that would have the Golden Eagles playing more slowly on offense and more creatively on defense, doing anything and everything to just hang around in hopes of maybe stealing a road win late. For the most part, it worked. But Marquette never could make that one shot to get ahead, never could get that one stop to take the lead, and now the Golden Eagles will travel to Pittsburgh to play the top-ranked Panthers who (as mentioned earlier) haven't lost at home all season.
After that, it's Syracuse.
Then it's the Big East tournament.
Then it's a trip to the NCAA tournament.
And the whole thing just seems kind of cruel.
"But we're not a 'pity me' program," said Marquette senior Wesley Matthews. "As long as Dominic is strong enough to handle it, we can too."
Handle it?
Sure.
But trying to thrive despite it is the real challenge, and everybody connected to the Marquette program seems to understand it. The Golden Eagles have long had to be scrappy because their "center" is 6-feet-6, but asking them to win with multiple guys now playing out of position might be asking a bit much.
That's why Williams was more proud than disappointed after the loss to Louisville. Though he isn't into moral victories, he knows the roster he used probably shouldn't have been in a one-possession game on the road with less than 30 seconds remaining against a possible Final Four team, two days after James had surgery and forever altered the prospects of this season.
But the Golden Eagles were in a one-possession game on the road with less than 30 seconds remaining against a possible Final Four team just two days after James had surgery, which had their coach pleased on this afternoon, yet skeptical of what's possible in the weeks ahead.
"I thought the character of our players was revealed again," Williams said. "Whether that's good enough, not good enough, I don't know. But I feel honored to be their coach, and we'll continue to work. We may lose out. I don't know. But I think if we can hang in there and compete the way we competed today, I'll take my chances with these guys."
