Kolek planning to go pro
When Smart wants ball pressure, he screams for Heat! over and over. To kickstart another drill, Smart holds the ball and barks Marquette! and his players respond in unison with Defense! and slap the floor before he tosses the rock into play and the Golden Eagles close out on their marks. It’s all canon. It’s all been done and said before.
Another good look at the program / Shaka. It goes into how Shaka probably felt pressure to sign every 5 Star possible at Texas and he proactively addressed a different recruiting style with Scholl during the interview process. https://theathletic.com/2905571/2021/10/26/if-you-do-it-do-it-shaka-smart-is-building-his-ideal-version-of-a-program-at-marquette/I found this tidbit ironic: Warning: This article does not do a good job of covering GAA / Boxing / Rugby
Love the quote from Berry: "What I always thought of Marquette was just toughness, man. Just this blue-collar street fight. You just know you're going to be in a war when you go to play Marquette. I think that's [Smart] at the end of the day. That's who he is."I hope so. I want Marquette to have great young men who represent the university well. But I also want them to be the toughest, nastiest SOBs on the floor every night.Play Violent!
Another good look at the program / Shaka. It goes into how Shaka probably felt pressure to sign every 5 Star possible at Texas and he proactively addressed a different recruiting style with Scholl during the interview process. https://theathletic.com/2905571/2021/10/26/if-you-do-it-do-it-shaka-smart-is-building-his-ideal-version-of-a-program-at-marquette/
A worthy successor to AL!Al must be looking down from Heaven and barking at the Angel Gabriel, "finally, someone who gets it!"
82Give me Buzz success, Buzz quality players and entertainment value and I will sign up today.
I know, I know ... you'll just shrug your shoulders if we go S16-S16-E8 because nothing matters if you don't win championships like Al did year after year.
Al did it without the drama associated with Buzz.While Al didn't win "year after year," our team consistently was a Top 10 team and we were in two Natty games and on the cusp of a couple Final Fours. Even Duke doesn't win every year, but they are competitive every year.That's what I want.
Without the drama? Al tried to leave for the Bucks and publicly called out the president of the university. He punched a player in the locker room.
I guess those Wojo years have lowered our expectations. I want more than Buzz success. I just want a team that is competitive and has a realistic shot at the championship.
I'm guessing he's referring to the rapes, two recruiting violations (minor), him trying to leave every year not just once, the bar/qdoba fights, the crazy transfers every year (buzz was ahead of the game there)
Buzz didn't get it? The vast majority of Scoopers will be thrilled to death if Shaka achieves the level of success we had from 2010-13.Indeed, all the talk of culture and toughness reminds me of the Best of Buzz.I know, I know ... you'll just shrug your shoulders if we go S16-S16-E8 because nothing matters if you don't win championships like Al did year after year.
I was going to say something similar. Berry graduated from college in 2003. He's not remembering Al's teams. Hell, I don't remember Al's teams. He's thinking of Buzz's guys. He's thinking of guys like JFB and Jae. Buzz's teams had a reputation for being tough, and more than a couple of his guys got into the NBA on that reputation.
We always point to Jimmy and Jae when we talk about the tough guys at MU. No one ever mentions Wes. He made it to the NBA because of his toughness and willingness to guard anyone. It was that toughness that got him on the floor where he could show his shooting prowess.
You're absolutely right, and Wes remains one of my favorite Marquette players. Admittedly, I was focusing more on Buzz's players, but Wes was definitely a warrior and tough as nails.
Deane, Crean and Buzz players were all tough.