Marquette fires Scott Monarch. Suspends HC Buzz Williams for one League game

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

This is bullsh*t. Monarch could've been let go quietly. How many schools let assistants go and we never know why?  A tshirt and a ride home? That's illegal? That warrants a suspension of our head coach? You've got to be kidding me. I don't care if Buzz is "slick." I don't care if he's "loose lipped." These are not issues that affect the image of Marquette University in the least! I'd love to hear stories of the squeaky clean manner in which Larry Williams himself was recruited to ND. How did Lou Holtz, who has a statue on campus, manage to land Ricky Watters, Jerome Bettis, Zorich, (and Randy Moss by the way)? I guess all those guys were just dying to play in South Bend, Indiana.

This administration is quickly proving that it has an almost complete lack of understanding of Marquette University. We are not, and never will be Stanford, Duke, or even Fordham. We are a small school in an unattrative part of Milwaukee with a campus that doesn't even compare to Western Illinois. Our academics are solid, but that's about it. What we have is a slightly above average university with a great basketball program. I'm afraid what we are going to end up with is an average university with a crappy basketball program.

Remind me, was it 2004 when admissions went through the roof? Get a godd@mnned clue!!

[brewcity77]

Honestly, I really think Buzz probably imposed the 1-game suspension himself. If it had come from administration, I really think it would have been more severe. Look at Buzz's track record over the past year: suspending Junior for UW, suspending DJO, all the half-game suspensions at WVU, my guess is that this is Buzz showing to his players that he isn't above his own rules.

Did he know what Monarch did? Probably not. Let's be honest, it wasn't a major infraction. I'd guess this kind of thing happens all the time and 99.99% of the time goes unmentioned and unnoticed. But somehow this one got out and Monarch made the cardinal sin of lying. Had he not lied, I'm sure he'd be here, get a little slap on the wrists, and Buzz wouldn't be facing any punishment. But because his employee, the guy he endorses, lied to administration, it changes things. There has to be a level of trust between administration, Buzz, and his subordinates.

I have no problem with any of this. Make no mistake, Monarch did NOT get fired for a t-shirt and a ride home. He was fired for lying about it, multiple times. And Buzz is not taking a (most likely self-imposed) suspension for a t-shirt and a ride home. He is taking it because a guy he is supposed to be in control of violated rules and more important lied about them. Monarch is fired to pay for his own sins, Buzz takes the game to show his players that he isn't above the rules he enforced over the past year.

[GGGG]

This is bullsh*t. Monarch could've been let go quietly. How many schools let assistants go and we never know why?  A tshirt and a ride home? That's illegal?

Nothing is "illegal," but lying about it repeatedly means you lose your job.

[NotAnAlum]

Why a Big East game?  To the NCAA a game is a game.  Any other school would have made it the first game of the season.  Now this will be reported again at the beginning of 2013 in a game that is probably televised.  Is LW trying to make sure the largest amount of people hear about this for the longest amount of time?

[4everwarriors]

Next Friday expect the announcement of the recruit's punishment.

[Da 'Lanche]

Is it possible the level of angst and punishment correlates to the high level and visibility of the recruit?   What if Monarch effed up on his interaction with Diamond Stone or Kevin Looney?  Not only would this potentially blow MU's chances with them (if found out), but other schools could surely scream foul claiming the hometown school has an unfair advantage.     

Pure speculation.....like a lot of thoughts on this particular subject...but it shows a different nuance as a "minor" infraction surely would look more significant related to a major recruit.

In any event....compliance investigations and programs are supposed to be independent so I don't read much into a lw/bw rift on the process....the culture....maybe.

The dude lied and denied and got caught.....given the scrutiny on the program the past year, that makes it even worse (and more stupid, arrogant or both).

[Groin_pull]

I continue to get the impression that LW wants to push Buzz out the door and put his own stamp on the program. I'm afraid this will not end well for MU. On a related note, the endless drama that continues to surround this team is exhausting. What a soap opera.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Next Friday expect the announcement of the recruit's punishment.

I'm thinking it's a public beheading.

[Hards Alumni]

Honestly, I really think Buzz probably imposed the 1-game suspension himself. If it had come from administration, I really think it would have been more severe. Look at Buzz's track record over the past year: suspending Junior for UW, suspending DJO, all the half-game suspensions at WVU, my guess is that this is Buzz showing to his players that he isn't above his own rules.

Did he know what Monarch did? Probably not. Let's be honest, it wasn't a major infraction. I'd guess this kind of thing happens all the time and 99.99% of the time goes unmentioned and unnoticed. But somehow this one got out and Monarch made the cardinal sin of lying. Had he not lied, I'm sure he'd be here, get a little slap on the wrists, and Buzz wouldn't be facing any punishment. But because his employee, the guy he endorses, lied to administration, it changes things. There has to be a level of trust between administration, Buzz, and his subordinates.

I have no problem with any of this. Make no mistake, Monarch did NOT get fired for a t-shirt and a ride home. He was fired for lying about it, multiple times. And Buzz is not taking a (most likely self-imposed) suspension for a t-shirt and a ride home. He is taking it because a guy he is supposed to be in control of violated rules and more important lied about them. Monarch is fired to pay for his own sins, Buzz takes the game to show his players that he isn't above the rules he enforced over the past year.

Totally agree.  Buzz probably suspended himself a game because he holds everyone to a certain level of responsibility.  For him to not sit out a game makes the suspensions served by players this past year hypocritical.

[tower912]

Monarch was fired because, once again, the cover up is worse than the crime.     I can live with that.    So far, Larry Williams reminds me of John Larroquette in 'Stripes'.    Not the kind of AD I want.   Not someone I would want to share a foxhole with.   Anybody who has to make grandiose gestures to show that he is the boss is not much of a leader. 

[Groin_pull]

Monarch forgot something very important. It's not the crime, it's the coverup that will always be your undoing.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I sure hope we can get a new coach at Marquette who will never make a mistake, be 100% perfect in his conduct for his boss at all times, while simultaneously leading us to consistent NIT births.

There is "squirm" across the board in high major college basketball.  Either you push up as far against that line as possible, perhaps at some schools cross it on occasion, or you turn into a non-factor, 2nd tier program.

Personally, I'd prefer MU to remain a high profile, Top 20 program and have a blemish or two on occasion, as opposed to being an NIT program that never has any issues.  Ironically, MU very well could become that NIT program and still have issues.  Mike Deane took us to that place 14 years ago.

At least Buzz doesn't go out and get wasted after games, cheat on his wife, and engage in other bad behavior.

The self righteous, holier than thou types are always the scariest when they get in a position of authority.  We likely will see the outcome of such soon, should Buzz leave.  Only way he doesn't leave is if his loyalty to his players/recruits just is too deep that he can't walk out on them.  Bottom line...Buzz leaves...pretty sure you will see a lot of the 2013 class seek to transfer.

I think most logical fans (and even the admin) don't expect the coach to be perfect.

However, where we draw the line for what is "acceptable" is the point of differentiation.

[avid1010]

Unless you are accusing LW of lying about the results of a school initiated independent investigation into potential NCAA violations (Unimaginable under these circumstances), then you can't escape that fact that the investigation found no evidence of Buzz's knowledge of the violations or the lying about it by Monarch.

Exactly...

[Lennys Tap]

Gary Parrish‏@GaryParrishCBS

"How many other coaches with back-to-back Sweet Sixteens you think would get a suspension from his own school for this? Zero, I'd bet."



 

Guess Gary Parrish is a member (the leader?) of the tin foil hat brigade. And a LW/Domer hater. Derp.

[Lennys Tap]

So far, Larry Williams reminds me of John Larroquette in 'Stripes'.    Not the kind of AD I want.   Not someone I would want to share a foxhole with.   Anybody who has to make grandiose gestures to show that he is the boss is not much of a leader. 

Well put.

[Skatastrophy]

This is a big reaction to small peas.  Stupid to fire Monarch, imo.  A suspension for Buzz?  Absolutely stupid.

We should get rid of Larry Williams sooner rather than later.

[nycwarrior]

Put me in the camp of people who say this is the right thing to do.

The university has to be able to trust Buzz and the people for whom he vouches. Monarch is certainly in that camp.

Self-reporting of violations and setting up an independent investigation is a no-brainer here. This is small potatoes but we've seen some very high profile examples of what happens when a university brushes problems in the athletic department under the rug (see: Paterno, Penn State for the most extreme example).

Once the investigation happens and your guy lies multiple times, can you trust that guy again? If he lies about something small, what would he do if something really bad happens. He'd lie.

As 77 points out, Buzz has established a precedent for what happens when you break team rules: you get suspended. (See Junior @ Wisco, the crew @ WVU).

So should he be suspended for a non-conference game that we'll win by 30? Nope. Make it a Big East game. Make it one that counts. One of 16.

Assuming that this is LW imposed ignores the context of what is happening in big time athletics and the precedent Buzz has set for the team.

This is a good call. It preserves the culture of accountability. It keeps Buzz's ability to tell players and parents that he holds his players (no matter who), his coaches (even ones who are good friends) and most importantly himself to a high standard.

[avid1010]

This is a big reaction to small peas.  Stupid to fire Monarch, imo.  A suspension for Buzz?  Absolutely stupid.

We should get rid of Larry Williams sooner rather than later.

i understand the thought, but there isn't a chance in hell after what just happened at PSU.  an ad comes in and holds everyone accountable (not that i totally agree how he's gone about it), the university fires the ad for doing so (because they don't like how he's going about it, but it just looks like they don't like that he's doing it), and then if something goes wrong the university is in a royal mess for lack of oversight. 

[mu_hilltopper]

An alternative scenario:

Monarch gives a ride/t-shirt to a recruit.  Maybe he knew it was a violation, maybe he looks it up and says, oh crap.

Eventually someone asks him about what happened.  He knows this is a minor "secondary" violation.  It's a mistake, but certainly not something he's going to be fired over.  But it gives his boss and the program a black eye .. so he does what a loyal guy does: he wants to sweep it under the rug.  He misstates the facts and hopes it goes away.  

But it doesn't.  He sticks with his story for a while, but eventually does admit it, admits he's been covering it up.

My guess is Monarch's mistake, and his purposeful misstatements happen 20 times a week in D1 athletic departments across the US.

 

I'm afraid what we are going to end up with is an average university with a crappy basketball program.

I can't but think we're on our way.

[nathanziarek]

They brass does not like Buzz's act and that is factual.

I'm not sure you know what the word "factual" means. There are a group of people on this board that have fantasized a narrative and continue to spin new information to match as if it's fact. It's tiresome.

[77ncaachamps]

Yeah...and you know what's worse?  Dipsh*ts like you who keep bringing him up after he's been gone five years.

Excuse me. I'll be sure to lambast posters who bring up Dukiet, who's been gone 23 years!

In Buzz we (should) trust. Monarch was the man at fault; Buzz, being the head of the bkb program, takes a one game hit for "the lack of institutional control."

I'm over this episode, but the LW-BW relationship is definitely worth monitoring.

EDIT:  Since this is considered a secondary violation, it does make me wonder what would happen if a more serious violation were to occur. Monarch's transgression = his firing, one game suspension of Buzz, loss of recruit visits

[Goose]

I have only fantasized about Buzz building an elite program. Over the past year my only fantasy is us landing Looney, Stone, Nunn and any other stud Buzz thinks fits into his style. Hardly wish to spin anything negative to prove a point. Have stated on here dozens of times I hope everyone at MU loves Buzz. Last thing I want to spin is a make believe bad relationship.

Honestly I believe anyone that thinks all is well in Buzz/admin relationship is living in fantasy island. Again, I hope everyone can laugh at me in a year when Buzz signs extension and has Looney locked up.

[madtownwarrior]

LW haters, if you stop using the "cause he's from ND, he can't be trusted" your arguments would go over much better...

The infraction is minor, the repeated lying is cause...    people don't get fired for stupid mistakes, they get fired for lying about stupid mistakes....

aside - my wife says that she can stop watching all those damn "Real Housewives" programs and start following MU bball in the off-season with all the drama it generates...

[Knight Commission]

The head coach sets the tone. If he had said to his assistants "under no circumstance do I want you to lie if we are under investigation" it doesnt happen. The lie suggests Monarch or others within the program were willing to do what it takes to protect the Coach (not the University). If Buzz is pissed off, so be it. He can take his money and run. Kudos to Larry Williams.

[Goose]

I agree with kudos to LW. I think he did right thing for the program.

Madtown---agreed on the LW being ND guy as reason to hate him. I have not heard anything great about him but being ND grad is not reason to bash him. Your wife is right on the drama. I am just glad we have a program elite venough to have guys posting late into a Friday night in August. The progam has some action and has people interested.