UCLA

[dw3dw3dw3]

And now UCLA will shoot for the level of coach they can get and still convince fans it’s a good hire - Wojo.

This is fine if it does not take the next coach 5 years to rebuild.

They could do a lot worse. The Belmont shores guy is pushing him quite hard. @trigonis30 on Twitter

[Herman Cain]

Herman

Buzz was building a brand. He was winning over MKE kids and that is not easy to do. That has all been lost in last five years. MU has to work harder than UW on promoting themselves, and it does start on the court. In addition, creating a program identity off the court is big time important. Just my two cents, but I do believe they use Al as a fallback plan on marketing the program.

I think Buzz was doing a good job bringing forward the Al brand. Doing it in a modern way of sorts. One of the reasons I was so pis234sed off about Wojo throwing Deonte under the bus, was that it somewhat screwed the pooch locally for a while.

[Class71]

This paragraph sure rings familiar around here. Just replace a few names and years.
 
Wooden hasn’t coached since 1975. He died in 2010. Yet UCLA people still invoke his name constantly as if he will walk through the door any minute trailed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton.

I know MU people are different with Al.

[WarriorDad]

I think Buzz was doing a good job bringing forward the Al brand. Doing it in a modern way of sorts. One of the reasons I was so pis234sed off about Wojo throwing Deonte under the bus, was that it somewhat screwed the pooch locally for a while.

How did Wojo throw him under the bus?  Didn't Deonte say he left to get out of Wisconsin and to start fresh? He needed space.

[MU82]

wades

It is time to move on from Al. MU’s biggest ball marketing plan is throwing Al’s name around. It is time to build a new brand and on court success is needed. I would love to see MU really build a new marketing plan and let the current program build off it. MU has milked more out of Al than us old guys on here.

Just curious, do you ever think big picture? Do you think it is time to move from a guy that has not coached in four plus decades?

Goose

I sometimes feel the same way. When they make yet another Al-specific event, I chuckle and say, "Yep, can't lose by going back to Al, I guess."

Then again, just look at this fan board. How often does the subject turn to Al, even when he wasn't the subject at all? We're not just fans, we're big fans. And many of us reminisce about Al in several Scoop posts per week -- some in several per day.

So why should the university dial down its "Al-ness" when it comes to basketball if fans like us are always talking about Al? They look at it as giving the big fans (and donors) what they want.

[Goose]

MU 82

I would be very happy with a little less Al in the overall program. My guess is the guys on here know the Al story better than the gang at MU creating the Al moments.

[real chili 83]

Curious how Allie feels about it

[hairy worthen]

my guess is if Al were still alive he would be disgusted with all the Al hoopala. Remember Al absolutely, but time to move on.

[The Lens]

my guess is if Al were still alive he would be disgusted with all the Al hoopala. Remember Al absolutely, but time to move on.

If Al were still alive he'd be asking for a cut of the action.

[MUBurrow]

MU 82

I would be very happy with a little less Al in the overall program. My guess is the guys on here know the Al story better than the gang at MU creating the Al moments.

This is probably true. As a younger alum, I saw Enberg's play last year and it added a lot of color for me. Assuming Enberg's portrayal is a pretty accurate one (he always seemed personally taken with and impacted by Al, so I don't know why it wouldn't be) it struck me how much MU has sacrificed value for volume with how and when they integrate him into the current program.