Look, at least Bill Cords took a shot

[Groin_pull]

If MU still gets Howland, it's fine.

But the others on their list are awful (don't think Marshall is wanted) and would signal a real decline in MU basketball.

And UW is just rolling, which makes everything that much more depressing.

So glad I live in San Francisco. No one cares about college sports out here. Would hate to be back in Milwaukee...listening to all those Becky fans chirping. Only thing worse than a UW alum are those clowns who took a night class at UW-Waukesha and think they're part of the Becky family.

[79Warrior]

I don't believe we know this.

Credible journalists from WISN did say he was coming to MU.  The plane trip stuff, that was known by many people yesterday.  Just too much stuff.  I don't disagree that it is harder than ever, but it can be done.

Come on. That is a local yokel reacting to the stuff from IWB. We can go round and round, it it what it is. No national media had this story.

[klyrish]

So glad I live in San Francisco. No one cares about college sports out here. Would hate to be back in Milwaukee...listening to all those Becky fans chirping. Only thing worse than a UW alum are those clowns who took a night class at UW-Waukesha and think they're part of the Becky family.

No, the people who just blindly love and spout mountains and mountains of verbal and written crap, yet went to MATC or only just barely graduated high school and got their Becky shirt from Walmart are the worst.

[Groin_pull]

No, the people who just blindly love and spout mountains and mountains of verbal and written crap, yet went to MATC or only just barely graduated high school and got their Becky shirt from Walmart are the worst.

You're right. I stand corrected.

[4everwarriors]

Smart is the girl that flirts with everyone and makes every guy drool thinking they have a shot.

AKA Prick Tease

[ChicosBailBonds]

Come on. That is a local yokel reacting to the stuff from IWB. We can go round and round, it it what it is. No national media had this story.

Local media is still media, and often the first go to source in a local market.  A local reporter is going to have the ties to a local business, school, etc, usually more than a national reporter.  Not always, but usually.  They drive news for you every day, the national guy only does occasionally.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if the local guy got info from sources he\she thought was credible, based on reputation or whatever.  My opinion is if they relied on a single tweet from a 19 year old student reporter, that just seems crazy.

[Class71]

Yep.  What happened today didn't surprise me one bit.  Smart has done this before.

Apparently we felt it was worth a shot which is fine with me. Cudos to Cord and company, great effort and courage to take the shot.

Now let's move on to some other, IMHO, more stable and proven candidates such as Howland. Remember the objective is to win basketball games. You do not need a sexy choice for that to happen, just competence with a proven record.

[GB Warrior]

The rule of thumb in coaching searches is that you should always be able to convincingly lie that you got your top choice. Marquette cannot say that. These coaches have egos that are through the roof, and you are crazy if you think that doesn't play a factor. Of course, nothing that a pile of money can't solve...

[Avenue Commons]

I thought then that hiring Brent Williams was a terrible, uninspired, bush league move. Brent was a pudgy southerner with a dubious past in New Orleans. In retrospect it was an incredibly ballsy move by Cottingham. Brent ended up being one of the best and longest tenured coaches Marquette ever had.

You never know. But in my adult life, the least of the coaches we had was Mike Deane who was actually a very good coach despite how history and time have treated him. Tom Crean, all in all, was a home run hire as well. I have to give MU, especially Cords, the benefit of the doubt. We will be fine.

[T-Bone]

Yes, but have to close up the leaks.  Did MU zero good on that front.  Got all the fans spun up, then upset.  Potentially tells other coaches, you are not my top choice, etc.  Just no plus side to it at all.  Way too many leaks considering how many people were running with the story.  It was crazy how many people were publicly putting it out there as rock solid. 

One way to look at it. Another is that maybe MU was trying to play Howland down from his asking price?  It's a negotiation tactic, and maybe did not work out according to plan.  There are crafty coaches and crafty administrators all around college bb.

[GB Warrior]

One way to look at it. Another is that maybe MU was trying to play Howland down from his asking price?  It's a negotiation tactic, and maybe did not work out according to plan.  There are crafty coaches and crafty administrators all around college bb.

Yeah, except we reportedly played our hand on what we were willing to pay for top talent.

[Class71]

The rule of thumb in coaching searches is that you should always be able to convincingly lie that you got your top choice. Marquette cannot say that. These coaches have egos that are through the roof, and you are crazy if you think that doesn't play a factor. Of course, nothing that a pile of money can't solve...

Agreed but this is not Howland's first rodeo and SS simply does not have his track record. Howland knows that and will soon forget who is first or second provided MU has the best offer. "Show me the money Jerry!" The difference between a seasoned professional and a potential superstar, one proven, one maybe. Howland's maturity will remind him of that even if MU did not have him as number 1 and he will be right. He is the proven choice.

[StillWarriors]

Shouldn't have MU known about Smart's reputation for playing this game and being an attention whore and made sure that things didn't play out this way?

VT could have thought the same about Buzz and not gone after him. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Shaka would have been great and I'm sure kept the recruits, but there are more than one good coaches out there who will gladly lead the Warriors. It's not all or nothing.

[keefe]

Cords and MU took a shot. I would expect nothing less. And I am told it was a very close, hard decision. I don't like the end game but I respect the University for going for it. Hopefully, they can reengage with Howland and get him signed. Nothing else excites quite frankly.

If you are Howland, would you want a rebuilding job at BC, WF, or USF or walk into the resources of a Marquette? Marquette can win but we need to shore up the damage from this past week. Howland would be a great hire but I am thinking his price tag has gone up even more from where it was at. Bottom line is that MU went for Smart for several reasons, price notwithstanding. They should expect to pay even more for Howland but there is equity in that hire, unlike any other mentioned. I will say there is one other name that is still in the tournament but I, personally, would much prefer Howland.

[Anti-Dentite]

Cords and MU took a shot. I would expect nothing less. And I am told it was a very close, hard decision. I don't like the end game but I respect the University for going for it. Hopefully, they can reengage with Howland and get him signed. Nothing else excites quite frankly.

If you are Howland, would you want a rebuilding job at BC, WF, or USF or walk into the resources of a Marquette? Marquette can win but we need to shore up the damage from this past week. Howland would be a great hire but I am thinking his price tag has gone up even more from where it was at. Bottom line is that MU went for Smart for several reasons, price notwithstanding. They should expect to pay even more for Howland but there is equity in that hire, unlike any other mentioned. I will say there is one other name that is still in the tournament but I, personally, would much prefer Howland.              Agreed, unfortunately because of some major leaks, what goes on in any search became public for lack of a better word and got everyone jacked up. They do need to tighten that ship though, it's going to cost them some money because of it.

[mechaghidorah]

VT could have thought the same about Buzz and not gone after him. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Shaka would have been great and I'm sure kept the recruits, but there are more than one good coaches out there who will gladly lead the Warriors. It's not all or nothing.

Does a guy like Hill stay if Howland gets the job?

[Eldon]

Cords and MU took a shot. I would expect nothing less. And I am told it was a very close, hard decision. I don't like the end game but I respect the University for going for it. Hopefully, they can reengage with Howland and get him signed. Nothing else excites quite frankly.

If you are Howland, would you want a rebuilding job at BC, WF, or USF or walk into the resources of a Marquette? Marquette can win but we need to shore up the damage from this past week. Howland would be a great hire but I am thinking his price tag has gone up even more from where it was at. Bottom line is that MU went for Smart for several reasons, price notwithstanding. They should expect to pay even more for Howland but there is equity in that hire, unlike any other mentioned. I will say there is one other name that is still in the tournament but I, personally, would much prefer Howland.

So is Howland now our number 1 priority?  I have done so much reading that I don't know where it is buried, but I read somewhere that some on the search committee (or at least, close to it) doesn't like Howland's style of play (perhaps because it won't be seen as appealing to recruits)  

I sincerely hope that we aren't looking at a guy simply to appease Sandy Cohen and Ahmed Hill.  Or Stone for that matter, just to further appease some big booster of the program.

[Newsdreams]

Total speculation, but maybe besides the high price tag Howland is asking, MU knows that most recruits will leave. Howland has no recruits.....

[Warrior_2002]

I don't care what Howland costs.  I also don't care what people think of his style or who it would attract recruiting wise.  He knows how to win.  He was fired the year he won his conference for crying out loud.  Get Howland NOW!!!

[GB Warrior]

Total speculation, but maybe besides the high price tag Howland is asking, MU knows that most recruits will leave. Howland has no recruits.....

As much as it would be swell to keep this year's recruiting class (because it was shaping up to be great), you don't hire a coach for one year's worth of recruits. Build it and they will come.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Can Howland afford to be that choosy? How many positions out there are comparable to MU compensationwise and opportunity?

[79Warrior]

Total speculation, but maybe besides the high price tag Howland is asking, MU knows that most recruits will leave. Howland has no recruits.....

They are likely gone regardless. Just like MU is the best job currently available, Howland is hands down the best coach available.

[GooooMarquette]

Total speculation, but maybe besides the high price tag Howland is asking, MU knows that most recruits will leave. Howland has no recruits.....

Yeah, what kid would want to play for a coach with several conference championships, 3 Final Fours, and more than ten players in the NBA?

If our current recruits leave - not sure that's a given - Howland will do just fine.

[chapman]

Yeah, what kid would want to play for a coach with several conference championships, 3 Final Fours, and more than ten players in the NBA?

If our current recruits leave - not sure that's a given - Howland will do just fine.

Agree.  Give the man the keys, let him drive.  This game is all about having a capable coach, which aren't easy to find. The man has eight conference championships, 10 NCAA tournament appearances, and three Final Fours.  This shouldn't even be a decision.

[Sharpie]

Cords and MU took a shot. I would expect nothing less. And I am told it was a very close, hard decision. I don't like the end game but I respect the University for going for it. Hopefully, they can reengage with Howland and get him signed. Nothing else excites quite frankly.

If you are Howland, would you want a rebuilding job at BC, WF, or USF or walk into the resources of a Marquette? Marquette can win but we need to shore up the damage from this past week. Howland would be a great hire but I am thinking his price tag has gone up even more from where it was at. Bottom line is that MU went for Smart for several reasons, price notwithstanding. They should expect to pay even more for Howland but there is equity in that hire, unlike any other mentioned. I will say there is one other name that is still in the tournament but I, personally, would much prefer Howland.

Fwiw, not sure if I'm close or not but Jason King tweeted yesterday that Martin was our next choice after Smart and before Howland. Don't know if there is any truth to that. I hope not. I would much rather have Howland.