Best MU men's basketball coach since Al

[wadesworld]

How many Final Fours does Brent has??

Good question, how many does he has?

[MU82]

How many Final Fours does Brent has??

Brent does has nones.

Buzz does have 8 NCAA tourney wins to 5 for Crean, who had a grand total of 1 postseason win in his eight non-FF years.

Buzz also has 3 S16-or-better finishes to 1 for Crean.

Crean got us back to a level of prominence but, as he and K.O. both proved, it's not easy to sustain that level. Buzz sustained it and, until this past season, improved the level every year.

I'd go 1. Buzz ... 2. Crean ... 3. KO.

But I wouldn't fight to the death for that ranking, and I certainly can see those three in any order.

I didn't vote, though. If I did, it would have been None of the Above -- keeping a positive vibe for Wojo!!

[brandx]

Brent does has nones.

Getting into that WV vernacular already 

[tower912]

1. Buzz.
2. Crean
3. KO
4. Hank
5. Deane
6. Majerus
7. Dukiet

Looking only at their work at MU.   

[Sir Lawrence]

Crean coached Marquette for 9 seasons.  His teams played in the NCAA tournament 5 of those seasons.  Three of those tournaments resulted in "one and dones," including the craptacular 61-49 loss to his old boss.

Of course the run to the FF was sweet.  But it has to be tempered by the home court bitter loss to the Broncos (54-40).  

Over all, Buzz has the edge, IMO.

I cosign CTWarriors overall analysis.

[willie warrior]

Buzz's 17-15 with good talent negates what went before. Two of his glory years were with Crean players. Crean went to a FF, which is the glory hole of college basketball. Unfortunately, both were douches in different ways

[Tums Festival]

Crean gets too much credit for the Final Four run. The team went as far as it did because of DWade and as soon as we went up against a proven coach we get blown out. He wasn't able to build on our success that year and only won 1 NCAA tourney game without DWade.

O'Neill came into a much worse situation, was able to pull in talent consistently and got us to our first Sweet 16 in fifteen years.

[NotAnAlum]

I have to go with Buzz.  Sure Crean got to the FF but Wade was so good.  Crean's other trips to the dance were less memorable.  The consistency Buzz showed in 3 trips in a row to the SS replacing differrent leaders each time is almost as impressive.  But on top of all of that getting Lazar and the midgets (a team picked 12 in the BE) into the dance (and they were safely in they weren't a bubble team) is what pushes him over the top.
I really hope Wojo can be the man but honestly if he just does close to what Buzz accomplished on the court I will be thrilled.

[WadeATKBurton]

Buzz's 17-15 with good talent negates what went before. Two of his glory years were with Crean players. Crean went to a FF, which is the glory hole of college basketball. Unfortunately, both were douches in different ways

DING DING DING DING DING!!!!!!!

Best post of the day!!!!

[drewm88]

Best coach meaning best or most successful? Is recruiting considered, or are we just looking at coaching ability?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

1. Buzz
2. TC
3. KO
4. Hank
5. Deane
6. Majerus
7. Dukiet


Besides having more wins and players in the NBA then everbody else on the list, Buzz has as many Sweet 16s as the other 6 combined. That is proof enough for me.

[buckchuckler]

1. Buzz
2. TC
3. KO
4. Hank
5. Deane
6. Majerus
7. Dukiet


Besides having more wins and players in the NBA then everbody else on the list, Buzz has as many Sweet 16s as the other 6 combined. That is proof enough for me.

Crean had 51 more wins that Buzz, and depends on who you give credit to for some of the players, but TC is ahead there as well

Buzz                  Crean  
Jimmy                   Wade
Jae                       Diener
DJO                      Novak
Buycks                 Matthews
                           Lazar



Am I missing anyone?  

[Goose]

KO---he saved the program.
Buzz--he is close but last season and hitting the bricks takes him down a notch to me.

[buckchuckler]

And while many are don't think TC should get credit for the FF run, remember Buzz took a team with 3 NBA players to a first round exit against Washington.   

[Cooby Snacks]

And while many are don't think TC should get credit for the FF run, remember Buzz took a team with 3 NBA players to a first round exit against Washington.   

To be fair, that Washington team also had 3 NBA guys.

[MU82]

Crean had 51 more wins that Buzz, and depends on who you give credit to for some of the players, but TC is ahead there as well

Buzz                  Crean  
Jimmy                   Wade
Jae                       Diener
DJO                      Novak
Buycks                 Matthews
                           Lazar



Am I missing anyone?  

Well, you're missing Burton, JJJ, Duane, Dawson, Hill, Cohen, Noskowiak, etc.

I mean, we were having a collective coronary that Buzz wasn't playing the first four, so we must think they had to be pretty good -- as did the rating services who called it a top-10 or top-15 class. I believe '14 was also very highly rated.

[MU82]

Getting into that WV vernacular already 

You must have missed the post that led me to say that the way I did ...

[Wojo'sMojo]

Crean had 51 more wins that Buzz, and depends on who you give credit to for some of the players, but TC is ahead there as well

Buzz                  Crean  
Jimmy                   Wade
Jae                       Diener
DJO                      Novak
Buycks                 Matthews
                           Lazar



Am I missing anyone?  

I think Buzz only real NBA player is Jimmy. The other guys are fringe NBA players at best and it wouldn't surprise me at all if they weren't in the league in 2 years. I hope I'm wrong. The player I'm most disappointed in is Jae. His career started out so promising and he has kind of fizzled out.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Where are all the Deane apologists?

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

Where are all the Deane apologists?

Deane was a solid coach.  He just couldn't recruit at the level that is Marquette.  I hope Wojo doesn't turn out to be a Deane, recruiting-wise. 

[tower912]

Crean average season 21-10    Williams average season   23-11
Crean  5 NCAA appearances in 9 year.    Williams  5 NCAA appearances in 6 years.
Crean 5 NCAA tourney wins.    Williams 8 NCAA tourney wins
Crean   1 final 4              Williams 0 final 4s.     2 Sweet 16's and 1 elite 8
Crean 190-96   .64189%       Williams 139-67   .67476%

[Lennys Tap]

Two of his glory years were with Crean players.

Wrong. Buzz's "glory years" were years 3, 4 and 5 - two Sweet 16s, One Elite 8, a (real) Big East regular season title and runner up with back to back 14-4 conference records - all with his own players.

[mu-rara]

Where are all the Deane apologists?

OK.  I'll take a shot.

Deane was the best coach to drink with after the game at Turner Hall.  He was also the best coach to pick up the tab for dinner at National Marquette day in Charlotte after we got whooped up on by UNCC.

[Dawson Rental]

All these Brent slurpers..I voted Tom Crean

Strictly as a precaution, you should know that while there is almost certainly nothing to be worried about, keefe has just read your....

INCOMING!  INCOMING!

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

Where are all the Deane apologists?

Not to mention.... I believe Mike Deane officially started the recruitment of Dwayne Wade.  While Deane was fired, he did plant a seed that grew into a Final Four appearance. 

For all of the Crean supporters....  Crean doesn't make it to the Final Four without Robert Jackson - a transfer from Mississippi St. 

Buzz did more with less and is the better coach.  Crean has recruited NBA talent, but this talent seems to not flourish underneath him.  The subpar performances of Wes Matthews and Noah Vonleh, during Crean's tutelage, attest to this theory.