Marquette No. 21 in preseason coaches poll
Marquette checked in at No. 21 in the ESPN/USA Today men's basketball preseason coaches' poll released Thursday, joining five other Big East teams in the top 25.
Defending national champion Connecticut is No. 4, followed by No. 5 Syracuse, No. 8 Louisville, No. 11 Pittsburgh and No. 22 Cincinnati.
North Carolina opened at No. 1.
Marquette reached the Sweet 16 and finished 20th in the poll last season.
See complete poll
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/132262713.html
Wow. One blogger pointed out we have 15 games against Top 25 teams. Can't complain about our SOS this season.
Quote from: ecompt on October 20, 2011, 03:35:13 PM
Can't complain about our SOS this season.
Don't worry, somebody will.
It's not just top-25 teams, but the number of sub-250 RPI teams as well. Norfolk State we didn't really have any choice in. And zero sub-300 teams as well. Our SOS will be excellent.
See? ;D
Anyway, I hate it when the issue gets clouded by a factual post.
At what point to we unsubscribe the forum from this joker's blog?
No complaints from me about our schedule this year. Last year's was great, too.
Once Buzz got his hands on the tiller our schedule has been stellar.
Quote from: brewcity77 on October 20, 2011, 05:05:59 PM
It's not just top-25 teams, but the number of sub-250 RPI teams as well. Norfolk State we didn't really have any choice in. And zero sub-300 teams as well. Our SOS will be excellent.
not according to Katz
QuoteMARQUETTE
Toughest: at Wisconsin (Dec. 3), vs. Washington in NYC (Dec. 6), Vanderbilt (Dec. 29)
Next-toughest: Paradise Jam (Nov. 18-21), at LSU (Dec. 19)
The rest: Mount St. Mary's (Nov. 11), Norfolk State (Nov. 14), Jacksonville (Nov. 28), Green Bay (Dec. 10), Northern Colorado (Dec. 17), Milwaukee (Dec. 22)
Toughness scale (1-10): 6 -- The Golden Eagles play a preseason top-10 team in Vandy, a brutal road game against one of the top teams in the Big Ten and a solid neutral-site game against Washington, which should contend again in the Pac-12. The SEC/Big East Challenge game is more than winnable, even on the road, against rebuilding LSU. The problem for Marquette is that the Paradise Jam has a weak field with the next-best team being Virginia.
he then gives ND a 6 for playing Gonzaga, WVU a 6 for KSU and Miss St and Gtown a 6 for Memphis and Bama...he's a joke
Quote from: jfmu on October 20, 2011, 09:18:46 PM
not according to Katz
he then gives ND a 6 for playing Gonzaga, WVU a 6 for KSU and Miss St and Gtown a 6 for Memphis and Bama...he's a joke
Factor in where our SOS is prior to big east play any other year and it'd be even worse. Don't need to do too too much during the pre conference play to get a strong SOS in the end, just need to do more than we had in the past couple years.
Quote from: jfmu on October 20, 2011, 09:18:46 PMnot according to Katz
he then gives ND a 6 for playing Gonzaga, WVU a 6 for KSU and Miss St and Gtown a 6 for Memphis and Bama...he's a joke
I had a chuckle when I read that. I would bet my paycheck that if we were playing #6 Duke instead of #7 Vanderbilt, we'd have an 8 or higher. It's all about name recognition. Vandy isn't as sexy as Duke, Wisconsin isn't as sexy as Michigan State, and Washington isn't as sexy as UCLA, but all of them could finish better than the aforementioned counterparts. Yet if we were playing Duke, MSU, and UCLA, we'd be given a 9 or 10.
The important difference is the bottom end. The gap between playing last year's Duke, UW, and Vandy isn't that big from playing Vandy, UW, and Washington this year, but all three are winnable. But the difference of Jacksonville, Northern Colorado, and LSU instead of Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, and South Dakota is immense.
Katz can say whatever he wants, the truth is we will likely have a much better RPI this year based on a smarter schedule.
I wouldnt be calling Katz a joke, the guy thinks were are the 13th best team in the nation.
Quote from: HaywardsHeroes32 on October 21, 2011, 03:25:08 AM
I wouldnt be calling Katz a joke, the guy thinks were are the 13th best team in the nation.
I'll stop calling him a joke when he stops reporting that every BCS school in the country is about to hire Buzz.
Quote from: Skatastrophy on October 20, 2011, 05:26:16 PM
At what point to we unsubscribe the forum from this joker's blog?
Yeah, really. The riveting, insightful post couldn't even talk about our recent poll history over our Big East tenure (aside from where we finished last year), couldn't manage a quote from Buzz or a player. Weak sauce. I would like if we could subscribe to Anonymous Eagle and Paint Touches blogs on the forum, they would generate good discussion.
Quote from: Brewtown Andy on October 21, 2011, 08:27:51 AM
I'll stop calling him a joke when he stops reporting that every BCS school in the country is about to hire Buzz.
I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that you're going to stop calling him a joke now. By my count, there were 12 BCS schools that hired new basketball coaches last year. In how many of those cases did Katz report that Buzz was a candidate? And I think you'd agree that he was a very serious candidate for a couple of the jobs.
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 08:59:54 AM
I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that you're going to stop calling him a joke now. By my count, there were 12 BCS schools that hired new basketball coaches last year. In how many of those cases did Katz report that Buzz was a candidate? And I think you'd agree that he was a very serious candidate for a couple of the jobs.
Pretty sure Katz's spastic, Tourette's-like, parade of "Buzz to _____" rumors included:
Arkansas
Texas A&M
Maryland
that is 3/12 or 25% of the 12 BCS schools. Pretty decent percentage.
Quote from: brewcity77 on October 20, 2011, 10:08:50 PM
I had a chuckle when I read that. I would bet my paycheck that if we were playing #6 Duke instead of #7 Vanderbilt, we'd have an 8 or higher. It's all about name recognition. Vandy isn't as sexy as Duke, Wisconsin isn't as sexy as Michigan State, and Washington isn't as sexy as UCLA, but all of them could finish better than the aforementioned counterparts. Yet if we were playing Duke, MSU, and UCLA, we'd be given a 9 or 10.
YES, THIS. ABSOLUTELY. ESPN worships at the altar of Duke/CoachK and MSU/Izzo.
Enlund's MU blog went up at 2:46pm yesterday. The Badger blog did not go up until 2:50pm yesterday.
We're WINNING!!
Quote from: The Lens on October 21, 2011, 09:54:42 AM
Enlund's MU blog went up at 2:46pm yesterday. The Badger blog did not go up until 2:50pm yesterday.
We're WINNING!!
Yes, and that's because sportswriting robots can produce faster than actual journalists.
Quote from: Henry Sugar on October 21, 2011, 10:08:36 AM
Yes, and that's because sportswriting robots can produce faster than actual journalists.
And eerily similar formats which will only further the robot conspiracy. And since it would take about a minute and a half to write either of these entries (perhaps less for a robot) and they had a four minute window, UW's blog is clearly the copycat!!!
Quote from: chapman on October 21, 2011, 10:09:44 AM
And eerily similar formats which will only further the robot conspiracy. And since it would take about a minute and a half to write either of these entries (perhaps less for a robot) and they had a four minute window, UW's blog is clearly the copycat!!!
No, Bucky is behind because Bo's offense always has the slowest pace in the nation.
Quote from: lab_warrior on October 21, 2011, 09:24:14 AM
Pretty sure Katz's spastic, Tourette's-like, parade of "Buzz to _____" rumors included:
Arkansas
Texas A&M
Maryland
that is 3/12 or 25% of the 12 BCS schools. Pretty decent percentage.
So we can agree that your original comment that Katz is a joke because he reports that "every BCS school in the country is about to hire Buzz" was not even close to being true (although you missed Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Missouri which he was mentioned on...although I don't recall him being mentioned for Maryland).
Five minutes in Katz's blog archives (which obviously don't include his entire body of work) reveal only a few occasions where Katz even discussed Buzz in the context of other schools:
- 3/8/11 - Listing Buzz as among five coaches that he thought Texas Tech would consider
- 3/16/11 - Saying Buzz could go to Arkansas or Oklahoma if he wanted and that Buzz made the most sense for Oklahoma
- 3/28/11 - Saying that Buzz would not be going to Oklahoma or Missouri
- 5/12/11 - Saying that Buzz would listen to A&M, but that they were not going to be able to pry him away from Marquette
Maybe there's a lot out there that I didn't see/am missing, but I really don't think that Katz was running around with a "spastic, Tourette's-like, parade" of rumors that anyone was going to hire Buzz. He did report that a hand full of schools were interested in him, but there really wasn't anything (in his blogs at least) that even remotely suggested that he was going anywhere. As a college BB writer, it would have been inexcusable for Katz to not write about who was being considered for the top open jobs.
You're free to think Katz is a joke if you like...it makes no difference to me. But at least base your opinion on something that bears some semblance to reality. I think he's one of the better college BB guys out there.
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 10:29:32 AM
So we can agree that your original comment that Katz is a joke because he reports that "every BCS school in the country is about to hire Buzz" was not even close to being true (although you missed Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Missouri which he was mentioned on...although I don't recall him being mentioned for Maryland).
Ok, 3 things...
1) Lab Warrior and I are not the same person. We have different pictures next to our posts and everything.
2) I'm pretty sure I'm allowed the creative license to use a slight bit of exaggeration to make a point.
3) Why are you defending a Bucky grad so vehemently?
Quote from: Brewtown Andy on October 21, 2011, 11:39:35 AM
Ok, 3 things...
1) Lab Warrior and I are not the same person. We have different pictures next to our posts and everything.
2) I'm pretty sure I'm allowed the creative license to use a slight bit of exaggeration to make a point.
3) Why are you defending a Bucky grad so vehemently?
1. You're right...my bad.
2. It wasn't a slight exaggeration. You were just wrong. I can't find anything showing that Katz said that Buzz was going to any other school, much less every other BCS school. It's OK to admit you were wrong (see No. 1, above). Katz reported that a handful of schools were considering Buzz and that he wouldn't go to them. Not sure why this pissed you off so much.
3. Because I think he's one of the better college hoops writers out there and I think he gives Marquette a lot of pretty good press. Why are you attacking him so aggressively? Never mind, your answer is right there in your post.
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 11:58:18 AM
Because I think he's one of the better college hoops writers out there and I think he gives Marquette a lot of pretty good press.
+1. He is very unbiased and tells it like it is.
In my opinion, I hope analysts never stop speculating that Buzz will go somewhere else. If we're being completely honest here, outside of the Marquette community, not many people look at Marquette as a destination job (especially now that the BE is imploding). If there are bigger state schools with a history of success who are looking for someone to rebuild a program that is close to where Buzz grew up, I, for one, hope Buzz is discussed as a potential candidate to fill that position. The day he is not being discussed as such, is the day that we are underachieving. I would much rather have a successful program and worry about our coach leaving at the end of the year than have an unsuccessful program and not have to worry whether we will have the same coach the next season. If we're not worrying our coach will leave for another job, then chances are we're hoping he's fired. Just my opinion.
Maybe it's just me, but I think the BCS comment was completely in line. Yes, there was exaggeration, hyperbole, and dare I say a touch of sarcasm, but over the past few years, there have been a number of "Buzz to..." rumors that Katz has helped perpetuate. Three this year, I seem to remember a couple last year too. When the same thing happens 5-6 times over a 2-year period, it's safe to say you have a trend.
That said, I usually enjoy Katz and think he does a pretty good job. But in this case, strictly the article in question in this article, he's off base. Trying to say that our non-con SOS is no better than WVU, Georgetown, or Notre Dame is just ridiculous. This is all about top end name teams. Replace Vandy with Duke, Wisconsin with MSU, and Washington with UCLA and we'd be rated higher, even though the teams we're playing are just as tough or tougher.
Quote from: wadesworld on October 21, 2011, 12:45:29 PM
+1. He is very unbiased and tells it like it is.
In my opinion, I hope analysts never stop speculating that Buzz will go somewhere else. If we're being completely honest here, outside of the Marquette community, not many people look at Marquette as a destination job (especially now that the BE is imploding). If there are bigger state schools with a history of success who are looking for someone to rebuild a program that is close to where Buzz grew up, I, for one, hope Buzz is discussed as a potential candidate to fill that position. The day he is not being discussed as such, is the day that we are underachieving. I would much rather have a successful program and worry about our coach leaving at the end of the year than have an unsuccessful program and not have to worry whether we will have the same coach the next season. If we're not worrying our coach will leave for another job, then chances are we're hoping he's fired. Just my opinion.
Very well said!
Quote from: brewcity77 on October 21, 2011, 01:02:22 PM
Maybe it's just me, but I think the BCS comment was completely in line. Yes, there was exaggeration, hyperbole, and dare I say a touch of sarcasm, but over the past few years, there have been a number of "Buzz to..." rumors that Katz has helped perpetuate. Three this year, I seem to remember a couple last year too. When the same thing happens 5-6 times over a 2-year period, it's safe to say you have a trend.
I really don't disagree...in fact, I even added to the schools that lab-warrior listed. But, I really have two issues with the original post. Even if we agree to ignore the initial hyperbole, I don't think these reports make him a "joke." Katz is a college hoops writer. If he doesn't write about rumors relating to the job searches being conducted by BCS programs, or about rumors relating to one of the hottest young coaches, he absolutely is not doing his job. As we speak, there's a thread on this board calling out the new beat reporter because he doesn't use twitter and his blogs are canned, but we've got people calling Katz a "joke" because he bothers to report/blog on the biggest coaching searches going on in his business (which happen to be some of the biggest stories). Second, this past year, most of what I could find by Katz was fairly skeptical that Buzz was going anywhere.
I'm not sure if I've ever defended Katz on here, and I'm pretty certain that I've never responded to the "Katz is a rodent" posts or stuff like that. I think he's good, but don't really care one way or the other whether other people like him. I read a comment that didn't match with what I recall, so I responded. I think the Katz hate on this board (to the extent that there is any) comes from two things: 1) he
is a rodent, after all, and 2) he seemed to have been very tight with Crean. Although I don't hate the guy, I'll concede that these are two valid reasons to dislike him. In my opinion, constantly saying that "Buzz to _____" is not a valid reason to dislike him, because I don't think that he's really done too much of that (I don't think saying "Oklahoma is considering Buzz" is the same as saying "Buzz to Oklahoma").
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 01:26:55 PM
In my opinion, constantly saying that "Buzz to _____" is not a valid reason to dislike him, because I don't think that he's really done too much of that (I don't think saying "Oklahoma is considering Buzz" is the same as saying "Buzz to Oklahoma").
Maybe this is an issue of semantics, but I'd cite this as an example of what BTA and lab_warrior and BrewCity are talking about:
This is Katz's post from the day Arkansas fired John Pelphrey.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6212623
At the end, he discusses the early candidates to replace Pelphrey. The first he names is Mike Anderson, which: yeah. Obviously. And then he quickly moves to No. 2:
If Anderson turns the job down, Marquette coach Buzz Williams, who has Arkansas ties, is expected to be high on Long's list. If they can't land Williams, the Hogs will look for another established head coach.I remember reading that and thinking: where the hell did that come from? What Arkansas ties? And, apparently, I wasn't the only one, because Arkansas fans thought it came out of nowhere too:
http://www.arkansasexpats.com/2011/3/16/2054086/quick-arkansas-basketball-coaching-search-update
Quote from: Rubie Q on October 21, 2011, 02:04:13 PM
Maybe this is an issue of semantics, but I'd cite this as an example of what BTA and lab_warrior and BrewCity are talking about:
This is Katz's post from the day Arkansas fired John Pelphrey.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6212623
At the end, he discusses the early candidates to replace Pelphrey. The first he names is Mike Anderson, which: yeah. Obviously. And then he quickly moves to No. 2:
If Anderson turns the job down, Marquette coach Buzz Williams, who has Arkansas ties, is expected to be high on Long's list. If they can't land Williams, the Hogs will look for another established head coach.
I remember reading that and thinking: where the hell did that come from? What Arkansas ties? And, apparently, I wasn't the only one, because Arkansas fans thought it came out of nowhere too:
http://www.arkansasexpats.com/2011/3/16/2054086/quick-arkansas-basketball-coaching-search-update
Yeah, I understand what they're talking about. I just don't think that it makes him a joke. I think it means he's doing his job. It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone when a reporter says, "[hot young coach] will be high on [hiring school's] list." And as far as I recall, Buzz was on a lot of those lists.
If Crean Buzz would quit leaking his name out there, then this wouldn't be an issue, right?
Isn't this year 4 of the Tom Crean regime?
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 02:12:32 PM
Yeah, I understand what they're talking about. I just don't think that it makes him a joke.
How about this?
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/37357/3-point-shots-mizzou-tourney-no-lock
Quote3. Marquette returned Saturday from its three days outside Milwaukee, staying at a campground in log cabins, practicing in elementary and middle schools and bonding in preparation for a Big East top-five run. Roles are being defined and already there were some positive vibes coming out of the experience. Junior Cadougan is the lock at the point, Darius Johnson-Odom is his sidekick and the Golden Eagles are expecting consistent play out of Jae Crowder inside with lot of pressure on 6-foot-11 center Chris Otule, wing Vander Blue and Oregon transfer Jamil Wilson to produce to ensure the Eagles max their potential.
Quote from: Brewtown Andy on October 24, 2011, 08:21:19 AM
How about this?
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/37357/3-point-shots-mizzou-tourney-no-lock
It's a bit of a silly statement...everyone knows DJO is the stud on the team. I'd venture a guess that even Katz knows that. I think the "newsiest" thing in there that he was trying to get across is that Junior is a lock (which some other national writers have missed) and then it's a stupid choice of words after that. Aside from using the word "sidekick" to describe DJO (which I interpret to mean that he thinks Junior/DJO are going to be the two main players), do you find fault with anything else in there? Again, I think it's good when national writers are mentioning your program.
Quote from: 2002MUalum on October 21, 2011, 02:15:40 PM
If Crean Buzz would quit leaking his name out there, then this wouldn't be an issue, right?
Yeah, right. Crean having his buddies report that he's the leading candidate at a school that doesn't want him (Illinois) is the same as school sources telling writers who they want (Arkansas, Oklahoma re Buzz).
On another subject, this is year 4 of the Buzz Williams Experiment. When can we expect a thumbs up or down from the Great Equivocator?
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 24, 2011, 09:30:14 AM
It's a bit of a silly statement...everyone knows DJO is the stud on the team. I'd venture a guess that even Katz knows that. I think the "newsiest" thing in there that he was trying to get across is that Junior is a lock (which some other national writers have missed) and then it's a stupid choice of words after that. Aside from using the word "sidekick" to describe DJO (which I interpret to mean that he thinks Junior/DJO are going to be the two main players), do you find fault with anything else in there? Again, I think it's good when national writers are mentioning your program.
I find fault with saying MU is expecting "consistent" play from a guy voted as one of the 15 best players in the Big East by the BE coaches.
Quote from: Brewtown Andy on October 24, 2011, 01:18:26 PM
I find fault with saying MU is expecting "consistent" play from a guy voted as one of the 15 best players in the Big East by the BE coaches.
While it may not have been the intent of the author, I agree that the consistency is the only thing that was keeping Crowder back from top 15 last year. I read it more as "consistently great".
Quote from: Brewtown Andy on October 24, 2011, 01:18:26 PM
I find fault with saying MU is expecting "consistent" play from a guy voted as one of the 15 best players in the Big East by the BE coaches.
So, you think Jae will be inconsistent? Obviously, you don't, so I'm not entirely sure why you find fault with Katz's statement. I think it's pretty clear in the context, consistent is being used as a positive (i.e, consistently good). I guess he didn't use the same word/superlative you'd have picked, but I don't think the word he used was incorrect or a slight to Jae. Understatement, perhaps, but not inaccurate.
But, fair enough...you think that Katz is a joke. That's your right. I think he typically gives Marquette positive and fair coverage.
Quote from: Brewtown Andy on October 24, 2011, 01:18:26 PM
I find fault with saying MU is expecting "consistent" play from a guy voted as one of the 15 best players in the Big East by the BE coaches.
Starting with Vanderbilt and going through all of BE play, including the BE Tourney, below are Crowder's game by game stats (Points and rebounds). I can see exactly what Katz meant by consistency. Pretty obvious.
Game
Vanderbilt
WVU
Rutgers
Pitt
ND
Louisville
DePaul
ND
UCONN
Syracuse
Nova
USF
Georgetown
SJU
Seton Hall
UCONN
Providence
Cincy
Seton Hall
Providence
WVU
Louisville
|
| Decision
L
W
W
L
W
L
W
L
L
W
L
W
L
L
W
W
W
L
L
W
W
L
|
| Points
8
29
15
10
18
8
18
15
10
25
9
14
4
15
12
7
12
3
1
10
4
10
|
| Rebounds
11
8
7
7
7
5
9
8
9
7
4
4
7
9
9
11
13
3
3
4
9
3
|
In those 22 games, MU was 11-11. Crowder averaged 14.9 ppg/8 rbg in the victories and 8.5 ppg/6.3 rbg in the losses. Not pinning the losses on him, as he played well in some of the losses. But, to Katz' point, a key to MU is that it needs Crowder to be more consistent as a SR. Fair point.
To put it in perspective, last year, Jimmy Butler scored in double digits, all but two games. And MU won those two games.
Quote from: MUMac on October 24, 2011, 02:30:37 PM
But, to Katz' point, a key to MU is that it needs Crowder to be more consistent as a SR. Fair point.
I also think it's worth pointing out that Katz said, "the
Golden Eagles are expecting consistent play out of Jae Crowder inside..." To a certain extent, the quality (or lack thereof) of Katz's reporting here depends on what he was told by a source at Marquette. If Buzz (or someone else with the program) said simply that they expect Crowder to be more consistent this year, it's hard to find too much fault with Katz. If the same source said that Crowder looks fantastic, is greatly improved and that they really expect big things from him this year, then Katz's reporting sucks in this case. I'm willing to admit that both are quite possible; as is the possibility that nobody told him anything.
I dont get people problems with either comments. Yes, Jae needs to be consistent if we are going to win as many games as most of us think. Yes, DJO is definitely the star of the team but thats not what Katz meant with calling him Juniors sidekick. He was just saying that Junior has looked good enough to "lock" himself in at PG and run the offense.......DJO is the "sidekick" because hes the second starter guard and the one Junior will be feeding the ball too.
He wasn't saying it like Junior is better than DJO.
Quote from: Lennys Tap on October 24, 2011, 10:15:39 AM
Yeah, right. Crean having his buddies report that he's the leading candidate at a school that doesn't want him (Illinois) is the same as school sources telling writers who they want (Arkansas, Oklahoma re Buzz).
On another subject, this is year 4 of the Buzz Williams Experiment. When can we expect a thumbs up or down from the Great Equivocator?
My Crean/Buzz comparison was mostly tongue in cheek.
As far as the "4 year" thing, I'm very high on this year's team and I really like Buzz (check my posts, even going back to last season).
With this said, even if MU wasn't very good the past couple of seasons, I still would have stood by the fact that you have to give a coach a chance to get his own players into the system. Buzz finally has that, and I'm very optimistic.
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 01:26:55 PM
I really don't disagree...in fact, I even added to the schools that lab_warrior listed.
I thank you for that, I realize I had forgotten more than HALF of the schools Katz MADE UP rumors of Buzz going to.
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 01:26:55 PM
Katz is a college hoops writer. If he doesn't write about rumors relating to the job searches being conducted by BCS programs, or about rumors relating to one of the hottest young coaches, he absolutely is not doing his job.
Agreed, completely, but my point is that reporting rumors that YOU MAKE UP out of thin air isn't "reporting". So, technically, he's not doing his job. (See: Miller, Judith; New York Times; "weapons of mass distruction in Iraq"-stories)
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 01:26:55 PM
Second, this past year, most of what I could find by Katz was fairly skeptical that Buzz was going anywhere.
No, the tone of it was basically like a cheerleader urging respective BCS schools to hire Buzz, because he has "roots" in Arkansas. Roots meaning that he speaks with a drawl like other AK citizens, apparently.
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 01:26:55 PM
I'm pretty certain that I've never responded to the "Katz is a rodent" posts or stuff like that.
I haven't either, but it is one more really juicy reason to crank up the DISLIKE.
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 21, 2011, 01:26:55 PM
In my opinion, constantly saying that "Buzz to _____" is not a valid reason to dislike him, because I don't think that he's really done too much of that (I don't think saying "Oklahoma is considering Buzz" is the same as saying "Buzz to Oklahoma").
It is when there's no evidence that some of these universities had any interest in Buzz at all. Maybe Oklahoma had interest, but I am pretty sure that most of Katz' stuff was along the lines of "I think Buzz would be a perfect fit here because ____ (wink wink, hire him!)" The key word there is "constantly." I'm just wondering why he didn't diversify more, he should have made up all this stuff about Brad Stevens, Mark Few, etc.
I apologize for the FJM treatment--not trying to be anything other than clarifying why I think the guy is a "joke." I'm perfectly fine with others thinking he's a good reporter, nor do I disagree with the idea that Buzz having his name in the mix all of the time is a good thing, so long as that "mix" isn't a complete figment of Katz' imagination. Frankly, I see Katz as somebody like Scott Templeton from Season 5 of "The Wire". He's reporting partially and/or wholly made up stuff--stuff that grabs readers and is great talk radio fodder.
Quote from: lab_warrior on October 24, 2011, 04:28:44 PM
It is when there's no evidence that some of these universities had any interest in Buzz at all. Maybe Oklahoma had interest, but I am pretty sure that most of Katz' stuff was along the lines of "I think Buzz would be a perfect fit here because ____ (wink wink, hire him!)" The key word there is "constantly." I'm just wondering why he didn't diversify more, he should have made up all this stuff about Brad Stevens, Mark Few, etc.
Well, I don't really see any point of going much further with this. It's clear that there's not much I can say. Faced with the fact that Katz never mentioned Buzz's name in connection with many of the BCS searches and that many times when Katz did mention Buzz it was to dispel rumors that he would leave, you respond by claiming that Katz is simply MAKING UP rumors in the first place. You've taken the "discussion" to a point that it's impossible to respond. I can't prove he didn't MAKE UP the "rumors" and you can't prove that he did. It's a bit of a stalemate, and probably best to leave it at that.
Quote from: HaywardsHeroes32 on October 24, 2011, 04:15:10 PM
I dont get people problems with either comments. Yes, Jae needs to be consistent if we are going to win as many games as most of us think. Yes, DJO is definitely the star of the team but thats not what Katz meant with calling him Juniors sidekick. He was just saying that Junior has looked good enough to "lock" himself in at PG and run the offense.......DJO is the "sidekick" because hes the second starter guard and the one Junior will be feeding the ball too.
He wasn't saying it like Junior is better than DJO.
It was a poor choice of words. Robin, Sancho Panza, Kato, Tonto, those are sidekicks. At worst, DJO would be Caddy's partner. Certainly not his sidekick.
it is evident that we all REALLY need the season to start
Quote from: ATL MU Warrior on October 24, 2011, 06:27:14 PM
it is evident that we all REALLY need the season to start
And what's that supposed to mean? Maybe some of us only SORT OF need the season to start, and there might be a few who don't need the season to start AT ALL. And don't the capitalize the first word of a sentence where you're from?
On second thought...
When is someone at JSO going to update the roster and the rest of the blog. There is so little content in their weekly sports
section they could run two weeks worth of stories on the players, featuring a different player each day going right up to the first game. Take some iniative and do some reporting with some local flavor..
Quote from: StillAWarrior on October 24, 2011, 07:08:46 PM
And what's that supposed to mean? Maybe some of us only SORT OF need the season to start, and there might be a few who don't need the season to start AT ALL. And don't the capitalize the first word of a sentence where you're from?
On second thought...
At least spell check your post before taking a lame shot at someone's grammar/spelling.
Quote from: 2002MUalum on October 24, 2011, 04:15:40 PM
My Crean/Buzz comparison was mostly tongue in cheek.
As far as the "4 year" thing, I'm very high on this year's team and I really like Buzz (check my posts, even going back to last season).
With this said, even if MU wasn't very good the past couple of seasons, I still would have stood by the fact that you have to give a coach a chance to get his own players into the system. Buzz finally has that, and I'm very optimistic.
Just reread my post and I'm afraid that my attempt at humor came out a bit snippy. Sorry about that, but I confess that while there are obvious similarities (both coach basketball, both at Marquette) I think at the core TC and Buzz are dissimilar and bordering on antithetical.
Quote from: ATL MU Warrior on October 24, 2011, 08:22:17 PM
At least spell check your post before taking a lame shot at someone's grammar/spelling.
To quote Lenny's from the post right above this one: "Just reread my post and I'm afraid that my attempt at humor came out a bit snippy." I don't use teal, so I hope you recognized that I was kidding...I realize that it's quite possible that you might say the same about your post.
Quote from: lab_warrior on October 24, 2011, 04:28:44 PM
Agreed, completely, but my point is that reporting rumors that YOU MAKE UP out of thin air isn't "reporting". So, technically, he's not doing his job. (See: Miller, Judith; New York Times; "weapons of mass distruction in Iraq"-stories)
I think if you look at most of his 'made up' stuff, you will see that he is reporting on: 'hot prospects that (insert school) could be interested in'.
I agree that he has a list and i'm annoyed Buzz is on it, but how could he not be? Espn has 5 channels and a massive website. Katz is in the entertainment industry, he's paid to write.
If Buzz leaves it will be to a top 7 or 8 program. Everything else is a lateral move.
Quote from: brewcity77 on October 21, 2011, 01:02:22 PM
Maybe it's just me, but I think the BCS comment was completely in line. Yes, there was exaggeration, hyperbole, and dare I say a touch of sarcasm, but over the past few years, there have been a number of "Buzz to..." rumors that Katz has helped perpetuate. Three this year, I seem to remember a couple last year too. When the same thing happens 5-6 times over a 2-year period, it's safe to say you have a trend.
That said, I usually enjoy Katz and think he does a pretty good job. But in this case, strictly the article in question in this article, he's off base. Trying to say that our non-con SOS is no better than WVU, Georgetown, or Notre Dame is just ridiculous. This is all about top end name teams. Replace Vandy with Duke, Wisconsin with MSU, and Washington with UCLA and we'd be rated higher, even though the teams we're playing are just as tough or tougher.
Georgetown Plays Memphis, @ Bama, and has the Maui invitational where we'll at least play Kansas and at least 1 more ranked team. Why is Vandy, Washington and Wisconsin so much obviously better?
Quote from: hoyasincebirth on October 29, 2011, 08:56:13 AM
Georgetown Plays Memphis, @ Bama, and has the Maui invitational where we'll at least play Kansas and at least 1 more ranked team. Why is Vandy, Washington and Wisconsin so much obviously better?
Your lower end is far weaker.
Quote from: hoyasincebirth on October 29, 2011, 08:56:13 AMGeorgetown Plays Memphis, @ Bama, and has the Maui invitational where we'll at least play Kansas and at least 1 more ranked team. Why is Vandy, Washington and Wisconsin so much obviously better?
What MUMac said. Usually the Hoyas do a great job of having a strong schedule throughout. But this year, the bottom end of your schedule is weak. 4 sub-250 RPI teams. Maui should help, but you need to beat KU so you don't play Chaminade, that game won't do your SOS any favors.
By contrast, we only have one sub-250 team in Norfolk State. Those bottom end teams really drag the RPI down, just look at us last year. Our non-con was awful, despite playing Duke, Wisconsin, Gonzaga, and Vanderbilt.
I think it's good for our team to have some cupcakes this year, with us being so young. It was by design to have a weaker than usual OOC schedule. And even our "weak" schedule is still pretty darn good.
I guess it depends on what you're looking at for a schedule. Georgetown plays more tough games than marquette:
9/11 Memphis, 17/19 Bama, 13/13 Kansas, (18/18 Michigan or 9/11 Memphis or 6/6 Duke) and possibly 20/17 UCLA vs. 7/7 Vandy, NR/NR Washington, 14/15 Wisconsin. The rest of the games don't really move the needle for either team. Neither school plays a team that is likely in the top 50 of the RPI.
Since a team at 100 RPI and a team at 200 RPI isn't really that big of a difference in terms of challenge. It matter for SOS and RPI but in actual challenge there's a much bigger difference between a top 10 team and a top 25 team and a top 25 team and a top 50 team than there is between the teams ranked 100-200 and 200+.
Again I'm sure you're referring to SOS and RPI and yes your schedule will probably net a higher scores on those things assume each team wins a similar number of games, but that doesn't really mean it was a tougher schedule.
I'm just accustomed to a tougher top-to-bottom schedule from Georgetown. Over the past few years, I've thought Georgetown was one of the best in the nation at devising smart schedules. I'll admit, I haven't looked in depth at the rosters of all your non-con opponents, maybe some of those sub-250s have the potential to crack the top-200. But as you point out, the likelihood of beating a 100-200 team isn't much different. Even less so is the likelihood of beating a 200-300 team. That's why I personally believe a smartly designed schedule will minimize the lowest end teams in favor of more middle-heavy schedule.
Honestly, I think the best designed schedule would feature zero top-ten teams. Maybe one top-25 team and one more top-50, along with a few top-100 opponents. Then jam the rest with 100-200 projected teams. It virtually assures no worse than a one-loss non-con schedule while also maintaining a likely top-20 SOS and RPI. Last year I thought we were far too top-heavy (four top-50 opponents) and bottom heavy (6 sub-300 opponents). You're better off when the bulk of the schedule (ideally 8-10 opponents) is in the 50-150 range.