I haven't even bothered to read most of the threads this morning. I don't want to. I just want to state the positives about our program we are enjoying right now. I started at MU the year after the Final Four, suffering through two NITs and two first round exits in the NCAA. These are good times for our program. I shouldn't have to remind everyone, but I will.
We just reached our second consecutive Sweet 16 and 7th straight NCAA tournament. Neither of those have happened since AL.
We currently have 5 guys in the Association. Jae will be drafted and DJO has a shot. We are getting NBA visibility.
We are in the Big East. I know its changing. But just keep reminding yourself that. This is still leaps and bounds better than CUSA.
We have one of the best two or three young coaches in the game right now. He has stated he will stay at "Marquette as long as they will have me."
We are returning a solid crew next year in Junior, Blue, Mayo, Jamil Wilson, Gardner and Otule. And we have great recruits coming in. We are a tourney team next year.
We have great facilties, student engagement, and alumni support.
These are good times. Enjoy two consecutive Sweet 16s until October. Be proud of your school.
Nice post.
I think just what makes this suck right now is we are not a UNC, Kansas, or Duke and make a FF run every year or are capable of doing so. Bracket opened up perfectly for us to make a run and it just did not work out. In the end, what you said is true, and we are a hell of a program because of it.
well said and couldn't agree more. Marqutte is in a good place right now. I really beleive a nc is attainable at some point fairly soon. Some people have unreasonable expectations.
Well said.
Great post, I couldn't agree more. Overall, it was a great season that far exceeded my initial expectations. Very proud of the program and look forward to continued success next year!
Amen!
Quote from: Warriors10 on March 23, 2012, 09:10:35 AM
Nice post.
I think just what makes this suck right now is we are not a UNC, Kansas, or Duke and make a FF run every year or are capable of doing so. Bracket opened up perfectly for us to make a run and it just did not work out. In the end, what you said is true, and we are a hell of a program because of it.
Hell yeah we aren't, we got out of the first weekend. 8-)
We are Marquette. We'll always be Marquette. And we're always going to be on a big stage (see upcoming thread titled, "MU - a Light Blue Blood.")
It was a great year with lots of parallels between this year's run and 2003, but I like the parallel for next year's run... namely, a Final Four in Atlanta.
We may suck right now, but at least we have 332 friends that suck along with us. In a few more days, that number grows to 343, so we're not alone. But while you mourn what could have been, remember: who is the active Big East leader in tourney appearances?
Dont forget our high athlete graduation rates.
I'll feel good next week.
For now, still suffering from kicked-in-the-nuts syndrome.
Quote from: mu_hilltopper on March 23, 2012, 09:36:28 AM
I'll feel good next week.
For now, still suffering from kicked-in-the-nuts syndrome.
This.
Feel badly today but agree completely with the post. These are the beginnings of bigger things down the road. Lets escape the next couple of weeks with limited Buzz talk and start recruiting even better players.
Great stat last night that I was not fully aware of ..
Mu 15 Sweet 16's, indiana 15 Sweet 16's, kansas 19 Sweet 16's
I feel great about Buzz and the state of the program. Hated last night because unless you're pulling in McDonald's AAs every year, opportunities like we had are hard to come by. Plus, I love MU basketball and now no games for 7-8 months.
CTWarrior---I was pushing Dream Big because you are right, these type of situations do not happen every year. We had a legit chance for FF and losing is tough. We have bigger fish to fry in upcoming years but this loss hurts.
I felt really depressed this morning until I walked into work and the first two people I ran into were a guy who lost his mother last week and another who is undergoing chemotherapy.
How blessed am I that my worst problem is that my favorite basketball team lost a game last night?
Life is good, y'all.
Quote from: Benny B on March 23, 2012, 09:19:39 AM
We are Marquette. We'll always be Marquette. And we're always going to be on a big stage (see upcoming thread titled, "MU - a Light Blue Blood.")
Shouldn't that be a "baby (or valour) blue blood"? ;D
Way to keep things in perspective. I thought I would feel worse this morning than I do. I'm already in the "what a fun season" mode, and am looking forward to next year.
I keep hearing and disagree with the notion that "this was our chance". Did we have a good team? Yes. But I disagree that we had a great or even good draw (though certainly wasn't bad). An at large 14 seed? A top 15, one loss team in their home state as a 6? And a 7 w/ NBA talent and a two time champion coach (vs. ND, Gonzaga, or St. Mary's?)? It's not like our path was paved. Were we better than Florida when we play at our best? Sure. We just weren't shooting well (again, how many shots were halfway down and popped out?), had foul trouble to two key players, and didn't get the calls we usually did (which really limited what was much needed offense from Gardner).
This year's team was very good, and very, very fun to watch, but is certainly not the program's ceiling. We'll step back a little bit next year (still think we keep that NCAA streak going), but we'll take big steps forward as the season progresses and going into the '13-'14 season.
Quote from: PVMagic on March 23, 2012, 10:36:03 AM
It's not like our path was paved.
When we tipped off last night, we needed two wins to get to the Final Four and wouldn't have had to beat a top 15 team in either of them. I feel pretty confident saying that we will never be in that good a position again. We may bring better teams to the tournament, but we'll also have to beat better teams. Just think about 2003. We were the 3 seed then and had to beat two top 10 teams (Pitt/Kentucky) to get to the Final Four. Or last year when we would have had to beat UNC and Kentucky.
Kind of agree, but at this point in the season, every team is a top 15 team. The playing field is very flat. What we need to do is consistently get to the tournament, and get to this round. Eventually, there will be breakthroughs.
Quote from: mu_hilltopper on March 23, 2012, 09:36:28 AM
I'll feel good next week.
For now, still suffering from kicked-in-the-nuts syndrome.
Yup.
It's hard to fathem how anybody can feel good at this point? I guess I see the glass half full. We had a PRIME opportunity to make it to the FF. This one hurts, real bad.
Quote from: CTWarrior on March 23, 2012, 10:45:48 AM
When we tipped off last night, we needed two wins to get to the Final Four and wouldn't have had to beat a top 15 team in either of them. I feel pretty confident saying that we will never be in that good a position again. We may bring better teams to the tournament, but we'll also have to beat better teams. Just think about 2003. We were the 3 seed then and had to beat two top 10 teams (Pitt/Kentucky) to get to the Final Four. Or last year when we would have had to beat UNC and Kentucky.
Marquette will be in that position when they're a 1-seed or 2-seed with a team that is top 5 talent.
Why are people always hoping for weaker competition? Why don't we just hope that MU improves to the point that it doesn't matter who shows up in the bracket because we know that MU will beat them?
Quote from: JDuquaine on March 23, 2012, 10:58:31 AM
It's hard to fathem how anybody can feel good at this point? I guess I see the glass half full. We had a PRIME opportunity to make it to the FF. This one hurts, real bad.
Dude, that is seeing the glass half-empty.
Quote from: warriorchick on March 23, 2012, 11:01:04 AM
Dude, that is seeing the glass half-empty.
Depends what's in his glass.
Quote from: warriorchick on March 23, 2012, 11:01:04 AM
Dude, that is seeing the glass half-empty.
Congrats Dudette, I realized that after I posted, however I didn't think it was necessary to fix because I assumed you'd get the gist of it. Kudos to you!
To me its all about being able to be proud of the way we played. If I was a Wisconsin fan I would be proud of the way Buckey played lat night. They simply got beat by a team that played better.
I am proud of our team for getting this far and having the season they did but I'm not particularly proud of the way we played. If we had played great and Florida had just shoot threes likely Buckey did and beat us we then so be it. Florida did not play well but we played worse.
Quote from: NotAnAlum on March 23, 2012, 11:17:42 AMFlorida did not play well but we played worse.
This.
That's why I'm so down this morning. We just did not show up at all last night and that's the worst part. It was a great season, but I'm not ready to be over last night yet. It definitely wasn't as devastating as UNC or KU, but it still hurts.
I knew once I couldn't do my pregame ritual for this game all bets were off.
Sorry everybody.
Quote from: MerrittsMustache on March 23, 2012, 10:59:09 AM
Marquette will be in that position when they're a 1-seed or 2-seed with a team that is top 5 talent.
Why are people always hoping for weaker competition? Why don't we just hope that MU improves to the point that it doesn't matter who shows up in the bracket because we know that MU will beat them?
Who was hoping for weaker competition? We HAD weaker competition and I was pointing that out as the golden opportunity it was. Unless you are by far the best team, who you play matters. Please note that with the possible exception of 2003 haven't had one of the 5 most talented teams in the NCAA since Al McGuire was here. That requires a few top 10 classes at a minimum. Buzz is doing great in every aspect of coaching, but we are not pulling in that kind of talent yet. Let's get one top 20 kid first.
Quote from: Victor McCormick on March 23, 2012, 09:03:02 AM
I haven't even bothered to read most of the threads this morning. I don't want to. I just want to state the positives about our program we are enjoying right now. I started at MU the year after the Final Four, suffering through two NITs and two first round exits in the NCAA. These are good times for our program. I shouldn't have to remind everyone, but I will.
We just reached our second consecutive Sweet 16 and 7th straight NCAA tournament. Neither of those have happened since AL.
We currently have 5 guys in the Association. Jae will be drafted and DJO has a shot. We are getting NBA visibility.
We are in the Big East. I know its changing. But just keep reminding yourself that. This is still leaps and bounds better than CUSA.
We have one of the best two or three young coaches in the game right now. He has stated he will stay at "Marquette as long as they will have me."
We are returning a solid crew next year in Junior, Blue, Mayo, Jamil Wilson, Gardner and Otule. And we have great recruits coming in. We are a tourney team next year.
We have great facilties, student engagement, and alumni support.
These are good times. Enjoy two consecutive Sweet 16s until October. Be proud of your school.
Great post Vic! I began at MU the year after Wade as well. I think people like us have a GREAT appreciation for what's going on right now after the NITs and 1st round exits (though I'm sure older people with Deane/O'neill are even more appreciative).
Last night sucked cause we beat ourselves. I, like others, will need a little grieving time, but brighter horizons to come with Buzz at the helm.
Quote from: Warriors10 on March 23, 2012, 09:10:35 AM
Nice post.
I think just what makes this suck right now is we are not a UNC, Kansas, or Duke and make a FF run every year or are capable of doing so.
Well, we've actually had a chance the past couple years, it just didn't work out. Which is better than Duke can say for the past 2 years.
Quote from: rocky_warrior on March 24, 2012, 01:29:33 AM
Well, we've actually had a chance the past couple years, it just didn't work out. Which is better than Duke can say for the past 2 years.
Rocky, good point. We all may be feeling down right now, but imagine how Duke feels after getting bounced super-early in the tourney.
This has been a great season. Period.
I also think about this......when the 3 amigos left, many of us thought, who will step up. When Hayward left, we were asking the same question. When Butler left, same question. With Crowder and DJO leaving.....same question. I hope (and believe we will) be asking the same question when Durley graduates.
We get to appreciate that there is a common denominator, a common thread throughout all of the success we've had for a while. That common thread is......"Don't mess with happy" ;D ;D ;D
Can't wait for next year when I get to post again....ND sucks, did I mention, ND sucks? ;)
Congrats to the Warriors for a tremendous season. Good luck to our graduating seniors in NBA.
Great point, and when the three amigos the depth of the team was much more shallow than it is now. While some people think our young ones haven't done enough yet, it's just tough to play when you have guys like Crowder and DJO. One theme to Buzz's teams is that upperclassmen have carried them. Each year new ones have stepped up, and next year someone will too. Our foundation is strong.