Marquette's greatest asset?
July, 3, 2013
Jul 3
Marquette basketball program has been on quite the roll in recent years. The Golden Eagles have made eight consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a deep run all the way to the Elite Eight this past season. In fact, they've never missed out on the Big Dance under Buzz Williams, and they've won at least one game in March Madness in all but one year (2010) since he took over on the bench.
On top of that, they've been producing some quality talent for the NBA -- names like Jae Crowder, Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler. Many of the Marquette alumni that are making an impact at the next level weren't even all that highly regarded on a national scale coming out of high school, but they've made the transformation from decent prospect to breakout player while in college. Not only can Williams land solid recruits now, he and his staff have proven quite capable of helping their guys evolve as players once they arrive on campus. Our own Jeff Goodman contends they're one of the top programs around when it comes to developing talent. That's a great quality for a team to have, and it makes their recent run of success seem that much more sustainable.
Jeff Goodman
Getting the most from his players
"Look at what Buzz Williams has done since he took over for Tom Crean. It started with Lazar Hayward, continued with Jimmy Butler and included Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom. None of those guys were highly regarded coming out of high school, or even junior college, and three of them are now earning NBA paychecks. Hayward and Butler, who was ranked as the 82nd overall player in Texas by one recruiting service, were both selected late in the first round while Crowder was taken 34th overall."
I still believe that MU's biggest asset is Willie Wampum, followed by First Warrior......no wait.....Bluteaux!
it started with wesley mathews....