I'm going to go with '04-'05. We'd dealt with the crushing feeling of going from a Final Four to the NIT the year before, but things looked better initially in 04-05. Diener was a senior, Novak was coming into his own as a junior, everyone expected Dameon Mason to take a giant leap forward ... By the end of the year Rob Hanley was our starting point guard, Marcus Jackson was bringing the ball up the floor, Mason showed little to nothing. The team couldn't even inbound the ball against TCU in the Conference USA tournament (read that sentence again and weep). It all ended with an opening NIT loss to Western Michigan and at a half-empty Bradley Center.
Never again.
03-04, 04-05 are up there. For me it was 85-86. MU is on the cusp of being ranked, UNC comes to town, MU loses a heartbreaker, the season ends up with another NIT bid, Majerus leaves, Dukiet arrives, nausea ensues.
08-09.
We had a potential Final Four team with the three amigos lus Lazar until Dominic broke his foot. He made a gallant effort to come back against Mizzou in the second round - I still remember the buzz around Boise when it was announced that he'd play - but he clearly wasn't himself.
Runner up: 77-78, with the loss on the awful call against Whitehead against Miami.
Quote from: tower912 on January 21, 2014, 10:30:08 AM
03-04, 04-05 are up there. For me it was 85-86. MU is on the cusp of being ranked, UNC comes to down, MU loses a heartbreaker, the season ends up with another NIT bid, Majerus leaves, Dukiet arrives, nausea ensues.
+1, and it being my senior year didn't help. Horrible losses to ND and UNC.
04-05, but last night notwithstanding this season is making a run for it.
Quote from: GooooMarquette on January 21, 2014, 10:37:50 AM
08-09.
We had a potential Final Four team with the three amigos lus Lazar until Dominic broke his foot. He made a gallant effort to come back against Mizzou in the second round - I still remember the buzz around Boise when it was announced that he'd play - but he clearly wasn't himself.
Runner up: 77-78, with the loss on the awful call against Whitehead against Miami.
agree on 08-09. that was such a good team, but heartbreak city vs UCONN.
Yep. That team was special. They might have won the BE that year if Dominic hadn't gotten hurt. Lost close ones to UConn, UL, and Cuse down the stretch. Mo did what he could, but Dominic would have been the difference.
Probably Season 3 of Lost.
Quote from: GooooMarquette on January 21, 2014, 10:37:50 AM
08-09.
We had a potential Final Four team with the three amigos lus Lazar until Dominic broke his foot. He made a gallant effort to come back against Mizzou in the second round - I still remember the buzz around Boise when it was announced that he'd play - but he clearly wasn't himself.
That was the first year I had tuned in to Scoop, and to this day that announcement spawned the best post I have ever read here:
"Daniel LaRusso is going to fight?
Daniel LaRusso is going to fight!!"
My freshman year was the 11-12 season. I feel like if Otule doesnt tear his ACL we make the final 4 that year. I remember Jamil having to play the 5 and he didnt have Davante as a backup because he sprained his knee and was out for a couple of games.
I would vote for 1991-92. Expectations were really high. The talented frosh group now were sophomores. Shannon Smith and Miller were on the team. Gates and McCaskill (though Amal was a project). New conference (Great Midwest).
And we disappointed. Finished 16-13. I am not sure we even got an invite to the NIT. Too much talent on the team to be 16-13 with the schedule we had:
Miller
Logterman
Curry
Key
McIlVaine
Shannon Smith
Will Gates
McCaskill
What a disappointment.
This season ranks up there but pick any Dukiet year and that would be the winner.
Quote from: DienerTime34 on January 21, 2014, 10:24:43 AM
I'm going to go with '04-'05. We'd dealt with the crushing feeling of going from a Final Four to the NIT the year before, but things looked better initially in 04-05. Diener was a senior, Novak was coming into his own as a junior, everyone expected Dameon Mason to take a giant leap forward ... By the end of the year Rob Hanley was our starting point guard, Marcus Jackson was bringing the ball up the floor, Mason showed little to nothing. The team couldn't even inbound the ball against TCU in the Conference USA tournament (read that sentence again and weep). It all ended with an opening NIT loss to Western Michigan and at a half-empty Bradley Center.
Never again.
This is a fantastic thread idea. It provides some perspective in the midst of what is easily the most frustrating season (for me) of the Buzz era.
1985-86
Frustrating when your best memory is a close loss to UNC
Quote from: MarquetteDano on January 21, 2014, 12:14:21 PM
I would vote for 1991-92. Expectations were really high. The talented frosh group now were sophomores. Shannon Smith and Miller were on the team. Gates and McCaskill (though Amal was a project). New conference (Great Midwest).
And we disappointed. Finished 16-13. I am not sure we even got an invite to the NIT. Too much talent on the team to be 16-13 with the schedule we had:
Miller
Logterman
Curry
Key
McIlVaine
Shannon Smith
Will Gates
McCaskill
What a disappointment.
I agree. And as much as I like and respect Miller and his ability to handle the ball, pass and play D, can you imagine if we had a point guard that could shoot at all from 3! I always thought Miller's inability to even pretend to be able to shoot it, really hurt that team, much as now with D.Wilson. Teams played off him and were able to double down on our bigs. A Diener on that team along with Mac, Key and Logterman and it would have been interesting to see what we could have done.
But, because Miller was so good at so many things, I hate to even raise it as an issue. Maybe his assist totals made up for his inability to shoot, but I always wondered what would have been if he could hit some 3's with consistency.
One of the Dukiet teams where the players almost literally quit the team, had to be one of the worst seasons as well.
Yeah, Tony Miller couldn't shoot, couldn't shoot free throws, defenders played off of him, and he is a legend.
This won't be a popular opinion, but last year was sooooo frustrating. This year is much worse results-wise, but expectations have fallen to the point where I don't get as frustrated as I did with last year's team. Even in the tournament they make the Elite 8, but they did it in the most frustrating possible way.
I wasn't around before '98 so I can't comment before that. I agree about '04-05 being very frustrating. '08-09 was too. Speaking of frustrating injuries, '06-07 when McNeal hurt his wrist and the rest of the team looked like 5th grade girls against MSU was REALLY frustrating for one game. Tulsa, Stanford, Alabama, Washington, Missouri... It's been a frustrating decade. ;D
Quote from: TJ on January 21, 2014, 02:17:34 PM
This won't be a popular opinion, but last year was sooooo frustrating. This year is much worse results-wise, but expectations have fallen to the point where I don't get as frustrated as I did with last year's team. Even in the tournament they make the Elite 8, but they did it in the most frustrating possible way.
I'm willing to hear you out on last year...but you aren't giving any reasons. What made it frustrating?
I thought last year was the most enjoyable year of MU basketball since 2003. The whole season, not just the end results.
Quote from: Fullodds on January 21, 2014, 12:45:31 PM
Frustrating when your best memory is a close loss to UNC
As a freshman in 1985-86, I was watching that game at McCormick and little did I know then how true that would be. Unfortunately for those in my graduating class, that UNC loss would not be just the best memory from that year, but for all 4 years we were there. Hands-down, the worst team(s) in the last 50 years were the 87-88 and 88-89 teams. I was at nearly every home game and, with the exception of Tony Smith and (arguably) Trevor Powell, those teams were a collection of Division II athletes that Dukiet slapped together out of desperation. I remember when Majerus left after '86, the Marquette Tribune accused him of "leaving the cupboard bare", and although he vehemently denied it, it really was true. I think Majerus knew early in the 85-86 season that he was leaving for the NBA and just kinda gave up on recruiting. So when Dukiet got there he had no choice but to fill the void with some low-end recruits from the New Jersey area that he had been pursuing at St. Peters - Mark Anglavar, Joe Nethen, and Anthony Candelino. Dukiet actually managed to recruit a couple top 100 guards the next year (Gerald Posey and Corey Floyd) but Posey quit the team and Floyd never set foot on campus due to academics. With injuries, redshirts, academic issues, and guys quitting because they didn't like Dukiet, we played most of the 87-88 season with only 1 active player over 6-6. Things were so bad in 88-89 that the student section would break out into applause simply because they managed to get the ball over half-court without turning it over. We were getting blown out by teams like Cleveland State, Iona, Fordham, and the dreaded Evansville Purple Aces with their short sleeve jerseys. It was definitely the low point of the post-Eddie Hickie years. You had to be there to "appreciate" how frustrating it was. Thank god for Kevin O'Neill!!
Quote from: tower912 on January 21, 2014, 01:58:59 PM
Yeah, Tony Miller couldn't shoot, couldn't shoot free throws, defenders played off of him, and he is a legend.
Among other things he excelled at feeding the post. That's the big difference with a Derrick Wilson comparison. Is Tony still MU's assists leader?
Quote from: LittleMurs on January 21, 2014, 03:11:01 PM
Is Tony still MU's assists leader?
Pretty sure by a wide margin.
Quote from: Bleuteaux on January 21, 2014, 02:55:56 PM
I'm willing to hear you out on last year...but you aren't giving any reasons. What made it frustrating?
I thought last year was the most enjoyable year of MU basketball since 2003. The whole season, not just the end results.
First Big East regular season title? Frustrating? I'm with you, Bleuteaux, I'd like to hear more too.
Quote from: Bleuteaux on January 21, 2014, 02:55:56 PM
I'm willing to hear you out on last year...but you aren't giving any reasons. What made it frustrating?
I thought last year was the most enjoyable year of MU basketball since 2003. The whole season, not just the end results.
Probably still sore over the UWGB loss.
Quote from: Bleuteaux on January 21, 2014, 02:55:56 PM
I'm willing to hear you out on last year...but you aren't giving any reasons. What made it frustrating?
I thought last year was the most enjoyable year of MU basketball since 2003. The whole season, not just the end results.
Hard to make an empirical argument given the results - BE title, Elite 8. But I just remember being so frustrated so often along the way...
Getting smacked down by UF sucked.
Losing @UWGB and worse scoring only 47 points.
MU 49 - GU 48: I know GU was a good defensive team, but that was an incredibly frustrating game. Offense was so bad.
@PITT almost threw that game away.
@Cinn: 13 points in the first half. Then claw their way back in the second half only to lose in OT. It was the most frustrating game of the season. You could be happy they scrapped their way back, but I was annoyed they played so badly in the first half that they had to.
@UL: in retrospect UL was good, but it was frustrating to see the offense yet again seem to forget how to play, not to mention yet again MU lays an egg against UL.
@St Johns, with a Big East title on the line they played terrible and barely squeaked out an OT win.
Davidson: I know I'm the only person here, but don't even get me started. That game pissed me off on so many levels. Sooo frustrating.
Butler: Better than Davidson, but still played down to the competition.
Elite 8 vs SU: 39 points? Seriously? So bad. I'm glad we got to the Elite 8, but show up to the game.
Those are only the highlights as I don't remember every game, but the team was so good at times and then it seemed to forget how to play offense for long stretches. They were their own worst enemy it seemed to me. Like I said, I'm guessing this opinion will be unpopular and half of my complaints above were wins. I just know that I was very frustrated with that team.
Quote from: BagpipingBoxer on January 21, 2014, 03:38:36 PM
Probably still sore over the UWGB loss.
Wasn't able to watch that game actually. There were just so many ups and downs last year. I think if they lose to Davidson that everyone is agreeing with me.
Quote from: TJ on January 21, 2014, 04:05:14 PM
Wasn't able to watch that game actually. There were just so many ups and downs last year. I think if they lose to Davidson that everyone is agreeing with me.
But we didn't... If we beat mizzou we aren't talking about 08-09 being half as disappointing. If pondexter doesn't hit the last second shot we are saying that 09-10 was wayyy over achieving. If there's no botched over and back call against Cuse we aren't saying 2010-2011 was an over achieving season. Focus on what did happen, we got rocked at ville at Florida and in the elite 8 and dropped a scratcher to UWGB. I think the BE title, and elite 8 more than make up for those considering we lost DJO and Jae.
Old timer here, but in this order:
1977-1978: We lost to Rubesville of Ohio and learned our future was not a continuation of our past.
1970-1971: We were robbed in a close game against Ohio State in Athens, GA. Had incredible talent but could not close the deal.
2013-2014: Good talent, so far, no team chemistry.
1971-1972: Had even more talent than the year before but lost Jim Chones
1975-1976: Incredible team but Indiana was better. At least we killed the Russian Olympic Team
1977-1978 was the worst. We expected to be in St. Louis for the national final but our dreams died in Indy on a cold spring day. Nothing could top that for disappointment.
Quote from: TJ on January 21, 2014, 03:51:24 PM
Hard to make an empirical argument given the results - BE title, Elite 8. But I just remember being so frustrated so often along the way...
Getting smacked down by UF sucked.
Losing @UWGB and worse scoring only 47 points.
MU 49 - GU 48: I know GU was a good defensive team, but that was an incredibly frustrating game. Offense was so bad.
@PITT almost threw that game away.
@Cinn: 13 points in the first half. Then claw their way back in the second half only to lose in OT. It was the most frustrating game of the season. You could be happy they scrapped their way back, but I was annoyed they played so badly in the first half that they had to.
@UL: in retrospect UL was good, but it was frustrating to see the offense yet again seem to forget how to play, not to mention yet again MU lays an egg against UL.
@St Johns, with a Big East title on the line they played terrible and barely squeaked out an OT win.
Davidson: I know I'm the only person here, but don't even get me started. That game pissed me off on so many levels. Sooo frustrating.
Butler: Better than Davidson, but still played down to the competition.
Elite 8 vs SU: 39 points? Seriously? So bad. I'm glad we got to the Elite 8, but show up to the game.
Those are only the highlights as I don't remember every game, but the team was so good at times and then it seemed to forget how to play offense for long stretches. They were their own worst enemy it seemed to me. Like I said, I'm guessing this opinion will be unpopular and half of my complaints above were wins. I just know that I was very frustrated with that team.
I kind of see what you're getting at, but I just see it all differently. The Davidson and Butler games were so exciting, and because of the "survive and advance" mentality of the NCAA tournament, I didn't have time to get frustrated, I was just excited we got to keep playing.
The only real let down from the regular season was that UWGB game. And you have to give yourself 1 or 2 of those a year. They just happen. And in the old Big East, there were always going to be close games. It was just the nature of the beast.
I'm with you that the Syracuse Elite 8 game was a huge let down, but it was hard to be disappointed after making the Elite 8.
But, opinions are opinions, and you're welcome to yours.
this season is by far the most frustrating to me. Outside of OSU and Creighton, we probably should have won almost every game we lost. We had ASU close, SDSU beat, almost caught up to UW, had a big lead against NM, played better than X for the most part, and melted down against a bad Butler team. Even our wins have been relatively uninspiring... UNH, SH, Depaul, and even last night against GTown showed lots of bad along with the good.
03-04 and 04-05 were bad seasons, but not necessarily frustrating. we were legitimately bad those years for various reasons (injuries, etc...) this year, we have tons of talent and have been right on the edge all year. that, to me, is more frustrating that an overall bad season....
last season was probably the LEAST frustrating year in a long time. we overachieved in every sense and based on every expectation. tough/bad losses happen, but the fact that they won a ton of games, got the Conf title, and made the E8 was incredible. also, the games we won to get there were legendary (davidson, butler, and to some extent Miami based on the way we dominated one of the best teams in the country).
Quote from: Fullodds on January 21, 2014, 12:45:31 PM
1985-86
Frustrating when your best memory is a close loss to UNC
That was a frustrating season. Those losses to Dayton and UNC marred what could have been the beginning of something special for Majerus and MU.
Quote from: Bleuteaux on January 21, 2014, 04:21:09 PM
I kind of see what you're getting at, but I just see it all differently. The Davidson and Butler games were so exciting, and because of the "survive and advance" mentality of the NCAA tournament, I didn't have time to get frustrated, I was just excited we got to keep playing.
The only real let down from the regular season was that UWGB game. And you have to give yourself 1 or 2 of those a year. They just happen. And in the old Big East, there were always going to be close games. It was just the nature of the beast.
I'm with you that the Syracuse Elite 8 game was a huge let down, but it was hard to be disappointed after making the Elite 8.
But, opinions are opinions, and you're welcome to yours.
To be overly honest, basketball season coincided with some pretty crappy stuff for me personally last year, so maybe the bad stands out to me more where the good stands out to most everyone else. Who knows...
Quote from: dgies9156 on January 21, 2014, 04:20:29 PM
1977-1978 was the worst. We expected to be in St. Louis for the national final but our dreams died in Indy on a cold spring day. Nothing could top that for disappointment.
The foul on Jerome Whitehead that cost us that game...was it a flagrant elbow or not? You make the call...
Quote from: tower912 on January 21, 2014, 01:58:59 PM
Yeah, Tony Miller couldn't shoot, couldn't shoot free throws, defenders played off of him, and he is a legend.
Tower-there is absolutely no comparison between Tony Miller and Derrick. Tony was by far a better ball handler, passer and shooter, and as good a defense player, if not better.
Quote from: The Love House on January 21, 2014, 03:03:25 PM
As a freshman in 1985-86, I was watching that game at McCormick and little did I know then how true that would be. Unfortunately for those in my graduating class, that UNC loss would not be just the best memory from that year, but for all 4 years we were there. Hands-down, the worst team(s) in the last 50 years were the 87-88 and 88-89 teams. I was at nearly every home game and, with the exception of Tony Smith and (arguably) Trevor Powell, those teams were a collection of Division II athletes that Dukiet slapped together out of desperation. I remember when Majerus left after '86, the Marquette Tribune accused him of "leaving the cupboard bare", and although he vehemently denied it, it really was true. I think Majerus knew early in the 85-86 season that he was leaving for the NBA and just kinda gave up on recruiting. So when Dukiet got there he had no choice but to fill the void with some low-end recruits from the New Jersey area that he had been pursuing at St. Peters - Mark Anglavar, Joe Nethen, and Anthony Candelino. Dukiet actually managed to recruit a couple top 100 guards the next year (Gerald Posey and Corey Floyd) but Posey quit the team and Floyd never set foot on campus due to academics. With injuries, redshirts, academic issues, and guys quitting because they didn't like Dukiet, we played most of the 87-88 season with only 1 active player over 6-6. Things were so bad in 88-89 that the student section would break out into applause simply because they managed to get the ball over half-court without turning it over. We were getting blown out by teams like Cleveland State, Iona, Fordham, and the dreaded Evansville Purple Aces with their short sleeve jerseys. It was definitely the low point of the post-Eddie Hickie years. You had to be there to "appreciate" how frustrating it was. Thank god for Kevin O'Neill!!
Anglavar was far from a low end recruit. He was one of the best 3 point shooters in MU history. Nethen and Candelino-yes, low end.
Quote from: LittleMurs on January 21, 2014, 03:11:01 PM
Among other things he excelled at feeding the post. That's the big difference with a Derrick Wilson comparison. Is Tony still MU's assists leader?
Don't know exactly, but pretty sure that Tony is NCAA top 10 in career assists. That is an accomplishment.
As a Michigan football fan there have been many frustrating seasons. Many.
But if it is Marquette basketball...this season is the most disappointing given recent success and pre-season expectations. I think we knew Wade's departure was a gargantuan loss so that definitely tempered our hopes for a repeat of '03. But in the long history there have been numerous disappointments which is very different from frustrations.
1971-72 undefeated and Chones jump's ship.
Quote from: bilsu on January 21, 2014, 05:13:02 PM
1971-72 undefeated and Chones jump's ship.
Then lose the next game to Dickie V...goodbye undefeated season...
Chones, McNeill, Lucas. All Top 5 Bigs. Willie's Wet Dream
Quote from: The Love House on January 21, 2014, 05:01:18 PM
The foul on Jerome Whitehead that cost us that game...was it a flagrant elbow or not? You make the call...
The problem I had with that call was that the kid from Miami slapping Jerome on the arms for about 5 seconds before Jerome got frustrated and swung his elbow. I was sitting about 15 rows up and could
hear the slapping. And the Miami coach is yelling "foul! foul!" If the refs hadn't swallowed the whistle, Jerome probably never swings his elbow, and instead goes to the FT line. Game over.
Quote from: willie warrior on January 21, 2014, 05:05:13 PM
Anglavar was far from a low end recruit. He was one of the best 3 point shooters in MU history. Nethen and Candelino-yes, low end.
He was a great shooter. He was awful, however, when forced to fill in at point guard because he was the only option after Pops Sims and Gerald Posey were gone. Just wasn't his thing.
Has to be 77-78, I was a junior at MU and we all thought we would re-peat. The Miami OH game was such an assumed win, I did something else at only watched the horror of the last 4 minutes.
Been following the team closely since about 95-96 and would say the most frustrated I've been was I think 3 or 4 years ago when they went 22-15 or whatever. Very frustrating being that good and having good players and losing all of those close games to top teams. That was not a fun season for me from a frustration/anxiety standpoint.
Quote from: sailwi on January 21, 2014, 06:09:33 PM
Has to be 77-78, I was a junior at MU and we all thought we would re-peat. The Miami OH game was such an assumed win, I did something else at only watched the horror of the last 4 minutes.
And the next year, too. The loss to Aguirre and DePaul. A team we hadn't lost to in a dozen years. There were 12 of us in the parking lot of a Ft Lauderdale hotel listening to the Chicago station broadcast on a 20 year old Volvo radio. Swilling Old Style and yucking it up until we realized we were going to lose...to DePaul...
We should have taken a Jag so the radio wouldn't work and spared us the agony...
Quote from: The Love House on January 21, 2014, 05:25:39 PM
He was a great shooter. He was awful, however, when forced to fill in at point guard because he was the only option after Pops Sims and Gerald Posey were gone. Just wasn't his thing.
Same thing with Logterman when he had to play point by default. He was a great shooter, but PG was not his position,
Quote from: keefe on January 21, 2014, 05:17:19 PM
Then lose the next game to Dickie V...goodbye undefeated season...
Chones, McNeill, Lucas. All Top 5 Bigs. Willie's Wet Dream
Yup, still dripping from those days. Al used to bring in a couple every other year. Chones, McNeil and Lucas---now there were some real studs. Woody after woody.
Quote from: willie warrior on January 21, 2014, 06:52:26 PM
Same thing with Logterman when he had to play point by default. He was a great shooter, but PG was not his position,
Memory does not go as deep as some here, but definitely have special angst recalling that year w/ Logterman. There was no other PG choice, it was a beating we just had to sit there and take. Witness again and again. Thankfully that memory has faded somewhat as well.
Keefe, forgot about 78-79. We were in control most of that game until Toone threw a court length pass that sailed OB, momentum changed and we never recovered. We did lose to DU that year in Chicago, went to the game it was in essence Aguirre's coming out party, we used 1 ticket to get 4 people in and sat in the last row and were amazed at the freshman on DU. I t still pales to 77-78 we were ranked in the top 4 all year and laied the giant egg.
What a year that could have been. ND, DePaul and MU all could have been final four teams. One of the best years of college bball, with magic, Larry and Penn joining DePaul in the FF that was.
Bob Dukiet's last season (I believe 88-89). I remember Marquette looking horrible in a warm-up game against "Marathon Oil" and thinking that we would have to endure a whole season of awfulness to get a new coach.
All hail Kevin O'Neill.
'71-'72 we had a real chance to win it all
Quote from: sailwi on January 21, 2014, 07:04:56 PM
Keefe, forgot about 78-79. We were in control most of that game until Toone threw a court length pass that sailed OB, momentum changed and we never recovered. We did lose to DU that year in Chicago, went to the game it was in essence Aguirre's coming out party, we used 1 ticket to get 4 people in and sat in the last row and were amazed at the freshman on DU. I t still pales to 77-78 we were ranked in the top 4 all year and laied the giant egg.
I fully agree that '78 loss to Miami was far more painful. But '79 made clear that Ray Meyer was now signing the guys who automatically went to Marquette. Hank was an outstanding ambassador for Marquette but Denny Crum would have been the right choice.
Quote from: LloydMooresLegs on January 21, 2014, 07:39:52 PM
What a year that could have been. ND, DePaul and MU all could have been final four teams. One of the best years of college bball, with magic, Larry and Penn joining DePaul in the FF that was.
The three Catholic schools were all fantastic back then. ND had Tripucka, Woolridge, Hanzlik, Laimbeer, Jackson and Flowers while DU had Aguirre, Bradshaw, Garland, and Jackson. MU beats DU and we finally play #1 seed UCLA. Wow. We routinely breathed that air.
Quote from: sailwi on January 21, 2014, 07:04:56 PM
Keefe, forgot about 78-79. We were in control most of that game until Toone threw a court length pass that sailed OB, momentum changed and we never recovered. We did lose to DU that year in Chicago, went to the game it was in essence Aguirre's coming out party, we used 1 ticket to get 4 people in and sat in the last row and were amazed at the freshman on DU. I t still pales to 77-78 we were ranked in the top 4 all year and laied the giant egg.
Sorry guys, Hank lost it for us. I've said this before and I'll say it again. A good coach settles his team and beats Rubesville of Ohio. Period.
One unmentioned disappointing season is 1968-1969. We were one free throw away from the Final Four. We were playing a good Purdue team with Rick Mount, who was a great shooter and eventually beat us in overtime. Had we hit a free throw we missed in regulation, Al would have had his first Final Four.
I was at the big games in 1985 -- notably the infamous North Carolina game. We lost because Rick was out-coached by one of the greatest, Dean Smith. Comparing that to the Final Four miss in 1969, the screw-up in 1971 or the Chones departure in 1972 almost isn't fair.
I find it amazing the differences in perceptions about disappointment between those of us who were around for the Al era and those that were not. It is like we are on different planets.
One thing about the 1971-1972 Warriors that compares to this team was the inability of the rest of the team to step-up. Chones may have been one of the best Warriors ever, but when he left for the pros, there was enough talent on that team that we should have filled the void. The 70-49 loss to Dickie V and the Detroit Titans the Saturday after Chones left was a dead giveaway that the Warriors then were extremely talented but the chemistry had not gelled. It took two more seasons and the arrival of Maurice Lucas (1973-1974) before the team chemistry was just right and we went to the National Championship.
The Majerus to Dukiet regimes. Thank the Lord for KO
77-78 easy.
Expectation was a repeat NC. Had 4 out of 5 starters returning from 77 NC team, with Bill Neary the only guy Hank had to replace.
Could not believe we lost in the 1st round.
The week after had a large cloud over it.
let's see... at MU from '87-'91... yep, I'm going with my entire college career...
Quote from: SonofPianoMan on January 22, 2014, 11:35:21 AM
let's see... at MU from '87-'91... yep, I'm going with my entire college career...
I was thinking the same thing.
Quote from: mu-rara on January 22, 2014, 11:31:27 AM
77-78 easy.
Expectation was a repeat NC. Had 4 out of 5 starters returning from 77 NC team, with Bill Neary the only guy Hank had to replace.
Could not believe we lost in the 1st round.
The week after had a large cloud over it.
A couple of other interesting factoids.
While you're right that a repeat NC wouldn't seem unreasonable, the bracketing process would have made it really hard. That was in the days before seeding, so #3 MU would have played #1 Kentucky in the second round. That obviously became a moot point after the Miami loss, but I have always wondered if the Miami game was even close because MU was looking ahead a game. (Side note - the lack of seeding hurt us in '76 as well, when #2 MU lost to #1 Indiana in the Mideast Regional Finals).
And I mentioned that I was at the MU-Miami game. I was of course assuming a MU win in the first game...and looking forward to seeing a freshman phenom named Earvin Johnson play for Michigan State against Providence in the late game. Alas, I was so dazed and disappointed after MU's stunning loss that my brother and I left Market Square Arena and wandered aimlessly around Indanapolis for a couple of hours. Just couldn't bear to watch any more hoops that day.
Quote from: GooooMarquette on January 22, 2014, 12:23:12 PM
A couple of other interesting factoids.
While you're right that a repeat NC wouldn't seem unreasonable, the bracketing process would have made it really hard. That was in the days before seeding, so #3 MU would have played #1 Kentucky in the second round. That obviously became a moot point after the Miami loss, but I have always wondered if the Miami game was even close because MU was looking ahead a game. (Side note - the lack of seeding hurt us in '76 as well, when #2 MU lost to #1 Indiana in the Mideast Regional Finals).
And I mentioned that I was at the MU-Miami game. I was of course assuming a MU win in the first game...and looking forward to seeing a freshman phenom named Earvin Johnson play for Michigan State against Providence in the late game. Alas, I was so dazed and disappointed after MU's stunning loss that my brother and I left Market Square Arena and wandered aimlessly around Indanapolis for a couple of hours. Just couldn't bear to watch any more hoops that day.
Yes, that Miami loss was shocking. As I recall, it was quite a shock to much of the basketball media at the time.
Of 03-04 and 04-05, I was more disappointed in 03-04. 04-05 would've made the tourney had Diener not gotten hurt. No such excuses the previous year.
I also thought of 97-98. Started 10-0, Hutch might've been the college MVP the first 10 games, won at the Rodents, blew out Notre Dame, Wardle's miracle at UL. Then under .500 the rest of the year, including 4 home losses. Was extremely happy after the loss in the NIT at Minnesota that I wasn't going to have to watch one of the seniors play ever again.
Quote from: Eye on January 24, 2014, 01:20:24 PM
Of 03-04 and 04-05, I was more disappointed in 03-04. 04-05 would've made the tourney had Diener not gotten hurt. No such excuses the previous year.
I also thought of 97-98. Started 10-0, Hutch might've been the college MVP the first 10 games, won at the Rodents, blew out Notre Dame, Wardle's miracle at UL. Then under .500 the rest of the year, including 4 home losses. Was extremely happy after the loss in the NIT at Minnesota that I wasn't going to have to watch one of the seniors play ever again.
What did Richard Shaw ever do to you?
Not Richard Shaw.
Quote from: The Love House on January 21, 2014, 03:03:25 PM
As a freshman in 1985-86, I was watching that game at McCormick and little did I know then how true that would be. Unfortunately for those in my graduating class, that UNC loss would not be just the best memory from that year, but for all 4 years we were there. Hands-down, the worst team(s) in the last 50 years were the 87-88 and 88-89 teams. I was at nearly every home game and, with the exception of Tony Smith and (arguably) Trevor Powell, those teams were a collection of Division II athletes that Dukiet slapped together out of desperation. I remember when Majerus left after '86, the Marquette Tribune accused him of "leaving the cupboard bare", and although he vehemently denied it, it really was true. I think Majerus knew early in the 85-86 season that he was leaving for the NBA and just kinda gave up on recruiting. So when Dukiet got there he had no choice but to fill the void with some low-end recruits from the New Jersey area that he had been pursuing at St. Peters - Mark Anglavar, Joe Nethen, and Anthony Candelino. Dukiet actually managed to recruit a couple top 100 guards the next year (Gerald Posey and Corey Floyd) but Posey quit the team and Floyd never set foot on campus due to academics. With injuries, redshirts, academic issues, and guys quitting because they didn't like Dukiet, we played most of the 87-88 season with only 1 active player over 6-6. Things were so bad in 88-89 that the student section would break out into applause simply because they managed to get the ball over half-court without turning it over. We were getting blown out by teams like Cleveland State, Iona, Fordham, and the dreaded Evansville Purple Aces with their short sleeve jerseys. It was definitely the low point of the post-Eddie Hickie years. You had to be there to "appreciate" how frustrating it was. Thank god for Kevin O'Neill!!
OMG, I never thought I'd re-live that nightmare again. Yes, the Purple Aces long sleeves...too funny. Being drunk at games helped a lot.
Quote from: The Lens on January 24, 2014, 01:25:46 PM
What did Richard Shaw ever do to you?
He was dating an RA in McCormick my freshman year. Hot RA, IIRC. they walked in one day around lunch time and everyone starts going wild for Richard Shaw (might have been Dick Shaw). He told us all to f-ck off, or something similar.
In conclusion, that is what Richard Shaw did to me.
Quote from: SonofPianoMan on January 22, 2014, 11:35:21 AM
let's see... at MU from '87-'91... yep, I'm going with my entire college career...
Yep, agreed. The only enjoyable part of that era was torching Anthony Candelino when he showed up to play at the rec center. Flory, Powell, and Tony Smith were the only decent players.
Quote from: WarriorFan on January 25, 2014, 05:57:33 AM
Yep, agreed. The only enjoyable part of that era was torching Anthony Candelino when he showed up to play at the rec center. Flory, Powell, and Tony Smith were the only decent players.
Tyrone Baldwin wasn't bad either, he had an awesome put-back dunk against UW that is still one of the best dunks I have ever seen. Mercifully, I was at MU for most of the Kevin O'Neil era, but 1988-89 was an awful season, and probably the lowest point, ever, for Marquette basketball.
Back to 1986, the day before that dreadful ending that resulted in a loss to UNC, they beat Dayton (didn't lose to them).
'77-'78 season. I agree with Keefe and knowing our run had ended. I believe we were ranked #1 in late Jan or early Feb and lost to Loyola on the road. Does anyone remember if it was Loyola or DePaul?
Quote from: MU Fan in Connecticut on January 22, 2014, 11:56:16 AM
I was thinking the same thing.
It was brutal to say the least but rarely missed a game... and I'm a bigger fan than ever. I still remember rushing the court for the ND win and getting my picture on the cover of the MU Magazine... I also remember a bunch of jack ass Phi Caps turning me in to the security guards for the beer I snuck in. It's hard to sneak in a case of Old Milwaukee in an overcoat...
Quote from: Goose on January 25, 2014, 08:27:32 AM
'77-'78 season. I agree with Keefe and knowing our run had ended. I believe we were ranked #1 in late Jan or early Feb and lost to Loyola on the road. Does anyone remember if it was Loyola or DePaul?
It was to Loyola F uckin' Ramblers. I remember it today like it was yesterday.
Quote from: 4everwarriors on January 25, 2014, 09:13:37 AM
It was to Loyola F uckin' Ramblers. I remember it today like it was yesterday.
A bad night at the Chicago Amphitheater.
Those near misses in the 70's were not frustrating seasons but horrible endings of truly remarkable seasons. The 1970-71 team may have been the best ever. Dean Meminger picks up a very questionable fifth foul and for the first time in his entire MU career he is not handling the ball at the end of a game. A turnover by Allie McGuire ends the season. But 1977-78 was even more painful because it came in the first round against a truly inferior opponent. And it served to remind us Al was indeed gone.
Quote from: DienerTime34 on January 21, 2014, 10:24:43 AM
I'm going to go with '04-'05. We'd dealt with the crushing feeling of going from a Final Four to the NIT the year before, but things looked better initially in 04-05. Diener was a senior, Novak was coming into his own as a junior, everyone expected Dameon Mason to take a giant leap forward ... By the end of the year Rob Hanley was our starting point guard, Marcus Jackson was bringing the ball up the floor, Mason showed little to nothing. The team couldn't even inbound the ball against TCU in the Conference USA tournament (read that sentence again and weep). It all ended with an opening NIT loss to Western Michigan and at a half-empty Bradley Center.
Never again.
Frustration to me is tied to expectations. If you lose a ton of guys from the previous year then frustration isn't the word I would use....frustration to me is when we're supposed to be good and we aren't. Or, as you mention, a key injury happens.
I agree with someone in this thread with the DJ injury. That team was capable of a lot, and the DJ injury was crushing not only due to the position, but when it happened.
I suppose this year I could lump in on both regards...not playing as well as we could and Duane's injury (though we have never seen Duane play so it's hard to gauge that, especially with Buzz's minutes for freshmen at times).
The Diener injury and the DJ injury seasons were frustrating. Not BAD but frustrating.
The fact the kids didn't even have a chance to come back to finish the season (forget DJ's "comeback") was a blow to the team's psyche and postseason prospects (with a healthy DJ, they may have gone farther).
Quote from: SonofPianoMan on January 22, 2014, 11:35:21 AM
let's see... at MU from '87-'91... yep, I'm going with my entire college career...
Same time period for me (except one year longer)....that about summed it up.
This season easily ranks up there.
How this team somehow pissed away opportunities and did not seize the game YET to get to OT only to frustrate you longer...
This year's team defines frustration.
This season is the most frustrating ever. By a long shot...
Changed my mind. The Dukiet years were an abortion, but this is the most frustrating MU team.
Quote from: mu-rara on January 22, 2014, 11:31:27 AM
Expectation was a repeat NC. Had 4 out of 5 starters returning from 77 NC team, with Bill Neary the only guy Hank had to replace.
Uhh, ever heard of a guy named Bo Ellis?
He was graduated in 1977.