MUScoop
MUScoop => Hangin' at the Al => Topic started by: Jables1604 on November 21, 2014, 10:03:39 AM
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During your time at Marquette, based on your own personal interaction (and not what you "heard"), who was the nicest and most accessible men's basketball player?
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From my years, I'd say Jamil Lott and Steve Novak. Good guys who were really down to earth. Jamil is doing great things for at risk kids in the Twin Cities.
Also got along well with Karon Bradley before he transferred.
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Scott Christopherson
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Joe Fulce and Jimmy Butler. Both were really down to earth and great to talk with.
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1986-90 - dark days in MU history, but....
Trevor Powell. I worked with his girlfriend and he would come to pick her up from work a couple times and was a real nice guy.
Joe Nethen. A goofball, but wouldn't hurt a fly. I understand he comes to a lot of the basketball alumni functions and is very proud of his association with the school.
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Mo Aker and Jerel.
Funny story about Wes, after he signed his big deal with Portland he was back on campus and once the bars closed everyone went back to my buddies place at 14th & State for after bars. While there the bball players decided they wanted to play Golden Eye on N64 but they couldn't get it to work. Wes reaches into his wallet and throws down 40 bucks for the first person who can get the game to work. The kid who lived there did the good ole fashion blow in the cartage trick and it worked immediately. Easiest 40 bucks that kid ever made.
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Had classes with Cordell Henry and Oluoma Nnamaka, both really nice guys.
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David Diggs, really bright dude.
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Loved smoking pot with Louvette
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Wes
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Hands down Steve Novak, graduated same year as him and hung around with some of the same people. During his MU days always gave you the time of day and actually engaged in conversation, bumped into him a couple years back in Madison before MU/Wisco game and he was equally as nice. Otule and Diener a close second and third on the list. In my experiences the bottom of the list is Gardner and Dominic James, complete pricks the couple times I met them.
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I wrote for the MU Tribune my Freshman and Sophomore years. Anthony Candelino, Trevor Powell, and Tyrone Baldwin were all pleasant people to speak with. Talked with AC soon after his fall off the running track in the old gym...what a strange season 88/89 was for Marquette basketball.
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Derrick Wilson without a doubt
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Michael Wilson and Terrell Schlundt.
Michael would hang out with us on the 6th floor while Artie was entertaining ladies in their room post game. Super nice guy.
Terrell and Jean were whooping it up with us up and down Wisconsin Ave. during World Series in '82. Real regular guy.
Honorable Mention for Steve Novak. Was way past my time at MU. He was the speaker at my daughters 8th grade athletic banquet and hung around until everybody got pictures with him and autographed everything in sight. Talked with all the kids and was really engaged. Great representative of MU. As an aside, Sharif Chambliss of the Badgers was the guest the year before. Nice enough guy, but he was on the clock. Sorry guys, gotta go. Left a bunch of pre autographed pictures.
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Novak
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Novak is still a good dude, he owes me a shot from our 5 year reunion though...
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My interaction with the guys was primarily as a student reporter. Tony Smith was extremely nice and very humble for as good a player as he was. He absolutely carried the team his senior year. Jimmy Mac was always nice as well. Early on in his career at MU, Mac was almost painfully shy. Never would have guessed he'd go on to become a broadcaster, but it is great to see.
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Joe Nethen. A goofball, but wouldn't hurt a fly. I understand he comes to a lot of the basketball alumni functions and is very proud of his association with the school.
Seriously? I've told this story on Scoop before .. I saw him at our 4th of July fest about 6 years ago and went up to him, shook his hand, explained we lived @ McCormick at the same time. The first thing the dude says is "I didn't hurt you or nothing, did I? If I did, sorry."
I do remember once he was coming up from the basement in the elevator .. he had a huge roll of carpeting (like he'd ripped it from somewhere???) but I made the mental note, he wasn't wearing shoes.
We went up a few floors, then the door opened and more people got on, making me back up and step on his toes. I heard an "unnnnnngggg" and my life flashed before my eyes, so I just jumped off the elevator immediately and lived to talk about it.
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Tony Smith was extremely nice..
Stupid name drop: I was getting my hair cut a few weeks ago and the topic turned to MUBB. The lady cutting my locks says her brother played for MU, maybe I'd heard of him. Who, I ask? Tony Smith.
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Seriously? I've told this story on Scoop before .. I saw him at our 4th of July fest about 6 years ago and went up to him, shook his hand, explained we lived @ McCormick at the same time. The first thing the dude says is "I didn't hurt you or nothing, did I? If I did, sorry."
I do remember once he was coming up from the basement in the elevator .. he had a huge roll of carpeting (like he'd ripped it from somewhere???) but I made the mental note, he wasn't wearing shoes.
We went up a few floors, then the door opened and more people got on, making me back up and step on his toes. I heard an "unnnnnngggg" and my life flashed before my eyes, so I just jumped off the elevator immediately and lived to talk about it.
Yeah but did he hurt you? ;) (Awesome story though.)
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I escaped like the Road Runner, beep beep.
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Had a couple classes with David Diggs. Really good guy and very bright. That said, Terry Sanders is the nicest guy in the world!
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Loved smoking pot with Louvette
Real chill brah.
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Had a couple classes with David Diggs. Really good guy and very bright. That said, Terry Sanders is the nicest guy in the world!
Sanders is the one who owns (owned?) Smooth Drinx, right? The smoothie place both in Grand Ave. and at the BC on game days.
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Sanders is the one who owns (owned?) Smooth Drinx, right? The smoothie place both in Grand Ave. and at the BC on game days.
Yep, that's him. I believe he's also a teacher.
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Dwight buycks and I had a shared experience of looking at my notebook on the floor during a pop quiz that was nice.
Acker gave my friend the clap that was less nice.
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I've had interactions with a handful of players.
Ooze was actually one of the most engaging, specifically at an alumni function. Very bright and very outgoing with a bunch of crusty alumni he didn't know.
When I was in school, Jon Harris was a really nice kid. Looked terrifying, but was really nice. Same for Marcus Jackson. That dude is SCARY, but is a very nice guy.
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Rivers for sure.
Others in the "team picture": Wilson, Byrd, Hatchett, Marotta, Schlundt.
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Doc Rivers ... My freshman year (his too) they had a few days off at the end of the semester, he gave me a ride home to the Chicago suburbs, and came in and met my parents, before continuing to his home in Maywood.
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Mo Aker and Jerel.
So you like the reefer, aina?
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Acker gave my friend the clap that was less nice.
This thread is about personal experiences... unless your friend then proceeded to give you the clap.
Not a basketball player, but during the 07-08 season, I often crossed paths with I4 in the mornings as he was walking from his Escalade into the Al (and I was walking from the Wells St structure to Straz Hall)... we would always exchange a brief "hello" or "how's it going." Seemed like a genuinely nice guy at the time.
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Jamil and Juan. Complete goofballs but genuinely nice guys. My sister was moving into campustown and they saw her struggling with a couch, they both offered to help and carried it up to the third floor!
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Pops Sims. We are from the west side of Michigan and first met him at an all-star game in Kalamazoo after he committed to Marquette. Talked to him a few times during our student years and then saw him a few years after Marquette at Summerfest and he came up to me and said hello.
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I'd have to go with Lazar, Jimmy, Cubillan, and Wes.
While not a player at the time, Jimmy Mac was always nice as well.
Not a player but the biggest punk I encountered: Riley Crean
Favorite Lazar story: Before the 2008 Big East Tournament game against Notre Dame, the players were warming up in a little area in the back at MSG. Lazar borrowed the Eagle head and warmed up in it for a bit, messing around with other players while wearing it.
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This thread is about personal experiences... unless your friend then proceeded to give you the clap.
Not a basketball player, but during the 07-08 season, I often crossed paths with I4 in the mornings as he was walking from his Escalade into the Al (and I was walking from the Wells St structure to Straz Hall)... we would always exchange a brief "hello" or "how's it going." Seemed like a genuinely nice guy at the time.
This has nothing to do with MU but your story about Crean reminded me of another story about running into a coach. 3 friends of mine and I went down to Cincinnati during a weekend Brewers series against the Reds (the Friday night game that we did not go to was the 1 where Fielder went after Parra in the dugout). We left on Saturday morning to see the Saturday night game and then Sunday afternoon game before returning to Milwaukee Sunday night. We got into Cinci mid-afternoon so we had some time to kill and decided to go to Xavier's campus. This was during the coaching search after Crean had left, and Sean Miller was one of the names we had heard come up. We just walked right into the Cintas Center no problem and while we were just walking around when low and behold there's Sean Miller walking right down the hallway by himself towards us. Really nice guy, said something along the lines of "Hey guys how ya doin'? Happy to see ya here." Nobody said anything about MU, but my friend was wearing an MU shirt.
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Jamail Jones when he was here. On the current team probably Steve. Both really good guys. Got Teve and Davante to come to our party once.
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So you like the reefer, aina?
big time
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This is going to date me but we used to play poker frequently at our house with George Thompson, Blanton Simmons and guys on the team. Strictly low stakes and the winners usually bought the dinner afterward.
Also had the good fortune to sit next to Lazar in Annaheim last year and found him to be a real gentleman, very friendly and open. I am proud to say that from my experiences MUBB has recruited good people that reflect well on the program and the school.
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I drank with Mike Deane in a near-empty Hegarty's on two separate Wednesday afternoons in 97-98. I'm sure he was nice.
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I had classes with several of the players, Wes, Jerel, annd Ooze. All of them were nice and approachable, but Wes stood out for some reason.
Funny story, sophomore year a few friends and I went wandering off to Taco Bell from Schroeder on a Thursday night. On our way back an SUV pulls to the side of the street on Wisconsin Ave and Lawrence Blackledge pokes his head out the window in the back and yells to us "Yo, where the party at?". This was also, during the time he was academically ineligible.
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Wes
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Not a player but the biggest punk I encountered: Riley Crean
Apple don't drop far from the tree, aina?
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I was on a plane from Milwaukee to Houston and happened to be seated across the aisle from Jimmy Butler. He was sitting next to a girl I recognized as another student and you could tell she was absolutely star-struck. So to cut the tension, Jimmy proceded to talk to her. For three hours. At one point he looked across at me in my MU sweatshirt and hat and asked, "You a big fan, too?" Like an ass, I replied, "You're pretty good." To which he said with absolute sincerety, "Thanks. I really appreciate it."
It was a nice departure from my Dominic James encounter: "I'll be making millions, motherf-----!" (Granted, my buddy had just told him he was overrated.)
I also sold Crean a Jimmy V bracelet. In return I got a story of him hamming it up with Dick Vitale at a Jimmy V fundraiser. I was just amazed he gave me the time of day, let alone five minutes.
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Pops Sims. We are from the west side of Michigan and first met him at an all-star game in Kalamazoo after he committed to Marquette. Talked to him a few times during our student years and then saw him a few years after Marquette at Summerfest and he came up to me and said hello.
I didn't know him at school but met him a few years ago, at a free basketball camp he was hosting for primarily under privileged kids. Very nice, engaging, and humble based on my interactions there. John Luerck was a good guy. Joe Nethen was great after leaving the program.
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I was on a plane from Milwaukee to Houston and happened to be seated across the aisle from Jimmy Butler. He was sitting next to a girl I recognized as another student and you could tell she was absolutely star-struck. So to cut the tension, Jimmy proceded to talk to her. For three hours. At one point he looked across at me in my MU sweatshirt and hat and asked, "You a big fan, too?" Like an ass, I replied, "You're pretty good." To which he said with absolute sincerety, "Thanks. I really appreciate it."
It was a nice departure from my Dominic James encounter: "I'll be making millions, motherf-----!" (Granted, my buddy had just told him he was overrated.)
I also sold Crean a Jimmy V bracelet. In return I got a story of him hamming it up with Dick Vitale at a Jimmy V fundraiser. I was just amazed he gave me the time of day, let alone five minutes.
I know it's supposed to be personal stories but my friend's story about his encounter with James is too good not to tell. After bar close a friend of mine goes into Marquette Gyros during James's senior year and Dominic is standing in there with Trend. My friend walks up to Dominic and puts his hand on his shoulder and says, "Yo Dom, I gotta talk to you." Dominic tells him to give him a minute and my friend says, "No, now! I love you, man, but you better start studying your Italian." Trend then replied, "What'd this m'fer say?!" as my friend walked out of MU Gyros.
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I heard an "unnnnnngggg" and my life flashed before my eyes, so I just jumped off the elevator immediately and lived to talk about it.
Was this before or after you served in the French Army?
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Lot of good stories with the team. I was in the rec center 2 years ago and happened to get in a game with Vander, Steve, Juan and Davante. I think I took one shot the entire game I was wide open from 3 and I missed. Davante then proceeded to tell me "You white, you supposed to hit those" Dont think I got the ball passed to me for the rest of the game. Also I remember getting switched onto Vander one time while playing defense. That didnt end well...
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My freshman year Jimmy Burke and Brian Brunkhorst (juniors) lived two doors down from me (4S Schroeder). Great guys, even played intramural softball with us (likely against team rules). Ron Rahn and Jackie Burke were in my class and became friends. In those days you knew all the guys at least a little and I don't recall any dicks.
As a fan/old man I've been pretty impressed with the players I've met. Wesley, JFB and Jamil Wilson stand out.
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I know it's supposed to be personal stories but my friend's story about his encounter with James is too good not to tell. After bar close a friend of mine goes into Marquette Gyros during James's senior year and Dominic is standing in there with Trend. My friend walks up to Dominic and puts his hand on his shoulder and says, "Yo Dom, I gotta talk to you." Dominic tells him to give him a minute and my friend says, "No, now! I love you, man, but you better start studying your Italian." Trend then replied, "What'd this m'fer say?!" as my friend walked out of MU Gyros.
Flexing his beer muscles then leaving. Tells us a lot about your friend...probably a good move though so he didn't end up getting "Vander Orange'd" by DJ.
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Clearly Spiderman. Great guy and family.
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Flexing his beer muscles then leaving. Tells us a lot about your friend...probably a good move though so he didn't end up getting "Vander Orange'd" by DJ.
In the defense of Vander. I know of the Vander Orange guy and he was a complete dick.
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Hands down Steve Novak, graduated same year as him and hung around with some of the same people. During his MU days always gave you the time of day and actually engaged in conversation, bumped into him a couple years back in Madison before MU/Wisco game and he was equally as nice. Otule and Diener a close second and third on the list. In my experiences the bottom of the list is Gardner and Dominic James, complete pricks the couple times I met them.
Novak was practicing at the Al one summer. He had been cut and not signed a new contract. We peaked in with my kids who were 4 & 6 at the time. He stopped his shooting, came over and introduced himself and chatted with the kids for a while.
We weren't with anyone, so it wasn't like we may have been VIPs or anything. It was just him being nice.
During the Orlando tourney a few years back, all the guys were very nice, especially Jimmy.
And we may as well throw Jimmy Mac on the list. He is always great to chat with.
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Novak was practicing at the Al one summer. He had been cut and not signed a new contract. We peaked in with my kids who were 4 & 6 at the time. He stopped his shooting, came over and introduced himself and chatted with the kids for a while.
We weren't with anyone, so it wasn't like we may have been VIPs or anything. It was just him being nice.
During the Orlando tourney a few years back, all the guys were very nice, especially Jimmy.
And we may as well throw Jimmy Mac on the list. He is always great to chat with.
Mac is a good guy. He always comes by the student section before games, usually with food he got from the press room. My one moment with Mac was two years ago when he asked me to check his teeth to see if he had any food in them before he did some pregame show. Pretty big trust in a college kid.
Not Marquette related but Raftery is a nice guy too. Talked to him for a few minutes before he had to be on air.
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It was a nice departure from my Dominic James encounter: "I'll be making millions, motherf-----!" (Granted, my buddy had just told him he was overrated.)
He's right. That balloon business is taking off.
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One more. Was watching an open gym one summer. It was the summer before the season of the midgets. After one game, Lazar walked over to us and apologized for the "language" that we may have heard. Did we really look that old and stodgy? And there really wasn't anything bad or out of the norm. Too funny.
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Lazar was great. Chatted with him at the pro-am right after he signed his guaranteed deal with Minnesota. He was sh*t-talking Wes the whole game.
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Met Lazar's dad at the Big East tourney one year. Great guy. You can see where Lazar got his work ethic and demeanor from.
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He's right. That balloon business is taking off.
Pun intended?
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John Leurck and John Ellenson were really nice guys, they interacted like normal college students. Joe Nethan was funny, you would always see him involved in campus activities, I remember him always being at Toma's when they had bands. Rod Grosse was a good guy, and Tyrone Baldwin was funny, seemed like the upperclassmen kept to "basketball team group" and limited their interaction, while the younger players were more like students, which I'm sure had a lot to do with where they lived.
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Pun intended?
Yes.
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Bo Ellis. Very friendly with the "normal" students. Got to know him a little when we sat next to each other for a semester in a philosophy-logic class. Huge star on a great team, but he never gave me the impression he thought he was above the other students. When the Denver Nuggets came to MSG to play the Knicks his rookie season, I was on the floor near the court during the pre-game warmup. He saw me when I waved, came right over to shake hands and say hello, and asked what I was doing post-graduation ect. Very cool.
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MU was horrid when I was there. I didn't really have much interaction with any of the players other than John Luerck, who I used to pound drinks at OPs with on occasion. He was just a regular guy. But without question, Marcus Jackson is the nicest dude you will ever meet. I know him through business and he coached my son's AAU team, so I have spent a decent amount of time with him over the last few years. Even after Jim Harrick screwed him at Georgia (which is how he got to MU), he still has nice things to say about him. Such a good family guy and no pretense at all. That team with Marcus -- Diener, Novak, Chapman, etc. are all still very close, which is cool. I know the Milwaukee guys like Scott Merritt, Robert Jackson, Tony Smith and Jerry Homan pretty well and they are good guys too. Say what you want about DWade, but he is very generous guy. He always hooks up RJax once playoffs begin each year. Rob seems to go to just about every game once they matter. I've only met one player who would qualify as a dbag.
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Maymond
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Similar experience as WolverineWarrior85 with Pops Sims, for the same reason. I started chatting up about the shared West Michigan connection and he was pretty cool about it. Tom Copa was in several of my classes and was quite nice to me.
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Copa was an awesome guy. I was there during the same era. Had several classes with Kerry Trotter and was a gem of a guy. Biggest bastard...Smolinski.
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I remember Joe Nethen coming down to the McCormick cafeteria and begging someone, anyone to help him change the batteries on a Walkman.
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I was at the Schoolyard Tavern a couple of years ago to watch the games on the first Thursday or Friday (don't recall the exact day and am too lazy to look it up) of the tourney. Got there early with my buddy and got a spot at the bar and a bit later turned to my left and Wes had come in and was sitting right next to me. The Blazers were in town to play the Bulls the next night and he wanted a good atmosphere to watch the game with some of his family. Other than a quick hello and handshake I didn't really bother him but he was extremely accommodating and nice to everyone that stopped to say hi or ask for a picture, etc. Seemed like a good dude.
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So many awesome guys. I couldn't even think of one story because there are so many, and I realize how lucky we have been to have such a great group of guys.
Trent was really awesome last year, would always talk to him after the same grad school class we were in. Really smart and engaging guy, and at graduation he came to say hi to me and met my whole family.
I'll never forget freshman (02-03) year a girl I knew came home all excited because when she was walking on campus bumped into a player and spilled her books.
"Excuse me miss, let me help you" - Dwyane Wade
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I think I told this a while ago, but it was hilarious running into KO in Maui two years ago with me telling him to take it easy on his old team (this just before the MU/USC game), to which he responded (without turning down the volume) "ah sh#t... you know me better than that." This was the same day my wife and I were walking into the hotel later that night at the same time Bezz and Corey were walking in. My wife relates to Corey how we had met her mother at the game earlier, at which point I asked "if you're the lion tamer, what does that make her [mother]?" Without missing a beat, "the lion killer" says Bazz.
Ran into Dominic during halftime of a Bucks games inside the Courtside Club during his senior year... went up to him and tried saying something friendly about him being a good player, that I was impressed with how he stepped up his defensive game and to keep it up & he'd go far. He said thanks and was polite, although I think he thought I was full of crap when I mentioned him stepping up his defensive game. I was trying to be honest, yet history proved I was right (Turkey is really far away).
Incidentally, at said Bucks game, I happened to be sitting right behind Mac and Gwen (fortunately, I am just barely tall enough to see over both sitting down). After the game I told him how I enjoy listening to him on the radio during MU games, and Mac, melodramatically, says, "you mean to tell me you're seeing other teams behind my back." I only picked up on half of the joke (the feigned jealously) at the time, I didn't actually realize the double entendre ("behind his back") until a few months later at which point I found an appreciation for the genius of his humor.
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I worked catereing and set up the training table every now and then. One time I was trying to get all the food put out as the team started walking in. For whatever reason, Freeway had tagged along with the team, as if they invited him into training table. He walks right up to me, clearly working, and says:
"What do you think about Michael Irvin coming to Green Bay?"
I was clearly shocked that 1) Freeway started a conversation with me , and
2) that perrinial ass wipe Michael Irvin could ever wear the Green and Gold.
Brian Wardle quickly stepped in and said Freeway let the man get back to work, we're hungry.
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Similar experience as WolverineWarrior85 with Pops Sims, for the same reason. I started chatting up about the shared West Michigan connection and he was pretty cool about it. Tom Copa was in several of my classes and was quite nice to me.
I worked in Grand Rapids for about a year after graduation and one of my former bosses knew Pops pretty well. Pops always had a smile on his face. Nice, down to earth guy.
I think I've told this story on here before...Majerus' first year (my junior year) we beat Louisville at their place and we were so excited we called Hank Raymonds at his house. His wife answered the phone and when she put him on we yelled "Hank, we beat Louisville!" and he yelled back "I know!" Very nice guy and was equally excited. Told us we should meet the team at the gym when they got back to town and I asked, "The Gym bar?" He laughed pretty hard and corrected me that he meant the Old Gym.
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We were talking about players, but I got to know three coaches quite well - Hank, Majerus and O'Neill.
Hank was a total sweetheart, just a real gentleman. He might have been too nice to be a big-time head coach, and I really believe that made it difficult for him.
I knew Rick when he was an assistant - he was loud and funny and profane and easy-going. I hear from those who would know (including several players) that he changed (and not for the better) after he became head coach and the pressure got to him.
O'Neill ... what a piece of work.
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We were talking about players, but I got to know three coaches quite well - Hank, Majerus and O'Neill.
Hank was a total sweetheart, just a real gentleman. He might have been too nice to be a big-time head coach, and I really believe that made it difficult for him.
I knew Rick when he was an assistant - he was loud and funny and profane and easy-going. I hear from those who would know (including several players) that he changed (and not for the better) after he became head coach and the pressure got to him.
O'Neill ... what a piece of work.
It's snide little comments like this that make me hate this board sometimes. Sorry if my comment about a Marquette coach ruined the purity of this thread for you.
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It's snide little comments like this that make me hate this board sometimes. Sorry if my comment about a Marquette coach ruined the purity of this thread for you.
Actually, I wasn't responding to anybody's comment. I was just thinking about the relationships I had with coaches.
I was acknowledging that I might have been changing or stretching the subject a little. Jeesh.
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Shared a class with Pop Sims and Herb Harrison. Pop had a real personality...good sense of humor. Solid guy. Herb was very cool. Friendly. Extremely laid back (I guess it was all the weed). Also shared a COMM class with Kenny Rice. Not exactly Harvard material. Would see Joe Nethen a lot at Johnston Hall. I'm sure he was a nice guy, but damn, he scared the hell out of me. Intimidating look. Also, was always wearing shorts...even in the middle of winter.
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Shared a class with Pop Sims and Herb Harrison. Pop had a real personality...good sense of humor. Solid guy. Herb was very cool. Friendly. Extremely laid back (I guess it was all the weed). Also shared a COMM class with Kenny Rice. Not exactly Harvard material. Would see Joe Nethen a lot at Johnston Hall. I'm sure he was a nice guy, but damn, he scared the hell out of me. Intimidating look. Also, was always wearing shorts...even in the middle of winter.
Nethen was the guy there was a whole thread of stories dedicates to correct?
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Visiting my best friend from HS at Marquette, we ended up party hopping with Ryan Amoroso. He was largely unremarkable, not a douche, but your typical cocky athlete. Humorously, he did talk about poker alot. What made the night memorable was that he was with Ooze. What a character. Constantly smiling and laughing, made out with 4-5 girls throughout the night. After one such encounter with a less than comely female, Amoroso gave him some grief about the girl and Ooze tells him "How many girls you make out with tonite? ZERO!" And loudly cackled before waltzing away. He was the best. We had to stop multiple times walking places cause he'd wandered off to talk to someone new. Id imagine every student at that time has a great Ooze story.
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Zack McCall was seen at more of the parties I went to. Wouldn't act stuck up or hard but he wasn't free talking to just anybody either.
Aaron was cool dude on the streets walking to class. He would say whassup if you said wassup first.
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Maymond
Is that Jeronne as Hank's lovechild?!
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Ulice Payne!
Class act then. Class act now.
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Zack McCall was seen at more of the parties I went to. Wouldn't act stuck up or hard but he wasn't free talking to just anybody either.
Aaron was cool dude on the streets walking to class. He would say whassup if you said wassup first.
Zack McCall !!! TURBO !!! - He had one of the best nicknames of all time @ MU. It's a shame he was suspended for ganja.
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Chris Grimm was also awesome.
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He's not near a computer right now, but jsglow has already shared the
story on Scoop of how Doc Rivers served him a cream puff while playing 2 on 2 so that the vertically and athletically challenged guy could block it and piss off Marc Marotta.
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Rick played at Marquette. As complex as he was generous.
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I was at MU from 74 to 78. Not like it is now. Players hung out with everyone else--except the Black guys would hang at the Multi-Cultural Center sometimes. They were "the players" but guys like The Pope and Bo and Butch and Rosenberger and J Whitehead and UP and Neary were totally normal (except Pope), fun guys. Not like the regimented, different lives the players lead today.Boylan was the foosball king. Most hung out at The Gym bar. I played in the Gym Bar summer softball league run by Bingo. George Thompson could play short and 3rd at the same time and had a gun for an arm. Over the years, the players have all been pretty accessible with only a few exceptions.
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The year after he graduated from MU I got the opportunity to run about 4-5 games of pick up ball at Helfaer with Dwight Buycks. I've played with a handful of MU guys in similar situations and Buycks was by a far the most humble and best. He had his share of highlight reel plays (obviously) but really went out of his way to get everyone involved in regardless of skill level. It made for a great afternoon of ball and left a lasting impression. Always rooting for him to get another shot at the NBA.
I know some people had mixed feelings about his time at MU but based on my limited interaction with him, he is a hard guy not to like.
Also, I know some friends who had some great encounters with Lazar at the campus bars (including one where Lazar let my friend take a picture of him being boxed out by my friend). It's a great photo.
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The year after he graduated from MU I got the opportunity to run about 4-5 games of pick up ball at Helfaer with Dwight Buycks. I've played with a handful of MU guys in similar situations and Buycks was by a far the most humble and . He had his share of highlight reel plays (obviously) but really went out of his way to get everyone involved in regardless of skill level. It made for a great afternoon of ball and left a lasting impression. Always rooting for him to get another shot at the NBA.
I know some people had mixed feelings about his time at MU but based on my limited interaction with him, he is a hard guy not to like.
Also, I know some friends who had some great encounters with Lazar at the campus bars (including one where Lazar let my friend take a picture of him being boxed out by my friend). It's a great photo.
In fact, the opposite is quite true.
When I see him play now in the pros, I regret not appreciating even more what he brought to the table at MU.
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About 2 years ago my wife was at a conference where Ulice Payne was the main speaker. Afterword, she went up and told him that I was a huge MU fan and asked if she could get his autograph for me. He said to her "We can do better than that, write down your address."
A few weeks later I got a hand written, full page letter from him thanking me for my support of MU basketball.
It's in a frame on my wall. Ulice rocks!
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Ousmane (ooze), Wes and Novak. Ooze stands out since I met him the summer he came to MU and we jammed out to some fela kuti. Always stopped to say what's up and generally a super nice dude.
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Ah dude, seems to me UP wanted to hit on yo lady, hey?
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UP hitting my lady is just another affirmation that I out-kicked my coverage. ;D
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I knew Anthony Pieper and Chris Crawford as we were the same year. Always cool, hung out at Murphy's and parties a few times. Pieper got a bad wrap from some people, but I always found him to be like most other guys I knew just better known and more talented. Bumped into Crawford when he was on the Hawks. Made random chit chat about MU and how he was doing. Good dudes in my experience.
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I was at MU from 74 to 78. Not like it is now. Players hung out with everyone else--except the Black guys would hang at the Multi-Cultural Center sometimes. They were "the players" but guys like The Pope and Bo and Butch and Rosenberger and J Whitehead and UP and Neary were totally normal (except Pope), fun guys. Not like the regimented, different lives the players lead today.Boylan was the foosball king. Most hung out at The Gym bar. I played in the Gym Bar summer softball league run by Bingo. George Thompson could play short and 3rd at the same time and had a gun for an arm. Over the years, the players have all been pretty accessible with only a few exceptions.
I was there exactly the same years and the guys were all part of us. That's one of the things that made Marquette special.
We all lived together in McCormick and we all enjoyed them, as I think they did us. Ulice was an incredibly class act, but so was Butch and Bo, and the rest of the team.
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I used to sit behind Mike Kinsella in Phil 50 so I could use his size to obstruct the professor's view as I took naps.
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Visiting my best friend from HS at Marquette, we ended up party hopping with Ryan Amoroso. He was largely unremarkable, not a douche, but your typical cocky athlete. Humorously, he did talk about poker alot. What made the night memorable was that he was with Ooze. What a character. Constantly smiling and laughing, made out with 4-5 girls throughout the night. After one such encounter with a less than comely female, Amoroso gave him some grief about the girl and Ooze tells him "How many girls you make out with tonite? ZERO!" And loudly cackled before waltzing away. He was the best. We had to stop multiple times walking places cause he'd wandered off to talk to someone new. Id imagine every student at that time has a great Ooze story.
I wonder if his screen name is still BigChips2008.
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Saint Patrick's Day 1999 somehow ended up drinking in the old gym locker room with Jarrod Lovette & friends.
Hit a 3 on him (playing fake defense) when we stopped to shoot around on our way there. Nice guy.
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Novak, very open and nice chat and pic at Verizon Center after we beat Miami but before Syracuse manhandling, so who wouldn't be happy anyways.
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Damon Key was at a party and I was a bit over-served so I decided to post him up, and call "ball, ball." I think think his exact words were "Whisky Tango Foxtrot." I explained that I used to play forward in junior high, so I wanted to see what it would be like at the college level. He shook his head and laughed, and we hung-out for a bit. Really nice guy.
I was also able to guard Tony Smith for about 15 seconds in a pick-up game at the rec center. He dribbled a bit and passed the ball, but didn't score, so I can say I shut down a NBA player. He could have torched anyone on the court at any time, but was playing for fun or to stay in shape. After the game I told I'm him something to the effect that "I owned him." He rolled his eyes and laughed, but was good natured about the kidding.
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When I was a student - Doc Rivers. It was the beginning of freshman year for both of us and we were walking from the Halfaer Center. I introduced myself and we had a nice long chat. He didn't give off the air of a superstar - he was just one Frosh talking to another.
As an alum - Dominic James. My daughter and I were in the Spirit Store before a game his sophomore year. It was still several hours until game time, and we noticed him standing alone talking on the phone. My daughter had been struggling in school (about 6th grade at the time), but I told her she could go to the game if she "did her best" by midterm report cards. She got straight As. When Dom was done on the phone, I convinced her to go and introduce herself. She told him she wanted to go to MU someday, and got to go to the game because she had straight As. Dom didn't talk about hoops, but instead encouraged her about school, and told her that if she kept doing her best, she'd get into MU. She turned into a straight A student taking multiple AP courses in high school, and still recalls that day as the turning point in her academic career.
Postscript: she did get into Marquette with a nice scholarship offer, but ended up going to a different MU (Mizzou) for journalism. But she is still a Marquette fan through and through.
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Mu 75-79 as as Gato said back then players were very accessible. Toone and Boylan lived on my floor in McCormick and we would chat all the time when we ran into them. Boylan was a bartender at the East End (13th & State) for a time, you would never see anything like that today.
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John Leurck and John Ellenson were really nice guys, they interacted like normal college students. Joe Nethan was funny, you would always see him involved in campus activities, I remember him always being at Toma's when they had bands. Rod Grosse was a good guy, and Tyrone Baldwin was funny, seemed like the upperclassmen kept to "basketball team group" and limited their interaction, while the younger players were more like students, which I'm sure had a lot to do with where they lived.
OMG you were really at MU during the bottom of the basketball years. Imagine a non-scooper reading this out of context. Who? and who?
I'm an old man. During the first week or tow on campus we're playing a pick up softball game (yeah the 16" variety) over near the theater on Tory Hill - real informal, co-eds, beers, etc. Guy walks up to join in and very politely asks if he can play. I'm next to him out on the field and he extends his hand, "hey, I'm Glenn." Yep - Doc Rivers. Very good softball player by the way.
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I love reading all of these stories. Gives a great perspective on how the vast majority of these players are really just normal guys. Keep them coming.
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They've been mentioned before. Doc, Marc and Larry were super nice guys. The first I got to know was Larry Hatchett. I'm forgetting how many years ahead of me he was or how we met but I thought it was cool when an upperclassman basketball player befriended a Frosh like me. We never really socialized possibly because of the age difference but he always made it a point to go out of his way to say Hello and chat for a bit if he saw me.
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Boylan was a bartender at one of the down on her luck gin mills on State Street. He would play a tape of the Ship game and when the action turned to him at the line he would announce, "If he makes the first free throw the next round's on me!" The crowd would never fail to cheer lustily as the ball cut through nylon. Beer never tasted better.
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Of all the MU players that I have known over the years I think Ric Cobb is the nicest guy of the bunch. He has a great heart and all around nice person. Would add that having a family member play at MU definitely opened dozens of doors over the years to interact with the guys. So, my BIL is my best MU player experience. Over 40 years with him in the family has made things very exciting. Plus he helped me with my free throw shooting when I very little boy.
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Steve Novak.
A few years ago, I got a tour of the Al McGuire center for my dad, who spent much of his youth at Rockaway Beach, NY - Al's old stomping grounds. My dad always liked Al and shares his knack for one-liners. We stopped by the gym and Steve Novak was working on his shot. A buddy of his was feeding him passes and chasing down balls.
Steve was not shooting well that day - a few consecutive misses - more rim than you'd expect. This was when Steve looked like he might be on the way out of the NBA - when he had those brief runs with the Mavs, Spurs, and Reno Bighorns. As Steve was clanging a few shots, I explained to my dad that he was working on his forte - the three pointer. My dad says something to the effect of "His forte? Really? Because it looks like he's helping his friend work on his rebounding." That's my dad for you.
I can't recall the name of the gentleman who gave us the tour. He was great though. He calls Steve over and we're introduced. Steve talks to us as if we were some important donor types when we're really just a couple of hoop fans who got hooked up with a nice tour.
The next season is when Steve broke out with the Knicks. My dad spends his retirement in New Jersey watching the local sports teams. He calls me up and says the Knicks have a guy from Marquette who is tearing it up. I tell him it's the guy we saw shooting in the gym over the summer. He missed the connection. He says "the big white guy?" I say "Yes." He says something like..."well...the practice paid off." Indeed it did.
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Ty Baldwin and Charles Luter.
I knew Ty better because I had several classes with him. Good guy. But I did have an interesting day with Luter. One of my dad's old college buddies lived in Mequon. I'd never met him, but he invited me to come up to their house to spend the day swimming and hanging out. Told me another Freshman he knew would give me a lift. Turned out it was Charles Luter. Nice guy, but I really didn't see him around too much other than that one day.
I also sat next to Lazar's dad at the Pitt game the year before Lazar got to Marquette. Really nice guy.
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Am I the only one that looked at this thread title and got really worried as to what it would be about?
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1) Tom Crean - I spent 9-11 with Tom watching the World Trade Center tragedy. We were in the middle of design sessions for the Al McGuire Center that day. We had some interesting conversations that day as we were both concerned about our families. While always completely ADD, he did genuinely care about some important stuff. Several times years later I would pass him at an event or other arena and he always said hi and strangely remembered my name.
2) Kevin O'neil - complete jerk during several interactions
3) Mike Deane - During our final four run in New Orleans I ran into Mike in a corner bar. We sat and drank a few together. Seemed like an OK guy at least to share a beer with.
4) Doc Rivers - Went to school with him. Class guy always, genuine and nice at all times.
5) Tony Smith - Played softball against Tony for several years in a Wauwatosa League. Really cool, down-to-earth guy.
6) Dwyane Wade - Ran into Dwyane in several settings. He was great with my kids, always friendly and seemed interested in any conversation presented.
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Am I the only one that looked at this thread title and got really worried as to what it would be about?
Could be an interestin' question for the broads on this board, aina?
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Could be an interestin' question for the broads on this board, aina?
Broads? Plural?
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rob hanley-great guy, down to earth, got it from his super nice family
lloyd walton-he lived in the hegarty hilton( i was manager) for the time he played for the bucks at the same time, i tended bar at houstons, (the old jj garlics) fed him free drinks and shot the bull. he was a really down-to-earth, funny guy
larry hatchett-had some classes with him-he was pre med-don't know how he juggled b-ball and academics, but super studious
oliver lee-nice guy, but he didn't come up here from florida for the climate
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4ever
It would make for a very interesting thread!!
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Am I the only one that looked at this thread title and got really worried as to what it would be about?
I think that thread would have to take place on the superbar :D
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Otule unsuccesfully tried to go shot for shot with me and some buddies (he was dating a friend of a friend at the time) on Jaeger bombs at Brothers about 3 years ago.
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I know it's supposed to be personal stories but my friend's story about his encounter with James is too good not to tell. After bar close a friend of mine goes into Marquette Gyros during James's senior year and Dominic is standing in there with Trend. My friend walks up to Dominic and puts his hand on his shoulder and says, "Yo Dom, I gotta talk to you." Dominic tells him to give him a minute and my friend says, "No, now! I love you, man, but you better start studying your Italian." Trend then replied, "What'd this m'fer say?!" as my friend walked out of MU Gyros.
I'd probably keep that story to yourself, your friend sounds like a huge tool.
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I'd probably keep that story to yourself, your friend sounds like a huge tool.
It's not even close to a good story. There is nothing funny or interesting about it, yet I get the feeling these sad people treat it as legend.
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It's not even close to a good story. There is nothing funny or interesting about it, yet I get the feeling these sad people treat it as legend.
+1
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Todd Townsend spent a summer tour guiding for MU. He was awesome, even if he get mad when I beat his cardinals with the brewers on MLB '04.
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It's not even close to a good story. There is nothing funny or interesting about it, yet I get the feeling these sad people treat it as legend.
I'd probably keep that story to yourself, your friend sounds like a huge tool.
Thanks for setting me straight.
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Thanks for setting me straight.
If you go around telling that story as if it's funny, then you are welcome. I am setting you straight.
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If you go around telling that story as if it's funny, then you are welcome. I am setting you straight.
But sitting behind an anonymous screen name and hoping/joking about someone (Crean) losing his job is hilarious. Got it. Any other tips for me?
(Not that I find that to be a problem. Just don't waste my time telling other people what is and isn't funny when I don't find their stories funny.)
I can certainly think of a lot "douchier" things a 21 year old male under the influence of alcohol might do. But maybe that's just me.
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Well, this otherwise really fun and entertaining thread just got decidingly less so right quick.
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Am I the only one that looked at this thread title and got really worried as to what it would be about?
Yes you are, Mrs. Sandusky.
BTW ... welcome back, brew. I missed you.
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Well, this otherwise really fun and entertaining thread just got decidingly less so right quick.
The only thing I have is that I dated a girl who used to work at MU as an assistant to a professor. She told me Dwayne Wade would come in and flirt with her all the time. She heard several stories about how he was a huge player on campus with his charm.