What's the consensus?

[BCHoopster]

MU had a chance when DWade took MU to the Final 4.  TC had a chance to make MU really good once he got the 3 amigos, but really never was able to get that player to take them to the
next level, a real big.  Barro was OK, and Hayward played out of position.  Buzz will need to get a break out recruit.  I am not saying it could not happen but it seems really hard to get kids that NC, Duke and the other 8 to 10 basketball schools get.  York was a perfect example, and there were others.  Burton is a great recruit, but Buzz was not able to get Koning or Tokoto and there in MU's backyard.  McGary?? is a perfect player to help take MU to the next level.  Visited MU a few times and is the power forward that might be able to take MU back to the Al's years. It did not happen.  Burton and Steve Taylor are really good recruits for many reasons.  Taylor more importantly because MU needs a solid point in the future, it might be Tate. Nolan or another big takes MU to another level.  Needs a big to round out the recruiting class.  If that happens they might move forward.  Bottom line, they are pretty fun to watch right now as the underdog, I do not mind that.  The future looks very bright. 

[GGGG]

I wonder if MU and UW both ended up with better 2012 recruits than Tokoto, in Taylor and Dekker, when all is said and done.  Plus I wonder where Burton will rank vis a vis Koenig too.

[BCHoopster]

I wonder if MU and UW both ended up with better 2012 recruits than Tokoto, in Taylor and Dekker, when all is said and done.  Plus I wonder where Burton will rank vis a vis Koenig too.

It does not matter when they are ranked in high school, but how there teams play against each other.  It will be good to see Wisconsin kids play against other Wisconsin kids for a change.
MU will have Blue, Burton and Wilson, and Jake Thomas while Wisky will have Dekker, Anderson, hopefully Koenig.  There are quite a few more kids with offers for 2013 as well.  Keep them in state.

[avid1010]

Baloney. We need consistency to be with the Kansases, North Carolinas, Dukes, Syracuses etc. I would conceed it is more competitive, with more than twice the number of division one schools we had in the 1970s. But Buzz is leading us in the right direction and if we can do on the court what we've done in recruiting, we'll be back in Al-land.

By the way, I had dinner with a friend of mine from Kentucky who is a die-hard. His comment was he wished he had some of our recruiting because he is sooo tired of the "one-and-done" jock Calapari is bringing in.

Don't you baloney me  

That's hilarious because I was thinking the only way MU would take it to a championship level in a short time period was if they hired a coach like Calapari, in the same fashion Memphis did, and managed to keep him.  I'll trade recruiting classes with Kentucky any day...obviously don't like how Calapari goes about his business, but he made Kentucky basketball relevant real fast.  

You talk about consistency, yet we've made one final four since the 70's.  I would argue that there is nothing to be consistent with when comparing us to Duke and UNC.  We haven't won a BEAST title yet.  35 teams have won one or more NCAA championships.  You want to go back to the championship days...so do those teams.

Best case scenario, I could see Buzz pulling a Billy Donovan and hitting a recruiting class that clicks and gets a championship (Billy got 2) because he recruits so well.  I hope Buzz is a miracle maker as much as the next guy, but I don't expect him to be the next Coach K.  Look no further than Louisville to understand the difference between coaching at a school like Louisville compared to Kentucky.  That's no baloney...that's comparing apples to apples.  

[avid1010]

Wisky will have Dekker, Anderson, hopefully Koenig.

Oh HELL no.

[Marqus Howard]

Oh HELL no.

I think this proves that BCHoopster is a UW fan. Nothing but negative posts from him.

[GGGG]

It does not matter when they are ranked in high school, but how there teams play against each other.  It will be good to see Wisconsin kids play against other Wisconsin kids for a change.
MU will have Blue, Burton and Wilson, and Jake Thomas while Wisky will have Dekker, Anderson, hopefully Koenig.  There are quite a few more kids with offers for 2013 as well.  Keep them in state.

I truly do not care where the kids go to high school or where they are from.  MU has players on this team from pretty much every corner of the country - and that is fine by me.

[BCHoopster]

I think this proves that BCHoopster is a UW fan. Nothing but negative posts from him.

I think I wrote in an email above the future looks bright.  Not sure how you read into the post I am so negative, are you missing something there?   I have been an MU fan for 48 years, I even made scrapbooks during Als era.  Also, I played hoops on the same team, as Jerry Homen, Allie McGuire, good friend of Paul Vollmer.  OH yes, I graduated from UW.  Guess I can not
be an MU fan, and an MU season ticket holder. Maybe I just like basketball.  If Koenig wanted to go to MU, great, if Koenig wants to go to NC, awful.  Wisco - for sure.  I sure do not want to watch Tokoto and say neither of our teams could get him, thats bad. 

[avid1010]

I even made scrapbooks during Als era.

Yup...a UW fan for sure.  Sorry, had to.

I'd rather see him at UNC instead of UW...but I'm not a fan of both teams.  I get it...kind of.

[BCHoopster]

Whatever.

[bilsu]

If you want a return to the days of Al, go back to the 70's because those days are gone.  Just as the days of John Wooden are gone for UCLA.  The game is different, recruiting is different, etc.  Hell, the conference realignments blows up in our face and we might all be wishing for the days of Buzz.  I'm not saying Buzz can't do it, but it's going to take time, and some luck in terms of the BEAST conference staying together and strong.

John Wooden probably would not have won 10 champioships in a row in todays world. Lew Alcinder and Walton would have been one and dones.

[Stretchdeltsig]

I think Sultan has under estimated Marquette.  Marquette has proven to be a tough BE team.  The future looks bright.  Buzz had the team trending upward!

[🏀]

I think Sultan has under estimated Marquette.  Marquette has proven to be a tough BE team.  The future looks bright.  Buzz had the team trending upward!

I don't think Sultan has underestimated Marquette. Instead he is generally the source of grounded opinion on the board.

[brewcity77]

I wonder if MU and UW both ended up with better 2012 recruits than Tokoto, in Taylor and Dekker, when all is said and done.  Plus I wonder where Burton will rank vis a vis Koenig too.

Reading scouting reports on Burton, the knock on him is always his range. Reading that article posted today has quotes from his coach at Brewster talking about how much he's improved his range and how much better it will get in the next two years. In terms of rankings, I think Burton, if his coach is right, will end up top-20 and a five-star prospect. East coast exposure will help him in that regard. Koenig has moved up, but if he commits to Wisconsin early, it could lessen the attention he gets, especially while playing in upstate Wisconsin. While it says nothing about their actual potential ability at the collegiate level, I really think right now Burton is poised to be the much-higher ranked player when the book closes on the 2013 rankings.

[GGGG]

I think Sultan has under estimated Marquette.  Marquette has proven to be a tough BE team.  The future looks bright.  Buzz had the team trending upward!

All I said that I don't think a regular top ten program is a realistic goal *in the short term.*  Do you know how many programs are regular top ten programs?  Maybe a handful?  Of course it is a great and admirable long term goal, and I hope Buzz is the one to lead us there, but we have some steps to take before we can get there.

I mean, I would like to actually win a BE championship.  I would like Sweet 16s to be relatively common occurances and not just three in the last 25 years.  These are things we need to accomplish, but it is going to take years of hard work to get there.  I mean, think about what Howland and Dixon at Pitt - and they still have yet to reach a final four.  It's a very hard thing to do.

[brewcity77]

All I said that I don't think a regular top ten program is a realistic goal *in the short term.*  Do you know how many programs are regular top ten programs?  Maybe a handful?  Of course it is a great and admirable long term goal, and I hope Buzz is the one to lead us there, but we have some steps to take before we can get there.

I mean, I would like to actually win a BE championship.  I would like Sweet 16s to be relatively common occurances and not just three in the last 25 years.  These are things we need to accomplish, but it is going to take years of hard work to get there.  I mean, think about what Howland and Dixon at Pitt - and they still have yet to reach a final four.  It's a very hard thing to do.

Agreed. As many positives as we've seen, there's always the potential to go through a few lean years, and to find out how the team comes back from that. Did any of us expect MU to completely fall off the map for 2 years after Wade left? As much as we seem set for long-term success right now, Sultan's point about the number of perennial top-10s is huge. Who does that? Duke has to be the premier name in that category. UNC is up there, but missed the NCAAs not long ago. Kentucky is back up there, but even they had some tough years between Pitino's departure and Cal's arrival (the Tubby years, despite the title, weren't exactly rosy in Lexington). UCLA seemed to be there again with Howland, but after great early success, he's seeing it's not always that easy. UConn and Syracuse are both pretty consistently ranked, but I'd say they're more perennial top-20 teams than top-10. Yes, most years they get into the top-10 at some point, but it's hardly a place they are always at...even this past season UConn began the year unranked.

I think that being regulars in the top-25 and reaching the second weekend more often than not is a fine goal at this point. Rekindling the days of Al is something that will take 15-20 years, not 2-3.

[GGGG]

And don't forget about Michigan State.  They have been to more Final Fours in the last 13 years than anyone.

[brewcity77]

And don't forget about Michigan State.  They have been to more Final Fours in the last 13 years than anyone.

True. I think that looking at Duke and Michigan State are the two programs that we can draw some hope from. Duke was good before Coach K, but nothing like the juggernaut they have become. We also have a similar student base to them (a little smaller) though their endowment is more than 10 times ours.

Michigan State may be a state school, but they had fallen far off the map since the days of Magic. Izzo really revitalized them and despite not always getting elite players, they have become an elite program.

Marquette can get there, but more than anything it will take Final Four appearances. Like Sultan pointed out, Pitt has been great but hasn't reached a Final Four. They certainly don't have the status of MSU, Duke, UNC, UConn, Syracuse, or any of the other alpha dog type programs, despite having as much regular season success of late. For Sparty, it was three Final Fours in three years that propelled them to the top after Izzo had about 6 years on the job. If Buzz could duplicate that (which is about the biggest IF in the world) we could get there on the timetable some are calling for. More likely it will take at least 10+ years from now to make that many trips to the final weekend.

[bilsu]

It will be interesting to see if Michigan's resurgence hurts Michigan St. Michigan used to be the school the states basketball players wanted to go to. In recent years Michigan St basically got all the top Michigan players. That might be changing now.

[tower912]

Bielein doesn't necessarily want the same players as Izzo, similar to Bo v Buzz.