Buzz says yet again that he isn't leaving

[NersEllenson]

No one else kind of thinks that posting the video on gomarquette.com would look a little pathetic?

"LOOK! LOOK! WE'RE A REAL PROGRAM! OUR COACH EVEN SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT TO LEAVE!"

The video we are referencing has nothing to do with Buzz saying he doesn't want to leave.  It is Buzz's story on his path to being a Division 1 Head Coach - here is a link to the text of that story - which doesn't quite to it the justice the actual video of Buzz telling the story...which is what we want posted on MU site.

http://blog.chron.com/sportsjustice/2011/03/if-you-dont-like-marquette-coach-buzz-williams-now-you-will-after-reading-his-story/

[MU82]

Loyalty ... the silliest word in sports.

When Buzz has a bad season or two - and just about all of them do, even Coach K, Knight, Lute Olson, Calhoun, etc. - will fans stay loyal to him? Will the school administration stay loyal to him and continue to demonstrate that in a tangible way ($$)?

When I was living in Illinois, fans were outraged when Bill Self left for Kansas. Disloyal! All they wanted was a guy who saw Illinois as a "destination" job, not a stepping-stone job. They got Bruce Weber, who quickly took them to a Final Four, gets them into the NCAAs almost every year, and wants only to coach at Illinois. But now a very vocal minority (or maybe even a majority) want him gone because he doesn't win enough.

I'm not saying any of the above is right or wrong. It's just how it is today. Had John Wooden and Coach K started coaching today instead of when they did, they never would have lasted long enough to become legends because they lost big early on.

So we beg for Buzz to be loyal to us ... all the while knowing we'd have no trouble being disloyal to him if he doesn't win enough.

[79Warrior]

I want to see what happens to UConn, Cuse and Michigan St once their coaches are done. I dont think those programs can simply grab whoever they want, and instead will probably end up hiring from within the first time. Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina are the only true blue-bloods. After that Indiana, UCLA and Duke, and then another drop off to the big  state schools with strong bball commitment like Texas, Florida, Arizona, Syracuse, UConn, Michigan, Michigan St, Ohio St, etc. Buzz will not leave for just everyone of those schools, but he could leave for a few. Whenever any of those schools goes looking, I would start to sweat a bit.

Ever hear of Magic Johnson?? Yes, MSU did have a very successfull program pre Izzo.

[MUMac]

Ever hear of Magic Johnson?? Yes, MSU did have a very successfull program pre Izzo.

Magic Johnson ... Greg Kelser ... Jay Vincent ... Scott Skiles ... Shawn Respert ... Steve Smith ... All coached by Jud Heathcoate, who was there for 19 years before Izzo.  Had a successful reign there.  They were "forced" to hire from within and got some guy named Izzo to take the job.  There are some successful head coaches who were assistant coaches at MSU under Izzo.  I would guess they will either hire from within or one of those coaches returns.  Not a bad decision to make.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Loyalty ... the silliest word in sports.

When Buzz has a bad season or two - and just about all of them do, even Coach K, Knight, Lute Olson, Calhoun, etc. - will fans stay loyal to him? Will the school administration stay loyal to him and continue to demonstrate that in a tangible way ($$)?

When I was living in Illinois, fans were outraged when Bill Self left for Kansas. Disloyal! All they wanted was a guy who saw Illinois as a "destination" job, not a stepping-stone job. They got Bruce Weber, who quickly took them to a Final Four, gets them into the NCAAs almost every year, and wants only to coach at Illinois. But now a very vocal minority (or maybe even a majority) want him gone because he doesn't win enough.

I'm not saying any of the above is right or wrong. It's just how it is today. Had John Wooden and Coach K started coaching today instead of when they did, they never would have lasted long enough to become legends because they lost big early on.

So we beg for Buzz to be loyal to us ... all the while knowing we'd have no trouble being disloyal to him if he doesn't win enough.

This is perfectly stated from a fan perspective.

Hopefully the administration has a better grasp on the realities of college basketball and don't run a successful coach out of town if he has a couple of "off" years.

[MUBurrow]

The video we are referencing has nothing to do with Buzz saying he doesn't want to leave.  It is Buzz's story on his path to being a Division 1 Head Coach - here is a link to the text of that story - which doesn't quite to it the justice the actual video of Buzz telling the story...which is what we want posted on MU site.

http://blog.chron.com/sportsjustice/2011/03/if-you-dont-like-marquette-coach-buzz-williams-now-you-will-after-reading-his-story/

Okay, definitely fair. I thought we were talking about one of the "I'm sick of answering questions about my future, I'll stay till they have me," videos. Thanks for the link.

[Lennys Tap]

Loyalty ... the silliest word in sports.

When Buzz has a bad season or two - and just about all of them do, even Coach K, Knight, Lute Olson, Calhoun, etc. - will fans stay loyal to him? Will the school administration stay loyal to him and continue to demonstrate that in a tangible way ($$)?

When I was living in Illinois, fans were outraged when Bill Self left for Kansas. Disloyal! All they wanted was a guy who saw Illinois as a "destination" job, not a stepping-stone job. They got Bruce Weber, who quickly took them to a Final Four, gets them into the NCAAs almost every year, and wants only to coach at Illinois. But now a very vocal minority (or maybe even a majority) want him gone because he doesn't win enough.

I'm not saying any of the above is right or wrong. It's just how it is today. Had John Wooden and Coach K started coaching today instead of when they did, they never would have lasted long enough to become legends because they lost big early on.

So we beg for Buzz to be loyal to us ... all the while knowing we'd have no trouble being disloyal to him if he doesn't win enough.

Terrific post. Those quickest to demand loyalty are often the slowest to give it.

[Benny B]

Loyalty ... the silliest word in sports.

When Buzz has a bad season or two - and just about all of them do, even Coach K, Knight, Lute Olson, Calhoun, etc. - will fans stay loyal to him? Will the school administration stay loyal to him and continue to demonstrate that in a tangible way ($$)?

When I was living in Illinois, fans were outraged when Bill Self left for Kansas. Disloyal! All they wanted was a guy who saw Illinois as a "destination" job, not a stepping-stone job. They got Bruce Weber, who quickly took them to a Final Four, gets them into the NCAAs almost every year, and wants only to coach at Illinois. But now a very vocal minority (or maybe even a majority) want him gone because he doesn't win enough.

I'm not saying any of the above is right or wrong. It's just how it is today. Had John Wooden and Coach K started coaching today instead of when they did, they never would have lasted long enough to become legends because they lost big early on.

So we beg for Buzz to be loyal to us ... all the while knowing we'd have no trouble being disloyal to him if he doesn't win enough.

You had me at hello, you lost me just before goodbye.

#1) Nobody is begging for Buzz to be loyal.  Buzz is loyal; it's simply the case that no matter what he does, a small sect of fans are always going to be highly skeptical of whether he's actually going to stay.

#2) Aside from a few uber-passionate, knee-jerk fans, MU fans aren't exactly the type to call for someone's head after a bad season.  2003-2005 were the "dead" years, yet I recall most of us stuck by Crean (or at the very least, weren't calling for his immediate dismissal).

What's the downside of simply taking Buzz at his word and believing he'll be here for the long haul?  That some Scooper 15 years from now is going to dig out an old post of you jumping on the bandwagon and shoving it in your face?  That you're going to be heartbroken if your coach leaves, never to love again?  That you're not a perfect judge of character?

Frankly, I think the downside of refusing to accept someone, after he's done everything he could possibly do to earn your trust, is much worse.  I'm sure there are some people who were critical of Al to the very end - I'd like to know what those people have to say today.

[4everwarriors]

Magic Johnson ... Greg Kelser ... Jay Vincent ... Scott Skiles ... Shawn Respert ... Steve Smith ... All coached by Jud Heathcoate, who was there for 19 years before Izzo.  Had a successful reign there.  They were "forced" to hire from within and got some guy named Izzo to take the job.  There are some successful head coaches who were assistant coaches at MSU under Izzo.  I would guess they will either hire from within or one of those coaches returns.  Not a bad decision to make.

How did MSU ever survive after Turtlehead took his steppin' stone job, aka Marquette?

[MU82]

You had me at hello, you lost me just before goodbye.

#1) Nobody is begging for Buzz to be loyal.  Buzz is loyal; it's simply the case that no matter what he does, a small sect of fans are always going to be highly skeptical of whether he's actually going to stay.

#2) Aside from a few uber-passionate, knee-jerk fans, MU fans aren't exactly the type to call for someone's head after a bad season.  2003-2005 were the "dead" years, yet I recall most of us stuck by Crean (or at the very least, weren't calling for his immediate dismissal).

What's the downside of simply taking Buzz at his word and believing he'll be here for the long haul?  That some Scooper 15 years from now is going to dig out an old post of you jumping on the bandwagon and shoving it in your face?  That you're going to be heartbroken if your coach leaves, never to love again?  That you're not a perfect judge of character?

Frankly, I think the downside of refusing to accept someone, after he's done everything he could possibly do to earn your trust, is much worse.  I'm sure there are some people who were critical of Al to the very end - I'd like to know what those people have to say today.

I was talking about college sports fans in general, not necessary MU fans. And the "we" in the final paragraph was the editorial "we."

Having said that, you made several outstanding points.

[Lennys Tap]

What's the downside of simply taking Buzz at his word and believing he'll be here for the long haul?  That some Scooper 15 years from now is going to dig out an old post of you jumping on the bandwagon and shoving it in your face?  That you're going to be heartbroken if your coach leaves, never to love again?  That you're not a perfect judge of character?

Frankly, I think the downside of refusing to accept someone, after he's done everything he could possibly do to earn your trust, is much worse.  I'm sure there are some people who were critical of Al to the very end - I'd like to know what those people have to say today.

+1000. You can live your life as a miserable, cynical skeptic whose only brush with happiness is to tell others "I told you so" when people disappoint or you can take people (at least those who aren't obvious phonies) at their word and enjoy, knowing that if they let you down it's on them. Should be an easy choice, but not for some.

You're right about Al. Most people were fans, but he had his vocal detractors when he was coaching. Only after he retired did the "love" become universal among the MU faithful.