[PaintTouches]Greska: Pulling the curtain on Buzz Williams

[BenCat12]

OK, agreed. And I pledge I will begin to soften my "criticism" of Buzz. He did some good things at MU. Good recruits, and some damn good runs with less talent than a number of other teams had. It is just sad it ended this way for all concerned. We will likely lose some good kids from the program, and this whole thing has alienated some people. It also has placed great stress on decision makers. Behind the scenes must have been a mess.

Hopefully the next guy will be better and have greater success. But if we do not get one of the Holy Trinity being mentioned most, I hope we can still find a good guy.

Agreed.  And he will feel the wrath of our criticism as well

[314warrior]

@PaintTouches Haha, nah. I still like PT RT @kevincentSTL: @PaintTouches So are you going to change your name?

[mu_hilltopper]

Don't know why they would change it.  Paint Touches is now as much a part of MU lore as Cracked Sidewalks is.

That is true, although Al and his Cracked Sidewalks quote are beloved.  Buzz is rapidly imploding and the concept that "paint touches" help you win was just debunked by Henry Sugar.  (http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2014/03/marquette-and-priorities-part-five.html .. "Paint touches are bullsh1t.")

[warriorfred]

Great article.  Best yet.

[tower912]

Haven't heard much from Tower or TAMU lately.......

I've posted about 1/2 dozen things.   I posted elsewhere that I liked Crean, I liked Buzz more , I like MU basketball more than either.   I resented Crean leaving more than I resent Buzz leaving.   Trying to see it from all sides and I think I understand why Buzz left.   I disagree with his decision, but we don't share a brain.    Just like I appreciate what Crean did, I appreciate what Buzz did.    And I have moved on and am looking forward with anticipation to the new coach. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'd like you to autograph this article for me. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Has it ever been publicly revealed which players were involved?

There are still some clowns here only last month that insisted it didn't involve the men's basketball team....that's how much slurping was going on.  smh

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I'm wondering if Paint Touches can give us the number of hits that got as opposed to other postings?

[mileskishnish72]

Enjoyed the article, Andrei. I think your point is valid that Buzz leaving had more to do with Buzz himself than any other factor. I've not quite understood the "wore out his welcome" theme - Pilarz and Larry are gone, so where's the conflict - with the Board, or the big donors?

Interesting personality, good recruiter, put JUCO's in the Association - was never a good game coach.

Appreciate what he did for the program, good-bye, good luck.

Now let's start anew!

[dgies9156]

Andrei. Best explanation of what really happened I've read. Nice reporting job and well written to boot. Keep up the good work

[Norm]

Awesome article - very well written and quite informative. Kudos!

[Pakuni]

Terrific work and a great read.

One point, though (if Andrei is reading this) .... you may want to reconsider a word in this paragraph re: the rape accusations:

"This wasn't just an athlete gone bad, there was illegal assistance in the immediate aftermath from people that know better."

To the best of my legal knowledge, there's nothing illegal about a coach or anyone else speaking with people accused of a crime about the allegations. There were no charges at that (or any) point, or any court order preventing anyone from discussing the circumstances. If Buzz got them all together to get their stories straight, that might be unethical as all hell, but it's not illegal. And if Buzz got them together to try to find out what the heck happened, which is something I think any parent would do if their kid was involved in something like that, that's not particularly unusual or inappropriate. It could veer into illegality if anyone were encouraged to lie or cover up evidence, but no one has suggested that occurred, so I'd be careful about alleging something illegal occurred.
Don't want anyone to get sued. As UNO found out, Buzz can be the litigious sort.

[TJ]

Great article, thanks.

One question... why is Brad Stevens a touchy subject?

[Golden Avalanche]

Great article, thanks.

One question... why is Brad Stevens a touchy subject?

Because Stevens is considered a basketball savant whereas Buzz is only considered an idiot savant.

[Benny B]

Because Stevens is considered a basketball savant whereas Buzz is only considered an idiot savant.

In other words... Buzz fancies himself as a "numbers" coach... Stevens is regarded as a "numbers" coach.

[klyrish]

Fantastic article. Thank you!