WTMJ says MU is down to four

[WarriorHal]

Small time coaches are small time because they can't recruit big time talent. There's no need to because they compete against schools on the same level. Rather than another St. Peter's/Sienna college type, go with another up and coming assistant. This time, Buzz is an in-house up and comer who at least has a chance of keeping our '08 recruiting class on board. And he has already shown the potential to be a better recruiter than Crean. Now, can he actually coach?

[MUCrisco]

We need to really look hard at Lowery.........look at his body of work.  The MVC is an extremely competitive conference -> my only concern is his recruiting.  In his fourth year he had his worst season with presumably all his recruits.

Lowery is a good recruiter.  I posted this on the scout board:

People are excited about Buzz because of his abillity to recruit.  It may come as a surprise to some that Lowery is also accomplished as a recruiter.  In addition to two other 3 star recruits, Lowery is bringing in a 4 star 6'8 power forward in Anthony Booker, who is higher rated than anyone Buzz has brought to Marquette, including Erik Williams, according to scout.  He did have 3 star wing Rountree de-commit from SIU so that he could entertain schools such as Baylor and USC.  However, Lowery was able to bring him back to SIU for a recommitment.  So, while Buzz has proven that he can recruit to Marquette, I would argue that it is tougher to recruit to a mid major program than one in the Big East.

[ozmetal71]

Lowery seems to have all of the characterisitics that people would want in the next Marquette coach.  He has a proven track record as an X's and O's coach, he has four years of experience as a head coach at a fairly high-level mid-major, he is young, and he has shown that he can recruit.  I think that this would be a fantastic hire for Marquette, and a shrewd career move for Lowery.  Plus, he has Chicago roots and Midwestern ties, so he knows how to recruit the base for Marquette.

[77ncaachamps]

McKillop?

You got to be kidding me!

[drewm88]

Ugh. Not the four I would have expected at the beginning of this.

1. Brownell
2/3. Lowery/Buzz
4. McKillop

[chapman]

I'm ok with Lowery or Buzz.  No thanks to Brownell or McKillop.  Lowery's done a great job at SIU, though I agree that last season was really disappointing for them.  I think this point from Rosiak is very important:

Williams, who was unavailable for comment, will likely spend the weekend meeting with MU officials, who are undoubtedly interested in not only getting to know him better personally but also in what his plans are for hiring a coaching staff.

I'm skeptical in Buzz's ability to put together a good staff.  He's in the worst position of all the candidates to put together a good staff, since he isn't a head coach right now, has the least head coaching experience, and he hasn't really been at a job long enough to make lasting connections.   

[ChicosBailBonds]

It's all a smokescreen....MU will hire Roy Williams Tuesday morning.



Isn't this fun? 

[Nukem2]

Bo Ryan to MU as he "swings" from Madison to MKE.

[TallTitan34]

Seeing as he is linked to every job. . .

Tom Crean to Marquette.

Wait a mintue!

[Pardner]

bm, check the record, I think you'll find Dick Bennett excited himself over coaching at MU around the time Hank fell in love with Dukiet.

Why would MU have given Bennett an interview in 1986? Was his 5-23 record in his first season as a Division I coasch (1985-86) so overwhelmingly remarkable that Raymonds was a fool not to snap him up immediately?

Nobody knows how Bennett might have fared, but there was absolutely nothing at that time to indicate he would have been a successful coach at Marquette or even deserved an interview. His only season at a lower D-I level had been a disaster and he had almost no experience coaching or recruiting, even as an assistant, at a D-I level and zero at a high D-I level level.

If Steve Cottingham hired a candidate today with the qualifications and experience Dick Bennett possessed in 1986, you and I would both be part of a mob gathering outside the Al with torches and pitchforks.

And, FWIW, Cords did make a run at Bennett when O'Neill left. Bennett declined.

Pakuni...I am sure you guys are right but I seem to recollect that Bennett wanted the MU job in 1986 too after coming off his successful run at Stevens Point--and MU was cold.  This was in between the screw up of Newell accepting and backing out (after his wife visited Milwaukee and became homesick).   Remembering Majerus quit over the summer.   They definitely settled with Dukiet and this was by far the worst hiring process in MU's history.

Newell only was a head coach for two years prior..with one nice season.  I will go back to taking my ginkgo tablets, but I believe he sniffed then as we were in a bind.  Either way, MU should have hired him both times.

[Pakuni]

Pakuni...I am sure you guys are right but I seem to recollect that Bennett wanted the MU job in 1986 too after coming off his successful run at Stevens Point--and MU was cold.  This was in between the screw up of Newell accepting and backing out (after his wife visited Milwaukee and became homesick).   Remembering Majerus quit over the summer.   They definitely settled with Dukiet and this was by far the worst hiring process in MU's history.

Bennett may very well have wanted the job back in 1986. And had he gotten it, MU fans would have gone apesh*t. Deservedly so.

Again, at that time Bennett was a guy with zero experience at a major or even mid-major program. He was a guy who had a grand total of one year at the D-I level, and a very low level at that. He was a guy whose only D-I team had just put up a 5-23 record. Nothing about that resume screams "Hire me to run a major program!"

I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say that if Monday morning Marquette announces it has hired a guy who in his first and only year of Division I coaching went 5-23, we'd all be calling for Cottingham's head. We've got people here suggesting Chris Lowery and Buzz Williams are beneath Marquette. Imagine the reaction if the leading candidate was a guy who was coaching Division III ball in 2007.
And yet that's exactly what some seem to be suggesting Hank Raymond should have done 22 years ago.

Nice to have hindsight, I suppose, but at the time Hank would have been tarred and feathered on his way out of town. Heck, he might have been tarred and feathered just for taking Bennett seriously as a candidate.

[SoCalEagle]

It's all a smokescreen....MU will hire Roy Williams Tuesday morning.
 

C,mon, we need a real coach and Williams can't cut it at Marquette.  We need a proven winner!!!   

[TallTitan34]

I put a background of these four coaches in this thread if anyone is interested.

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=8291.0