[Rosiak's Blog] MU inks five on signing day

[ToddRosiakSays]

MU inks five on signing day


Nov. 12, 2008
While there were no surprise announcements regarding the likes of Jamil Wilson, Michael Snaer or Chris Colvin at MU's signing-day news conference on Wednesday, there were still plenty of newsy nuggets to emanate from the Al McGuire Center -- especially considering it was the first time coach Buzz Williams has been able to comment publicly on his five commitments.

"This is a major day for Marquette basketball," he said. "I think we're off to a good start. We'll continue to recruit every day to sign the absolute best people and best players. But considering what we're losing, not just from a position standpoint but also as it relates to classifications, I think we've signed a balanced class from a roster perspective...and how they all fit in with the guys that we have returning.

"As of today we're at six. I'm pleased with where we're at. But I don't know that you'll ever be real pleased until we have 13 McDonald's All-Americans. And we'll continue to get after it."

So with that, I'll go player by player and give you what Williams had to say on each.

Junior Cadougan: "When you look at what's become the base of our program, with Jerel and Wes and Dominic, obviously we've got to replace those three guys.

"Junior is not only a point guard, he's a true point guard, and I think that's vital in relation to signing a five-player class up to this moment, having a guy that can run the point from start to finish. I think he'll have the opportunity to play heavy minutes right away just because of his ability to think and play like a true point guard."

-- Williams said Cadougan's been dealing with foot and ankle problems recently; he was out from January-May with a broken foot, so that could be something that bears watching.

-- Williams said he'd like to sign a point guard in every recruiting class.

-- Cadougan is the highest-rated individual player in MU's recruiting class, with Maymon behind him, and had some major schools on him prior to committing to the Golden Eagles in July.

"He was supposed to have committed to Louisville last spring; it didn't work out the way it was supposed to for whatever reason," Williams said. "I don't know; I didn't ask any questions. I was just trying to get him to commit to here. So we're grateful he's a part."

Erik Williams: "Obviously he committed to us last year when I was an assistant. I've known Erik since he was a freshman; he's an unbelievable person.

"The last time that I saw him, when I was an assistant at Marquette, he had 29 and 17 against the No. 2-ranked team in the country in the Houston vs. The Nation Tournament at Christmas. That was probably the best game that he had ever played up until that moment in time.

"He's had a good fall; he hasn't had a great fall. He's still struggling a little bit with his foot, but I think that's completely behind him now. They had a scrimmage (Tuesday) and he was really good, and they start play next week.

"He has a very high ceiling. He's 6-7, legitimate, he's very long, very athletic, can do multiple things as far as his positions on both ends of the floor. We want to recruit guys that can pass, dribble and shoot with toughness being the No. 1 priority on both ends, and Erik represents that."

-- I asked Williams what he'd consider Williams' and Maymon's primary positions once they arrive at MU.

"Erik's taller, Erik's longer. J-May's a lot thicker and a lot stronger," he said. "J-May's a lot better off the bounce. I think that both of them have a chance to be really good defenders. They're not quite there yet. But they both can play on the floor at the same time, that's for sure."

-- Williams, like Cadougan, missed a significant portion of his junior year after suffering a broken foot. Williams, unlike Cadougan, had surgery to correct the problem and is apparently ready to go.

"He wears, similar to what Liam will end up wearing, orthotics on his feet, and I think that's really taken a lot of pressure off that particular metatarsal bone that was broken," said Williams. "It's called a Jones fracture, which is the same thing that happened to Yao Ming, and the doctor that operated on Yao Ming is the same doctor that operated on Erik.

"We've probably spent more time over the last 90 days talking about Erik's foot and exactly what we needed to do than about his commitment and what we were doing in practice and individual workouts, just because we wanted to make sure that we had the absolute best care (for him).

"They've done a great job, and so far everything's fine, and I anticipate everything to be fine. He's got a pin in it, so he's not going to break it again."

-- Williams has been billed as a developing perimeter shooter. Aside from David Cubillan and Maurice Acker returning as seniors, that's likely going to be an area of concern heading into next season.

"I don't know that any of them would necessarily be called great shooters," said Williams, referring to the five signees. "I think some of them would be termed great scorers. I think Dwight Buycks can make open shots, but I still don't think that you would call him a shooter when describing his game in the first three or four adjectives.

"We need to always recruit guys that can hit open shots. But more than that we always need to recruit guys that can score baskets. I don't know if you would call Dominic James a shooter, or Jerel McNeal a a shooter, or for that matter Wesley Matthews a shooter. But I think that all three of those guys thus far in their careers have scored a lot of baskets.

"So I think the complexion of the perimeter players that we've signed thus far is similar to what we're losing. But we always have to make sure that we have enough guys on the floor that can shoot."

Jeronne Maymon: "His body is Big East-physically ready. He's similar to Erik in that I think he can do a lot of different things. He's been compared to Ron Artest. I don't like to compare our players to any other players, but he is very, very talented on both ends, and I think he brings a level of toughness that, from the first day he's here, he'll be able to contribute.

"I don't know if they'll win the state championship this year or not, but I think that team at Memorial with Jeronne leading them has the opportunity to be the best in the state. We're grateful that he's here. It's important to us that we recruit from within the state, and then branch out, and I think that we've been able to do that."

-- Williams compared Maymon to Lazar Hayward with regard to the matchup issues he can present.

"I think that Lazar is probably, as of today, a better shooter, and I think Jeronne is probably a better driver," he said. "Jeronne is taller, Jeronne is thicker, and I think how you match up with those guys is going to be very hard."

-- In talking about recruiting and matchups, Williams also said in an ideal world he'd have two true centers with which to work each season, along with that true point guard he referenced earlier.

"I think you need to have two true 5s," he said. "Hopefully one can score with his back to the basket, and hopefully both of them can rebound and defend their position. I think if you're going to use all 13 eligible scholarships in that particular year, then you need to recruit 10 really good players that are not a 1 or a 5."

Toughness was also a word that came up frequently.

Dwight Buycks: "He arguably is the best junior-college guard in the country. He can play the 1, he can play the 2, and within how fast we play, and depending upon the complexion of our roster over the next two years, I think he can play the 3.

"He's very, very skilled, he has a great spirit about how he plays on both ends. He's a great leader. Obviously he's from Milwaukee and along with J-May, we want to recruit the state's best. And I think with Dwight and Jeronne, those guys represent two of the best in the state. That's important to us, and the relationships that we've built with the high-school coaches and the college coaches in the area. I think it bodes for our future as it relates to the upcoming recruiting classes."

-- Buycks' junior-college experience will obviously give him a leg up for playing time next season. Considering MU needs to replace three four-year starters in James, McNeal and Matthews, a junior-college guard was almost a recruiting must.

"We had to have some immediate experience. Had to," Williams said. "I didn't know it was going to be Dwight. Coach (Jeff) Kidder's a very good coach, they will have practiced 200 times by the time he gets here, I think they'll have a chance to win a national championship, so that means they're going to play 37, 39 games this year.

"So he comes here with 200 Division I-type practices and he's going to have played hopefully 70-75 games. We're going to need that experience the very first day we have individual workouts next September. We had to have a guard that could play the point but also have the ability score right away, whose body and mind set was such that he wasn't in complete shock on a daily basis of what was being said or being displayed in practice."

Brett Roseboro: "Probably the least-publicized guy, but I'm not sure that in the end won't have the most value to the life of our program. I think he has a very high ceiling. He doesn't know where he's at quite yet physically, and he's not quite sure what he needs to do on the court in a lot of ways. But on the flip side of that he has a great skill set, can really run the floor, is another left-handed player.

"I think that Brett, because he's from a small town, because he played for a bad AAU team, a lot of people didn't know him. And once people started finding out about him, similar to anything else in recruiting, it just kind of blew up. And we had been there from the beginning, and I think that relationship was firm and why we were able to sign him."

-- Williams shed a little more light on the recruitment of Roseboro, whose commitment came quickly and somewhat unexpectedly late last month.

"Aki Collins was the lead recruiter on Brett Roseboro. Probably a lot of people didn't know Aki when I hired him, but he's a great person, and I think the thing I like about Aki the best is he treats everyone the same, and he realizes how fortunate he is to be here, and he has the same views as I have on a lot of different things.

"The reason we got Brett was not because he blew up. When he blew up, I asked Aki, 'Hey, Aki, what's going on with this kid?' And he said, 'Coach, I've been recruiting him for a month.' And I said, 'Well, why didn't you tell me?' And he said, 'Coach, I knew you were tired of wasting days.' Because obviously every time we leave campus, that counts as a day.

"We did a home visit with Brett right at the very end of the contact period in the fall, and then because of Aki's relationship with the coach, and the AAU coaches and the mom, and Brett most importantly, we were able to hold fim on that."

-- Williams termed Roseboro "a true 4."

"Brett is a 4 that can shoot, but I don't think that his body is physically ready to play the 5 yet," he said. "His skill set is such that he can play the 4 and the 5. Lazar Hayward is going to end up playing some 5 for us this year, and if he can play the 5 for us two or three minutes a game, I'm sure Brett can.

"Ideally we want to make sure Chris gets better, and obviously as soon as Liam's released to begin working out...those two guys as it relates to this recruiting class probably have as important a role as the five guys we've signed. We've signed those five guys in counting on Liam and Chris being solid on both ends of the floor, and I think they will."

-- Williams had an interesting take on landing Roseboro, when asked signing a player who rose so quickly from relative obscurity concerned him at all.

"If you hadn't been raised in the business the way that I had, I think it would probably be a little more nerve-wracking," he said. "I kind of like those guys that play from behind, that are underdogs. Typically they have a (chip) on their shoulder. I think they compete that way, live that way, train that way.

"I didn't have that much apprehension in taking Brett because I felt the same vibe that I used to feel when I was his age, that I felt when I first started in this business. And that may be the wrong vibe to feel. That may be inexperience speaking on my part. But I like those kinds of guys."

-- Delivered by Feed43 service



http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/34377309.html

[deerchaser]

"As of today we're at six. I'm pleased with where we're at. But I don't know that you'll ever be real pleased until we have 13 McDonald's All-Americans. And we'll continue to get after it."

Does this interest anyone else?  I know my counting is sometimes suspect, but I'm not the only one that has us at 5.

[Henry Sugar]

McMorrow counts as a member of the 2009 class

[deerchaser]

Ah, okay, although I am constantly including him with this year's group.

[LastWarrior]

Damn... i was hoping it was a slip from Buzz and he had a Snaer in the bag.

[texaswarrior74]

Damn... i was hoping it was a slip from Buzz and he had a Snaer in the bag.

....or maybe Wilson...???

[4thAndState]

....or maybe Wilson...???

I am elated with Buzz's first class of recruits. I am, however, a little confused regarding Wilson. About one week ago, Buzz tells Jamil and his Dad that MU is no longer recruiting him. Fine. That got wide play in a variety of media. Fine. Now are we back in the hunt or re-interested? Can someone help me fill in the blank here? Or, is all this renewed Wilson chatter just wild speculation?

[muwarrior87]

we are NOT in on Wilson.

[HoopDreams]

we are NOT in on Wilson.

Care to explain?

[nola03]

Care to explain?

Co-sign.

Considering we were very much in the sweepstakes 24 hours ago, it'd be interesting to see why that has changed again so quickly.

[4thAndState]

Co-sign.

Considering we were very much in the sweepstakes 24 hours ago, it'd be interesting to see why that has changed again so quickly.

Since I asked the original question a few posts up about the seemingly 180-degree on Wilson, let me add this -- I also believe MU is no longer in on Wilson. I have no inside info, just what Buzz said publicly about two weeks ago. If there is anything we have learned about Buzz, it's that he is honest, sometimes brutally honest, but honest. I will take him for his word on this one.

[bma725]

we are NOT in on Wilson.

Might want to rethink that statement, Mark Miller confirmed a couple days ago that MU is involved with Wilson again. 

No word on whether Buzz decided to seek him out again or Wilson contacted MU, but as of the last update, MU is still involved.

[Pakuni]

Since I asked the original question a few posts up about the seemingly 180-degree on Wilson, let me add this -- I also believe MU is no longer in on Wilson. I have no inside info, just what Buzz said publicly about two weeks ago. If there is anything we have learned about Buzz, it's that he is honest, sometimes brutally honest, but honest. I will take him for his word on this one.

It's entirely possible that Buzz was honest at that time, but circumstances changed recently causing a change of course.
I, of course, have no idea what's really going on. Just speculating like everyone else.

[Doctor V]

this may have been posted somewhere already but heres what i heard. again, dont know the source too well but it sounded plausible. I was told that wilson and his father were set on signing with MU during madness. However, something happened and they changed their minds and never showed. This pissed off Buzz (likely loyalty) and he pulled out of the recruit on wilson. next day or two he landed roseboro- maybe a bit rash? only the future will tell. Earlier this week Wilson's father regretted backing out and tried to get interest from MU again, prob realizing that this may be the best place for him. So, i would assume, Buzz had the option if re-taking Wilson back in. Dont know where that led...

again all speculation, but if that is the case i would suggest Buzz sign the kid- i think you have to if he wants to be here

my gut feeling- if snaer isnt a Golden Eagle tomorrow (which i must admit i have a weird sense of likely false confidence because he has been all over the place and may pull a shocker like shumpert)  i think Wilson will be at MU.

[rocky_warrior]

I was told that wilson and his father were set on signing with MU during madness. However, something happened and they changed their minds and never showed. This pissed off Buzz

I thought that was debunked because Wilson was at (competing in) a volleyball tourney - and therefore couldn't make it to madness.  Surely Buzz would have been aware of that possibility.  Not sure if we'll ever know the complete story.  Just interested to see how it all works out.

[Avenue Commons]

The great thing about recruiting is ultimately there are no unknowns, the kid either suits up for Marquette one day or he doesn't. We will all know soon enough.