For those in and around Milwaukee...

[Norm]

How would you rate the job that Buzz Williams has done selling and promoting Marquette basketball? Is he more like Kevin O'Neill, who seemed to not enjoy that part and did what he had to do, or is he more like Crean who seemed to enjoy the salesman ship part of the job? Is he doing anything differently than past coaches?

[Marquette_g]

I'm a bit young to comment on the Kevin O'Neill comparison, but I would rate him somewhere between Crean and Deane.  He certainly isn't the showman Crean was, but he does seem to endear himself to those he meets.  He also isn't the media-hating Deane either.  With that said, there certainly seems to be a lack of excitement around the team this year.  Whether it is him, a snow-filled December, the economy, or any number of other causes, there doesn't seem to be a lot of juice about them.

[RedWebster]

Gee...do you think conducting a legitimate coaching search would've created a level of excitement?

But it's not Buzz. It's the fact that he wasn't qualified to be our head coach and people are disappointed with the university publicly acknowledging that we're not a big-time basketball program.

By the way, if you think 2008 is a down year excitement-wise, wait until next year...especially if we miss the NCAA.

Look out below.

[Marquette_g]

I seriously doubt that the casual Milwaukee sports fan is basing their decision on whether to go to an MU game this year on how they chose the coach. 

For people on this board it could certainly have an impact, but projecting that to the general public and those that make up fans 11,000-16,000 at the BC is more than a stretch.

[jos7287]

Gee...do you think conducting a legitimate coaching search would've created a level of excitement?

But it's not Buzz. It's the fact that he wasn't qualified to be our head coach and people are disappointed with the university publicly acknowledging that we're not a big-time basketball program.

By the way, if you think 2008 is a down year excitement-wise, wait until next year...especially if we miss the NCAA.

Look out below.

This guy is a hater and most likely high when he wrote this.  Have you seen our recruiting class for next year?  You honestly believe we aren't going to be a good team and that we could miss the tourny this year?  Stop crying about Buzz and get behind your team.  

Buzz is not a bad coach and doing a lot with what he's got.  The future looks strong.

[Marquette_g]

This guy is a hater and most likely high when he wrote this.  Have you seen our recruiting class for next year?  You honestly believe we aren't going to be a good team and that we could miss the tourny this year?  Stop crying about Buzz and get behind your team.  

Buzz is not a bad coach and doing a lot with what he's got.  The future looks strong.

+1

[RedWebster]

I seriously doubt that the casual Milwaukee sports fan is basing their decision on whether to go to an MU game this year on how they chose the coach. 

For people on this board it could certainly have an impact, but projecting that to the general public and those that make up fans 11,000-16,000 at the BC is more than a stretch.

Nobody said anything about attendance. We're talking about the excitement level. It's not there. The Bradley Center has been a morgue all season. There's something missing and it sure as heck isn't Crean's "presence."

By hiring a guy even UW-Eau Claire wouldn't have considered, Marquette blew the chance to build excitement around the program.

[StillWarriors]

I think any lack of excitement may be due to the fact that the team is so clearly limited in terms of its ceiling based upon the complete absence of an inside game. I suspect that if Otule and/or Fulce look like they can contribute significantly excitement will pick up. Let's hope.

[Blackhat]

Gee...do you think conducting a legitimate coaching search would've created a level of excitement?

But it's not Buzz. It's the fact that he wasn't qualified to be our head coach and people are disappointed with the university publicly acknowledging that we're not a big-time basketball program.

By the way, if you think 2008 is a down year excitement-wise, wait until next year...especially if we miss the NCAA.

Look out below.

=

[Marquette_g]

I think general concern about the team's ability to compete in the Big East (given injuries and size) has contributed to a less than rocking atmosphere.

I would also speculate that having someone like Bob McKillop as our coach, instead of Buzz, wouldn't have made much of a difference in terms of overall program excitement outside of the people on boards like this.

[MUfan12]

Nobody said anything about attendance. We're talking about the excitement level. It's not there. The Bradley Center has been a morgue all season. There's something missing and it sure as heck isn't Crean's "presence."

By hiring a guy even UW-Eau Claire wouldn't have considered, Marquette blew the chance to build excitement around the program.

Where do I start with this...

The place is always a morgue in the non-conference games. UWM lost it's juice once the novelty of playing them wore off last year. Also, were you at the UW game? Plenty of excitement there, and it wasn't from half the crowd in Red.

And the second part is ridiculous. Buzz was going to be a high-major coach soon, there was no way he was going to stay as an assistant here for more than 2 years.

If all you can complain about is his lack of PR savvy, he's doing a great job as coach.

[MU B2002]

Gee...do you think conducting a legitimate coaching search would've created a level of excitement?

But it's not Buzz. It's the fact that he wasn't qualified to be our head coach and people are disappointed with the university publicly acknowledging that we're not a big-time basketball program.

By the way, if you think 2008 is a down year excitement-wise, wait until next year...especially if we miss the NCAA.

Look out below.

Seriously at this point, what does it matter.  Your posts all seem to have the same theme:complaints about the coaching search.  Maybe they didn't have the coaching search you wanted, but would this team be playing any differently if it was under Chris Lowery or some other mid major coach?  I don't think so.  These other coaches wouldn't have brought an inside player with them, so our problems would be the same as they are today.  Is Buzz a big name hire? No.  Is he continuing to land solid recruits and developing as a coach, yes.  He may succeed or he may fail, it would be no different than any other coach that was available to come to Marquette.

[Blackhat]

All the obnoxious "process" bulls..t aside from clowns like Red Webster..i mean abe froman...i mean natedogg......  

Buzz needs to win because he can't charm the alums like Crean.   It's all about winning with Buzz whereas Crean and his dog and pony show had the alums besides themselves.   I think that's the way it should be.   Hopefully we'll see more consistent good results from Buzz and he'll need it.  

[MUfan12]

All the obnoxious "process" bulls..t aside from clowns like Red Webster..i mean abe froman...i mean natedogg......  

Buzz needs to win because he can't charm the alums like Crean.   It's all about winning with Buzz whereas Crean and his dog and pony show had the alums besides themselves.   I think that's the way it should be.   Hopefully we'll see more consistent good results from Buzz and he'll need it.  

That's the other thing, how many of these guys have actually met Buzz? What you see in the media isn't indicative of how he is in person. I got the chance to meet him this summer, and he's a very gracious and engaging guy. He's much more down to earth than Crean, who was like a politician, always looking for the next hand to shake. He'll win over the alums, and I think he already has to a degree.

[Dry White Toast]

Don't know why it took me so long, but I just exercised the "IGNORE" button for the first time.  MAN THAT FELT GOOD!  Thanks for the wonderful feature, mods!

[RedWebster]

Still waiting for somebody to disagree about the lack of excitement and/or to provide a reason why that might be. I gave you a major reason and name-calling ensued. You guys are brilliant!

[mu_hilltopper]

I'll agree with Red for some of that.  

I do believe there's a downturn in excitement about the program.  Since April, 2008 was rough, much like a messy divorce, followed by a shotgun wedding to a new dad.  It's not just guys sitting on a message board .. my wife has said the same thing.  There's just something different about the program now.

I think there's also something to be said about .. this season is a rerun.  We're watching the same movie, with the nearly the same cast of characters, with the same great qualities, and the same faults, on top of a much improved Big East.  While our A-game is great, this team is very capable of putting in a B- performance, getting creamed by the UConns and ULs of the world.  We could very easily be fighting for .500 this year, and a spot in the Dance.

As for the future .. it's still too early to tell if Buzz is a great game coach or not.  If he can rally the troops in times of adversity.  Talk to me in mid-February. -- As for 2009-10?  Yes, we've got a great recruiting class.  Just remember .. none of these kids have played a minute of college ball.  Unless they're the second coming of the Fab 5, it's Lazar and some new kids out there next year, which will be a gigantic step down from DJ, Wes, McNeal.  I'd really be shocked if we made the Dance in 2010.  But who knows.

-- As for Buzz .. I do think he's won over a lot of alums, including myself, on the humanity side of the equation.  He is indeed, a solid, honest, standup guy, with good intentions in his heart.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Still waiting for somebody to disagree about the lack of excitement and/or to provide a reason why that might be. I gave you a major reason and name-calling ensued. You guys are brilliant!

Except for the fear of smoke coming out of your ears, do you think that you could admit that the previous coach did a good job creating excitement for the program and that's why it seems a little down this year?

I'm still excited about Buzz, but I have to admit that MU's former coach did a great job reaching out to even casual fans and getting them excited. Some of his antics grew old... but I believe there is an old "Mcguire-ism" about "Filling the corners"... and MU's most recent coach was certainly good at that.

[MUfan12]

I just think it's way too early to talk about a lack of excitement, etc. These buy games are never all that exciting. The UW game was just as raucous of an atmosphere as it has been with TC here.

If there is no juice for the Nova game, I'll start to believe there's a difference.

Right now, we've had *maybe* two home games of interest. UWM and UW. And the novelty of scoring 100 against UWM has worn off.

Things are different, there's not as much of an emphasis on the head coach. No "TC entrance cam" or those stupid "Our opponent is incredible and unbelievably well-coached and we'll need all of you to carry us tonight" speeches. People are still adjusting to it, but I have a feeling once BE play starts this will all be moot.

[THEGYMBAR]

Buzz has done fine on creating excitement. I really believe the general nature of the economy has taken away that get fired up spirit to some extent. Obviously a big home game like UW will stir emotions up. The general pulse of people I hang with is far calmer. Almost like waiting for other shoe to drop.

I believe that a couple of big wins would bring the excitement level up a few notches. If you saw the article on the Packers today in JS you can see excitement level is down there as well. Do not think many people are looking at things with a great deal of optimism. Just my take on the issue.

[RedWebster]

Except for the fear of smoke coming out of your ears, do you think that you could admit that the previous coach did a good job creating excitement for the program and that's why it seems a little down this year?

Yes and no. I agree that Crean did a good job creating excitement nationally -- that GameDay thing was a major, major coup -- but locally, which is where this thread started, I believe people were on to his line of bull and most people I've talked to didn't care for him personally.

Hilltopper is probably on to something as far as "watching a re-run" is concerned. But I firmly believe it's due to a perceived lack of commitment/disappointment at having missed a gigantic opportunity in April.

Nothing about Buzz Williams says "Marquette" to me and I would not have said that about any of our previous hires (including Dukiet). That may sound lame, but the excitement surrounding Marquette basketball is as much about the brand as anything.

[Sir Lawrence]

-- As for Buzz .. I do think he's won over a lot of alums, including myself, on the humanity side of the equation.  He is indeed, a solid, honest, standup guy, with good intentions in his heart.

True, that.  I also met Mrs. Buzz during halftime of the West Carolina game--very unassuming, genuinely nice person.  I don't think Buzz will ever embarrass the program.

I also believe it's a little early in the season to call a code blue.  The excitement factor will ensue once the students get into the swing of the conference games.  I thought the Wisconsin game was one of the better game day experiences in the BC, and there is still the curiosity factor about Buzz's "style."  

[Markusquette]

I can't see ANY coach we would have gotten that would have pulled in a better recruiting class let alone as good.  Every coach has to start somewhere, and Buzz has shown he can recruit, he is charismatic, honest, motivational, and from what I can see he can coach.  Is it just coincidence that Wes Matthews is having his best season by far?  No, I'm sure it has to do something with Buzz getting him more involved which from what I can tell was a very smart decision since Dominic seems to have transferred more of his points to Wes. 

[RedWebster]

I can't see ANY coach we would have gotten that would have pulled in a better recruiting class let alone as good.  Every coach has to start somewhere, and Buzz has shown he can recruit, he is charismatic, honest, motivational, and from what I can see he can coach. 

Seriously?

[bradforster]

I would start by looking at the non conference home schedule.  Is there one game, other than Wisconsin, that has motivated you to be anything more than a perfunctory observer?  The atmosphere has been comparable to previous years when the bottom tier teams in the country pay visit. I'm going to gauge the excitement level when the Big East season commences next month.  The Bradley Center is an NBA arena, and it's design isn't necessarily conducive to a college atmosphere.  The place is never going to be mistaken for Florida, Duke, Kansas or some of the other more diminutive and tradition rich settings.  It gets loud at times for the big games, and other than that, it's a fairly stale venue.  I don't believe the lack of fervor has much to do with the hiring of Buzz Williams as head coach.  In fact, the best recruiting class in years is about to hit campus, and this year's team has just as much potential as any since the surprise final four season.