Katz on Marquette

[Sir Lawrence]

Marquette upbeat despite turbulent offseason

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4561431&name=katz_andy

Thursday, October 15, 2009 |

Georgetown expects to challenge for the Big East title.

And it's obvious with the turnover of rosters that Pitt and Louisville should drop out of the top two slots from a year ago to make room for a contender that finished in the bottom six last season.

Connecticut, which was tied with Pitt, a game behind Louisville, will slide down a peg, too, albeit maybe just out of the title chase.

Upstart teams like Cincinnati, Seton Hall and St. John's all say they're going to make a run at NCAA berths. If that's the case, a team from the top eight of the Big East has to drop to the bottom seven, right?

Picking Providence to drop makes sense because it lost five key players off last year's team. The Friars didn't make the NCAA tournament last season, but did win 10 league games. Second-year coach Keno Davis has to put his own imprint on the roster this year.

But that's still not enough if those other teams are going to climb higher in the Big East. Another team has to drop.

The consensus among the rest of the league is that team will probably be Marquette after losing a trio of guards (Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and Dominic James) who were the driving force in Tom Crean's and Buzz Williams' success on the court the last three seasons.

"Everyone is making that push and in order for someone to go up, someone else has to go down,'' second-year Golden Eagles coach Buzz Williams said late Wednesday, as he finished an exhausting day that started with a 5 a.m. boot camp wakeup call with his team. Marquette is preparing for Friday's first official day of practice. "If Providence and Marquette are those teams, then maybe that's what it will be.''

With Cincinnati's influx of a highly-touted talent in Lance Stephenson, the healthy return of Anthony Mason Jr. for veteran St. John's and the impact of transfers Herb Pope and Keon Lawrence for surging Seton Hall, Williams isn't dismissing the expected turnarounds.

He's not going to argue any of those points.

But you'd be hard to push the Marquette staff into thinking it isn't finishing somewhere in the top eight with the current roster, despite a turbulent offseason.

Marquette's staff exhibits pride, albeit somewhat privately, and they believe there's no reason that the Golden Eagles should be seen as any less deserving of consideration among possible postseason teams than Pitt, which lost four of five starters and two key players for this season (Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown, who are currently shelved with a broken foot and a fall academic suspension, respectively).

The Pitt comeback is hard to debate considering the Panthers do have an immense talent in 6-foot-9, 235-pound big man Dante Taylor to replace DeJuan Blair, a gold-medal winning point guard (Under-19 USA national team) in Ashton Gibbs and a coach in Jamie Dixon who has a stellar 163-45 record in his first six seasons as a head coach. With Dixon's track record, the expectation is he won't slide out of a top-eight finish.

The Golden Eagles' case would be made stronger had freshman point Junior Cadougan not ruptured his right Achilles tendon, which will keep him sidelined for the season. Their case to stay relevant this season would have been nearly impossible had senior guard Maurice Acker not flip flopped and returned to the team after deciding earlier in the summer to focus on his academics. Acker's minutes jumped from three a game to over 27 after Dominic James went out with a foot injury in the final six games of the regular season.

Williams said it was déjà vu that Acker was in the same position from last winter to now, standing idle until an injury opened up an opportunity for him.

The other point Marquette was counting on was sophomore Darius Johnson-Odom, who injured his left foot in a workout last month. The hope is that Johnson-Odom can come back next week.

The off-court news got worse last month when 2010-11 committed recruit, Monterale Clark, was arrested and charged in an alleged sexual assault at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas. The 6-foot-10 Clark was a highly-touted junior college player who was being heavily pursued by schools in the Big 12 and SEC. Clark hadn't signed a national letter of intent yet (until the November signing period) so the Golden Eagles can't comment on him. However, privately they say that regardless of what happens with the case, Clark will never play for them.

The eligibility of Youssoupha Mbao, a 7-foot-2 freshman expected to contribute, is not settled, and junior forward Joe Fulce is still recovering from surgery on his right knee.

Despite all of the body blows that seem to be coming, the Golden Eagles don't seem to be wilting. There are high expectations for senior Lazar Hayward, who averaged 16.3 points and 8.6 rebounds a game last season, and won a bronze medal for the USA at the World University Games. And the return of Acker and sixth man Jimmy Butler, who averaged 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds last season on the wing, certainly help. "Lazar will be one of the better players in the league,'' Marquette assistant coach Tony Benford said. "Acker, Hayward and Butler all averaged 25 minutes or more toward the end of last season when James went down and we have experience at the right spots -- point guard and the four man. Everybody is going to pick us [as the team that drops]. We'll see.''

While Johnson-Odom is expected back, not having Cadougan is a blow. The expectation that senior point David Cubillan cushions some of it means the Golden Eagles will have two seniors sharing the point, even if neither was projected to be the main distributor at the end of last season.

If junior college stud Dwight Buycks can make an impact on the perimeter, freshman wing Jeronne Maymon can produce, and there is helpful depth behind Hayward with Fulce, sophomore center Chris Otule, freshman Erik Williams and Mbao (assuming he doesn't miss games by the NCAA eligibility center), then there will be quality depth as Benford professes.

Benford isn't shying away from the Golden Eagles needing Otule to score on the block, Maymon to be the strong, power body they see inside or Mbao as the skilled big man who can run the floor and defend at 7-foot-2. "Everybody thinks its going to be us, the team that slides,'' Benford said. "But we'll defend. And you know a Buzz team is going to play hard.''

Getting an early read on this squad could come in Orlando at the Old Spice Classic. Marquette opens with Xavier and then plays either Creighton or Michigan on Thanksgiving weekend.

Playing rebuilding NC State and at Wisconsin in December will also tell a tale about where this team is headed before it opens the Big East with easily the hardest first four games of any team in the league. Marquette faces three favorites who might win the league: at West Virginia, Villanova, Georgetown and at Villanova. That slate alone could push Marquette to the cellar. Whether it stays there will be determined by how much the newcomers have matured by January.

Williams was facing a daunting task of filling the roster with high-profile recruits after the expected departures of Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews and James.

He did that.

He couldn't control the injury to Cadougan, and the 2010 recruiting took a major hit with the Clark situation. Getting Jamail Jones out of Montverde Academy in Decatur, Ga., ranked as the No. 13 small forward on the ESPNU Top 100 helps.

But the long-term success of this program may be determined by how Williams handles this season now that Cadougan is gone, and the focus will be on whether or not the Golden Eagles fall in the league.

Since the expectation is that they will drop, finishing in the top 10 in the Big East will be seen as a major accomplishment that proves there is sustaining power even in a transition year.

[GGGG]

That pretty much sums it up.  Katz is spot on...

[Skatastrophy]

Katz hit that right on the money.

[hdog1017]

Can't argue with Katz's logic.

[KipsBayEagle]

Katz has always seemed to have a soft spot for Marquette.  I remember 3 years ago when Marquette lost mcneal for the ncaa tournament, and we got a crap seed, Katz was the only one who brought it up, let alone defended us.

[wyoMUfan]

nice article, often times I feel like outside writers miss the point or don't have enough info.
Katz pulled this one off, I feel a casual fan would feel cautiously optimistic after reading.

[LON]

Katz hit that right on the money.

+1

[thanooj]

Katz is correct.  I think he touched on something important in having two seniors able to play the point.  With all of the different opinions on the viability of Acker as a BE point guard and David Cubillan's scoring woes I think having two seniors to man the pg position gives us a level of security with such an unproven, young team that might just be our ace in the hole.  I do hope that DJO and Dwight rise to the challenge and come January are taking the majority of backcourt minutes between them, but until that time Ackers ball security and Cubillan's intensity will really serve us well.  Lazar can rebound and score, as he does, while the rest of the guys find their place in the rotation.  I really like that most people are overlooking this "strength" on our team and I kind of like that.  I am not saying the two seniors are going to have stud years.  Not at all.  Just that they could make us better than we would be without them.

[lurch91]

This article was very honest.  Katz did a great job.  I view the article was positive, especially about the confidence and pride the MU staff has in their players.

Also it doesn't hurt for Marquette to get some publicity from a major sport media outlet.

[Freeport Warrior]

As a Badger, Katz could very easily write a slanted piece on us without being overtly nasty and get away with it if he wanted to.  Kudos to him for his objectiveness and ability to not bring his potential bias into the article. He's always been a pretty solid and reliable voice.

[groove]

fair. I think anywhere between 14 and 17 wins would be realistic.

[MUfan12]

Amazing how things change with people's perception of Katz...

It was a very well-written article. Also good to see Buzz (indirectly) acknowledge that Clark will never suit up for MU. Hadn't seen that printed yet.

In regards to the guard play... I was watching the Pitt game from 2006 the other day, and was reminded of how pesky Ronald Ramon was. He always seemed to find space and knock down shots. If Cubillan can fill that role for MU this year, it will be a huge lift.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

I just wikipedia'ed Katz and I was unaware he went to Madison and wrote for the Journal Sentinel.

[Hards Alumni]

I rememer (as does MUfan12) last year when everyone what ready to feed Katz to the lions after some of his articles about MU... more than a few called him an uninformed hack etc.

my my, look at the about face going on by the readers this time.

[Freeport Warrior]

I just wikipedia'ed Katz and I was unaware he went to Madison and wrote for the Journal Sentinel.

Luke Winn from Sports Illustrated also grew up rooting for the Badgers (his dad was/is a Bucky season ticket holder), but he went to Northwestern.

[reinko]

Luke Winn from Sports Illustrated also grew up rooting for the Badgers (his dad was/is a Bucky season ticket holder), but he went to Northwestern.

Luke Winn is a jag.  That is of course until he writes something nice.  Then he is fair and unbalanced.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I rememer (as does MUfan12) last year when everyone what ready to feed Katz to the lions after some of his articles about MU... more than a few called him an uninformed hack etc.

my my, look at the about face going on by the readers this time.

Things also change viewpoints based on what is written, right?  I remember a day here when a lot of people were really pissed at Buzz Williams for slamming Jim MacIlvaine.  Then they weren't upset.  People may find a Peggy Noonan (insert any other author) article great today and next week's article complete crap.

People shouldn't be expected to buy into everything a writer or broadcaster says all the time...right?  

[MR.HAYWARD]

Katz is correct.  I think he touched on something important in having two seniors able to play the point.  With all of the different opinions on the viability of Acker as a BE point guard and David Cubillan's scoring woes I think having two seniors to man the pg position gives us a level of security with such an unproven, young team that might just be our ace in the hole.  I do hope that DJO and Dwight rise to the challenge and come January are taking the majority of backcourt minutes between them, but until that time Ackers ball security and Cubillan's intensity will really serve us well.  Lazar can rebound and score, as he does, while the rest of the guys find their place in the rotation.  I really like that most people are overlooking this "strength" on our team and I kind of like that.  I am not saying the two seniors are going to have stud years.  Not at all.  Just that they could make us better than we would be without them.

I give you credit for your optimism but just becuase they are experienced does not make Cubi or Acker any better at the point than they have shown in the past.  They are not BE caliber point guards.  Marcus Jackson was a senior when he had to bring the ball up the court in Tom Creans 6th year at the helm and he was still not a PG.  Give me talent over experince any day of the week.

 Youth did not hurt Miller, Diener, James, or Hutchins when they were Freshman going up against older players that could not match their talent level.  I will give you that experience talent can beat unexperienced talent, but give me unexperienced talent over experience lack of talent any day.  Love Acker and especially love Cubi, but neither of them are BE caliber point guards.  Junior going down was a huge huge loss.  

Hopefully buycks or DJO start from day 1 at the point or at least hopefully one of them is starting at the point by the beginning of conferecne ball or we could be in trouble.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

People shouldn't be expected to buy into everything a writer or broadcaster says all the time...right?  

No, they shouldn't.

However, I remember those threads and nobody was saying "hmmm, I don't agree with this particular article".

People were just blasting Katz as a person.

I'm no Katz defender, but it is interesting to watch the personal attacks on Andy when he writes something negative about MU, vs when he writes a nicer piece.

We (as fans) are far too sensitive at times and take everything personally.

[ChicosBailBonds]

No, they shouldn't.

However, I remember those threads and nobody was saying "hmmm, I don't agree with this particular article".

People were just blasting Katz as a person.

I'm no Katz defender, but it is interesting to watch the personal attacks on Andy when he writes something negative about MU, vs when he writes a nicer piece.

We (as fans) are far too sensitive at times and take everything personally.

Yup, that's the definition of fandom. Happens everywhere.....happens to some posters.  Ever seen a poster here dare to question the coach or recruiting and you see what happens to them? 

[Hards Alumni]

No, they shouldn't.

However, I remember those threads and nobody was saying "hmmm, I don't agree with this particular article".

People were just blasting Katz as a person.

I'm no Katz defender, but it is interesting to watch the personal attacks on Andy when he writes something negative about MU, vs when he writes a nicer piece.

We (as fans) are far too sensitive at times and take everything personally.

exactly!

[Skatastrophy]

We (as fans) are far too sensitive at times and take everything personally.

To steal a bit from Bob and Brian:

There's a reason that we're called fans (fanatics) and not logs (logicals).  Knee jerk emotional reactions are par for the course.

[Daniel]

I also recall Katz not being all that favorable to Marquette over the last couple of years.  But he is right on in this piece.

I hope we can finish strong in the Confernence - we have lots of challenges. 

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Katz has been on speed dial from our coach's office since the 2003 Final Four. He's given us great pub for years...and done a lot of leg work on coaching vacancies for our former heach coach.

[Lennys Tap]

No, they shouldn't.

However, I remember those threads and nobody was saying "hmmm, I don't agree with this particular article".

People were just blasting Katz as a person.

I'm no Katz defender, but it is interesting to watch the personal attacks on Andy when he writes something negative about MU, vs when he writes a nicer piece.

We (as fans) are far too sensitive at times and take everything personally.

Many on the board developed misgivings about Katz because he's a UW grad and he had TC putting his name out there for every coaching vacancy. Turns out the info was straight from the horse's mouth and Crean was using Katz to either get a new job or get raises and extensions from MU. Classic case of killing the messenger.