Can Buzz make it 3 in a row?

[HoopsMalone]

One of our bigger gripes with Crean was his inability to consistently recruit talent.  This lead to a lack of depth for MU and quick exits from the tournament when James went down in 09 and McNeal went down in 07.  With no depth, four guys on the same team were all able to crack the top 10 all-time in scoring.  Diener and Novak didn't have backup either and were able to put up some serious numbers. 

Buzz was able to salvage the guys that came in 2008 by retaining Otule and Fulce, but also adding an All-Big East caliber player in Jimmy Butler.  For the sake of argument, we will just count that as a transition year, though duly note how great it was of Buzz to make lemonade out of lemons in that situation.

So, Buzz then proceeded to get top recruits in Junior and EWill (and J-May...) along with a solid contributor in Buycks and an All-Big East caliber player in DJO.  Then, he follows it up with apparently talented guards and wings in Blue, Smith, Jones, and Newbill.  He also wasted no time in effectively getting the big, strong scoring wing that J-May was supposed to be in Crowder.  That is 2 solid classes that should do some damage, especially with Otule joining their class.

Now, can Buzz add depth with another solid class?  I personally see it as icing on the cake if he does, but would love to see him replace Buycks, Fulce, and Jimmy with high level talent.  We could really make some noise and having depth could end some of those 2-5 minute scoring droughts as Buzz could turn to someone like Newbill to come in off the bench and hit some shots when other people don't have it. 

I would love to see Buzz replace Jimmy with another talented wing player (Branden Dawson) and then replace Buycks and Fulce with big guys.  Obviously if you can get a top 100 big, Buzz should go for it.  Otherwise I say one Barro/Yous type project and a JUCO big.  Who knows if that is possible.  Dawson might be tough, but I think that type of class is doable.  That would ideally give us a team to really make a move when DJO is a senior hopefully averaging 20 pts. per game.

[4everwarriors]

Sure, have you ever heard him speak?

[KipsBayEagle]

I honestly don't think Marquette's stock has ever been higher.  Not even after the final four run.  People in NYC know Marquette Basketball, and actually wanna talk about it.  Marquette is really beginning to recruit nationally.  I think we are a few years away from being a perennial top 20 team.

[Warrior1969]

Buzz will bring in some talented guys in 2011, whether it will be any of the guys above who knows.  The day after we lost to Georgetown he was out recruiting.  The day after we lost to washington he was out recruiting.

[GoldenWarrior]

I think that Buzz will continue to do a good job recruiting... he has already and will continue to build on his successes.  Plus who wouldn't want to play for that guy?!

The real question is whether or not he'd learn how to properly use any depth we were able to develop.  He's consistently only ran 6-7 deep even when he was back at New Orleans, at least from what I've heard.  Time will tell...

[PE8983]

I am hopeful our bench next year will be more developed.  It was sad watching that Washington game when we were giving away easy baskets for the purpose of avoiding the foul.  Then we were struggling to get every point we could on the offensive end.  Need to be able to play aggressive on both ends, and sub in players that are capable of getting the job done.

[tower912]

He says he wants a 9.5 man rotation.    Assuming health and lack of transfers, he willhave one next year.

[Ready2Fly]

Buzz' competetive advantage in recruiting comes from his strong JUCO connections.  He has shown the ability to snag top flight JUCO players every year on the job.  With the success these players have shown to date in the program, it only makes the sell that much easier for him.  I would expect at least one every year, no matter what the previous class looked like.  This will mitigate any sort of drop-off in recruiting no matter how talented the previous classes are.

[goodgreatgrand]

I honestly don't think Marquette's stock has ever been higher.  Not even after the final four run.  People in NYC know Marquette Basketball, and actually wanna talk about it.  Marquette is really beginning to recruit nationally.  I think we are a few years away from being a perennial top 20 team.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I live in NYC and still have to tell people that MU is in Wisconsin, not Michigan or Illinois.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

That's because were west of the Hudson. I am hearing of  a lot of people who were impressed and loved our offense. Calls coming from friends whose friends called them to watch Marquette. It's building!

[HoopsMalone]

It would be nice to make another run while D-Wade is still an All-NBA caliber player.  He could help validate our program on the coasts.  I'm excited for things to come.  Hopefully 2011 is the year Buzz brings in a big man who can contribute.