[Rosiak's Blog] Buzz wraps up the season

[ToddRosiakSays]

Buzz wraps up the season
               

Per the tradition started last season, his first as coach of the Marquette Golden Eagles, Buzz Williams on Tuesday met with the media to both wrap up the season as well as look ahead to the next  -- one that will feature, at a minimum, five new players and a group of returnees that will need to provide the leadership lost with the impending graduation of Lazar Hayward, Maurice Acker and David Cubillan.
               

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/88969307.html
               

[texaswarrior74]

Nothing said about E Will? Does anyone else find that interesting....maybe adding fuel to the fire about another recruit?......Hope not....

[vacinator]

He also says he is looking add one or two players - this year?  Something has to give....   Do we lose a current recruit or a current player or both? 

[Doctor V]

Nothing said about E Will? Does anyone else find that interesting....maybe adding fuel to the fire about another recruit?......Hope not....

Hopefully it slipped his mind, but very few things slip Buzz's mind. If he omitted EWill on purpose, I would say its fairly disrespectful on his part. He has, afterall, been extremely critical of the guy this year. Especially puzzling seeing as Erik Williams is "his guy" and stayed true to Buzz for a few yrs before he finally came to MU

I love many things about Buzz, especially his candor, but I am not a huge fan of being too open about certain negatives of players with the media (such as saying Junior needs to lose weight). I feel that these things can be kept in house, so as to not have media and other influences in the players lives constantly bringing these negative attributes up... Just a personal opinion

With regards to the EWill situation, Ive said for a while now that until he proves me wrong, I will question Buzz's success with players 7-10 in his rotation. He seems to not handle some of those guys as well as he can, and we therefore see many "in the doghouse" situations. I think he didnt handle Cubillan, Acker, OTule, Fulce, and even Butler as well as he could have in 08-09 and this season the same goes with Ewill, Fulce, Junior, etc. Im hoping he proves me wrong and we see a solid 8-10 man rotation next season, but something tells me he will stick with 6-7 guys

[NersEllenson]

With regards to the EWill situation, Ive said for a while now that until he proves me wrong, I will question Buzz's success with players 7-10 in his rotation. He seems to not handle some of those guys as well as he can, and we therefore see many "in the doghouse" situations. I think he didnt handle Cubillan, Acker, OTule, Fulce, and even Butler as well as he could have in 08-09 and this season the same goes with Ewill, Fulce, Junior, etc. Im hoping he proves me wrong and we see a solid 8-10 man rotation next season, but something tells me he will stick with 6-7 guys

I have to disagree with your analysis about the 2008-2009 season - You have to remember where this team was before Dominic James went down - I think 6 or 8 in the country, seemingly destined for an Elite 8, possible Final Four appearance.  He owed it to DJ, Wes, and Rel to let them play almost all minutes  - and the reality is that those guys at 80% (meaning fatigued) were probably better than Mo and Cooby at 100%.  Otule was an absolute project, and Burke provided much better defense and rebounding.  Fulce had a bum knee, and wasn't close to being as active/athletic as he was this year.  Buzz will go 9 -10 deep once he has adaquete depth/talent..I'd guess definitely in the 2011-2012, and quite possibly next year.

[Doctor V]

I have to disagree with your analysis about the 2008-2009 season - You have to remember where this team was before Dominic James went down - I think 6 or 8 in the country, seemingly destined for an Elite 8, possible Final Four appearance.  He owed it to DJ, Wes, and Rel to let them play almost all minutes  - and the reality is that those guys at 80% (meaning fatigued) were probably better than Mo and Cooby at 100%.  Otule was an absolute project, and Burke provided much better defense and rebounding.  Fulce had a bum knee, and wasn't close to being as active/athletic as he was this year.  Buzz will go 9 -10 deep once he has adaquete depth/talent..I'd guess definitely in the 2011-2012, and quite possibly next year.

Perhaps you are right, but it definitely hurt the team at seasons end. Mo and Cubillan showed this season that they can play, Fulce had an excellent game mid-season at Providence and went back into his shell, Otule could have provided more. The results show, and I know DJ got hurt but if I recall there were many saying the team would be better without him (absolutely rediculous by the way)

I guess part of my point is that I have seen Buzz just absolutely rip into EWill and Fulce on the bench. Hes had Mo and JMay quit the team. Im not saying he doesnt yell at the studs of the team, just saying he seems to be quite a bit more critical of mistakes made by the "little guys"

To me its more of a psychological thing. He may think he is being honest and open with these guys, which he is, but he needs to realize that he needs more than his 5-6 best players to win, and by realize I dont mean saying Fulce and Junior will help us win one game, I mean actually helping those kids develop and giving them a chance... Anyone whos ever played a sport knows that if he/she was in EWill's shoes there would be some serious doubts about coach Buzz

[Doctor V]

It's true. Cadougan needs to drop weight.

Its true, you need to read the next sentence

Honesty is beautiful, even in the player/coach relationship. Everyone knows he needs to lose weight, Jr included. I do not know, however, if Jr or any player would appreciate his coach discussing his shortcomings in the media- put yourself if his shoes. Thats why I said in house

Anyway, the bigger point is that I feel he needs to get better with players 7-10 on his roster

[AZWarrior]

I love Buzz.  Yet I also believe you praise in public and rip new a###holes in private.

All in all, there is much more good than bad with Buzz, so I can easily deal with his few foibles.

[APieperFan3]

I love Buzz.  Yet I also believe you praise in public and rip new a###holes in private.

All in all, there is much more good than bad with Buzz, so I can easily deal with his few foibles.

COULDNT AGREE MORE.

I am also a Mich football fan (insert joke about terrible team these past few years here) and I can not STAND Dick Rodriguez cusing out kids ont he sidelines and even worse on National Television....

That being said....a few times this season, I did see Buzz call a timeout and 'search' for players going into timeouts and kind of get in their face before the "huddle" had begun. I don't like, or agree with that kind of stuff...however, Buzz is an intense guy and that may get the best of him sometimes.

I do feel that some of the criticism in public is mostly constructive and also another way to "challenge" his guys ....cuz they see it all, and hear it all....and the only "public" that really will point out these flaws in next coming year are tsome of the people on this discussion board, but thats about it.

[NersEllenson]

Perhaps you are right, but it definitely hurt the team at seasons end. Mo and Cubillan showed this season that they can play, Fulce had an excellent game mid-season at Providence and went back into his shell, Otule could have provided more. The results show, and I know DJ got hurt but if I recall there were many saying the team would be better without him (absolutely rediculous by the way)

I guess part of my point is that I have seen Buzz just absolutely rip into EWill and Fulce on the bench. Hes had Mo and JMay quit the team. Im not saying he doesnt yell at the studs of the team, just saying he seems to be quite a bit more critical of mistakes made by the "little guys"

To me its more of a psychological thing. He may think he is being honest and open with these guys, which he is, but he needs to realize that he needs more than his 5-6 best players to win, and by realize I dont mean saying Fulce and Junior will help us win one game, I mean actually helping those kids develop and giving them a chance... Anyone whos ever played a sport knows that if he/she was in EWill's shoes there would be some serious doubts about coach Buzz

- It could happen this upcoming season, but definitely in the 2011-2012 season -  Buzz will go 8-10 deep.  Cooby was terrible last year, and you don't play him over McNeal or Matthews, you just don't.  Fulce wasn't exactly great in the Providence game last year, he played decent defense, that's it - but he wasn't a better option than Lazar or Jimmy Butler at that position.  To reference Mo Acker leaving the team and JMay as possibly reflecting that playing for Buzz is "hard" or tough, or whatever, is pretty naive.  Listen to Mo's comments on Senior night, Lazar's, Cooby's, about Buzz.  JMay's Dad took him off the team basically.  Mo was pretty much told to take a hike and get his head clear - literally - due to the smokey-smoke...

And most people who have played sports have dealt with a coach that will chew some A$$..at least mine did in 1989-1992 - maybe we are in a politcally correct, touchy-feely world now where every kid gets a good grade, not kids get yelled at, etc..because their self esteem is too fragile.  I suspect our players have been ripped by a coach before, and better be prepared to hear some barbs and taunts playing big time college basketball.  Buzz is fine.

[DiaperDandy]

Did anyone read the comments on the J.S. website underneath Buzz's interview.  One guy was claiming that Montrelle Clark was still coming to MU next year.  What a joke!

[MerrittsMustache]

IMO, a coach should handle things however he's comfortable handling them. If he wants to call out his players in public or rip into them on the sidelines, I have no problem with that. If he wants to give PC answers to the media and take care of problems behind closed doors, that's fine too. The players generally know what they're getting into when they sign with a school/coach.

There's no one recipe to have success or to earn your players' respect. Bob Knight was a screamer/intimidator. Dean Smith was much more calm. Al McGuire was "arrogant and obnoxious." All of those coaches had different styles but they all had great success and are all in the HOF.

Buzz's style can toughen a player up or it can break his spirits. The players for a more reserved coach could become soft or they could thrive with positive affirmation. It's all about what the coach believes will work the best for his team. Based on the comments from current and former players, Buzz is a tough coach to play for, but he's also a down-to-earth guy with a big heart who has earned himself a lot of respect.

[MerrittsMustache]

I guess part of my point is that I have seen Buzz just absolutely rip into EWill and Fulce on the bench. Hes had Mo and JMay quit the team. Im not saying he doesnt yell at the studs of the team, just saying he seems to be quite a bit more critical of mistakes made by the "little guys"

Quite often the "little guys" aren't ready to be the "big guys" because they make too many mistakes. Fulce and EWill, for example, have a lot of talent between them, but they've struggled with being in the right place at the right time. That often leads to "constructive criticism" from Buzz.

[Doctor V]

- It could happen this upcoming season, but definitely in the 2011-2012 season -  Buzz will go 8-10 deep.  Cooby was terrible last year, and you don't play him over McNeal or Matthews, you just don't.  Fulce wasn't exactly great in the Providence game last year, he played decent defense, that's it - but he wasn't a better option than Lazar or Jimmy Butler at that position.  To reference Mo Acker leaving the team and JMay as possibly reflecting that playing for Buzz is "hard" or tough, or whatever, is pretty naive.  Listen to Mo's comments on Senior night, Lazar's, Cooby's, about Buzz.  JMay's Dad took him off the team basically.  Mo was pretty much told to take a hike and get his head clear - literally - due to the smokey-smoke...

And most people who have played sports have dealt with a coach that will chew some A$$..at least mine did in 1989-1992 - maybe we are in a politcally correct, touchy-feely world now where every kid gets a good grade, not kids get yelled at, etc..because their self esteem is too fragile.  I suspect our players have been ripped by a coach before, and better be prepared to hear some barbs and taunts playing big time college basketball.  Buzz is fine.

Listening to Mo, Lazar, and Cubillan on senior night is a little different than listening to EWill or Fulce I'm sure. I would NEVER claim that Buzz is a bad guy or that his players dislike him- the way the big 3 warmed up to him so quickly and the way his players talk about him its obvious he's an excellent individual and treats them with the utmost respect

Im also not saying he needs to be soft or politically correct. If he feels like he needs to rip into someone, bench someone, tell someone hes the best kid hes ever coached, Im all for it as long as the team is winning

All Im saying is that he needs to be consistent. He needs to treat all the guys the same no matter how good or bad. The last thing any coach needs is to get a reputation that he only plays "his guys"- MU is not typically a program that gets a ton of top 50 sure fire starter type talent, so these kids that are ranked barely in the top 100 and wonder if they will have a chance to play can NOT have a doubt with Buzz

Playing and developing all the guys on your squad not only keeps them happy, but it keeps future recruits happy, especially many of the recruits that are looking at MU. I know its only two seasons and I fully hope and expect this is something Buzz improves on

That said, he seems to be an excellent man, recruiter, motivator, and head coach and noone is perfect. He is great for the university thus far, but it is that nitpicky part of the offseason 

[NersEllenson]

Listening to Mo, Lazar, and Cubillan on senior night is a little different than listening to EWill or Fulce I'm sure. Playing and developing all the guys on your squad not only keeps them happy, but it keeps future recruits happy, especially many of the recruits that are looking at MU. I know its only two seasons and I fully hope and expect this is something Buzz improves on

That said, he seems to be an excellent man, recruiter, motivator, and head coach and noone is perfect. He is great for the university thus far, but it is that nitpicky part of the offseason 

I suspect you will hear Fulce talk highly of Buzz on Senior night next year.  Fulce is known to be the best Buzz impersonator, and makes fun in a good way of Buzz..they have a great relationship from all accounts.  And as Merritts Stache pointed out, Buzz probably doesn't yell at "his guys" as much as Fulce and EWill, as they aren't out of position defensively, etc..and Fulce and EWill have things to improve on (not to say all players don't, but some players need more exultation/imploring/etc.).  I don't want to nitpick your post, but I think you are nitpicking his use of the bench and player development..when looking at the acutal facts of the roster in 2008/2009 and 2009/2010...I'd say players have shown a lot of improvement and development under Buzz - Jimmy, Cooby, Mo, Fulce, DJO - so I just am trying to point that fact out, and that is somewhat contradicts some of the points you are making in your post.  That said, I agree that the off-season is a time for nit picking..so no worries...but just trying to point out an alternative thought process to Buzz's coaching/player development success/methods..

[Dawson Rental]

Did anyone read the comments on the J.S. website underneath Buzz's interview.  One guy was claiming that Montrelle Clark was still coming to MU next year.  What a joke!

Yeah, I saw that too.  Unless there's a video somewhere proving that Montrelle did nothing wrong and was, in fact, set up by his teammates, that is just not gonna happen.

It had to be a Badger flamer.