"Don't Sleep on Marquette"

[Aughnanure]

http://www.nj.com/college-basketball/index.ssf/2011/01/the_shootaround_syracuse_needs_to_plug_up_holes_at_free-throw_line_before_title_talk_can_begin.html

"3 THINGS I LEARNED FROM LAST WEEK
...
2. Do not sleep on Marquette.
We're looking at you, Notre Dame. They'll never be top-four in the league and never have 29, 30-wins, but Marquette is one of the best teams in the Big East. Just a fact now. Buzz Williams does an incredible job molding versatile players out of everyone else's recruiting scraps and JuCo transfers. And they can shoot the lights out of the gym. Against Rutgers last week, Marquette kept hammering away at the 3-point line because the Scarlet Knights were ceding it. Monday night against the No. 9 Fighting Irish, Marquette shot 70 percent from 3-point range in a 22-point win. This is a team that last year, was involved in a ridiculous 18 single-digit games. Pressure does not effect them."

Don't know how much I take "They'll never be top-four in the league and never have 29, 30-wins" as a compliment, but hey...its something, I guess.

[lab_warrior]

Also don't agree with the "recruiting scraps" comment.  Vander, Jamail and Davante were in the top 50/top 100.  DJO and Jae were very highly rated JUCOs, with Jae being the player of the year...we're not getting anyone's "scraps". 

[Stretchdeltsig]

Agree and disagree too with the opening comments.  Agree that no one should take Marquette lightly as they will play harder than their opponents and will win a lot of games on hustler.  Disagree on the "scraps" comment, Buzz had recruited a lot outstanding talent and the exciting thing is that each year it gets better.  Love Marquette basketball!

[brewcity77]

Also don't agree with the "recruiting scraps" comment.  Vander, Jamail and Davante were in the top 50/top 100.  DJO and Jae were very highly rated JUCOs, with Jae being the player of the year...we're not getting anyone's "scraps".

Vander, Jamail, Williams, and Jamil Wilson were highly rated. Davante wasn't. He was a 3-star and somewhere around 400-something. I remember Buzz talking about what an accomplishment it was after some of his early success that a freshman who was rated so low could have so much success.

[rocky_warrior]

I'd hardly call any of our guys scraps.  It's true though that - at least this past summer/fall - Buzz didn't sign any of his big name targets (whereas other big east schools did get some of those guys).  Though, the couple guys he did sign sound like they were under-rated at the time.

I'm OK if MU's talent is under-appreciated.  Goes along with that chip on the shoulder that Buzz requires (or he'll give you).

"It's hard to be around me and not have a chip on your shoulder, and if for some reason I perceive you don't have a chip on your shoulder, I'll help you create one."  -Buzz

[KipsBayEagle]

That article is one of the biggest backhanded compliments i've ever seen.

[bilsu]

Also don't agree with the "recruiting scraps" comment.  Vander, Jamail and Davante were in the top 50/top 100.  DJO and Jae were very highly rated JUCOs, with Jae being the player of the year...we're not getting anyone's "scraps". 

Davante was not a top 100 player.

[TallTitan34]

They'll never be top-four in the league

The author must have missed 2005 - 2006.  We finished fourth.

[Daniel]

I think Buzz kind of perpetuates this perception of a "rag-tag" team of players and coaches, etc.  After the win last night he said something like, "for a team that can't shoot, to hit 71% from 3 ppoint land is something."  LOL