Should Buzz be fired?

[avid1010]

We have more talent on the roster than at any time since Al McGuire.  We will likely be better next year. 

no way... wade and jackson + 3 > MU now

[brewcity77]

This team does not have more talent than the 2003 Final Four team.  That team had three future NBA players.  This team doesn't even have the same talent as the 1994 Sweet 16 team.

If we make the NCAA tournament, it will be as a low seed and we'll be out in the first round.

I expect Butler will be an NBA draft pick, probably in the second round. Both DJO and Crowder seem to have done enough to be in-line to head to the NBA. Granted he hasn't shown the same skillset of Novak, but I think that Blue has shown as much talent as a freshman as Novak did on that 2003 team, and that's not mentioning that Mellow still has years in front of him to possibly show that he can also play at the next level. I don't know that this team is as well-rounded, nor that it has the same talent level at certain key positions (Jackson and Diener come to mind), and as far as that one superstar we certainly don't have anyone who has proven to be Wade-like, but in overall talent, I think this team may have more, especially if the ultimate arbiter is how many end up playing in the NBA.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

I know this thread wasn't started in the spirit of Tower thinking Buzz should be fired - but if any here even think he should be anywhere even remotely close to a "hot seat" - sorry, but you are a complete idiot.  The overreaction of many MU fans is naseuating.  It was a BAD loss to Lville, yes.  MU has had some heartbreaking losses in the Buzz regime thus far. 

Let's maintain some perspective and realize Buzz is 38 years old and only in year 3 as MU's head coach.  We were picked 12th in the Big East last pre-season - we all know we vastly exceeded expectations.  MU84 might argue he projected a 5th place finish based on the talent of the team - Butler, DJO, Buycks combined with the remaining "talent" of Mo Acker and David Cubiallan and Lazar.  Without Butler and DJO at minimum..no way MU makes the NCAA last year.  Who got them here?  Buzz.

This year's team will be an NCAA team.  Period.  Might even break through to a Sweet 16 appearance.  We have more talent on the roster than at any time since Al McGuire.  We will likely be better next year.  Some here bitch about Buzz recruiting JUCO's - yet our JUCO's have been great players and great kids.  Some people just like to bitch to bitch.  Buzz makes mistakes just like every coach does - but for those perfect armchair fans out there that are perfect - get a grip...

Very well said overall.  This "firing" talk I heard from more than a few people this past weekend is just over the top and absurd.  

Late game issues and all, sorry, coaches with 69% career win percentages (63% in Big East games so far) and the ability to pull in top high school and JUCO talent from all over the United States are not "dime a dozen" in the same fashion that a very notorious poster here once applied towards a legendary Marquette point guard.  

If some here are not happy to have Buzz, I'm sure there's about 300 other D1 programs in the country that would be happy to take someone of that pedigree off our hands.  We're not Kentucky fans and can go out and hire the hottest coach in the land (Calipari) two years after running out a great coach (Tubby Smith) and blowing the next two seasons (Gillispie) because we got too greedy as fans.  

We've been VERY fortunate to have two great hires in a row with Crean and Buzz, but remember, any Big East program is one bad coaching hire away from the basement, and a potential long-term stay there (see:  DePaul).  Warts and all, Buzz has a good thing going, and we should hope he sees that and keeps to his word and stays as long as we'll have him.

[mugrad2006]

I love this year's team, but if anybody thinks they are better than the '03 team they should watch this:

http://vault.ncaa.com/?game=306SR053_s01&timecode=00:00:03:77

Keep in mind that Kentucky was the consensus #1 team in the country at that time, and even with a less than 100% Bogans were crazy talented.  But MU had Diener, Novak, Jackson, Wade, and Merritt in the the starting rotation (all Top 100 recruits except Wade and that's just b/c of his academic issues).  Add to that Karon Bradley (another Top 100 recruit), Townsend, Chapman, and Sanders and you've got a team that can go nine deep with no holes weaknesses.

[NersEllenson]

This team does not have more talent than the 2003 Final Four team.  That team had three future NBA players.  This team doesn't even have the same talent as the 1994 Sweet 16 team.

If we make the NCAA tournament, it will be as a low seed and we'll be out in the first round.

I guess I kind of overlooked the Final Four team...but...take away Wade..and the Final Four team was probably a first round exit NCAA team at best.  We saw what happened after DWade and RJax were gone - NIT first round losses..

I genuinely believe this year's team will win their first round NCAA game.  They will make the NCAA.  Too much talent and too good offensively and can cause too many problems offensively to NOT make NCAA.

[warriors1965]

I guess I kind of overlooked the Final Four team...but...take away Wade..and the Final Four team was probably a first round exit NCAA team at best.  We saw what happened after DWade and RJax were gone - NIT first round losses..

I genuinely believe this year's team will win their first round NCAA game.  They will make the NCAA.  Too much talent and too good offensively and can cause too many problems offensively to NOT make NCAA.

Too much talent?

Too good offensively?

I hope you're right, but I don't see this talent overload  that you do, and the lack of consistent shooting makes each and every game a crapshoot, imo.

As far as being fired, of course not.  But how long does Buzz get to figure out how to coach defense and become better than inept at late game X's and O's?  Seriously, how long does his on-the-job training last?

Buzz's recruiting may be good, but he's not getting superstars that have the talent level to overcome his poor game management.

[bamamarquettefan]

Wow, we've gone from wondering how in the world MU would compete when they joined the Big East to asking whether a coach should be fired (though I understand the points was that he shouldn'it) after destroying one ranked team and losing by another on the road by 1 point.

Nice to see that undefeated Syracuse also did exactly as well as MU did at the Peterson Center tonight - an 8 point loss.

I believe the initial post makes the point though - it may be worthwhile for UNC, Kansas or Kentucky to complain anytime their coach has any hiccup because they will always be in the running for the top coach in the country.  We have a great tradition, but we ain't there.  I consider us very blessed to have Buzz, and hope we has a very long career here.

[mugrad2006]

Too much talent?

Too good offensively?

I hope you're right, but I don't see this talent overload that you do, and the lack of consistent shooting makes each and every game a crapshoot, imo.

As far as being fired, of course not.  But how long does Buzz get to figure out how to coach defense and become better than inept at late game X's and O's?  Seriously, how long does his on-the-job training last?

Buzz may be a poor in game coach, but this team is hardly an inconsistent shooting team.  They're 13th in the country in offensive efficiency, and 35th in effective field goal percentage (including 24th in 2pt FG%).  This team is exceptional at shooting the ball, the problem is they couldn't stop Centenary if their NCAA tourney lives depended on it.

[brewcity77]

I hope you're right, but I don't see this talent overload  that you do, and the lack of consistent shooting makes each and every game a crapshoot, imo.

I think there's a bit of a disconnect on this board regarding talent. The bottom line is that talent does not automatically translate into wins. The best basketball example ever was Derrick Coleman. In terms of size, strength, and pure talent, he should have been one of the five best players in the history of the game. But he simply didn't have what it took in terms of work ethic. As Sports Illustrated famously said, "Coleman could have been the best power forward ever; instead he played just well enough to ensure his next paycheck."

Looking at this year's Marquette team, the talent is evident. Obviously Butler, Crowder, and DJO are high-level talents that produce on pretty much a nightly basis. Blue has incredible raw ability, but isn't yet polished. And I think it's accepted that Cadougan, Williams, and Jones, both top 100 recruits, have great talent. Even Gardner and Buycks this year have shown to be far more talented than anyone really gave them credit for coming into the season.

Add in two incredibly hard workers in Otule and Fulce and you have all the ingredients for the type of team that could challenge for a Big East crown and make a deep tournament run. But talent alone doesn't win games. All you have to do is look at teams like George Mason from a few years ago to see that there's more to winning than raw athletic ability. One guy in the D-League and that team went to the Final Four.

[downtown85]

Buzz needs to learn what is best in life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V30tyaXv6EI

[mileskishnish72]

I hope to God Buzz doesn't get fired anytime soon - it would ruin this board! It's already tough enough with Buzz vs. Crean, let's not let another guy into the mix just yet!

[mileskishnish72]

I had previously mentioned that Buzz might benefit from having a bench coach, akin to what Keady is doing. On another thread Stone Cold suggested getting a coach to be a defensive specialist. There are already so many guys in suits massing around the team during TO's that I was looking for the casket. Who are all those guys and what are their jobs?

[Dr. Blackheart]

I had previously mentioned that Buzz might benefit from having a bench coach, akin to what Keady is doing. On another thread Stone Cold suggested getting a coach to be a defensive specialist. There are already so many guys in suits massing around the team during TO's that I was looking for the casket. Who are all those guys and what are their jobs?

Buzz has Lewis Orr as his mentor, quality coach paid for by MU.  He attends most home games and sits on the press table near the bench and provides Buzz feedback after the games
. 
http://navarrocollege.edu/athletics.php?sport=Basketball&id=40

Other head coaches on staff are Bart Lundy, DBO, and Scott Monarch, who was a head coach at a lower level.  Tony Benford was an Associate Head Coach at Arizona State. Aki Collins is another assistant.  Brad Autry, a former Bill Self assistant at Tulsa, is charge of Student-Athlete Development. I think Buzz is younger than all except Aki. You can read their bios below.  Very, very solid staff. 

http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/marq-m-baskbl-mtt.html

[GGGG]

I guess I kind of overlooked the Final Four team...but...take away Wade..and the Final Four team was probably a first round exit NCAA team at best.  We saw what happened after DWade and RJax were gone - NIT first round losses..

News Alert!!!  You take the best player off of a team, and they are likely to be worse!!!

C'mon....

[mileskishnish72]

Lewis (not Louis of Siena and Seton Hall)  Orr should be moved closer to Buzz than the press table so he could help Buzz with game flow during games, not give him feedback after them.

[GGGG]

My guess is that he cannot do any coaching during games given the limits on the number of coaches on the payroll.

[Galway03]

  After reading the Bios, it would appear that Lundy has the most credentials of anyone on staff and is the same age as Buzz. I didn't know the guy had over 200 wins as a head coach.  I think that Coach Williams is a far better in game coach than given credit for on this board. One stop late game or one better decision by any player over the last 3 min. of Saturdays game and this conversation doesn't take place. I suggest that it is yesterdays topic so lets move on.

[NersEllenson]

Too much talent?

Too good offensively?

I hope you're right, but I don't see this talent overload  that you do, and the lack of consistent shooting makes each and every game a crapshoot, imo.

As far as being fired, of course not.  But how long does Buzz get to figure out how to coach defense and become better than inept at late game X's and O's?  Seriously, how long does his on-the-job training last?

Buzz's recruiting may be good, but he's not getting superstars that have the talent level to overcome his poor game management.

I believe it is this type of opinion that the original poster was referring to.  Are you explicity asking for Buzz to be fired?  No.  Are you implying Buzz should be on some type of hot seat?  Yes.  Is it ridiculous considering the guy has won 63% of his games in the Big East.  Absolutely.  MU is playing in the premier league in college basketball.  You are going to have some gut wrenching losses. Lville was the worst, yes..but come on.  Hell Roy Williams couldn't get UNC to the NCAA last year.  We just beat a ranked ND team by 22.  Appeared to have the same ability against Lville and it slipped away on the road.  We controlled a game against WVU who is a Top 25 caliber team. 

[willie warrior]

I hope you are right, but we need to start winning some of these type games against big time opponents, instead of the other way around.

From what I saw yesterday, Pitt is definitely the best in the league and better than us, but I think we have a good chance against the rest of the league teams. But by the same token, some of the lower tier teams could beat us--life in the BEast. We need two and probably three wins against Syracuse, ND, UConn, Villanova, St. John's, Georgetown. Until we start beating some of those, we will still question some of Buzz's decision making.

[APieperFan3]

I hope you are right, but we need to start winning some of these type games against big time opponents, instead of the other way around.

From what I saw yesterday, Pitt is definitely the best in the league and better than us, but I think we have a good chance against the rest of the league teams. But by the same token, some of the lower tier teams could beat us--life in the BEast. We need two and probably three wins against Syracuse, ND, UConn, Villanova, St. John's, Georgetown. Until we start beating some of those, we will still question some of Buzz's decision making.

Agree willie. I also would put Syracuse in that tier of teams who are "better than us". However, just as MU/Nova/Uconn (2nd tier) teams have a chance of losing to the lower level teams--life in BEast...Pitt/Cuse have a chance of losing to the 2nd tier teams...but they are just too good of teams to lose to the "lower level" teams this year, IMO.

I think Nova/St. Johns could be a gough match-ups for us. I like our chances against Uconn (at home) and woul love nothing more than yo beat ND at the Joyce Center - which isnt a gimme by any means.

[wojosdojo]

This team does not have more talent than the 2003 Final Four team.  That team had three future NBA players.  This team doesn't even have the same talent as the 1994 Sweet 16 team.

If we make the NCAA tournament, it will be as a low seed and we'll be out in the first round.

Maybe you forgot last years team was 11-8 at one point and everyone was panicking as well.
2009-2010             2010-2011
1. @ WV            1. Duke
2. @ Nova          2. @ Vandy
3. @ 'Cuse         3. @ Pitt
4. Nova             4. Gonzaga
5. @ Wis           5. Wis
6. FSU              6. Louisville
7. NCST
8. @ DePaul

Id say that this years team is still off to a better start and I am not concerned about them making the tourny because theyve aready fought through it before and proved a lot of people wrong. I wouldnt be surprised if this team hit the sweet 16, at all.

[GGGG]

Last year, when we were 11-8, we went 9-1 in our next ten against these opponents:  Rutgers, @UConn, DePaul, @Providence, South Florida, Pitt (L), @Cincy, @St. Johns, @Seton Hall, Louisville.

Our schedule was completely front-loaded.

Now we are heading into the meat of our schedule...at Louisville (which was Sat.), at Notre Dame, at St. Johns, at Georgetown, Syracuse, UConn...

Not going to be easy.

[TJ]

 After reading the Bios, it would appear that Lundy has the most credentials of anyone on staff and is the same age as Buzz. I didn't know the guy had over 200 wins as a head coach.  I think that Coach Williams is a far better in game coach than given credit for on this board. One stop late game or one better decision by any player over the last 3 min. of Saturdays game and this conversation doesn't take place. I suggest that it is yesterdays topic so lets move on.

This conversation still takes place if we blow an 18 point lead and win by 1 - it's just not as well attended or severe.

[warthog-driver]

News Alert!!!  You take the best player off of a team, and they are likely to be worse!!! C'mon....

The Western Michigan debacle was a very low point in Marquette history. What a magnificent, tragic fall.