Grade Buzz's Career At MU

[Tugg Speedman]

I gave him a B

(Mods, feel free to merge with "Make The Call on Buzz")

[HoopsMalone]

2008 recruiting-  A nice recruiting class that included Jimmy Butler thrown together in haste in April/May 2008

2008-2009 seasson- An injury away from the elite 8, all returning players play better (including DJ who actually looked like a true PG), some nice in game coaching adjustments like putting Acker in to guard McAlerney, top 10 ranking, "unleashed" Wes and developed an NBA starter

2009 recruiting class-  3 top 100 players and possible NBA player DJO

2009-2010 season-  VASTLY overachieved.  6 seed when most people expected no tourney.  Acker and Cubes developed under him.  DJO breaks out, Lazar gets a guaranteed contract.  MU plays everyone close.  Buzz with some good coaching down the stretch with some clutch play calls.

2010 recruiting class-  2 top 100 players including our first five star and highest rated since Doc.  JUCO player of they year.  Jamil Wilson comes to MU

2010-2011 season-  a few tough losses, .500 in the Big East with a softer schedule coming up.  Probably on pace to maintain our 10 wins/year.  Jae Crowder breaks out.  Developed some bigs.

2011/2012 classes-  2 more top 100 players with many more to go.


I think that is a pretty nice resume. 

Maybe Buzz missed when he shot for the moon this summer recruiting.  Maybe we have lost a few games.  We are .500 folks.  We lost to two ranked teams. 

Buzz had no 2007 class and missed out on his best recruit in 2008.  Buzz is doing an incredible job here. 

[Knight Commission]

I gave him a B (but would have given him a B-) even though I criticized the decision to hire him. This grade was based primarily on his results in Year 1 and 2. I thought we were at least Sweet 16 in Year 1 until DJ's injury, so although we dissapointed, I cant blame Buzz. Year 2 he overachieved by a significant margin. He lander Vander and Maymon.  He is meeting expectations this year.

My beef is the reliance on JUCO's--first and foremost, and then the lack of "D". I wish he was a little "smoother" with the media and more "professional". The 3 piece suits dont fit his personna...

Also, I think Buzz feels he needs to live and die with DJO. DJO is a very good player but not necessarily a great teammate. I feel like he is ruining some chemistry. My sense is that Butler and DJO are rivals.  DJO needs to distribute more.

A B is not bad. I got alot of those at MU and never complained (except the Fr Donnely "B" I had to begrudgingly accept in 87 because of the pre-final blizzard).

[GGGG]

A B is not bad. I got alot of those at MU and never complained (except the Fr Donnely "B" I had to begrudgingly accept in 87 because of the pre-final blizzard.

I remember that blizzard.  Went to bed when the snow was gently falling...woke up to a ton of snow on the ground and a bunch still falling.  Whole place was chaos.  No one knew what was going on with finals.

[Knight Commission]

I remember that blizzard.  Went to bed when the snow was gently falling...woke up to a ton of snow on the ground and a bunch still falling.  Whole place was chaos.  No one knew what was going on with finals.

Joe Nethen shouting "get off my lawn" from his "triple"/double after seeing snow ball fights in the front of McCormick at midnight, still garners a smile.

[warriors1965]

I gave him a C, but actually thought he did a good job last season (and was OK the prior years) until the meltdown against Washington in the NCAA's.  As I've said before, I think he's a terrible X's and O's coach once the opposing coach has made adjustments after half.  Having a good initial game plan only goes so far.

And I'm not nearly as bullish on this year's freshman class as others are.  I think there is real chance that Vander Blue will be one of the biggest busts in MU history.  I don't care how naturally athletic and quick a guy is, if he can't shoot the basketball (long or mid range), he won't be an elite player.  And he's certainly not good enough to look at the NBA after one season.

[Marquette84]

2009 was pretty much as expected.  Disappointed with the end of the season--but I don't think we would have done much more with James.  Acker played admirably against 5 of the eventual elite eight teams.  Maybe one or two more wins.  Missouri in the NCAA would still have been a crapshoot, even with James healthy.

2009 I think we actually underachieved talent.  I'll grant that the team overachived a lot of peoples expectations.  But based on the talent we had, losing to DePaul, NC State and Notre Dame should not have happened.  Of the wins, I think only the BET game against Villanova came against a truly better team.  UConn was lousy (7-11 overall in conference)--we didn't "overachieve" to take that one.  Georgetown and Louisville were more or less equivalent to us.  Xavier was only 8-5 in non-coference.

2010 is too soon to tell.  I'd say that we should have beaten Gonzaga given our--I'll reserve judgement on Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, UConn, Notre Dame, and Louisville until I see what they do the rest of the season.

Overall, I think the jury is still out.  Incomplete.

[Danny Noonan]

2009 was pretty much as expected.  Disappointed with the end of the season--but I don't think we would have done much more with James.  Acker played admirably against 5 of the eventual elite eight teams.  Maybe one or two more wins.  Missouri in the NCAA would still have been a crapshoot, even with James healthy.

MU84-Sorry, I have to disagree. As admirable as Acker played, there is no comparing the two players as not having DJ was a tremendous blow to our offensive and defensive.  If DJ doesn't get hurt, I think MU beats UCONN, Louisville, Syracuse and Nova and gets no worse than a 3 seed, possibly a 2. Even if they only win two of those games, they would have received a higher seed. Even if they had to play Mizzou in the tourney, how could you say a healthy DJ doesn't have a significant impact on that game? I'll agree to saying it is one of those things that can't be accurately calculated as we will never know but make no mistake MU was considered a darkhorse to make a long tourney run until DJ went down.

[Tugg Speedman]

As of this writing we have 57 respondents and the results are very interesting!

No one has picked "D" or "F".  You don't fire a coach that is graded "A", "B" or "C" or "Incomplete".

Is it correct to concluded that despite MU nation "melting down," no one wants Buzz fired?

I know, we just want him to hold a second half lead!

[77ncaachamps]

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. Buzz has done a good job getting in the recruits that seem to keep this program competitive.

That said, wins are wins and recruits like to win. So Buzz needs to coach these kids into a winning mindset, form, and team.

[mu_hilltopper]

All of this talk of "melting down" and/or suggestions that some advocate Buzz being fired is grossly, galactically over-stated.   

[pillardean]

As of this writing we have 57 respondents and the results are very interesting!

No one has picked "D" or "F".  You don't fire a coach that is graded "A", "B" or "C" or "Incomplete".

Is it correct to concluded that despite MU nation "melting down," no one wants Buzz fired?

I know, we just want him to hold a second half lead!

I like the last line and obviously, from the results of the survey, the majority of individuals on this board believe that Buzz will be able to hold those second half leads and begin to overtake some teams. 


From what I have seen, he has an internal fire that will not extinguish and will find ways to better himself as a coach.  From that I beleive he will become on of the great ones (throw in his personality and you have magic).

I gave him an A but wanted to give him a B+/A-.

[Ari Gold]

I said incomplete. I'm very happy with how buzz has preformed so far but it's about sustainability and player growth. Can't measure that in 2 1/2 years

[rocky_warrior]

All of this talk of "melting down" and/or suggestions that some advocate Buzz being fired is grossly, galactically over-stated.   

No kidding.  As far as I can tell the cooling tower is working fine.  I guess it's just the new buzz phrase (no pun intended).

[willie warrior]

2008 recruiting-  A nice recruiting class that included Jimmy Butler thrown together in haste in April/May 2008

2008-2009 seasson- An injury away from the elite 8, all returning players play better (including DJ who actually looked like a true PG), some nice in game coaching adjustments like putting Acker in to guard McAlerney, top 10 ranking, "unleashed" Wes and developed an NBA starter

2009 recruiting class-  3 top 100 players and possible NBA player DJO

2009-2010 season-  VASTLY overachieved.  6 seed when most people expected no tourney.  Acker and Cubes developed under him.  DJO breaks out, Lazar gets a guaranteed contract.  MU plays everyone close.  Buzz with some good coaching down the stretch with some clutch play calls.

2010 recruiting class-  2 top 100 players including our first five star and highest rated since Doc.  JUCO player of they year.  Jamil Wilson comes to MU

2010-2011 season-  a few tough losses, .500 in the Big East with a softer schedule coming up.  Probably on pace to maintain our 10 wins/year.  Jae Crowder breaks out.  Developed some bigs.

2011/2012 classes-  2 more top 100 players with many more to go.


I think that is a pretty nice resume. 

Maybe Buzz missed when he shot for the moon this summer recruiting.  Maybe we have lost a few games.  We are .500 folks.  We lost to two ranked teams. 

Buzz had no 2007 class and missed out on his best recruit in 2008.  Buzz is doing an incredible job here. 

Hey, you forgot a few things on that nice resume:
Transfers, Misses and Misfires:
Maymon; Christopherson, Smith, Roseboro, Mbao, Clark
Others: Missed out on every quality big we targeted for next year's recruits

Incredible? Don't think so yet. In Buzz we trust: Meltdown after meltdown

[Tugg Speedman]

Hey, you forgot a few things on that nice resume:
Transfers, Misses and Misfires:
Maymon; Christopherson, Smith, Roseboro, Mbao, Clark
Others: Missed out on every quality big we targeted for next year's recruits

Incredible? Don't think so yet. In Buzz we trust: Meltdown after meltdown

You cannot call guys that never showed up misfires.  So take Roseboro, and Clark of the list.  Besides, what would Roseboro actually contribute if he was here?

Christopherson was due to Crean leaving.  That happens whenever the coach leaves.  Ditto Mbakwe.

Buzz still has two schollies left, too early to say he missed on every big this year.  We don't know what is left and what Buzz has in mind.  Once they are filled and if no big guy, then this applies.

A better example of a miss would be keeping Smith instead of Newbill when over-signed last year.

[willie warrior]

You cannot call guys that never showed up misfires.  So take Roseboro, and Clark of the list.  Besides, what would Roseboro actually contribute if he was here?

Christopherson was due to Crean leaving.  That happens whenever the coach leaves.  Ditto Mbakwe.

Buzz still has two schollies left, too early to say he missed on every big this year.  We don't know what is left and what Buzz has in mind.  Once they are filled and if no big guy, then this applies.

A better example of a miss would be keeping Smith instead of Newbill when over-signed last year.

I can certainly call them misfires when they accept an offer and do not make it. Thanks for reminding of another misfire--the Newbill fiasco.

And I certainly would not categorize what Buzz has done at MU as "incredible", as the poster did.

[Mr. Nielsen]

I wonder what the trolls on JSonline would vote. Many wanted Buzz fired.

[MerrittsMustache]

I give the people who keep starting threads like this an F in logic and common sense.

[Goose]

I am curious on the A and B graders, what would TC get? I gave Buzz a C on overall performance thus far. If I were grading off my expectations of Buzz I would give him an A+. Grading an A or B means we are on par or better off than three years ago and it does not appear that way to me. Any program or business is current results and forecast ahead. In my opinion next year looks promising but am afraid we could see a transfer or two.

[Pakuni]

I am curious on the A and B graders, what would TC get? I gave Buzz a C on overall performance thus far. If I were grading off my expectations of Buzz I would give him an A+. Grading an A or B means we are on par or better off than three years ago and it does not appear that way to me. Any program or business is current results and forecast ahead. In my opinion next year looks promising but am afraid we could see a transfer or two.

I give Buzz a solid 'B'. First year was slightly disappointing, though the injury to DJ played a part in that. Second year bested almost everyone's expectations, and he deserves much credit for that. This year has gone pretty much as expected. The way they've lost some of these games has been brutal, but the fact they lost really comes as little surprise. I suspect if we go back and check the pre-season predictions, not many here had MU winning at Vandy, at Louisville, at Notre Dame, etc. Maybe at home against UConn, but that was long before anyone knew how good ,this UConn team was.

As for Crean, I'd give him at least a B+. He was not without his faults, and the two post-Final Four seasons were pretty much inexcusable (though defended by some of the same people ripping Buzz today), but he also brought MU to the Final Four and that season ultimately played a large part in MU getting into the Big East.

[GGGG]

A better example of a miss would be keeping Smith instead of Newbill when over-signed last year.

He had no choice.  Newbill wasn't enrolled but Smith was.

[Marquette84]

You cannot call guys that never showed up misfires.  So take Roseboro, and Clark of the list.  Besides, what would Roseboro actually contribute if he was here?

Christopherson was due to Crean leaving.  That happens whenever the coach leaves.  Ditto Mbakwe.

Buzz still has two schollies left, too early to say he missed on every big this year.  We don't know what is left and what Buzz has in mind.  Once they are filled and if no big guy, then this applies.

A better example of a miss would be keeping Smith instead of Newbill when over-signed last year.

Why do you say this "happens whenever the coach leaves"? We didn't have similar departures during our previous two coaching changes (following O'Neill and Deane). I don't even think we had this much turnover following Dukiet, and if we ever needed to clear the decks, it was then.

I'm not trying to start some string of personal attacks or accusations of agendas.  I'm really trying to understand the source of the belief that a coaching change normally results in significant roster turnover.  My experience is that while it sometimes happens, its certainly not a given.

[Marquette84]

He had no choice.  Newbill wasn't enrolled but Smith was.

I think the point was that even if you buy the notion that we had a "side deal" with Newbill to hold off on enrollment to see if we could land Wilson, Buzz could have just as easily made that same deal with Smith instead.

[GGGG]

I think the point was that even if you buy the notion that we had a "side deal" with Newbill to hold off on enrollment to see if we could land Wilson, Buzz could have just as easily made that same deal with Smith instead.

I doubt that.  Smith signed in the early period (Nov. 09).  Newbill committed in Feb 10 and didn't sign until April 10.