Garry Parrish says Buzz will take either OU or Ark job

[Pakuni]

I don't think money will be a motivation.  MU will match all offers.  I think it will be lifestyle-related/job pressure-related.  

If read between the lines, Buzz seems a little thin-skinned with regard to criticism of his coaching ability recently.  Could the grind of the Big East really be getting to him or some of the big donors/supporters of the program actually been critical?  Does Buzz read the message boards which have had a vocal minority who have been critical?

I think if these are reasons for leaving, he will not find it any different at any major program, Arkansas included.  The pressure is huge anywhere you go.  If he does leave he will be making a huge mistake for himself and his family from a career point of view.  He would be what is called a "job hopper."  He will not have even been here for one full recruiting cycle (i.e., 4 years).  Most of his stints in other positions have been 2-3 years before he gets the itch to move on.  I think it behooves him career-wise for the world to see what he can do with his own recruits before looking around.  

I wouldn't undersell the JP Tokoto experience in a possible move by Buzz.

Here we had a potentially elite player from the area who, by all credible accounts, enjoys being around MU and he and his family have a good relationship Buzz. Despite that, it seems MU never really had a chance to land him.
Buzz may be thinking - and not unreasonably - that if a similar player hailed from Little Rock and he's at Arkansas or Tulsa and he's coaching at Oklahoma, the chances of landing him are much, much better.

[Goose]

Before I get blasted here I am just stating my opinion. Losing JP shows we are not UNC and that is obvious. I do not think Buzz has a problem with that. TC wanted to win national championship and thought IU was best option. Buzz comes across to me as a guy that just won the lottery. Winning obviously means something to him but not sure it means as much to him as some coaches.

Seriously if Buzz thought 1082 days ago he was on verge of being in the middle of a bidding war he would have choked on 3 ice cubes.

[lab_warrior]

I wouldn't undersell the JP Tokoto experience in a possible move by Buzz.

C'mon.  Be serious.  Let's say Tokoto WAS from Little Rock-- he would STILL be going to UNC.  Guaranteed. 

[Pakuni]

C'mon.  Be serious.  Let's say Tokoto WAS from Little Rock-- he would STILL be going to UNC.  Guaranteed.  

There have been five McDonald's AAs all time from Arkansas. Four of them went to the University of Arkansas.
If you don't think being the flagship university from a state means something  - especially in a state like Arkansas where there's nothing else happening - you obviously don't understand the culture of college athletics in some places.
Believe it or not, UNC doesn't land every kid it recruits.

[reinko]

There have been five McDonald's AAs all time from Arkansas. Four of them went to the University of Arkansas.
If you don't think being the flagship university from a state means something  - especially in a state like Arkansas where there's nothing else happening - you obviously don't understand the culture of college athletics in some places.
Believe it or not, UNC doesn't land every kid it recruits.

Marquette is not the flagship university in this state.

[Pakuni]

Marquette is not the flagship university in this state.

Ummm ... yeah, that's my point.
IF Buzz is seriously considering leaving, I'm suggesting the Tokoto experience may play role in his deliberations, in that MU had plenty of advantanges - location, good relationship with player and family, etc. - but ultimately didn't seem to be a serious contender. I'm saying things might be different with a similar player from Arkansas or Oklahoma for the head coach of those states' flagship universities.
Seriously, I don't see how this is a questionable point.

[cheebs09]

Tokoto didn't go to Wisconsin either. I agree mostly with what you say but I think Tokoto is a bad example. I think once UNC offered that it was a foregone conclusion. I think it definitely helps to be the flagship state program, but it isn't going to guarantee you a recruit.

[Masterr73]

Why do all you guys love buzz so much? As more and more of his players have come in Marquette has been losing more and more games. He's just not a Big East coach

[Pakuni]

Tokoto didn't go to Wisconsin either. I agree mostly with what you say but I think Tokoto is a bad example. I think once UNC offered that it was a foregone conclusion. I think it definitely helps to be the flagship state program, but it isn't going to guarantee you a recruit.

No, I'm not saying it guarantees a recruit. If you read my initial post, I just said "the chances of landing (an elite player) are much, much better."
I think history bears this out. There have been four McDonald's AAs in Wisconson. Two of them chose UW, despite offers from UNC. There have been five from Arkansas. Four went to the University of Arkansas. There have been 15 from Alabama. And, despite the fact that has never been a top program, six of the 13 who went to college (two went straight to the NBA) went to the University of Alabama. I'm sure I could list other examples.
Being the flagship university is no guarantee, but it makes it easier.

[Niv Berkowitz]

Master, considering the inexperience this team had this year and the expectations for it, then tossing in the last two years results...to say he can't coach in the Big East is absurd. He may has his shortcomings, but jesus christ you spoiled little children. Can one team have an 'off' year by going to the NCAA still? What were your expectations for Buzz.

(note to self, stop reading these Buzz boards. They are like crack and I'm Charlie Sheen)

[brewcity77]

Why do all you guys love buzz so much? As more and more of his players have come in Marquette has been losing more and more games. He's just not a Big East coach

Probably one of your more moronic posts, which is really saying something. Honestly, I'm not sure it even warrants a response, seeing as most of the people who defend Buzz have made their reasons pretty clear. Just look back at other threads and you'll see why people love Buzz so much.

[NersEllenson]

Why do all you guys love buzz so much? As more and more of his players have come in Marquette has been losing more and more games. He's just not a Big East coach

What team are you a fan of?  Interesting you mention "Marquette" has been losing more and more games...not "we" have been losing more and more games.  Your post history speaks for itself.  Clearly you are a troll. 

Why do you spend time on another team's message board that you are not a fan of?  Is this the best thing you have to do with your time??  I can't imagine going to some other team's board and trying to rile them up with inflammatory statements.  Talk about needing to get a life.  Good Lord.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Not a New Orleans sportswriter, nor a particularly objective source. His comments may be spot-on for all I know (though someone would have to point out to me the last time Buzz needed tissues for a postgame interview), but we should at least be aware of Mr. Wagenheim's obvious bias. Buzz's departure was part of a chain of events that brought about the end of UNO D-I basketball, and, as a result, Wagenheim's job. Think he might be a tad bitter?

"Wagenheim is the "Voice of UNO Athletics," serving as the radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Privateer men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the baseball team. He also hosts the "UNO Basketball Hour" and the "Bruce Peddie Show" on the radio, as well as the department's television shows. "
http://www.unoprivateers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=16700&ATCLID=1275344

http://www.neworleans.com/sports/sports-writers.html

[Litehouse]

Why do all you guys love buzz so much? As more and more of his players have come in Marquette has been losing more and more games. He's just not a Big East coach

Would you be happier if we were 5-13 Buzz's first year, 7-11 his second, and 9-9 this year?  Buzz was lucky to have a Sr. dominated team of stars his first year, so obviously things have slipped since then.  Buzz finished up tied with Jim Calhoun and Jay Wright in the toughest conference ever assembled, and he also beat Bob Huggins twice.  Are those guys Big East coaches?

Whether you like Buzz or not, do you think any other coach we'd get would be better?  We would end up with another young coach that would have to learn on the job and we'd go through another 2-3 years of growing pains while they scramble yet again to rebuild recruiting classes.

[ChicosBailBonds]

If read between the lines, Buzz seems a little thin-skinned with regard to criticism of his coaching ability recently.  Could the grind of the Big East really be getting to him or some of the big donors/supporters of the program actually been critical?  Does Buzz read the message boards which have had a vocal minority who have been critical?

Exactly what I was going to say.  On one hand he says he doesn't read the message boards, on the other hand he sure seems to or someone is pumping him with information.  Which ones is he reading...the JS site goes crazy critical on him but most of those people are Badger fans.

The thing is, if he thinks it's bad here, wait until he goes to a college town and big state school where the entire state is watching his every move and asking why they didn't beat OSU or Kentucky or whatever.  He needs to be more thick skinned for his profession.

[Pakuni]

http://www.neworleans.com/sports/sports-writers.html

He writes a blog that appears on a website that describes itself as "primarily a hospitality portal" aimed at tourists and other visitors.
He's no more a sportswriter than you are when you write something for Cracked Sidewalks.

[NersEllenson]

Exactly what I was going to say.  On one hand he says he doesn't read the message boards, on the other hand he sure seems to or someone is pumping him with information.  Which ones is he reading...the JS site goes crazy critical on him but most of those people are Badger fans.

The thing is, if he thinks it's bad here, wait until he goes to a college town and big state school where the entire state is watching his every move and asking why they didn't beat OSU or Kentucky or whatever.  He needs to be more thick skinned for his profession.

I agree Buzz might be a little sensitive/thin skinned - and that is part of where he derives his chip on his shoulder.  I also believe you need to be more thick skinned as an MU alum, to not get all bent out of shape over the image/perception of our program if we recruit JUCO's - and many of the other image/perception issues that seem to cause you to squirm.

[ChicosBailBonds]

He writes a blog that appears on a website that describes itself as "primarily a hospitality portal" aimed at tourists and other visitors.
He's no more a sportswriter than you are when you write something for Cracked Sidewalks.

The world has changed (for better or worse, I'll let others decide).....that site labels their lineup of sports writers, that's how they view them.  Some people think Snooki is an actress or an entertainer.  Are contributors to DeadSpin sportswriters?  Who gets to decide?   The world of "traditional" sports writer has changed.  To me, there are "traditional" sportswriters that are still tied to a newspaper or media conglomerate.  There are also sportswriters with huge followings locally or even bigger nationally that do it on their own and bypass traditional media.  This is the nature of the world now.

Who can forget Will Leitch and Buzz Bissinger

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x59wlw_will-leitch-on-costas-now_sport

[ringout]

Have you guys ever seen this guy?

He looks like a hipster doufus

[Skatastrophy]

He looks like a hipster doufus

I don't think you know what hipsters are.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

He looks like a hipster doufus

he looks like he curls up with I4 in the tanning bed.

[Shack]

Exactly what I was going to say.  On one hand he says he doesn't read the message boards, on the other hand he sure seems to or someone is pumping him with information.  Which ones is he reading...the JS site goes crazy critical on him but most of those people are Badger fans.

The thing is, if he thinks it's bad here, wait until he goes to a college town and big state school where the entire state is watching his every move and asking why they didn't beat OSU or Kentucky or whatever.  He needs to be more thick skinned for his profession.

Or maybe Dave Begal was right with his article about Buzz.  Could be that people behind the scenes at Marquette (not just message board folks) aren't that infatuated with Buzz.  Heard on the radio this morning that Cottingham knew that Buzz would be an Arkansas target about three weeks ago and isn't exactly rushing to redo Buzz's contract.  Is Buzz still a hot commodity if we had not made the tourney or would he be on the hot seat at Marquette?

[Niv Berkowitz]

If Cottingham sat on his hands while this is going on, it's a fireable offense. Plain and simple. Whether he gives Buzz a raise or not. If he just sat there, he's a bigger moron than I thought.

But we don't know. So...

[GGGG]

Cottingham can't just re-do Buzz's contract everytime he hears about someone expressing an interest in him.  And I don't really know what you mean by "sitting on his hands," but not necessarily giving him a raise.  What is he supposed to do...give him a pat on the back?

[Blackhat]

C-ham is supposed to round up a couple bums and have em go strong arm Buzz into spilling the beans on his real plan and who he's been talking to.  duh.