To Buzz Williams

[HouWarrior]

Crowder :


We knew the situations he was put in the whole year with people talking bad about him and stuff like that."

I dont like hearing that any negative talk on a coach was reaching any  player ---as it is not good for the coach, and can undermine player relationships. Tenn. players quit on Pearl before Tenn announced it was quitting on him. Words can have an impact, including negative results. Be careful.

[boyonthedock]

I dont think we have to worry about the mild criticism here and there on this board.

Now, if rosiak starts calling for his head daily, thats a different story.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

Great article; love Buzz.

First you have the Heat getting torched for crying after the Bulls beat them. That generated a lot of publicity, mostly negative.  Seems like it's OK in the college game, whether it be tears of joy after a win or despair after a tough loss.  Watching the Marquette women last night (great game and great season) on ESPN and then watching the other games finish up, the cameramen spent a lot of time focusing on the losing teams benches and players in tears. Tears are here to stay in basketball!

[MUMac]

Interesting quote by Crowder in article:
http://www.foxsportswisconsin.com/03/21/11/Buzz-Golden-Eagles-in-tears-after-emotio/landing_marquette.html?blockID=445081&feedID=5059


He couldn't really talk," Golden Eagles forward Jae Crowder said. "He just cried. We knew how he felt. We saw that, and a lot of guys got teary-eyed and a lot of guys got real emotional. When he came in the locker room, he actually made me cry. Just the way he was talking. We knew the situations he was put in the whole year with people talking bad about him and stuff like that."

This ties into the comments Buzz made last week to the effect that 6 weeks ago some people did not think I could coach.  Then he did not come out and deny the OU/Arkansas rumors - after saying he would be here as long as MU wanted him a year earlier.  This is the reason that I worry/worried he may leave.  No, it is not the message board, it's some of the more influential alums/former players.  MU has had a history of this as well.  Majerus commented on it.  KO said it when he left as well.

Is it different here than anywhere else?  I kind of doubt it.  I know it had an impact at UW with Bennett, but, for some reason, it get's mentioned here a lot - probably because I am closer to MU than anywhere else.

[Goose]

MuMac--I think you are 100% correct. All the coaches you mentioned had the same complaint. You can say they are thin skinned or they feel the fans are unrealistic. Ironically I do not believe most fans have unrealistic goals, yet they complain like we should expect Elite 8 every year.

IMO, MU fans, myself included, need to do a better job of supporting program. Whether it is actually going to a crappy game on a cold night at the BC to looking more at the positives.

For a program that has never hired a top tier HC and has three Sweet 16 appearances in 30 years I am not sure on reason for being critical. I am critical because I think we should hire a top tier guy and get to Sweet 16 more often. If we continue to hire assistant coaches or mid major guys we have no reason to complain.

[Hards Alumni]

MuMac--I think you are 100% correct. All the coaches you mentioned had the same complaint. You can say they are thin skinned or they feel the fans are unrealistic. Ironically I do not believe most fans have unrealistic goals, yet they complain like we should expect Elite 8 every year.

IMO, MU fans, myself included, need to do a better job of supporting program. Whether it is actually going to a crappy game on a cold night at the BC to looking more at the positives.

For a program that has never hired a top tier HC and has three Sweet 16 appearances in 30 years I am not sure on reason for being critical. I am critical because I think we should hire a top tier guy and get to Sweet 16 more often. If we continue to hire assistant coaches or mid major guys we have no reason to complain.

I love it when people are rational.  Thanks for this.

[poopyscoopy]

The whole crying thing is way over-the-top.  What "situations" was Buzz put in this year?  The MU beat reporter (Rosiak) is one of the softest guys around.  All he does is recap games, and never gives any criticism.  Coaches would pray to be covered by a guy like that.  I don't recall any huge public outcry to fire Buzz, either.  So was all this "talking bad about him" coming from just the minority of people on a message board?  Geez, go to other team's sites, and you'll see some real venom.  If Buzz thinks it's difficult here, then he really does have a thin skin and he wouldn't be able to handle a bigger market, imo.

[Lennys Tap]

I dont think we have to worry about the mild criticism here and there on this board.

MILD criticism HERE and THERE on this board? That's what happens here when we win.

[Goose]

Lenny--I have read posts for couple of years and recently started posting. I do not think we have a great deal of criticism on here, but think one big component of MU fans is missing. I do not think there is a common goal amongst MU backers. Easy to say we want to win and be great, but difficult to determine how to achieve that goal.

I would say with a high level of confidence that from Majerus to KO to Crean they all would agree that MU ball lacks identity. Some of us believe we are Harvard and whatever we accomplish on court is great, while some of us believe MU's ball is important for overall success of school. Trust me most school's have a real agenda.

Our coaches have done wonders with what they are given. We have higher academic standards for our kids than school's with better academics. I would love to see MU have a basketball mission statement that meant something.

[Litehouse]

Interesting discussion on what makes MU different.  I think part of it is the big enough, yet small enough quality that is present throughout the university, but also shows up in the athletic department.  This was something I loved about my experiences at MU, big enough to be a major university, yet small enough and tight-knit to still feel like family.

We're obviously a big time basketball program, but we still rely very heavily on a lot of donors sending in some decent size checks.  We have a relatively small fan base compared to big state schools, but still draw big crowds and have incredibly passionate support from that fanbase.

On the sliding scale of donations to the program, I would guess we have a higher percentage of people in the middle than most schools.  I'd guess that big state schools would have more people on each end, more big donors and a ton more smaller donors.  The fact we're small gives these medium donors a lot of access and makes them think they have influence.  This might give us a higher percentage of people trying to meddle behind the scene.  I would think at a big state school it would be more skewed toward big donors calling the shots and the masses of smaller donors not having the access that people enjoy here.

[96warrior]

Really great article, thanks for posting that.

I watched the last few minutes of the SYR game back this morning, specifically to see the end and see Buzz going up to the stands to see his family. It really was pretty emotional. His wife was clearly crying and the last person he grabbed in a hug was his son, who slapped Buzz on the back in congratulations. Buzz said in that last presser something along the lines of, his wife and kids are the ones who are making the sacrifices for him to do this job, so to see them have that moment as a family was really special.

In another thread someone said Corey Williams is the wild card and she has a lot to do with whether or not Buzz goes to OK - maybe the single deciding factor in Buzz's decision making process, if he's even entertaining the idea of going. I recall Buzz saying something about Corey having a special understanding of the grind he goes through as former basketball player herself. And then seeing that moment he shared with his family, I have to believe that Buzz is staying, and that his wife and kids are just as invested in Marquette and the MU experience as he is, and that the location of Milwaukee is just geography...home is where the heart is, and they won't go to OK just to be "closer to home". Hopefully Milwaukee and Marquette are home, are family, to them. Certainly the players' quotes in that article support that idea.

[Friends call me Shaka]

So if Corey is the decision maker on this, what do we need to do to insure Buzz stays?

[96warrior]

If that is the case, there's nothing we can do. It's between Buzz and his wife.

That said, only thing we could possibly do as fans is not make her feel like we're trying to run her husband out on a rail every time he loses. And it's not this board in particular that I'm targeting. Obviously negative feedback has gotten to the team, per the comments Joe Fulce has made on Twitter/Facebook and the comments Jae made in the interview. And Buzz himself said 6 weeks ago people were saying he can't coach. There have to be sources closer to them than a fan board that are filtering these comments to Buzz and the team. Houwarrior made a good point that you have to be careful with words because they can damage relationships (see players bailing on Pearl) but it seems clear from how the team has rallied in their court performance and in their comments that any negative comments towards Buzz just make them feel protective of him.

I'm rambling but the point is, if Corey is the deciding factor, we have no control at all over what their decision as a family is. Only thing we can do is hope they feel like Marquette is more than a paycheck, and that they feel at home in Milwaukee so the whole idea of "going home to the south" isn't as big a factor. KipsBayEagle took some mocking for writing this open letter to begin with, but it's a good start, I think.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Buzz:  we love how you coach and we love you as a person.  You are a great teacher of life to a lot of people - not only the players, but to everyone in touch with the Marquette program.  We hope you stay at Marquette a long, long time.

We have two cottages in Door County on Lake Michigan that you and your family are welcome to stay at anytime.

Continue to enjoy the ride!  Fight hard to beat UNC!

[NersEllenson]

I and others have posted here that the players, coaches and athletic department read these boards.  If there is any question as to why Jae/Buzz have made the statements they've made  - look no further than yourself and what you post.

Fans will be fans everywhere..and there will always be some over-reaction, and undue criticism leveled at players and coaches.  There definitely are schools/universities where fans are far more critical, over-reactionary, venomous, etc..than are the fans at MU (see Oklahoma,Texas, Auburn., Alabams - particularily in football)..

But, at the end of the day our kids are just that - kids:  18-22 years old busting their a$$ for MU. They can get scholarships from virtually any school in the country - so let's not act like MU is giving them something other schools aren't offering.  These kids are the reason MU is getting so much publicity, and MU can be identified on a national level.   They and the coaching staff - who work their asses of too - deserve our unconditional support.  Particularily when they are highly competitive, in the brutal Big East, and stay out of trouble off the court..and from most all accounts are really good kids who are trying to do right in their life in every way possible.

[mikem91288]

Sometimes, moving back closer to your in-laws and parents may not be all its cracked up to be......

[Marquette84]

There was a poll, and what were the numbers--200 to 2 that didn't want Buzz fired.  Why do people continue to overstate the nature of and reasons for the criticism?

Frankly, the criticism over the course of the year was deserved.

From my perspective, we finally saw against Syracuse and Xavier was what I felt all along that this team is capable of doing.  

No matter how much someone defends Buzz, they would have to admit that the team right now is is playing differently than they were earlier this season when the criticisms were made.  
Buzz is now making excellent 2nd half adjustments--not losing double-digit leads.  
Otule has stepped up both his rebounding and his aggressiveness toward the hoop--no longer a defensive sieve.
Our team's clutch FT shooting has improved.  
Our 3 point shooting has improved--especially from DJO.
Our 3 point shooting defense has SIGNIFICANTLY improved.

Frankly, had we played all season like we are now, we would have been in contention for a Big East Championship and finished top 10 in the country.

I'm not going to sit here and claim that the coaches and players read this criticism, took it to heart, and responded based solely because of what they read on this board.  

But I'd also bet that Buzz would be the first to admit that he coached the Louisville game wrong--probably Gonzaga, Duke, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame as well.  I'll bet that DJO would admit that he wasn't hitting his 3 point shot earlier in the year and worked hard to regain his stroke.  I'll bet the entire team would admit they weren't defending the 3 point shot the way they knew they were capable of.  

Too many people here confuse legitimate criticism with "hatred" or "agendas" and I'm tired of it.  Being a fan doesn't require that one sandbag at the start of the year, defend every mistake or shift blame for every obvious problem, or make excuses for sub-par performance the way some here do.

I'm glad the team is playing the way they are right now.
I'm disappointed that we weren't playing like this earlier in the season.

[NersEllenson]

There was a poll, and what were the numbers--200 to 2 that didn't want Buzz fired.  Why do people continue to overstate the nature of and reasons for the criticism?

Frankly, the criticism over the course of the year was deserved.

From my perspective, we finally saw against Syracuse and Xavier was what I felt all along that this team is capable of doing.  

No matter how much someone defends Buzz, they would have to admit that the team right now is is playing differently than they were earlier this season when the criticisms were made.  
Buzz is now making excellent 2nd half adjustments--not losing double-digit leads.  
Otule has stepped up both his rebounding and his aggressiveness toward the hoop--no longer a defensive sieve.
Our team's clutch FT shooting has improved.  
Our 3 point shooting has improved--especially from DJO.
Our 3 point shooting defense has SIGNIFICANTLY improved.

Frankly, had we played all season like we are now, we would have been in contention for a Big East Championship and finished top 10 in the country.

I'm not going to sit here and claim that the coaches and players read this criticism, took it to heart, and responded based solely because of what they read on this board.  

But I'd also bet that Buzz would be the first to admit that he coached the Louisville game wrong--probably Gonzaga, Duke, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame as well.  I'll bet that DJO would admit that he wasn't hitting his 3 point shot earlier in the year and worked hard to regain his stroke.  I'll bet the entire team would admit they weren't defending the 3 point shot the way they knew they were capable of.  

Too many people here confuse legitimate criticism with "hatred" or "agendas" and I'm tired of it.  Being a fan doesn't require that one sandbag at the start of the year, defend every mistake or shift blame for every obvious problem, or make excuses for sub-par performance the way some here do.

I'm glad the team is playing the way they are right now.
I'm disappointed that we weren't playing like this earlier in the season.

News Alert 84 - when players start to make shots and free throws..they win more games.  Coaching has very little to do with a guy making free throw or 3 point shots.  The sooner you realize that victories are 90-95% the result of "players playing" and not coaches coaching..the better.

You expect perfection out of our team and coaches..which is ridiculous.  So now you are happy, because we essentially are playing perfect....but our guys deserved your wrath for most of the regular season??

Buzz doesn't "blow 2nd half leads" or make adjustments that result in vicotry any more now than he did earlier in the year...the team is shooting better now..and defending better...some nights a guy just goes off and beats you...a la Preston Knowles at Lville...

[96warrior]

I said in another post that the 2011 Marquette NCAA Tournament Team would kick the 2011 Marquette Conference Play Team's ass. And I don't think constructive criticism is at all unwarranted. This season was very frustrating to watch as a fan. We could all see the talent and the potential, but the guys couldn't seem to play together as unit until now. Game prep and execution seem light years ahead of where we were only three weeks ago. The chemistry seems to have finally materialized. We weren't playing like this during conf play and it was frustrating and there were improvements to be made, to be sure. Criticism and concern were justified.

That said, I can't see how there can be any denying that anonymous message boards give people a platform to spew vitriol, personal attacks and criticism that is anything BUT constructive. Is it the majority of the posters? No. But if you're in a room of 100 people and 99 of them say nice things, you're likely only going to notice the 1 person who says the negative things, mostly because he's screaming the loudest.

And clearly Buzz and the team were hearing the negative things and it affected them enough to now be making references to "people thinking I can't coach" and "putting our coach in bad situations, saying bad things about him". Maybe it put a chip on their shoulders and the result is the improvement in all the areas you, 84, noted below. They were clearly responding to something. I wouldn't doubt if it was MU Scoop. Or the Scout board. Or the ESPN commentators. Or the Rivals board. Or...or....or.............

[Pakuni]

There was a poll, and what were the numbers--200 to 2 that didn't want Buzz fired.  Why do people continue to overstate the nature of and reasons for the criticism?

Frankly, the criticism over the course of the year was deserved.

From my perspective, we finally saw against Syracuse and Xavier was what I felt all along that this team is capable of doing.  

Problem is, all of this assumes - incorrectly - that the team in November, December and even early January is the same as it is today, and eliminates the fact that players, especially young and/or inexperienced players, will improve over the course of a season.
Is it really a surprise that Chris Otule - who'd only played limited minutes against cupcakes heading into the season - was better at the end of his first Big East go around than the beginning?
Is it a surprise that Junior Cadougan, who came into the season with all 47 minutes experience, has improved significantly?
Is it a surprise that a kid who shot 47 percent from behind the arc last year was eventually going to start knocking down his shots?
These aren't the results of anything the coaching staff is doing now, failed to do earlier or changed. It's the natural flow and development of the game and players. The team today is different than the team in December, and what they're doing today they weren't capable of doing then.

By the way, there is no more overrated thing in all of sports than the so-called "halftime adjustment." The notion that a coaching staff is going to work for days coming up with a game plan, spend hours in practice teaching its team to execute it properly and then change it all up because it's "halftime" is silly. Adjustments - contingencies created and practiced as part of the game plan - are made throughout a game, depending on what's happening on the court.
I believe it was Phil Simms who said that in all his years as a pro, he can recall one time in which a coaching staff made a "halftime adjustment."

[Marquette84]

News Alert 84 - when players start to make shots and free throws..they win more games.  Coaching has very little to do with a guy making free throw or 3 point shots.  The sooner you realize that victories are 90-95% the result of "players playing" and not coaches coaching..the better.

You expect perfection out of our team and coaches..which is ridiculous.  So now you are happy, because we essentially are playing perfect....but our guys deserved your wrath for most of the regular season??

Buzz doesn't "blow 2nd half leads" or make adjustments that result in vicotry any more now than he did earlier in the year...the team is shooting better now..and defending better...some nights a guy just goes off and beats you...a la Preston Knowles at Lville...

Typical.  Nothing but a straw man from you. Where did I say I expected perfection?

I said if we played earlier in the year like we are now, we would have been competing for a league title.  Last I checked, neither Pitt nor Notre Dame were perfect.  

Either agree with me that we are playing better. Or tell me why you think the talent and coaching at ND and Pitt are so superior that we couldn't expect to compete with those teams with the way we're playing now.

[Marquette84]

Problem is, all of this assumes - incorrectly - that the team in November, December and even early January is the same as it is today, and eliminates the fact that players, especially young and/or inexperienced players, will improve over the course of a season.

Every team plays the same calendar.  Starts in November, ends in March.

We improved relative to those other teams.  Not just relative to where we were earlier in November.

Is it really a surprise that Chris Otule - who'd only played limited minutes against cupcakes heading into the season - was better at the end of his first Big East go around than the beginning?

Yes, because even as late as January it didn't look like he was going to help us this year.

Is it a surprise that Junior Cadougan, who came into the season with all 47 minutes experience, has improved significantly?

Yes, because even as late as February, it didn't look like he was going to improve significantly.

Is it a surprise that a kid who shot 47 percent from behind the arc last year was eventually going to start knocking down his shots?

Yes, because he was drawing better defenders this year--it certainly seemed like he may have been the beneficiary of playing alongside outstanding 3 point shooters like Acker & Hayward, rather than being the only guy respected by the other team.

These aren't the results of anything the coaching staff is doing now, failed to do earlier or changed. It's the natural flow and development of the game and players. The team today is different than the team in December, and what they're doing today they weren't capable of doing then.

If anyone could sit in the chair and get the same improvement over the course of the season, why didn't all teams show the same improvement?  Why didn't all inexperience players suddenly start getting better?  Why didn't all teams tighen up their 3 point defense?

By the way, there is no more overrated thing in all of sports than the so-called "halftime adjustment." The notion that a coaching staff is going to work for days coming up with a game plan, spend hours in practice teaching its team to execute it properly and then change it all up because it's "halftime" is silly. Adjustments - contingencies created and practiced as part of the game plan - are made throughout a game, depending on what's happening on the court.
I believe it was Phil Simms who said that in all his years as a pro, he can recall one time in which a coaching staff made a "halftime adjustment."

Maybe the reason Phil Simms doesn't remember any halftime adjustments is because he was never in a college basketball locker room at halftime.

[ChicosBailBonds]

News Alert 84 - when players start to make shots and free throws..they win more games.  Coaching has very little to do with a guy making free throw or 3 point shots.  The sooner you realize that victories are 90-95% the result of "players playing" and not coaches coaching..the better.

You expect perfection out of our team and coaches..which is ridiculous.  So now you are happy, because we essentially are playing perfect....but our guys deserved your wrath for most of the regular season??

Buzz doesn't "blow 2nd half leads" or make adjustments that result in vicotry any more now than he did earlier in the year...the team is shooting better now..and defending better...some nights a guy just goes off and beats you...a la Preston Knowles at Lville...

Disagree Ners, it's more than that.  The last few games the boys have played great defense and had a great scheme.  That was lacking most of the year.  Maybe they are finally gelling, but MU84's concerns and those of many others here during the year were warranted.  MU had the talent to be better than 9th...glad we're putting it together now.  It's more than just "hitting 3's" now, they are playing better ball, much more intensity, etc.

[Pakuni]

Every team plays the same calendar.  Starts in November, ends in March.

We improved relative to those other teams.  Not just relative to where we were earlier in November.

So, you're suggesting that every team, regardless of experience, age, talent, etc., has the exact same capacity to develop over the course of a season?
Hmmm.

Yes, because even as late as January it didn't look like he was going to help us this year.

Never mind the 12 points in 20 minutes vs Vandy.
Or 8 in 18 vs Notre Dame.
Or three blocked shots in eight minutes against UW.
They told us nothing about Chris' potential.

Yes, because even as late as February, it didn't look like he was going to improve significantly.

Never mind the 8 assists to one turnover at Rutgers.
Or the 7 to one against Duke.
Clearly no reason to believe there was a higher ceiling on the kid.

Yes, because he was drawing better defenders this year--it certainly seemed like he may have been the beneficiary of playing alongside outstanding 3 point shooters like Acker & Hayward, rather than being the only guy respected by the other team.

Support this. Who defended him this year that wasn't last year?
And has he suddenly been guarded by lesser defenders in recent weeks than he was when he shot 3-for-20 earlier this year against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, Longwood, Centenary, South Dakota and Bucknell?

Maybe the reason Phil Simms doesn't remember any halftime adjustments is because he was never in a college basketball locker room at halftime.

Oh, boy.
Sure, because coaching in the NFL can't compare to the complexities and intracacies of college basketball.
I assume your attempt at wit is admission that all this halftime adjustment talk is folly.

[NersEllenson]

Disagree Ners, it's more than that.  The last few games the boys have played great defense and had a great scheme.  That was lacking most of the year.  Maybe they are finally gelling, but MU84's concerns and those of many others here during the year were warranted.  MU had the talent to be better than 9th...glad we're putting it together now.  It's more than just "hitting 3's" now, they are playing better ball, much more intensity, etc.

As has been pointed out..this year's team was relatively young with regard to D-1 experience.  Is it talented?  Absolutely.  Does that point toward a team most likely improving as the season goes on?  Absolutely.  Many here felt this team would get better as the season wore on - and they have.  They are still the same kids, possess the same level of "talent," as they did in November.  They have just grown and acquired more experience...and along the way started hitting some shots.  We beat Cuse in January, and now we beat them again in March..

As you know, where I get annoyed is when our fans knee jerk react, get hyper critical, and don't take a big picture view as to the entirety of the team's circumstances:  schedule strength, experience, shooting prowess, etc...It's been a frustrating season...but by no means does that mean it is the coaches fault...players still have to be able to execute a gameplan..and it appears finally...MU is getting better collectively as a defensive group..