What was buzz about Buzz 4 years ago?

[MU82]

At the risk of opening old wounds, I'm curious what the general reaction among MU die-hards was when the school announced Williams was succeeding the departed Crean.

I don't live in Milwaukee and I never visited sites such as these back then, so I really don't know what the general take was.

My initial reaction was: "Buzz who?" But I also have seen so many "big-name" coaches fail and so many relative no-names succeed in both college and pro sports that I was willing to be open-minded. In addition, while I respected Crean for bringing the program back, I never felt he was irreplaceable. I'm very realistic when it comes to these things -- coaches will do what they want to do and go where they want to go, and all of them are replaceable. So again, I was cautiously optimistic that Buzz would keep things rolling.

At least that's what I think I thought back then. I hope, with my failing memory these days, I'm not giving myself too much credit!

[Skatastrophy]

It was a lazy hire.  The lack of a national search and hiring an unknown from within really reflected poorly on this administration's commitment to keeping Marquette basketball an elite program.

Then I talked to Lazar at murphs over the offseason (iirc) and he was pumped to be playing for Buzz.  From that point on I was a little bit happier about the hire.

I'll gladly eat my words now

[MUMac]

I had heard early on that he was the top choice.  I know he was very highly thought of internally.  The information I had from some people I trust and respect made me very excited and alieviated many of my concerns.  They said no one would outwork him.  He is organized to the T.  He is tireless and a top recruiter.  The only unknown I had was whether he could coach, but was told he had some very good coaching connections and they thought he could assemble a top notch staff.

I never understood the complaints that MU did not look beyond Buzz.  They did.  They had some interest from coaches who would have been safer and "more sexy" at that time.  Any coach they considered, they kept coming back to Buzz and feeling better about Buzz.  I don't think they would have outdone what Buzz has done and the people who made the decision had the same belief at the time.

[chapman]

I doesn't afraid of anything.  Here's what yours truly had to say four years ago...

I agree that we should be able to get an established coach, and Buzz isn't.  He's known for his recruiting, but there are other coaches out there that can recruit that have more than one year of head coaching experience or assistants with more experience at major programs.  I think he's too much of a "quick fix".  If he's hired and the recruiting class is saved, it tells nothing about his coachig abilities.  Winning next year with four senior starters and Lazar Hayward leading the team also says little of the coach, regardless of who we get.  Two years from now, regardless of coach, you almost have to concede as a transition/rebuilding year.  After that, we can finally start to evaluate the hire.

If it's Yes or No, I will say Yes.  If it's Buzz or Tony Bennett, I'd say Tony Bennett.  If it's Buzz or low-major coach that got won some games but has never recruited a Big East calibur player, I'll take my chances with Buzz.

Great to see some support.  I really like the idea of having a strong recruiter, and I hope Buzz can live up to that bill.  Look at your national champions: many people think Bill Self is pretty much an idiot, but the guy can recruit like none other.  Buzz hasn't been at a program with our facilities and hasn't been the head coach at a high-level program.  It says there's a ton of potential for him to bring in great players.  Plus if he follows the philosophy of letting good players play, we'll get to see fun fun basketball.  I'm optimistic about this.  What I'm concerned about and eager to see is what kind of ability he has based on his connections to put together a solid staff.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I was irate and I was wrong. I will say that Buzz has really grown IMO. There were a couple pretty strange incidents his first year but now I can't imagine anybody else at the helm.

[Goose]

This idiot was more concerned about us taking the easy route than learning about Buzz. Still think we might have got lucky but at this point I am very happy to say I was wrong.

[Archie]

This idiot was more concerned about us taking the easy route than learning about Buzz. Still think we might have got lucky but at this point I am very happy to say I was wrong.

Same here

[Silkk the Shaka]

This idiot was more concerned about us taking the easy route than learning about Buzz. Still think we might have got lucky but at this point I am very happy to say I was wrong.

Me too - I couldn't have been more wrong and I'm proud to admit it!

[StillWarriors]

I was irate and I was wrong. I will say that Buzz has really grown IMO. There were a couple pretty strange incidents his first year but now I can't imagine anybody else at the helm.

Same here. Was very afraid of going back to the Dukiet days....

[AZWarrior]

Same here. Was very afraid of going back to the Dukiet days....

The dark ages of Marquette basketball.   

[Canadian Dimes]

It was a lazy hire.  The lack of a national search and hiring an unknown from within really reflected poorly on this administration's commitment to keeping Marquette basketball an elite program.

Then I talked to Lazar at murphs over the offseason (iirc) and he was pumped to be playing for Buzz.  From that point on I was a little bit happier about the hire.

I'll gladly eat my words now

The "lazy hire" comment still really pisses me off.  Buzz was one of the most highly regarded assistant coaches in college basketball.  He took a pay raise to come to MU and was one of the highest paid n regarded assistants in the country.  He was widely considered to be a future star in the game.  All of that plus what surely was a very impressive audition during the first year as said assistant allowed MU to know what they had in hand.  

You and others were ignorant to who Buzz was, his background and himself as a person.  Therefore, the hire was ignorantly deemed as lazy.  

Easy but inaccurate statement.

[Benny B]

At a cookout on the 4th of July following the hire, my cousin, his roommate and my other cousin (all of us MU alums), were having a conversation about the hire over several bottles of Merlot, and frankly, I think I was the only one whose face didn't turn the color of the wine in anger.  I'm the least laid back of the bunch but was more or less indifferent during the conversation, and I was surprised to see such vitriolic disgust over Buzz's hiring for the first time... had I brought up the nickname issue for discussion, someone would have had an aneurysm.

It's all well and good now... those who truly hated the hire and/or remained skeptical until recently (or still are) are a small minority.  But frankly, I think I'm in an even smaller minority who were actually somewhat optimistic when Buzz was hired.  IMO - the vast majority of MU faithful took a "wait-and-see" approach.

[Canadian Dimes]

And u can review my comments... I thought he would be a great hire.  And I was right.

[Pakuni]

I defended and liked the hire.
My thought being that history has shown schools like MU usually are far better off hiring highly regarded assistants from within or from large programs (Buzz, Crean, O'Neill) than they are hiring guys who've had success as head coaches at mid-majors and smaller (Deane, Dukiet).
And realistically, that was MU's choice. Sean Miller and Tony Bennett didn't seem like options, which left guys like Buzz (I also liked John Groce from Ohio St.) or guys like Chris Lowery, Keno Davis, Jim Les and Travis Ford ... all names that were mentioned - and in some instances heavily supported here - at the time.

I thought Buzz was worth the risk. So far, so good.

[tower912]

All the bigger name candidates wouldn't come, those who looked like they would be interested all had flaws, all of which have been further exposed since then.   (Davis, Lowery)    I didn't know what to think at the time, but the players all wanted to play for him, so I decided to hold my tongue and reserve judgement and trust that MU knew what it was doing. 

[muwarrior69]

MU took a chance on some guy from Belmont Abby.

[mu_hilltopper]

Buzz was one of the most highly regarded assistant coaches in college basketball. 

Dimes, I'm legitimately curious .. is there an article out there that described Buzz as "one of the most highly regarded" at the time of his MU hiring in 2008?  

http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/men_s_basketball/2008_coaching_carousel

Can anyone recall any NCAA Div 1 schools needing a new coach that had Buzz on their short or long list?  Clearly, if he were "one of the most highly regarded" he'd have been on someone's list somewhere.   Anyone recall any other school interested in Buzz?

(For the record, I was non-plussed at the time.  Now, I love the guy.)

[GOO]

I thought it was a risky hire, but that the insiders (and AD) must have strong feelings about Buzz.  Because it was such a risky choice, and not the safe choice, I felt like the insiders and AD should be given the benefit of the doubt and liked that they didn't go with a safe choice... it gave me comfort that the people in charge didn't go the usual safe route.

 My fear was that we were going to hire the safe choice that no one could really question:  namely the guy at Southern Illinois (I forgot his name).  Safe choice, but not really a winner.  He was lobbying for the job and would have been an easy/lazy hire.

To the person above who posted the following, I say +100: "The "lazy hire" comment still really pisses me off.  Buzz was one of the most highly regarded assistant coaches in college basketball."

Buzz was not a lazy hire.  It was a risky hire and a hire that insiders and the AD felt strongly enough about to really put their necks on the line for.... that is not a lazy hire.  The lazy hire would have been the safe hire, a mid-major guy who has done okay or who won recently for a short period... then if he failed, no one could question it.  Or a big name, without the substance (a Lavin type).

[MU82]

This is great stuff ... just what I was interested in knowing. So thanks to everybody who replied.

Anyone else who wants to chime in can (and I'm sure you're glad you have my permission), but this is a big enough sampling to have answered my question pretty darned well.

[Pakuni]

Dimes, I'm legitimately curious .. is there an article out there that described Buzz as "one of the most highly regarded" at the time of his MU hiring in 2008?  

http://wiki.muscoop.com/doku.php/men_s_basketball/2008_coaching_carousel

Can anyone recall any NCAA Div 1 schools needing a new coach that had Buzz on their short or long list?  Clearly, if he were "one of the most highly regarded" he'd have been on someone's list somewhere.   Anyone recall any other school interested in Buzz?

(For the record, I was non-plussed at the time.  Now, I love the guy.)

I think the fact he landed the UNO job a couple of years earlier indicates he was pretty well regarded. Also, if I'm not mistaken, MU had to pay a hefty price to pull Buzz away from UNO, which indicates he was very well regarded.
I think the way he left UNO was going to keep him off many schools' radars for at least a couple of years. So, I'm not sure your question is indicative of how he was regarded as a coach, so much as how interested a smaller program would be in rolling the dice on a guy who bailed on a smaller program after one season.
 

[PaintTouches]

As a baby faced senior in high school who didn't read scoop, I had no idea what to expect. So I did a bit of research and hit the way back machine. Here are some of the best threads but I highly recommend going through other ones. They are fascinating to see the difference of opinions and the fervor involved on all sides.

Buzz Attacks
http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=9328.0

Dick Strong and Buzz
http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=9319.msg0#new

Cottingham details the process
http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=9116.0

MU Tribune Article (May 1) About The Process Involved In Hiring Buzz
http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=8997.0

For All the Buzz Haters
http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=8658.0

[Canadian Dimes]

I don't have the desire to look up anything.  Maybe when I get a chance.  Regardless buzz n billy Clyde were extremely highly regarded for the turnaround n the nba talent they got into Texas A&m which before them was a disaster.  Buzz also brought nba talent to Csu which helped get him the A&m job n Csu to the ncaas.

Buzz then got the UNO job n billy Clyde the who was that again?   O ya kentucky

[tower912]

Man, in that "cottingham details the process" thread, 3 themes emerge.   1.  Marquette84 defended Buzz to the nth degree initially.   2.   One of the best threads to understand the good and bad of Chicos.   3.   I look like a freaking genius.   

[mu_hilltopper]

I think the fact he landed the UNO job a couple of years earlier indicates he was pretty well regarded. I also think the way he left UNO was going to keep him off many schools' radars for at least a couple of years. So, I'm not sure your question is indicative of how he was regarded as a coach, so much as how interested a smaller program would be in rolling the dice on a guy who bailed on a smaller program after one season.

I can't entirely disagree .. but let's not kid ourselves .. while there are only 334 D1 coaching jobs, that he was hired at the 223rd best D1 school (in 2006) doesn't exactly suggest he was a hot commodity.

And indeed you are correct, that he quit UNO would have scared off many, if not all programs from "rolling the dice" on him.

I don't have the desire to look up anything.  Maybe when I get a chance. 

Filed under ironic: Calling out people for suggesting it was a "lazy" hire by saying he was "one of the most highly regarded assistant coaches in college basketball" then refusing to find any relevant info that suggests what you said was accurate.   

I tried googling a number of phrases .. couldn't find anything in 2006-7-8 with "buzz / brent williams well /highly/top coaching / prospect / assistant / interest"  .. no hits on message boards, newspapers, blogs.   -- I am legitimately interested if anyone can find anything like that.

[4everwarriors]

Man, I was so happy the wicked witch was dead. I wouldn't have cared if MU had upgraded to Mickey Mouse.