Is Hiroshima Officially Wrong Now?

[lab_warrior]

Is there something more specific you want them to do?

We've only heard innuendos and rumors about the "rift", so if Larry Williams, Pilarz and Buzz are sharing 1 rack of ribs at the BBQ, is that going to be enough to stop the paranoia?

Maybe they can be directly quoted, in a press release?  Oh, they are??


"I want to thank all of our fans, alumni, students and administration who provided incredible support throughout our second consecutive Sweet 16 run," head coach Buzz Williams said. "We are already looking forward to next season with a core group of returning players, while welcoming new recruits into the Marquette family. I am excited to build on our past success and we will continue to work to be the absolute best we can be. The future remains bright for our program, and our institution."

"Coach Williams is a good man, great coach and I look forward to working with him in the coming years" Director of Athletics Larry Williams said. "As we move forward, we want to make sure we stay focused on the rich history and core values that underpin this very unique program - among the elite in the nation - by continuing to emphasize our mission of remarkable success on the court and the classroom."


By all means, though, we should be fearful, and most importantly, WORRY.  TO THE DOOM BUNKERS!

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

 You don't mean this as a personal attack and then you call him paranoid?  

Yes. I'm not saying "You're an idiot, and you're way too paranoid!"

I am saying: "You seem paranoid, I'm not sure I get it. What would make you less paranoid?"

I'm trying to have an honest convo. without people resorting to their own entrenched positions (myself included).

[Dawson Rental]

Yes. I'm not saying "You're an idiot, and you're way too paranoid!"

I am saying: "You seem paranoid, I'm not sure I get it. What would could the administration do to make you seem less paranoid to me?"

I'm trying to have an honest convo. without people resorting to their own entrenched positions (myself included).

See, a little simple editing, and we're all friends.

Even better.  What could the administration do to alleviate your concerns?

[Blackhat]

Turnover isn't helpful (unless, of course, you're turning over a lousy coach) but you can survive and thrive if you hire well. See:
Xavier - five coaches in last 15 years
Butler - four coaches in last 12 years

What's your definition of "running off?"

Remember, lots and lots of people around here thought Marquette was screwed when Crean left and the administration hired some no name headcase to replace him. It seems the opinions of Buzz have changed quite a bit since then, but not sense of imminent doom from a segment of the fanbase.

Xavier and Butler aren't seen as destination jobs they're stepping stones.  I'd rather not be a stepping stone and law of averages will catch up with you in some (most?) cases..Depaul, Illinois, Stanford, etc. it swings both ways.

Thankfully Cottingham was a great judge of coaching talent, Larry's Portland basketball hire ain't looking so hot right now.   7-24 last year.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

See, a little simple editing, and we're all friends.

Totally fair. Wasn't trying to be a dick.

[Dawson Rental]

Totally fair. Wasn't trying to be a dick.

After finding my own thin skin pricked a number of times, I realized that while what I was writing in reply didn't seem like a diss to me, it could easily be taken that way by someone else.  Even so, If I think someone is way off base, I usually stop even caring if I sound like a dick.

"Sometimes I'm good, sometimes I'm bad, its all a part of life."

                     --George Harrison

[Goose]

I think all of us have had thin skin and all of us have been a dick on the future of the program. I am glad enough of us care to beat it into the ground.
Just curious, anyone else get the invite for the LW cocktail party in June?

[Pakuni]

Xavier and Butler aren't seen as destination jobs they're stepping stones.  I'd rather not be a stepping stone and law of averages will catch up with you in some (most?) cases..Depaul, Illinois, Stanford, etc. it swings both ways.

Thankfully Cottingham was a great judge of coaching talent, Larry's Portland basketball hire ain't looking so hot right now.   7-24 last year.

Yeah, Cottingham was seen as a brilliant talent evaluator when he hired Buzz.
Does that have to be in teal?

As for Portland's coach, that's some lazy analysis you offer.
Prior to last year (we'll get to that in a second), Portland had won a school-record 60 games in its three previous seasons under LW's hire, made it into the Top 25, set the school record for wins in a single season (21), posted a 38-6 home record, and beat three top 25 opponents. They did it while posting a 100 percent graduation rate and perfect APR score.
Last year was very much a rebuilding year (freshman accounted for 40+ percent of the scoring and minutes played), not helped by the fact two starters missed most of the season with injury.
 

[Blackhat]

Yeah, Cottingham was seen as a brilliant talent evaluator when he hired Buzz.
Does that have to be in teal?

As for Portland's coach, that's some lazy analysis you offer.
Prior to last year (we'll get to that in a second), Portland had won a school-record 60 games in its three previous seasons under LW's hire, made it into the Top 25, set the school record for wins in a single season (21), posted a 38-6 home record, and beat three top 25 opponents. They did it while posting a 100 percent graduation rate and perfect APR score.
Last year was very much a rebuilding year (freshman accounted for 40+ percent of the scoring and minutes played), not helped by the fact two starters missed most of the season with injury.
 

He looks Mike Deane good.   Just took Deane one 14-15 season to get canned.  Got to and lost in CIT first round during his "great" seasons. 

On Cottingham,  what does it matter what dopes on a message board thought of Buzz's talent?  C-ham's evaluation was correct.  Similar to Bond Shymansky,etc.  

[Rubie Q]

Yeah, Cottingham was seen as a brilliant talent evaluator when he hired Buzz.
Does that have to be in teal?

For real. Of all the surprising things that have been said over the last couple months, the revisionist history about Cottingham is near the top of the list. More praise has been heaped on him in the last 60 days than during his entire tenure as athletic director.

[Blackhat]

What exactly has been revised?


He had our athletic's programs as a whole probably the healthiest its ever been and led expansion.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Alright, I'll ask this in another way:

We've all speculated on how MU admin. may/may not have f*cked up, and may/may not be in the process of f*cking up the athletics department.

For those who are very concerned, are there specific things you want MU to do? Is there anything they can do to instill confidence in the fanbase?

Should they send out a press release addressing the rumors? Would that even mean anything? If Buzz and Larry are hugging at the BBQ, is that good enough, or is that an act?

Should Buzz do another radio interview and emphatically state how much he loves MU?

[Pakuni]

He looks Mike Deane good.   Just took Deane one 14-15 season to get canned.

Really? Mike Deane led Marquette to never-before-seen success? Records for wins?
Who knew?

On Cottingham,  what does it matter what dopes on a message board thought of Buzz's talent?   

About as much as what dopes on a message board think of Buzz's feelings.

[Blackhat]

Alright, I'll ask this in another way:

We've all speculated on how MU admin. may/may not have f*cked up, and may/may not be in the process of f*cking up the athletics department.

For those who are very concerned, are there specific things you want MU to do? Is there anything they can do to instill confidence in the fanbase?

Should they send out a press release addressing the rumors? Would that even mean anything? If Buzz and Larry are hugging at the BBQ, is that good enough, or is that an act?

Should Buzz do another radio interview and emphatically state how much he loves MU?

since I believe IWB (and he's probably the best MU insider the last decade), I found the fact Buzz was talking with SMU as a bad sign and frankly embarrassing.  It never should have resulted if our AD and Prez were on top of their game and held Buzz to the standards of his predecessors.    

 Hard to trust these new guys when our Prez removes the one solid link to Buzz in Cottingham and there are whispers of bad relations.  I don't think Buzz would have pulled this on Cottingham, it makes the AD look bad.

 In the meantime, I'd like to see Buzz continue with his same recruiting pattern.   Limited academic casualties would be nice.   Next off season will be big.    

I'll give Larry and Pilarz some slack, hopefully they don't screw it up.    

Think the Hiroshima thing has reached humorous level and it's the off season so people find things to talk about...

[Blackhat]

Really? Mike Deane led Marquette to never-before-seen success? Records for wins?
Who knew?

About as much as what dopes on a message board think of Buzz's feelings.

So you agree on the dopes part, ok. 

Portland's been to the NCAA's twice.

[muguru]

can't be, the man with sources (muguru) assured it was a large percentage of the team, that the changes were unfair and that the resulting backlash will be larger than Hiroshima...

Excuse me?? Please show me where i said it was a "large percentage" of the team?? You won't find it because I never said that. The changes are completely and totally unfair. I know you read the deal about the team being put in a different dorm. Is that fair??

[Blackhat]

The men's team was put in a different dorm?   What's the story on that?

[dgies9156]

unless I am wrong Jesuits do not take a vow of poverty

Yeah, you're wrong. They do.

[madtownwarrior]

3 out of 9 returning scholarship players is a pretty large percentage....  that was the original Hiroshima numbers reported...

Excuse me?? Please show me where i said it was a "large percentage" of the team?? You won't find it because I never said that. The changes are completely and totally unfair. I know you read the deal about the team being put in a different dorm. Is that fair??

[Lennys Tap]

I don't mean this as a personal attack, but from your posts, you seem very mistrusting of MU's admin. in general.

Is there something more specific you want them to do?

We've only heard innuendos and rumors about the "rift", so if Larry Williams, Pilarz and Buzz are sharing 1 rack of ribs at the BBQ, is that going to be enough to stop the paranoia?

First, I don't take this as a personal attack and I'm not saying Fr Pilarz or Larry Williams are bad people. I don't have any info (other than what I've read here) about changes in admission standards, eligibility standards, Humphrey Hall, etc.

I have one source. In March 2011, he told me how much Buzz loved it here and speculated that he would likely be a Marquette lifer. By January 2012 that same source told me Buzz was unhappy and could be gone by the end of the season. He didn't get into specifics and I didn't ask him to, but I believed him then and based on what I've seen, heard and read in the last 6 months I believe him still. I haven't received any new information in months so I don't know if things are better, worse or the same. I guess I'll lose what you consider my paranoia when (if) I hear from my source that Buzz is back to happy.

There have been so many twists, turns and misrepresentations of people's thoughts on this topic that it's become almost impossible to discuss. I'll give you one example. Some people (myself included) thought that very, very new to the job L Williams was way out of line in his remarks about Buzz in the Journal. I've never seen even an experienced AD make public remarks like that about one of his coaches. When it was pointed out that the article was indicative that a) things were less than perfect between the two and b) that the article would make things worse, your response was what? That if Buzz was such a wimp he would quit over an article in the paper then good riddance. Of course nobody said he would quit over it, only that it was bad form by Larry and an indication of a less than chummy relationship. But why argue about what people say when it's so much more fun to argue about what you can say for them.

I don't mean to single you out. On balance you're very fair in your back and forths, but this topic has everyone a bit off the rails. End of rant and back to your questions.

I'm not exactly mistrustful of the administration. I'm sure they have what they consider to be the best interests of Marquette at heart. Nothing nefarious or evil. But IF they think that the basketball program will be unaffected by higher admission standards, higher eligibilty standards, sending freshmen and sophmore players back to McCormick, etc I think they're very wrong. And IF they don't think that making it more difficult to compete will sooner or later mean Buzz is gone and that the job is less attractive I think they're very, very wrong. And IF they think this won't have an adverse affect on the university as a whole, again I think they're very, very wrong.

These are all IFS. I hope I am reading the tea leaves wrong.  

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I'm not exactly mistrustful of the administration. I'm sure they have what they consider to be the best interests of Marquette at heart. Nothing nefarious or evil. But IF they think that the basketball program will be unaffected by higher admission standards, higher eligibilty standards, sending freshmen and sophmore players back to McCormick, etc I think they're very wrong. And IF they don't think that making it more difficult to compete will sooner or later mean Buzz is gone and that the job is less attractive I think they're very, very wrong. And IF they think this won't have an adverse affect on the university as a whole, again I think they're very, very wrong.

These are all IFS. I hope I am reading the tea leaves wrong.  

I can't disagree, but none of this stuff has happened, so my outrage is pretty mild.

- Some predicted Buzz was going to SMU. Didn't happen.
- Some predicted multiple players with large academic issues and forced transfers. Didn't happen. (might be 1 player who needs to pull grades in summer school).
- Some predicted/speculated Pilarz and LW are pulling the rug out from Buzz, and he might leave. OUTCOME UNKNOWN (cue the scary organ music)

I can't pretend to know what is going on at MU. But, I just can't get excited about the rumors around here... which is incredibly ironic given my amount of posts on the topic.

There's a saying that describes this type of thing:
"Is it a zit, or is it cancer?" I'm hoping its a zit, because for me, I just haven't seen enough evidence that this is a bigger deal than that. Call me an optimist.

[MU82]

So many people so filled with angst about something they so can't control. Ugh.

[The Process]

So many people so filled with angst about something they so can't control. Ugh.

[Lennys Tap]

I can't disagree, but none of this stuff has happened, so my outrage is pretty mild.

- Some predicted Buzz was going to SMU. Didn't happen.
- Some predicted multiple players with large academic issues and forced transfers. Didn't happen. (might be 1 player who needs to pull grades in summer school).
- Some predicted/speculated Pilarz and LW are pulling the rug out from Buzz, and he might leave. OUTCOME UNKNOWN (cue the scary organ music)

I can't pretend to know what is going on at MU. But, I just can't get excited about the rumors around here... which is incredibly ironic given my amount of posts on the topic.

There's a saying that describes this type of thing:
"Is it a zit, or is it cancer?" I'm hoping its a zit, because for me, I just haven't seen enough evidence that this is a bigger deal than that. Call me an optimist.

I very much hope you're right.

[Tugg Speedman]

So do those worried about Hiroshima and how LW/Pilarz wanted to turn MU into SLU care to weigh in now?

I stand in awe on how this board can get almost everything wrong without even trying.