Aki Collins Gone....

[war1980rior]

Good luck to him regardless. He'll be a head coach soon anyway. One great recruiter out there is Doug Wojik (just left Tulsa).

[Canadian Dimes]

this is one of the dumbest threads in a long list of dumb threads from this summer.  Goodman stated AKI was getting the top assts job at Memphis.  this indicates nothing but 2 things.  1. hoop12 has great sources?   and 2. that Aki was not getting elavated to the top asts job

Not a big deal assts move all the time.  if your assts are moving up it usually means ur program is winning and doing things the right way and other schools want your people. 

Funny thing is the crean apologists said the same thing when crean lost all three assisatnts in numerous years, for lower level or lateral jobs, but now it means the rats are fleeing the ship?

[Goose]

Why is a thread on losing an asst coach a dumb thread? Seems to be newsworthy and does not seem to be a ton of panic over the news. Once again you feel the need to jump down people's throats when you do not like what is posted. I agree with Topper and believe most on here want to hear news, good or bad.

[Small Orange Soda]

Should be interesting to see what parts of the country these new assistants are known to recruit well in.

[MUBasketball]

Good luck to him regardless. He'll be a head coach soon anyway. One great recruiter out there is Doug Wojik (just left Tulsa).

Wojcik is the new head coach at College of Charleston.

[TomEnlundSays]

Collins to Memphis?
               




               

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/154859025.html
               

[Dawson Rental]

He was also the lead on Jamail Jones. 

He was also the lead on Roseboro

Good riddance!

[MattyWarrior]

I never know what to expect this year when I log on. Hopefully Buzz finds the right kind of guys to work with
the roster we have and some of the recruits like JF prolly expected Aki to be here this summer. Buzz has his
work cut out for him this summer bringing 2 new coaches up to speed and what is shaping up to be a tough
schedule

[Dawson Rental]

Wish he were staying and do not like timing of it. Would have thought this would happen in April and not this late.

Maybe the reason Buzz was holding off on hiring Tony Benford's replacement was because he knew something was up with Aki and he was waiting to see if he moved on before hiring anyone.

[Dawson Rental]

Can we go after Jerrence again?

Again?  When did MU go after him?

[MUBasketball]

Maybe the reason Buzz was holding off on hiring Tony Benford's replacement was because he knew something was up with Aki and he was waiting to see if he moved on before hiring anyone.

What's that got to do with anything? Tony's replacement will not change regardless of whether Aki is here or not.

[Dawson Rental]

What's that got to do with anything? Tony's replacement will not change regardless of whether Aki is here or not.

Oh, so you think that there is no point when assembling a staff in trying to get a balance of skill levels and different geographic area where each staff member has familiarity and recruiting contacts?

I suppose Buzz could just go ahead with top two assistants who both are best working with guards and recruiting the Southeast and that will work out just fine?

[brewcity77]

What's that got to do with anything? Tony's replacement will not change regardless of whether Aki is here or not.

Not accurate at all. If Buzz was waiting to see if Aki was going to accept a role as associate, then he would be looking to fill his lowest-level assistant role (Aki 1, Monarch 2). If Aki leaves, Buzz is looking for a top guy (doubting Monarch gets associate). Looking for a right-hand man and looking for a lower-profile guy to groom is two different things.

[77ncaachamps]

First, THANK YOU, Aki, for being a great recruiter and assistant coach at Marquette. I wish you the best of luck at Memphis.

Second, I hope Buzz has some good hires in order. Losing Tony was huge but was expected at some point. Isn't think we'd lose Aki this early, especially with no successor to Benford named.

Third, I hope this doesn't signify waves of change to the culture, recruiting, and mission. I support Buzz, but I hope the school realizes this program means so much to the Marquette community - past, present, and future.

[MUBasketball]

Not accurate at all. If Buzz was waiting to see if Aki was going to accept a role as associate, then he would be looking to fill his lowest-level assistant role (Aki 1, Monarch 2). If Aki leaves, Buzz is looking for a top guy (doubting Monarch gets associate). Looking for a right-hand man and looking for a lower-profile guy to groom is two different things.

Correct, my comment was based on the assumption that Aki wouldn't have been promoted to Associate so it really had no bearing on who Buzz replaced Benford with.

Losing a lot this offseason. Buzz has a big task replacing Benford, Aki, and Lundy.

[Clam Crowder]

I am not sure this is official yet... Twitter is saying "could"be gone

[GGGG]

Apparently Memphis Roar spoke to him and he gave some quotes.  Its behind a login and I don't want to go through the effort...sounds though like a done deal.

[MUBasketball]

Apparently Memphis Roar spoke to him and he gave some quotes.  Its behind a login and I don't want to go through the effort...sounds though like a done deal.

I saw the quotes. Its a done deal. Said he will get there Wednesday and "hit the ground running".

He said he interviewed there and was looking at pictures on the wall at their hoops facility and asked how many were at Memphis Midnight Madness. Pastner said 17,000+, and Aki said then he realized they were a big-time program.

Said this is another resume builder & he'll get to learn under a different coach and system.

[LA]

Can any ESPN insiders shed light on this article. Could have some possible candidates.

http://m.espn.go.com/ncb/rumors?

[Marqus Howard]

I saw the quotes. Its a done deal. Said he will get there Wednesday and "hit the ground running".

He said he interviewed there and was looking at pictures on the wall at their hoops facility and asked how many were at Memphis Midnight Madness. Pastner said 17,000+, and Aki said then he realized they were a big-time program.

Said this is another resume builder & he'll get to learn under a different coach and system.

Those are the kind of quotes that add to what Brew was saying earlier regarding us being a step below Memphis still. Still, as long as we hang onto Buzz I'm completely confident in the direction our program is heading.

[BCHoopster]

Assistant coaches come and go all the time.  Buzz is the main man, loss Buzz right now and it would be a problem.  Go find an assistant coach who can bring in the last recruit for 2013. This happens all the time.  I am sure there is an AAU coach who wants to move up, hopefully he has a top 10 kid in his back pocket.  Jabari Parkers father??

[AirPunches]

The ESPN insider article mentioned Ron Coleman who is at Nebraska now and also spent time at Colorado state. The article said he has extensive Chicago connections and was the coach of the mac irvin fire from 2005-2011.

[Bocephys]

Marquette's depleted coaching staff
Tagged: buzz
POSTED May 27, 2:10 PM ET
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Marquette Golden Eagles
When Tony Benford accepted the North Texas head coach position, the move made sense for the long-time Marquette assistant. Benford had been considered for a handful of head coaching positions in the past two years, and there was a sense Benford was on the cusp of moving from Milwaukee. Benford quickly added Marquette DBO Bart Lundy to his staff, leaving Buzz Williams with only Aki Collins and Scott Monarch on his staff -- a perilous prospect for any head coach in the middle of the offseason.

However, per Jason Smith of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, Collins will become an assistant for Memphis. As Dan Wolken notes, when a program is as successful as the Golden Eagles have been in the recent past, assistant turnover happens. We have to wonder, though, who Williams will hire for his two vacant assistant positions (as well as Marquette's director of basketball ops spot)? Benford was known for his recruiting prowess in the Southwest, and was also highly-regarded for his ability to scour the junior college ranks, so perhaps Williams will look to hire a JC head coach (or a current DI assistant with lengthy JC experience).

Smith writes that Collins has east coast ties, and we wonder if some of the names that dotted Xavier's assistant coach search might soon appear in contention for a MU job. XU needed someone comfortable recruiting up and down the coast, including the DMV region, and without Collins, Marquette may search for someone with a similar resume.

In recent years, Marquette has frequently been linked to Chicago prospects. Reggie Smith once played at the Al McGuire Center, and Steve Taylor will suit up for MU next season. There is also a chance Williams may covet an assistant who is familiar with the Chicago-area and Illinois. If that is the case, does a name like Paris Parham (formerly of Illinois State) or Ronald Coleman enter the situation? Coleman presents a compelling case; an assistant at Colorado State, Coleman is now the director of player development at Nebraska, and he has extensive ties to Chicago.

- Matt Giles

[MU82]

We are done. Finished. Kaput. Why even bother fielding a program?

This is tragic. You thought 9/11 was tragic? THIS is tragic.

My sources say all recruits now will de-commit and sign on at Memphis and North Texas.

Catastrophe. You thought the Japan tsunami was a catastrophe? Please.

How bad is that? Pretty soon, we'll only be able to beat DePaul by 10, that's how bad.

This really puts the "oy" in Ring out Ahoya.

I'm ashamed to be a Marquette grad. I remember when I graduated in 1982, I said: "I'll be a loyal alumnus, donate regularly and support everything having to do with Marquette unless we lose Aki Collins in 20 years.

Done. It was good while it lasted, though.

[Slim]

I assume it wasn't a Math major in 1982.