"Without Kevin O'Neill Marquette could have become Loyola of Chicago"

[unforgiven]

I thought KO didn't placate or nicely rub the alums at AZ (like Lute did), hence the axe.

Not sure KO ever kissed anyone's ass. I am sure that her must be rubbing his wife in some way. She is 20 years his junior and a saucy vixen to boot. I love how those two have torn up a few bars in their time together. God, what a great woman.

[The Equalizer]

Ugh....who says A.D. prior to Cords wouldn't have reached out to a guy who was considered the best recruiter in college basketball?

Maybe because the guy prior to Cords first gave the job to a not-ready-for-prime-time Rick Majerus, then was turned down by Arkansas - Little Rock's Mike Newell who turned us down because he thought that UALR was a better job, then reached out and hired Bob Dukiet.
 
And, yes I know he was a beloved former MU head coach.  But his track record for hiring head coaches was terrible.   

Ugh...did you talk to Kevin and did Kevin tell you he never would have come to MU if it were still playing in the MECCA - which just 5 years earlier was a pro arena.

Yes, he did in a manner of speaking.  He made a comment to that regard at one of the Chicago coaches events that the commitment that MU showed to winning basketball--including hiring Cords and playing at the then-new Bradley center was a big attraction to him taking the job.

Ugh...2 coaches can't coach at a school at the same time...so no sh$t Sherlock...O'Neill or any other coach wouldn't be at MU if Dukiet wasn't fired.

So why are you debating me on this?  Even you admit that O'neill wouldn't be here if Dukiet wasn't fired--so the decision to fire Dukeit is at least as much a factor in our success as anything O'Neill did once he got here.

If MU was content with being on the path they were on, they wouldn't have fired Dukiet.  So someone had to decide first that they weren't satisfied with the decline.

But hey...it was all firing Dukiet, hiring Bill Cords, and us moving to the Bradley Center that got us the recruits and wins/Sweet 16 Kevin O'Neill got us...cause you know a building, and good athletic director are all it takes to win ball games in college hoops.

All I can tell you is that without Cords and without the Bradley Center, coaches like Mike Newell were turning us down, and the best we could do was Bob Dukiet.

Now, if you find some other plausible explanation as to why O'Neill would even consider (no less wind up at) MU without bigger changes at MU happening first, and I'd be happy to consider your point of view.

[unforgiven]

Maybe because the guy prior to Cords first gave the job to a not-ready-for-prime-time Rick Majerus, then was turned down by Arkansas - Little Rock's Mike Newell who turned us down because he thought that UALR was a better job, then reached out and hired Bob Dukiet.

From his recent photograph I think Newell feared giving up access to chicken fried steak, fried chicken, hush puppies, fried catfish, fried green tomatos, fried okra, beignets, fried pickles, bbq, sweet tea, and Lone Star beer more than UALR was a better gig than MU