If you supported Larry Williams previously, how can you now??

[NersEllenson]

So, on the Buzz Williams Basketball Hour yesterday, Larry Williams floats the idea MU fans should consider/brace for the possibility of the Gonzaga Model - A powerhouse/big fish in a small pond.  Now today, Gonzaga is trying to get out of that very model.  As did Butler.  As did VCU.  How ironic.  Yet another big sh$tburger for Larry to eat...one day after he floats the Gonzaga model, Gonzaga is willing to fly coast to coast to get out of such a model. 

What kind of leadership are we looking at that considers aiming small to go big, as a viable option?

Hey JuJuan, Duane, Deonte - come play in the Horizon league and get limited ESPN exposure, and compete against mid-major talent....

[Groin_pull]

My opinion of LW is already crappy, so it can't go any lower.

[AZWarrior]

Email campaign!!

[CTWarrior]

Geez, even if he truly believes it, there is nothing good that can come from saying that or anything like it at this point in time.  No matter what he thinks is going to happen, "Marquette has a long tradition of success and will land in a good, competitive conference regardless of how the conference re-alignment shakes out" should be his public mantra.

[GGGG]

So, on the Buzz Williams Basketball Hour yesterday, Larry Williams floats the idea MU fans should consider/brace for the possibility of the Gonzaga Model - A powerhouse/big fish in a small pond.  Now today, Gonzaga is trying to get out of that very model.  As did Butler.  As did VCU.  How ironic.  Yet another big sh$tburger for Larry to eat...one day after he floats the Gonzaga model, Gonzaga is willing to fly coast to coast to get out of such a model.  

What kind of leadership are we looking at that considers aiming small to go big, as a viable option?

Hey JuJuan, Duane, Deonte - come play in the Horizon league and get limited ESPN exposure, and compete against mid-major talent....

Dude gets dinged for not being proactive, and now he's proactive and getting national press attention for that, and you harp on one sentence that you take out of context.

This is the full quote:

"What I would really like to communicate is we have the utmost attention of the athletic director and importantly our president on this subject, on this matter, making sure that we place Marquette in the most advantageous position we can be in. That may mean we're in another association where you use the Gonzaga model where you're the biggest, baddest dog in the shallow pond, think I got my analogies screwed up there, but you get the point. It's very important for Father Pilarz and for me that Marquette and its tradition is protected and enlivened so that it has the opportunity to maintain its elite standard, the standard it's earned over the course of many, many years from way back through the Al McGuire days."

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

If anybody wants to actually listen to it before they rant:

http://www.gomarquette.com/blog/

If not, feel free to RAGE about LARRRRRRRRRRRY!!!! (shakes fist in the air).

EDIT: The whole interview is pretty good, but if you only have a couple of minutes, start around the 6:30min. mark. Then run to your keyboard and start the angry typing.

[NersEllenson]

Then he offers up this nugget in the Providence Journal in the article/topic Chicos posted:

On merging with an Atlantic 10-type conference:
"When you think about the A-10, I don't even really view the remnants of the Big East in the same light as I do the A-10. There's no Georgetown in the A-10. Georgetown has won a national championship. There's no Marquette in the A-10. They've not won a national championship in their history. They have a couple of good schools and they have some nice quality across the board, but I certainly, and I know I'm being sort of a homer here, but I certainly think the Big East basketball schools present a profile that is superior to what the depth of the A-10 is.

Then he goes on to tout the virtues of two basketball programs the A-10 added..who also left the bgi fish in small pond mentality....so combining all these soundbites - what in the hell exactly is Larry's position???  Wow.

On the prospect of a Catholic conference:
"On the Catholic concept... Now I'm a Catholic. I'm really comfortable in that environment, but I would be careful to define something so narrowly as to someone's religious tradition. There's some really good basketball played at VCU. There's this place down in Indiana (Butler) that has made a couple appearances in the final game."

[Benny B]

Dude gets dinged for not being proactive, and now he's proactive and getting national press attention for that, and you harp on one sentence that you take out of context.

This is the full quote:

"What I would really like to communicate is we have the utmost attention of the athletic director and importantly our president on this subject, on this matter, making sure that we place Marquette in the most advantageous position we can be in. That may mean we're in another association where you use the Gonzaga model where you're the biggest, baddest dog in the shallow pond, think I got my analogies screwed up there, but you get the point. It's very important for Father Pilarz and for me that Marquette and its tradition is protected and enlivened so that it has the opportunity to maintain its elite standard, the standard it's earned over the course of many, many years from way back through the Al McGuire days."

Agreed.  If someone is going to completely bastardize what LW actually said, why should any of us care about what that person's opinion of LW is?

[MU82]

Thanks for providing context, Sultan and Guns. Always helpful, though most folks just like to grab onto a word or a sentence and beat the you-know-what out of it.

[GGGG]

Then he offers up this nugget in the Providence Journal in the article/topic Chicos posted:

On merging with an Atlantic 10-type conference:
"When you think about the A-10, I don't even really view the remnants of the Big East in the same light as I do the A-10. There's no Georgetown in the A-10. Georgetown has won a national championship. There's no Marquette in the A-10. They've not won a national championship in their history. They have a couple of good schools and they have some nice quality across the board, but I certainly, and I know I'm being sort of a homer here, but I certainly think the Big East basketball schools present a profile that is superior to what the depth of the A-10 is.

Then he goes on to tout the virtues of two basketball programs the A-10 added..who also left the bgi fish in small pond mentality....so combining all these soundbites - what in the hell exactly is Larry's position???  Wow.

He specifically said that have a couple good schools.  

Seriously, what is your problem?  He is making reasonable comments that make me feel that MU is looking at a bunch of options and is going to choose what is best for the future of MU basketball.  Listen to the interview, he comes off as level-headed and proactive.

[tower912]

I'm not a Larry Williams fan.   In this instance, it seems to me that he was trying to say that all options are being considered, talks about some of the models, and manages to do it in the least logical, non-offensive manner possible.     It isn't what he said, it is how he said it.  

[🏀]

Seriously, what is your problem?  He is making reasonable comments that make me feel that MU is looking at a bunch of options and is going to choose what is best for the future of MU basketball.  Listen to the interview, he comes off as level-headed and proactive.

His problem is that he is Ners.

[NersEllenson]

He specifically said that have a couple good schools.  

Seriously, what is your problem?  He is making reasonable comments that make me feel that MU is looking at a bunch of options and is going to choose what is best for the future of MU basketball.  Listen to the interview, he comes off as level-headed and proactive.

Seriously - the guy basically pisses on the A-10, then goes on to tout 2,  A-10 prorgrams - who fled a model he just floated yesterday as being viable a potential viable option for MU.  What doesn't alarm you about this?  He craps on a league that could one day potentially house MU (which would be a much better option than parking MU in the Horizon - big fish, small pond), then goes on to name two of that leagues programs - Butler and VCU - as being quality programs....who just fled a model he mentions as viable..??

My problem is that there clearly are some who see the above course of action as "proactive," when it is absolutely ass backwards.  Frightening. 

[Goose]

My biggest fear is MU evaluating our program, school and position in NCAA. As much as I love AL and his teams that was a lifetime ago. The Gonzaga model is not for me but I understand we are not the MU of 1977 and college ball has changed big time since then. IMO we are an upper program and one of the elite non-football programs. With that standing we need to be leaders in the process.

While I do not agree with everything LW has said I am happy to hear we are not sitting on our hands. He has tough job ahead of him and hopefully up to the task. Have stated before we should not have been surprised with all the conference moves and plans should have been laid out months ago.

[🏀]

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Seriously - the guy basically pisses on the A-10, then goes on to tout 2,  A-10 prorgrams - who fled a model he just floated yesterday as being viable a potential viable option for MU.  What doesn't alarm you about this?  He craps on a league that could one day potentially house MU (which would be a much better option than parking MU in the Horizon - big fish, small pond), then goes on to name two of that leagues programs - Butler and VCU - as being quality programs....who just fled a model he mentions as viable..??

My problem is that there clearly are some who see the above course of action as "proactive," when it is absolutely ass backwards.  Frightening. 

Just to be clear, all of those quotes (including what was in the Providence Journal) came from the same interview that he did with Homer.

Might be cool to give it a listen.

[Norm]

I swear, if Larry Williams wasn't an ND grad we wouldn't have 3/4 of the posts bitching about him.

[Dr. Blackheart]

I am fine with his interview in terms of what he said...still struggling though why all of the seven schools seem to be going public with their Big East gripes (not just LW) as I said in another thread.  It is clearly a concerted effort to go public...so, who are they trying to leverage?...the remaining BE football schools?  The ones like UC and UCONN who would like to jump at first blush?  Get others like the Zags, Xavier, Butler to throw their hat into the ring?  They are coming off as a group without a settled plan in public--half in and half out the door--and to me, compromising their negotiation stance...if and I say if, they remain in the hybrid BE.

As I said, it looks like Tulane changed everything in regards to their entrance...and really the Group of Seven have already decided to exit.  I think the Commish is dead in the water at this point.

[🏀]

I swear, if Larry Williams wasn't an ND grad we wouldn't have 3/4 of the posts bitching about him.

This, without a doubt.

[reinko]

His problem is that he is Ners.

[NersEllenson]

His problem is that he is Ners.

Once again, you fail to weigh in on the debate with any valid point.  Just another 1 sentence personal attack.  Well done PTM.  Par for your course.

[GGGG]

Seriously - the guy basically pisses on the A-10, then goes on to tout 2,  A-10 prorgrams - who fled a model he just floated yesterday as being viable a potential viable option for MU.  What doesn't alarm you about this?  

What doesn't alarm me is that I have actually *listened* to the entire interview...not cherry-picked one or two quotes.  I mean, the "Gonzaga model" quote was a complete throw-away.

As I said, he came off level headed, looking at various options, and knows full well how important this is for the future of Marquette basketball.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I am fine with his interview in terms of what he said...still struggling though why all of the seven schools seem to be going public with their Big East gripes (not just LW) as I said in another thread.  It is clearly a concerted effort to go public...so, who are they trying to leverage?...the remaining BE football schools?  The ones like UC and UCONN who would like to jump at first blush?  Get others like the Zags, Xavier, Butler to throw their hat into the ring?  They are coming off as a group without a settled plan in public--half in and half out the door--and to me, compromising their negotiation stance...if and I say if, they remain in the hybrid BE.

As I said, it looks like Tulane changed everything in regards to their entrance...and really the Group of Seven have already decided to exit.  I think the Commish is dead in the water at this point.

I have to wonder if making this meeting public was a bit of a power move. Certainly these guys have been talking for months if not years about this. Having a "public meeting" might motivate some schools outside of the Catholic 7 to declare their intentions and loyalty.

[reinko]

Once again, you fail to weigh in on the debate with any valid point.  Just another 1 sentence personal attack.  Well done PTM.  Par for your course.

He attacked you, by calling you, you?

[Goose]

LW being ND guy means NOTHING to me. LW getting us in a top tier conference means EVERYTHING to me.