Coach K is coming to town!

[Stretchdeltsig]

One of many, but a chosen few.  Not many people get to play at Duke...yes, among other stars there but few get the chance.

Last time I checked Duke was allowed only 13 scholarships, same as Marquette.

[Sunbelt15]

Gotta love Special K. He's talked to the young man twice and they probably can't open the front door fast enough.

Because he wins championships. Hopefully Buzz gets there someday.

[hairy worthen]

Just being positive and wishing it would happen won't make it occur.  He simply hasn't shown much interest in MU and Buzz is cutting his losses and moving on. 

It's recruiting, no losses to cut since we never had him in the first place.

[MU82]

Stone's dad = impressive. I hope he sticks to his guns and protects his kid. Lots of vultures out there.

[GGGG]

It's recruiting, no losses to cut since we never had him in the first place.

Losses = time spent recruiting him that could have been spent elsewhere

Cutting losses = investing more time recruiting him when he isn't coming here

[brewcity77]

Don't understand the pessimism and negativity.  If I were Looney I would star at Marquette.  He can play in front of family and friends and play with friends, and get to the NBA.  At Duke he will be one of many.  To hell with Duke!

Looney won't be one of many no matter where he decides to go. If Duke lands him, he will most likely be the gem of their recruiting class. I would be floored to see him stay in-state. He will most likely go to Duke, possibly Kansas, UNC, or Kentucky, but no matter where he goes, Wisconsin will be his second choice. There's no chance he will ever go to Wisconsin, but they will always be the bridesmaid.

[martyconlonontherun]

Last time I checked Duke was allowed only 13 scholarships, same as Marquette.

That's like saying both x number students went to Harvard and the same number went to Marquette. If you can't see the prestige of Duke in the basketball world and that they only recruit the best of the best, then you are kidding yourself.

[nyg]

Why is it that everyone believes MU has no shot at Looney or Stone?  Have they, their high school coaches or AAU coaches eliminated MU as of today?  Maybe, just maybe, with locals Duane Wilson, Burton and even McKay (who came back home) there is a possibility. 

[brewcity77]

Why is it that everyone believes MU has no shot at Looney or Stone?  Have they, their high school coaches or AAU coaches eliminated MU as of today?  Maybe, just maybe, with locals Duane Wilson, Burton and even McKay (who came back home) there is a possibility.

I draw a distinct line between the two. I don't think we have a shot at Looney because he's made it pretty clear through comments that he is interested in going out of state. I never got the sense he was staying, similar to Tokoto's recruitment. Stone I feel we have a very good shot at. I feel that his connection with Wilson, his proximity to the program (not just location but how close he seems to be to Marquette), and all the comments around his recruitment lead me to think we are probably the favorite right now, though of course schools like Kentucky and UNC will probably try to get in on him.

[frozena pizza]

Looney won't be one of many no matter where he decides to go. If Duke lands him, he will most likely be the gem of their recruiting class. I would be floored to see him stay in-state. He will most likely go to Duke, possibly Kansas, UNC, or Kentucky, but no matter where he goes, Wisconsin will be his second choice. There's no chance he will ever go to Wisconsin, but they will always be the bridesmaid.

I read that comment to mean that he would be one of many great players or top recruits to pass through Duke on their way to the NBA, which is true.  But even within that class they already have offers out to Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Trey Lyles, all of whom are ranked ahead of Looney by ESPN.  On the other hand, at Marquette he would be one of the best recruits we've ever landed.  Not that Looney seems to care about that.

[MUMonster03]

I read that comment to mean that he would be one of many great players or top recruits to pass through Duke on their way to the NBA, which is true.  But even within that class they already have offers out to Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Trey Lyles, all of whom are ranked ahead of Looney by ESPN.  On the other hand, at Marquette he would be one of the best recruits we've ever landed.  Not that Looney seems to care about that.

Just because it is a long shot doesn't mean you do not try to land them. Duke wasn't always a destination place for players it was built by Coach K having success and then being able to tell kids like Laettner, Hurley, and Hill that they are the type of pieces needed to get to the next level and found a way to make them believe as well. It took Coach K 6 years to make the final four and then it wasn't until year 11 that he won a National Championship. Buzz has had great success and should be near that point where he can sell the higher rated players that they can be the piece(s) that take the program to the next level. Each year of success makes recruiting easier and the chance of landing high ranked players, especially in-state players, more and more likely.

[Eldon]

I, too, have heard that Looney really wants to go out of state.  I also heard (maybe here on Scoop), that he takes academic reputation seriously.  Marquette is in-state and, while solid academically, we don't hold a candle to Duke (or UNC), so he'd be gone on both fronts. 

Nonetheless, I still hope that he comes to MU.  In any case, best of luck to the kid.

[Aughnanure]

With Looney out, getting Stone is priority #1. It would be a gut punch to have 2 top 10 kids right in your backyard and you couldn't get either.

[willie warrior]

Why is it that everyone believes MU has no shot at Looney or Stone?  Have they, their high school coaches or AAU coaches eliminated MU as of today?  Maybe, just maybe, with locals Duane Wilson, Burton and even McKay (who came back home) there is a possibility. 

I agree.
If Looney has said he intends to go to school out of state, then that is his choice and we should not waste a lot of resources on him. When has he said that? Anybody know?

What I do not understand is the "given" that many on this board take that when Dookie or UNC come calling on recruits in Wisconsin that it is all over and we do not stand a chance. MU has plenty to offer: an NBA arena, a good school, a long and great BB tradition, BB being the big game on campus, a Coach that gets guys to the pros, and a chance to play in front of family and friends. Yes, Duke has things to offer, but nothing that is the be all to end all. Having said that, Coach K needs to retire.

[BCHoopster]

Losing kids to those programs is not that big a deal, they recruit the whole country and it is going to happen.  Buzz it seems is recruiting for 2014 a great deal of Top 100 kids.  Lets see
if all the Buzz PR and MU can sell this program to get to the next level.  Time will tell.  I hope kids at Duke and NC realize that they are going to over-recruited.  Lets see if Tokoto gets any more time in the future or is he just going to be a bench clapper.

[brewcity77]

What I do not understand is the "given" that many on this board take that when Dookie or UNC come calling on recruits in Wisconsin that it is all over and we do not stand a chance. MU has plenty to offer: an NBA arena, a good school, a long and great BB tradition, BB being the big game on campus, a Coach that gets guys to the pros, and a chance to play in front of family and friends. Yes, Duke has things to offer, but nothing that is the be all to end all. Having said that, Coach K needs to retire.

I think it's all case-by-case. Tokoto going to UNC seemed like it was coming for awhile, as does Looney going out-of-state with Duke seeming most likely. Stone seems like he's a lot more willing to stay home, and I think that one would hurt more because at least at this point, it really feels like we have a good chance. I haven't seen any Marquette fans conceding that recruitment.

[Dawson Rental]

Just because it is a long shot doesn't mean you do not try to land them. Duke wasn't always a destination place for players it was built by Coach K having success and then being able to tell kids like Laettner, Hurley, and Hill that they are the type of pieces needed to get to the next level and found a way to make them believe as well. It took Coach K 6 years to make the final four and then it wasn't until year 11 that he won a National Championship. Buzz has had great success and should be near that point where he can sell the higher rated players that they can be the piece(s) that take the program to the next level. Each year of success makes recruiting easier and the chance of landing high ranked players, especially in-state players, more and more likely.

It's all about allocation of resources.  I agree that what you say above about building upon recruiting success year by year.  That makes getting another top 10 recruiting class in 2014 such a big deal.  The only way to do that is to spend your time convincing players that really like your school to come here instead of one of the other 5 to seven schools that they really like.  You can't do that if your wasting your time trying to interest a kid who hasn't shown much, if any, interest through his junior year.

[BCHoopster]

That probably is the hardest thing to realize for a coach, there confidence or ego is probably threw the roof so sometimes they probably spend to much time with a kid that has no
interest in a certain program.  Might have been Rick Majerus's downfall with Joe Wolf and Ricky Olson, I think he had both kids and got neither.  This is why they get big bucks, it is really
hard to recruit.   The one big difference I see is the availability of private planes, Buzz can be in Memphis to watch JJohnson is 2 hours.  In the past, it would take all day.  Or go to Minneapolis, he can be there in an hour.  Harder to get to Chicago by car.

[Otule's Glass Eye]

Here's a Looney interview from a week ago, didn't even mention us in schools most interested.. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TvhK_ILEXA

[GooooMarquette]

I agree we should devote more resources to kids like Stone, who seems more legitimately interested in MU.

However, I don't think we should stop visiting a huge talent like Looney simply because he's leaning out of state.  Kids change their minds about this all the time...whether before they actually sign, or perhaps after a year or two when they might decide to play closer to home.  If he's as good as everyone says he is, I think he's worth a visit or call every once in a while to show we're still interested.

[BCHoopster]

I agree we should devote more resources to kids like Stone, who seems more legitimately interested in MU.

However, I don't think we should stop visiting a huge talent like Looney simply because he's leaning out of state.  Kids change their minds about this all the time...whether before they actually sign, or perhaps after a year or two when they might decide to play closer to home.  If he's as good as everyone says he is, I think he's worth a visit or call every once in a while to show we're still interested.

Buzz has worked Looney and his family, AAU coach, etc.  As you might find that they may go to Duke or NC, and decide to come back to Milwaukee if they are not happy, ie. Jamil
Wilson, in saying that, MU has an opening for that kid at NC who played sparingly last year, probably next year to.  Always keeep the doors open, but Buzz 's philosophy is to recruit
everyday, he knows better than all of us, that he needs to sign some bigs.  In saying that, a big knows he will get minutes, and that is what they all want to hear as incoming freshman.
Looney can start at MU as a frosh.

[MUMonster03]

It's all about allocation of resources.  I agree that what you say above about building upon recruiting success year by year.  That makes getting another top 10 recruiting class in 2014 such a big deal.  The only way to do that is to spend your time convincing players that really like your school to come here instead of one of the other 5 to seven schools that they really like.  You can't do that if your wasting your time trying to interest a kid who hasn't shown much, if any, interest through his junior year.

I agree that if he has shown no interest you don't spend much time there. But to say just because Duke or UNC is in on him we don't even bother? That is where I whole heartedly disagree. But I trust Buzz, he has shown he knows what he is doing, and is getting the most out of the talent he does land. If he can get that one break through in landing someone they didn't expect I think a lot more eyes will start considering us. It would just be nice to get a highly rated player from close to home because you could mark off closeness to home and not being able to handle WI winters as reasons they may leave.

[BCHoopster]

JaJuan Johnson might be that kid.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Last time I checked Duke was allowed only 13 scholarships, same as Marquette.

Yes.  I suspect you will find Duke offers fewer players the opportunity each year to fill their openings vs MU does to fill theirs.  I think the reasons are obvious.

[Rockmic87]

Buzz has worked Looney and his family, AAU coach, etc.  As you might find that they may go to Duke or NC, and decide to come back to Milwaukee if they are not happy, ie. Jamil
Wilson, in saying that, MU has an opening for that kid at NC who played sparingly last year, probably next year to.  Always keeep the doors open, but Buzz 's philosophy is to recruit
everyday, he knows better than all of us, that he needs to sign some bigs.  In saying that, a big knows he will get minutes, and that is what they all want to hear as incoming freshman.
Looney can start at MU as a frosh.

Thats a good point. I was trying to figure out where Tokoto would find minutes with the recruiting class they have coming in. He may have to make a decision about transferring next year.