Kevin Looney kisses Marquette goodbye...........

[willie warrior]

Since 1988, Duke has been to 10 Final Fours and won four national titles.
Marquette in that same span has one Final Four and zero titles.

Do you now understand why Duke is considered "big time" and Marquette is not?
Do you now (hopefully) feel silly for even asking that question?

Is it the chicken or the egg first. How do we get to that status? There was a time when we were and Duke was not. If Duke can do it, why can't MU? Start the excuse making in 3..2..1..

[GGGG]

Is it the chicken or the egg first. How do we get to that status? There was a time when we were and Duke was not. If Duke can do it, why can't MU? Start the excuse making in 3..2..1..

Duke was always pretty good and had the benefit of being in the ACC.  They were national runner up the year after MU won the national championship.  Don't make it sound like they came from nowhere.

But to answer your question, they first built a good group of players that got them to the national championship game in 1986.  That is what started the ball rolling.  Perhaps this group of MU players can reach a Final Four...then if Buzz sticks around it can grow from there.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Duke was always pretty good and had the benefit of being in the ACC.  They were national runner up the year after MU won the national championship.  Don't make it sound like they came from nowhere.

But to answer your question, they first built a good group of players that got them to the national championship game in 1986.  That is what started the ball rolling.  Perhaps this group of MU players can reach a Final Four...then if Buzz sticks around it can grow from there.

NO!  It has to happen overnight!

If Buzz stays 10 more years, I'm confident we'll be at the Michigan St. level, which absolutely no one should complain about

[willie warrior]

Duke was always pretty good and had the benefit of being in the ACC.  They were national runner up the year after MU won the national championship.  Don't make it sound like they came from nowhere.

But to answer your question, they first built a good group of players that got them to the national championship game in 1986.  That is what started the ball rolling.  Perhaps this group of MU players can reach a Final Four...then if Buzz sticks around it can grow from there.

Don't think they were always pretty good. Did not look it up but were they not about 13-15 in K's first year and only about 10 wins the year before?

[Pakuni]

Don't think they were always pretty good. Did not look it up but were they not about 13-15 in K's first year and only about 10 wins the year before?

No, they were always pretty good.
Since 1950 they've had 40 seasons of 20 or more wins. They've had just seven losing seasons in the last 85 years. They went to three Final Fours and an Elite Eight during the 1960s, and another Final Four and Elite Eight in the 70s, pre Coach K.

[GOO]

Marquette has been trending up big time under Buzz.  It may not be happening as fast as some here would like it, but it is happening at a fast pace.
Look at the incoming class and people like Wilson, who selected us early and who want to play for us.... then things like the following show the trend:

From a Green Bay News Paper via Dodds board:

"Things got even better in late April when Marquette called and offered a scholarship. The school is a dream destination for Cohen, who grew up cheering for the Golden Eagles. He already has taken an unofficial visit to the campus.

Cohen has made no secret about his fondness for Marquette and said it is the leader right now. Murphy said Minnesota and Gonzaga are two other schools in strong consideration.

"I feel strong about Marquette, but I haven’t made any decisions yet," said Cohen, who expects to make a choice before his senior season. "I’m still trying to keep all my options open, but I feel strongly toward Marquette right now.

[nyg]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/dwyane-wade-son-zaire-one-nation-top-fifth-101514122.html

Heck with Looney, lock this kid up early...........

[Tums Festival]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/dwyane-wade-son-zaire-one-nation-top-fifth-101514122.html

Heck with Looney, lock this kid up early...........

Hopefully we have a better shot with Zaire Wade than we did with Austin Rivers.

[Benny B]

Hopefully we have a better shot with Zaire Wade than we did with Austin Rivers.

God help us if Zaire ends up in Crimson... Rocky will likely be the most devastated as such would likely result in the need for a major upgrade to Scoop's server and bandwidth.

[Lennys Tap]

God help us if Zaire ends up in Crimson... Rocky will likely be the most devastated as such would likely result in the need for a major upgrade to Scoop's server and bandwidth.

I was at an event honoring Dwyane at Richards High School. Crean spoke, and said that Wade would have "crawled on his hands and knees through broken glass all the way to Bloomington" if IU could have recruited/accepted him.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I was at an event honoring Dwyane at Richards High School. Crean spoke, and said that Wade would have "crawled on his hands and knees through broken glass all the way to Bloomington" if IU could have recruited/accepted him.

Wade made a similar type comment as well. Paraphrasing, but he said he wasn't offered by any major programs at the time except for MU and was disappointed, but he understood he had to work that much harder as a result.

All in all, worked out well for everyone.

[MerrittsMustache]

I was at an event honoring Dwyane at Richards High School. Crean spoke, and said that Wade would have "crawled on his hands and knees through broken glass all the way to Bloomington" if IU could have recruited/accepted him.

Wouldn't every HS basketball recruit have chosen IU over MU in 2000?

[bilsu]

Don't think they were always pretty good. Did not look it up but were they not about 13-15 in K's first year and only about 10 wins the year before?

They are the 4th all-time winningest program with 2001 wins. MU is the 43rd winningest program with 1520 wins. Look at it this way. If Duke dropped basketball today, it would take MU  20 years at 24 wins a year to catch Duke for number of games won.

[NersEllenson]

Wade made a similar type comment as well. Paraphrasing, but he said he wasn't offered by any major programs at the time except for MU and was disappointed, but he understood he had to work that much harder as a result.

All in all, worked out well for everyone.

Well he wasn't eligible to be recruited by any BCS schools at the time due to his Non Qualifier status.  You do make a good point, however, in illustrating that there was virtually no competition for his services, outside of Bradley University, and perhaps DePaul.  Definitely a God send to the MU program, and thank God Crean was able to lock him up.

[Pakuni]

Well he wasn't eligible to be recruited by any BCS schools at the time due to his Non Qualifier status.  You do make a good point, however, in illustrating that there was virtually no competition for his services, outside of Bradley University, and perhaps DePaul.  Definitely a God send to the MU program, and thank God Crean was able to lock him up.

DePaul didn't offer him, as I recall. They went for Imari Sawyer instead (D'oh ... though at the time that was a great get for DePaul .... so much for recruiting rankings).

[Stretchdeltsig]

Let's keep in mind, that colleges can have 13 scholarship players.  This small number levels the playing field.  There are a lot of talented high school athletes to go around.  Having a great coach is the key.  The coach recruits the players he wants and needs.  Buzz has done well.  Marquette has done extremely well for the past 50 years as a basketball power and with Buzz at the controls now, we shall continue to be successful.

[keefe]

I was at an event honoring Dwyane at Richards High School. Crean spoke, and said that Wade would have "crawled on his hands and knees through broken glass all the way to Bloomington" if IU could have recruited/accepted him.

[willie warrior]

No, they were always pretty good.
Since 1950 they've had 40 seasons of 20 or more wins. They've had just seven losing seasons in the last 85 years. They went to three Final Fours and an Elite Eight during the 1960s, and another Final Four and Elite Eight in the 70s, pre Coach K.

No they were not always good. Duke has been playing basketball for 12 more years than MU. Coach K's first three years, they were 38-47. There was a 6 year stretch under Foster when they were 76-82. My only point has been that if Duke can do it, so can MU, and all the rest are excuses.

Point: Who has a better program now, MU or UCLA? And which program is better all time? But which program would you like at this point in time?

[GGGG]

No they were not always good. Duke has been playing basketball for 12 more years than MU. Coach K's first three years, they were 38-47. There was a 6 year stretch under Foster when they were 76-82. My only point has been that if Duke can do it, so can MU, and all the rest are excuses.

willie....no one is saying they can't.  But that doesn't mean they will.

[bilsu]

No they were not always good. Duke has been playing basketball for 12 more years than MU. Coach K's first three years, they were 38-47. There was a 6 year stretch under Foster when they were 76-82. My only point has been that if Duke can do it, so can MU, and all the rest are excuses.

Point: Who has a better program now, MU or UCLA? And which program is better all time? But which program would you like at this point in time?

In those early years teams played about 12 games a year. Duke might of had a 100 wins before MU had a team, which means they have won approximately 380 games since MU started basketball. Maybe 200 of those have been while Coach K has been coach. We have been happy with Buzz's success 175-54 .691 winning percentage which is significantly better than MU's all-time winning percentage of .622. While .622 is very good it pales in comparison to Duke's .704 winning percentage. Besides that, does it really matter whether they have been always good. Today's recruiting target is probably 17 years old and at most can remember following basketball from age 6(?). Does it even matter that a team like UW absolutely sucked prior to that or that UCLA won 10 championships in 12 years.

[willie warrior]

In those early years teams played about 12 games a year. Duke might of had a 100 wins before MU had a team, which means they have won approximately 380 games since MU started basketball. Maybe 200 of those have been while Coach K has been coach. We have been happy with Buzz's success 175-54 .691 winning percentage which is significantly better than MU's all-time winning percentage of .622. While .622 is very good it pales in comparison to Duke's .704 winning percentage. Besides that, does it really matter whether they have been always good. Today's recruiting target is probably 17 years old and at most can remember following basketball from age 6(?). Does it even matter that a team like UW absolutely sucked prior to that or that UCLA won 10 championships in 12 years.

OK--you are right, it probably does not matter to a 17 year old kid--which proves my point, we have had good success in the past 8 or 9 years under both Crean and Buzz, so we should be able to compete against the Dukes of the world for talent.

[BCHoopster]

OK--you are right, it probably does not matter to a 17 year old kid--which proves my point, we have had good success in the past 8 or 9 years under both Crean and Buzz, so we should be able to compete against the Dukes of the world for talent.

The success of UCLA is over, much Like MU's high success in the late 60's-70's is over.  MU has made a recovery of sorts, not to the point Al had MU but Top 10-25 is still a major improvement over the late 80's-90's when MU fell off the mat.  If Buzz stays at MU for 10-20 years more, many of the other coaches will have retired, which leaves Buzz a great possibility of being an major elite coach.  The question is does Buzz leave for greener pastures or does he want to have a legacy at MU.  Most 17 year old now have heard of MU, pr from Wade and
others really helps.  This gets Buzz into more homes, can he close the deal or not, time will tell.  The 5 kids he got this year seem to be high major players.  This upcoming 2 years will tell
MU fans what the MU brand is all about.  This years team if a point guard can show up will be really good.  College is all about the point, so Duane Wilson will get his chance to shine or fail.

[Jay Bee]

How much do you think the weather in Wisconsin has to do with this decision?

ZFB's buddy says today's going to be another rough weather day in the state.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/pTqKSk-C6HQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/pTqKSk-C6HQ</a>

[Sunbelt15]

The success of UCLA is over, much Like MU's high success in the late 60's-70's is over.  MU has made a recovery of sorts, not to the point Al had MU but Top 10-25 is still a major improvement over the late 80's-90's when MU fell off the mat.  If Buzz stays at MU for 10-20 years more, many of the other coaches will have retired, which leaves Buzz a great possibility of being an major elite coach.  The question is does Buzz leave for greener pastures or does he want to have a legacy at MU.  Most 17 year old now have heard of MU, pr from Wade and
others really helps.  This gets Buzz into more homes, can he close the deal or not, time will tell.  The 5 kids he got this year seem to be high major players.  This upcoming 2 years will tell
MU fans what the MU brand is all about.  This years team if a point guard can show up will be really good.  College is all about the point, so Duane Wilson will get his chance to shine or fail.

We'll know that the perception of MU has changed when we snag a 5 star recruit. Championship is automatic a couple years after (if Buzz stays).

[WarriorInNYC]

OK--you are right, it probably does not matter to a 17 year old kid--which proves my point, we have had good success in the past 8 or 9 years under both Crean and Buzz, so we should be able to compete against the Dukes of the world for talent.

I know we have had success the last 8 years, but comparing them to Duke's....come on...

MU - 8 Tournament Appearances, 3 Sweet Sixteens, 1 Elite Eight, 1 Reg Season Championship, Tourney Record of 9-8, Total Record of 191-85

Duke - 8 Tournament Appearances, 5 Sweet Sixteens, 2 Elite Eights, 1 Final Four, 1 National Championship, 2 Conference Reg Season Championships, 4 Conference Tournament Championships, Tourney Record of 16-7, Total Record of 236-51