Ben Lammers

[Dawson Rental]

You can't give the recipe to the secret sauce man.  Those are references and easter egss for veterans around here.

My day job is with WikiLeaks!

[Dawson Rental]

Helium walks into a bar. The barkeep says, "We don't serve noble gasses in here!" Helium doesn't react.

A chemistry student works as a bartender.  Two guys walk into the bar.  First one says; "I'll have some H²O."  Second guy says; "I'll have H²O, too."  The second guy dies after drinking.

[tower912]

The hostess walks up to Descartes at a party and asks "Would you like another drink?"     Descartes says "I think not" and POOF!... he vanishes.

[madtownwarrior]

No - they were going to enact "new, unpublished standards" and then retroactively apply them thus causing the predicted Hiroshima-like reaction

Next thing you know schools will start implementing "new, unpublished standards" for summer school and boot kids in August if their grades "aren't good enough" for a scholarship that isn't available.

[willie warrior]

willie, the Lammers situation is actually the best case you will ever find of Marquette choosing not to pursue a recruit. Let's break down the timeline:


• August 31: Lammers visits Marquette
  
• September 9: In-home visits begin. Buzz visits with Cassell, Cohen, Stone, and Tory Miller among others.
  
• September 18: Lammers trims list to MU, Miami, and GT, showing Lammers is obviously still interested in Marquette.
  
• September 19: Marquette has still not visited Lammers. Buzz has been to Florida (Cassell), Georgia (Hill), Canada (Shayok), and Missouri (Miller).
  
• September 25: Lammers commits to Georgia Tech.
If Marquette was still interested in Lammers after the visit, wouldn't Buzz have visited? He was all over the country. And Lammers still had interest, since he cut his list and kept us on it. I won't pretend to know what happened or why MU lost interest, but if this isn't a clear-cut case of a school losing interest, I don't know what is. That said, we need to land Craig, Miller, or at least one of the other bigs we're in on. Letting Lammers get away could bite us.

I'm fine with all that. He was only rated a 2 star anyway. But why all the hoopla on this board and bother? And then we get the obligatory comments: Next! or Who's next.
Let's land a stud and not jerk around with two stars. We did waste time and resources here. Now will come the comments: But, but, Gardner and Otule were not ranked---rankings do not mean anything (then why does everybody look at them)--recruiting is such a crap shoot--etc.[/list]

[Hards Alumni]

I'm fine with all that. He was only rated a 2 star anyway. But why all the hoopla on this board and bother? And then we get the obligatory comments: Next! or Who's next.
Let's land a stud and not jerk around with two stars. We did waste time and resources here. Now will come the comments: But, but, Gardner and Otule were not ranked---rankings do not mean anything (then why does everybody look at them)--recruiting is such a crap shoot--etc.[/list]

You're oversimplifying an impossible to predict system

[GGGG]

I'm fine with all that. He was only rated a 2 star anyway. But why all the hoopla on this board and bother? And then we get the obligatory comments: Next! or Who's next.
Let's land a stud and not jerk around with two stars. We did waste time and resources here. Now will come the comments: But, but, Gardner and Otule were not ranked---rankings do not mean anything (then why does everybody look at them)--recruiting is such a crap shoot--etc.[/list]

But see this is the kind of stuff that got Crean in trouble sometimes.  He would focus a lot on the "studs," and got in the top 3 for a number of real good players, but in the end they went elsewhere.

IMO when Buzz knows that a stud has turned the other way, he cuts his losses and moves on.  He isn't going to waste time swinging for the fences on kids that he knows aren't going to come here.  He went after bigs like Okafor, Goodluck, Quadri Moore, etc.  But when it was clear they weren't interested, he moved on.

Maybe I am not remembering as well as I should, but how many guys has Buzz lost on when we were in the final three?  Not too many.  It seems like one thing that Buzz is really good at is sealing the deal versus other coaches when the kid is truly interested in Marquette.  Now that might change this year, but still....Buzz knows what he is doing.

[Lennys Tap]

If you only recruit the top 5 players at every position, everyone on the roster will be a top 25 player. Willie has it all figured out. LOL

[jmayer1]

If you only recruit the top 5 players at every position, everyone on the roster will be a top 25 player. Willie has it all figured out. LOL

Of course MU would probably be about 12 players short of a complete roster

[Lennys Tap]

Of course MU would probably be about 12 players short of a complete roster

Depth might be a problem

[Skatastrophy]

Depth might be a problem

When you have elite height, you don't need depth.

[keefe]

Neutron walks into a bar and asks the barkeep, "How much for a pint of lager?" The bartender smiles graciously and replies, "For you, no charge!"

[keefe]

When chemists die

Ba  (Barium)

Chico, old chemists never die...they just stop reacting

[MerrittsMustache]

But see this is the kind of stuff that got Crean in trouble sometimes.  He would focus a lot on the "studs," and got in the top 3 for a number of real good players, but in the end they went elsewhere.

IMO when Buzz knows that a stud has turned the other way, he cuts his losses and moves on.  He isn't going to waste time swinging for the fences on kids that he knows aren't going to come here.  He went after bigs like Okafor, Goodluck, Quadri Moore, etc.  But when it was clear they weren't interested, he moved on.

Maybe I am not remembering as well as I should, but how many guys has Buzz lost on when we were in the final three?  Not too many.  It seems like one thing that Buzz is really good at is sealing the deal versus other coaches when the kid is truly interested in Marquette.  Now that might change this year, but still....Buzz knows what he is doing.

Exactly!

That said, with all due respect to Dwight Burke, how great would Jeff Pendergraph have looked as the fourth "amigo" on those teams?

[Lennys Tap]

But see this is the kind of stuff that got Crean in trouble sometimes.  He would focus a lot on the "studs," and got in the top 3 for a number of real good players, but in the end they went elsewhere.

IMO when Buzz knows that a stud has turned the other way, he cuts his losses and moves on.  He isn't going to waste time swinging for the fences on kids that he knows aren't going to come here.  He went after bigs like Okafor, Goodluck, Quadri Moore, etc.  But when it was clear they weren't interested, he moved on.

Maybe I am not remembering as well as I should, but how many guys has Buzz lost on when we were in the final three?  Not too many.  It seems like one thing that Buzz is really good at is sealing the deal versus other coaches when the kid is truly interested in Marquette.  Now that might change this year, but still....Buzz knows what he is doing.

So in essence, Willie wants a return to the recruiting strategy used by TC. I'll vote no.[/list]

[Benny B]

Chico, old chemists never die...they just stop reacting

A chemist, a anthropologist, and a priest walk into a bar.  Bartender says, "what is this, a joke?"

[Dawson Rental]

So in essence, Willie wants a return to the recruiting strategy used by TC. I'll vote no.[/list]

Except this time it will work, because it is inexcusable for it not to, not that anything should ever be done if it doesn't, just because there is no excuse, except for all the excuses that you guys always make, yada, yada, yada.

[willie warrior]

But see this is the kind of stuff that got Crean in trouble sometimes.  He would focus a lot on the "studs," and got in the top 3 for a number of real good players, but in the end they went elsewhere.

IMO when Buzz knows that a stud has turned the other way, he cuts his losses and moves on.  He isn't going to waste time swinging for the fences on kids that he knows aren't going to come here.  He went after bigs like Okafor, Goodluck, Quadri Moore, etc.  But when it was clear they weren't interested, he moved on.

Maybe I am not remembering as well as I should, but how many guys has Buzz lost on when we were in the final three?  Not too many.  It seems like one thing that Buzz is really good at is sealing the deal versus other coaches when the kid is truly interested in Marquette.  Now that might change this year, but still....Buzz knows what he is doing.

let's see, how did that philosophy work out with guys like Roseboro, Durley, and Mbao. It is always amazing how people twist the facts on the recruiting of stud bigs. Let's just cut to the quick. Law of averages says sooner or later we will land one. 
[/list]

[GGGG]

let's see, how did that philosophy work out with guys like Roseboro, Durley, and Mbao. It is always amazing how people twist the facts on the recruiting of stud bigs. Let's just cut to the quick. Law of averages says sooner or later we will land one. 
[/list]

Not well, but in each case we cut our losses.  But it certainly did work well in the case of Otule and Gardner.

But in the larger picture I'm not sure what your end game here is.  Do you want to recruit a "stud big" for the sake of recruiting a stud big?  Or do you want to win basketball games.  Because it is pretty hard for me to criticize the recruiting philosophy of a coach that has produced the best three year run of Marquette basketball in the last 35 years - and did so entirely with players he recruited.  And just landed the #9 RSCI class of 2013.

[keefe]

A chemist, a anthropologist, and a priest walk into a bar.  Bartender says, "what is this, a joke?"

Benny, how often do you tell chemistry jokes? I do it periodically.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Not well, but in each case we cut our losses.  But it certainly did work well in the case of Otule and Gardner.

But in the larger picture I'm not sure what your end game here is.  Do you want to recruit a "stud big" for the sake of recruiting a stud big?  Or do you want to win basketball games.  Because it is pretty hard for me to criticize the recruiting philosophy of a coach that has produced the best three year run of Marquette basketball in the last 35 years - and did so entirely with players he recruited. 

And just landed the #9 RSCI class of 2013.

A ranking system that doesn't even account for the 6' 9" Jameel McKay...[/list]

[Benny B]

Benny, how often do you tell chemistry jokes? I do it periodically.

I only tell them when I can really barium.

Needless to say, chemistry isn't really my thing... it's more of a Curie-osity.

[Archies Bat]

I only tell them when I can really barium.

Needless to say, chemistry isn't really my thing... it's more of a Curie-osity.

I'd rather have politics or the Redskins

[BrewCity83]

The hostess walks up to Descartes at a party and asks "Would you like another drink?"     Descartes says "I think not" and POOF!... he vanishes.

LOL! 

[tower912]

Not well, but in each case we cut our losses.  But it certainly did work well in the case of Otule and Gardner.

But in the larger picture I'm not sure what your end game here is.  Do you want to recruit a "stud big" for the sake of recruiting a stud big?  Or do you want to win basketball games.  Because it is pretty hard for me to criticize the recruiting philosophy of a coach that has produced the best three year run of Marquette basketball in the last 35 years - and did so entirely with players he recruited.  And just landed the #9 RSCI class of 2013.

Testify.     S16, S16, E8.   Buzz knows what he is doing.   He has stated that he wants one PG, and one big in every class.    This class, he has 2 PG's, two decent sized wings, and one Rodman-type big.   He's working on bigs.   One of them will sign and then MU/Buzz will have ANOTHER top 20 class.    [/list]