Wow we turned on buzz really quick

[BenCat12]

Not defending him...you're missing the point.  I simply refuse to place all the blame at his feet.  To do so is to literally ignore every other glaring issue with this team

Are you referring to the team HE put together?
If not, then I agree with you, its Buzz the coaches fault and Buzz the recruiters fault.  So I guess two people are to blame

[NickelDimer]

Are you referring to the team HE put together?
If not, then I agree with you, its Buzz the coaches fault and Buzz the recruiters fault.  So I guess two people are to blame

Nice path to accountability.  I promise you're under 25

[muhoops1]

I'll admit I'm hyper emotional and irrational when it comes to MU.  Alwayas have been too emotionally invested in the team.  

That being said, I'm struck by the absolute lack of production by O'Tule.  His line is pathetic.  Who is responsible for his development AS A PLAYER?  Buzz.  Who is on the hook for having his team in the right mind set?  Buzz.  Who needs to call TO's to instruct, regroup and remind them of what is available Offensively & Defensively? Buzz.

This team got worked on a lot of levels.  The lack of talent at certain positions aside this team didn't play hard or together.  That's on Buzz and I'm finding he's awfully thin skinned.  He basked in our glory, now own up the crap storm his team has become.  I've grown weary of how he's handled adversity....character revealed and it's a big, bald, diaper baby!

[BenCat12]

Nice path to accountability.  I promise you're under 25

When you can't understand a legitimate point you throw an insult and I am the one who is under 25

You need to take emotions out of this and look at the facts.  He has been bad this season, it's ok to say it.  I have made mistakes in life and been held accountable for them....if you haven't perhaps you are the one who is under 25....or actually it's 27 in America now before you are an adult, right?

If you're done with the insults, I'd be happy to get back to basketball.

[The Process]

Perhaps we should engage in more of what Judah Friedlander did in DMB's video for "Everyday"

http://www.youtube.com/v/RXe8PFKsOIc

[NickelDimer]

When you can't understand a legitimate point you throw an insult and I am the one who is under 25

You need to take emotions out of this and look at the facts.  He has been bad this season, it's ok to say it.  I have made mistakes in life and been held accountable for them....if you haven't perhaps you are the one who is under 25....or actually it's 27 in America now before you are an adult, right?

If you're done with the insults, I'd be happy to get back to basketball.

Not an insult at all just an observation on your perspective.  

He has been bad this year, along with every player and coach.  

Let's reverse this; tell me who's been good?  Who's above blame?

[ChicosBailBonds]

The hell you know about coaching willie??? What do you HONESTLY know??

Fair question...makes me wonder why its ok for so many here to determine if other teams coaches are good or not as well.

We sure do have a lot of experts in that field....some of the very same ones that get upset when others opine about our own coaching here at MU   

[79Warrior]

If only Buzz hadn't told VB to leave early or injured Duane Wilson.  Damn you Buzz!

Here's the reaity whether you can accept it or not; everyone, players and coaches, have been bad this year

Teams have guys leave early, hardly unique. Players get hurt on every team. Poor excuses for sub par play.

Here a fact, many of the expectations fans had for this team were way out of line. Unrealistic expectations that the freshmen were going to be big contributors. The expectations for Jamil and Devante were very high. Mayo the same.

Juan Anderson and Jake Thomas are clearly not high major players. Steve Taylor lost too much with his injury.

We can rip Buzz all we want, but the "talent" is just not there to compete at a high level. Our record proves that.

Buzz and the staff deserve blame for failing to recruit shooters. The players deserve some blame because the "toughness" Buzz talks so much about is not apparent with the team.

At this point, Buzz needs to circle the wagons and figure out how to compete down the stretch. This team will not make the NCAA and quite frankly, unless play improves, the season ends at the BE tourney.

[WarriorHal]

Kevin O'Neil summed it up pretty well in his interview with the JS:


Q: What's your take on Marquette's struggles this season?

A: To me it's pretty evident. When you lose a guy like Vander Blue with that kind of experience on the perimeter and you replace him with inexperienced guys, it's a difficult transition. To me, it's as plain and simple as that. If Vander Blue were here, nobody is talking about anything except wins. It's really hard to have that kind of turnover throughout your whole perimeter and still stay at the same level. It's not just losing Vander. They lost those other guys who were veteran players on the perimeter, also. The point guard (Junior Cadougan) was a really good player, way underrated. When you lose that kind of firepower on the perimeter, it's hard to replace it with youth and inexperience.

[ChicosBailBonds]

You know its bad when the mouthpiece says it

[BenCat12]

Not an insult at all just an observation on your perspective.  

He has been bad this year, along with every player and coach.  

Let's reverse this; tell me who's been good?  Who's above blame?

Your intent was to insult my maturity because I don't agree with you

He has been bad this year, along with every player (whom he recruited) and coach (whom he hired).

Who's been good?  
Davante's been good and that is it IMO.  He still struggles in certain defensive positions, specifically pick and roll defense and he gets discouraged too much when he doesn't get the ball, which effects his attitude.  But he has been very good on offense, when given an opportunity.  He has not met my expectations of him, but he has been "good."  Everyone else has been what I consider below expectations except Dawson, whom I don't think anyone had any expectations for in the first place.

Point being, when an entire roster fails to meet team and personal expectations, it is on the head coach.

[g0lden3agle]

Your intent was to insult my maturity because I don't agree with you

He has been bad this year, along with every player (whom he recruited) and coach (whom he hired).

Who's been good?  
Davante's been good and that is it IMO.  He still struggles in certain defensive positions, specifically pick and roll defense and he gets discouraged too much when he doesn't get the ball, which effects his attitude.  But he has been very good on offense, when given an opportunity.  He has not met my expectations of him, but he has been "good."  Everyone else has been what I consider below expectations except Dawson, whom I don't think anyone had any expectations for in the first place.

Point being, when an entire roster fails to meet team and personal expectations, it is on the head coach.

How is the team underperforming entirely on the coach?  At the end of the day his players need to put the ball in the hoop.

[BenCat12]

How is the team underperforming entirely on the coach?  At the end of the day his players need to put the ball in the hoop.

Which player(s) would you like to rip for not doing their job?  Go ahead be my guest.  If this board has taught me anything over the years, you never rip a "kid."

Ultimately it comes down to the players Buzz brought in here to "put the ball in the hoop."  And the strategy he uses to get those players in a position to "put the ball in the hoop."  And his ability to improve his players ability to "put the ball in the hoop."

[NickelDimer]

Your intent was to insult my maturity because I don't agree with you

He has been bad this year, along with every player (whom he recruited) and coach (whom he hired).

Who's been good?  
Davante's been good and that is it IMO.  He still struggles in certain defensive positions, specifically pick and roll defense and he gets discouraged too much when he doesn't get the ball, which effects his attitude.  But he has been very good on offense, when given an opportunity.  He has not met my expectations of him, but he has been "good."  Everyone else has been what I consider below expectations except Dawson, whom I don't think anyone had any expectations for in the first place.

Point being, when an entire roster fails to meet team and personal expectations, it is on the head coach.

I just associate a lack of accountability with the younger generations.  Sorry you felt insulted.

We can agree to see this differently.  I choose to blame each of the individual parts for their lack of contribution to success.  And in my opinion that blame touches each part of this team.  Pretty simple really.  If you want to say Buzz deserves a larger share of the blame...hey, whatever makes you happy.  If I, along with all of my peers, do a poor job at work and the company fails, I don't blame management.  I'm done with this now. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

I just associate a lack of accountability with the younger generations.  Sorry you felt insulted.

We can agree to see this differently.  I choose to blame each of the individual parts for their lack of contribution to success.  And in my opinion that blame touches each part of this team.  Pretty simple really.  If you want to say Buzz deserves a larger share of the blame...hey, whatever makes you happy.  If I, along with all of my peers, do a poor job at work and the company fails, I don't blame management.  I'm done with this now. 

If you are a union member, that's what you do.   

I agree with you, by the way, it's never solely on the coach or the players, but it's easy for people to make a scapegoat out of one person instead of many.  Of course, there is also the captain of the ship, CEO thing and they are going to get a bigger share of the blame.  That's part of life.  No one is going to be blaming the assistant coaches, etc, even though I'm sure they deserve some blame as well.

[BenCat12]

I just associate a lack of accountability with the younger generations.  Sorry you felt insulted.

We can agree to see this differently.  I choose to blame each of the individual parts for their lack of contribution to success.  And in my opinion that blame touches each part of this team.  Pretty simple really.  If you want to say Buzz deserves a larger share of the blame...hey, whatever makes you happy.  If I, along with all of my peers, do a poor job at work and the company fails, I don't blame management.  I'm done with this now. 

This is different than a work place or even professional sports.
Buzz is President, CEO, General Manager, Player Development and Head Coach.  It is far more pressure.  I think Buzz will take this experience and grow from it.  Id even be willing to bet we don't see a season like this out of him again.  He is a smart guy who made mistakes in preparing for this season.  It happens.  Like the guy, glad he is our coach but he's made mistakes.

I will agree to disagree and move on.  Time for a beer!

[g0lden3agle]

Which player(s) would you like to rip for not doing their job?  Go ahead be my guest.  If this board has taught me anything over the years, you never rip a "kid."

Ultimately it comes down to the players Buzz brought in here to "put the ball in the hoop."  And the strategy he uses to get those players in a position to "put the ball in the hoop."  And his ability to improve his players ability to "put the ball in the hoop."

There's a difference between admitting that the kids are able to accept some of the blame and ripping them.  Jamil has refused to take over any game this year.  Davante was mailing in games for the first half of the season.  Mayo can't keep his head on straight.  That's our 3 top scorers.  All wildly inconsistent for most of the season.  

Who on this team would not have ended up an some other high major had they not pick Marquette?  What is Buzz doing/not doing that leads you to believe that he's failing to improve these players' abilities?

[ChicosBailBonds]

This is different than a work place or even professional sports.
Buzz is President, CEO, General Manager, Player Development and Head Coach.  It is far more pressure.  I think Buzz will take this experience and grow from it.  Id even be willing to bet we don't see a season like this out of him again.  He is a smart guy who made mistakes in preparing for this season.  It happens.  Like the guy, glad he is our coach but he's made mistakes.

I will agree to disagree and move on.  Time for a beer!

I wouldn't' go that far.  The game has changed.  Kentucky goes from national champions to NIT.  UNC this year struggling make the NCAA.  MU picked to win the Big East, right now playing for NIT.  People wanted to run Jay Wright out of town 2 years ago at Nova.  Bo Ryan was God 3 weeks ago and now their fans have lost hope in him.

It can turn very very quickly from one season to the next.  Doesn't take much.

[GGGG]

Vander left last April, there was plenty of time to make adjustments.  Duane is a dribble penetrator and a terrific outside shooter.  But has anything about Buzz's past suggested that Duane would be seeing more than 15 min a game?  Everyone goes through defections, and injuries.  Buzz is having an off year.  It happens.  Defending him so vigilantly won't change that.

What adjustments could Buzz have made after Vander left?  

Yeah, I think Buzz has an issue with the backcourt...which is on him.  But outside of "get better players," I would like the haters to SPECIFICALLY say what Buzz should do?  What adjustments should be made?  What players should be playing that aren't?

It is painfully evident over the past two games that our players can be very good...and they can be very bad.    There is no magic button for the coach - he can't turn chickensh*t into chicken salad.

[jesmu84]

I wouldn't' go that far.  The game has changed.  Kentucky goes from national champions to NIT.  UNC this year struggling make the NCAA.  MU picked to win the Big East, right now playing for NIT.  People wanted to run Jay Wright out of town 2 years ago at Nova.  Bo Ryan was God 3 weeks ago and now their fans have lost hope in him.

It can turn very very quickly from one season to the next.  Doesn't take much.

we aren't very self-aware as fans, are we?

[willie warrior]

Your intent was to insult my maturity because I don't agree with you

He has been bad this year, along with every player (whom he recruited) and coach (whom he hired).

Who's been good?  
Davante's been good and that is it IMO.  He still struggles in certain defensive positions, specifically pick and roll defense and he gets discouraged too much when he doesn't get the ball, which effects his attitude.  But he has been very good on offense, when given an opportunity.  He has not met my expectations of him, but he has been "good."  Everyone else has been what I consider below expectations except Dawson, whom I don't think anyone had any expectations for in the first place.

Point being, when an entire roster fails to meet team and personal expectations, it is on the head coach.

Don't worry about it Bencat. That is what the haters do when somebody does not agree with them. They call names and throw insults. That is the way our political system rolls nowadays, so why would it be different for some people here.

[BenCat12]

What adjustments could Buzz have made after Vander left?  

Yeah, I think Buzz has an issue with the backcourt...which is on him.  But outside of "get better players," I would like the haters to SPECIFICALLY say what Buzz should do?  What adjustments should be made?  What players should be playing that aren't?

It is painfully evident over the past two games that our players can be very good...and they can be very bad.    There is no magic button for the coach - he can't turn chickensh*t into chicken salad.

This is ridiculous, and "haters" is a not even close to appropriate.  I "hate" Buzz because I blame him for not being more prepared for the season?  I LIKE BUZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I keep seeing that on my screen but it must not be translating onto others computer screens when I hit post.

Your backcourt comments are exactly correct.  I believe the second Vander left, Mayo should have been told to prepare to play some point guard.  I believe the more talented, but less skilled, freshmen should have seen a lot more minutes in the non-conference.  I believe Buzz, based on the concept that he doesn't put in an offense until conference play starts, (allegedly) should not schedule the high profile, non-conference games that we have been unable to compete in lately.  Non-conference should have been where Dawson, Johnson and Burton learned on the job and were held accountable so they could be counted on more now.  

It's not about playing time now, they are all in a funk.  Buzz's over valuing of Derrick and Jake have hurt immensely this year.  I am not bashing either of them, they play really hard and are good kids.  I could be wrong, but I believe that if (Dawson and Derrick) and (JuJuan and Jake) split minutes equally from the beginning of the season this team would be in much better shape now.  I also believe not starting Todd from the beginning really messed with his confidence and leadership, because he had no defined roll.  Not to go off topic, but having a "defined roll" is huge for players in any sport.  Buzz does not seem to share that philosophy, based on playing time and strategy.  This has been the problem with the Milwaukee Bucks for about a decade now.

The chicken salad/chicken poop comment doesn't warrant a response.  But, Buzz and the university paid good money for that chicken poop.

[ecompt]

I'll admit I'm hyper emotional and irrational when it comes to MU.  Alwayas have been too emotionally invested in the team.  

That being said, I'm struck by the absolute lack of production by O'Tule.  His line is pathetic.  Who is responsible for his development AS A PLAYER?  Buzz.  Who is on the hook for having his team in the right mind set?  Buzz.  Who needs to call TO's to instruct, regroup and remind them of what is available Offensively & Defensively? Buzz.

This team got worked on a lot of levels.  The lack of talent at certain positions aside this team didn't play hard or together.  That's on Buzz and I'm finding he's awfully thin skinned.  He basked in our glory, now own up the crap storm his team has become.  I've grown weary of how he's handled adversity....character revealed and it's a big, bald, diaper baby!

A bit too strong for me, but I totally understand why a guy making an obscene amount to money to coach  a basketball team shouldn't take the blame when that team comes out for a huge game and shows ZERO hear, desire and toughness. That is on the coach. He got all the praise the past three years for the tournament runs, now he should take some heat for this year's debacle.

[willie warrior]

What adjustments could Buzz have made after Vander left?  

Yeah, I think Buzz has an issue with the backcourt...which is on him.  But outside of "get better players," I would like the haters to SPECIFICALLY say what Buzz should do?  What adjustments should be made?  What players should be playing that aren't?

It is painfully evident over the past two games that our players can be very good...and they can be very bad.    There is no magic button for the coach - he can't turn chickensh*t into chicken salad.

And as I said before, Sultan, Buzz is responsible for the "Chickensh*t" because he brought it. So it is on him. He is the coach with the cash and resources, so don't bring the "chicken--", as you call it.

[bilsu]

I was wondering last night, if part of MU's probelm is not the new foul rules? MU under Buzz has always been a real physical defensive team. The new foul rules have changed that. Buzz has done well in teaching the players not to foul under these rules, but the team was built to be aggressive and physical on defense. The finesse teams like Creighton are faring very well under these new rules. I have come to the conclusion that the rules have hurt MU as their prior style is not suited for this game. Under these rules the offensive player gets a lot more breaks than a defensive player. We were not a good offensive team last year, but we could make it up by being tough and physical on the defensive end. This year we are not allowed to do that and that just makes our offensive short comings that much more noticeable.