The Phone That Won't Ring

[keefe]

Buzz is officially off the hot young coach list

[wadesworld]

Nobody would want Calipari either if he stepped away from Kentucky.

[keefe]

Nobody would want Calipari either if he stepped away from Kentucky.

Not sure about that. But then Calipari is in no danger of losing his job. Neither is Buzz, for that matter. But I doubt he is on many short lists for some of the more coveted jobs after this year.

What is fascinating about expectations is that Tubby Smith was all but beatified after he won it all in his first year at Kentucky. I suspect that if any coach won it all at Marquette his employment would be secure forever, save for moral turpitude. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

You can get it back.  Coaches have been on and off those lists.  Next year will be interesting.  I still disagree that folks think there is not talent on this team.  Talent is there, whether it is blossoming and on display is another story.  A lot of it sat on the bench this year. 

[keefe]

You can get it back.  Coaches have been on and off those lists.  Next year will be interesting.  I still disagree that folks think there is not talent on this team.  Talent is there, whether it is blossoming and on display is another story.  A lot of it sat on the bench this year. 

That's true. If Steve Alford gets the nod at a Blue Blood then anything is possible.

[Eldon]

You can get it back.  Coaches have been on and off those lists.  Next year will be interesting.  I still disagree that folks think there is not talent on this team.  Talent is there, whether it is blossoming and on display is another story.  A lot of it sat on the bench this year. 

As do I. 

The likes of Brad Stevens (and Mark Few?) would have a field day with the talent that this team has.

[wadesworld]

As do I.  

The likes of Brad Stevens (and Mark Few?) would have a field day with the talent that this team has.

Mark Few has gone to as many Sweet 16s in his career as Buzz had consecutively until tonight. He also has less Elite Eights than Buzz Williams, and Buzz Williams has been coaching for a much shorter time (and never had a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament because his team plays absolutely nobody worth noting in the regular season).

People here are absolutely silly. If this were a Kentucky board everyone here would be asking to have Shaka Smart take over for John Calipari.

Buzz has had one bad year in his 6 so far. Shucks. Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana, and North Carolina have all had down years in that time. And we sure as sh!t aren't a blue blood program like those programs are. Roy Williams and John Calipari can't recruit talent and can't coach kids up. Allowing a team to fall to NIT level for one year? Unacceptable.

Who on this team has talent? (I get that it's on Buzz to recruit the talent, I'm just wondering what talent you see, because clearly you see more than I do.) Juan had some cool mix tapes from high school. Todd has an older brother who plays in the NBA. Jamil is athletic. Jake can hit an uncontested 3 pointer. Deonte can put the ball in the basket. Chris is 24 years old. Davante has a vertical of almost 7 inches. Dawson makes a few highlight real plays sometimes. JuJuan was ranked highly. Steve went to Simeon. Derrick can throw a football.

There are a *couple* of players on the roster that have talent. A couple doesn't get you into the dance (unless you play in the Horizon League). Everyone on the roster can do *one or two aspects* of basketball well. Some of our younger guys ooze with *potential.* But where is the current talent? What 5 man lineup plus 3 bench guys can you put together and say "these guys should beat Villinova, Creighton, San Diego State, New Mexico, Ohio State?" Maybe if we can take JJJ, Burton, Duane Wilson, and Dawson of 3 years from now and Todd of a year from now and Davante and healthy Steve from 2 years from now. But this year's roster? The fact of the matter is "We ain't no good."

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Mark Few has gone to as many Sweet 16s in his career as Buzz had consecutively until tonight. He also has less Elite Eights than Buzz Williams, and Buzz Williams has been coaching for a much shorter time (and never had a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament because his team plays absolutely nobody worth noting in the regular season).

People here are absolutely silly. If this were a Kentucky board everyone here would be asking to have Shaka Smart take over for John Calipari.

Buzz has had one bad year in his 6 so far. Shucks. Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana, and North Carolina have all had down years in that time. And we sure as sh!t aren't a blue blood program like those programs are. Roy Williams and John Calipari can't recruit talent and can't coach kids up. Allowing a team to fall to NIT level for one year? Unacceptable.

Who on this team has talent? (I get that it's on Buzz to recruit the talent, I'm just wondering what talent you see, because clearly you see more than I do.) Juan had some cool mix tapes from high school. Todd has an older brother who plays in the NBA. Jamil is athletic. Jake can hit an uncontested 3 pointer. Deonte can put the ball in the basket. Chris is 24 years old. Davante has a vertical of almost 7 inches. Dawson makes a few highlight real plays sometimes. JuJuan was ranked highly. Steve went to Simeon. Derrick can throw a football.

There are a *couple* of players on the roster that have talent. A couple doesn't get you into the dance (unless you play in the Horizon League). Everyone on the roster can do *one or two aspects* of basketball well. Some of our younger guys ooze with *potential.* But where is the current talent? What 5 man lineup plus 3 bench guys can you put together and say "these guys should beat Villinova, Creighton, San Diego State, New Mexico, Ohio State?" Maybe if we can take JJJ, Burton, Duane Wilson, and Dawson of 3 years from now and Todd of a year from now and Davante and healthy Steve from 2 years from now. But this year's roster? The fact of the matter is "We ain't no good."

Are you serious? I doubt that a lot of you didnt think JFB, Jae or DJO didnt have much "talent" and wouldnt have had a significant impact as they did. Honestly, I really think Buzz's plans kinda got screwed when Taylor took longer then expected while recovering and Duane got hurt. Those were two guys who were to be rotational pieces for this team.

[Blackhat]

Most AD's aren't that fickle or dumb.  They look at body of work.

[keefe]

Most AD's aren't that fickle or dumb.  They look at body of work.

I am thrilled to have Buzz as our coach. But he is not everyone's cup of tea. And this season has certainly raised doubts in some, confirmed suspicions in others, and made many of the rest wonder.

So to your point, yes, I would agree that most AD's will look at the body of work and will notice wrinkles, warts, pimples, and blemishes. Anyone who thinks Buzz is mainstream or conventional isn't seeing the whole man. Personally, I think that adds to his luster but then I felt the same way about Al. And the reality is that Al was not universally liked. I think the same can be said about Buzz Williams.

[Blackhat]

We may be over analyzing this season and Buzz.   We needed better guard play and didn't have it. Period.   Still got 9 wins in conference and improved until we sort of gave in at the end.

[keefe]

We may be over analyzing this season and Buzz.   We needed better guard play and didn't have it. Period.   Still got 9 wins in conference and improved until we sort of gave in at the end.

A hallmark of good scientific practice is to experiment with different hypotheses. You are correct that our starting guard play was found wanting. And found wanting. And found wanting. And found wanting. 

[willie warrior]

Mark Few has gone to as many Sweet 16s in his career as Buzz had consecutively until tonight. He also has less Elite Eights than Buzz Williams, and Buzz Williams has been coaching for a much shorter time (and never had a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament because his team plays absolutely nobody worth noting in the regular season).

People here are absolutely silly. If this were a Kentucky board everyone here would be asking to have Shaka Smart take over for John Calipari.

Buzz has had one bad year in his 6 so far. Shucks. Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana, and North Carolina have all had down years in that time. And we sure as sh!t aren't a blue blood program like those programs are. Roy Williams and John Calipari can't recruit talent and can't coach kids up. Allowing a team to fall to NIT level for one year? Unacceptable.

Who on this team has talent? (I get that it's on Buzz to recruit the talent, I'm just wondering what talent you see, because clearly you see more than I do.) Juan had some cool mix tapes from high school. Todd has an older brother who plays in the NBA. Jamil is athletic. Jake can hit an uncontested 3 pointer. Deonte can put the ball in the basket. Chris is 24 years old. Davante has a vertical of almost 7 inches. Dawson makes a few highlight real plays sometimes. JuJuan was ranked highly. Steve went to Simeon. Derrick can throw a football.

There are a *couple* of players on the roster that have talent. A couple doesn't get you into the dance (unless you play in the Horizon League). Everyone on the roster can do *one or two aspects* of basketball well. Some of our younger guys ooze with *potential.* But where is the current talent? What 5 man lineup plus 3 bench guys can you put together and say "these guys should beat Villinova, Creighton, San Diego State, New Mexico, Ohio State?" Maybe if we can take JJJ, Burton, Duane Wilson, and Dawson of 3 years from now and Todd of a year from now and Davante and healthy Steve from 2 years from now. But this year's roster? The fact of the matter is "We ain't no good."

Pass the Buzz mushrooms, Wadesworld.

[Hards Alumni]

You can get it back.  Coaches have been on and off those lists.  Next year will be interesting.  I still disagree that folks think there is not talent on this team.  Talent is there, whether it is blossoming and on display is another story.  A lot of it sat on the bench this year. 

+1

[Sunbelt15]

This is a "what have you done for us lately" world. And lately, Buzz has sucked. His decisions have been questionable most of the year (using the eye test). But, he's still a good coach. He needs to focus on teaching the offensive talented guys defensive schemes, so they can stay on the floor. Not the DW's he has on the team.

[MU82]

We may be over analyzing this season and Buzz.   We needed better guard play and didn't have it. Period.   Still got 9 wins in conference and improved until we sort of gave in at the end.

How do you define "sort of gave in"?

I saw a team that won 6 of 8, had a bad loss to Creighton (which doesn't make MU unique) and then played extremely hard in losing by 1 point in 2OT, 1 point in 2OT and 3 points.

Maybe some fans gave in, but I don't see how the players or coaches gave in -- sort of or otherwise.

Accuse Buzz and his boyzz of all kinds of things this season, but quitting should not be one of them.

[ecompt]

The combination of this season's results and Buzz's very high price tag should keep him in Milwaukee for the foreseeable future. Until Buzz wants to take another job for half the salary.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

We may be over analyzing this season and Buzz.   We needed better guard play and didn't have it. Period.   Still got 9 wins in conference and improved until we sort of gave in at the end.

My thoughts too.

It seems that Buzz leaned on his Seniors and upper classman every season to step up and they always did and delivered for the team.  This season he followed the same pattern and they just didn't get it done for whatever reason.  It appears Buzz had the gut feel that the team was improving and he thought they were ready to breakout any moment and go on a multi-game roll.  Well it obviously just didn't happen.  C'est la vie!  Maybe the NIT is where we finally get on a roll and at least gain some post-season experience for the younger players.

[Blackhat]

Maybe gave in isn't the best phrase but they didn't "rise up" to the challenge especially in crunch time.  No natural leaders.  Mayo showed a little leadership potential (i.e. give me the f,;king ball in crunch time) but I think the providence loss really got to this team.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Mark Few has gone to as many Sweet 16s in his career as Buzz had consecutively until tonight. He also has less Elite Eights than Buzz Williams, and Buzz Williams has been coaching for a much shorter time (and never had a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament because his team plays absolutely nobody worth noting in the regular season).

People here are absolutely silly. If this were a Kentucky board everyone here would be asking to have Shaka Smart take over for John Calipari.

Buzz has had one bad year in his 6 so far. Shucks. Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana, and North Carolina have all had down years in that time. And we sure as sh!t aren't a blue blood program like those programs are. Roy Williams and John Calipari can't recruit talent and can't coach kids up. Allowing a team to fall to NIT level for one year? Unacceptable.

Who on this team has talent? (I get that it's on Buzz to recruit the talent, I'm just wondering what talent you see, because clearly you see more than I do.) Juan had some cool mix tapes from high school. Todd has an older brother who plays in the NBA. Jamil is athletic. Jake can hit an uncontested 3 pointer. Deonte can put the ball in the basket. Chris is 24 years old. Davante has a vertical of almost 7 inches. Dawson makes a few highlight real plays sometimes. JuJuan was ranked highly. Steve went to Simeon. Derrick can throw a football.

There are a *couple* of players on the roster that have talent. A couple doesn't get you into the dance (unless you play in the Horizon League). Everyone on the roster can do *one or two aspects* of basketball well. Some of our younger guys ooze with *potential.* But where is the current talent? What 5 man lineup plus 3 bench guys can you put together and say "these guys should beat Villinova, Creighton, San Diego State, New Mexico, Ohio State?" Maybe if we can take JJJ, Burton, Duane Wilson, and Dawson of 3 years from now and Todd of a year from now and Davante and healthy Steve from 2 years from now. But this year's roster? The fact of the matter is "We ain't no good."

IMO, there is talent on this team and very good talent.  The problem is that some positions, especially in college ball, the talent is paramount for success.  Or another way to put it, we can have a ton of talent in three or four positions, but if it isn't there in the most important position, then it becomes a tough go.

Imagine a talented offensive line and wr's, but the QB is average at best...eventually you need the QB to make some plays. 

[muwarrior69]

We may be over analyzing this season and Buzz.   We needed better guard play and didn't have it. Period.   Still got 9 wins in conference and improved until we sort of gave in at the end.

You are right. However our forwards were MIA quite a bit as well. Should be an interesting summer. As I said before hope Buzz has his first 13 scholiie player team next season, but I'm not holding my breath.

[The Love House]

Most AD's aren't that fickle or dumb.  They look at body of work.

Agreed. One season will not take Buzz off the radar.  Let's not forget that TC had only 1 NCAA win in his last 5 years at MU, yet apparently his previous 'body of work' was enough to land him the single greatest coaching job in the college world - "It's Indiana! It's Indiana!"

...err, wait, was I trying to prove that ADs are NOT dumb??  Nevermind.

[MU82]

You are right. However our forwards were MIA quite a bit as well. Should be an interesting summer. As I said before hope Buzz has his first 13 scholiie player team next season, but I'm not holding my breath.

Mediocre and even poor play, especially on offense, by bigs can be overcome by great guard play.

Poor play by the guards is very difficult to overcome even by very good bigs because guards control the ball, the flow and everything else that has anything to do with the offense.

[Golden Avalanche]

Agreed. One season will not take Buzz off the radar.  Let's not forget that TC had only 1 NCAA win in his last 5 years at MU, yet apparently his previous 'body of work' was enough to land him the single greatest coaching job in the college world - "It's Indiana! It's Indiana!"

...err, wait, was I trying to prove that ADs are NOT dumb??  Nevermind.

This, inevitably, will turn into a TC/Buzz pissing match but Crean was the exact right hire for Indiana at the time regardless of the lack of recent NCAA success.

The Hoosiers needed a builder. Needed someone to preach the right principles (who cares about following them). Needed someone with herculean and bombastic "energy" to rally a sleeping fanbase. The next guy they hire in two years (Stevens) is the one who will elevate the program to the level they expect to reside in consistently.

It's similar with Buzz. He's the guy an AD will hire after someone has built a program to stability. He's the guy to take it up a notch and a season like MU just had will not diminish one ounce of what Buzz had done his first five seasons. It's when you don't think a coach is wanted nor will leave that, as a fanbase, you better be wary of a departure happening.

[NersEllenson]

A hallmark of good scientific practice is to experiment with different hypotheses. You are correct that our starting guard play was found wanting. And found wanting. And found wanting. And found wanting. 

+100000 - - This is where the frustration lies for many, and where the notion of Buzz being stubborn takes root....he REFUSED to ever change course significantly in the backcourt - and a backcourt at least at PG - that showed him he was going to get little to no production/purpose for being on the floor.  He made 1, 3 point shot for the year...I mean how in God's name do you not think you can help/upgrade your team by at least giving the freshman who shoots 81% from FT Line (usually indicative of being a good shooter elsewhere), 3 or 4 games of the same long leash Derrick got - full 20 minute halves of playing time...32+ minutes a game...and just freaking SEE what happens.  Was evident to anyone with a shred of basketball knowledge that the team wasn't going to make NCAA as of early January...if a change wasn't made...so here we sit...NIT bound...and never got any data on what could have been....although starting Burton last night was a step in right direction....but why did he not get major minutes all conference season long??