Martin ends up getting the job

[We R Final Four]

Apologies....if I learned anything this week I should name and include "my source" #donedeal

Right--and then we would know that it is probably not accurate.  

[Pakuni]

Jeff Goodman tweeted that the "mystery candidate" is now out of the tourney.

So it's either Bennett or Martin. Erase Stephens name from the list. Obvious clues are Martin as this thread suggests. He didn't say he had a source!

There's also Johnny Dawkins,  Scott Drew and Kevin Keatts (UL's top assistant/recruiter).

[Marquette_g]

I would love Bennett or Dawkins but neither seems realistic, there just seems to be too much Internet smoke for the mystery candidate not to be Martin.

[miggs0721]

Keatts already got hired at UNC-Wilmington

[Groin_pull]

Exactly. He isn't going to fire up the fan base and students like Shaka. He would be a risk, but almost everyone is except an Izzo or Coach K type. I was excited for Shaka because I thought he'd be able to pull in a lot of top shelf recruits, his hiring would make a statement, and he'd be a lot of fun to have here. However, I'm not convinced he's a better X's and O's coach than Martin.

MU basketball is my favorite sports team and I want them to be as successful as possible, so if we have a coach that looks likely, I'm going to try and find the positives that show he can take it to the next level. Frankly, I see a lot of positives with Martin. The big knock seems to be his recruiting so far, but he had offers out to JuJuan Johnson and Ahmed Hill. He was a part of Looney's finalists. I believe he's been recruiting Diamond Stone.

He got Jarnell Stokes to Tennessee. He has some good recruits. Hubbs is a five star on Scout. Cofer I think is a 4 star in some places. He and his assistants have very strong Midwest ties, much  more than the south. With Marquette's recruiting recources, I think his recruiting could greatly improve. Also, now he has a Sweet Sixteen to sell, and they were one possession away from the Elite Eight.

Well said. Smart was the sexy pick, but Martin is a solid pick. Which in the end, may be a better fit in Milwaukee. I like the Midwestern connection. Would like to see a return to mining Chicago for talent. MU is best when they have some Chicago guys on the roster. If this is the guy, I'm willing to give him a legit chance. Hope he's a big success.

[marquetteff03]

My deductive reasoning suggests Scott Drew is not an option. The BOT is looking for a clean hire with no baggage whatsoever. Avoiding the squirm factor is key.

[Warrior_2002]

Here's hoping its Bennett.  I know all you guys would hate his style of play but I like the idea of bringing the home town kid in.  My memories of college basketball really start back when he helped UWGB get to the tourney and this state had 3 teams in the tourney.  Awesome memories.  He's a great guy with an incredible basketball mind.  A new style for us.  

All this said, it won't be him.  But I'm holding on to my last hope before we end up with a meh hire like Cuonzo.  He could be good but imagine the stir in the state and the national attention that would bring.  

[Groin_pull]

My deductive reasoning suggests Scott Drew is not an option. The BOT is looking for a clean hire with no baggage whatsoever. Avoiding the squirm factor is key.

If they have issues with Marshall and Howland, no way are they considering Drew.

[miggs0721]

New member here, whats the knock on Martin? That he just isn't a good recuiter?  Just curious

[Pakuni]

Keatts already got hired at UNC-Wilmington

Noted.

[Marquette_g]

Here's hoping its Bennett.  I know all you guys would hate his style of play but I like the idea of bringing the home town kid in.  My memories of college basketball really start back when he helped UWGB get to the tourney and this state had 3 teams in the tourney.  Awesome memories.  He's a great guy with an incredible basketball mind.  A new style for us.  

All this said, it won't be him.  But I'm holding on to my last hope before we end up with a meh hire like Cuonzo.  He could be good but imagine the stir in the state and the national attention that would bring.  

I'm pretty sure the vast majority of posters would love to get Bennett regardless of his style of play, it just doesn't seem logical that he would leave UVA for MU.

[miggs0721]

As far as Bennett goes, what's his current salary, and could UVA come close to what Dick Strong and company could offer, and what is our max in terms of yearly pay. Is it right at 3 mill per, or could we bump it to 4

[marquetteff03]

The knock on Martin is he isn't a big name sexy hire....however neither were the last 3 coaches. So I trust the process and the people we have in place. They've done it before and been quite successful.

If anything Martin being a head coach with 2 stops brings more experience than our previous.

He's really growing on me. And the key for me is that they reach out and want to be here. Not just for the money but actually want to be here.

[NotAnAlum]

New member here, whats the knock on Martin? That he just isn't a good recuiter?  Just curious

Not the impact hire everyone was hoping for.  From a resume standpoint he is a downgrade from Buzz.

One of the positives is that he probably brings over his complete staff so they hit the ground running.  For some reason, either because the admin figured they'd go with Buzz or the admin wanted to clean house none of the staff is staying or was even considered (except for Wainright which I consider a 0 anyway).  So for that having an intact staff including an MU player is a bonus.

[Pakuni]

As far as Bennett goes, what's his current salary, and could UVA come close to what Dick Strong and company could offer, and what is our max in terms of yearly pay. Is it right at 3 mill per, or could we bump it to 4

Bennett made $2.2 million this year, and he's probably in line for a raise. Virginia likely can afford to match, or come close to matching, what MU can throw at him. Bottom line: money won't be enough to lure Bennett from Virginia. Maybe there would be other reasons for him leaving, but it won't be because he'll get a huge raise.

[Warrior_2002]

As far as Bennett goes, what's his current salary, and could UVA come close to what Dick Strong and company could offer, and what is our max in terms of yearly pay. Is it right at 3 mill per, or could we bump it to 4

A previous poster in this thread said $1.4m plus incentives.  Earlier I thought I read that could get up to a total of around $3m.

[hairy worthen]

The knock on Martin is he isn't a big name sexy hire....however neither were the last 3 coaches. So I trust the process and the people we have in place. They've done it before and been quite successful.

If anything Martin being a head coach with 2 stops brings more experience than our previous.

He's really growing on me. And the key for me is that they reach out and want to be here. Not just for the money but actually want to be here.

anyone they hire wants to be here, the important thing is wanting to stay here.

[Warrior_2002]

I'm pretty sure the vast majority of posters would love to get Bennett regardless of his style of play, it just doesn't seem logical that he would leave UVA for MU.

It doesn't unless he doesn't feel that he could sustain the same success year in and year out against the blue bloods of the SEC.  Add to that the fact of coming home could be intriguing for him.

[miggs0721]

If Martin can lure Skal Labiessiere to Marquette, then i'm all for Cuonzo

[mr.MUskie]

He's really growing on me. And the key for me is that they reach out and want to be here. Not just for the money but actually want to be here.

I guess I missed the part where he reached out and said he wanted to be here. When exactly did that happen?

[Pakuni]

Not the impact hire everyone was hoping for.  From a resume standpoint he is a downgrade from Buzz.

One of the positives is that he probably brings over his complete staff so they hit the ground running.  For some reason, either because the admin figured they'd go with Buzz or the admin wanted to clean house none of the staff is staying or was even considered (except for Wainright which I consider a 0 anyway).  So for that having an intact staff including an MU player is a bonus.

In fairness to the assistants, the smart move is to take the guaranteed job at VaTech rather than wait around at Marquette and hope the next guy keeps you.

[Warrior_2002]

If anything Martin being a head coach with 2 stops brings more experience than our previous.

You could throw a lot of candidates in this bucket though.  Even a bunch of the assistants we r discussing have more experience than Buzz did as an assistant when we hired him.  As far as head coaching experience I really don't count Buzz's New Orleans stop.

[WadeATKBurton]

What are you guys afraid of with Martin? Serious question

[NavinRJohnson]

What are you guys afraid of with Martin? Serious question

Years of mediocrity.

[willie warrior]

As far as Bennett goes, what's his current salary, and could UVA come close to what Dick Strong and company could offer, and what is our max in terms of yearly pay. Is it right at 3 mill per, or could we bump it to 4

he turned us down once--don't waste time there.