[PaintTouches]Buzz Williams’ Virginia Tech contract details

[PaintTouchesSays]

Buzz Williams’ Virginia Tech contract details

One of the best things about public institutions in this country is that all contracts are public records, and must be released upon request. Paint Touches put that to good use,  requesting a copy of  Buzz Williams’ contract at Virginia Tech on on April 1. It took a while, but the results are in. No […]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=painttouches.com&blog=28348875&post=11842&subd=painttouches&ref=&feed=1" width="1" height="1" />

Source: Buzz Williams’ Virginia Tech contract details

[79Warrior]

Really, who gives a sh## about this guy anymore?

[martyconlonontherun]

I think this is really relevant. This isn't about buzz but information about his decision to leave. Very interesting that although he took a paycut he basically guaranteed he will end up making the same amount within a trivial difference even if fired.

[Jay Bee]

Additional thoughts here: Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech Finalize Contract

Buzz owns 'em.

[ecompt]

One way or another he will be out of there in four years.

[Avenue Commons]

Good luck to him.

[madtownwarrior]

while he may have the security of the contract, he still has to deal with his OCD (how many days on the job at VT so far?), time micro-management to the 5 minute increment level and seemingly paranoia of what people think of him / how he coaches...

[MUCam]

For those with a psychology background, the interpretation of the signature would be interesting hear. I am sure, given what we have learned about Buzz, some psyche experts could have a field day with that signature.

It screams insecure to me, but what do I know. I sign my name with hearts for the dots on the i's and stars hovering around the first and last name.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Additional thoughts here: Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech Finalize Contract

Buzz owns 'em.

Redemption song on the ipod at LNH, aina?

[GoldenWarrior11]

He got a pretty sweet deal.  He is contract is, basically, fully guaranteed.  Virginia Tech is assuming all of the risk.  If Buzz were to do well, there would be little reason for him not to jump ship again.  

Is VT his dream job?  Time will tell (I still think it's unlikely).  I thought for sure he would have jumped at the chance when Oklahoma became available (or SMU).  

Like Crean, I will root for Buzz.  I will remember the positives rather than all the negatives of his last season.  

[mr.MUskie]

He just signed his contract 2 days ago?

[Wojo'sMojo]

He got a pretty sweet deal.  He is contract is, basically, fully guaranteed.  Virginia Tech is assuming all of the risk.  If Buzz were to do well, there would be little reason for him not to jump ship again.  

Is VT his dream job?  Time will tell (I still think it's unlikely).  I thought for sure he would have jumped at the chance when Oklahoma became available (or SMU).  

Like Crean, I will root for Buzz.  I will remember the positives rather than all the negatives of his last season.  

You're a bigger man than me...I hope he falls on his face and is coaching D2 ten years from now.

[Jay Bee]

He just signed his contract 2 days ago?

That is correct.

[Lennys Tap]

For those with a psychology background, the interpretation of the signature would be interesting hear. I am sure, given what we have learned about Buzz, some psyche experts could have a field day with that signature.

It screams insecure to me, but what do I know. I sign my name with hearts for the dots on the i's and stars hovering around the first and last name.

I think you're looking for a hand writing analyst not a psychologist.

[MUCam]

I think you're looking for a hand writing analyst not a psychologist.

Ah, I beg to differ, mon ami.

A handwriting analyst might assist in determining the authenticity of a writing sample, or the consistency, or lack thereof, amongst several different samples.

But jumping to ridiculous conclusions based on drawn lines is 100% the province of those in the field of psychology. (No offense intended to the psychologist out there, for whom I have great appreciation).

But again, what the heck do I know. Hearts!

EDIT: I have proven myself completely wrong with a quick use of the GOOGLE. My dearest apologies to you for doubting your wisdom.

[keefe]

I will remember the positives rather than all the negatives of his last SEVERAL seasonS.  

[Lennys Tap]

Ah, I beg to differ, mon ami.

A handwriting analyst might assist in determining the authenticity of a writing sample, or the consistency, or lack thereof, amongst several different samples.

But jumping to ridiculous conclusions based on drawn lines is 100% the province of those in the field of psychology. (No offense intended to the psychologist out there, for whom I have great appreciation).

But again, what the heck do I know. Hearts!

I stand corrected. I did not know that that psychologists drew conclusions on character based on handwriting. I thought psych was at least a soft science and not the equivalent of a card trick. I'm officially flummoxed.

By the way, like Gomez Addams, I love it when you speak French.

[JakeBarnes]

I stand corrected. I did not know that that psychologists drew conclusions on character based on handwriting. I thought psych was at least a soft science and not the equivalent of a card trick. I'm officially flummoxed.

I know card tricks. Does this mean I'm now a jd/md?

[77ncaachamps]

Being at a private university was one of the things that I think Buzz will miss: no more in-house dealings, working it out outside of public view.

EVERYTHING will have to be transparent: the recruiting, the handling of crises. Not to mention more red tape.

Imagine how he would have dealt with the issues during his MU tenure at a PUBLIC university.

I also wonder how much the taxpayers of VA feel about the contract. Considering it's a FB first school.

[GoldenWarrior11]

The 5 consecutive NCAA appearances, 3 Sweet 16's and Elite Eight, and the numerous NBA prospects produced under his watch?  I'd say he did alright.

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

Being at a private university was one of the things that I think Buzz will miss: no more in-house dealings, working it out outside of public view.

EVERYTHING will have to be transparent: the recruiting, the handling of crises. Not to mention more red tape.

Imagine how he would have dealt with the issues during his MU tenure at a PUBLIC university.

I also wonder how much the taxpayers of VA feel about the contract. Considering it's a FB first school.

Taxpayers are only on the hook for $500k... the rest is funded by boosters

[keefe]

The 5 consecutive NCAA appearances, 3 Sweet 16's and Elite Eight, and the numerous NBA prospects produced under his watch?  I'd say he did alright.

O quanta qualia sunt illa sabbata, Quae semper celebrat superna curia. --Peter Abelard

[keefe]

Redemption song on the ipod at LNH, aina?

One of the best from one of the all-time greats

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/OFGgbT_VasI?hl=en_US&amp;amp;version=3&amp;amp;rel=0&quot;&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowFullScreen&quot; value=&quot;true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/OFGgbT_VasI?hl=en_US&amp;amp;version=3&amp;amp;rel=0&quot;&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowFullScreen&quot; value=&quot;true</a>

[TJ]

Why exactly were we about to pay him $2.8 million last year?  He should have come relatively cheap being an unknown assistant, so how did the contract escalate that high in just 5 years (I know he coached 6, but he didn't get a raise after #6)?  S16, S16, E8 is great, but not $2.8M great.  MU Athletic Department needs to get some self-respect and stop throwing gobs of money at the coach because they're afraid he might leave...

Thank you Buzz Williams for saving Marquette from their own amazing stupidity.  Hopefully they learned something and handle Wojo's contract issues better - be fair to the guy, but not to a ridiculous level.

[wadesworld]

Why exactly were we about to pay him $2.8 million last year?  He should have come relatively cheap being an unknown assistant, so how did the contract escalate that high in just 5 years (I know he coached 6, but he didn't get a raise after #6)?  S16, S16, E8 is great, but not $2.8M great.  MU Athletic Department needs to get some self-respect and stop throwing gobs of money at the coach because they're afraid he might leave...

Thank you Buzz Williams for saving Marquette from their own amazing stupidity.  Hopefully they learned something and handle Wojo's contract issues better - be fair to the guy, but not to a ridiculous level.

Is that you, Larry Williams?

When you're a school like Marquette University you're going to have to spend a bit more on your basketball program to have success than a school like UCLA, North Carolina, Florida, etc.  Just the way it is.  If we spend less, we have less success.

[humanlung]

One way or another he will be out of there in four years.

My question:  Do sanctions follow his departure or not?

[EnderWiggen]

I stand corrected. I did not know that that psychologists drew conclusions on character based on handwriting. I thought psych was at least a soft science and not the equivalent of a card trick. I'm officially flummoxed.

Psychologist here.  No respectable psychologist has done handwriting analysis in many many decades.  Of course, there are still people who identify as psychologists who do it, but they are pseudo-scientific jokes in the community.  The thing is, once you have your degree, you can do anything "as a psychologist" but that doesn't mean that it's really part of the field. Similar to how there is probably some physicist out there that believes the earth is flat, but it isn't really part of the field. 

Most psychologists these days do hard science.  If you take a look at the research that comes out, it doesn't involve dream analyses, word associations, ink blots, etc... My example, our lab examines the transition to marriage, but to do so, we measure their hormonal levels (e.g., testosterone, cortisol) across the first couple years of marriage, observe behavioral exchanges between couples that is objectively coded for specific behaviors, etc...

The field, however, got started doing pseudo-scientific crap or soft science and it's really hard to shake that reputation, mostly because the field is really new (<100 years), and people get trained in a certain tradition and pass it on, so the transition from soft science to hard science took longer than it should, but with the exception of about 10-15% of quacks, we have definitely made the leap. 

I'll end my rant, lol

[Hards Alumni]

Psychologist here.  No respectable psychologist has done handwriting analysis in many many decades.  Of course, there are still people who identify as psychologists who do it, but they are pseudo-scientific jokes in the community.  The thing is, once you have your degree, you can do anything "as a psychologist" but that doesn't mean that it's really part of the field. Similar to how there is probably some physicist out there that believes the earth is flat, but it isn't really part of the field. 

Most psychologists these days do hard science.  If you take a look at the research that comes out, it doesn't involve dream analyses, word associations, ink blots, etc... My example, our lab examines the transition to marriage, but to do so, we measure their hormonal levels (e.g., testosterone, cortisol) across the first couple years of marriage, observe behavioral exchanges between couples that is objectively coded for specific behaviors, etc...

The field, however, got started doing pseudo-scientific crap or soft science and it's really hard to shake that reputation, mostly because the field is really new (<100 years), and people get trained in a certain tradition and pass it on, so the transition from soft science to hard science took longer than it should, but with the exception of about 10-15% of quacks, we have definitely made the leap. 

I'll end my rant, lol

Interesting aside; I've read that most of the work on dream analysis that Freud did has been debunked, and he isn't considered particularly important in actual psychology.

[EnderWiggen]

Interesting aside; I've read that most of the work on dream analysis that Freud did has been debunked, and he isn't considered particularly important in actual psychology.

Freud is tough to categorize.  In general, a good chunk of his stuff has been debunked.  He did a LOT to get the field started though, so we definitely pay our respects to him.  However, his methods were extremely unscientific, so in a lot of ways, he also set us back because when people think of psych, they think of his bullcrap arm-chair theories.  Finally, some of his stuff actually has some validity, although it doesn't work quite the way he thought. 

For example, his whole notion of the unconscious.  Yes, some cognitive processes are totally unconscious.  However, they they don't make us want to have sex with our mother and kill our father.  Instead, they give us quick information about our environment, make it easier to make quick decisions when we need to, etc...  For example, think about walking down the street- that requires a lot of coordinated effort that we don't even think about.  We aren't saying to ourself, "ok, now i gotta move my left foot her, then my right foot here, lift my leg in this way, twist my torso, etc..."  All of that is automatic and unconscious.  A lot of how we decide whether we like a new product or a new person, is largely automatic and unconscious (i.e., we rarely put together a pro- and con- list for why we should be friends with someone... we just kinda know if we like them).  So, Freud was right that the unconscious mind exists, but he gave it WAY too much credit.

In sum, a lot of it is straight up bullcrap, but there are a few ideas that he was right about, yet got the details all wrong.  And all of his ideas came from extremely flawed methods.

[TJ]

Is that you, Larry Williams?

When you're a school like Marquette University you're going to have to spend a bit more on your basketball program to have success than a school like UCLA, North Carolina, Florida, etc.  Just the way it is.  If we spend less, we have less success.

A bit more?  $2.8 M is more than a bit more.  It's a ludicrous number for the results delivered.  Like I said, get some self-respect.  No we're not UCLA, UNC, UF, etc. - but there are plenty of excellent reasons why the MU job is highly desirable too.

[warriorchick]

Is that you, Larry Williams?

When you're a school like Marquette University you're going to have to spend a bit more on your basketball program to have success than a school like UCLA, North Carolina, Florida, etc.  Just the way it is.  If we spend less, we have less success.

True enough, but the actual act of spending money doesn't make your team better.  If you are throwing money at a coach, you have to throw it at the right guy.

[warriorchick]

By the way, does anyone know if the bonuses listed are typical? Some of the amounts are laughable, especially in relationship to the base contract.

Hey, your team's overall GPA is 2.6!  Here is a .65% bonus for you!  Good work! 

Nice job of getting to the Final Four!  There's an extra 4% in your pay envelope!

Are these really incentives?

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Buzz is crazy, but he ain't dumb.

Dude is actually kind of fascinating to me. Has been an underdog his ENTIRE LIFE. He has always been trying to climb the mountain, and he has done very well.

Now he's on the plateau at the top of the mountain (relatively speaking), how does he adjust?

Will the guy ever be happy with what he has, or where he is at? It seems like he has a pathological need to be doubted by others. I know that's a tremendous motivational tactic, but how long can you keep that up? How long can you be motivated by people doubting you? Forever?

At some point, does he a moment of self realization about what he is doing and why he's doing it? Can he learn to take a day off, can he learn how/when to ease off of the throttle, and when to step on it?

Mike Jordan has the same issue. It obviously worked very well for him in his playing career, but it seems to cause issues for him in his Wizards comeback, his personal life and his executive career.

[Jay Bee]

By the way, does anyone know if the bonuses listed are typical? Some of the amounts are laughable, especially in relationship to the base contract.

Hey, your team's overall GPA is 2.6!  Here is a .65% bonus for you!  Good work! 

Nice job of getting to the Final Four!  There's an extra 4% in your pay envelope!

Are these really incentives?

Incentives for top performances (ie, FF, nat'l champ) are a bit on the light side but not odd. For a school, they'll have to pay future $$ to retain (ie comp increase in future yrs) to retain, so having a huge performance bonus isn't all that wise.

Rewards should also help retain. One time bonus can sting a school.

VT did fine on the incentive comps, but Buzz owned them overall.
As for the academic incentives - typical. In men's bball, they are generally tiny relative to total comp.

[Wojo'sMojo]

Buzz is crazy, but he ain't dumb.

Dude is actually kind of fascinating to me. Has been an underdog his ENTIRE LIFE. He has always been trying to climb the mountain, and he has done very well.

Now he's on the plateau at the top of the mountain (relatively speaking), how does he adjust?

Will the guy ever be happy with what he has, or where he is at? It seems like he has a pathological need to be doubted by others. I know that's a tremendous motivational tactic, but how long can you keep that up? How long can you be motivated by people doubting you? Forever?

At some point, does he a moment of self realization about what he is doing and why he's doing it? Can he learn to take a day off, can he learn how/when to ease off of the throttle, and when to step on it?

Mike Jordan has the same issue. It obviously worked very well for him in his playing career, but it seems to cause issues for him in his Wizards comeback, his personal life and his executive career.

I think the worst thing that happened, was he enjoyed lots of success early at Marquette. This inflated his ego and caused him to become very arrogant, even though he still tried to play the aw shucks routine. He's a very shrewd guy. I can't really fault him, a majority of the population would do the same if they enjoyed the kind of early success he has. I think going to Va Tech will humble him and he will be a better coach down the road for it. I have no doubt it is going to give him a huge ego check.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I think the worst thing that happened, was he enjoyed lots of success early at Marquette. This inflated his ego and caused him to become very arrogant, even though he still tried to play the aw shucks routine. He's a very shrewd guy. I can't really fault him, a majority of the population would do the same if they enjoyed the kind of early success he has. I think going to Va Tech will humble him and he will be a better coach down the road for it. I have no doubt it is going to give him a huge ego check.

You might be right, but I'm not entirely sure.

Buzz might experience some set-backs this season, but he'll print out the articles and use them as fuel. Then, when he becomes successful (maybe years later), he'll vaguely mention the doubters and how he proved them wrong.

He's always trying to find something to push against, and I'm not sure that's a good long term approach for somebody at an executive level. He burns very hot, and I don't know if he'll ever be "comfortable".

Interesting guy. If he can mellow a little with age and experience, he might end up being a really good coach for a long time.

[avid1010]

i go a couple ways with this:

1. buzz felt uncomfortable in MKE and took this job as he knew it offered him the most $$$ - long term

2. buzz's ego trumps all and he wants to be at a university where he thinks he can take it to unbelievable heights and he'll be the next coach k.

3. a mix of good long term $$$ and low expectations - see what happens, if it burns up on him, he can likely blame the school and get a decent gig elsewhere.  if he can compete at a reasonable level he can have a long career at VT without the expectations that an MU would have.

[keefe]

Interesting guy. If he can mellow a little with age and experience, he might end up being a really good coach for a long time.

The guy is in his forties. He is what he is and who he is. His demons are not simple stress anxieties about performance. Hell, everybody who takes a serious approach to career, relationships, or driving a golf ball longer and straighter puts pressure on themselves. There is a lot more at play in Bert's ridiculous, grotesque, and peculiar behaviors that delivers extraordinary results for both good and bad.

[Fullodds]

I think the more interesting question is to compare Buzz's signature when he was hired at MU to what it looks like today.

Before:



After:

Psychologist here.  No respectable psychologist has done handwriting analysis in many many decades.  Of course, there are still people who identify as psychologists who do it, but they are pseudo-scientific jokes in the community.  The thing is, once you have your degree, you can do anything "as a psychologist" but that doesn't mean that it's really part of the field. Similar to how there is probably some physicist out there that believes the earth is flat, but it isn't really part of the field. 

Most psychologists these days do hard science.  If you take a look at the research that comes out, it doesn't involve dream analyses, word associations, ink blots, etc... My example, our lab examines the transition to marriage, but to do so, we measure their hormonal levels (e.g., testosterone, cortisol) across the first couple years of marriage, observe behavioral exchanges between couples that is objectively coded for specific behaviors, etc...

The field, however, got started doing pseudo-scientific crap or soft science and it's really hard to shake that reputation, mostly because the field is really new (<100 years), and people get trained in a certain tradition and pass it on, so the transition from soft science to hard science took longer than it should, but with the exception of about 10-15% of quacks, we have definitely made the leap. 

I'll end my rant, lol

[keefe]

I think the more interesting question is to compare Buzz's signature when he was hired at MU to what it looks like today.

Before:



After:

Lotta grandeur there. It's humbling to be in the presence of true greatness.

[EnderWiggen]

I think the more interesting question is to compare Buzz's signature when he was hired at MU to what it looks like today.

Before:



After:

woah.  like i said, i don't put any stock in handwriting analysis, but that signature screams crazy-town, lol 

[Nukem2]

Could Buzz even replicate that signature.....

[Lennys Tap]

i go a couple ways with this:

1. buzz felt uncomfortable in MKE and took this job as he knew it offered him the most $$$ - long term

2. buzz's ego trumps all and he wants to be at a university where he thinks he can take it to unbelievable heights and he'll be the next coach k.

3. a mix of good long term $$$ and low expectations - see what happens, if it burns up on him, he can likely blame the school and get a decent gig elsewhere.  if he can compete at a reasonable level he can have a long career at VT without the expectations that an MU would have.

Might be a little of "all of the above". He has great flexibility and he's at a school nobody expects to be any good.

[willie warrior]

Lotta grandeur there. It's humbling to be in the presence of true greatness.

The real question is: How many of those autographs do the Sultan and TAMU possess. What would be the over/under on that? I have one framed in my bathroom so that I can stare at it while contemplating the issues of the world.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

The guy is in his forties. He is what he is and who he is. His demons are not simple stress anxieties about performance. Hell, everybody who takes a serious approach to career, relationships, or driving a golf ball longer and straighter puts pressure on themselves. There is a lot more at play in Bert's ridiculous, grotesque, and peculiar behaviors that delivers extraordinary results for both good and bad.

In theory, he is who he is, but I think he's still learning how to operate at an executive level. He's never going to be Phil Jackson... but at his current rate, he's going to burn up and be out of coaching in under 10 years.

IMHO, the dude has to continue to develop a more feel in managing his staff and his players. Clearly, he's good at pushing people to their breaking point (or beyond), so we know he can be a Drill Sargent. But, now he's an executive position. He has to know how when to pull back, and when to push.

Maximizing potential isn't just about getting guys to go 110% all of the time. That's a great short term strategy, but isn't a viable long term solution.

Also, we know the guy is HYPER type A, but he needs to find something away from the basketball court that can hold his attention. Music, fishing, race car driving, woodworking, whatever. It doesn't matter. He just needs another layer to his personality. It will help him in the long run.

[Marqevans]

Like Mr. Leary on shark tank says:  It's all about the money!

[keefe]

In theory, he is who he is, but I think he's still learning how to operate at an executive level. He's never going to be Phil Jackson... but at his current rate, he's going to burn up and be out of coaching in under 10 years.

IMHO, the dude has to continue to develop a more feel in managing his staff and his players. Clearly, he's good at pushing people to their breaking point (or beyond), so we know he can be a Drill Sargent. But, now he's an executive position. He has to know how when to pull back, and when to push.

Maximizing potential isn't just about getting guys to go 110% all of the time. That's a great short term strategy, but isn't a viable long term solution.

Also, we know the guy is HYPER type A, but he needs to find something away from the basketball court that can hold his attention. Music, fishing, race car driving, woodworking, whatever. It doesn't matter. He just needs another layer to his personality. It will help him in the long run.

Well, he's been in an executive position for 7 years in an industry he has been in for a quarter of a century so if he hasn't figured it out now I doubt he's ever going to get it. He has his style and methods and they work though its lack of complexity, texture, and nuance makes it difficult to adapt to shifting circumstances.

I have seen his personality type in both the private sector and the fighter pilot world and they have flashes of glory but almost always end up crashing and burning. Their primary strengths - focus and intensity - are great for some situations but terrible in many others that require subtlety, sophistication, and flexibility. Recognizing changes in the battlespace is far more important than winning through grit and attrition.

In that way, I share your prediction that Bert is headed out before the age of 50, one way or another.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Well, he's been in an executive position for 7 years in an industry he has been in for a quarter of a century so if he hasn't figured it out now I doubt he's ever going to get it. He has his style and methods and they work though its lack of complexity, texture, and nuance makes it difficult to adapt to shifting circumstances.

I have seen his personality type in both the private sector and the fighter pilot world and they have flashes of glory but almost always end up crashing and burning. Their primary strengths - focus and intensity - are great for some situations but terrible in many others that require subtlety, sophistication, and flexibility. Recognizing changes in the battlespace is far more important than winning through grit and attrition.

In that way, I share your prediction that Bert is headed out before the age of 50, one way or another.

Ya, I mean, I think we're in agreement... I just still think there is a chance he can evolve.

However, that's really up to him.

I think he's a good college coach (I know some people don't). But, I can just see that he burns REALLY HOT, and that will not help his longevity. Needs to dial it back some, but as you correctly pointed out, I don't know if he has it in him.

[Goose]

Keefe

Agreed on the burnout by 50 prediction. IMO he has been looking over his shoulder for a long time and sooner or later it catches up to a guy. I said six years ago and will say I again, no one was more surprised he was named coach at MU more than he was. He won the lottery and odds are up he will end up like up many lottery winners.

All that said, he was a helluva of story and more power to him. He got ahead of th curve with new gig and probably was smart bolting this year.

[PaintTouches]

Figured this excerpt from our interview with Buzz last Sept. was relevant to the convo at hand (emphasis is mine):

"I’m telling my wife this morning, and this is what I’ve always told her, we can never plan as if I’m going to coach a long time, because I don’t know if I’m built to do it a long time. It’s ok at 35. It’s ok at 41. But at 61, I don’t think so. But I also don’t know what God has in store. She’s like, maybe you ought to halfway ease into it and I’m like, I understand. Now getting dressed in my closet, I completely understand what you’re saying. But I go in there this morning and I say good morning, how is everybody doing, shake everybody’s hands, let’s pray. But then as soon as it goes, I’m like bonzo, just bonzo. That’s all I know to do." 

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Figured this excerpt from our interview with Buzz last Sept. was relevant to the convo at hand (emphasis is mine):

"I’m telling my wife this morning, and this is what I’ve always told her, we can never plan as if I’m going to coach a long time, because I don’t know if I’m built to do it a long time. It’s ok at 35. It’s ok at 41. But at 61, I don’t think so. But I also don’t know what God has in store. She’s like, maybe you ought to halfway ease into it and I’m like, I understand. Now getting dressed in my closet, I completely understand what you’re saying. But I go in there this morning and I say good morning, how is everybody doing, shake everybody’s hands, let’s pray. But then as soon as it goes, I’m like bonzo, just bonzo. That’s all I know to do." 

Nice find.

The age thing is an interesting piece of self reflection by Buzz. I can't tell if that is schtick, or a moment of honesty.

I actually think the Bonzo thing is good (be intense while you are there), but I'm just afraid the dude can't ever shut down, even when he's away from the court.

AND normally, guys like that, they get frustrated with people who do actually shut down away from the court. They just can't imagine anybody enjoying themselves outside of basketball/work.

Here is another quote that always stuck with me:

“I want beavers. I want beavers around me. I want to hire beavers, I want to recruit beavers. Beavers do only one thing – they chop trees. That’s all beavers do. Those are the kind of people I want to be around other than my wife, and that’s it. I want people who all they do is ball, all they think about is ball. My life in so many ways is really boring because it’s like groundhog day every day, you know what I mean? There’s very little variety in what I do. If there is any variety, it’s an hour and a half at a time, change of pace."

On one hand, I like it, on the other hand, I can see why playing for this guy might drive you nuts.

[Gato78]

1. Based on the money he is being paid at Va Tech, he wasn't overpaid at Marquette.
2. He is a damn good coach. Knows the game, knows the opponents.
3. He could recruit--just not the type of guys Fr. P wanted.
4. He is a little off the wall but he can rev up a crowd with the preacher stuff that endeared him to many African American kids and parents.
5. I always thought he would kill himself working hard for about 10 yrs and then mellow out and recruit and coach off of his reputation. Going to Va Tech, he has to start that from scratch.
6. Something very odd happened this past year simply because MU did not try to keep him.

I wish him well. He has good values, a very nice wife and four beautiful kids. He just needs to get his head out of his ass. He needed a little dose of humility at MU and a little psychoanalysis.

[TJ]

1. Based on the money he is being paid at Va Tech, he wasn't overpaid at Marquette.
2. He is a damn good coach. Knows the game, knows the opponents.
3. He could recruit--just not the type of guys Fr. P wanted.
4. He is a little off the wall but he can rev up a crowd with the preacher stuff that endeared him to many African American kids and parents.
5. I always thought he would kill himself working hard for about 10 yrs and then mellow out and recruit and coach off of his reputation. Going to Va Tech, he has to start that from scratch.
6. Something very odd happened this past year simply because MU did not try to keep him.

I wish him well. He has good values, a very nice wife and four beautiful kids. He just needs to get his head out of his ass. He needed a little dose of humility at MU and a little psychoanalysis.

1. Bullpoop.  Just because VT overpaid him too does not mean he isn't overpaid.
2. Agreed.  I think he certainly has his shortcomings, but he proved in his first 5 years that he can be a good coach.
3. Agreed he can recruit, as in getting kids he's going after to sign.  However, I think one of his shortcomings is his choices in roster makeup, such as his focus on athletic ability above basketball skill.  Also his success rate with freshmen recruits was pretty low, especially compared to recruiting rank.
4. no comment
5. VT is going to be an interesting challenge, that's for sure.
...

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The real question is: How many of those autographs do the Sultan and TAMU possess. What would be the over/under on that? I have one framed in my bathroom so that I can stare at it while contemplating the issues of the world.

Still sporting the hate woody I see (I used your invented term to grant you familiarity).

Since you asked, I have one. It matches my signed jersey from Tom Crean and my signed ball boy shirt from KO. I hope to add Wojo to the collection soon

[keefe]

my signed ball boy shirt from KO.

What's a ball boy?

[ZiggysFryBoy]

John Bonham was Bonzo.  Brent Williams is no Bonzo.

[keefe]

John Bonham was Bonzo.  Brent Williams is no Bonzo.

The Beast is one of the greats but he lacked finesse. I think he's a tier lower than Keith Moon and Billy Cobham.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

The Beast is one of the greats but he lacked finesse. I think he's a tier lower than Keith Moon and Billy Cobham.

Blasphemy!

[keefe]

Blasphemy!

The Beast was famous for going through all of his drum sticks but continuing to play with his hands. Choked on his own vomit, though.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

The Beast was famous for going through all of his drum sticks but continuing to play with his hands. Choked on his own vomit, though.

After 40 shots!

[keefe]

After 40 shots!

Prodigious. Similar to the number of women I satisfy in a typical evening

[swoopem]

Here's an article from the Washington Post that pretty much says everything that Paint Touches said, but I figured I'd share it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/buzz-williams-contract-to-coach-virginia-tech-basketball-offers-several-incentives-and-perks/2014/05/21/d1a1fbd6-e02b-11e3-8dcc-d6b7fede081a_story.html

As far as the drummer conversation goes Bill Kreutzmann is the most underappreciated man in music and an amazing drummer on top of that.

[keefe]

As far as the drummer conversation goes Bill Kreutzmann is the most underappreciated man in music and an amazing drummer on top of that.

Please. Some things are so self-evident that conversation merely cheapens the greatness.

[keefe]

As far as the drummer conversation goes Bill Kreutzmann is the most underappreciated man in music and an amazing drummer on top of that.

Your post got me to thinking about The Rhythm Devils and the whole Dead experience. What's scary is that it's been 20 years since they lost JG and stopped touring. I had a lot of fun at their concerts. What a long, strange trip.

[79Warrior]

1. Based on the money he is being paid at Va Tech, he wasn't overpaid at Marquette.
2. He is a damn good coach. Knows the game, knows the opponents.
3. He could recruit--just not the type of guys Fr. P wanted.
4. He is a little off the wall but he can rev up a crowd with the preacher stuff that endeared him to many African American kids and parents.
5. I always thought he would kill himself working hard for about 10 yrs and then mellow out and recruit and coach off of his reputation. Going to Va Tech, he has to start that from scratch.
6. Something very odd happened this past year simply because MU did not try to keep him.

I wish him well. He has good values, a very nice wife and four beautiful kids. He just needs to get his head out of his ass. He needed a little dose of humility at MU and a little psychoanalysis.

I agree with your points. No question, something came down and I am not sure we will really ever know. The parties involved certainly are not talking. Lots of rumors, almost all BS. I happen to think he will field a very competitive team fairly quickly in the ACC. Coach K , Roy, Boheim are getting up there. In a few years, I would not be suprised at all to see Buzz very successful at VT.

Hopefully, Wojo can make Buzz a distant memory for MU fans. But, the fact is, Buzz has been the most "colorful" coach to prowl the bench since Al. I will miss his antics.

[swoopem]

Your post got me to thinking about The Rhythm Devils and the whole Dead experience. What's scary is that it's been 20 years since they lost JG and stopped touring. I had a lot of fun at their concerts. What a long, strange trip.

I was at the Warren Haynes JG tribute concert last night and trust me when I say Jerry might not be with us anymore, but he is far from gone. The show was special. Warren was playing Wolf and had the Chicago Symphony backing him up, unreal experience. Now I'm looking forward to Bobby and Ratdog coming to town in late August.

[muhoosier260]

I saw Bert's signature there at the end, kind of ridiculous. Anyways, anyone know his middle name? "L". Couldn't find it on wikipedia or tech's site.

[MattyWarrior]

Sick of Bert and his corny ramblings,his first 3 years were great but the turnover was huge. Once his first staff started
leaving,it started to fall apart,he became to big for his britches and he never showed that he could develop 4 *players.
He had a good little run,but I'd rather talk about our future team and coach.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I liked him when he was winning ill leave it at that. Cant stand the attitude he had towards the end and the constant banging hi head against the wall continuing to play certain players. I hope he doesnt win a single game next season.