Buzz's Earnings at MU Peaked in 2010

[The Lens]

I'll graciously accept both of y'all's logic and explanations. I stand erected.

Good doctor,

We lost our last 2 regular season games in double OT and our BET game by 3.  One has to wonder if Buzzard might not be here, had we won those games. 

[Goose]

Lenny

I am usually in your camp but I think Doc has very valid point. Buzz seemed to have checked out very early on and appeared to rub in people's faces. I cannot say Buzz is anymore competitive than other coaches or not, but he had a look this year of guy counting down the last two months in a prison term.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Lenny

I am usually in your camp but I think Doc has very valid point. Buzz seemed to have checked out very early on and appeared to rub in people's faces. I cannot say Buzz is anymore competitive than other coaches or not, but he had a look this year of guy counting down the last two months in a prison term.

He definitely got more gruff and belligerent. But he was still trying to win every game. It might have been to make himself more marketable, but he was still trying to win every game.

[Goose]

TAMU

I'm sorry but there is not one coach in D1 that would have stuck with that lineup if the intent was to win. He may have wanted to win but if he knows ANYTHING about basketball it was virtually impossible with the guys who played. He was making a point or he is an idiot. I am betting on he was making a point.

[MUDPT]

TAMU

I'm sorry but there is not one coach in D1 that would have stuck with that lineup if the intent was to win. He may have wanted to win but if he knows ANYTHING about basketball it was virtually impossible with the guys who played. He was making a point or he is an idiot. I am betting on he was making a point.

Agree. His comments after the DePaul game that he didn't care what anybody else thought was telling.  It's one thing to not care when you are 14-4 and cruising to the NCAA Tournament. It's another if you don't make the NIT.

[Lennys Tap]

Lenny

I am usually in your camp but I think Doc has very valid point. Buzz seemed to have checked out very early on and appeared to rub in people's faces. I cannot say Buzz is anymore competitive than other coaches or not, but he had a look this year of guy counting down the last two months in a prison term.

Frustrated? Yes. Difficult to deal with? I'm sure. Even more unhappy? Losing will do that. There may even have come a time when he became resigned to the fact that this year's team probably wasn't going to get over the hump. But the guy I was watching was leaving it all on the court every game - just as in the 5 years previous.

[Lennys Tap]

Agree. His comments after the DePaul game that he didn't care what anybody else thought was telling.  It's one thing to not care when you are 14-4 and cruising to the NCAA Tournament. It's another if you don't make the NIT.

Successful coaches ignore the opinions of people on the internet who think they can coach. In good times and bad. To do otherwise or to suggest that they do otherwise is silly.

[swoopem]

Successful coaches ignore the opinions of people on the internet who think they can coach. In good times and bad. To do otherwise or to suggest that they do otherwise is silly.

Well what we now know is that Buzz and Cory were all over the internet making sure a bad word wasn't said about them and if there was...panic room time

[MUDPT]

Successful coaches ignore the opinions of people on the internet who think they can coach. In good times and bad. To do otherwise or to suggest that they do otherwise is silly.

I agree.  To acknowledge those individuals in a post-game interview, shows you are spending too much time thinking about what others think. I guess I should have clarified my comment.  You shouldn't be scouring the internet for new plays to involve your point guard who participates in 15% of your possessions.  You also should probably not call out "others" (Mike Hunt was the only one mentioned by name) if they think the thing isn't working. 

[GGGG]

TAMU

I'm sorry but there is not one coach in D1 that would have stuck with that lineup if the intent was to win. He may have wanted to win but if he knows ANYTHING about basketball it was virtually impossible with the guys who played. He was making a point or he is an idiot. I am betting on he was making a point.

I'm not exactly sure what point you think he was making.

I'm guessing that he felt his rotation gave MU the best option to win.  And that his opinion differs from yours.

[Goose]

Sultan

Well stated once again. Then I am definitely happy that Buzz has left town because IMO last year was biggest joke/disappointment of a season in my 40+ plus years as a fan. Would add that I do not ever remember a team/coach that turned fans into disinterested fans either.

But, that is history and hoping the new guy has a different outlook on rotations. If not, another long year awaits.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Sultan

Well stated once again. Then I am definitely happy that Buzz has left town because IMO last year was biggest joke/disappointment of a season in my 40+ plus years as a fan. Would add that I do not ever remember a team/coach that turned fans into disinterested fans either.

But, that is history and hoping the new guy has a different outlook on rotations. If not, another long year awaits.

You lived through the Dukiet years and last year was still the worst? Yikes. I wasn't old enough to appreciate how bad those seasons were.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

TAMU

I'm sorry but there is not one coach in D1 that would have stuck with that lineup if the intent was to win. He may have wanted to win but if he knows ANYTHING about basketball it was virtually impossible with the guys who played. He was making a point or he is an idiot. I am betting on he was making a point.

When has Buzz ever changed his coaching style midseason? He doubled down on his tried and true methods. The same methods that brought him success the first 5 seasons. Buzz always relied on veterans, Buzz always shortened the rotation come conference play, Buzz always pulled freshmen for making freshman mistakes, Buzz always valued defense over offense, Buzz always determined playing time by practice/playing to the scouting report, Buzz always sat players who he deemed had attitude.

Buzz did all the same things he did in previous seasons, but it didn't work. That happens sometimes. He had to choose between sticking with what he knew or trying something new. I would have tried something new, he didn't. There are merits to both.

The talk of "making a point" is something invented by donors and scoopers to try and justify last season. We would have been good if Buzz wasn't there. The truth is, we just weren't very good, for many reasons. Fortunately, one of the main ones, if not the main one, is now gone to gobbler country.

[keefe]

The talk of "making a point" is something invented by donors and scoopers

You might be surprised

[willie warrior]

You lived through the Dukiet years and last year was still the worst? Yikes. I wasn't old enough to appreciate how bad those seasons were.

What he said was it was the biggest joke/disappointment, not the worst. Most of the Dukiet years were the worst in a long time.

Last year was a huge disappointment, and the worst year in the last 10. And the man responsible got his ass out of town. Methinks he was hinted to where the door was.

[Wojo'sMojo]

When has Buzz ever changed his coaching style midseason? He doubled down on his tried and true methods. The same methods that brought him success the first 5 seasons. Buzz always relied on veterans, Buzz always shortened the rotation come conference play, Buzz always pulled freshmen for making freshman mistakes, Buzz always valued defense over offense, Buzz always determined playing time by practice/playing to the scouting report, Buzz always sat players who he deemed had attitude.

Buzz did all the same things he did in previous seasons, but it didn't work. That happens sometimes. He had to choose between sticking with what he knew or trying something new. I would have tried something new, he didn't. There are merits to both.

The talk of "making a point" is something invented by donors and scoopers to try and justify last season. We would have been good if Buzz wasn't there. The truth is, we just weren't very good, for many reasons. Fortunately, one of the main ones, if not the main one, is now gone to gobbler country.

Buzz seemed willing to adapt to the players he had in years past. This year he wasn't willing to, aside from a few token changes here and there. I believe he was making a point. Why would he invest time in developing the younger guys, when he knew he wasn't going to be here? He wanted to play the upperclassmen more because he had loyalty to them and had no reason to try and develop underclassmen. Your defense of his coaching is admirable, but sadly your synopsis on last years job rings hollow.

[GGGG]

Buzz seemed willing to adapt to the players he had in years past. This year he wasn't willing to, aside from a few token changes here and there. I believe he was making a point. Why would he invest time in developing the younger guys, when he knew he wasn't going to be here? He wanted to play the upperclassmen more because he had loyalty to them and had no reason to try and develop underclassmen. Your defense of his coaching is admirable, but sadly your synopsis on last years job rings hollow.

Again, what point was he making?  I still can't figure out what point you people think he was trying to get across. 

[Dawson Rental]

I'll graciously accept both of y'all's logic and explanations. I stand erected.

What Kate Upton's here?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

You might be surprised

I am confident I won't be.

[Dawson Rental]

Sultan

Well stated once again. Then I am definitely happy that Buzz has left town because IMO last year was biggest joke/disappointment of a season in my 40+ plus years as a fan. Would add that I do not ever remember a team/coach that turned fans into disinterested fans either.

But, that is history and hoping the new guy has a different outlook on rotations. If not, another long year awaits.

Dukiet scored in that department for me.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Over this window in the article, Buzz's base salary increased from $813K to $1.6 million, and his outside earnings went from $397K to $916K.  Not sure you caclulate that as a 46% pay cut.

2009:  As an unproven coach in his first year, makes relatively little.
2010:  Signs first big contract, including $3 million signing bonus.
2011:  Annual increase of 200K, plus 225K increase in outside earnings.  No bonus becuase its only the 2nd year of his new contract, and he received the signing bonus the previous year.
2012:  Annual increase of $115K, plus $370K increase in outside inciome.  Toys with SMU, gets a new contract leading to 738K sigining bonus this year, pay increases in following years.
2013:   Annual increase of nearyly 500K.  No contract bonus becuase he just renegotiated the prior year.  Outside income falls by $84K--probably becuase those who book speakers no longer buy his "aw shucks" act.

At what point is MU treating him poorly?  Only if you confuse one-time contract signing bonuses with routine compensation does it look like he's taking a "pay cut."

DING DING DING

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Buzz seemed willing to adapt to the players he had in years past. This year he wasn't willing to, aside from a few token changes here and there. I believe he was making a point. Why would he invest time in developing the younger guys, when he knew he wasn't going to be here? He wanted to play the upperclassmen more because he had loyalty to them and had no reason to try and develop underclassmen. Your defense of his coaching is admirable, but sadly your synopsis on last years job rings hollow.

Buzz always adapted the team's playing style to match the players. That is absolutely true. But it is not what I said. I said he never adjusted his coaching style. Trust the veterans, pull freshmen for freshmen mistakes, play to the scouting report, defense is more important than offense. All of these things were universal truths of the Buzz Williams coaching style. These were true in all six of Buzz' years.

His style clearly didn't work this season. Some coaches adapt, some double down. Buzz doubled down.

As for defending his coaching, I didn't agree with a lot of his decisions. I would have had more Mayo/Burton/Dawson and less Juan/Derrick/Jamil. I just find it silly that we are trying to justify a turd of a season by saying the coach tanked it on purpose. Think about it, if Buzz was as egotistical as we all think he is and knew he was leaving, why would he tank a season and risk damaging his marketability?

[Wojo'sMojo]

Again, what point was he making?  I still can't figure out what point you people think he was trying to get across. 

The point I think he was making, was thumbing his nose at everyone that didn't think Derrick and Thomas deserved all the minutes they received. He was obviously aware of the comments made about these players, as he repeatedly referenced them in interviews. I think this made him dig his heels and become even more stubborn in regards to this situation.

[GGGG]

That's ridiculous.  Look, you may not have agreed with his player rotations, but to try to justify it by saying that a high level college coach was sacrificing victories in order to be stubborn isn't a very clear thought.

[Wojo'sMojo]

That's ridiculous.  Look, you may not have agreed with his player rotations, but to try to justify it by saying that a high level college coach was sacrificing victories in order to be stubborn isn't a very clear thought.

That's your opinion, just like I stated mine. I never said he was sacrificing victories...I said he was giving playing time to two players that a lot a fans (myself included) didn't think should be getting that amount of time. If there was ever a coach who would be stubborn and roll like that, it would be Buzz. You didn't detect the irritation when he spoke about Derrick's abilities and why anyone would question his choice for playing time?