Parrish: Why Buzz Left for VT

[GGGG]

I find it interesting that Isaac Chew (who is a well-known and respected Chicago recruiter) took less money as well to go with him to Blacksburg.  I'm sure he could have gotten a sweet deal from one of the B1G schools.  Not sure how many kids from Chicago will want to go to VA Tech.

I also find it interesting that Brad Autry, one of his most loyal assistants, is still without a job.  Did Buzz not offer him a position?  Did Brad not feel comfortable following him?  I don't think Brad currently has a position.

Bottom line, our coaching staff would beat there's in a pickup basketball game.  

Chew is a good recruiter outside of Chicago.  He did a lot of the leg work on Ahmed Hill for instance.  

One of the reasons that Chew went to VPI, and one of the reasons Autry still is without a job, is because there simply were many openings.  You say that Chew could have gotten a B10 job.  Well no B10 head coaching jobs opened up that I recall.

Chew didn't want to take the chance and followed Buzz.  Autry took a chance, didn't follow Buzz, and is still looking.  (He is a finalist for an assistant position at Missouri.)

[Badgerhater]

For every insecure Buzz, there's a Boeheim, Coach K, Greg Kampe, Bob McKillop, Stew Morrill (HA!), Rick Barnes (Double HA!), etc.

Coaches who have weathered storms and by doing so, helped define who they are, make their comeback successes sweeter and reveal their character.


""See, it goes Grover Cleveland, then Benjamin Harrison, then Grover Cleveland," Williams said. "Grover Cleveland did it twice. He's the only President that you count twice.""

FDR...FDR...FDR...FDR That's four.

Reagan, Reagan
Clinton, Clinton
GHWBush, GHWBush

Cleveland is the only one for non-consecutive terms.  He was the 22nd and 24th president.   The others are only counted once.

[brandx]

He is Buzz's guy to get Buzz info out.  This likely means Buzz is a bit obsessed with the questions he gets on why he left MU for VTech.  Kind of sad, really, that Buzz can't just move on.
Buzz saw the writing on the wall.  With the likely transfers if he stayed, an administration/board that was pushing him out, I think he would have been gone next year with MU moving on.  He wins, but wasn't doing it the MU way, unfortunately.  And I like Buzz.  He took the first decent job he could land this year. Buzz is a survivor and did what he had to do.

This lets us know why we never got any coverage from Hunt. Buzz picked his lackeys with care. You either worshipped Buzz or you were shut out.

[Lennys Tap]

This lets us know why we never got any coverage from Hunt. Buzz picked his lackeys with care. You either worshipped Buzz or you were shut out.

Jeff Goodman, Greg Doyel and Gary Parrish are the lazy lackeys and Mike Hunt is the respected hard working/hard hitting journalist. That's pretty funny.

[CAGASS24]

Thank Goodness he's gone then - appears he had maxed out his potential here - thanks for the success and good luck at the next stop - with aspirations to always be in a position of underdog, he'll likely has several more

[Badgerhater]

A very interesting article.  Buzz is indeed a different breed of cat and it works for him and it worked for MU 5 out of 6 years.

It is quite easy to see why people love him or hate him.

Buzz appears to have a coaching style that is very self-exhausting and change or challenge seem to invigorate and motivate him.

I do think we focus too much on the long-term guys, which are the outlier in today's game.   We all want a successful long-term coach, but that is a rare thing.  While it would be good for MU to strive for that, the program is better off in the long-run expecting coaching changes every 5-10 years.

I will always thank him for the 5 seasons of success, a real Big East title and bringing Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder and DJO into the hall of Marquette greats.  The rest is water under the bridge because it is better to look forward to next year and our new coach rather than dwell on the negatives of the past.

[keefe]

I think Buzz is motivated by an immense fear of failure.

He decided to get out while he was ahead, because he was so afraid at failing to live up to expectations he had set.

It all makes a lot of sense.

Cowardice has never made sense. Every man has fears. The test is in how we overcome them.

At the first sign of mortal danger a man's mouth goes dry and a lightening bolt of ice cold adrenalin rips through his system. This response is visceral, primordial, and instinctive. It is hard wired into the human genome. But the real measure of a man is in how he rises to meet the challenge. A coward runs from the sound of danger while a man overcomes his natural fear and takes care of business.

Bert fled like a little girl rather than standing tall like a man. He is beneath our contempt.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'll repeat again what I said years ago and again a few months ago from an athletic department source at a school Buzz worked at previously.

"Surprised you hired him.  Good coach, weird as f*ck"

[ChicosBailBonds]

The obsession that Parrish has with Buzz is odd.

Buzz has never played in the National Championship game...never even been to the Final Four...yet GP writes about Buzz 6-8 times a year. It's weird.

He's one of Buzz's mouthpieces. 

[The Lens]

Chew is a good recruiter outside of Chicago.  He did a lot of the leg work on Ahmed Hill for instance.  

One of the reasons that Chew went to VPI, and one of the reasons Autry still is without a job, is because there simply were many openings.  You say that Chew could have gotten a B10 job.  Well no B10 head coaching jobs opened up that I recall.

Chew didn't want to take the chance and followed Buzz.  Autry took a chance, didn't follow Buzz, and is still looking.  (He is a finalist for an assistant position at Missouri.)

From what I understand Buzz put together the staff he wanted at Va Tech.  I hope Brad finds something.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I think Buzz is motivated by an immense fear of failure.

He decided to get out while he was ahead, because he was so afraid at failing to live up to expectations he had set.

It all makes a lot of sense.

Agree with a lot of this.  Nothing better in terms of job security than going to a place that has 2 NCAA appearances in 30 years and is willing to pay you a ton of money.  Get out before you no longer can keep the train running, especially when some of the locomotives on the train may have issues with those that run the railway line.

[Windyplayer]

So, one tourney appearance/possibly a round of 32 appearance, and Buzz is off to TCU!

Reading this story makes me really question if Buzz would have accepted the UT job if it was offered to him.

[GooooMarquette]

If Bart is so into trends and stats, I wonder why he didn't look into the track record of MU head coaches who left for other jobs in "better" conferences.  

TC had a .664 winning pct and got us to the Final Four despite being in C-USA.  At I4, he has a .510 winning pct and gotten no further than the Sweet Sixteen.  Yeah, he took over a train wreck and turned them around nicely, but they've started moving backwards again.

KO clearly maxed out his college success at MU, taking a dreadful and underfunded program to the Sweet Sixteen and an overall .581 winning pct.  Since then, he is under .500 overall at Tennesssee, Northwestern, Arizona and USC, with only two NCAA appearances (both losses) in 11 seasons.

The last coach who had more success after leaving MU was Rick Majerus.

Seems like Bert missed those trends....

[RJax55]

I do think we focus too much on the long-term guys, which are the outlier in today's game.   We all want a successful long-term coach, but that is a rare thing.  While it would be good for MU to strive for that, the program is better off in the long-run expecting coaching changes every 5-10 years.

Great point, I agree.

Also, we as fans, need to stop projecting our needs/wants on these coaches. As this article clearly illustrates, Buzz is not wired to be a lifer somewhere. His job history prior to MU was as nomadic as it gets, yet some believed that Buzz was going to be at MU 20+ years. All the drama and silliness that took place the last few years in regards to MU possibly interfering with Buzz's "don't mess with happy" attitude looks completely ridiculous now. Fact is, when expectations reached a certain level, Buzz was going to seek out a new opportunity.

[RJax55]

I'll repeat again what I said years ago and again a few months ago from an athletic department source at a school Buzz worked at previously.

"Surprised you hired him.  Good coach, weird as f*ck"

Yeah, you certainly were correct. I mean, who boasts to their own staff no less, about how well-written their contract is. Bizarre stuff.

[Coleman]

This lets us know why we never got any coverage from Hunt. Buzz picked his lackeys with care. You either worshipped Buzz or you were shut out.

I think you are right, but you are still letting Hunt off easy. Once he lost all-access to Buzz, he mailed it in...

[GGGG]

Great point, I agree.

Also, we as fans, need to stop projecting our needs/wants on these coaches. As this article clearly illustrates, Buzz is not wired to be a lifer somewhere. His job history prior to MU was as nomadic as it gets, yet some believed that Buzz was going to be at MU 20+ years. All the drama and silliness that took place the last few years in regards to MU possibly interfering with Buzz's "don't mess with happy" attitude looks completely ridiculous now. Fact is, when expectations reached a certain level, Buzz was going to seek out a new opportunity.

I would argue that most people aren't wired to be lifers anywhere.  We want it from our coaches, and professional players, but we don't understand that most of us will not work for the same employer for our entire lifetime.

[Coleman]

Cowardice has never made sense. Every man has fears. The test is in how we overcome them.

At the first sign of mortal danger a man's mouth goes dry and a lightening bolt of ice cold adrenalin rips through his system. This response is visceral, primordial, and instinctive. It is hard wired into the human genome. But the real measure of a man is in how he rises to meet the challenge. A coward runs from the sound of danger while a man overcomes his natural fear and takes care of business.

Bert fled like a little girl rather than standing tall like a man. He is beneath our contempt.

I'm analyzing it from a psychological perspective, not a moral one that gauges his manliness or bravery.

But I agree with you.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I thought Goodman and Doyel were "Buzz's guys".

You thought wrong.  Goodman and Parrish, not Doyle. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Just as I've always said, (mostly to the guy who insists that they're all the same) Buzz IS different. Weird is part of the different. And maybe so is his difficulty with dealing with the monster (success) that he created at Marquette (the next 6 years will tell that tale). He's also genuine and generous. Certainly not perfect, but a guy trying to make a difference. I'll root for him, just as I did for Rick, KO and Deane after they left Marquette.

The monster he created.  LOL.  Good one.  Really good.   

[SERocks]

Contrast the 30 for 30 program on the Big East and how it started and what it took to build it with the old coaches (characters) etc... and Buzz's bolting for the exits because he thought there might be difficulty down the road a piece.  Wow.  What a difference and why to this day I love Thompson, Massimino, Carnesecca, etc etc.....  Those guys would lay down for no one. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Jeff Goodman, Greg Doyel and Gary Parrish are the lazy lackeys and Mike Hunt is the respected hard working/hard hitting journalist. That's pretty funny.

If you knew a few people in the athletic department and Buzz's ...ahem..."communication" with them, you would know how far off base you are Lenny.  Gut didn't have the time of day for many people, too busy studying who the Presidents were apparently. 

[RJax55]

If Bart is so into trends and stats, I wonder why he didn't look into the track record of MU head coaches who left for other jobs in "better" conferences.  

TC had a .664 winning pct and got us to the Final Four despite being in C-USA.  At I4, he has a .510 winning pct and gotten no further than the Sweet Sixteen.  Yeah, he took over a train wreck and turned them around nicely, but they've started moving backwards again.

KO clearly maxed out his college success at MU, taking a dreadful and underfunded program to the Sweet Sixteen and an overall .581 winning pct.  Since then, he is under .500 overall at Tennesssee, Northwestern, Arizona and USC, with only two NCAA appearances (both losses) in 11 seasons.

The last coach who had more success after leaving MU was Rick Majerus.

Seems like Bert missed those trends....

Is this about having greater success, or self-preservation? I didn't get the sense reading the article that Buzz feels he will achieve the same or greater success at VT than he did at MU. What he does have at VT is time, lower expectations and is without the burden of his own past success.

KO and TC left MU because they believed their new jobs offer the chance at greater success. I don't know if I can say the same for Buzz.

[Freeport Warrior]

I must admit, I see Brent in an entirely different light than I ever did. I think it happens when you are part of the masses and you "want to believe." Today, I can see more clearly. This whole article strikes me as the same old stories about Buzz -- subtle PR jobs highlighting Brent's quirks/weirdness with the sole intent to endear the reader into thinking this is a weird, but really lovable guy. Someone was asking if Buzz has the writers in his pocket -- the answer is "sort of."  Right after college, I did a lot of PR writing for clients. You forge relationships with reporters and if you give them the information they need/want and make it easy for them, you become a "go-to" source. Make them look good and you will get repeat business. Reporters are lazy just like everyone else. If you make it easy for them, most will continually use you instead of going through the hassle of reaching out to nameless others whom may, or may not pan out. Some sources burn you. Some sources don't deliver on time. Some sources use excessive spin. Some sources are boring and give you nothing you can use. Buzz delivers for these writers and makes their jobs easy. He is interesting and he provides memorable quotes/sound bites. And because of this, he gets "protected" from any real criticism or fallout. That is how it works. Buzz hand-picks a few guys, gives them what they want, and he gets a little protection in return. You spread it out to a few influential guys and you are all set.

I am a conspiracy theorist. I think Brent was either shown the door, or was told he was going to be shown the door because of ethical concerns with the program and recruiting. I believe MU forced his hand and gave him little time, so he reached out to his crony's buddy at VT. I believe all of his reasons for leaving were made up after the fact. I don't have any real proof, just anecdotal rumblings. I think both parties agreed to not talk about it. Once the smoke had cleared, Buzz was intent on continuing his "I'm a weird but lovable dude" PR campaign, which the media love, and which could also plausibly explain his leaving. The "journal" stuff and conversations with others which tried to help explain Brent's thought process and his leaving is just too convenient for me. I do not believe this narrative at all. Just one man's opinion.

In the long run, I believe we will be better off without him, but time will tell.

[BCHoopster]

Much like Tom Crean and Buzz, both realize it is very hard to go to the next level.  I am sure his insecurities are at the top of the list.  New conference, hard to recruit to MU, weather, and I think he realized he could not get Ellenson or Stone in his own state, much less Looney.  Bo doing a great job right down the street did not help the situation.  It is not like the top recruits are
at the door waiting to get into MU.  Buzz recruited misfits in the JC world, questionable kids that were perfect for MU in his mind, but not the administration.  I am positve that Wojo is looking for a different type of kid then Buzz was.  I think Wojo will be fine, but the recruiting class coming up and I think the one the year after, will tell you where the program is going.  Talent is there
for the next few years once Fisher becomes eligible, the first few games will be interesting to say the least.  Duke won without a center, he will spread the court and see what happens.  This
offense should be great for Duane Wilson.