Todd Mayo is no longer with Marquette!

[NersEllenson]

I can assure with 100% certainty that Buzz was doing his best to win games. To think he was purposely throwing games is naive.

He coached that Xavier game like he did any other game in his career. When the game is on the line, he rolled with his upperclassmen. Buzz has ALWAYS done that (credit to Sultan's earlier point). Can you argue that's the wrong call? Absolutely, I think it was. Buzz absolutely made the wrong call in that game. But he also was absolutely not trying to lose.

Buzz has always done what?  Sultan's point?  That Buzz always started one guy who wasn't a starter caliber player?  Yea, I agree - what he didn't do was start 3 or 4 of those guys together..as he did last year. 

And, I can assure with 100% certainty that your opinion that Buzz was doing his best to win games is just as much of an opinion as mine - that he wasn't doing his best to win games.  If he was, he really had a regression in coaching knowledge and smarts than previously demonstrated the 5 prior years.

Hell even Mike Hunt called him out about the Burton benching - it was obvious to even him that it was beyond bizarre.  More bizarre was Buzz's feeble attempt at answering that question!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Buzz has always done what?  Sultan's point?

To clear it up for you. Buzz has ALWAYS, in every season he was a head coach, played upperclassmen while benching freshmen when the game was on the line. Even when the freshmen had more talent than the upperclassmen. Buzz has always trusted experience over talent. That is why Burton was benched. Again, in my opinion it was the wrong call. But it was a call made with the intention of winning the game.

Sultan's point was that Buzz didn't change his in game tactics during last season. They were the exact same tactics he used successfully in years 1-5. Now a good coach adjusts when his old tactics aren't working. Buzz didn't.

So Buzz didn't have a "regression in coaching knowledge." His limits were revealed in a very obvious way. Winning covers up a lot of flaws.

Equalizer had a great post in another thread. He listed all of the head scratching losses from Buzz' tenure. Everything from the collapse at Louisville, the collapse against Florida State, the Ohio State embarrassment. All of them had very similar themes. Buzz has some pretty good ideas about coaching, but has zero ability to adjust when they don't work.

And, I can assure with 100% certainty that your opinion that Buzz was doing his best to win games is just as much of an opinion as mine - that he wasn't doing his best to win games.

Except if you talk to anyone in the administration they all say that Buzz was absolutely trying to win. There's also the common sense argument that Buzz gets nothing out of trying to lose but has a lot to gain by trying to win. There's also the fact that if you know one thing about Buzz it is that he will do anything to win. It is pretty much all he cares about.

Buzz was the main problem with last year's team. But it wasn't because he was trying to throw the season. It's because he lost the team completely, recruited the PG position poorly, and has almost no ability to make adjustments when his first idea doesn't work.

[GGGG]

TAMU you hit the nail on the head completely.  Buzz was coaching the same way he always was.  It didn't work and he didn't adjust.  Honestly, the idea that he wasn't coaching to win gives him more of an excuse than he deserves.

[Lennys Tap]

There have been a lot of outrageous positions taken on a myriad of topics in Scoop history. None is more outrageous than the "Buzz didn't play the guys I think he should have so he must have been trying to lose" meme. Out-freakin'-rageous.

[NersEllenson]

TAMU you hit the nail on the head completely.  Buzz was coaching the same way he always was.  It didn't work and he didn't adjust.  Honestly, the idea that he wasn't coaching to win gives him more of an excuse than he deserves.

Ahh your point in this thread was referring to the fact that Buzz was doing what he'd done in the past with regard to starting a non-starter caliber player...though TAMU did try to run a nice deflection on the point being discussed!  As I pointed out, that was true - but never did Buzz decide to start 4 non-starting caliber players together in the past.  Nor did Buzz mass substitute like a machine gun with no rhyme or reason or regularity during conference play as he did last year.  Never did Buzz play 11 different guys in a 3 minute span during conference play in the past.

Lastly, this whole notion of Buzz always relied on his upperclassmen in crunch time is a farce in that when in Buzz's tenure did he have MORE TALENTED underclassmen that he relegated to the bench other than last year??  The only guy I could potentially come up with would be Mayo - but he had DJO  in front of him as a freshman...and Vander..but Vander was an underclassmen.  Yet Buzz did play Mayo quite a bit including good minutes in the NCAA tourney at the end of the season.  Hell Mayo was the only guy that showed up against Florida in that loss.

Please TAMU and Sultan - STop trying to grasp for straws to try to support your season-long wrong take on last year and Buzz.  It's foolish.  Trying to argue Buzz did what he always did is ridiculous.  Buzz IS a hell of a lot smarter and better basketball coach than what he was last year - to think otherwise is foolish.  He either was subliminally throwing games, or his EGO had gotten so incredibly big - that after hearing grumbles among the fanbase with his coaching/playing time allocation last season that he was hell bent on trying to prove people wrong, or felt he was a good enough coach to win at this level playing 4 on 5.  He said it...and he didn't have to play 4 on 5.  But chose to all season long..and chose to do so playing the "invisible" 5th player MORE minutes than any other player.  Wow.  Just wow.

[bilsu]

There have been a lot of outrageous positions taken on a myriad of topics in Scoop history. None is more outrageous than the "Buzz didn't play the guys I think he should have so he must have been trying to lose" meme. Out-freakin'-rageous.

They just do not seem to understand, that even if Buzz decided he was leaving he would not still try to win, because it would hurt him in negotiating for a new job to not win as much as possible.

[NersEllenson]

There have been a lot of outrageous positions taken on a myriad of topics in Scoop history. None is more outrageous than the "Buzz didn't play the guys I think he should have so he must have been trying to lose" meme. Out-freakin'-rageous.

What's out-freakin'-rageous is your total and complete Chicos-esque (Crean) Buzz ball slurping, that you can't even look at things objectively.

Answer the question Lenny - If Buzz was trying to win games, why would he bench a guy who was dominating the opposition in a must win game with 23 points in 23 minutes, on 64% shooting...for 6:30 of the last 7:00 minutes of the game?  TAMU's lame excuse that Buzz always favored upperclassmen was a joke, as I just posted - because never did Buzz have a clearly more talented freshman sitting on the bench behind an upperclassmen in his whole tenure.

[NersEllenson]

They just do not seem to understand, that even if Buzz decided he was leaving he would not still try to win, because it would hurt him in negotiating for a new job to not win as much as possible.

Buzz had feelers out all of last season.  It is highly inconceivable to think that Buzz could have negotiated such an incredibly one-sided and lopsided contract in a matter of a couple of days.  VaTech was desperate to get any coach with any skins on the wall.  The A.D was Cincy's former A.D...and one of Buzz's best buddies in the coaching world is Cronin...Cronin was the conduit.

Buzz finishing 17-15 didn't hurt him the least in his negotiations with a bottom feeder with deep pockets.  His contract is unbelievably lucrative.

[GGGG]

Please TAMU and Sultan - STop trying to grasp for straws to try to support your season-long wrong take on last year and Buzz.  It's foolish.  Trying to argue Buzz did what he always did is ridiculous.  Buzz IS a hell of a lot smarter and better basketball coach than what he was last year - to think otherwise is foolish.  He either was subliminally throwing games, or his EGO had gotten so incredibly big - that after hearing grumbles among the fanbase with his coaching/playing time allocation last season that he was hell bent on trying to prove people wrong, or felt he was a good enough coach to win at this level playing 4 on 5. 

So let me get this straight...

We are arguing that he was a good coach with a bad year.

You are arguing that he threw games on purpose.

And you are portraying us as crazy?  LOL...no use arguing with a tin foil hat wearer.  So I won't.

[Wojo'sMojo]

I am of the opinion that Buzz knew this was his last year at Marquette before the season started. He obviously was revealed to have very thin skin last year. I think he would rather lose with his "game changers" and thumb his nose at everyone who was calling for lineup changes, than give in to the critics who thought we would have a better chance to win with other more talented lineups. Why not play the more talented underclassmen? Because he knew he was gone and wanted to show loyalty to the players who still bought into his BS.

[keefe]

I am of the opinion that Buzz knew this was his last year at Marquette before the season started.

I think some of us knew Buzz' last year at Marquette was two years ago.

[NersEllenson]

So let me get this straight...

We are arguing that he was a good coach with a bad year.

You are arguing that he threw games on purpose.

And you are portraying us as crazy?  LOL...no use arguing with a tin foil hat wearer.  So I won't.

LOL - Can't attack the argument, attack the person.  Nice Sultan.  But please, why would you choose to play 4 on 5, and the guy who is the invisible player...play that guy MORE minutes than any other player?  Please, weigh in on why Burton was benched for 6:30 of the last 7:00 against Xavier in Big East tourney?  Neither of those decisions seems very intelligent or something you just chalk up to "he was a good coach that had a bad year."  LOL.  Funny.  At what point do you not let a little common sense rule if you are Buzz - Gee, I know I'm playing 4 on 5, and the 1 game I tried the other guy for 32 minutes, we won..arguably our best win of the year, on the road...and that guy played a nice part in getting us to the winners circle.  Perhaps I'll try that a few more times hereafter?  Hmm.  But nope.  9 minutes the next game.  Comical.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

LOL - Can't attack the argument, attack the person.  Nice Sultan.  But please, why would you choose to play 4 on 5, and the guy who is the invisible player...play that guy MORE minutes than any other player?  Please, weigh in on why Burton was benched for 6:30 of the last 7:00 against Xavier in Big East tourney?  Neither of those decisions seems very intelligent or something you just chalk up to "he was a good coach that had a bad year."  LOL.  Funny.  At what point do you not let a little common sense rule if you are Buzz - Gee, I know I'm playing 4 on 5, and the 1 game I tried the other guy for 32 minutes, we won..arguably our best win of the year, on the road...and that guy played a nice part in getting us to the winners circle.  Perhaps I'll try that a few more times hereafter?  Hmm.  But nope.  9 minutes the next game.  Comical.

Ners,

When I get a chance, I will respond to your assertions via private message. I'm putting you on ignore for a little while. The mod's warning may have stopped the D v. D debate, but I feel like this line of arguing is just as obnoxious for other scoopers. I am just as responsible for it as you. I may enjoy debating you but at this point it's better done via PM.

[GGGG]

LOL - Can't attack the argument, attack the person.  Nice Sultan.  But please, why would you choose to play 4 on 5, and the guy who is the invisible player...play that guy MORE minutes than any other player?  Please, weigh in on why Burton was benched for 6:30 of the last 7:00 against Xavier in Big East tourney?  Neither of those decisions seems very intelligent or something you just chalk up to "he was a good coach that had a bad year."  LOL.  Funny.  At what point do you not let a little common sense rule if you are Buzz - Gee, I know I'm playing 4 on 5, and the 1 game I tried the other guy for 32 minutes, we won..arguably our best win of the year, on the road...and that guy played a nice part in getting us to the winners circle.  Perhaps I'll try that a few more times hereafter?  Hmm.  But nope.  9 minutes the next game.  Comical.

I have answered your questions hundreds of times.  But you don't like the answers.  So you keep asking and asking and asking...  Saying the same things over and over and over...

I am not going to put you on ignore like TAMU, but I am simply not going to engage in debate with you about this stuff any longer.  It just wears people out. 

[g0lden3agle]

My #donedeal has proven to be a few days early.... How is this thread surviving??

[keefe]

My #donedeal has proven to be a few days early.... How is this thread surviving??

Ganzer? Is that you?

[willie warrior]

I am firmly convinced that TAMU and the Sultan are the same person. They march in Lockstep. Ners is their Avatar.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I am firmly convinced that TAMU and the Sultan are the same person. They march in Lockstep. Ners is their Avatar.

Nah, TAMU would apologize for calling someone and his wife a liar on this board.

[Skatastrophy]

Are the mods on vacation at the same time? This is getting ridiculous.

[DegenerateDish]

So is Todd Mayo no longer at Marquette still?

16 page thread...

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I am firmly convinced that TAMU and the Sultan are the same person. They march in Lockstep. Ners is their Avatar.

Considering that someone else has accused me of being another front for Chicos, I don't know if I could be truly considered in lockstep with Sultan.

[Class71]

Much to do about nothing.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

So is Todd Mayo no longer at Marquette still?

16 page thread...

LOL!  I've been pondering the last 3 days to post, "So is Todd Mayo no longer at Marquette?"