Biggest Marquette "what if"s

[WarriorDad]

Rick Mount misses

Jim Chones doesn't leave

Joe Wolf comes

Tony Barone is hired instead of Kevin O'Neill

Dominic doesn't break his foot

[4everwarriors]

Shaka Smart's old lady sez yeah, hey?

[mug644]

Honestly, not all that much different than what ended up happening.

Beg to differ. I was a sophomore that year, and totally engaged in MU b-ball. That game (marked by Al's first game in Milwaukee as an announcer) could've been a milestone for Rick, and felt like such a missed opportunity (note that MU had never beaten a No. 1 and didn't until beating Villanova in 2017). That game, along with losing to IU in the NIT (documented in another thread recently), and the long losing streak to F***ING ND (we played ND 8 times in my MU years...lost 8 times...F***ING David Rivers) were the moments that showed that 1977 was a peak and getting back there was not going to be easy, that hard times were going to be necessary to go through.

If MU had won that game, the season could've turned around and Rick might have found the success he ultimately found elsewhere. MU's trajectory might have been different.

[mr.MUskie]

What if...there never was a Real Chili?

[4everwarriors]

Coulda sworn Al's furst game wuz vs UNLV wit Al duin' commentary in a room wit a tv away from courtside, hey?

[GGGG]

Beg to differ. I was a sophomore that year, and totally engaged in MU b-ball. That game (marked by Al's first game in Milwaukee as an announcer) could've been a milestone for Rick, and felt like such a missed opportunity (note that MU had never beaten a No. 1 and didn't until beating Villanova in 2017). That game, along with losing to IU in the NIT (documented in another thread recently), and the long losing streak to F***ING ND (we played ND 8 times in my MU years...lost 8 times...F***ING David Rivers) were the moments that showed that 1977 was a peak and getting back there was not going to be easy, that hard times were going to be necessary to go through.

If MU had won that game, the season could've turned around and Rick might have found the success he ultimately found elsewhere. MU's trajectory might have been different.

Sorry but I just don't think that one game meant all that much.  That team wasn't very good.

[MU82]

Shaka Smart's old lady sez yeah, hey?

Yeah, Scoopers woulda loved us going 11-22 in his second season!

[mug644]

Sorry but I just don't think that one game meant all that much.  That team wasn't very good.

Fair enough, and it could be true. But, one game can turn a season, right? And one season could turn a program, right?

I won't hold onto the idea that that game was the biggest "what if" in MU's history, but I do feel that it was a missed opportunity, and a victory might have changed the season and the years after.

Mostly, it sucked to have the win within our reach and to choke it away. And so maybe I just want it to mean more than it did/does.

[Nukem2]

Sorry but I just don't think that one game meant all that much.  That team wasn't very good.

Sorry, but that did make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things.  It felt like it then and it still does.  Those few days and weeks turned MUs world around.  It led to Dukiet.  Ugh.

[GGGG]

Sorry, but that did make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things.  It felt like it then and it still does.  Those few days and weeks turned MUs world around.  It led to Dukiet.  Ugh.

I just don't think beating UNC turns that season around - that was a mediocre Marquette team that played mediocre before the UNC game and played mediocre afterwards.  I believe the only NCAA tournament team they beat all year was DePaul at the MECCA.  (After the UNC game BTW.)  I think this is one of those things that seems more important than it actually was.

I think not landing Joe Wolf was 100 times more impactful a "what if" than that game was.

[dgies9156]

I just don't think beating UNC turns that season around - that was a mediocre Marquette team that played mediocre before the UNC game and played mediocre afterwards.  I believe the only NCAA tournament team they beat all year was DePaul at the MECCA.  (After the UNC game BTW.)  I think this is one of those things that seems more important than it actually was.

I think not landing Joe Wolf was 100 times more impactful a "what if" than that game was.

I agree with Brother Sultan on this one. That game was fun and it reignited the feeling of what once was. But by the time the game was over, you knew what was wasn't what is or will be. Even if we had won, we were not anywhere near good enough to sustain that level for the rest of the season, or into the future.

Hiring Hank Raymonds had 1.0 billion times more impact on the program than Joe Wolf or anything that happened in 1986. By the time this game was played, it was very evident why the Jesuits looked past Hank in 1964 to hire Al. It was also evident that hanging with the last vestiges of the Al era was a mistake. Our talent was middle-of-the-road and our national standing was somewhere near barely on the radar.

By contrast, UNC was number 1!

[LloydsLegs]

Agree with all of this.  Missing Joe Wolf and hiring Hank are two big What Ifs.

Losing the UNC game not a big What if, but nonetheless one of the 7 most disappointing losses in my 4 years (the other 6 being to ND).  And the way we lost was awful.

[Nukem2]

I just don't think beating UNC turns that season around - that was a mediocre Marquette team that played mediocre before the UNC game and played mediocre afterwards.  I believe the only NCAA tournament team they beat all year was DePaul at the MECCA.  (After the UNC game BTW.)  I think this is one of those things that seems more important than it actually was.

I think not landing Joe Wolf was 100 times more impactful a "what if" than that game was.

I think that loss kind of  took the wind out of Rick's sails and helped lead to the Dukiet fiasco.  All I'm  saying.  Of course, there were other factors.  Though,  Joe Wolf signed with UNC 3 years before that.  Rick had a lot of time to get over that.

[real chili 83]

Agree with all of this.  Missing Joe Wolf and hiring Hank are two big What Ifs.

Losing the UNC game not a big What if, but nonetheless one of the 7 most disappointing losses in my 4 years (the other 6 being to ND).  And the way we lost was awful.

Legs, I can help you exorcise that demon as we beat them a lot in my day, including a very special drubbing at the ACC Center.  For that game we sat in tickets from Dick Rosenthal. We were a wee bit obnoxious that game.

The exorcism will require a specially approved exorcism tonic.....Weller should do nicely.

[willie warrior]

Rick Mount misses

Jim Chones doesn't leave

Joe Wolf comes

Tony Barone is hired instead of Kevin O'Neill

Dominic doesn't break his foot

Wojo's powerpoint fizzled out.

[GGGG]

Wojo's powerpoint fizzled out.

That made me chuckle.

[Floorslapper]

Father Pilarz and Larry Williams weren't hired..

[leever]

Al DIDN'T decide to go to the NIT instead of the NCAA

[pbiflyer]

4ever learned how to speak English? Mentally got beyond middl school?

[Dawson Rental]

What if MU had kept football in the 60's?

The doors would be shuttered, once MU went bankrupt.

No.  Did Temple go bankrupt?  Fordham?  The football program was not throwing off that much cash, this is absurd.

Okay, you caught me being facetious, the school wasn't going bankrupt, but the athletic department was definitely headed in that direction.

Remember, it was 1960, and the athletic department was at least a million in the hole, due to football.  On the upside, after dropping football, a decision was made to go big time in basketball as the only realistic option for getting the athletic department out of the hole.

[Newsdreams]

Legs, I can help you exorcise that demon as we beat them a lot in my day, including a very special dubbing at the ACC Center.  For that game we sat in tickets from Dick Rosenthal. We were a wee bit obnoxious that game.

The exorcism will require a specially approved exorcism tonic.....Weller should do nicely.

Yo, yeah brother Chili fun times! ND SUCKS!!

[ZiggysFryBoy]

What if WI ave was closed?

What if the lanche was still there?  Or hags?

If we got shumpert, crean likely doesn't leave for I4.

[Newsdreams]

What if WI ave was closed?

What if the lanche was still there?  Or hags?

If we got shumpert, crean likely doesn't leave for I4.

He would have gone I4 and taken Shumpert with him, hey

[4everwarriors]

What if WI ave was closed?

What if the lanche was still there?  Or hags?

If we got shumpert, crean likely doesn't leave for I4.

Tank goodness four Georgia Tech, hey?

[rocket surgeon]

Jerome Whitehead is the correct answer.

thank you!  i was going thru the list of answers and was ready to pounce-still not over that game-freshman year, drinkin 25 cent tappers at jv grunts...was in a blackout until about 12 years ago

wanted so bad to run down wisco ave to the lake and miss class the next day