Great McGuire stuff

[NCMUFan]

While we are all in a great mood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta08uVdRzck

[Goose]

Always a pleasure to hear Alfie's voice. He was 42y in that video and sure had a lot of confidence. One of a kind.

[StateStreetMission]

While we are all in a great mood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta08uVdRzck

Those were the days my friend. 

https://youtu.be/9gQ4qeAAz2Y

My apologies-  this link was posted in the Greatest Shot thread just a few minutes before I hit sent.

[Lennys Tap]

Great stuff.

[4everwarriors]

Best mouth I've ever heard.

[Goose]

4ever
There is no doubt that Al set the standard. Said stuff, did stuff that the average guy only dreamed about. Decades later he still is the standard of cool for this guy.

[jsglow]

I wonder how many of the young pups around here know that many of today's nationally used basketball expressions come straight from Al.

[rocket surgeon]

i tell my sons they can read all the stuff about al, what he said, what he did, how he recruited, his philosophies on life, etc etc and you cannot overstate them.  at the time, we didn't realize what we had.  maybe we did, but damn i miss that mofo.  then at least we had rick cuz when he spoke, i heard a lot of al.  now what?  now i just open my book-"seashells and balloons" every time i need an "al fix"  it's all right there-

"SEASHELLS and balloons is bare feet and wet grass,'' Al McGuire used to say. ''It means a light breeze. You know, a light breeze that would maybe move a girl's skirt a little. It's sweater weather.  and malts and shakes"

[real chili 83]

Thanks for sharing

[Goose]

rocket

Rick had a lot of Al in him and I really miss a lot. It is impossible to properly describe Al and do it justice. He was bigger than life nearly five decades ago and his mark on the university, basketball and the sport still live on.

[Archies Bat]

I got to MU just after Al left, but I did get a chance to meet him later.

In the mid 80's I was back in Milwaukee for some family event, and was flying out of MKE.  The airplane door was about to close and I thought I lucked out as the only open seat on the plane was next to me.  However at that point Al came on as the last one on and sat next to me (btw the flight attendants were chasing him because he gave them the wrong boarding pass--he pulled 3 or four out of his pocket and told the attendant to take the correct one).

Anyway this was when smoking was still allowed in the back of the plane, and while we were taxiing for takeoff some guy was making a fuss because he did not get a smoking seat.  The guy was loud and would not sit so we could take off, so Al starts yelling "Kick him off!" and soon others joined in.  We did end going back to the gate and they did kick the guy off.
 
After we got going, I spent the whole flight talking to Al.  Actually, he spent the whole flight talking to me. It was very clear why he was successful.  He spent the whole flight asking me questions about my life, my job, my family and the like.  He made me feel like I was the most important person in the world to him.  I can see why he was a good recruiter.  It was an incredible flight.

[DUNKS45]

Great memories, I was lucky enough to talk with him several times and he gave me an autographed picture that is one of my most cherished memorabilia.

[Lennys Tap]

I got to MU just after Al left, but I did get a chance to meet him later.

In the mid 80's I was back in Milwaukee for some family event, and was flying out of MKE.  The airplane door was about to close and I thought I lucked out as the only open seat on the plane was next to me.  However at that point Al came on as the last one on and sat next to me (btw the flight attendants were chasing him because he gave them the wrong boarding pass--he pulled 3 or four out of his pocket and told the attendant to take the correct one).

Anyway this was when smoking was still allowed in the back of the plane, and while we were taxiing for takeoff some guy was making a fuss because he did not get a smoking seat.  The guy was loud and would not sit so we could take off, so Al starts yelling "Kick him off!" and soon others joined in.  We did end going back to the gate and they did kick the guy off.
 
After we got going, I spent the whole flight talking to Al.  Actually, he spent the whole flight talking to me. It was very clear why he was successful.  He spent the whole flight asking me questions about my life, my job, my family and the like.  He made me feel like I was the most important person in the world to him.  I can see why he was a good recruiter.  It was an incredible flight.

Great story, Archie!

[rocket surgeon]

I got to MU just after Al left, but I did get a chance to meet him later.

In the mid 80's I was back in Milwaukee for some family event, and was flying out of MKE.  The airplane door was about to close and I thought I lucked out as the only open seat on the plane was next to me.  However at that point Al came on as the last one on and sat next to me (btw the flight attendants were chasing him because he gave them the wrong boarding pass--he pulled 3 or four out of his pocket and told the attendant to take the correct one).

Anyway this was when smoking was still allowed in the back of the plane, and while we were taxiing for takeoff some guy was making a fuss because he did not get a smoking seat.  The guy was loud and would not sit so we could take off, so Al starts yelling "Kick him off!" and soon others joined in.  We did end going back to the gate and they did kick the guy off.
 
After we got going, I spent the whole flight talking to Al.  Actually, he spent the whole flight talking to me. It was very clear why he was successful.  He spent the whole flight asking me questions about my life, my job, my family and the like.  He made me feel like I was the most important person in the world to him.  I can see why he was a good recruiter.  It was an incredible flight.

what a memory archie!! 

[Class71]

I wonder how many of the young pups around here know that many of today's nationally used basketball expressions come straight from Al.

You mean like "white knuckler" and so many others. Al was a true New Yorker that gave it to you straight from the heart with humor. I think his honesty, humor and objectivity made him so likable.

[jsglow]

You mean like "white knuckler" and so many others. Al was a true New Yorker that gave it to you straight from the heart with humor. I think his honesty, humor and objectivity made him so likable.

Even the term 'cupcake' comes from Al.

[Goose]

jsglow

MU was the original Midnight Madness, only it was a game against the USSR. Add in guys going hardship, the original two or three and done. Al and that era of MU changed the game in many ways.

[Jockey]

People forget a lot of things about the McGuire era.

Our offense was as slow, if not slower than UW's is now.

Most years we were a six or seven man team. We seldom had quality depth because of Al's recruiting style.

The offense did not always feature our best player. Al's game was to feature his senior star above all others.

As an independent, we played way more cupcakes than we do now.

Guys didn't seem to improve as much year to year as they do now because his system was so rigid.

Despite these things, I absolutely enjoyed the McGuire era - the golden age of Warrior basketball.

[Goose]

Jockey

All spot on. Would add, even though some of us old guys like to talk about the greatness of that era, many times Al's teams played down to their competition. Plenty of games that a 4-6 minute stretch of great ball and remainder looked pretty ugly. During that stretch, those teams played some of the greatest full court pressure D I have ever seen in my life.

[brewcity77]

Really fun to listen to. Wish I'd been around during that time. I think the memory of Al is a big part of why so many here passionately loved Buzz. He was a Southern version of that rough and tumble street scrapper. Thanks for sharing.

[jsglow]

Really fun to listen to. Wish I'd been around during that time. I think the memory of Al is a big part of why so many here passionately loved Buzz. He was a Southern version of that rough and tumble street scrapper. Thanks for sharing.

There is a humongous difference brew.  With Al, that was the real deal.  Buzz, not so much.

[brewcity77]

There is a humongous difference brew.  With Al, that was the real deal.  Buzz, not so much.

In retrospect, no, but in the moment, I think most Marquette fans were believers, just like most Va Tech fans seem to be now.

[jsglow]

In retrospect, no, but in the moment, I think most Marquette fans were believers, just like most Va Tech fans seem to be now.

I get it.  I had thought it mostly genuine too, at the time.

[4everwarriors]

Jockey

All spot on. Would add, even though some of us old guys like to talk about the greatness of that era, many times Al's teams played down to their competition. Plenty of games that a 4-6 minute stretch of great ball and remainder looked pretty ugly. During that stretch, those teams played some of the greatest full court pressure D I have ever seen in my life.

Al said often that he wanted his teams to work hard while playing defense, and rest while playing offense.

[dgies9156]

Jockey

All spot on. Would add, even though some of us old guys like to talk about the greatness of that era, many times Al's teams played down to their competition. Plenty of games that a 4-6 minute stretch of great ball and remainder looked pretty ugly. During that stretch, those teams played some of the greatest full court pressure D I have ever seen in my life.

Amen Brother Goose.

We had one game against the University of Tennessee where it was 12-0 before Tennessee got the ball across the mid-court line. Given the speed at which we played basketball in those days, that's almost half of a half.

We played a deliberate offense because there was no shot clock and no three-point line. We slowed our opponents down. And, yes, we did at times play down to our opponents, as was evident in 1976-1977, when we lost seven games on a schedule nothing like what we had today.