Virginia Tech Fans

[GOO]

I agree. He not only gets restless, but also power hungry, which leads to conflicts with the higher-ups.

He needs an AD and President that will massage his ego, not be critical and let him do his thing.  Would anyone who has worked with him not say that he is difficult and thin skinned.  I wonder if he even sees himself that way.

[WarriorDad]

Wojo said today he is happy at Marquette, aware of the coaching carousel conversations. 

[BM1090]

NM

[Bocephys]

Wojo said today he is happy at Marquette, aware of the coaching carousel conversations.

That's exactly what someone negotiating a new job would say...

[BM1090]

Full quote:

I love where I am. I suppose it's a good thing when your phone is ringing and your name is being mentioned on the coaching carousel, but I'm happy with @MarquetteMBB.

[cheebs09]

I wonder if Buzz leaves for TAMU if he stayed at MU instead of VT and no one messed with his "happy." For the record, I don't disagree with some of it, but definitely the administration handled it poorly.

Did he turn down TAMU when he was at MU? Or was Oklahoma and SMU the main ones?

[Bocephys]

I wonder if Buzz leaves for TAMU if he stayed at MU instead of VT and no one messed with his "happy." For the record, I don't disagree with some of it, but definitely the administration handled it poorly.

Did he turn down TAMU when he was at MU? Or was Oklahoma and SMU the main ones?

That's an impossible scenario, as Buzz ensures someone messes with his "happy" every ~6 years.

[Jockey]

I wonder if Buzz leaves for TAMU if he stayed at MU instead of VT and no one messed with his "happy." For the record, I don't disagree with some of it, but definitely the administration handled it poorly.

Did he turn down TAMU when he was at MU? Or was Oklahoma and SMU the main ones?

Isn't saying that no one should mess with his 'happy' the same as saying they should be kissing his a$$ at all times?

[Windyplayer]

Full quote:

I love where I am. I suppose it's a good thing when your phone is ringing and your name is being mentioned on the coaching carousel, but I'm happy with @MarquetteMBB.

I'm so glad this was in the 24th page of this thread.

[Tums Festival]

Of course he's happy here. He makes good coin and his bosses care more about having a clean program than one that wins at the highest level.

Full quote:

I love where I am. I suppose it's a good thing when your phone is ringing and your name is being mentioned on the coaching carousel, but I'm happy with @MarquetteMBB.

[Marcus92]

It's possible Buzz messes with his own happy. He identifies with the underdog -- the one everyone's against, the one that's expected to lose. When he finds success and starts to get comfortable somewhere, that might just make him uncomfortable.

Who is Virginia Tech? Perhaps the ultimate underdog. Think back to when Buzz arrived. In the ACC and the college basketball world, VT is nobody. They have virtually no history of winning, with just 8 NCAA appearances between 1908 and 2014. They're a vagabond -- moving from independent status (1908-1921) to the Southern Conference (1921-1965) back to independent status (1965-1977) to the Metro Conference (1978-1995) to the Atlantic 10 (1995-2000) to the Big East (2000-2004) to the ACC (2004-today).

The Hokies were also coming off a 9-22 season in which they finished dead last in the conference (15th out of 15 teams) and had missed the NCAA tournament for seven straight seasons.

Buzz comes in and leads Virginia Tech to three consecutive NCAA appearances for the first time in school history -- including the first Sweet 16 since 1967. Suddenly, the Hokies aren't such underdogs anymore. They're not expected to lose. Instead, they're expected to challenge Duke, UNC, Virginia and Louisville at the top of the conference.

Buzz might be at his best with a big chip on his shoulder, and start to get restless without one.

[brewcity77]

I hear ya and generally agree ... except who's to say that a blueblood doesn't come calling waaaay before 8-10 years?

Just the math. Roy is 68 & K is 72. Not sure either program would go outside the family, maybe UNC if Roy goes sooner. Cal is 60 & just signed a lifetime deal that will probably keep him at Kentucky at least a decade while Self is 56. I don't think he goes to UCLA or Indiana that are a shell of their former selves.

I suppose maybe Texas or Arizona could come calling, depending on how you rate those programs. Louisville if Mack fails. There just aren't that many jobs of that caliber, and UNC seems like the only one that might both come open & consider Buzz in that timeline.

[GooooMarquette]

Just the math. Roy is 68 & K is 72. Not sure either program would go outside the family, maybe UNC if Roy goes sooner. Cal is 60 & just signed a lifetime deal that will probably keep him at Kentucky at least a decade while Self is 56. I don't think he goes to UCLA or Indiana that are a shell of their former selves.

I suppose maybe Texas or Arizona could come calling, depending on how you rate those programs. Louisville if Mack fails. There just aren't that many jobs of that caliber, and UNC seems like the only one that might both come open & consider Buzz in that timeline.

I know many people assume Duke will hire a former K player, but I'm not so sure anyone has proven they can keep the program where their fans expect it. And their history has been to go outside. K had no prior affiliation with Duke when they hired him away from Army and it worked out pretty well. And remember - this was a very solid program long before K. They had 4 Final Four appearances and 2 Players of the Year before he ever showed up, so they easily could have gone with one of Bill Foster's assistants.

We also need to remember that blue bloods generally haven't had great luck hiring former players. Larry Farmer and Walt Hazzard at UCLA, Matt Doherty at UNC, Mike Davis at IU. The notable exception is ol' Roy, but he had had exceptional success at KU...FAR greater than any former Dukie to this point.

IMHO - it's gonna take at least one Final Four (or at least something pretty damn close) for the Duke faithful to be fully on board with a guy like Dawkins, Collins or Wojo.

[brewcity77]

K has been there 4 decades, so I'm not going to consider how they did business in the 1970s before they were a blue blood (they were a good program today, but not this) to be the way they'll carry on now. If K wants to pick his successor, I imagine he'll get that chance.

UNC definitely had the buyer's remorse with Doherty, I could see them going outside, but unless he dies on the job, I'd guess K will have a lot of say in who follows him.

[GooooMarquette]

K has been there 4 decades, so I'm not going to consider how they did business in the 1970s before they were a blue blood (they were a good program today, but not this) to be the way they'll carry on now. If K wants to pick his successor, I imagine he'll get that chance.

UNC definitely had the buyer's remorse with Doherty, I could see them going outside, but unless he dies on the job, I'd guess K will have a lot of say in who follows him.

Yes, he will have a lot of say. But if he looks down the bench and doesn't think they have the guy, his say might be to look elsewhere. I'm guessing he's pulling really hard for guys like Wojo and Dawkins to succeed...partly because he likes them, and partly because he wants to make sure they're ready to carry the legacy.

If you had to guess which former assistant he'd pick if he retired tomorrow, who do you think it would be? I'd guess Dawkins, but he definitely has some question marks....

[Billy Hoyle]

We also need to remember that blue bloods generally haven't had great luck hiring former players. Larry Farmer and Walt Hazzard at UCLA, Matt Doherty at UNC, Mike Davis at IU. The notable exception is ol' Roy, but he had had exceptional success at KU...FAR greater than any former Dukie to this point.

IMHO - it's gonna take at least one Final Four (or at least something pretty damn close) for the Duke faithful to be fully on board with a guy like Dawkins, Collins or Wojo.

Mike Davis played at Alabama, not Indiana. He got the job at IU based on the timing of What's Up, Knight's firing and being the top assistant at the time and did well enough to keep it.

Farmer actually did well at UCLA, but they were so close to the Wooden era nothing would have been good enough.

[GooooMarquette]

Mike Davis played at Alabama, not Indiana. He got the job at IU based on the timing of What's Up, Knight's firing and being the top assistant at the time and did well enough to keep it.

Farmer actually did well at UCLA, but they were so close to the Wooden era nothing would have been good enough.

My bad on Davis.

As for Farmer being so closely removed from Wooden...the next Duke coach will have the same issue. Kinda like Hank did at MU - 5 tourneys in 6 years, and people were glad when he quit coaching.

Still curious who people think K will tab.

[texaswarrior74]

Just the math. Roy is 68 & K is 72. Not sure either program would go outside the family, maybe UNC if Roy goes sooner. Cal is 60 & just signed a lifetime deal that will probably keep him at Kentucky at least a decade while Self is 60......

I suppose maybe Texas or Arizona could come calling, depending on how you rate those programs. Louisville if Mack fails. There just aren't that many jobs of that caliber, and UNC seems like the only one that might both come open & consider Buzz in that timeline.

Buzz is in no way a fit for dook. I doubt he'd even be on their short list.

I don't see Buzz ever at UNC, they will stay in the family and again is not a fit there. If Stackhouse gets the Vandy gig he would be heir apparent or possibly even Wes Miller if he gets a new bigger gig after his success at UNCG.

I can see Buzz at Kansas unless Self gets caught up in the current FBI/NCAA investigation and is released/replaced in the next year or two and his successor does well enough to stay around for a good while.

Going from TAMU to Texas would be a very slippery slope in this state and given TAMU's penchant for going big or not going at all, he could be a king there if he is successful and decides to stick around.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Isn't saying that no one should mess with his 'happy' the same as saying they should be kissing his a$$ at all times?

Or flushing his toilet.

[GooooMarquette]

Or And flushing his toilet.

FIFY

[Silent Verbal]

Full quote:

I love where I am. I suppose it's a good thing when your phone is ringing and your name is being mentioned on the coaching carousel, but I'm happy with @MarquetteMBB.

First, where was this?

Second, why wouldn't he be happy at Marquette?  He makes great money, gets zero heat from the media, and is under no pressure from the administration to do anything more than run a clean program and produce the fair to middling results we've seen.  He was probably laughing at Dixon for taking UCLA.

[avid1010]

First, where was this?

Second, why wouldn't he be happy at Marquette?  He makes great money, gets zero heat from the media, and is under no pressure from the administration to do anything more than run a clean program and produce the fair to middling results we've seen.  He was probably laughing at Dixon for taking UCLA.

Yeah...wojo strikes me as the kind of guy that looks for a low accountability job so he can coast through life.  I question if he is our long term solution as much as the next...but acting like he needs accountability or to feel pressure from admin is just ignorant.  Im glad he likes MU...wish he would have won one more BEAST game this year...im proud of how he and the players rep MU off the court...hope we make another step forward next year. 

[NorthernDancerColt]

Of course he's happy here. He makes good coin and his bosses care more about having a clean program than one that wins at the highest level.

Bad logic in your post. It implies he too, and not just his bosses, care less about winning at the highest level than staying out of trouble and having good academics...

    MU
Basketball....

Be A+ and Safe
Everyday.

Slogans are just that. But they do help set goals and the culture. Pretty sure Wojo intended his slogan to encompass academics, athletics, and life in general. Oh wait..."as students, as athletes, as people."

[Billy Hoyle]

My bad on Davis.

As for Farmer being so closely removed from Wooden...the next Duke coach will have the same issue. Kinda like Hank did at MU - 5 tourneys in 6 years, and people were glad when he quit coaching.

Still curious who people think K will tab.

You never want to be the guy replacing The Guy. There are a few schools that are going to have to deal with this soon: Duke, UNC, Michigan State, Syracuse (though they probably hire Mike Hopkins).

[NorthernDancerColt]

You never want to be the guy replacing The Guy. There are a few schools that are going to have to deal with this soon: Duke, UNC, Michigan State, Syracuse (though they probably hire Mike Hopkins).

I agree. If K really has the softest spot in his heart for Wojo among all his assistants, as has been said..........he's already advised him to be the guy after The Guy.