Beware the Ides of April 15...a Day that will live in Infamy.

[NorthernDancerColt]

I created this new topic to query how the shocking news affected all of our days as fans of this wonderful program we all love. Did your day get better as it went on? Did you keep perspective and turn loving, appreciative eyes towards friends and family? Did you freak and drink alone for a few hours? Not judging, because if it weren't for the rational analysis of a couple of my NCAA hoops-playing alumni friends...I would probably be wagering right now at 3am on Australian ponies on my TwinSpires account.

I couldn't get a response from a couple friends I called, so at first I was stranded on Lonely Island, wondering what to make of it all. Within about 3 or 4 hours time, I was heartened by the reactions of a couple aforementioned friends with serious expertise on what it takes to win in March. In a nutshell, it involved a realization that our defense was about to improve, and our offense will be sped up considerably.

But In keeping with the initial frightened alienation of being in a new, strange reality, stranded for now on an Island, before processing it all into a hopeful new reality...


Give us your tired, your poor, huddled masses of reactions, GIFs, thoughts, feelings, and how you got through this troubling day.

Our country recovered from a surprise attack on December 7, 1941.
Will the events of April 15, 2019 forge a bond among teammates not seen here since the days of Al?
Will we turn inward, point fingers, and be pitted against one another...
Will fierce young Warriors emerge and lead us forward to greatness?

How are you guys and gals feeling this morning huddled in the online fallout shelter?
A new day has dawned. I think we will be just fine.

[tower912]

Tornadoes , blizzards, fires, calamities happen all of the time.  Time to clean up and  get to work.

[MU82]

I was just getting ready to go to the driving range -- haven't picked up my clubs yet in 2019 so I thought I should go to the range before my round later this week. I went online to make sure the range was open, because it's been wet as hell here. And I ended up getting blown away by Hauseroshima.

Within minutes, I started getting texts from fellow alums, family and friends. Never made it to the range.

But it's now the next day, the sun is shining brightly and it's gonna be a gorgeous morning and afternoon. I'll head to the range today, and while I do that and run some errands, I won't think a second about the Hausers or Wojo or Markus or MU hoops.

In other parts of the world, people are dying, cathedrals are burning, etc. This is only basketball, thank goodness. It matters, we love it, but it's still only basketball.

Time for breakfast!

[mu_hilltopper]

Hmm .. Is April 15, 2019 Marquette's December 7th, 1941 or Marquette's September 11, 2001?

Or Marquette's July 23, 1964.   (The date Arby's was founded.)

[Avenue Commons]

We had a player leave. That happens all the time. The unusual thing here is the brother left too. But it's ultimately only an outlier situation because of two players being related.

It sucks. But it's over. Players transfer, get hurt, get suspended, leave for NBA etc all the time.

Next man up.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

We had a player leave. That happens all the time. The unusual thing here is the brother left too. But it's ultimately only an outlier situation because of two players being related.

It sucks. But it's over. Players transfer, get hurt, get suspended, leave for NBA etc all the time.

Next man up.

I agree with the last piece.  You can't spin this into being something normal.  A 3-year starter - who is a likely starter in year 4 - decides to sit 1 to play 1.  We will see where he lands, but if it is to another high major that is really odd....you cant come up with a scenario that makes it 'just another transfer'.  I agree that the brother piece is a side-show to this.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

It feels like we have one of these crushing days once every couple years: I4, James breaking his foot, Vander jumping early, Buzz bolting, and now this. It is just part of being a MU fan I guess. The program will be moving in a different direction and we won't be as good next season, but we'll recover quicker than most expect. Never stop recruiting.

[Big Papi]

We had a player leave. That happens all the time. The unusual thing here is the brother left too. But it's ultimately only an outlier situation because of two players being related.

It sucks. But it's over. Players transfer, get hurt, get suspended, leave for NBA etc all the time.

Next man up.

The concerning part here is that Sam is leaving his senior to sit out a year to play a year elsewhere.

That Joey is leaving after his freshmen year is less concerning although he did get a ton of playing time.

[JakeBarnes]

The concerning part here is that Sam is leaving his senior to sit out a year to play a year elsewhere.

That Joey is leaving after his freshmen year is less concerning although he did get a ton of playing time.

Or it is because they are brothers.

[The Sultan]

A day later, here are my thoughts:

1. The program is a mess.  Wojo doesn't seem to know how to manage the personalities on the team and its causing chaos. I think unless he really meets the expectations of the program prior to yesterday, he's going to be gone after next year.  He may actually be gone sooner if it gets worse.

2. The idea that we are going to be fine without the Hausers just boggles my mind.  Did you see Bailey and Cain play last year?  Sure they are more athletic and Bailey is a better defender than Joey, but they have very little offensive game.  We have a team built around the outside shot whose second best shooter is Sacar Anim.  That's a problem.

3. The "Ides of April 15" is a redundancy.  Ides means middle of the month, so "Ides of April" is sufficient. 

[jsglow]

I think one just sort of moves on.  I pretty much paid zero attention to MU basketball from the time I graduated until the run with KO and then not too much again until DWade.  My life was okay.  So as I mentioned to some folks yesterday, we'll see how this all shakes out and I'll adjust my level of interest accordingly.  Sports for me is fun when my teams are good/great.  I lose interest pretty quickly when they're not. 

Heck, even entire sports can go away for me.  I was a huge NASCAR fan my entire life.  But they systematically ruined the sport.  I only watched parts of the Daytona 500 this year out of obligation.  I hope it's good again someday but I'm not waiting around for that.  I'll find it when it is.

[frozena pizza]

Yeah, if you are trying to spin this into something positive you are just fooling yourself.  More athletic?  Let's just grab a bunch of guys off the track team then and roll the balls out.  We are losing arguably the most important player and another major piece from a team projected in the top 5-10 next year.  Our frontcourt is basically non-existent.  It's not an everyday thing, it's not normal, and it's not something you just move on from like it's no big deal.  There is a stench over the program right now.  Maybe we can cover it up and eventually it will fade but right now it's really bad and we need some answers.  We also need some positive news in the transfer or recruiting department ASAP.

If your response to this is that the sun is still coming up, you still have your health, golf and baseball are underway and you can get through the summer without thinking about basketball (which is what my wife told me this morning as I was mumbling to myself and not wanting to get dressed for work), then I'm with you.

[GooooMarquette]

We had a player leave. That happens all the time. The unusual thing here is the brother left too. But it's ultimately only an outlier situation because of two players being related.

It sucks. But it's over. Players transfer, get hurt, get suspended, leave for NBA etc all the time.

Next man up.

Totally this.

We had a potential logjam for minutes between Sam, Joey, Sacar, Koby, Brendan, Greg and Jamal. Sam was a great talent, but the silver lining is that there are more minutes for the latter five to shine. We will still have our all-time leading scorer (and possible two-time BE POY), one of our best ever shot blockers, and lots of talented, long, athletic players. Bring it on....

[StillWarriors]

We had a player leave. That happens all the time. The unusual thing here is the brother left too. But it's ultimately only an outlier situation because of two players being related.

It sucks. But it's over. Players transfer, get hurt, get suspended, leave for NBA etc all the time.

Next man up.

Even in this transfer heavy era, there is nothing usual about two starters leaving a projected top 5-10 team, and certainly not one who was second team all-conference and possibly first team next year. The program will survive, of course, and move on, but I don't see how anyone can put a positive spin on this situation or brush it off as a sign of the times. 

[The Sultan]

Yeah, if you are trying to spin this into something positive you are just fooling yourself.  More athletic?  Let's just grab a bunch of guys off the track team then and roll the balls out.  We are losing arguably the most important player and another major piece from a team projected in the top 5-10 next year.  Our frontcourt is basically non-existent.  It's not an everyday thing, it's not normal, and it's not something you just move on from like it's no big deal.  There is a stench over the program right now. 

Yep. 

[MUBurrow]

Even in this transfer heavy era, there is nothing usual about two starters leaving a projected top 5-10 team, and certainly not one who was second team all-conference and possibly first team next year. The program will survive, of course, and move on, but I don't see how anyone can put a positive spin on this situation or brush it off as a sign of the times.

I'm in this camp as well.

What's weirdest to me is the dissonance on this board between "Oh Joey stinks anyway" and "What's Sam thinking, we were going to be a top 10 team next year." Maybe the advanced stats guys can provide some color, but I'd bet that Joey's projected growth was the lynchpin to most projections of how good we'd be next year. Clearly the Hausers were pessimistic about Joey making that jump at MU due to some combination of Markus's role and the coaching staff.

[war1980rior]

Totally this.

We had a potential logjam for minutes between Sam, Joey, Sacar, Koby, Brendan, Greg and Jamal. Sam was a great talent, but the silver lining is that there are more minutes for the latter five to shine. We will still have our all-time leading scorer (and possible two-time BE POY), one of our best ever shot blockers, and lots of talented, long, athletic players. Bring it on....

I think I'm in this boat.  Next man up!  I was concerned that we might have a little too many guys who want to be number one, so with the talk of Markus going pro, I thought we'd be stronger.  Losing Sam hurts, and tough to replace.  It was his floor leadership mostly.  Joey being a second going really hurts, but overall, our guys remaining will have to step up. 

Younger guys (freshmen in particular) never look polished, take lousy shots, drive into traffic, etc.  I remember Bernard Toone would drive Al crazy, but he got it together and still played for the 76ers several years later.  I think Bailey will be a lot more polished this year.  Remember, he was away from the game for quite a while.  I've always liked Cain, but now with some more time on the court, should be a lot better.  The best thing about the coming year is a true point guard on the floor.  That really frees Markus to be the dangerous kind of Markus.

In addition, Greg will be a very solid contributor, and while we don't know the true answer here, if Ike is healthy, we'll be OK.  Tough to take the Beast, but we'll be OK.  Add a solid grad transfer, or if the new guy decides to float in a year early, we're right back.

Stay positive my friends.  Life is not ending, just doing what it does best.  It will throw curve balls till the day you die.  Learn to love them.

[TheREALwrk]

The ides of April 15th is redundant.

[Dr. Blackheart]

This slide started February 27th.

[Avenue Commons]

Even in this transfer heavy era, there is nothing usual about two starters leaving a projected top 5-10 team, and certainly not one who was second team all-conference and possibly first team next year. The program will survive, of course, and move on, but I don't see how anyone can put a positive spin on this situation or brush it off as a sign of the times.

Not saying losing two players is usual. This is not positive and not putting any spin on it. Saying losing one player happens all the time. The fact the Hausers are brothers and both left makes it most unusual. Say that only Player 1 or Player 2 left, it would be negative but not catastrophic like this. It's the fact that they are related and left as a "package" that makes the situation most unusual. If only one player left that would not be unusual, but one took the other with him.

Just framing the situation as totally unusual and an outlier given there are not only two brothers involved but two blue chip brothers. It's also imprecise to say "two starters left" when, even though true, it diminishes the fact that the Hausers left as a "package." It's not like Joey and say Theo left independent of one another. Marquette lost a family who happened to have two players on the team instead of one. It's not two players leaving independent of one another.

[Loose Cannon]

Yeah, if you are trying to spin this into something positive you are just fooling yourself.  More athletic?  Let's just grab a bunch of guys off the track team then and roll the balls out.  We are losing arguably the most important player and another major piece from a team projected in the top 5-10 next year.  Our frontcourt is basically non-existent.  It's not an everyday thing, it's not normal, and it's not something you just move on from like it's no big deal.  There is a stench over the program right now.  Maybe we can cover it up and eventually it will fade but right now it's really bad and we need some answers.  We also need some positive news in the transfer or recruiting department ASAP.

If your response to this is that the sun is still coming up, you still have your health, golf and baseball are underway and you can get through the summer without thinking about basketball (which is what my wife told me this morning as I was mumbling to myself and not wanting to get dressed for work), then I'm with you.

You may be right and you certainly have strong feeling about the situation.  But do me a favor, on a paper, dated it and note what our record will be at seasons end.  Don't share it, but at seasons end  take a peek.  Thanks

[NavinRJohnson]

We have a team built around the outside shot whose second best shooter is Sacar Anim.  That's a problem.

Correction, we HAD a team built around the outside shot. We will now have a team built much more around defense, transition, and attacking the basket. Same would've been true if the Hausers had stayed, which, likely provides some pretty good insight into why they chose to leave.

[wildbillsb]

I think I'm in this boat.  Next man up!  I was concerned that we might have a little too many guys who want to be number one, so with the talk of Markus going pro, I thought we'd be stronger.  Losing Sam hurts, and tough to replace.  It was his floor leadership mostly.  Joey being a second going really hurts, but overall, our guys remaining will have to step up. 

Younger guys (freshmen in particular) never look polished, take lousy shots, drive into traffic, etc.  I remember Bernard Toone would drive Al crazy, but he got it together and still played for the 76ers several years later.  I think Bailey will be a lot more polished this year.  Remember, he was away from the game for quite a while.  I've always liked Cain, but now with some more time on the court, should be a lot better.  The best thing about the coming year is a true point guard on the floor.  That really frees Markus to be the dangerous kind of Markus.

In addition, Greg will be a very solid contributor, and while we don't know the true answer here, if Ike is healthy, we'll be OK.  Tough to take the Beast, but we'll be OK.  Add a solid grad transfer, or if the new guy decides to float in a year early, we're right back.

Stay positive my friends.  Life is not ending, just doing what it does best.  It will throw curve balls till the day you die.  Learn to love them.

I love the sentiments you've calmly, positively provided.  +100!

[MUfan12]

This slide started February 27th.

Sho 'nuff.

[The Sultan]

Correction, we HAD a team built around the outside shot. We will now have a team built much more around defense, transition, and attacking the basket. Same would've been true if the Hausers had stayed, which, likely provides some pretty good insight into why they chose to leave.

Really?  You think the Hausers were concerned that they may have lost time to Jamal Cain and Brendan Bailey and that's what caused them to transfer???