What is really relevant

[manny31]

Two things about this. 
1.  Hell yes he can tell Markus to pass the ball.  What does not having another PG have to do with it?
2.  Whose fault is it that we didn't have another PG?  Hint:  It's not Markus or the Hausers.

Wojo not leading. He let strategy(maybe tactics) trump culture. He was willing to let Markus do what he wanted. Wojo was ok with that as long as they won. They won that way for a while but what was the cost? I’m still in Wojo’s camp for now, partly because we can’t get rid of him now. He has to win with what he has next year or ........
Just my opinion, I wish good things for Joey and Sam and great things for MU hoops!

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

This original post by jon/keefe is absolutely terrible and so wrong on so many levels that i am going to leave it at that.

In specific regard to the Hausers leaving; we were 24-3? At one point.  If we finish the season well and the Hausers leave they are selfish hairy wet cats.  If they were not going to leave at 24-3 and left because of a 6 game swoon that they were hugely to blame for then they are huge fin hairy wet cats.

To put  it in jons terms... everyone wants to blame the soldiers that stayed in the foxhole and battled, yet jon and some want to support the two that wanted to frag the platoon leader. 

[withoutbias]

heres the thing.  we have a poster who said his friend emailed him after having lunch with the hauser parents the day markus announced he was coming back.  he relayed much of what has been stated as "fact" by those "in the know" about a letter, etc.  the first thing he said is that the hauser parents said they were REALLY hoping markus was gone.  WHAT?!  not some kid who is constantly getting into trouble, suspended, being a bad influence on his younger teammates, getting into fights on the court, not taking his academics seriously.  just an all american and all time great scorer at marquette who was being used a lot and was getting a lot of media attention.  huge red flag to me.  theyre not selfish and just want to win but they REALLY want their best player leaving for the nba.  sheesh.  then says that an instagram post was the last straw for the hausers.  talk about soft?  an instagram post?  and then goes on to claim that wojo and their trust in his ability to coach the team was the problem and it wasnt about markus.  so wojo wouldve magically found some awesome coaching ability had markus left?  if those two had lost their faith in wojo as a coach and it wasnt about markus, what difference does it make if markus is back at marquette or not, so much so that you REALLY hoped he was gone?

what a mess.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

The parents wanted the allamerican to leave so their children could be the stars. I dont give a crap if hes an all american or the walkon if another player wants him gone thats is pathetic and should be refused by the coach.  A player doesnt make roster decisions, playing time etc.  self entitled on the parents or players part.  Gtf out of the orogram shoukd have been wojos reaction, thats what AL would have said, he would have lost it!! All the whining n crying on the court by the Hausers is now seen in a new light.

I dont believe the letter or the lunch but any direction u turn the Hausers look horrible.  And those that want to blame Wojo unequivocally look stupid.

[Pakuni]

Looks like Scoop has found its very own magic loogie film.

[wojoswarrior]

Finally, after all the crazy crap that has been posted about the Hauser's departure, two posts that make absolute sense!

[Lennys Tap]

or that's his true nature...thanking God and his teammates.

Maybe. It's just looked/sounded forced and robotic to me.

[Golden Avalanche]

Maybe. It's just looked/sounded forced and robotic to me.

This will not be received well on a Marquette board on Good Friday but every athlete in any sport thanking God looks forced and robotic.

[Jon]

Someone's head is planted in the sand.

Or firmly up his ass

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Frag the platoonn leader, right jon?

[lurch91]

Maybe. It's just looked/sounded forced and robotic to me.

Or maybe it's because he says it 30-40 times week when someone tells him what a great player he is.  I bet it's the first thing he says next year too in every interview.  I bet that some will think it's rehearsed and robotic still.....

[MU82]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTycOhg2nZo


That was strange.  First Wojo interrupts Sacar as he is answering his question, almost to get him to stop.  Then Sacar leaves with a comment by Wojo that at first glance looks sarcastic, but in retrospect obviously not.

Yeah you just don't do that if you're Sacar unless you are really pissed.  It was the only time he got to answer a question and his coach cuts him off.

Definitely was weird.

Wojo IMHO didn't really "cut off" Sacar, who seemed done answering the question to me. Did Sacar take what Wojo said -- we play at another level when he's driving and making good decisions -- as criticism? Did he think Wojo was implying that he usually is passive and/or doesn't make good decisions? Was he generally po'ed at Wojo and stormed off? Or did he merely have to go for some reason?

Markus did sound like a robot, and was that way for much of the season. Some guys don't do the postgame pressers great; he's been much better in 1-on-1 interviews I've seen. In some ways, it's a shame that he felt that he always had to answer every question with praise for his teammates; he felt that if he actually answered questions about himself, he'd be nailed for sounding selfish.

Wojo was fine at this presser. Even praised Sam and Joey's defense!

It certainly is possible that stuff already was cooking before this.

I guess we now have to look back at every little thing that happened this season in the context of how it would affect or how it was affected by the unrest at the end.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I watched this expecting some great clarity on the Wojo vs. the team debate....I got nothing. I didn't think Wojo said anything bad. I don't think Sacar said anything bad. Maybe Sacar got up in a huff because of some interpreted slight. Maybe he had to take a duece. Anyone in the room who could actually see Sacar?

[jesmu84]

If Al really, truly felt he was correct in instituting a team strategy/style/lineup and had an all American leading that team.... And 2 players came to Al and said "him and this current team strategy/style or us".. what do you honestly think Al would have said to them?

[MU82]

If Al really, truly felt he was correct in instituting a team strategy/style/lineup and had an all American leading that team.... And 2 players came to Al and said "him and this current team strategy/style or us".. what do you honestly think Al would have said to them?

That's a good one. When asked if Allie would start, didn't Al say something like, "Of course! He's my son!" When asked why Allie was playing over the more talented George Frazier, didn't Al say something like, "Because I'm sleeping with Allie's mother"?

Preferential treatment has gone on as long as sports have existed.

Phil Jackson wrote an entire chapter on him giving Michael preferential treatment. The Bulls had curfew, but Michael was out gambling until 4 a.m.

I saw Tim Hardaway go 0-for-17 in a game. Yep ... he was 0-for-16 ... and Nellie still gave him the green light to shoot a 17th time.

In the NBA the last 5 years (at least) stars have gotten to sit out entire games for "rest." Screw the fan who paid $200 for his ticket, and screw the "integrity" of the game. But it was always stars who were rested, not the role players.

Back in the NFL's more raucous days, coaches would look the other way and let their stars with hangovers skip practice or sleepwalk through practice. Hell, even today, stars are allowed to keep playing even if they are domestic abusers ... at least until the tape surfaces.

When my daughter was in high school, the team's two best players (who happened to be cousins) decided they didn't like the system the coach used. So they quit the team. After a terrible start to the season, they reconsidered, and the coach let them back on. The coach was then fired after the season and (IMHO) a worse coach was hired.

Etc, etc, etc. If any of us really thinks about it, we probably can come up with a dozen examples of preferential treatment for stars.

As I told my middle-school team, "I'll always treat everybody fairly, but that doesn't mean I will treat you equally."

And again, as I have said repeatedly, I think Wojo effed up royally here. But let's not act like the star getting preferential treatment is something new.

[Mutaman]

He can't tell a guy like Marcus Howard to pass the ball man...

Why not?

[Mutaman]

If Al really, truly felt he was correct in instituting a team strategy/style/lineup and had an all American leading that team.... And 2 players came to Al and said "him and this current team strategy/style or us".. what do you honestly think Al would have said to them?

Al recruited an all american in Meminger and told him they would run uptempo. When he got here, Al convinced Dean to run a control the tempo, defensive first style. seems simple enough to me-- they both wanted to win.

[Lennys Tap]

That's a good one. When asked if Allie would start, didn't Al say something like, "Of course! He's my son!" When asked why Allie was playing over the more talented George Frazier, didn't Al say something like, "Because I'm sleeping with Allie's mother"?

I don't know if Sugar Frazier was more talented than Allie (close call) but he wasn't as good a basketball player. The story (told by Al on the banquet circuit) is that George approached Al and asked why Allie was starting ahead of him. "I'm just as good as Allie", Sugar asserted. Jokingly Al replied, "That's my son, Sugar - if you're gonna beat him out it's gotta be a KO. He wins all ties!"

[Lennys Tap]

If Al really, truly felt he was correct in instituting a team strategy/style/lineup and had an all American leading that team.... And 2 players came to Al and said "him and this current team strategy/style or us".. what do you honestly think Al would have said to them?

Al had a lot of players superior to Markus Howard - I'm sure none of them came close to the 40% usage Markus had. If they even tried to get close to that number they wouldn't have been playing.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

U guys are missing the point.  Al always had his star treatment.  If twonplayers cane in and told Al that they did not like the way Al was treating them in deference to his star, AL would have told them to get the hell out of his office.  That he made the calls

[jesmu84]

Al recruited an all american in Meminger and told him they would run uptempo. When he got here, Al convinced Dean to run a control the tempo, defensive first style. seems simple enough to me-- they both wanted to win.

Not an answer.

[jesmu84]

Al had a lot of players superior to Markus Howard - I'm sure none of them came close to the 40% usage Markus had. If they even tried to get close to that number they wouldn't have been playing.

That's not an answer

[jesmu84]

As an extension of my question post...

I do think Wojo is to (mostly) blame here. He's the coach/CEO/adult in the room. It never should have come down to an ultimatum (if the rumors are true).

But, what he did when the ultimatum was made (apparently, it's Markus or us), was the correct decision. AL would have done the same thing, if all the descriptions of him are accurate (I wasn't alive when he was coaching)

[Lennys Tap]

That's not an answer

You asked a dumb, unfair question. Al would never have instituted such a system. He would have agreed with anyone who said that kind of system was counter productive and would cause unrest among the players.

[Goose]

Al had a very defined system and all players knew their roles. Now, there obviously were hiccups with guys from time to time, but it was very clear system.
Asking what Al would have done is a silly question. Different time, different level coach and very different talent pool within the program. Al had stars playing roles and they bought into it. It sadly appears that Wojo has struggled getting the buy in from his team.