Warrior Scoop

[bilsu]

Someone posted in another thread "Imagine if MUscoop was around when McGuire was coach?"

I decided to list a topic thread for Al in chroniclogical order.

1. Al claiming that he would not of signed George Thompson, if he knew George had those big thighs. Al thought basketball players should have lean muscles.
2. Al not knowing who Julius Erving was before we played UMass in NIT.
3. Al making George Thompson bring the ball up against Purdue, because he did not want to trust a sophomore to handle the ball on the last possession. Result was an overtime loss preventing MU from making its first final four. Just in case you are to young to know the sophomore that Al did not want to trust was Dean Meminger.
4. MU up 2 at Notre Dame with 4 seconds to go. Turning the ball over on the inbounds play. Result was an overtime loss.
5. Al turning down NCAA bid to go to NIT. Number 3 is what caused us to get sent out of our region, which Al did not like so he turned down the bid. NCAA passed a rule after that, which prevented any other school from doing this.
6. Al starting his son over George Frazier
7. Al not adjusting to Ohio States game plan, which was to place a defender right behind Meminger on inbounds play to take a charge when Meminger turned to race the ball upcourt. Meminger got three charges called on him and it was the only game he ever fouled out of. After that game NCAA passed a rule that you had to give a player enough room to turn and dribble with the ball.
8. After Meminger fouls out MU is still up three on Ohio St. with the ball with a over two minutes to go. There was no shot clock or three point shot. Chones takes 5 foot jump turnaround shot, misses and Ohio St. scores. Next play Chones takes same shot, misses and Ohio St scores and wins the game and ends our undefeated season.
9. Al encourages Chones to take the money. MU just beat Jacksonville (Arits Gillmore) to go 22-0. Chones leaving ended MU's NCAA title chances. MU won next game to get to 23-0 and finished 24-5.
10. Maybe out of order. NCAA passing uniform rule, because MU's bumble uniforms were to distracting to other team's players.
11.Al getting two technicals in NCAA championship game against NC. state.
12. I am not sure on this one, but I think Al got a technical in NCAA tournament loss to undefeated Indiana team. MU finished 27-2. This team I believe was Al's best team.
13. Starting Bill Neary over Bernard Toone. Team was predicted to be number 2 in country and barely made NCAA tournament before actually winning it all.
14. Al, still in his 40's, deciding to retire.

You can pick any topic to discuss or add one that you think I missed.

[bilsu]

Two more topics
1. Al dancing on the scorers table after Lucas beat UW with a last second shot. Resulted in famous photo.

2. Al taking team down to Lake Michigan to get a photo of Pat Smith throwing the ball into Lake Michigan.

[Herman Cain]

17. Al fighting with Bernard Toone at halftime of then Cincinnati NCAA tournament game 1977

[TedBaxter]

From Sports Illustrated Story:

With Indiana leading 51-41 early in the second half, McGuire drew a technical for kicking the scorer's table, and then, with about 25 seconds left and the Hoosiers ahead only 57-54, he leaped from the bench to protest the officiating after a fifth foul was called on guard Earl Tatum and got a second T. Abernethy made both freebies and Wilkerson converted two more to make the 65-56 win appear much more one-sided than it was. Afterward McGuire, who also had been assessed two technicals in the 1974 NCAA championship game against North Carolina State, pledged not to return to the tournament because "I personally feel I'm affecting my club." The next year, though, he did come back--and won his only NCAA title before promptly retiring.

[GooooMarquette]

Marquette losing its last three home games in 76-77 to go to 15-6 before a five-game road swing to end the regular season. I'm sure there would have been plenty of "happy he is retiring" threads....

[tower912]

Unacceptable.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

19. ChicosBailsBonds rails against MU firing Ed Hickey because there weren't any better coaches to hire.   

20. ChicosBailBonds refuses endorse Al until he achieved 5 full years on the job.

[tower912]

Nononono.  Chico's doesn't celebrate Al because he is too squirmy.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Nononono.  Chico's doesn't celebrate Al because he is too squirmy.

#othershoeabouttodrop

[Small Orange Soda]

Nononono.  Chico's doesn't celebrate Al because he is too squirmy.

Nah, depends on what he thought of Hickey.  If he liked Hickey, then Al was squirmy from day one.  If he didn't...well, read WarriorDad's recent excuses.

[Uncle Rico]

I love this whole thread.  Well done by all involved 😀

[Viper]

I'll just say this. I'm not a huge autograph guy...but I got AL and Butch Lee to sign the SI cover beating UNC in '77. Maybe my most treasured memorabilia. Must have been awesome to be a hoops fan and student at Marquette in the '70's. I'm an '80's guy. Not so good.

[dgies9156]

Must have been awesome to be a hoops fan and student at Marquette in the %u201870%u2019s.

It was.

Our team embodied the attitude of the university. Quirky. Non-conventional. Arrogant and obnoxious.

21) Al sat quietly while his players became engaged in a barroom brawl during a game versus South Carolina in Columbia.
22) Al couldn't keep Larry McNeill and Maurice Lucas.
23) Al spent to much of his time thumbing his nose at and otherwise antagonizing Adolph Rupp.
24) Al can't win the big ones!

[Galway Eagle]

8-18
14-12
18-8 (Regular season)

First three seasons. Prior to the NIT title run I believe there would've been some livid individuals if we had any basketball pride yet with our 5 postseason appearances in 12yrs.

[GOO]

Who is this guy named Al they hired, some unknown who can't win at a tiny college and we hire him.  He was going to get fired at his last job and we hired him away.  I guess the administration has given up on basketball or doesn't know what they are doing.  Why didn't they take a run at a guy named Wooden out west? There are a lot of top guys we could go after and we take this loser after ran, who can't win at some low level school.  I'm done with MU Basketball and scoop.  See ya. 

[warriorjoe]

Can you imagine how the twitter sphere would have exploded with news of Dave Delsman punching Al.

Joanie Bohman, who was a cheerleader at MU at that time, noted that Hank Raymonds warned everyone about what took place at that practice. I'm sure that news of the Delsman-McGuire set-to had leaked in dribs and drabs around campus.

When Jimmy Breslin asked Al about it at the Final Four, that is when the rest of the nation learned about the incident.

Social media would have had a field day with what Delsman did years ago.

Go Warriors!

[Lennys Tap]

8-18
14-12
18-8 (Regular season)

First three seasons. Prior to the NIT title run I believe there would've been some livid individuals if we had any basketball pride yet with our 5 postseason appearances in 12yrs.

The year before 8-18 was EdHickey's last and was 5-21.

So massive improvement in each of Al's first three years. I arrived on campus in year three. No livid individuals but a lot of fans already calling Al a savior. Only three years in (in violation of the Chico 5 year to judge rule), but history proved us right.

[bilsu]

The year before 8-18 was EdHickey's last and was 5-21.

So massive improvement in each of Al's first three years. I arrived on campus in year three. No livid individuals but a lot of fans already calling Al a savior. Only three years in (in violation of the Chico 5 year to judge rule), but history proved us right.

It was also harder to improve quickly, because freshmen were not eligible.

[bilsu]

Al besides getting big time high school recruits also got some very good junior college players
such as Lackey, Walton and Whitehead. I think there were more, but it is hard to remember if they were JC's or regular transfers.

[Lennys Tap]

Al besides getting big time high school recruits also got some very good junior college players
such as Lackey, Walton and Whitehead. I think there were more, but it is hard to remember if they were JC's or regular transfers.

Jimmy Burke, Garry Brell and Jim Boylan were "regular transfers". Boylan was from Assumption College. He wanted N Carolina but Dean Smith didn't take transfers. Dean recommended him to Al and 2 years later Jim was our starting PG when we beat NC for the national title.

[Nukem2]

Al besides getting big time high school recruits also got some very good junior college players
such as Lackey, Walton and Whitehead. I think there were more, but it is hard to remember if they were JC's or regular transfers.

Ric Cobb was a JC as well as Gene Smith

[Lennys Tap]

Ric Cobb was a JC as well as Gene Smith

The Elevator Man and Evil Dr Blackheart.

Ric was at the line with a couple of ticks left vs Purdue with a trip to the FF in the balance. Down one, he calmly knocked down the first. He bricked the second, and we lost to a 20 ft fade-away by Rick Mount at the buzzer in overtime. Never been more bummed after any game.

[warriorchick]

It was also harder to improve quickly, because freshmen were not eligible.

Not exactly.

Today's freshmen were yesterday's rising sophomores.

[MU82]

The year before 8-18 was EdHickey's last and was 5-21.

So massive improvement in each of Al's first three years. I arrived on campus in year three. No livid individuals but a lot of fans already calling Al a savior. Only three years in (in violation of the Chico 5 year to judge rule), but history proved us right.

I dunno ... there are Scoopers who claim they knew by Wojo's first year that he couldn't coach. I think coming from Belmont Abbey, where he had lost big, and then going 8-18 here, there woulda been at least a few Scoopers who woulda been screaming, "We gotta cut our losses now and fire this 'joke' of a coach!"

But I'm glad that didn't happen, Lenny, and doubly glad you ended up being right about Al! I wouldn't even have known MU existed if not for the hoops success under Al.

[GOO]

Could you imagine a coach like Al going 8-18 in his first year when scoop was alive?  It would be pandemonium.  Why, because Al went (12-37) in his last two years at Belmont Abbey.  I mean come on, the scoop brain trust would have already had him run out of town before his first game

Could you imagine the reaction if MU hired a coach from a small school who just finished up with that kind of record. I really can't.