Northwestern on 11 game losing streak.

[wadesworld]

That's small town America, not enough fans.

Business took me to St. Louis a few years ago and I was suprised how small town it is.  Even smaller than Milwaukee.
When you get below the east coast corridor, Boston to Washington, there is not much going on.   Indianapolis, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Wichita all have something in common, they are small time.  Nice people, great roads, modern conveniences, hospitals, schools etc., but not many fans.  Chicago is just one step above them.

Now we find ourselves in the BIG EAST and perhaps out of our league.   Boston, New York, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, now that is where there are enough people/fans to support many teams.

So anything smaller than LA or NYC is "small town America?" What?

[TSmith34, Inc.]

That's small town America, not enough fans.

Business took me to St. Louis a few years ago and I was suprised how small town it is.  Even smaller than Milwaukee.
When you get below the east coast corridor, Boston to Washington, there is not much going on.   Indianapolis, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Wichita all have something in common, they are small time.  Nice people, great roads, modern conveniences, hospitals, schools etc., but not many fans.  Chicago is just one step above them.

Now we find ourselves in the BIG EAST and perhaps out of our league.   Boston, New York, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, now that is where there are enough people/fans to support many teams.

Errrr, you are aware where Northwestern is located, right?

[The Sultan]

Could not agree more with your college-hoops-is-hard synopsis.
Wojo works very hard at his job.


That said, I wonder if MU has had so much success under KO, Crean, and Buzz due to some some beyond-ridiculous work ethic.


If I remember correctly, when Wojo took the job, he made a point about how K taught his staff to work hard, but that working smart is everything. Go home to your family at a decent hour, and have a life.

I'm not knocking this m.o., but I am just pointing out that MU has had a long string of coaches dating back to Rick Majerus who either didn't have a family or seriously over-worked around this fact. We all have heard the stories about how Rick lived in a hotel in SaltLakeCity while coaching Utah, and how he lived, breathed, ate, drank, and slept basketball. KO I believe was divorced when he was here, and was also a round-the-clock coaching gym rat. Coach Crean, by all reports, was round-the-clock obsessed with getting MU back to prominence. He made a couple references about demands on his time and how he hasn't always been the best husband and Dad. The stories about Buzz and his lack of sleep are legendary. He too made comments about how his wife was some kind of lion to be married to him with all time he isn't at home.

I'm not saying any of this is right. In fact, it's wrong for any coach, let alone a Marquette coach, to neglect his family. I plead guilty to following Wojo's old Twitter and Instagram accounts and loved seeing his cool family, and how happy they look. He is an unmitigated success of a Dad and husband, and probably the guy any of us would most want to tee it up with on a summer weekend at the golf course (even if he weren't our beloved MU coach).  But, maybe being Marquette coach requires something a little extra. Ok, maybe a lot more, like an unhealthy round-the-clock obsession that we weren't ever going to be outworked or out-prepared.

Maybe the next coach we hire should be single. Coach O'Neill, during a Coaches show when he was at Northwestern, once called it "his edge". Then a few moments later he bemoaned to the show host about coming home to nobody to set him and his bs straight. He married again in 2006.

Buzz and Crean were married with kids.

[panda]

Could not agree more with your college-hoops-is-hard synopsis.
Wojo works very hard at his job.


That said, I wonder if MU has had so much success under KO, Crean, and Buzz due to some some beyond-ridiculous work ethic.


If I remember correctly, when Wojo took the job, he made a point about how K taught his staff to work hard, but that working smart is everything. Go home to your family at a decent hour, and have a life.

I'm not knocking this m.o., but I am just pointing out that MU has had a long string of coaches dating back to Rick Majerus who either didn't have a family or seriously over-worked around this fact. We all have heard the stories about how Rick lived in a hotel in SaltLakeCity while coaching Utah, and how he lived, breathed, ate, drank, and slept basketball. KO I believe was divorced when he was here, and was also a round-the-clock coaching gym rat. Coach Crean, by all reports, was round-the-clock obsessed with getting MU back to prominence. He made a couple references about demands on his time and how he hasn't always been the best husband and Dad. The stories about Buzz and his lack of sleep are legendary. He too made comments about how his wife was some kind of lion to be married to him with all time he isn't at home.

I'm not saying any of this is right. In fact, it's wrong for any coach, let alone a Marquette coach, to neglect his family. I plead guilty to following Wojo's old Twitter and Instagram accounts and loved seeing his cool family, and how happy they look. He is an unmitigated success of a Dad and husband, and probably the guy any of us would most want to tee it up with on a summer weekend at the golf course (even if he weren't our beloved MU coach).  But, maybe being Marquette coach requires something a little extra. Ok, maybe a lot more, like an unhealthy round-the-clock obsession that we weren't ever going to be outworked or out-prepared.

Maybe the next coach we hire should be single. Coach O'Neill, during a Coaches show when he was at Northwestern, once called it "his edge". Then a few moments later he bemoaned to the show host about coming home to nobody to set him and his bs straight. He married again in 2006.

I've suspected something like this for awhile too. Buzz and TC were/are basketball maniacs. Sleep in their office types. Types that losses just absolutely eat them up inside.

I don't view Wojo in that same light. He seems like a normal, well balanced guy that just doesn't get to high or too low. I don't know if he has the drive to compete against guys that are married to basketball first and their personal lives second.

[The Sultan]

I don't think Buzz ever slept in his office.  Let's not start making stuff up now.

[panda]

I don't think Buzz ever slept in his office.  Let's not start making stuff up now.

Pick another figure of speech for working crazy hours that you prefer then.

[IL Warrior]

This has been an outstanding read. To summarize:

• Maybe 2 or 3 posts actually responding to the initial questions and comparisons between Wojo and Collins.
• Coach K is a bad coach.
• Chicago is a small town.

Yikes.

[The Sultan]

Pick another figure of speech for working crazy hours that you prefer then.

I don't see evidence that Buzz worked longer hours than Wojo does.

[cheebs09]

I don't see evidence that Buzz worked longer hours than Wojo does.

I think this is an example of Buzz being far better at marketing himself than Wojo.

[Silent Verbal]

Re: Wojo not being as basketball obsessed as Buzz and Crean, I mean, have you ever seen a Wojo interview?  Do you watch him on the sidelines and notice his body language?  The guy is a 100% certified jock.  I'm sure his family is #1, but he's no different than Crean or Buzz in the "working long hours" department.  It's not like he clocks out at 5pm every day and doesn't think about ball until 9 the next morning.

[wadesworld]

Re: Wojo not being as basketball obsessed as Buzz and Crean, I mean, have you ever seen a Wojo interview?  Do you watch him on the sidelines and notice his body language?  The guy is a 100% certified jock.  I'm sure his family is #1, but he's no different than Crean or Buzz in the "working long hours" department.  It's not like he clocks out at 5pm every day and doesn't think about ball until 9 the next morning.

No kidding.  Just because he's not a good coach doesn't mean he's just putting in 40 hours a week and that's that.  Shrugging off the losses and doesn't really care much.  Has never had to work hard or has some entitlement because Duke had K and K did everything.  I'm very, very doubtful that K just said, "I've got everything.  You guys just show up when practice starts and head home after."  I'm guessing K demands a lot of his assistants.  Just watch what he makes his managers do at halftime.  I don't think he treats his managers that way and then lets his assistants be lazy and handle nothing.  Now, whether an assistant position at Duke is the best way to prepare you for taking over your own program and having to successfully build that program?  I can debate that.  But to pretend Wojo has never had to work hard in his life and he just fell into a $2M/year job without putting in the work to deserve it?  That's a joke.

The same Scoopers who are obsessed with his post game pressers and finding spots where he's "thin skinned" and "tightly wound" are the ones now claiming the losses don't mean as much to him as Tom Crean or Buzz Williams.

[MU82]

That's small town America, not enough fans.

Business took me to St. Louis a few years ago and I was suprised how small town it is.  Even smaller than Milwaukee.
When you get below the east coast corridor, Boston to Washington, there is not much going on.   Indianapolis, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Wichita all have something in common, they are small time.  Nice people, great roads, modern conveniences, hospitals, schools etc., but not many fans.  Chicago is just one step above them.

Now we find ourselves in the BIG EAST and perhaps out of our league.   Boston, New York, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, now that is where there are enough people/fans to support many teams.

???

[bradforster]

Greg Popovich is 100% the better COACH than K. And he belongs in the top 5.

The same people that think K is a GOAT coach think Brady is a GOAT QB.

That would be most sane and objective observers of sports.  Here's what the best players in the world think about Coach K:

https://www.si.com/olympics/2016/08/21/usa-mens-basketball-coach-mike-krzyzewski-rio-olympics

[Galway Eagle]

That's small town America, not enough fans.

Business took me to St. Louis a few years ago and I was suprised how small town it is.  Even smaller than Milwaukee.
When you get below the east coast corridor, Boston to Washington, there is not much going on.   Indianapolis, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Wichita all have something in common, they are small time.  Nice people, great roads, modern conveniences, hospitals, schools etc., but not many fans.  Chicago is just one step above them.

Now we find ourselves in the BIG EAST and perhaps out of our league.   Boston, New York, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, now that is where there are enough people/fans to support many teams.

So third biggest city in the country, 39th in the world is on par with Wichita in this comparison.

Meanwhile you use a state that has a less population than the city of Chicago (Connecticut) as a reference to where there's more people?

Dude take your meds. The rest of the Midwest is pretty small and spread out but the Chicago/Milwaukee/Gary super city is on par with anywhere you'd find out East. 

[shoothoops]

That's small town America, not enough fans.

Business took me to St. Louis a few years ago and I was suprised how small town it is.  Even smaller than Milwaukee.
When you get below the east coast corridor, Boston to Washington, there is not much going on.   Indianapolis, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Wichita all have something in common, they are small time.  Nice people, great roads, modern conveniences, hospitals, schools etc., but not many fans.  Chicago is just one step above them.

Now we find ourselves in the BIG EAST and perhaps out of our league.   Boston, New York, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, now that is where there are enough people/fans to support many teams.

Huh? Not sure where to begin here.

If you win, you will get fans and support. If you don't, you won't. And, wait for it, some "smaller towns" actually get better fan support than significantly larger metros.

Boston College is pretty far down the list of sports fandom in New England unless they have a successful team. Top 10 to 15 market, pro sports etc...

Syracuse University markets itself as "New York's Team,"... in New York City. Spoiler alert: It's located more than 250 miles away.

DC anyone? Chicago?

Several of the metro areas you mentioned have vastly different populations. I'm not sure you understand the difference between a small town and a major metro area.

St. Louis? Top 20 Metro Market. If you produce a competitive product, you will get big crowds. Spoonhour was getting 17k crowds. Sell outs common in the Majerus era. Even last year, here is their home crowd for their 2020 Dayton game. Good luck getting a ticket:

https://twitter.com/mikecoreysports/status/1218322211985031169?s=19

[Golden Avalanche]

So third biggest city in the country, 39th in the world is on par with Wichita in this comparison.

Meanwhile you use a state that has a less population than the city of Chicago (Connecticut) as a reference to where there's more people?

Dude take your meds. The rest of the Midwest is pretty small and spread out but the Chicago/Milwaukee/Gary super city is on par with anywhere you'd find out East.

I lived in Chicago for nearly a decade after my four years at Marquette and I've never heard of this.

Is this a thing now? Do people really refer to a 100-125 mile area as a "super city"?

[brewcity77]

I lived in Chicago for nearly a decade after my four years at Marquette and I've never heard of this.

Is this a thing now? Do people really refer to a 100-125 mile area as a "super city"?

Not that I've heard. Milwaukee certainly doesn't consider itself a northern suburb.

[Galway Eagle]

I lived in Chicago for nearly a decade after my four years at Marquette and I've never heard of this.

Is this a thing now? Do people really refer to a 100-125 mile area as a "super city"?

I heard it at MU when there was debate over whether Racine was a part of the Chicago or Milwaukee DMA.

I used Supercity wrong the word I was looking for was megaregion. that region I listed is the 3rd highest GDP region in the US. And there's consistent urbanization (albeit at varying degrees) between the two with two counties being debatably part of both GMAs.

https://biztimes.com/milwaukee-and-chicago-are-part-of-the-same-megaregion/

[Galway Eagle]

Not that I've heard. Milwaukee certainly doesn't consider itself a northern suburb.

The term that I was reaching for doesn't imply Milwaukee is. It's when two or more cities are close and there's consistent urbanization between the two with crossover areas in terms of what would be considered a part of the GMA.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

I lived in Chicago for nearly a decade after my four years at Marquette and I've never heard of this.

Is this a thing now? Do people really refer to a 100-125 mile area as a "super city"?

Also shocking.  No one has ever willingly pulled Gary into anything since the early 1900s.

[shoothoops]

I lived in Chicago for nearly a decade after my four years at Marquette and I've never heard of this.

Is this a thing now? Do people really refer to a 100-125 mile area as a "super city"?

Chicagoland or Chicago Metro population has long included Kenosha County, as its Northern limit, prior to Racine. It has used Gary, and NW Indiana in those stats as well. Anything North of Racine towards Milwaukee? No.

(A little over a fourth of Chicago Metro population is city limit population. Almost 75% is in up to parts of three states, but not quite Milwaukee)

These are the numbers and geographies they have used used for a long time. (Insert your own commute stories or sports commute commentary)

[Galway Eagle]

Also shocking.  No one has ever willingly pulled Gary into anything since the early 1900s.

That's the town that "knew me when."
If you'd like to have a logical explanation
How I happened on this elegant syncopation,
I will say without a moment of hesitation
There is just one place
That can light my face.
Gary, Indiana,
Gary Indiana,
Not Louisiana, Paris, France, New York, or Rome, but--
Gary, Indiana,
Gary, Indiana,
Gary Indiana,
My home sweet home

[Scoop Snoop]

That's the town that "knew me when."
If you'd like to have a logical explanation
How I happened on this elegant syncopation,
I will say without a moment of hesitation
There is just one place
That can light my face.
Gary, Indiana,
Gary Indiana,
Not Louisiana, Paris, France, New York, or Rome, but--
Gary, Indiana,
Gary, Indiana,
Gary Indiana,
My home sweet home

Can you play it on your bagpipes?

[tower912]

Megalopolis.

[Galway Eagle]

Can you play it on your bagpipes?

Only if I use the patented Professor Harold Hill think method.