MU Basketball Program

[Galway Eagle]

DJ could probably leave Marquette and get paid to play basketball somewhere next year. I think a lot of people would agree with that. Whether that's the best thing for him as a player and as a person is always hard to determine. But for a kid like DJ who's gone through a lot of changes and challenges in the last 18 months, it's worth thinking about the personal impact of leaving. Especially leaving for a situation where basketball is a business.

I would bet that a lot of college coaches note how different the professional life is vs. the student life. Being a D1 basketball player has a lot of nice perks. A guy like DJ is well known on campus and in Milwaukee, he's spending time in some of the very best facilities, he's getting a lot of attention from a coaching staff that wants him to succeed (because they can't cut him like a pro team can), etc. There are lot of positives to sticking with the amateur route for a guy looking to make a jump to the next level at some point. Does a 50K salary offset all that? For some, yes, for some, definitely not.

He might be well known on campus but he's been here for a season and we suck during said season. I doubt it's similar to people buying drinks for the guys at Apartment 720 or buying hotdogs for Gardner at Dog House.

But your take about emotional readiness is a valid one I didn't consider and makes way more sense than BCHoopsters old school take that ignores the reality.

[cheebs09]

Wasn't sure where the thread with the conversation about players responding on Twitter was, but it does not appear MU learned it's lesson.

They tagged Kam Jones in what was an awesome high school highlight. I believe a person who has previously gotten into Twitter battles and is no fan of Wojo commented about firing Wojo, and then Kam Jones responded.

I get that we want to make sure recruits see that the official account is tweeting about them, but read the room. MU shouldn't be tagging players or recruits at this point as the comment sections are a breeding ground for dumb responses.

https://twitter.com/marquettembb/status/1364568511989833738?s=21

[jficke13]

That twitter exchange rates a 1 on the dumb-tweet-o-meter.

Dummy trolls MU, because that's what trolls do. Kam claps back with an incredibly restrained response. Troll trolls again. End of exchange.

If a perfect response to a troll is to ignore, then Kam's response wasn't perfect, but I can't say it was *bad*.

There's just not much to see here. <shrug>

[BM1090]

It's a shame that Wojo isn't better because his guys truly seem to love him.

[The Sultan]

It's a shame that Wojo isn't better because his guys truly seem to love him.

I think Wojo would be a perfect coach for Marquette...if he only won more.  He checks all the boxes, except the largest and most important one.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Wasn't sure where the thread with the conversation about players responding on Twitter was, but it does not appear MU learned it's lesson.

They tagged Kam Jones in what was an awesome high school highlight. I believe a person who has previously gotten into Twitter battles and is no fan of Wojo commented about firing Wojo, and then Kam Jones responded.

I get that we want to make sure recruits see that the official account is tweeting about them, but read the room. MU shouldn't be tagging players or recruits at this point as the comment sections are a breeding ground for dumb responses.

https://twitter.com/marquettembb/status/1364568511989833738?s=21

That highlight was nice though

[panda]

I really do wonder what he's telling these kids at this point in his tenure.

[MU82]

I really do wonder what he's telling these kids at this point in his tenure.

What do you mean?

[panda]

What do you mean?

I really do wonder what he's telling these kids at this point in his tenure *EDIT which makes the guys so faithful to him.

Wojo is a genuine person, but at some point, opposing coaches/staffs on the recruiting trail can very rightly point out his lack of on court success to recruits.

[The Sultan]

I really do wonder what he's telling these kids at this point in his tenure *EDIT which makes the guys so faithful to him.

Wojo is a genuine person, but at some point, opposing coaches/staffs on the recruiting trail can very rightly point out his lack of on court success to recruits.

He's a fringe top 100 prospect.  We aren't talking about an elite prospect here.

And for all the talk of lack of on court success, they would have been in the tournament three years out of four.  (Not saying that is great, but it certainly is sellable.)

[dgies9156]

I think Wojo would be a perfect coach for Marquette...if he only won more.  He checks all the boxes, except the largest and most important one.

Huh?

That's like saying Adolf Hitler was a perfect match for Germany, except for that little issue with Jewish folks and his tendency to make war.

Or, that the Imperial Wizard is a really great guy, except for his attitude about African-American folks.

I'll go one step further. We don't want to admit it, but MU is kind of a gritty urban campus. We're not an elegant, Ivy League campus or school where our students go on to run the country. That's why I think the perfect match for Marquette was Al McGuire -- and why most of us loved him so much. Buzz Williams fit the same mold. McGuire was gritty, his teams were hard-working, successful and feisty. So was Williams at MU.

Wojo is the button-down Ivy Leaguer we like to think we are. I'm sure he's a wonderful guy whose players love him but, as you say Brother Fluff, nothing matters if we don't win!

[panda]

He's a fringe top 100 prospect.  We aren't talking about an elite prospect here.

And for all the talk of lack of on court success, they would have been in the tournament three years out of four.  (Not saying that is great, but it certainly is sellable.)

Offers from Florida and Wake. Seems pretty lightly recruited overall though. I agree with your point in this instance, but I will find it interesting to see what type of players we get moving forward. 

[cheebs09]

That twitter exchange rates a 1 on the dumb-tweet-o-meter.

Dummy trolls MU, because that's what trolls do. Kam claps back with an incredibly restrained response. Troll trolls again. End of exchange.

If a perfect response to a troll is to ignore, then Kam's response wasn't perfect, but I can't say it was *bad*.

There's just not much to see here. <shrug>

Oh yea. It was pretty tame. Just to me, it doesn't make sense for the official account to put players/recruits in that position because the average Twitter user doesn't think to untag people in replies.

[The Sultan]

Huh?

That's like saying Adolf Hitler was a perfect match for Germany, except for that little issue with Jewish folks and his tendency to make war.

Or, that the Imperial Wizard is a really great guy, except for his attitude about African-American folks.

I'll go one step further. We don't want to admit it, but MU is kind of a gritty urban campus. We're not an elegant, Ivy League campus or school where our students go on to run the country. That's why I think the perfect match for Marquette was Al McGuire -- and why most of us loved him so much. Buzz Williams fit the same mold. McGuire was gritty, his teams were hard-working, successful and feisty. So was Williams at MU.

Wojo is the button-down Ivy Leaguer we like to think we are. I'm sure he's a wonderful guy whose players love him but, as you say Brother Fluff, nothing matters if we don't win!

Marquette's not really a "gritty urban campus" and Wojo is not an Ivy Leaguer. 

He is a clean recruiter, most players like him, they graduate and out of trouble and he seems to love the place. 

But he obviously needs to win more.

[jficke13]

Oh yea. It was pretty tame. Just to me, it doesn't make sense for the official account to put players/recruits in that position because the average Twitter user doesn't think to untag people in replies.

Seems fair. Not being a close social media watcher, do other schools' SIDs tag recruits/players?

[dgies9156]

Marquette's not really a "gritty urban campus" and Wojo is not an Ivy Leaguer. 

I know we are trying really hard to change our image and the campus is much nicer than when I attended MU. The old tanning and brewing smells that made Marquette so, shall we say, odiferous, aren't there any more. And, of course, the industrial valley lacks the industry and the railroad, except for a couple of through tracks.

But c'mon. We're on the edge of one of Milwaukee's tougher neighborhoods. Try as we might, the city's main street was never closed and runs through the middle of Marquette's campus. Our eastern edge is Wisconsin's busiest freeway interchange and our southern edge is Interstate 94. I really love the place and being able to go to school in a major urban center. I wouldn't trade it for all the ivy out east, but this campus is still gritty, especially in winter.

[The Sultan]

Marquette is definitely "urban."  It's not very "gritty." 

[DFW HOYA]

Marquette is definitely "urban."  It's not very "gritty."

It's not gritty in the way St. Louis U or Temple is, but if there's an interstate running alongside a campus, there's a certain amount of grit to it. In face, if any multi-lane road runs through a campus, that's urban.

Creighton and Marquette are certainly the most urban. St. John's and Seton Hall (and to a lesser extent, Providence, Xavier and DePaul) are thought of as urban when, in fact, they are more neighborhood-placed.  The other four are somewhat different:

Connecticut: Rural
Villanova: Suburban
Butler: Nice neighborhood, in-city
Georgetown: Expensive neighborhood in-city, self contained.

[Galway Eagle]

I have difficulty believing that any school which the vast majority is white suburban individuals is "gritty" maybe people take up that banner because of the neighborhood while there but that's a whole lot different than a actually gritty area.

[MU82]

I really do wonder what he's telling these kids at this point in his tenure *EDIT which makes the guys so faithful to him.

Wojo is a genuine person, but at some point, opposing coaches/staffs on the recruiting trail can very rightly point out his lack of on court success to recruits.

I don't wonder at all.

He tells them about Marquette's basketball history. He sells them on playing time - including significant time for freshmen if they're good enough. He shows them highlights from all the good games under his watch - storming the court after Nova, Sam's 3 vs Creighton, Markus going wild, the packed arena for our 20-2 run in 2018-19, etc. He sells them on getting to play in one of the best arenas in the NBA, home of the Greek Freak. He introduces them to the current players, who go on and on about our family atmosphere.

Some feel Wojo really hasn't been all that good a recruiter. That's a debate for another stream. Fact is, he has signed lots of good recruits, including 2 burger boys, a future first-team All-American, the Hausers, etc. He had plenty of good things to tell them about Marquette, and he apparently has some pretty good selling points for kids in this year's recruiting class, too.

[panda]

I don't wonder at all.

He tells them about Marquette's basketball history. He sells them on playing time - including significant time for freshmen if they're good enough. He shows them highlights from all the good games under his watch - storming the court after Nova, Sam's 3 vs Creighton, Markus going wild, the packed arena for our 20-2 run in 2018-19, etc. He sells them on getting to play in one of the best arenas in the NBA, home of the Greek Freak. He introduces them to the current players, who go on and on about our family atmosphere.

Some feel Wojo really hasn't been all that good a recruiter. That's a debate for another stream. Fact is, he has signed lots of good recruits, including 2 burger boys, a future first-team All-American, the Hausers, etc. He had plenty of good things to tell them about Marquette, and he apparently has some pretty good selling points for kids in this year's recruiting class, too.

As the kids used to say...No duh

My point is, at this point, there are a lot of holes to be poked in those arguments by opposing coaches on the recruiting trail. I'm wondering if/when our recruiting will potentially fall off due to constant underachievement.

[dgies9156]

I don't wonder at all.

He tells them about Marquette's basketball history. He sells them on playing time - including significant time for freshmen if they're good enough. He shows them highlights from all the good games under his watch - storming the court after Nova, Sam's 3 vs Creighton, Markus going wild, the packed arena for our 20-2 run in 2018-19, etc. He sells them on getting to play in one of the best arenas in the NBA, home of the Greek Freak. He introduces them to the current players, who go on and on about our family atmosphere.

Some feel Wojo really hasn't been all that good a recruiter. That's a debate for another stream. Fact is, he has signed lots of good recruits, including 2 burger boys, a future first-team All-American, the Hausers, etc. He had plenty of good things to tell them about Marquette, and he apparently has some pretty good selling points for kids in this year's recruiting class, too.

Very true.

The challenge he has is that if we don't turn it around soon, the apathy will kill the enthusiasm we once had for Marquette basketball. Especially if the Bucks remain high caliber and the Packers remain competitive for the Super Bowl.

If you don't believe me, look at DePaul. In the 1980s, they were the hottest ticket in Chicago. Now, there's little difference between Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 crowds at the Winnie. When we played them last year, I think DePaul thought they were playing in MIlwaukee!

[Viper]

It's not gritty in the way St. Louis U or Temple is, but if there's an interstate running alongside a campus, there's a certain amount of grit to it. In face, if any multi-lane road runs through a campus, that's urban.

Creighton and Marquette are certainly the most urban. St. John's and Seton Hall (and to a lesser extent, Providence, Xavier and DePaul) are thought of as urban when, in fact, they are more neighborhood-placed.  The other four are somewhat different:

Connecticut: Rural
Villanova: Suburban
Butler: Nice neighborhood, in-city
Georgetown: Expensive neighborhood in-city, self contained.

creighton is in cowtown. Urban?

[Scoop Snoop]

As the kids used to say...No duh

My point is, at this point, there are a lot of holes to be poked in those arguments by opposing coaches on the recruiting trail. I'm wondering if/when our recruiting will potentially fall off due to constant underachievement.

This has been my concern since the first 1-6 collapse followed by identical 1-6 collapses last year and this year. At some point (probably very soon) the poor performances are going to easily outweigh any storyline that Wojo can tell. We are currently in 10th place. Good luck selling Wojo's story.

[shoothoops]

It's not gritty in the way St. Louis U or Temple is, but if there's an interstate running alongside a campus, there's a certain amount of grit to it. In face, if any multi-lane road runs through a campus, that's urban.

Creighton and Marquette are certainly the most urban. St. John's and Seton Hall (and to a lesser extent, Providence, Xavier and DePaul) are thought of as urban when, in fact, they are more neighborhood-placed.  The other four are somewhat different:

Connecticut: Rural
Villanova: Suburban
Butler: Nice neighborhood, in-city
Georgetown: Expensive neighborhood in-city, self contained.

When is the last time you visited some of these places?