Brian Hamilton / The Athletic Article on MU

[The Lens]

Another good look at the program / Shaka.  It goes into how Shaka probably felt pressure to sign every 5 Star possible at Texas and he proactively addressed a different recruiting style with Scholl during the interview process. 

https://theathletic.com/2905571/2021/10/26/if-you-do-it-do-it-shaka-smart-is-building-his-ideal-version-of-a-program-at-marquette/

I found this tidbit ironic:

When Smart wants ball pressure, he screams for Heat! over and over. To kickstart another drill, Smart holds the ball and barks Marquette! and his players respond in unison with Defense! and slap the floor before he tosses the rock into play and the Golden Eagles close out on their marks. It’s all canon. It’s all been done and said before.

Warning: This article does not do a good job of covering GAA / Boxing / Rugby

[JakeBarnes]

Another good look at the program / Shaka.  It goes into how Shaka probably felt pressure to sign every 5 Star possible at Texas and he proactively addressed a different recruiting style with Scholl during the interview process. 

https://theathletic.com/2905571/2021/10/26/if-you-do-it-do-it-shaka-smart-is-building-his-ideal-version-of-a-program-at-marquette/

I found this tidbit ironic:
 

Warning: This article does not do a good job of covering GAA / Boxing / Rugby

You missed F1.

Nice to see another good article on marquette. Hope to see some soon that cover our successes.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Another great piece on the trajectory of the program and leadership of Shaka.  Impressed that Shaka has appeared to learn and change as a result of experiences at Texas. Hope it works very well in our favor.

[StillAWarrior]

Love the quote from Berry: "What I always thought of Marquette was just toughness, man. Just this blue-collar street fight. You just know you're going to be in a war when you go to play Marquette. I think that's [Smart] at the end of the day. That's who he is."

I hope so. I want Marquette to have great young men who represent the university well. But I also want them to be the toughest, nastiest SOBs on the floor every night.

Play Violent!

[Galway Eagle]

Another good look at the program / Shaka.  It goes into how Shaka probably felt pressure to sign every 5 Star possible at Texas and he proactively addressed a different recruiting style with Scholl during the interview process. 

https://theathletic.com/2905571/2021/10/26/if-you-do-it-do-it-shaka-smart-is-building-his-ideal-version-of-a-program-at-marquette/

I found this tidbit ironic:
 

Warning: This article does not do a good job of covering GAA / Boxing / Rugby

I went to read it expecting IPL and AFL references but got none.

[Shooter McGavin]

Love the quote from Berry: "What I always thought of Marquette was just toughness, man. Just this blue-collar street fight. You just know you're going to be in a war when you go to play Marquette. I think that's [Smart] at the end of the day. That's who he is."

I hope so. I want Marquette to have great young men who represent the university well. But I also want them to be the toughest, nastiest SOBs on the floor every night.

Play Violent!

Agreed, I was smiling when I read that quote.
That is Marquette’s identity at it best.  Go MU!   

[roadwarrior3]

Another good look at the program / Shaka.  It goes into how Shaka probably felt pressure to sign every 5 Star possible at Texas and he proactively addressed a different recruiting style with Scholl during the interview process. 

https://theathletic.com/2905571/2021/10/26/if-you-do-it-do-it-shaka-smart-is-building-his-ideal-version-of-a-program-at-marquette/

Will be very interesting watching how that recruiting approach ages. Obviously right now, before any games in the Shaka era have been played, it's all good and exciting. I like his philosophy of trying to build a program through player development instead of a revolving door of transfers and one-and-dones.

Over the next few years though if the results don't follow, his seat could get hot quickly and this approach doesn't give him the star studded incoming recruiting class to buy more time. Feel like with Wojo, the last few years were constant battle between disappointing results but hope because there was a stud prospect coming in next year. Bringing in 3 star guys who are mostly going to take a year or two to really develop doesn't give that same cushion.

[dgies9156]

Love the quote from Berry: "What I always thought of Marquette was just toughness, man. Just this blue-collar street fight. You just know you're going to be in a war when you go to play Marquette. I think that's [Smart] at the end of the day. That's who he is."

I hope so. I want Marquette to have great young men who represent the university well. But I also want them to be the toughest, nastiest SOBs on the floor every night.

Play Violent!

A worthy successor to AL!

Al must be looking down from Heaven and barking at the Angel Gabriel, "finally, someone who gets it!"

[MU82]

A worthy successor to AL!

Al must be looking down from Heaven and barking at the Angel Gabriel, "finally, someone who gets it!"

Buzz didn't get it?

The vast majority of Scoopers will be thrilled to death if Shaka achieves the level of success we had from 2010-13.

Indeed, all the talk of culture and toughness reminds me of the Best of Buzz.

I know, I know ... you'll just shrug your shoulders if we go S16-S16-E8 because nothing matters if you don't win championships like Al did year after year.

[Goose]

82

Give me Buzz success, Buzz quality players and entertainment value and I will sign up today.

[Galway Eagle]

82

Give me Buzz success, Buzz quality players and entertainment value and I will sign up today.

Yeah I'm Aok with a sustainable version of that. Sure eventually expectations would rise but I'll take that any day.

[Pakuni]

The Athletic continues to be worth every penny.

[dgies9156]

I know, I know ... you'll just shrug your shoulders if we go S16-S16-E8 because nothing matters if you don't win championships like Al did year after year.

Al did it without the drama associated with Buzz.

While Al didn't win "year after year," our team consistently was a Top 10 team and we were in two Natty games and on the cusp of a couple Final Fours. Even Duke doesn't win every year, but they are competitive every year.

That's what I want.

[muwarrior69]

82

Give me Buzz success, Buzz quality players and entertainment value and I will sign up today.

I guess those Wojo years have lowered our expectations. I want more than Buzz success. I just want a team that is competitive and has a realistic shot at the championship.

[cheebs09]

Al did it without the drama associated with Buzz.

While Al didn't win "year after year," our team consistently was a Top 10 team and we were in two Natty games and on the cusp of a couple Final Fours. Even Duke doesn't win every year, but they are competitive every year.

That's what I want.

Without the drama? Al tried to leave for the Bucks and publicly called out the president of the university. He punched a player in the locker room.

[Galway Eagle]

Without the drama? Al tried to leave for the Bucks and publicly called out the president of the university. He punched a player in the locker room.

I'm guessing he's referring to the rapes, two recruiting violations (minor), him trying to leave every year not just once, the bar/qdoba fights, the crazy transfers every year (buzz was ahead of the game there)

[Silkk the Shaka]

I guess those Wojo years have lowered our expectations. I want more than Buzz success. I just want a team that is competitive and has a realistic shot at the championship.

Sustain Buzz style success for a decade+ and that's how a program like ours makes the major breakthrough

[cheebs09]

I'm guessing he's referring to the rapes, two recruiting violations (minor), him trying to leave every year not just once, the bar/qdoba fights, the crazy transfers every year (buzz was ahead of the game there)

Oh, I don’t disagree that the Buzz era was drama filled. One of the things I do appreciate about the Wojo era. Just that I wouldn’t exactly cite Al as a low-drama coach.

[StillAWarrior]

Buzz didn't get it?

The vast majority of Scoopers will be thrilled to death if Shaka achieves the level of success we had from 2010-13.

Indeed, all the talk of culture and toughness reminds me of the Best of Buzz.

I know, I know ... you'll just shrug your shoulders if we go S16-S16-E8 because nothing matters if you don't win championships like Al did year after year.

I was going to say something similar. Berry graduated from college in 2003. He's not remembering Al's teams. Hell, I don't remember Al's teams. He's thinking of Buzz's guys. He's thinking of guys like JFB and Jae. Buzz's teams had a reputation for being tough, and more than a couple of his guys got into the NBA on that reputation.

[Jockey]

I was going to say something similar. Berry graduated from college in 2003. He's not remembering Al's teams. Hell, I don't remember Al's teams. He's thinking of Buzz's guys. He's thinking of guys like JFB and Jae. Buzz's teams had a reputation for being tough, and more than a couple of his guys got into the NBA on that reputation.

We always point to Jimmy and Jae when we talk about the tough guys at MU.

No one ever mentions Wes. He made it to the NBA because of his toughness and willingness to guard anyone. It was that toughness that got him on the floor where he could show his shooting prowess.

[avid1010]

to steal from pj tucker...we need some "dogs." wade, diener, jimmy, jae, djo, etc. were those guys.  the hausers, howard, carton, garcia, ellenson, etc. were good players...but they weren't dogs. 

[MUfan12]

One quibble... even though he took a lot of threes, Markus Howard was a tough-ass player. He took a beating going to the rim, got run through screens on the other end, but still managed to maintain enough intensity and stamina to run all over the court. His fitness levels were insane. Soft guys wouldn't be able to handle that.

[StillAWarrior]

We always point to Jimmy and Jae when we talk about the tough guys at MU.

No one ever mentions Wes. He made it to the NBA because of his toughness and willingness to guard anyone. It was that toughness that got him on the floor where he could show his shooting prowess.

You're absolutely right, and Wes remains one of my favorite Marquette players. Admittedly, I was focusing more on Buzz's players, but Wes was definitely a warrior and tough as nails.

[Dr. Blackheart]

You're absolutely right, and Wes remains one of my favorite Marquette players. Admittedly, I was focusing more on Buzz's players, but Wes was definitely a warrior and tough as nails.

Deane, Crean and Buzz players were all tough.

[Galway Eagle]

Deane, Crean and Buzz players were all tough.

I thought Deane just recruited crap and all his good players were O'Neil's?

[Uncle Rico]

People that don’t think any of Wojo’s guys were tough are showing their backsides. 

[StillAWarrior]

People that don’t think any of Wojo’s guys were tough are showing their backsides.

I definitely would not say that Wojo didn't have any tough players. He did. The points made about Markus up-thread are true. And certainly there were others. But I don't think his teams had the reputation of being tough teams.

[MU82]

82

Give me Buzz success, Buzz quality players and entertainment value and I will sign up today.

Me too, Goose, me too.

I got a kick out of Al supposedly being a low-drama coach. He was big on drama ... and if he coached in the social media era, he would have been the ultimate high-drama coach.

If you win, all that ends up being OK.

Every Marquette coach since I've been a fan (mid-70s) has had plenty of tough players. I especially like what MUfan12 said about Markus, who basically got the shyte kicked out of him most days and never backed down, and what a few Scoopers have said about Wes.

But we're talking more about culture here, and there's little doubt that's what Buzz preached and, seemingly, what Shaka is preaching.

I am very much looking forward to seeing if Shaka can deliver. I think he will, but until we see a successful span of multiple years -- as we did with Al, Buzz and to a point Crean -- we can't be 100% certain.

[Dr. Blackheart]

People that don’t think any of Wojo’s guys were tough are showing their backsides.

Wojo played a finesse system. It's doesn't mean his players didn't play hard. Theo was tough. Katin shot the ball.

[Silkk the Shaka]

You're absolutely right, and Wes remains one of my favorite Marquette players. Admittedly, I was focusing more on Buzz's players, but Wes was definitely a warrior and tough as nails.

As were 'rel, 'nique, & 'zar, and the Cubillionaire

[panda]

Wojo played a finesse system. It's doesn't mean his players didn't play hard. Theo was tough. Katin shot the ball.

There were some tough players but man did his teams play soft.

[NCMUFan]

All the speculation ends November 9.
It will be interesting to see what Shaka delivers and if it is what the fans want.

[Jay Bee]

All the speculation ends November 9.
It will be interesting to see what Shaka delivers and if it is what the fans want.

November 9, 2026.

[avid1010]

Wojo played a finesse system. It's doesn't mean his players didn't play hard. Theo was tough. Katin shot the ball.

Theo was a dog...no one said they didn't play hard...but they weren't dogs.  Someone mentioned Howard.  No doubt he was in great shape and took a beating...he didn't have the same mentality as Diener. 

[Hards Alumni]

Theo was a dog...no one said they didn't play hard...but they weren't dogs.  Someone mentioned Howard.  No doubt he was in great shape and took a beating...he didn't have the same mentality as Diener.

babahahahhahahahhahahahahh

[Newsdreams]

November 9, 2026.

5 years, hey

[Viper]

Without the drama? Al tried to leave for the Bucks and publicly called out the president of the university. He punched a player in the locker room.

Bernard Toone, I think?  awesome!! And every game SRO!

[Newsdreams]

You're all soft

[The Lens]

Wojo; tough players, soft system.

Any MU coach would want Sam, Sacar, Theo & Markus, among others.

As for Mike Deane, like all MU coaches, he had some hits:

Wardle, Lovette, Cordell.  Plus role players like Bargen, Job Harris & Oloumna. And of course the Garbage Time Superstar: John Cliff.   

Mike just didn’t have enough.  If anything Mike gave us our floor; 100 wins in 5 years. 

Also he gave us Turners.  We can never thank him enough for that.  And he closed down the Fieldhouse in epic fashion. 

[avid1010]

babahahahhahahahhahahahahh

Solid

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Theo was a dog...no one said they didn't play hard...but they weren't dogs.  Someone mentioned Howard.  No doubt he was in great shape and took a beating...he didn't have the same mentality as Diener. 

I think that's kinda ridiculous.  What exactly determines a dog "mentality?"  That he hustles, jumps on the floor and screams a lot?

[MUfan12]

I think that's kinda ridiculous.  What exactly determines a dog "mentality?"  That he hustles, jumps on the floor and screams a lot?

No kidding. So Travis was a bit more demonstrative?

[Silkk the Shaka]

Travis was, is, and always will be a killer. When the moment gets big, his mind becomes even more clear & focused on the winning objective. He's a savant in that way. No knock on Markus, but neither he nor many other PGs have that killer trait that Travis has.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

As for Mike Deane, like all MU coaches, he had some hits:

Wardle, Lovette, Cordell.  Plus role players like Bargen, Job Harris & Oloumna. And of course the Garbage Time Superstar: John Cliff.   

A whale of a player.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Travis was, is, and always will be a killer. When the moment gets big, his mind becomes even more clear & focused on the winning objective. He's a savant in that way. No knock on Markus, but neither he nor many other PGs have that killer trait that Travis has.

I'm going to be honest, I have no idea what you are talking about.  I love Travis, but his last two years at MU were thoroughly mediocre.  He was great, but there wasn't much killer or winning objective to be had.

This sounds like a legend that grows over time and not actually reality.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I'm going to be honest, I have no idea what you are talking about.  I love Travis, but his last two years at MU were thoroughly mediocre.  He was great, but there wasn't much killer or winning objective to be had.

This sounds like a legend that grows over time and not actually reality.

I do have to give Diener credits for his TBT game winners.

[1318WWells]

I do have to give Diener credits for his TBT game winners.

Holy Cross was ALL Diener

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Holy Cross was ALL Diener

Well sure.  There were games where he was fantastic.  There were also a lot of game where Markus was fantastic.

It's just this "Diener was a killer, attack dog but Markus wasn't" doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[Galway Eagle]

I'm going to be honest, I have no idea what you are talking about.  I love Travis, but his last two years at MU were thoroughly mediocre.  He was great, but there wasn't much killer or winning objective to be had.

This sounds like a legend that grows over time and not actually reality.

Didn't he lead us to like a ridiculous record in 04 or 05 before injuring his knee?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Didn't he lead us to like a ridiculous record in 04 or 05 before injuring his knee?

They were 18-8 and about .500 in conference when he was injured.

[Galway Eagle]

They were 18-8 and about .500 in conference when he was injured.

Gotcha I thought he was injured when they had like one or two losses my bad.

[MUfan12]

That team probably sneaks in the tournament if he didn't fight the tackling dummy.

I don't see Markus doing that. Not a killer.

[NCMUFan]

Two all time great Marquette guards.   Leave it at that.

[LAZER]

Two all time great Marquette guards.   Leave it at that.

Seriously

[Galway Eagle]

That team probably sneaks in the tournament if he didn't fight the tackling dummy.

I don't see Markus doing that. Not a killer.

A real tough player would've won that fight

[The Lens]

We absolutely were tracking to miss the Dance even before Travis was hurt.  But that's an indictment of his coach not him.

'03-'04 & '04-'05 were the absolute TC Master Pieces.  Vintage performances by our guy that offered UGA fans a glimpse into their future.

[Galway Eagle]

So in 05 we're 14-2 on January 15. We have two upperclassmen future NBA players on our roster, ranked 25.

What happened?

[The Lens]

Look how we got to 14-2...

295   Western Carolina       W, 75-64   73       Home   1-0       
120   Illinois St.                  W, 60-32   59       Home   2-0       
44 Air Force                  W, 69-65   53       Home   3-0       
167   Sam Houston St.       W, 84-71   69       Home   4-0       
83   Kent St.                   W, 66-61   61       Home   5-0       
178   Oakland                   W, 95-87   68       Away   6-0       
209   Delaware St.           W, 66-60   58       Home   7-0       
NR   South Dakota St.   W, 76-60   63       Home   8-0       
17 Wisconsin                   W, 63-54   63       Home   9-0       
13   Arizona                    L, 48-43   55       Home   9-1       
80   Nebraska                   W, 81-62   61       Home   10-1       
249   Coppin St.                   W, 65-55   58       Home   11-1       
292   IPFW                           W, 91-57   72       Home   12-1       
247   Tulane                   W, 82-68   66       Away   13-1   1-0   
53 Memphis                    L, 78-68   68       Away   13-2   1-1   
132   South Florida           W, 66-64   60       Home   14-2   2-1   

We were 2-2 in games vs. competition 55 or better in KenPom

It is amazing how much better our non-conf schedule is now.  Absolute Dark Ages back then.

[The Lens]

We were 18-8 overall and 6-7 in Conference USA when Travis broke his hand. 

[avid1010]

Ask Wade why they reached the FF...

Ask Novak what it was like to do anything half-ass around Travis...  It's not a knock on Novak (he had the better NBA career)...but very different people.

Attend practices...observe the difference in leadership between Markus and TD.  TD is wired differently than Markus.  Totally different approaches to leadership, and totally different response to losses.  Crean was intense...TD took it to a new level.  Buzz practices all looked like practices from the TD era...guys beat the sh1t out of each other.  Wojo and co. were totally different.  Not that the Hausers and Markus couldn't be winners under the right coach...IMHO they were just different than the leaders of the TC and Buzz era.

[bilsu]

Gotcha I thought he was injured when they had like one or two losses my bad.

I am going by memory, but I believe Diener was hurt before he broke his hand. I think he got hurt 7 or 8 games into season. Probably was his knee. I remember him playing with a limp. He was averaging over 20 points a game before he got hurt.

[Boone]

dealt with neck injury for at least the home DePaul game

[Dr. Blackheart]

dealt with neck injury for at least the home DePaul game

Tackling dummy injury

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Ask Wade why they reached the FF...

Ask Novak what it was like to do anything half-ass around Travis...  It's not a knock on Novak (he had the better NBA career)...but very different people.

Attend practices...observe the difference in leadership between Markus and TD.  TD is wired differently than Markus.  Totally different approaches to leadership, and totally different response to losses.  Crean was intense...TD took it to a new level.  Buzz practices all looked like practices from the TD era...guys beat the sh1t out of each other.  Wojo and co. were totally different.  Not that the Hausers and Markus couldn't be winners under the right coach...IMHO they were just different than the leaders of the TC and Buzz era.

Ok. I still don’t know what this has to do with anything. Being “wired differently” and having a different response to losses doesn’t really mean anything if it doesn’t lead to more winning.

[Hards Alumni]

Ask Wade why they reached the FF...

Ask Novak what it was like to do anything half-ass around Travis...  It's not a knock on Novak (he had the better NBA career)...but very different people.

Attend practices...observe the difference in leadership between Markus and TD.  TD is wired differently than Markus.  Totally different approaches to leadership, and totally different response to losses.  Crean was intense...TD took it to a new level.  Buzz practices all looked like practices from the TD era...guys beat the sh1t out of each other.  Wojo and co. were totally different.  Not that the Hausers and Markus couldn't be winners under the right coach...IMHO they were just different than the leaders of the TC and Buzz era.

Markus is/was every bit the competitor that Travis is/was.  They're players playing in different eras.  Marcus is one of the all time greats, and an absolutely clutch player.

Time seems to create fake nostalgia.

[tower912]

It is my recollection that Markus's too aggressive leadership style was a contributing factor to other's dissatisfaction.

[Uncle Rico]

It is my recollection that Markus's too aggressive leadership style was a contributing factor to other's dissatisfaction.

Typical small town Wisconsin snowflakes

[panda]

It is my recollection that Markus's too aggressive leadership style was a contributing factor to other's dissatisfaction.

More like Wojo’s lack of leadership.

[Dawson Rental]

I'm guessing he's referring to the rapes, two recruiting violations (minor), him trying to leave every year not just once, the bar/qdoba fights, the crazy transfers every year (buzz was ahead of the game there)

And let's not forget the top 100 freshman flops.