Best four year stretch to have attended MU outside of Al? (basketball success)

[swoopem]

05-09 were my years, was a pretty good time. Still mad about that Stanford loss.

I was 06-10. The big east was always awesome, but I don't remember any non conference games other than Wisco, and we never made it to the second weekend. It was fun but I'd say 09-13 had it the best

[Goose]

I think the three year run with Buzz was the best era since Al, followed by Wade's time at MU.

[Jay Bee]

This threads made me realize the only non Al players to make four ncaa tournaments are the 3 amigos, Lazar, Cubillian and Junior.

Am I right about that? 6 guys total who weren't Al's guys.

Not sure it's meaningful. There are a number of dudes who went every year they were at MU. 4 year guys not the norm

[Skatastrophy]

I'm not sure I agree.  For as much as Wojo is disliked around here he was a good guy at the University.  He had multiple 20+ win seasons and had us in a lot of positive conversations. 

Many people saw the weaknesses in his coaching, but I don't think he was disliked.  He had a lot of good players and put guys in the NBA.

I think most people around here would take Wojo over some of older coaches.

Yeah I can see your point.

I stopped going to games and stopped watching MU because Wojo's hero ball was a very frustrating viewing experience.

Just looked at average game attendance, and during the later Wojo years attendance dropped to levels not seen since the post-Final Four slump. Bad but not terrible like the pre-Crean years.

[4everwarriors]

Doc, you gotta' work on reading the WHOLE question, or answer...  "Outside of Al".

O, eye red dat as artificial intelligence, hey?

[Jay Bee]

Just looked at average game attendance, and during the later Wojo years attendance dropped to levels not seen since the post-Final Four slump. Bad but not terrible like the pre-Crean years.

#FakeNews #Lies

Bruh, wat is u talm bout?

[Skatastrophy]

#FakeNews #Lies

Bruh, wat is u talm bout?

Who knows, I'm deep into my 2022 vintage egg nog at this point

[Hards Alumni]

Who knows, I'm deep into my 2022 vintage egg nog at this point

Damn dude, I home made some in October and it's great.  I am not sure I'd have the will power to let it age a whole year.

[Skatastrophy]

Damn dude, I home made some in October and it's great.  I am not sure I'd have the will power to let it age a whole year.

I was trying to make a gross joke. That's awesome that you homemade some! I've had homemade irish cream before and it was wonderful... and aged poorly.

[Hards Alumni]

I was trying to make a gross joke. That's awesome that you homemade some! I've had homemade irish cream before and it was wonderful... and aged poorly.

Give it a try... its so easy. 

https://altonbrown.com/recipes/aged-eggnog/

[marqfan22]

Triple OT loss. Very dark four year stretch with zero NCAAs. My four years as well.

I can confidently say it was not my four years at MU (97-01). At least by the end you could see some glimmers of hope emerging. But my senior year was capped off with Reece Gaines and Louisville winning in either 2OT or 3OT, and then celebrating shirtless on the scorer's table.

[Shooter McGavin]

I bet that if you look at marquette season ticket holders and fans participating in mubb's online community their years of attending MU overlap with the years MU was successful. Lifetime MU fandom is won with wonderful undergrad memories.

In the same vein that I bet we lost years of lifetime MU fans under Wojo.

There are many people on scoop who are obviously die hard fans from a terrible four year period.  Some who have stated they were there from 87-91.  And we/they all know many more die hard fans who support the program religiously from that era. 

I'm sure the same will happen with the Wojo era students who had an exponentially better competitive basketball experience than we did. 

[PJDunn]

'82 to '86 was highly entertaining. Got to see our last NCAA game for a decade and then watch Majerus absolutely implode.

[Skatastrophy]

There are many people on scoop who are obviously die hard fans from a terrible four year period.  Some who have stated they were there from 87-91.  And we/they all know many more die hard fans who support the program religiously from that era. 

I'm sure the same will happen with the Wojo era students who had an exponentially better competitive basketball experience than we did. 

I don't think scoop is a good sample of all mu alumni, but point taken.

[Nukem2]

'64 to '68 was the beginning of it all.....!

[sodakmu87]

Oh I cannot say even when it was bad is was still good (Mae West RIP). 83-87.  I remember seeing Walter Downing in the McCormick hall dining room as a freshman.  The guy was huge!  Watching him play after the year off from transferring from DePaul swatting a ball away and then dislocating his shoulder was something else.  You are only young and in college once.  Enjoy what you have and had.  My Marquette team was OK at best.  But it was my Marquette!

[dgies9156]

I was 1974 to 1978 so I saw the best and the  beginning of the worst in MU basketball in the Miami of Ohio nightmare.

The best years since 1977 have been the 2.5 years since Coach Shaka came here. We have hope again. This guy is everything we could expect in a leader.

Looking for the best in Phoenix in April!

[BLWarrior91]

This threads made me realize the only non Al players to make four ncaa tournaments are the 3 amigos, Lazar, Cubillian and Junior.

Am I right about that? 6 guys total who weren't Al's guys.

Chris Otule was part of the program for five straight tournaments...but was redshirted during that run.

[jfp61]

Is 21-2024 an option yet?

[Lennys Tap]

I think most people around here would take Wojo over some of older coaches.

I would have taken Wojo over Al - Al had been dead for 13 or 14 years when Wojo arrived.

[StillAWarrior]

I would have taken Wojo over Al - Al had been dead for 13 or 14 years when Wojo arrived.

Yeah, but you've gotta admit it's a pretty close call. Basically a coin flip.

[Scoop Snoop]

I would have taken Wojo over Al - Al had been dead for 13 or 14 years when Wojo arrived.

I would have taken a guy who was definitely dead over a guy who played dead. 

[#UnleashSean]

Without reading.... whatever buzz Era team went sweet 16, elite 8.

[PJDunn]

Those were great years, unless of course, you were a female student.

[brewcity77]

First, I think you have to rule some eras out. Anything pre-Al I wouldn't include. The best was probably 1952-55, but you've got two losing records in there and a single NCAA appearance (admittedly Elite 8 with 2 wins in the tourney).

I also think you have to rule out the first four years of Hank. Yes, you get the last #1 ranking and you get a Sweet 16, but it was clearly a downward trajectory. In terms of best runs, you want the program to be peaking as you leave school. I think that leaves you with four candidates.

4) 1991-1994: Kevin O'Neill - I wasn't there then, but I've talked to enough people that were to know there was a palpable buzz around the program on campus and after Dukiet, you could feel the positive momentum. Every year was better than the last and it culminated in a Sweet 16, beating Kentucky to get there, and only losing to national runner-up Duke. The downside, of course, is O'Neill leaving at the end of that year.

3) 2010-2013: Buzz Williams - You enter college with an established NCAA regular that overachieved as a scrappy underdog 2010 team, making the tournament after being on no one's radar, to a pair of Sweet 16s and culminating in the Elite 8. The senior year would end with an initial feeling that this was just the start of great things, because there was still a feeling that Buzz would be around, Marquette would be the team to beat in the new Big East, and as good as things were, they were just getting started.

2) 2000-2003: Tom Crean - This includes my time at Marquette (2002-04) and I think this is the correct answer at the moment of posting, but there's another candidate. The excitement on campus that was there for O'Neill was palpable from the start with Crean and he was an incredible program salesman. Then you go from two years of program building to program breakthrough to Final Four. Even after the Kansas loss, it felt like we would be back. Wade left, but Diener and Novak were still there, Dameon Mason was the heir apparent, it was seashells and balloons. I mean...we didn't stay there, like all things, but in the moment it was pretty close to feeling elite.

1) 2021-2024: Shaka Smart - This finishing as #1 all depends on March. But man, it's a strong contender. You go from the lowest of lows as a freshman, with a losing record program and a coach getting fired to an NCAA Tourney return as a sophomore, Big East double titles and a tourney win as a junior, and whatever this season ends up being as a senior. If Marquette reaches the Final Four, it's the uncontested answer. If they win the title, it is suddenly second to only 1974-77.