PROTEST (2008 thread)

[jaybilaswho?]

I find it almost comical that all the younger fans are so hostile. Guys, I am class of 1985, not 1885. Al McGuire hire was before ESPN, websites and talk radio. Todays game is different. Mistakes last a long time.

I am not sure if I am more disgusted by the hire or the lack of respect shown on here. 99% of my thoughts have been respectful to other posters. Why do I not get the same respect?

Your getting no respect because you are sitting here pontificating how great of a fan you have been and for how long and now, when the team has seen better days and is getting back on the track to righting itself after the sideswipe of Creans departure, your jumping ship.

Your want respect? You dont get respect for being a fan for 30 years and then just deciding to leave when the program makes a decision that you are not fond of. If everyone had your mentality, no one would be at Marquette following the Gold mishap.

[Warriors Forever]

99% of my thoughts have been respectful to other posters. Why do I not get the same respect?

Your arrogance is ridiculous. Plus the fact that you only rely on hindsight makes you look foolish. "I should have canceled over hiring of Mike Deane and came back when TC arrived." Wow, what an original thought...... NOW. Go buy yourself some really expensive booze with your "family's money" and hopefully you will wake up after MU has another winning season next year.

[Strokin 3s]

I find it almost comical that all the younger fans are so hostile. Guys, I am class of 1985, not 1885.

Some how I find it hard to believe you have had season tickets for 35 years then?  Please explain to my simple brain how this works?

"Four season tickets for 35y are being canceled.

Still waiting to hear on this GymBar?

Gymbar "Buying season tickets since I was 10 years old, everybody look at my dedication"

[THEGYMBAR]

Strokin--Family has had tickets for 35y. Why is that hard to understand? I have paid every bill for tickets since 1987, prior to that folks did. Not really sure how or why having tickets would be questioned.

[Strokin 3s]

Ahh ok, well in that case someone before me had the same seats that I now currently sit in.  I will count those years as my own, so I have now been a season ticket holder since Marquette Basketball began playing at the BC.

Now everyone come see how good I look.

[THEGYMBAR]

Jay---Never said I was a great fan. I am not any greater fan than anyone on here. I do believe that length of loyalty does have merit. My Dad has been Packer fan since befoe I was born. It doesn't make him better fan, but I do take his thoughts into consideration more than I take my 18y sons. Experience is knowledge. My Dad has it and I don't.

[MURFC]

Gimp--Thank you for the kind words. But actually with the money that my family has given to the school over the years I do believe they should take that into consideration. MU is a business and any good business caters to big customer first, medium customers second and infrequent customers last.

I have respected and cheered for MU bball program all my life. Hardly a blue hair, much closer to your age than a blue hair. I can tell you that I respect the older alumni that helped build the foundation of MU ball. The foundation was built in the 1970's and weathered the past 30 years relatively well. I for one do not want to see it crumble.

If your interest is having better seats and standing the whole game I respect that. I remember sitting upstairs at the Arena and the "Blue hairs" as you call them were on their feet. Winning teams create excitement.

I have zero problem with your comments other than they lack any respect to people that supported this program for a long time. If you are the future of this program, please study its' history. It is quite impressive. This program belongs to be guided by qualified people, not people who might be qualified if we only give him a chance.

Good luck young Warrior. The responsibility of a winning, classy organization is a big one. Do it right!!

Your tickets, your choice.  You want to sell out of your season tickets...more power to you, but I still don't get why you would dump your tickets now.  It just doesn't seem to make sense.  Marquette had terrible patches in the 80's and 90's, including multiple losing seasons, and you chose to hold-on?  We are returning 4 starters from a team with 25 wins and you want to bail out now?  Many of the posts I have read today are totally irrational.  People want Marquette to be "big time"....so do I....but, for whatever reason, we could not draw the interest of some of the "big" names being thrown around (e.g. Bennett, Miller, Self, etc.).  So, everyone gets pissy, throughs a little internet tantrum, and says - "I'm dumping my season tickets and writing off Marquette forever."  Stupidity. 

Take three deep breaths and at least entertain the idea of Buzz being a good coach.  Give him one season....evaluate his performance.  If he doesn't live up to the standard that you think he should...that is when you cut-off your funding/donations.  I hardly think that MU's hiring of Buzz Williams is the point at which you write off MU as a "sunk investment"....especially, when you claim to have held season tickets for 30 years.   My God...enough with people around here acting lilke adolecent drama queens.   

[SERocks]

Damn it.  Give me my ball, I am going home.

[MU gimp ONE]

I wonder what the Boxer Boys would think of GYMBARs dedication???

I too have been a season ticket holder for 30+ if we are counting others paying for my ticket.  I also have been owning a car and house since birth.  They may have been in my parents name and paid for by them, but i was there so i get credit for them.  This is a fun delusional theory you live by GYMBAR.

[THEGYMBAR]

MURFC--You made my point as well. I couldn't care less about next year. The new coach was about the future, not next season. If we lost the recruits so be it. Everyone on here is bashing me about being selfish, arrogant and self-centered and I am the only guy that does not care about next year.

I'd support a program that wanted to move forward, even if it took some time. Hiring a joke is not the answer. I would have no problem having a top coach come and lose every recruit for next year, James and McNeal go pro if we could get John Lacy and Jamil Wilson next year.

I am giving up my tickets because MU gave up a chance to get Lacy and Wilson in their own backyard. Why? To recruit third team all state Texas kids. Two top recruits in our own city and we hire a coach to recruit in Texas.

[🏀]

I wonder what the Boxer Boys would think of GYMBARs dedication???

HAHA

[Strokin 3s]

I wonder what the Boxer Boys would think of GYMBARs dedication???

I too have been a season ticket holder for 30+ if we are counting others paying for my ticket.  I also have been owning a car and house since birth.  They may have been in my parents name and paid for by them, but i was there so i get credit for them.  This is a fun delusional theory you live by GYMBAR.

I too have owned my home since birth then as well!!!  In fact, I now really consider my parents home my vacation home since I own the home I live in as well.

[THEGYMBAR]

The clever responses are why MU hires a dud. They know their fan base and they play them. Over and out guys, sorry for caring. Not exactly sure on why longivity of tickets became relevant. As a fan I saw every home game from 1973 -1987, who care who paid for the tickets.

But keep up the clever rips on me. I have to get back to work and make some xtra money. Your arguments convinced me on keeping my tickets. Hopefully they can up the prices next year to pay for Buzz.

Look for me next year, I will be the guy with a great BUZZ going.

[Ready2Fly]

MU fans----for once stand up for what is right. We are apathic for three decades. We are the laughingstock of NCAA as of 2pm tomorrow. That bothers me, doesn't it you?

UWM would not hire Buzz if they had an opening and we do.

That's the truth and it's depressing.

[jaybilaswho?]

You are the only person on this board that is abandoning the team. You have questioned everyone on this boards fanhood (irony?). Your point is that you wonder why we went out and hired a no name guy to take over a program that had the opportunity to take the next step as far as college basketball programs. Why did we not go out and get a big name coach? You have to remember that Marquette is a Jesuit school with strong Jesuit values. The program wants their coach to exemplify these values. We want a guy that would graduate his kids, keep the class in the program, turn his kids into men. Crean did this things. Your Calipari's, Self's and handfuls of other top name coaches do not do this. They put results ahead of what it is a college intends to do for its students. I would rather MU turn out high quality student athletes, who are well spoken and prepared for a future other than their sport, then having a kid who can barely put together sentence any day of the week.

Bottom line is this, I am not happy with our coaching selection. Your right we could have done much better. A coach was hired and now we have to deal with it. Let him do his thing. You cant hate the guy because you wish he were someone else.

[THEGYMBAR]

Jay--I agree on student athlete comments and Jesuit values. But if that is the case do we belong in the Big East? I am not supporting this decision because I love MU, the entire institution. There are coaches that graduate players and can compete. Standards are set by the school.

If we want to be in the Big East lets be in the Big East. Right now we look like a Horizon team pretending to be in the Big East. The fact that I will give up my tickets has zero do to with my feelings about the school. Like everyone on here I think the place does not get the credit it derserves. This hire just adds to that.

Supporting the school does not mean we have to accept everything they do. Maybe a thousand lost season tickets would speak volumes to the admin. I hope Buzz does great, but the risk is way too big for the reward.

[lab_warrior]

Stunning...one of the most overly hysterical and irrational posts on this board...go ahead...protest.  Give me a break.

[THEGYMBAR]

Hiring an unknown coach because mid level recruits might back out is irrational.

[jaybilaswho?]

What about our current players who will be coming back next year? Are you just going to give up on them? They're not giving up on the program, in fact almost all of them feel a sense of entitlement now. I dont think it would be good at all to give up on those guys. By having 1000 season ticket holders throw out their seats doesnt translate that great to the guys who put the sweat on the floor. The program is the players also, not just the coach. Would you give up on your sons basketball team just because of a new coach?

[THEGYMBAR]

Jay---It sucks for guys on the current team. Is it fair that TC left and stole the recruits? Would it be fair if Jame and MCNeal went pro? When a coach leaves or is fired people suffer in the program. But, you cannot make a decision based on current team. Coach has to be selected for longterm.

Question for you and anyone else that cares to be honest---Let's agree we all have Jesuit values, IF MU HIRED CALIPARI TODAY WOULD YOU HAVE SAID IT WAS BAD HIRE BECAUSE OF HIS REPUATION?

I bet there were would be over 90% support of such a hire and it is because we want to win in ball and be respected around the country.

[claymate]

I would have loved to have been at the Arby's when Buzz got the call that he was getting the job!

I'm more than open to giving Buzz a chance, but here's the thing- it's one thing to roll the dice on an unproven coach when you don't have much to lose and are in the Horizon league....but when you're consistently ranked in the teens and a Big East conference member, you don't roll the dice.  I could see if we were going to pay Buzz 60,000$ a year and then donate the remaining 940,000$ to charity...but we're paying this guy a million dollars to run a near-top-tier program.

Oh, but yeah!  We are Marquette!!  Whatever they decide to do, I'll trust!!!  My word doesn't count because I only have one post!!!  Shame on all of you for supporting this decision and calling yourself Marquette fans.  You have been betrayed.

[claymate]

"Marquette is a Jesuit school with strong Jesuit values. The program wants their coach to exemplify these values. We want a guy that would graduate his kids, keep the class in the program, turn his kids into men."

Actually, Marquette is a corporation that exists to make money - both academically and athletically.  Otherwise, the tickets would be free and they'd serve communion wine at the games instead of Miller Lite.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

"Marquette is a Jesuit school with strong Jesuit values. The program wants their coach to exemplify these values. We want a guy that would graduate his kids, keep the class in the program, turn his kids into men."

Actually, Marquette is a corporation that exists to make money - both academically and athletically.  Otherwise, the tickets would be free and they'd serve communion wine at the games instead of Miller Lite.

Not sure I agree with that.

I mean, the Men's hoops program certainly makes money... but none of the other sports do... so it balances out (for athletics anyways).

[THEGYMBAR]

2002 alum---That is why MU cannot afford for men's bball to fail. It covers expenses of all the losing sports. A losing bball team hurts the school and that is why you should be pissed.

[MUWarrior06]

I think this was a step backwards for Marquette basketball.

Crean could never recruit a big guy. He was so set on proving that he didn't have to, he stuck with his 3 guard system and ran that to the ground. He finally showed that you really can't get far in the tourney with that. I'm glad to see him go. I'm thankful for what he did to the program, but he showed he could only take it so far, it was time to let someone else take them over the hump

Crean was a great recruiter. He brought in good talent and I was very excited for next year's draft class... again no real big guy except for Otule, a little disappointing

Enter Buzz Williams, a great recruiter, but very little coaching experience. People say that it was great we kept him on because he's familiar with the current players and recruits. That's not a reason to hire a coach. You hire a coach based on what he can do to make your program better, not on the basis of "Who can we hire so our program doesn't go completely down the crapper next season". That's exactly what it looks like they did. It was a knee-jerk reaction to try and control the bleeding. McNeal and DJ will most likely go pro. Why return for one more season under a coach you don't know and didn't recruit you. Mbakwe is transfering. TT wants out of his commitment to MU. Then we had 3 seniors leave. So we'll be losing at least 7 players for next season. Unless Buzz can recruit like crazy in the next couple weeks, this program is going to be awful next year...

Next year's starting lineup: Acker, Cubillian, Matthews, Burke, Hayward. With a bench consisting of mostly freshmen. Not real impressive.


The disappointing part of this hire is that Marquette is in the top half of the toughest conference, and we weren't able to attract a "sexy name" with coaching experience. Buzz has had zero success coaching. He has one year at a tiny school.

It just seems to me that we're hiring another Tom Crean- great recruiter but people will question his coaching abilities. Actually, it's not even a Tom Crean hiring because Tom Crean came from a very successful program, whereas Buzz Williams has been a journey man for the most of his career at various programs, mostly small schools.  

It seems like this hiring was made by a knee jerk reaction after the top names declined interest in order to preserve recruits and try and keep guys from leaving for the draft. I just think we could have done better with a little more time. I really do think people in higher places will chuckle at this hiring. We went from Tony Bennett to Buzz Williams... with no attempt at anything in between those two extremes... a program like Marquette should have done better.

These next 2 years we will not make the NCAA tourney, and then we'll try for a coaching change and spend another 2 years in mediocrity. This will even further inflate Crean's immortality status among half of MU fans. Sucks, because he really wasn't as great as people think he was. But I guess after years and years of just plain awful basketball, anything looks like the second coming.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope Buzz Williams turns out to be great. I hope he can recruit some amazing players. One positive on him is we get away from getting all our players from the Chicago area and have dipped into the East coast and Texas with Buzz... that's encouraging. But that's about it.