from J/S's Hunt

[TVDirector]

'So why the big rush to hire Williams? Mostly, what this says is Marquette was unable to parlay Crean's success into making the school attractive to an established coach with a proven track record. It gives the unenviable perception that Marquette, although it became a lot more competitive in the Big East with Crean than anyone had a right to expect, is still something less than a destination on the big-time college basketball landscape. Although Crean put Marquette up against the wall, it comes off as a small-time move.

When they couldn't find anyone else, the Golden Eagles settled for continuity. There's something to be said for that, because it was unconscionable the way Crean bolted in that his players had to find out about his abrupt departure from television. Sure, that happens more than occasionally in the corporate world that college athletics have become, but still it was no excuse. Maybe they will find comfort in familiarity.

But comfort and familiarity don't beat Georgetown and Connecticut, and they don't keep the donations flowing or the Bradley Center filled. But if Williams thinks that's going to be hard, it's nothing compared to the selling job he has to convince a skeptical fan base that an athletic director who has been on the job a couple of months did not make a mistake.

And why the six-year contract? It wasn't as if Williams had a lot of leverage. That seems to be an awfully big commitment to a coach who is essentially beginning his career at a school that should not offer entry-level positions anymore.

Crean was in his early 30s when Bill Cords hired him, but Crean was a known quantity, having made his reputation at Michigan State. Williams made his bones at Texas A&M, not exactly the dark side of the moon but sketchy to those who expected more from Marquette.

Williams deserves every opportunity and it's possible he will eventually make people forget Crean, but this isn't exactly the buzz Marquette hoped to create.'


Don't often agree with the guy, but he's spot on here.
why 6 years?
iffy record as a coach?
he's hired for continuity and we are only able to retain the lowest 2 rated recruits for the year?

even Rice hired a known commodity in Braun-

oh well.

[LastWarrior]

Not sure I completely agree here... Buzz has one year of head coaching experience coming to MU while Crean had zero.  To say Crean was a known quantity because he was an assistant to Izzo is a disservice to Buzz.

Look i'm not happy about the hire either but it looks like nobody wanted to come.  The best we can hope for is that Buzz is really the stud everyone claims he can be.  Then in another nine years he'll bolt and we'll be looking for another coach.  If at any time we thought that MU was a destination job or an elite program, this process really showed us how wrong we were.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Great column!! He hits the nail on the head...again

[79Warrior]

Great column!! He hits the nail on the head...again

Totally agree. Straight and to the point. Hunt is right on in this piece..

[esotericmindguy]

Right on?  He admits to knowing nothing about Buzz (bad journalism), then proceeds to rip the guy.  He fails to mention that NO had a 10-19 record the year he showed up and got a top 50 recruiting class and left the school in way better shape then when he arrived.  "When they couldn't find anyone else, the Golden Eagles settled for continuity", how does he know anything about the job search?  And as far as hiring him to save recruits, thats ridiculous and pure speculation.

And of course he says Crean was a know quantity, which is not true...no one knew who he was, he just came from a final four team so everyone wet their pants.

Can't believe anyone reads that clown, he never has anything good to say about Marquette.

[NavinRJohnson]

Many here, including myself have said that this is not the same Marquette job as it was 9 years ago, this hire makes me wonder however. If this is truly the best man for the job, or the best guy we could get, and he may well be, but perhaps MU isn't all that much better off than we were 9 years ago after all. Is it just me or did we just hire the same guy we did 9 years ago, only this time without any of the Midwest ties or networks?

[chapman]

What's wrong with the 6 year contract?  Would you rather have it be two years?  You can't really start to judge Buzz's overall job until he's had time to bring some players through the system.  I don't think it would be fair either way to pass judgement until at least part way through the 2010-2011 season.  Any success he has next year can be attributed to having four seniors and a talented junior forward.  After that, there might be some rebuilding/transition as new players come in and get most of the playing time.  Maybe four or five years is a better "trial" contract, but it's not like this is a 10 year deal.  Though I'm sure some will be calling for Buzz's head after the first loss next year and some will be calling for a huge extension if we make the sweet 16.