Buzz Attacks

[🏀]

That's odd, some people just runaway, never say goodbye, and then don't come back.  How could he fall in and out of love with MUScoop so quickly?  Seems like there must have been some bad medicine.

Oh well, I guess the site will just keep livin' on a prayer.

He's wanted. Dead or alive.

[bilsu]

Buzz vs. Bennett. What I would like so point out is the difference between the two. It is obvious Buzz is a self made man who worked very hard to get were he is at. Bennett got were he is at by the hard work of his father. Does that mean anything, probably not. But I like the idea of a coach that did everything possible to get were he is at. I believe he will continue to work to be the best possible coach.
I like Buzz's work ethic.

[Murffieus]

Work ethic is fine, but need a BB IQ as well-----I haven't seen anything yet that shows
me that he has that. Maybe he's laying in the weeds !

[ATWizJr]

why would he need a barbeque IQ?

[muwarrior87]

why would he need a barbeque IQ?

well i'd hope he has one anyway. he IS from Texas. 

[The Lens]

Buzz vs. Bennett. What I would like so point out is the difference between the two. It is obvious Buzz is a self made man who worked very hard to get were he is at. Bennett got were he is at by the hard work of his father. Does that mean anything, probably not. But I like the idea of a coach that did everything possible to get were he is at. I believe he will continue to work to be the best possible coach.
I like Buzz's work ethic.

Making it to, and PLAYING in the NBA probably didn't hurt Tony's cause.

[MUBB7703]

Murf:

How can you question Buzz's basketball IQ when we have not seen him coach a game.  Many people are trying to draw conclusion about Buzz's ability as a result of the coaching job he did UNO.  The situation there was so out of the ordinary, I do not think it is fair to draw such conclusions.  Let's judge his basketball IQ after he has coached at least a season and maybe two.

[nola03]

The situation there was so out of the ordinary, I do not think it is fair to draw such conclusions.  Let's judge his basketball IQ after he has coached at least a season and maybe two.

As to your first point, granting that UNO was in a precarious position as a whole (though Pasterneck seemed to do alright this past season....) once the ball is tipped that shouldn't have an overriding effect. People seem to give Buzz a pass on the coaching ability presented in his 14-17 record strictly due to an "extraordinary" situation. I find it strange to totally dismiss it.

As to your second point, he gets only this season for a lot of people before the good will wears down. He may never again have the combination of talent and experience at this level as he will have next season. A donkey could win 25 games with James, McNeal, and Matthews back for a 4th season and Buzz should do no less.

[Pakuni]

As to your first point, granting that UNO was in a precarious position as a whole (though Pasterneck seemed to do alright this past season....) once the ball is tipped that shouldn't have an overriding effect. People seem to give Buzz a pass on the coaching ability presented in his 14-17 record strictly due to an "extraordinary" situation. I find it strange to totally dismiss it.

Pasternack did alright thanks to the 317th ranked non-conference schedule in the country compared to the 96th under Buzz. Fact is, New Orleans had a worse conference record in 2007-08 under Pasternack than they did in 2006-07 under Buzz.
That was accomplished with four of the previous season's five top scorers returning, including the soon-to-be-named Sun Belt player of the year. And, of course, circumstances were a tad bit better around UNO last year.

I don't think anyone is giving Buzz a pass. Rather, I think some of us are making the case that he actually did a pretty good coaching job his one year in New Orleans.
Toss out the hurricane and consider:

- five more Division I wins than the previous season
- three more conference wins than the previous season and the season before that
- UNO's best conference showing since 2004 (and better than last year)
- had lost team's second-leading scorer from previous season and top two rebounders from previous season

So, throw out the hurricane and just consider the fact the team won 61 percent more games against D-I competition from the previous season and even improved on the 2004-05 (pre-Katrina) record.
Call me crazy, but I don't think that's evidence of a "not so good" coaching performance.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Coach Crean hadn't won a game before he came to MU.

Buzz has won 14.

 

I'm cautiously optimistic about Buzz.

When given a chance, great leaders can rise to an occasion and surprise you.

Or, if they are not ready for the position, they can flame out.

I'll take a wait and see approach.

[Henry Sugar]

Coach Crean hadn't won a game before he came to MU.

Buzz has won 14.

Just because I'm still pissed that neither coach was contacted by Marquette.

Brownell

• Has won 127 games
• Coach of the Year two times
• Three regular season Conference championships
• Three Conference Tournament championships
• Made the NCAA Tournament three times
• And he's the winningest coach under 40

Lowery

• Has won 96 games
• Coach of the Year once
• Two Regular season Conference championships
• One Conference Tournament championship
• Three NCAA Tournament wins, including a Sweet Sixteen

But by all means, let's talk ourselves into what a magnificent job it was by Buzz to win 14 games at New Orleans.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Just because I'm still pissed that neither coach was contacted by Marquette.

Brownell

• Has won 127 games
• Coach of the Year two times
• Three regular season Conference championships
• Three Conference Tournament championships
• Made the NCAA Tournament three times
• And he's the winningest coach under 40

Lowery

• Has won 96 games
• Coach of the Year once
• Two Regular season Conference championships
• One Conference Tournament championship
• Three NCAA Tournament wins, including a Sweet Sixteen

But by all means, let's talk ourselves into what a magnificent job it was by Buzz to win 14 games at New Orleans.

Touche!

Like I said, I'm cautiously optimistic.

I don't think picking or being a head coach is an exact science.

I'm not exactly sure why Buzz was picked... but I'm hopeful he turns out to be more like the new Raynor Library rather than Lalumiere Language Hall.

[Pakuni]

Lowery

• Has won 96 games
• Coach of the Year once
• Two Regular season Conference championships
• One Conference Tournament championship
• Three NCAA Tournament wins, including a Sweet Sixteen

But by all means, let's talk ourselves into what a magnificent job it was by Buzz to win 14 games at New Orleans.

I like Lowery. Really, I do.

But does anyone really believe the situation Buzz walked into at UNO is remotely comparable to what Lowery was left for him by Weber and Painter?

Heck, maybe MU should have hired this guy:

- 90 wins in three seasons
- Two Final Fours in three years
- One National Coach of the Year Award

Any guesses?
Bill Guthridge.

[MUBB7703]

Nola, while I agree that Buzz will have to win and win big next year, I disagree that anyone could win 25 because the 3 Amigos are returning.  I think the lack of Ous's presence on defense will have a bigger impact than people think.  Right now the team does not have anyone with sufficient height and experience to play the 7 footers in the Big East.  We also are still going to struggle with 3 pt. shooting, since Lazar is going to be relied upon for more rebounding.  This will prevent us from being able to spread the floor to take more advantage of the 3 Amigos slashing to the basket.

Now about the continued comments that there were more qualified candidates for the job then Buzz, everyone should remember that Marquette has an institutional history of giving unknown or lessor experienced coach a chance.  That is how we got Al, Dukiet, O'Neil, Crean, etc.  The fact that we have had recent success in the Big East and the NCAA does not mean you will absolutely be able to attract the top coaches on the market.  If that were the case Cinn. would not have fallen as far as it has. 

The fact remains that college basketball is a recruiting game.  The better talent you bring in, the more likely you will win.   I have never consider Roy Williams or Bill Self great game coaches but they have been able to bring in great talent.  In fact, I would argue that with their coaching ability they each needed to be at a school that is considered one of the top 6 or 7 premiere programs in college basketball in order to attract enough talent to overcome there coaching deficiencies.  I do not think Self would have gotten that Illinois team to the Final Four had he stayed at Illinois and not gone to Kansas.

[Marquette84]

Just because I'm still pissed that neither coach was contacted by Marquette.

Brownell

• Has won 127 games
• Coach of the Year two times
• Three regular season Conference championships
• Three Conference Tournament championships
• Made the NCAA Tournament three times
• And he's the winningest coach under 40

Consider this coach:

• Has won 124 games (vs. 60 losses)
• Coach of the year twice
• Two conference championships
  
• Made the NCAA tournament two times (pre expansion) and NIT two times
• Graduated 95% of his players.
• Was just the fourth coach in NCAA history to win 100 games within his first five seasons.
• Winningest coach in conference history
• Did so before the age of 35

No, not Mike Deane.

Pat Kennedy.  His stats are based after his first six seasons as a head coach at Iona--amazing how closely his accomplishments parallel Brad Brownell's.

And indicative of the folly of trying to use stats to "prove" that it was a mistake not to consider Brownell.

[Henry Sugar]

Pat Kennedy.  His stats are based after his first six seasons as a head coach at Iona--amazing how closely his accomplishments parallel Brad Brownell's.

And indicative of the folly of trying to use stats to "prove" that it was a mistake not to consider Brownell.

Kennedy did all that twenty two years ago.  They still wore short shorts back then.

What would have been the harm of considering Brownell?  Maybe he would have impressed Marquette as much as he did Indiana (who almost hired him)... and then you'd be telling all the naysayers what a great hire it was by Marquette.

[bilsu]

The fact is we will not really know how good or bad Buzz is until after his first full year with no Crean players. Wins and losses sometimes depend on the luck or whether players keep from getting injured. Just look at how much greater a coach Crean would have been considered if they MU had hit the last shot against Tulsa, Alabama and Stanford. These were basically three NCAA tournament games that could have been won in the last seconds of the game. Take away injuries to key players such as Diener and McNeal and Crean proably would have won another 5 games. So how do we rate Buzz. Is MU still considered an upper division Big East team 5 years from now. Remember how far Uconn fell in just one year. Considered at times to be the number one team in the country in 2006 to failing to make the NIT in 2007 and then making the NCAA tournament this year. This year they lost a first round game in overtime after their starting guard got hurt earlier in the game. We will have a good team next year and the year after could be a drop similar to Connecticut's. The question becomes does the team improve as Buzz's recruits get more experienced. Coaching is so much more than X'and O's. It is recruiting players that fit your style and do not hurt the team with bad attitudes. It is the ability to teach players fundamentals and team play. It is putting together a game plan. It is motivating and instilling confidence in players. It is handling refs during games. It is making game adjustments. I think the biggest things that Buzz will need to get experience in is game management and handling refs. Every year we should see better game decisions. Handling refs really comes from getting the refs to respect you. I suspect that this would be a problem for any new coach in the Big East.