[Cracked Sidewalks] The Charm Offensive

[RawdogDX]

And it seemed HE was beginning to become the face of the MU program, not his players.

I don't think that is a fair criticism at all.
WHo is the face of Duke?  the coach
Syracuse? coach
unc? coach
madison? coach
michigan? coach
florida? coach
Memphis?  It was rose until a week ago but now, you guessed it, the coach.

i watch a bit of college basketball and wouldn't recognize some of the best players on those teams if they walked past, the coaches on the other hand...
Any coach who is around for a decade of winning always becomes the face of the program over the players, most of whom are only starters for a few years and gone in one if they are all stars.

[RedWebster]

I don't think that is a fair criticism at all.
WHo is the face of Duke?  the coach
Syracuse? coach
unc? coach
madison? coach
michigan? coach
florida? coach
Memphis?  It was rose until a week ago but now, you guessed it, the coach.

i watch a bit of college basketball and wouldn't recognize some of the best players on those teams if they walked past, the coaches on the other hand...
Any coach who is around for a decade of winning always becomes the face of the program over the players, most of whom are only starters for a few years and gone in one if they are all stars.

The coach is always the face of the program...and in our case, the university.

The face of Marquette basketball and the university is now Buzz Williams...a tobacco chewing Texan with a shaved head.

The excitement is almost unbearable.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Al and TC went about business in completely different ways. 

Al was a New Yorker, who countlessly would say things like "if they'll give you the money, you better take it." 

TC would talk about MU and the Al legacy being so important to him, and then leave it for IU and the Bobby Knight legacy. 

Al was open, honest, committed to his players and nothing short of a class act.  He never pretended to be anything he was not, and I'm not sure I know of many people as comfortable in their own skin as Al.  I always think I can see the Al influence in Rick Majerus because he seems pretty comfortable being Rick Majerus as well.  I never got that feeling with TC.  I'm not about to judge him...just an observation.

I can't say that I know Al personally (shook his hand once), but I think peoples perceptions of him are really interesting.

Obviously he was a total original and pretty much feared nothing. However, I think the whole "straight shooter" thing is an interesting take (I'm generalizing how most people view Al).

I can see how people think that, and I even agree to an extent. But, let's also remember Al himself admitted that he was first and foremost a salesman and promoter.

He tells a story (in an TV interview) about going in to interview for the MU job, and he wasn't really interested in it (said he was just going through the motions). However, once he found out he wasn't the favorite to win the job, he got mad and decided that he would win the job (Al is such a competitor). He charmed the pants off in the interview and won the job.

Anyways, my point is, Al could turn on the charm if he wanted to. I'm not calling him a liar, or dishonest at all... but let's face it... part of being a good salesman is persuading people and tell them the things they like to here.

The perception of Al by most is "He's a real straight shooter, I tell ya.", when the reality is he probably was just charming enough to cover for any sort of double talk that he had used. Again, not saying he was a "double talker" or a liar. Just saying he was good enough to know how to get out of some tight spots.

I find the perception of Al vs the perception of Crean very interesting. I know they are not alike in many ways, I just find the contrasting perceptions interesting when both coaches might have been using many of the same communication tactics.

For the record, I really like and respect what both coaches have done, and this is not a debate about who is better. I'm just commenting on the perceptions that people have about each.

A lot of people like to treat Crean like Satin and Al like the Messiah when the reality is that they are both just humans.

[dwaderoy2004]

The face of Marquette basketball and the university is now Buzz Williams...a tobacco chewing Texan with a shaved head.

man, when you put it like that, that sounds pretty awesome.  really bad-ass.

[avid1010]

I can't say that I know Al personally (shook his hand once), but I think peoples perceptions of him are really interesting.

Obviously he was a total original and pretty much feared nothing. However, I think the whole "straight shooter" thing is an interesting take (I'm generalizing how most people view Al).

I can see how people think that, and I even agree to an extent. But, let's also remember Al himself admitted that he was first and foremost a salesman and promoter.

He tells a story (in an TV interview) about going in to interview for the MU job, and he wasn't really interested in it (said he was just going through the motions). However, once he found out he wasn't the favorite to win the job, he got mad and decided that he would win the job (Al is such a competitor). He charmed the pants off in the interview and won the job.

Anyways, my point is, Al could turn on the charm if he wanted to. I'm not calling him a liar, or dishonest at all... but let's face it... part of being a good salesman is persuading people and tell them the things they like to here.

The perception of Al by most is "He's a real straight shooter, I tell ya.", when the reality is he probably was just charming enough to cover for any sort of double talk that he had used. Again, not saying he was a "double talker" or a liar. Just saying he was good enough to know how to get out of some tight spots.

I find the perception of Al vs the perception of Crean very interesting. I know they are not alike in many ways, I just find the contrasting perceptions interesting when both coaches might have been using many of the same communication tactics.

For the record, I really like and respect what both coaches have done, and this is not a debate about who is better. I'm just commenting on the perceptions that people have about each.

A lot of people like to treat Crean like Satin and Al like the Messiah when the reality is that they are both just humans.

The difference is that Al would admit it.  He'd tell kids to take the money because he would.  He didn't pretend to be a great human being, and while I didn't know him well at all, he'd always mention he had skelletons in his closest the few times I did talk with him.  He seemed much more comfortable with himself than TC. 

TC was completely different.  He would never even look you in the eye; however, he ran a clean program, and I rarely disliked a player and/or TC's actions or the players actions for that matter.  I just always thought he was a bit of a Phil Mickleson.

[Tulsa Warrior]

Al was smoother and a natural on the PR and sales thing.  People didn't know or care if they were being sold.  Al got what he wanted and made you like it.  He came to Marquette in full bloom.  Crean is not a natural and has had to work on it more. (give himcredit)  He also came to Marquette as a work in progress.  FYI, if he is to succeed at IU he'll have to develop more as a coach.

The other contrast is Al was smart enough to have Hank Raymonds and Rick Majerus.  Crean has had trouble holding on to quality assistants and it wasn't just because of the different in eras.

Buzz is a question mark.  What we do know is he's a hell of a recruiter with a work ethic that surpasses Crean's. That is saying a lot.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

The difference is that Al would admit it.  He'd tell kids to take the money because he would.  He didn't pretend to be a great human being, and while I didn't know him well at all, he'd always mention he had skelletons in his closest the few times I did talk with him.  He seemed much more comfortable with himself than TC. 

TC was completely different.  He would never even look you in the eye; however, he ran a clean program, and I rarely disliked a player and/or TC's actions or the players actions for that matter.  I just always thought he was a bit of a Phil Mickleson.

I don't think your assessment is unfair... Like I said, I just find perceptions to be interesting.

Al never had to face the media or internet scrutiny that Crean does... that might make a difference in how he was perceived.

Again, not comparing the 2 of them... just comparing how people view them (ie comments about either's coaching ability don't really matter, having hank raymonds doesn't matter, etc).

[avid1010]

Right.  I find it interesting as well, and its hard to explain why I have so much respect for Al and so little for TC.  I came to this conclusion long before TC left for IU, and I really don't have a problem with 90% of what TC did while at MU.

I guess I always felt like Al was looking at the "big picture" for himself, his players and the university; while TC was very narrow as his life was STRICTLY basketball.

I guess I feel like there's a big difference in that Al was often quoted by others while TC often quoted others.  They weren't in the same league as people or coaches in my mind.  I always felt that way about Wooden and Dean Smith as well. 

[Daniel]

Al was very comfortable with, and confident in, himself. . .I don't think we have had a coach since that has exhibited the same levels.

Let's see how Buzz does - I like his focus on his character, adn I think he knows where he came from and how he got where he is today - so let's see how he does.

[muball]

I really think when people think of UW the face in the school and not the coach. Alot of people across the country know UW and where it is but not their fball or bball coaches names. When it comes to Marquette it was not umcommon for people not to know where it actually and in many cases who their coach is.  This was not uncommon when traveling.

Crean did alot of good selling to the Vitales and analyst which put MU in the spot light and that was a super thing. I also think that Cords did some significant things behind the scenes to raise MU exposure.

Now with BEast exposure winning should keep us in the National spotlight. If Buzz can improve on our record then we should be just fine.