Cracked Sidewalks

BBQ Interviews from Time Warner Sports - Krause

2008-07-15T15:20:00.003-05:00

Here's a video that played last week on Time Warner Sports - Dennis Krause's show.

Krause interviews Jerel, DJ, Wes, and Lazar during the BuzzBQ.

Top 20 Recruiting Classes - Ranked

2008-07-13T20:52:00.021-05:00

Last year, Cracked Sidewalks asked John Pudner ('88) to do a guest column, and he gave us his take on Marquette's Top 100 Players of all time. A week ago, after this discussion on MUScoop, I asked Pudner to use his database for new, evil purposes.

On request, he's put together Marquette's Top 20 Recruting Classes.

The Top 20 Recruiting Classes of All-Time

The recruiting class Buzz Williams has produced in his first couple of months looks like it could be one of the greatest recruiting classes in MU history. We won’t know until their careers have all concluded, but the signees have spurred some posts on the greatest recruiting classes so far.

I recently compiled a rating for all 669 players in MU history, so with that in place I decided to proceed to add the total ratings of the players that have made up MUs first 89 recruiting classes (still to early to rank Hayward & Company and beyond) to determine the best 20 of all time.

If you want to see how every player was evaluated and rated, I’m afraid you have to go to www.collegeprowler.com/basketball and buy my new book, Ultimate Hoops Guide: Marquette University, but for purposes of this article let me condense 100 pages into a few lines. I simplified the points, rebounds, steals, blocked shots and assists for every MU player from 1917 on to one rating number based on the context of the conditions under which they played. For example, a player scoring 7 ppg in the 1920s when MU was giving up 28 points per game will rank about the same as a player scoring 20 ppg in an early 1960s season in which MU was giving up 80 points per game because they are both scoring about 25% of the points needed to win each night.

In the end, each player ended up with a rating between 0 and 55, with the following distribution:

Rating	Number of Players
50+ 40-49 30-39 20-29 10-19 5 – 9 0 – 4	1st to 6th best 7th to 19th best 20th to 49th best 50th to 110th best 111th to 207th best 208th to 310th best 311th to 669th best

For purposes of this article, I then added up the ratings of each player in each class to get a class rating for the first 89 MU recruiting classes with the following notes:

Highest rating awarded a class for one player is 50 points. Once I completed the project, it was clear Jim Chones, Bo Ellis, Butch Lee, Dean Meminger, George Thompson and Dwyane Wade were the top 6 players in MU history, but I am rounding each of their 6 ratings to an even 50 points to avoid turning this article into a rehash of who the top individual players are.

Lowest rating awarded a class for one player is 5.1. The average class has had 3 to 4 players who ended up with a rating of more than 5, so there is no reason to give any credit for a player lower than that.

Class is defined as the players who all started playing the same year. Because I don’t have data for the year in which each player actually signed his commitment so I can’t distinguish between true freshman, redshirts and JC transfers for many of the seasons. This leads to some situations such as Wade and Diener being grouped together in the 2001 class because Wade sat out his first year, but it was the only way I could run the numbers.The following are the Top 20 recruiting classes of all time:

Rank	Class Started Playing Together	Eventual Career Value of Top 5	Top Players in Order
20	1941	84.6	Kuffel 22.3, Skat 19.7, Chandler 18.1, Millunze 14.1, Bril 10.4 – MU started the 1940s with a solid recruiting class but these five only got to play together their sophomore year of 1942, as the draft took different players in different years and some finished their careers as late as 1947. On top of that, after a strong start in 1945, Chandler was ruled ineligible early in 45. The result was MUs only losing decade.
19	1937	84.7	Deneen 25.8, Hesik 18.3, Adams 16.1, Graf 13.2, Amsden 11.3 – MU already had recruited its first all-world player in Dave Quabius (45.3 rating, 1st NBA player, 2nd All-American) in 1936, and added a great supporting staff in 1937. The result was a team that had marquee wins and probably missed the first two Elite 8s only due to close losses at Kentucky in 1938, and at the 1st two national champs (Long Island and Temple) in 1939.
18	1953	85.2	Rand 45.9, Bugalski 26.6, O’Keefe 12.7– Rand as the superstar that would be carried off the plane in 1955 after returning from a Sweet 16 victory in the season in which MU to their incredible 24-3 season and their first national ranking (8th at the end of the year). Bugalski was a key to that team as well, and once they added Hopfensperger the next year they were loaded.
17	2002	89.7	Novak 34.7, Jackson 31.0, Chapman 14.0, Grimm 6.0 – Obviously this is dependent on counting Jackson who was a senior in 2002 after three years at Mississippi State and sitting out the transfer year. With Novak as the best shooter in MU history, and Jackson as the only legitimate big man of the decade (until this year J), this was the ultimate inside-outside one-two punch.
16	1991	86.3	Miller 32.9, McCaskill 32.6, Gates 11.9, Smith 9.0 – In addition to the inspirational recruit of Gates and him single-handedly getting MU through a tournament win his freshman year, Miller and McCaskill were the two great additions to great 1990s class. Both proved key pieces to get to the Sweet 16 (Miller to break Kentucky’s press, and McCaskill to step up when they got McIlvaine in early foul trouble).
15	1968	88.8	Meminger 50.0, Cobb 32.1, McMahon 6.7 – George Thompson’s senior year was supposed to be a rebuilding year after the 1968 Sweet 16, but the rebuilding effort turned out to be the first year for Meminger and Cobb, who teamed up with Thompson to get revenge on Rupp and Kentucky to go Elite 8 in the trios only year together.
14	1993	90	Crawford 32.4, Pieper 23.9, Abraham 22.0, Joseph 11.8 – A very solid top 3, and this team not only contributed as freshman for the Sweet 16 run, but went 22-9, 23-8, 21-12 the three years after O’Neill, Key and McIlvaine were gone, and beat 7 of 8 ranked teams during that stretch!
13	1973	91.5	Ellis 50.0, Walton 41.5 – What more do you need when you have Ellis, but to also activate Walton that year (just like activating Wade during Diener’s first year below) is all you need for a top 20 class.
12	1966	93.6	Thompson 50.0, Smith 23.4, Burke 20.2 – OK, if you get George Thompson in a class, who cares how good the other guys are? The other two were very solid players though.
11	1921	105.1	Dunn 34.7, Quinn 34.5, McKenna 16.2, Deford 10.4, Cardinal 9.4 – This class put in place the incredible combo of Dunn and Quinn that went 15-5 and then 19-2, and once they were gone MU didn’t have another winning season for 8 years.
10	1975	105.3	Whitehead 44.5, Toone 40.2, Payne 20.5 – If McGuire had needed more than three players that year, this class could have easily become the 3rd best class ever.
9	1951	106	R. Wittberger 31.1, Shulz 28.0, Walczak 20.2,Van Vooren 15.5, Gill 11.1 – Put the first piece in place in Shulz that would become the incredible 24-3 Elite 8 team in 1955, as well as setting up to win the National Catholic title with this group.
8	2001	106.1	Wade 50.0, Diener 42.7, Townsend 13.4 – Wade was on campus in 2000, but didn’t start playing until Diener’s first year to form a combo that propelled this class to No. 8 even though Townsend was the only other player of any note.
7	1932	109.2	Mullen 38.7, Gorychka 23.4, Kukla 21.5, Casterton 18.2, Blask 7.4 – Mullen was the first All-American as MU dominated in football and basketball, whipping the Big 10 for two great seasons.
6	2005	105.5 / est +8 in 2009	James 37.4, McNeal 36.3, Matthews 25.4, Burke 6.3 – If they were done now this would rank as the 9th best recruiting class ever, but with all four having one year left they are sure to move up to the 6th best recruiting class of all time. There is a big gap between that and the 1960 class however, so it would take a big year from Burke and a monster year from at least one of the three Amigos to finish in the Top 5. An Elite 8 run could push their class ranking as high as 3rd best of all time.
5	1960	122.6	Erickson 29.4, Glaser 28.1, Hornak 24.4, Nixon 22.7, Borowski 18.0 – By far the most balanced class, with no superstars but five new excellent players. This class led the MU to a 51-31 mark closing with the NIT, and as soon as they left the 1964 team went 5-21.
4	1978	122.9	Wilson 38.5, Worthen 37.4, Marquardt 23.3, Green 17.7, Shimon 6.0 – I think people forget this class was ranked 10th at the end of 1979 and went 60-27 even if you don’t count their first year together when they still had Whitehead and Lee (24-4)
3	1990	123.9	McIlvaine 41.8, Curry 32.0, Key 31.2, Logterman 18.9 – This class really is amazing when you consider O’Neill inherited a program that had gone 23-33 the two previous seasons without even PLAYING a single ranked team. Certainly it helped to have Tony Smith go All-American his first year and at least get the team back to 15-14, but I view this class as nothing short of amazing and really wonder if the program would have ever come back without it.
2	1972	139.5	Lucas 48.9, Tatum 46.2, Homan 24.8, Neary 9.9, Delsman 9.7 – Can’t get much better than two absolute superstars plus Homan to lead the team to the National Title game – plus the great roll player in Neary who red-shirted 74 and started in 77.
1	1970	146	Chones 50, Lackey 38.2, McGuire 33.9, Frazier 23.8 – One of the top 6 catches of all-time was Chones, and with Lackey clearly the best class of all-time. From day 1 together they played exactly 50 games as a group, and went 49-1, only losing 60-59 to Ohio State in the NCAA after OSU got a bye, there was a bench clearing fight, and Meminger fouled out with 5 minutes to go.

I’m sure the first question is how McGuire could only have two of the top 9 classes. The answer is simple, he always had the roster stacked with so many All-Americans and future NBA players that he typically only needed one or two players in each class. Most of the great recruiting class occurred when the cubbard was bare an MU coach went out and landed four or five very good players. McGuire rarely had room for four or five players in a class. If we instead ranked each class based on only the top two recruits, McGuire would have seven of the top 12 recruiting classes of all time. From 1st to 12th place, the top classes based on just the top 2 recruits would be: 1972, 2001, 1970, 1973, 1975, 2005, 1978, 1971, 1990, 1966, 1953 and 1968.

Please do reply if you spot someone you believe I have in the wrong starting year. As I said at the outset, this was not an issue I considered when putting the book together, so I had not done verification on the set of years I had listed for all 669 players. These years look right, and if they are these are the 20 classes that have proved to be the best on the court. Hopefully in a few years we will be verifying that this year’s class was ultimately the best ever!

John Pudner, graduated from Marquette - Jour ’88. Inspired by Cracked Sidewalks, he decided to work with a student to compile every stat on every MU player in history, and has recently completed a book called "Ultimate Hoops Guide – Marquette University", that is being released by College Prowler next month (www.collegeprowler.com/basketball).

John lives in Alabama, but he will be in town during Marquette's Reunion Weekend. He will be hosting a "meet the author" type session at the Ambassador Hotel, Saturday July 26th from 8am-12:30pm. Please rsvp to jpudner@concentricgrasstops.com

I think I heard him say he was buying anyone who shows up, free beer.

Warrior Day Golf Outing Update

2008-07-11T13:01:00.004-05:00

Don't forget, the 1st Annual Warrior Day Golf Outing will be held on Monday, July 28th at The Bog in Saukville, Wisconsin. There's still time to secure your spot on the course with a number of Marquette basketball greats, and to ante up for one of several worthwhile sponsorship opportunities.

Marquette great Bo Ellis is hosting the event to honor his daughter, Nikki, a 2000 MU graduate who passed away from a rare liver disease called Budd-Chiari. The golf outing in Nikki's memory will benefit the Nicole Ellis Foundation, a 501(C)3 corporation. All proceeds will benefit the American Liver Foundation, Marquette Men's and Women's non-revenue sports, and the proposed Hank Raymonds Educational Center.

C'mon, let's make this first Warrior Day Golf Outing a big success by raising awareness and money for these worthy causes.

For more information, please click this .pdf document link , visit their web site at the Golf Digest Planner, or email the good folks managing this event at nicoleellisfoundation@yahoo.com

Thanks for your support.

Update: You are to blame

2008-07-10T16:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, Tuesday I wrote that I thought MU made a bad decision on adding UW to the 5-pack slate because in the end, Badger fans will buy the package, profit from selling the other 4 games and essentially go to the biggest game of the year for free.

That got Marquette's attention, and I've swapped many emails with the Athletic Department about the issue. The MU/UW game never went on sale to groups, nor individually to the public.

While it is still true a number of Badger fans get their tickets through 5-Packs, MU believes most of the trouble is the Season Ticket Holders themselves.

See, in 2006 each Season Ticket Holder got to buy 10 extra tickets, all in the upper bowl. With where the red invaders were sitting, Marquette contends that the majority of the problem rests with the Season Ticket Holders selling their tickets to our hated rivals.

Additionally, about a fourth of the lower bowl was red, which means Season Ticket Holders are giving their own seats up.

I am dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. Astonished. Horrified.

So I am writing to you, my fellow Season Ticket Holders. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?

For a couple seats, you drop around $1,500 each year, schlep to the Bradley Center in the cold and snow 20 some times. You wait two years for this day, the biggest game of the year in the whole state, and give up your seat to our most hated rival? HAVE YOU NO SOUL?

As for the uppers you are apparently selling .. again. Have you no loyalty? Have you no Marquette friends? I know it's a down economy, but come on. You need money that bad? That you'd sell out your own team?

YOU were the reason we lost in 2006. It wasn't Tim Higgins or Ed Hightower who screwed us. IT WAS YOU. It was the 6k-7k Badger fans YOU let in that screwed up our home court ju-ju. You're like the guy who buzzes the burglar in to the apartment complex.

In 2006, I bought my 10 tickets for Warrior friends, and told them days before: No gold, no ticket on game day.

So this year, take the Cracked Sidewalks Pledge: I WILL FIND 10 MARQUETTE FANS TO GO TO THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR. I WILL NOT SELL OUT MY TEAM.

Oh, and I promise you this. Ever go to FandAFanPhotos.com? We'll be sure to compare some before/after shots and publicly shame lower bowl offenders. (Especially guys named Larry.)

Marquette University, 77002

2008-07-10T07:27:00.005-05:00

Since Marquette University has become the collegiate destination of choice for some of the Houston area's best basketball players, we went back to H-Town's resident expert on hoops, Jim Hicks of RCS Sports, to learn more about Junior Cadougan and for an update on fellow MU commit Erik Williams. On his site, Hicks notes that Buzz Williams has "one helluva recruiting class for Marquette who could become the first "out of state college" to land a pair of Top 5 players from Houston High Schools in the same year."

Jim, can you break down Cadougan's game for Marquette fans? He could be the most experienced incoming point guard the school's ever inked, when comparing resumes. Junior is a floor general who is patient and poised and he doesn't get rattled easily. Plus, he's smart enough to know what he can't do on the court.

**Pardon the interruption -- the Big East Basketball Report agrees with Jim's glowing assessment of Cadougan, based on point guard's fine play at Reebok U this week. According to Jeff Borzello, "A really solid all-around player, Cardougan played as if he was still being recruited. Immediately, you notice that he is a leader on the court." Read the full review at the link above.

...now back to the Q/A....

Based on reviews of his game, Cadougan relies on strength to succeed at the high school level. First, is that true. Second, does Cadougan have the requisite speed and quickness to succeed in the Big East?
Let's not forget Christian Life Academy has been by far the most talented prep program in all of Texas each of the past two seasons. It's not like he's toting a program on his back, yet Junior is still a lock to be on RCS Sports' Pre Season All Greater Houston Team.

It takes talent and he has certainly been surrounded by plenty of it. The kid simply relies on one of the fundamentals of basketball - like keeping your body between the ball and defender. Some didn't think DJ Augustine had the speed and quickness to attain the all-Big 12 accolades he earned. Ditto for Nic Wise at Arizona (although he doesn't have the same resume as DJ). Junior will be fine in the Big East.

What are Cadougan's greatest assets as a point guard?
Experience. Not to mention economically, you get the support of an entire country (Canada) along with this kid.

Has Marquette's visibility in the Greater Houston area become more pronounced in the months since Buzz was hired?
No doubt about it! Buzz could have been anywhere in the country to kick off the July live evaluation period, but he was in Houston complete with dip cup in hand watching future prized possession Erik Williams at the Southwest Invitational Camp (directed by John Lucas).

Erik Williams is finally back on the court more than six months after breaking his ankle. How is Williams playing so far this summer?
Based on the bell curve, Erik is about 75% back to his previous rare form. Williams had 19 points in his return to action earlier this week at the 2008 Southwest Invitational Camp.

For more about Erik Williams, check out the Q/A Jim completed with us late last year.

Jim, thanks very much for your time. We'll check in with you again during the season.

Note to MU ticket office: BAD IDEA

2008-07-08T21:03:00.006-05:00

Marquette announced their "5-pack" ticket plans today.

BLUE PLAN: Georgetown, Connecticut, Syracuse, Villanova and St. John's
GOLD PLAN: Wisconsin, West Virginia, DePaul, Cincinnati and Seton Hall

Notice anything unusual about this scheme? In past years, they've packaged in 1-2 cupcake games with 3-4 solid games in each 5 pack. Not this year. All 10 games are quality Big East games.

As you can see, the hottest ticket of the year, the MU v. UW game, is also in a 5-pack. MU did this 2 years ago, forcing the hated Badger fans into buying 4 unwanted games, so they could get the UW game and befoul our Bradley Center.

What happened two years ago? Half the upper deck of our Bradley Center was decked out in red. Nothing pisses me off more than having UW (or UL) fans smelling up our home court. -- Oh, and we lost.

What happened later? Those same Badger fans SOLD THEIR TICKETS ON EBAY. And guess what? With auctioning off a couple good BE games, they were able to come out ahead!

This year, the UW package includes 4 high quality games. Guess what? They'll dump those tickets, and actually MAKE money buying this package.

On the other hand .. Two years ago, the demand from MU season ticket holders purchasing extras for friends was enough to sell out the place TWICE. I realize some Season Ticket Holders will commit the sin of buying for their red-devil friends, but the majority will not.

It's not too late, Ticket Office. Change the ticket packages right now, and keep the red out.

I swear to god, let me buy 100 tickets. I will find 100 Warrior fans to sit in those seats, and come back for more.

Junior Cadougan commits to Marquette

2008-07-07T11:53:00.005-05:00

As reported first by Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Buzz Williams completed his 2009 freshman class today when highly regarded point guard Junior Cadougan from Humble, TX verbally committed to Marquette University. Cadougan, a 6'1" 195 pound point guard from Humble Christian Academy, committed to MU over Memphis and Wake Forest.

Cadougan, a Canadian native who moved to Houston after his freshman year of high school, was recently named the top playmaker at the NBPA Top 100 Camp and will participate in Reebok U this week in Philadelphia.

Cadougan rounds out a promising 2009 class which includes three RSCI top 100 players, the first at Marquette since the Three Amigos. Cadougan (#70) will be joined by Erik Williams (#78) and Jeronne Maymon (#85) and soon-to-be redshirted Liam McMorrow as freshmen in 2009.

Much more to come on the Cadougan commitment and the early returns on Buzz Williams' fast start on the recruiting trail..........

Happy Birthday America

2008-07-04T00:01:00.001-05:00

Commentary: 2009 BE Schedule is favorable to MU

2008-07-03T09:07:00.005-05:00

Now that the Big East schedule is out, there has been a flurry of commentary about how brutal MU's schedule will be. There is a certain amount of truth to that--EVERY team in the Big East plays a brutal schedule. The more relevant question is whether the schedule provides any advantage or disadvantage in getting to the 12 to13 wins that will likely be necessary to secure a top four finish and two-round bye in the newly revamped Big East Tournament.

In this light, I believe MU has a very favorable schedule.

The conventional wisdom is that you want your tough games at home--thus, when three of four toughest games--Pitt, UL and ND--are scheduled on the road, it leads to concern about the schedule being too difficult. However, if Pitt, ND and UL are truly top 10 teams, then they would be a tough win even if we played the games at home.

The ideal schedule would put both the easiest and most difficult games on the road, and the most competitive games at home. The logic is that you're more likely to lose some of the tough games anyway and win the easy ones anyway regardless of venue. Home court advantage is wasted on the easiest and most difficult games. Where the home court advantage comes into plays is with the toss-ups.

Top Quartile: @UL, @Pitt, @ND, UConn
2nd Quartile (MU in this group): Syracuse, WVU, Georgetown @Georgetown
3rd Quartile: VU, @VU, UC, SHU, @Rutgers
Bottom Quartile: Depaul, @Depaul, @USF, @PC, St. Johns.

Now, no road game is a gimme--but I like our chances of winning at Providence and Rutgers a whole lot more than games at Syracuse and WVU.

I think this is a decent schedule--8 of 9 home games are winnable given our home court advantage--most of our home games are against teams that are equal or below our level. On the road, if we can take care of business against PC, Depaul, Rutgers and USF, take one of the other two mirror games, and steal one from ND/Pitt/UL, we'll be at 13 wins, which should put us in the hunt for a double-bye in the BET.

Big East Opponents Announced for 2008-2009

2008-07-02T11:34:00.004-05:00

from Marquette University..........

BIG EAST Conference Announces League Matchups for 2008-09

MU to face defending champion Hoyas twice

July 2, 2008

BIG EAST Press Release

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette men's basketball team will face Georgetown, Villanova and DePaul in home-and-home series in 2008-09 BIG EAST Conference play the league office announced Wednesday morning, highlighting the squad's 18-game conference schedule.

The Golden Eagles have learned where they will take on their fellow league programs next season, but the layout of the actual schedule has yet to be determined.

HOME GAMES: Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia.

ROAD GAMES: DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, USF, Villanova.

The upcoming season will mark the second campaign for the 18-game BIG EAST schedule, which features three home-and-home opponents for every school and one matchup against each of the remaining 12 league opponents.

In 2007-08, Marquette's crossover trio of Louisville, Notre Dame and Seton Hall combined to post an overall conference record of 35-19. No other school in the BIG EAST had its three repeat programs reach that win total and MU finished 3-3 in those outings.

2008-09 season tickets start at $180 and will go on sale July 14. Five game mini plans will also be available later in the summer and start at just $45. The five-game mini-plans will include the nine BIG EAST home games and non-conference opponent Wisconsin.
For more information on ticket packages or to contact a ticket representitive, call 414-288-GOMU or go to gomarquette.com/tickets.

Recruiting updates

2008-07-02T08:48:00.012-05:00

With Liam McMorrow officially on campus, Buzz Williams and his staff are turning their attention to filling the final slot for the 2009 class and planning ahead for the class of 2010. Here's a series of updates on kids that MU has demonstrated a high level of interest in:

From the class of 2009, Junior Cadougan visited MU last weekend. Cadougan is a 6'1" point guard from Canada by way of Humble, Texas. Reports indicate Cadougan is down to three schools -- MU, Memphis and Wake Forest, and was named the top playmaker at the NBPA camp last month. Cadougan will participate in the prestigious Reebok All-American Camp next week in Philadelphia.

Even with the Dwight Buycks commitment there will be a gaping hole at the point guard position for MU heading into the 2009-2010 season (unless you're impressed with the role players MU currently has in the stable). Filling out the 2009 class with a point guard is the logical choice.

Of course, recruiting can be illogical, and MU is not done recruiting 2009 kids at other positions despite the apparent scholarship logjam and the acute need at the point. Consider:

Donte Hill, a 6'4" shooting guard from Virginia Beach, is sporting offers from Marquette, ODU and George Mason. Clemson could be next.
Also from the class of 2009, MU has been in "constant contact" with Tony Freeland, a 6'5" small forward from Los Angeles.
Omari Lawrence, a 6'4" 205 pound guard from New York City, recently visited MU with 6'6" teammate Kevin Parrom. The New York Daily News caught up with Lawrence earlier this week to discuss his decision to transfer from St. Raymond's to South Kent Prep. Lawrence will also visit Florida, Louisville and UConn this summer. Both Lawrence and Parrom are 2009 prospects.

The moral of the story ...... don't count on verbal commitments and realize that attrition happens.

Oh ...... looking ahead to 2010, The NBE Basketball Report filed a detailed update on Tobias Harris, a 6'8" 215-pound forward from the 2010 class. Harris recently participated in MU's Elite Camp and has or will visit Texas, UCLA, USC, Rutgers, Kansas, West Virginia, Virginia, Louisville and St. John’s.

Nice work as always by the guys at the NBE Basketball Report.

The Charm Offensive

2008-07-01T11:28:00.008-05:00

After embracing a quiet, guarded public persona during his first few months on the job (which was incredibly refreshing given the media whoring we'd seen in previous years) Buzz Williams is emerging, ever so smartly and measured, in the media. After nearly wrapping up the bulk of what looks to be a solid-to-very-good 2009 recruiting class, and in advance of the vital open recruiting season, Marquette fans (and others) are getting to know their head coach.

First we had the Buzz BBQ, a spectacular success by all accounts. +1

Next we had an article from a media outlet that we're not comfortable mentioning given their bassackwards and unclear demands of new media. Still, Colin Fly is a fine reporter and a few days ago he re-introduced Buzz Williams to the masses on the backs of the program's greatest current strength, the Three Amigos. +1

Now, we have the Holy Grail of sorts--- a big, fat feature on the Marquette program and Buzz Williams on ESPN.com. The Adam Rittenberg article is a home run. Williams is positioned as a decent, down-home fellow who worked his tail off to make his own breaks. More importantly, coach Williams comes across as a player's coach (if there can be such a thing at the college level) and the accolades from Billy Gillispie and Jerel McNeal reaffirm the potential upside of the hire. +1

While the media firehose we'd been drinking from in the past nine years has slowed considerably, one gets the sense that the coverage now is much more about the Marquette program than the coach himself. Blatant self-interest (self promotion?) has its limitations -- and a well executed media strategy on behalf of the basketball program, rather than the coach, is bound to pay dividends.

New Recruit for Marquette

2008-06-27T10:44:00.007-05:00

In a somewhat strange development, it appears that Marquette has received a commitment from another player. The new player is Liam McMorrow, who is a 7', 260lb transfer from Durham College in Canada. But not only has McMorrow committed to Marquette, but he's already on Marquette's campus and checked into Humphrey. In fact, as confirmed by Mark Miller, McMorrow has started practicing with the guys at the AL (link has more info).

So what do we know about Liam McMorrow? He's big and he's a bit of a project. According to Mark Miller, McMorrow will have to sit out a year due to the transfer. He'll end up in the same class as Otule and will have three years of eligibility. In the MUScoop discussion thread, poster MU Chi_IL found a number of links on the internet about McMorrow.

Liam McMorrow, a six-foot-eleven newcomer, will help that defensive goal. Displaying good hands for the basketball and a soft shooting touch around the basket, he shouldn’t be limited to just a defensive role either. from the Durham College Chronicle

In one game, he pulled down 18 rebounds. In another game, he sank the two winning free throws, despite a season average of 55%. Finally, poster Pakuni found a youtube clip of McMorrow that really doesn't show a whole lot.

Color us floored (is that a color?). Not only did this guy fly under the radar, but he made it all the way to campus without so much as a peep. Have to hand it to Buzz for his stealth recruiting.

Personally, I'm a big fan of this signing despite the fact that he's still raw. Frankly, any legitimate big man these days is probably a one and done and they're signing with a school like Duke/UNC/Kansas. It's worthwhile to take 1-2 guys per year that have potential because of the hope that they'll pan out. Some of the best big men in the Big East, such as Aaron Gray and Roy Hibbert, were considered projects that developed. Plus, given that McMorrow will have a transfer year to work with Dale Layer and Tony Benford, there's a better chance of realizing his potential. Both assistant coaches have worked and developed quality big men in the past, unlike the previous coaching staff.

Here is how the classes now look according to the MUScoop Scholarship Table. There is only one spot available, and all belief is that it will go to fill the need of PG. Hopefully, another Canadian named Junior Cadougan, who was on campus visiting this week, will be that final scholarship slot.

Finally, because no Friday is complete without a random topic, please be careful. There are ninja in the woods!

BuzzBQ Review

2008-06-25T21:44:00.005-05:00

My wife, 2 year old son, and 10 day old son made the trek down to Marquette for the 1st Annual BuzzBQ.

Great show by Marquette, as usual. Perfect night for it. Well attended. Bumped in to the usual internet suspects. The Rice family shared their table with us, and texted their son that one of the Cracked Sidewalks team was eating with them, thinking he'd be really impressed. The return text message suggested I should get a life. Harrumph. Where's the love?

Buzz and the team were out in force, signing autographs, mingling with the crowd. The local ESPN Radio team was there, interviewing players.

I made sure to bump in to Mo Acker, to wish him a happy birthday.

Great event, one they should consider doing every year.

Here are a few snapshots from the affair:

MU to Doc: Congrats

2008-06-23T12:02:00.006-05:00

This appeared in Sunday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and in USA Today.

Kinda nice having Marquette having to take out full page ads congratulating Warrior alumni on winning NBA championships every other year.

Double dipping in NYC

2008-06-20T08:03:00.003-05:00

Buzz Williams and his staff are involved with literally dozens of prospects for the 2009 class where he has two more scholarships to offer. The Big East Basketball Report updates us on two of those prospects, guard Omari Lawrence (think Tyshawn Taylor with a more refined offensive game) and small forward Kevin Parrom -- two of NYC's top prospects.

The pair, who play for the New York Panthers this summer, are expected to visit Marquette together on June 26.

Congrats to Doc Rivers, NBA Champion

2008-06-18T10:06:00.004-05:00

For the second time in three years, a Marquette graduate is an NBA Champion.

Congratulations to Doc Rivers, head coach of the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics!

Buzz goes JUCO again

2008-06-16T20:40:00.021-05:00

Dwight Buycks, one of the top junior college players in the nation, verbally committed to Marquette University earlier today. A 6'3" combo guard out of Indian Hills Community College in Iowa, Buycks selected MU over a host of schools including Iowa State, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Missouri.

Buycks will join the Marquette program as a junior in the fall of 2009. The Milwaukee native played his high school ball at Bay View and originally committed to Bradley before academic issues led him to Indian Hills. With well-publicized concerns about the questionable academic profile of recent MU commit Jeronne Maymon, is Buzz Williams taking on yet another academic risk just two months into his tenure as head coach? 'Not so' reports Mark Miller at Wishoops, who reveals that Buycks is taking care of business in the classroom at Indian Hills, landing a 3.6 GPA in his first year there.

Last season, Buycks led Indian Hills in scoring at roughly 16 points per game while chipping in four boards and three assists. Buycks looks to be more of a scorer than a shooter -- he hit 46% of his shots from the field and a dreadful 26% from downtown.

With MU poised to graduate the Three Amigos after next season --- three 1,000 point scorers including the top two scorers in Marquette basketball history (perhaps) -- Buzz Williams is faced with making the most of a roster full of role players and high-ceiling freshmen heading into the 2009-2010 campaign. With that in mind and a gaping hole looming in the backcourt, Coach Williams had at least three options:

a) go to battle with David Cubillan and Maurice Acker as his featured point guards -- a recipe for a second-division Big East finish;
b) entrust a true freshman point guard with the reigns of a Big East program; or,
c) overload the junior class by going JUCO and hope for the best.

Hello Dwight Buycks.

Buycks joins high school forwards Jeronne Maymon and Erik Williams in the class that will enter the Marquette program in 2009. If the current slate of committed scholarships holds up, the 2009-2010 roster should look something like this:

Seniors: Hayward, Acker, Cubillan
Juniors: Buycks, Hazel, Fulce, Butler, Mbakwe
Sophomores: Otule
Freshmen: Erik Williams, Jeronne Maymon

Buzz Williams has two more scholarships to offer for the 2009-2010 class.

Additional Media Reports

Friday Updates

2008-06-13T09:48:00.003-05:00

Just some quick updates for a Friday morning

Buzz Williams was on Milwaukee SportsRadio 1250 yesterday. To hear the interview, click on their Audio & Video Vault (scroll down) or just open up the MP3 directly.

Mark Miller from Wishoops.net has updated his 2009 rankings with a new number one for the state of Wisconsin. Marquette recruit Jeronne Maymon has been rated as the #1 player according to Mark Miller based on:

... his incredibly consistent productivity, both at the high school level for coach Steve Collins at Memorial and on the travel-team circuit this past spring for the Wisconsin Gators Elite and the Illinois Bobcats.
Read Mark's full article for more information. Oh, and #2 on the list is Jamil Wilson.

Also according to Mark, Johnnie Lacy has been extended a scholarship by Minnesota. Rumors abound that Marquette may be backing of their recruitment of Lacy.

ESPN has updated their 2009 Player Rankings. BMA725 has a nice summary of Marquette targets on MUScoop. It's nice to see a lot of top 100 names associated with Marquette.

In somewhat late news, a nice summary from NBE Basketball Report suggests that Marquette may soon see four unofficial visits. Names listed for unofficials with Marquette include Tobias Harris, Donald Williams, Kevin Parrom, and Omari Lawrence.

In other news for stat-heads, John Hollinger has evaluated the greatest NBA Finals performances. Both Dwyane Wade and Bennett Salvatore appreciate the recognition.

An early perspective on Marquette's 08-09 season

2008-06-11T08:27:00.003-05:00

......courtesy of the Big East Basketball Report. Here's the summary:

It will be an interesting season for Marquette, their overwhelming experience will help balance the inexperience of their head coach. Having three guards with so much time under their belt will be a big asset for Buzz Williams and should help Marquette remain in contention among the top half of the Big East. Now, if they could just find some consistent and solid interior play to help match-up with more teams, this group might be able to get farther along than they have since joining the Big East.

Marquette basketball's money man

2008-06-10T07:23:00.003-05:00

Here's a must read 'profile' on Dick Strong, the heavyweight businessman/Marquette basketball fan and benefactor. Why is it a must read?

"How big is he (Strong)? This would explain why Marquette is not Loyola or DePaul."

Don Walker of the Journal-Sentinel has the report.

Meet the Buzz Family...

2008-06-08T22:21:00.003-05:00

Pip on Fox6 does a 4 minute piece on Buzz and his family.

Sorry about the "STORM CENTER" border. The weather in Milwaukee has been crazy these past 48 hours. 6-8 inches of rain will do that.

Wiki Top 10+

2008-06-06T08:08:00.008-05:00

Another installment of the Wiki Top 10+:

One major development on the wiki over the past month is the explosion of recruiting information. 4-5 volunteers have been inspired, and have been editing the wiki with frequent updates about Buzz's prospects.

With that in mind, the Top 10 pages are riddled with new stuff from the off-season fishing expeditions:

Recruiting Central
2009-10 Recruits
MU's newest Warrior: Jeronne Maymon
2008 Season Page w/Known Schedule & Roster
Latavious Williams
Johnnie Lacy
Erik Williams (committed)
Michael Dixon
Jimmy Butler (committed)
Joe Fulce (committed)
Freeway (committed?)
Earl Tatum

Here are a few other pages of interest:

Scott Monarch - Dale Layer - Tony Benford - David Collins (new assistants)
The Marquette Band
Jimmy Mac
Robb Logterman
Willie Wampum
1992 Season
Rebounding Records
Bronk Brunkhorst
Season by Season Attendance 1950-2008
MU Professional Players (NBA & other)
I Closed Wolski's
Kevin O'Neill
Indiana Indiana

Buzz Williams casts a wide net on the recruiting trail

2008-06-05T06:45:00.011-05:00

Marquette needs a point guard for the 2009 class -- this we know. Point guard and center are the remaining priorities for that class, which already boasts a pair of Top 100 forwards in Erik Williams and Jeronne Maymon.

So, who will it be at the point?

For now there's quite a list of players from all over the country who have been mentioned with MU. In the past we've talked about Johnny Lacy as one potential option. Need a few more names? Try A.J. Walton, Darius Morris, Darius Smith, Michael Dixon, Junior Cadougan, Chris Colvin, Sheldon Cooley, Eric Bledsoe, Xavier Thames, Naadir Tharpe, Justin Crosgile, Marshall Henderson, and Nick Russell.

With the summer evaluation sessions kicking off soon -- the annual Rumble in the Bronx is next weekend over at Fordham -- we'll learn soon enough who emerges as The Priority for Buzz Williams. Let's see who actually visits.

2008 Update
Even before we get to the 2009 class, Buzz Williams might not be done with 2008.

With Varez Ward recently committing to the University of Texas, MU is focused on 6'5" guard Donald Williams per Rivals.com. Williams, a shooting guard from Temple Hills (Md.) Progressive Christian Academy, is down to St. John's and Marquette after ruling out UNO and UAB. Williams was recently named the Select MVP at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions event.

Williams' coach is playing the Bully Hurley card, saying he prefers the Johnnies for his player on the basis of playing time. Hey, some coaches have an affinity for programs in the basement (and given the mass exodus from the MU backcourt after next season that can hardly be a long-term concern).

MU has one remaining scholarship available for next year's roster, and expects Williams to visit Milwaukee next weekend. Williams will visit SJU this weekend.

2008-2009 Schedule Notes

2008-06-03T07:40:00.006-05:00

In one of his many quality updates during the month of May, Todd Rosiak offered up a few notes on MU's schedule for the coming season in a recent post -- here are the early highlights from the out-of-conference schedule:

Nov. 22 -- MU hosts UW-Milwaukee (aka, The Bud Haidet Classic)

The Chicago Invitational at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois:

Nov. 28 -- MU vs. Northern Iowa
Nov. 29 -- MU vs. Dayton (remember when Brian Gregory was in line to be MU's next head coach? LOL)

BTW, per Rosiak, both games in the Chicago Invitational assume MU wins a pair of home games to reach the 'final four' of this event.....no details yet on that aspect of the schedule.

Dec. 6 -- MU hosts Bucky

Dec. 16 -- MU vs. Tennessee in Nashville as part of the SEC-Big East Invitational. MU gets a chance to abuse The Necklace in the Vols' home state.

Of course, all known games are on the Marquette Wiki, which has the known schedule and roster for 2008-09.