Catching up with Robb Logterman

Ever wonder what became of sweet-shooting Robb Logterman? Dave Wedeward from Janesville's GazetteXtra.com wrote this fine profile of Robb, tracking all the way back to his days at Janesville Craig up to the present day.

Turns out that Robb will be inducted into the Janesville Sports Hall of Fame next Saturday. Congrats, Robb.

James enjoys the Buzz, media updates

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports catches up with Dominic James -- who has nothing but good things to say about Buzz Williams, Trevor Mbakwe and Chris Otule (along with a shot at Tommy Irsay).

Goodman also reports that 2008 combo guard Varez Ward will visit Texas this weekend -- no word on any interest regarding MU.

Mike DeCourcy writes up an incongruous review of the Buzz Williams hire....strangely TSN says MU made a decision 'in a panic', but ultimately rates the hire as a solid 'B'.

In honor of Buzz......Buzz 'I Hate New Media' Bissinger that is, Deadspin is worried about Dwyane Wade these days. Dating Star Jones? Are you kidding me.

Um, hi....we're back

Life (er, work) has a funny way of interrupting your hobbies, hence the dearth of material here for the last several days. Capitalism has a funny way of demanding increasing amounts of your time. Anyway, we're back. For those of you who follow the threads on MUScoop and other sites, some of this might be redux -- but let's get caught up with Marquette hoops.

Marquette has offered 2009 stud Jeronne Maymon of Madison Memorial High School. Mark Miller of WSN Boys Basketball has the details here. Maymon, a 6'6" combo forward, currently sports offers from MU, USC and Iowa State with many more to follow. Maymon is off to a fast start this spring on the AAU circuit, turning in a series of eye-catching performances.

Darrius Morrow signed with ECU. Recruiting successfully requires patience and vision more than a hunger to settle for the 'best (only?) player available'. I'm glad to see that Buzz Williams appears to have exhibited that with Morrow.

6'10" Kyle Rowley reclassified to 2008 and signed with Northwestern. Good luck, Kyle.

According to the Big East Basketball Report, MU is after 2009 PG Justin Jordan of Fort Wayne.

Marquette University's athletic programs delivered academically once again. According to MU, each of th university's 14 athletic teams exceeded the NCAA's required Academic Progress Rate (APR). Congratulations, MU. If you want to see what happens when a university does not take care of the academic side of life, check out the SHU situation. For a history on MU's position with the APR over time, read our post on the subject from last year.

Steve Yanda of the Marquette Tribune ran a provocative article about the university's proclivity to favor the internal hire over a competitive, national search. Here's my key take-away from the article:

In February, Cottingham was named Marquette's athletic director after a 14-month interim stint during which he conducted the search for a permanent replacement. Though Cottingham stated throughout the search process that he was not interested in the full-time position, he eventually concluded he was the best person for the job.

Of the 60 candidates who applied for the full-time position, none were interviewed. As a private institution.

Talk about it in this thread at MUScoop if you're interested.

Dale Layer named assistant coach at MU

Buzz Williams went with experience and familiarity to fill the final assistant coaching spot on his bench when he welcomed former Colorado State head coach Dale Layer to Marquette.

Layer, head coach of the Rams from 2000 - 2007, led CSU to one conference title and compiled a 103-106 record overall. Buzz Williams served on Layer's staff in Fort Collins for four years. Layer spent this past season as an assistant at Liberty University and has been in the coaching business for 30 years.

Read all the details here at GoMarquette.com

So, Buzz Williams will go to battle with Tony Benford, Dale Layer and Aki Collins. These coaches are an interesting mix given that their strong national footprint as coaches does not include the significant Midwestern flavor that characterize most Marquette coaching staffs.

With this hire, Williams has a decidedly veteran assistant coaching staff considering Layer and Benford combine for more than 45 years on the sidelines. Throw Collins' New York City heritage and recent work at a Jesuit university, and the make-up of the staff appears strong - with only the one glaring weakness:

• Can this group of coaches successfully recruit the Midwest?

Perhaps they don't need to -- well, let's not go that far.

Recently, MU's roster has been built with recruits from outside of MU's home region. Still, recruiting well close to home -- ie, MU's own back yard and Chicagoland -- will be one aspect of the next six months (until National Signing Day) fans will track closely.

Buzz Williams update, new potential recruit emerges

According to this report from a K-State blog penned by a reporter from the Wichita Eagle, it appears that MU is in pursuit of 6'2" combo guard Varez Ward from the Patterson School in Lenior, NC. Marquette is in good company with Ward -- Texas, Arkansas, K-State and FSU have also offered according to his coach.

Also today, Rosiak files this report on the outlook for Buzz Williams first year on the sidelines at MU -- somewhat of a very early season preview. In addition, Buzz Williams sat down with Todd Rosiak for a thorough overview of the program in this blog entry. Among the most interesting nuggets:

• Regarding the last open scholarship -- Williams indicated it could be used for either the 08 or 09 classes;
• Williams expects Butler and Fulce to be 'ahead of the curve' as compared to true freshmen next season;
• David Cubillan will have surgery on his left shoulder soon. He recently had surgery on his right shoulder and has not had an individual workout yet this off-season.
  
• Williams took the high-road on the Tyshawn Taylor situation. Smart.
• There are no updates on McNeal's NBA process in the report
  
• Varez Ward is not mentioned in the Rosiak update.
  

BTW, here is a YouTube clip of what appears to be Varez Ward from his junior year in high school --against Nick Williams' LeFlore Rattlers, no less.

Jerel McNeal and Tyshawn Taylor updates

For the second time in as many years, one of Marquette's best is dipping his toes in the NBA waters. Jerel McNeal put himself through a thorough self-evaluation before declaring, and he discussed that with Todd Rosiak in a blog posted over the weekend.

Still, despite an extraordinary finish to a strong junior season there's not much love for Jerel just yet:

• Andy Katz barely entertains the notion that McNeal will stay in the draft in his rundown on the impact of early entrants.
• ESPN.com's draft board lists McNeal at #73 overall -- out of 100 eligible draft entrants.
• NBADraft.net does not list McNeal in its mock two-round draft.
• Draftexpress.com lists McNeal as the 12th best shooting guard in the draft.

TYSHAWN TAYLOR TO KANSAS
Taylor visited Kansas last week, and came away impressed (um, no kidding). Today Adam Zagoria reports that Taylor committed to KU. No surprise.

McNeal declares for NBA draft, will not hire agent

To nobody's surprise, Jerel McNeal declared for the NBA draft on Friday but will not hire an agent.

GoMarquette official release

Rosiak's blog