"My rule was I wouldn't recruit a kid if he had grass in front of his house.
That's not my world. My world was a cracked sidewalk." —Al McGuire

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

MU Media Updates

While we're in the middle of a slow week of media coverage for MU, there are a few links below that you should check out:

BTW, kudos (major kudos) to the MU administration for prioritizing basketball, committing to invest in a big-time program over the long-term, and energizing the fan base. Look, we could be DePaul -- and just a decade ago the programs were largely comparable. Now the Blue Demons program is in danger of falling off the map. After a lackluster 2006-2007, Paul Gleason's team has not been competitive early this season and fans are now talking openly about their desire to eschew the Big East for the greener pastures of those darling mid-majors.

Bravo, MU.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

You sure are right about our administration. They have done more than just lip service for the program.

I feel badly for Depaul fans. their problems really began in the mid-late 80s when they passed on the opportunity to build a stadium on/near campus (real estate is unavailable and too expensive now).

Believe me that would be the hottest entertainment ticket in Chicago (winter sports only with ease of access and better bar/entertainment pre/post game for the target audience allowing them to beat Bulls) They would also have huge recruits and coaches salivating for the exposure.

Instead they play in a barn full of MU fans and their students mostly don't care.

Anonymous said...

Dear lord, those DePaul fans are desperate! If we had to play Dayton twice (like the DePaul fan proposed in a nwe conference), not only would MU loose Crean (and fast) - they'd loose 75% of the fan base they just spent 10 years accumulating.

These are not your Mike Deane Warriors/Golden Eagles anymore. Didn't he once tell Cords Marquette could never reach the prominence it once had - which ultimately lead to his dismessal?

Anonymous said...

As long as you are handling stepping down the competition. Here is an interesting note about "Big Time" cross town rival UWM (classy):

MILWAUKEE (AP) _ Senior forward Torre Johnson, Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers 's leading scorer and rebounder, was dismissed from the team Tuesday after being arrested early Saturday morning.

Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter also said that sophomore guard Roman Gentry left the team for personal reasons.

Johnson, a transfer from Oklahoma State, had been suspended in the immediate aftermath of his arrest on suspicion of battery. The 22-year-old Johnson allegedly hit a woman in the mouth and she needed 10 stitches, police said.

"I have had the chance to speak to Torre and express to him my extreme disappointment in his behavior," Jeter said in a statement. "The conversation also gave me the chance to tell him this was not something we could accept and that he would no longer be a part of our basketball team."

Johnson started all 10 games for the Panthers (3-7) and was averaging 17.8 points and 8.0 rebounds.

Jeter said Gentry wanted to return closer to home in Iowa.

Gentry, averaging 5.1 points per game, started the first four games this season, but played in limited minutes off the bench recently.

Just before the season began, Jeter tossed leading scorer Avery Smith off the team for an unspecified violation of team rules. Smith had been named to the Horizon League's preseason all-conference team.

The Panthers host Central Michigan on Wednesday night.

Johnson, charged Monday with substantial battery, was released on $1,000 signature bond and has a preliminary hearing scheduled Dec. 27 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Maybe DePaul would like to take them on.

Anonymous said...

I'm not exactly sure of what you meant by "Classy" in your post. (A rip on the player or a rip on the school??)

Though I am not a UWM fan, it seems that the school acted responsibly by not covering up the event and dealing with it sternly - that is all they really can do after the fact.

As much as you may want to teach or judge values on these kids, any school can end up in a situation where its players don't meet standards (insert Pop Simms). The real no-class move is to allow it to exist and continue.

Anonymous said...

My question is: Why did they ever leave Conference USA then?

Anonymous said...

They left C-USA because DePaul saw the $$'s the conference could bring them in additional revenue and exposure. Little did they know they were going to be the doormat in the Big East their first two years.

But look at ND. The first 8 or so years in the Big East, they sucked too. They've recently been able to slowly get better. But the attention and resources given the ND bball program is NOTHING compared to the money shelled out for their horrible football program (which I don't see getting much better over the next 4 years - they'll be a .500 team or worse over the next 4 season).

Anonymous said...

Why doesn't ND football join the Big East?

Gene Frenkle said...

A: Because they have their own personal TV contract w/NBC sports. And they have big, big, big egos down in South Bend (fans, alumni, and especially coaches).

Anonymous said...

De Paul's problems are many. First, they waited far too long to get rid of Joey Meyer because he was the son of a legend. Because of that they completely lost the Chicago market. Second, their arena situation as mentioned is terrible. Third, aren't most of their students commuters? That would make them kind of the private version of UWM. Finally, they just don't have the resources that Marquette has.

Anonymous said...

Marquette's guards will carry this team a long way this season. No one else, other than maybe Texas, can compare. Check out this Web site as well. It has lots of interesting information about Marquette and other Wisconsin sports teams. www.wisconsinsportsminute.com. I get all kinds of great, old history about the Hilltoppers, I mean Warriors, I mean Golden Eagles. It depends on when it happened.