Comments on Cracked Sidewalks: Jimmy Butler commits to Marquette

What, I leave town for a week and finally get back...

2008-04-19T22:51:17.510-05:00

What, I leave town for a week and finally get back to check in on Cracked Sidewalks and Buzz has Mbakwe coming back and has landed what sounds like a good JC with 3 years left already! I'm going to leave town more often. One thought I did have - the analogy has been made with Rick Majerus - hiring an assistant coach viewed as a sure thing to keep him from leaving. Majerus did only get 3 NIT bids at MU and was viewed as a disappointment as we were still in the wake of the national title. However, maybe the moral of the story is sticking with a coach once you have gone with a young one like Majerus or Williams. The 14 seasons after Majerus left MU he won at least 1 NCAA tourney game in 10. I remember someone blogged that he just wanted a coach who could win a tourney game 3 of 5 years and I responded that not many do - but Majerus sure did AFTER he left (and I wasn't following MU those couple of years so I don't know if he just bolted or it was MU's choice).

Let's hope for a great season next year to really launch Buzz' tenure, but even if we do have a couple of years of growing pains after that, let's stick with him and keep MU on the national stage forever. Those of us who don't live in the Midwest want to keep seeing them on national TV every week and making the pilgrimage back to Milwaukee regularly to see them as well.

Losing N.Williams and Taylor will hurt, especially...

2008-04-19T11:39:08.265-05:00

Losing N.Williams and Taylor will hurt, especially down the road, but I think Buzz has patched up as well as possible under the circumstances. From a personnel point of view we are fine for next year, and keeping Mbakwe is absolutely huge assuming he recovers from his injury. Obviously, our recruiting class for 2009-10 is crucial. Erik Williams is a great start, but we desperately need a point guard and a big to run the show the next several years. Johnny Lacy would be absolutely huge. We all would love Jamil Wilson, but I think that is unlikely given the fact that he is a top 10 national player. Lacy would continue our tradition of speedy pt guards that can score, defend, and distribute the ball. The question I have is can Buzz recruit Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Midwest? I don't think we can rely on Texas JUCO players, or that area in general to sustain our program from both a basketball and academic standpoint. We still have no idea if Buzz can coach. We will have a pretty good idea after next season. Best case scenario is a decent NCAA run in 2009, coupled with a solid recruiting class and Hayward staying for his final season. Worst case is that the 2008-9 club underachieves big time and we get a new coach within 2 years. I would be very surprised if we implode next year, and I think MU will remain a top 50 team in the years to come.

Not sure if everyone saw this, but it looks like w...

2008-04-18T21:14:19.840-05:00

Not sure if everyone saw this, but it looks like we landed an assistant as well from tyler. One of their assistants named Scott Monarch who was on Buzz's staff at New Orleans will be coming here. It's up on Tyler's athletics web site.

Mistake, meant to say above that "you have to give...

2008-04-17T09:06:41.391-05:00

Mistake, meant to say above that "you have to give Buzz credit for getting someone more athletic than Scottie C."

Didn't mean to sound like Butler wasn't athletic enough.

Again, this goes to show that people love to talk ...

2008-04-17T09:05:37.180-05:00

Again, this goes to show that people love to talk more about negative stories than positive.

And again, you have to give Buzz credit for following up the "loss" of Scottie C and getting someone more athletic and quicker than he did. Buzz made the team better with this signing and for that you have to give him credit.

Based on what I'm reading, Butler sounds to me like a Wes Matthews type player. Can do a little of everything.

Here's hoping we can land another stud player or two before things are over. Or, we'll see if Buzz banks a scholarship for next season. He may be better off doing that. That way, he can benefit from getting high school seniors versus JUCO players, AND, he'll hopefully be coming off a successful season at MU.

I think he'd be better off doing that as long as Mbakwe stays. We are deep enough at guards for next year. Save the scholarship you have (pending Taylor not coming), and use it for a great '09 class.

Great to see the news trending in a positive direc...

2008-04-17T08:26:50.816-05:00

Great to see the news trending in a positive direction. This is all quite impressive, considering how briefly Buzz has been the head coach. I hope he's getting some sleep. Butler's addition, and Christopherson's departure results in a net positive in terms of length, speed, scoring ability, experience, and athleticism. Great to see both Butler and Fulce comment on MU academics. Also, wonderful to hear Mbakwe adamantly deny those rumors, but it's troubling to read he's only at 85 percent healed.

Good stuff, Buzz. Keep it up!

You said it. TC is a slithering little snake. I wo...

2008-04-17T07:42:17.097-05:00

You said it. TC is a slithering little snake. I wonder what he is telling Nick Williams and Taylor right now after he no doubt whispered in their ear while recruiting them that "he would never leave MU". The only thing TC has up his sleeve is a dirty arm...

Wow, to paraphrase Elmer Fudd, "It's bery, bery qw...

2008-04-17T03:51:43.836-05:00

Wow, to paraphrase Elmer Fudd, "It's bery, bery qwiet in here, hahahahahaha..." All the badger trolls +and naysayers are scrambling trying to come up with new ways to trash what Coach Williams has done in the last few days. I'm confident the nit picking will begin anew very soon. But, yea, Buzz, go get 'em!! Land Jamil and the partying will begin!!

The next soap opera will be to watch the Tan One take his greasy show on the road and try to land T Taylor and Nick Williams for IU. Snake Oil, anyone??