Rosiak's blog with TC

Todd Rosiak complements today's hard copy article with a detailed blog. Tons of great info there from a candid Tom Crean. Among the highlights:

• Expect to see turnover with his assistant coaches.
  
• TC threw his baseline under the bus for the MSU game - - "Especially our upperclassmen on the front line did not do what we had to do defensively to help make this game go in our favor, and I’m disappointed in that" That is accurate -- of course it is also proof that TC's ability to sign high-ceiling big men is questionable.
  
• Communication: the need for his team to communicate on the floor came up consistently with Rosiak. Sounds like some players needed to get with the program and failed to do so.
  
• TC talks of lessons learned in recruiting with a star in the program -- namely getting Acker in case James bails (something he did not do with Wade). Smart move.
• McNeal is healing nicely and was playing his best ball of the season prior to the injury.
  
• Crean essentially calls the Blackledge signing a mistake. TC states that Blackledge "came at the wrong time for this team because we certainly could have used another perimeter player. That was obvious." No kidding -- either a shooter or a bull of a big man. And who recruited Blackledge? That signing was a reach for TC -- now it is hurting MU's ability to transform its roster. To think that Crean might have to redshirt Blackledge -- imagine.......Blackledge could eat up a scholarship for three years just to have one year of productivity.
  

Looking ahead to 2007-2008

Todd Rosiak takes a much needed look ahead for the Marquette hoops program in today's Journal-Sentinel.

The priority area for improvement? No surprise, its MU's inconsistent front line.

The good news is MU will have Ousmane Barro back for his senior season. The 6'10" junior showed marked improvement last year, averaging better than 9 ppg and 7 rpg. Did Barro disappear at inopportune times last season? Sure -- but he's at least a serviceable big man.

The bad news is that Barro has litle to help to count on along the baseline. Dwight Burke will be back, but during his sophomore season he failed to seize the opportunities presented to him by an underperforminng Jamil Lott an an oft-injured Mike Kinsella. Given his size and strength there's still hope for Burke to emerge as a valuable role player -- but why couldn't he do it this past season?

Its time to look to the kids. MU has three 'big' men signed for next season: Trevor Mbakwe, Damian Saunders and Patrick Hazel. Per Rosiak, "At this point, only the 6-foot-7, 225-pound Mbakwe, a superlative athlete with a 7-2 wingspan, appears ready to make an immediate impact." Good call, Todd. Mbakwe will contribute from day one -- exactly what TC needs next season.

I think Rosiak is underestimating Hazel, a prep-school strong man from Queens. While Hazel won't score effectively as a freshman, his toughness and hustle should make a difference for the 2007-2008 team. Saunders? He's a 6'7" 190-pound forward - - he's a couple of years away from contributing.

And while James will dabble in possibly departing for the NBA -- MU has the 2006 MAC freshman of the year Maurice Acker waiting in the wings to assume the poing guard duties, and super shooter Scott Christopherson joining the backcourt mix as well.

Lots of promise in this program. If James stays and Mbakwe can contribute -- next year could be special.

Searching for answers

A 24-win season with 10 Big East wins wasn't supposed to end this way.

Marquette went to battle without its rudder, absent its best player in Jerel McNeal and lost in embarrassing fashion to Michigan State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Only Tom Izzo's willingness to surrender some of the keys to his Supermax complex spared the Golden Eagles further tournament humiliation. In the end, a twelve-point loss to a perennial power looks palatable in the media guide.

Too bad Roy Williams didn't realize the virtues of winning gracefully in 2003.

Still, based on the way MU hit the floor last night, Jerel McNeal might not have made any difference. Once again, MU was not ready to play in the opening half of an NCAA first round game.

In each MU's four NCAA appearances during the last six seasons, the Golden Eagles have emerged from the tunnel impossibly flat and uninspired. Only Travis Diener's sublime performance in the second-half of the Holy Cross game in 2003 stands between Crean and an o-fer in NCAA tournament competition. Diener's heroics erased the memory of a listless performance against Tulsa in 2002. After the glory of 2003, MU reverted to form with their not-ready-for-primetime opening half against Alabama last season. And now the unfathomable effort against Michigan State, where one might have expected Crean to gameplan even more effectively given his familiarity with the opponent, makes the pattern undeniable.

Certainly fans can analyze each season and rationalize each first-round defeat. It was Marquette's first NCAA appearance in years. The team was young. MU was down a man.

All are true of course, but if fans have rationalize their team's play in March everybody loses.

While Crean is rightly praised for being a program builder par excellance, it is time for his program to turn the corner once more. Unless the program breaks through this first-round stagnation, frustration will mount.

Questions about the roster already abound after last night's mauling. Can Crean take his program to the next level without bringing in more substantial baseline talent? On a team built around strong guard play, why is the roster nearly devoid of consistent shooters? Why do Crean's teams show such great improvement after the Christmas break, and tend to plateau in February and March? What can be done differently to prepare for NCAA tournament games?

Mounting questions come with the territory when you have a nationally-recognized program, one with higher expectations than at any time since the glory days of the 1970s. Higher expecations are nice to have in Milwaukee, we've missed them for so long. For that, MU should thank Tom Crean.

Ultimately these are great times for the Marquette University basketball program. The Bradley Center is filled, the team is all over ESPN, the Big East schedule is unparalleled, national rankings are routine, the players and coaches represent the University well, and Crean's players graduate.

This is a program to be proud of.

Winning reguarly in March is all that's left for Crean to master. And with a young team returning along with several talented newcomers, once again the ingredients will be there for a breakthrough in 2008.

Once again.