Marquette Link Bomb

(BE Media Day, Madness, and more)

Yesterday was Big East Media Day.  Marquette was picked to finish sixth by the coaches.  UConn and Syracuse were voted in a tie for first.  As we commented yesterday on twitter, there's not much that separates the #3 and #11 teams this year, so MU is in a good spot.  Putting the homer glasses on, we think a top four finish is reasonable.  Why not?

DJO was voted to the all-BIG EAST first team, joining preseason POY Ashton Gibbs, Jeremy Lamb, Tim Abromaitis, Kris Joseph, and Kevin Jones.  The Predator (Jae Crowder) was voted honorable mention all-BIG EAST.

The Big EAST website has an interview with Buzz Williams.  In refreshing news, Buzz immediately starts talking about how bad MU was defensively (no kidding) despite the strengths offensively.  Crowder and DJO joined Buzz this year for BE Media Day, continuing the tradition of Buzz bringing the seniors for the event.

Note that all those links are direct links instead of from the Journal-Sentinel.  Evidently, Todd Rosiak is no longer the MU beat reporter (boo), and he's been replaced by sportswriting robot Tom Enlund.  I think even the interviews with Dwyane Wade (Wade sees potential, Wade talks lockout) were written by a robot.  We'd ask Enlund if this is true via twitter, except that sportswriting robots don't use twitter.  (editors note:  robots do actually use twitter)

The Paint Touches blog continues to get it done, with a nice feature on Juan Anderson and his versatility.  If you're really looking for a MU fix, they teamed with WMUR Sports for Marquette Madness.  Tons of audio links.

speaking of Madness, here is the 2011 MU Men's Video that kicked off the event

If you didn't catch it, quite a few former players showed up at Madness (Novak, Butler, Hayward, Matthews, and Wade).  Watch the video of them being introduced.  Not to mention RJax, Cordell, and Terry Sanders showing up for the event. 

Or, you could just go and watch (or rewatch) the entire Madness event online now

Finally, if you watch nothing else, take 45 seconds to watch Buzz singing Sweet Caroline.  Then watch it again.  Everything about this clip makes me happy.

...and the world descends into Madness

......Marquette Madness, that is.

After what was the longest off-season since the last one, Buzz Williams and crew break the seal on the 2010-2011 vintage of Marquette basketball tonight at The Al. Nobody puts on a show like Marquette so expect a high-energy, entertaining event. If you're not in Milwaukee you can follow the evening live on the interwebs. Be forewarned -- filling a webcast with constant running commentary is challenging but the guys at MUTV Sports are up to the challenge.

While MU will have The Al rocking tonight there are a few subplots that are far more interesting than betting a pitcher of beer on the titanic 3-point shootout between Johnson-Odom/Weibel and Buycks/McMorris. I'll admit to being intrigued by the dunk contest where Fulce, Blue, Smith, DJO, Wilson, Butler and Jones will square off. Reggie Smith, your first prominent Marquette moment awaits. A diminutive dunker is always a fan favorite.

Still, let's get back to the real juice for Friday night.

Buzz Williams has Marquette tantalizingly close to a watershed recruiting class, drawing serious interest from a slew of top 100 if not top 50 talent. While D'Angelo Harrison is now out of the picture MU is still in the running for big time talents Rodney Hood, Mike Shaw, Nick Faust, Trey McDonald and perhaps Deuce Bello. Of course, being close doesn't mean you're a closer. While Juan Anderson is quite a catch Buzz is being decidedly selective to this point as he aims high for the 2011 freshmen class. Can Madness build on the momentum of the Anderson commitment or will the program be left to fill the gaps with less desirable talent?

Marquette's first (only!) verbal for the 2011 freshman class, Juan Anderson, is heading back to campus on his own dime to join the party. This is an extraordinary commitment from a high school kid who lives in California. Reports indicate that 2011 targets Shaw, Jarion Henry and McDonald will be in the house. As Tim Kraft noted yesterday 2012 stud J.P. Tokoto might also visit, along with a handful of other underclassmen. Anderson's return trip speaks volumes about the program and his enthusiasm for MU -- will that translate to the crew of uncommitted athletes scheduled to be at The Al?

Beyond the plotlines on the sidelines, tonight Coach Buzz will showcase the most talented roster at Marquette since the 2002-2003 Final Four team. Superior athletes such as Crowder, Wilson, Blue, Smith and Jones are marked upgrades to previous talent injections at MU, players who (when eligible, in Wilson's case) will push for meaningful minutes immediately on a roster that is already noticeably more talented.

The chatter building around Vander Blue is fast becoming deafening while Crowder, despite arriving on campus just about 45 days ago, is already considered a high-ceiling talent who will produce in the nation's best league. Meanwhile, Darius Johnson-Odom's off-season development has been lauded on the message boards, as was Junior Cadougan's impressive showing in the Milwaukee Pro-Am. While the rest of the country underrates Marquette, it's fair to say that within the 414 and Marquette Nation expectations are running unusually high. We'll get a glimpse of that promise tonight.

Madness

UPDATED - Fulce's dunks

College Basketball is officially back, and last night's Madness gave fans a bit of optimism after a tough offseason.

First, check out the GoMarquette.com recap. The recap includes the full introduction videos for both teams, which you can also check out here . There is also a photo gallery on the official Marquette site.

Rosiak provides more color commentary, with a specific focus on Joe Fulce. Fulce was the winner of last night's dunk contest. Rosiak was also kind enough to provide a full recap of the winning dunk, which evidently was awesome. (We say evidently because the MUTV camera missed the entire exchange. This was disappointing to the large number of people that were watching online. However, we're not going to pile onto whomever was responsible. After all, it's a student operation, and they're probably getting hazed by other people enough. We're sure this will be a good lesson learned and funny story for the future.) We now have a copy of all of Fulce's dunks via youtube (check here) HT: MUScoop poster RoneyEford13. The reaction from the crowd, the judges, Fulce, and the team is outstanding.

Moving on, considering that Fulce was supposed to have more upside than Butler last year, how great would it be for him to be back to 100%? Not just for the team, but for the young man himself after all of his travails in getting to D1. We'll definitely continue to root for Fulce to stay healthy... everything else will fall in place with him if that happens.

As for the scrimmage, the most noteworthy thing from my perspective was that it was really hard keeping track of all the new players and numbers. Butler looked very smooth and more assertive than last year. Erik Williams was less assertive than Maymon, but that may have been a function of being on a team with Hayward and Butler. Otule looked light years better than last year. And, I barely heard Buycks' name during the scrimmage. However, one of the best summaries of how the players looked came from none other than Murffieus.

There were also several recruits in attendance (30 in total), but here were some of the notable ones according to Rosiak (Vander Blue, Tarik Black, Branden Dawson, Keaton Miles, and 2010 commit Jamail Jones).

We asked BMA for the opinion regarding several of these players, and here was the additional info.

• Blue - Nothing I can say that hasn't been said. (Rob's note - According to Rosiak, Blue was dressed head to toe in MU gear and was one of the very last to leave.)
  
  Update: According to this thread, Blue is destined to come to Marquette.
  
  
• Black - Think Trevor Mbakwe part 2 in terms of talent. Small, but very strong and very athletic. Most developed part of his game is defense. Offensively he scores a lot on put backs and dunks. Has some post moves and a nice jump hook. Really though he's a guy that his most impressive thing is effort. Nearly every national scout has talked about it. He's able to out rebound out score and out defend guys that look like they should dominate him because of their bigger size.
• Miles - Has a chance to be really really good if he's able to put it all together. Elite athlete. Can get to the rim with ease but often times decides to settle for three pointers, and he isn't a good enough shooter to do that. Good defender and rebounder. The situation reminds me a bit of Erik Williams. Top kid that no one is talking about pays his own way to come to Marquette's midnight madness. Back then we were all focused on Shumpert, and got a commit from this kid in Texas we didn't know much about. Now we're all focused on Blue and there's this kid from Texas we don't know much about. Maybe this year will be the same?
• Branden Dawson - Thought to be a Purdue or IU lean so it's big to get him here. He's another one that doesn't seem to quite get it yet, but even without putting everything together he's an elite prospect. Great at attacking the rim, great around the basket, excellent rebounder. Has a very good mid range game, and not so good from 3. He had a great summer, and seems to get better every time he plays. Plus, for a top kid he's not afraid to do the dirty work. You don't often see 6'5 SF forwards willing to mix it up for a rebound in the post, but he does.

Thanks for your thoughts, BMA. Buzz figures to secure another outstanding recruiting class if players like this are in the mix. One has to feel confident about the chances right now, and certainly at least optimistic about the prospects for the season.

Player Video v2008 .. Pray

In case you missed it, this is the video that was released during Marquette Madness, and is played before games:

News and notes... It's Madness!

Here you go.....

Last night was Marquette Madness. The GoMarquette.com website has a ton of great content. There is the full clip of the "Pray introduction", the Women's team dancing to "Thriller", Wesley Matthews dunking through his legs, and a clip covering Boot Camp. Check out the Photo Gallery as well. Most of the event is streamed directly from this site. For folks that have issues accessing clips on that website, there's also a thread on MUScoop.com with clips. That thread has Joe Fulce's "Vinsanity dunk", a really interesting clip on MU Coaches, and some other links. If you were there, or would like to see how the team looked, check out this thread.

In other news, the Big East Basketball Report slots Marquette at #5 in their pre-season BIG EAST preview. Also, BrewedSports blogged a Marquette season preview over the weekend.

Finally, MarquetteHoops.com has an article about Lazar Hayward and one about Jerel McNeal.

Missed it? Marquette also got a new commit. Get yourself some coffee, Buzz.

One Day Until Marquette Madness

As a reminder, Marquette Madness is tomorrow. Check out the
GoMarquette.com Home Page for the updated introduction video. The folks in the Athletic Department have really done a fine job in the last year in terms of making content available on the web, and this is just a continuing example.

Doors open at the Al tomorrow at 6 pm.

Season Previews are starting to roll out, and Fox Sports and Sporting News check in with their updates. The Fox Sports article by Jeff Goodman is fairly vanilla story. He picks us #18 in the country and fifth in the BE. DeCourcy has a decent article as well. It's probably the best article yet I've seen, although there is one notable issue. He fails to even mention Joe Fulce. Read the comments of the article for a nice criticism by Eric Silver.

The MUTV Sports guys are back with a Video Interview of Lazar Hayward. Good show, fellas. It never fails to impress me how well the Marquette players conduct themselves. If nothing else, the players are easy to root for.

Finally, Trevor Mbakwe committed to Minnesota and Tubby Smith last night.

Big East Media Day and More

Just a little bit more from yesterday's Big East Media Day as well as getting ready for Marquette Madness (and more)

Big East Media Day

• Even though Rosiak wasn't among the 200+ people that were credentialed for Big East Media Day yesterday, he still managed to pop out some excellent blog entries. First, he delivered an interview with Jerel McNeal. Then, Rosiak also checked in with an interview with Buzz. As always, nice job by Rosiak.
• The conference website has additional information from yesterday's event as well. The initial page has Mike Tranghese's opening comments. The press conference is about ten minutes, but it's kind of worth it. Tranghese welcomes the two new coaches to the league, talks about the history of the league and growing up with ESPN, and then even gives a glimpse of what the partnership with SNY for TV will mean. There are several additional links on that page as well for pre-season honors and the coaches poll, most of which has already been covered here and elsewhere.

Marquette Madness

• Marquette Madness is two days away! Try to make it in person, and if not, check it out online. Even if you can't watch it live, the MUTV-sports folks are saying it will be archived to watch later. The MUTV-Sports blog provides some hints about their broadcast of Marquette Madness.
  
• In addition, the official GoMarquette.com site has unveiled more of their video. In case you forgot the context for this commercial, here's a picture of the Converse Ad. I still love that ad, and am excited to see the full video version.
• There will definitely be some recruits as well as fans at Marquette Madness. Bullseye reports that there will be some top underclass prospects from Illinois in attendance, including class of 2009 player Chris Colvin. Here's a rough list of additional recruits as well.
  

Additional Misc Information about Marquette (or not)

• MarquetteHoops.com also delivers two new interviews. The first is an interview of Jimmy Butler, and the second is an interview with Dwight Burke.
• Finally, for some fun... Since we mentioned Converse, www.marquettewillbeback.com has a counter until the start of the NCAA tournament (144 days). And since we're talking about counters, in case you were wondering how long Buzz has been on the job, the moderators at MUScoop put up a handy reference on their stats page. (199 days)
  

UPDATE: Bullseye link and re-formatted the whole page

Getting Ready for Marquette Madness

The folks at MU just keep churning out great content. If you head to the front page of
GoMarquette.com, you'll see a teaser video for Marquette Madness. The event will start at 6:30 on 10/25, and doors to the Al McGuire center open at 6. Click here for more details, although it'll be the standard team introductions, dunk contest, scrimmages, and more. All fans in attendance will receive a free poster and Converse/Brand WADE T-shirt.

Can't make it up for the game? MUTV will broadcast live on GoMarquette.com. For more information, check out the MUTV Sports blog. Right now they have a short interview with Maurice Acker up on the site.

Also, MarquetteHoops.com has articles up on Tony Benford and Joe Fulce.

By the way, tomorrow is Big East Media Day (for the men). The ladies have their moment on Thursday. Here's a list of men's players attending from all schools (pdf). All four seniors will be there for Marquette. Also, to file away, here is a composite Big East Schedule, but of course we only care about this schedule. I'm sure that there will be plenty of updates coming out from Marquette and probably from Rosiak as well. Stay tuned for more information...

UPDATE: Big East Media Day

Sunday Media Updates

Just a few quick media updates for a Sunday

• Season previews are starting to roll in, and Rivals places Marquette at #20 for the season. The preview is decent enough, and it's always just nice reading about Marquette.
• BoysHoopScout reports that a 6'9 Serbian big man will visit Marquette Madness. The link is well worth visiting, because there is some great insight about Sasa Borovnjak and Buzz's thoughts on the 2009 class.
• Speaking of Marquette Madness, Rosiak woke up from his sixteen day slumber (just teasing) to provide some details about the event on his blog. Although practice officially begins 10/17, the event will be Oct. 25 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center.
• The wait was well worth it from Rosiak, because he also checks in with a look at Snaer. In case you weren't aware, Marquette was hosting Michael Snaer, who is the #17 RSCI player in their most recent rankings, and he would certainly step in and contribute from day one. My only quibble with Rosiak's report is that he suggests the addition of Snaer could make the 2009 class "perhaps the best class in the country." UNC has TWO commits that are RSCI Top 10, and nobody is catching that class
• Here are some youtube clips of Snaer (Number One and Number Two)
  
• Finally, Rosiak really delivered as well with an interview with Jeronne Maymon. This is another great link to follow to catch up on Maymon. Best part of the article is that he got an "A" and a "B" in summer classes. Keep it up, Jeronne!
  

Madness Recap

UPDATED:

Notes from Marquette Madness:

1. Great crowd. Packed house, standing room only. Although somehow it didn't feel jammed like the Bradley Center. I suppose that's the difference between 18,000 and 4,000 fans.

2. Crean and company must have gotten finished watching the Karate Kid series, as they were introduced decked out in karate outfits. Crean arrived on court via a 4-wheel ATV that, god help us, nearly tipped over on several of his sharp turns. Players took turns karate-chopping boards with Big East opponent's logos.

3. DWade was in the house. After a one-act skit where Crean directed us to a "malfunctioning" jumbotron with a taped Wade message .. suddenly Wade appears and brings the house down. Fantastic!

4. Dunk Contest - Many missed dunks, says this white boy who can't jump. The famed Wes Matthews-jumping-over-something (ATV) was missed twice, and they didn't let him risk a third attempt. Jerel McNeal won the contest.

5. The scrimmage started a bit after 9pm. Comments:

• Team looked way better than previous "first" practices. Why? Two words: Oh, Canada! The 10 extra practices and 4 Vancouver games had a clear effect on how close the team is to "mid-season" form. That trip gets Marquette a month ahead of everyone.
• Mo Acker is a huge, huge addition. Runs the team well, shot 4-8 on 3-pointers. 6 assists, Zero turnovers? Nice. Will get a lot of minutes this year, and be the difference maker in many games.
• Blackledge was a surprising scorer for his team. Visable improvement since last year.
• Lazar led all scorers with 18 .. but he took 16 shots to get there.
• Ooze grabbed 9 rebounds .. Trevor with 8. Nice.
• Tommy Brice, DNP. Come on. Give a dog a bone!
• Box Score Here

Photos of the scrimmage.

Here are a couple of videos I shot from my seat:

---

Team Introductions:




DWade:


Dunk Contest:

Got Wade?

MU does.

The All-Star and NBA Champion made a surprise appearance at Marquette Madness tonight, much to the delight of the fan base ....... and perhaps to the amazement of key recruiting targets Iman Shumpert, Jared Swopshire and Nick Willlams. Nice work, TC and DWade.

Details here from Todd Rosiak.

Photos from Marquette Madness here at MUScoop.com

MU previews Marquette Madness

OK, t-minus five days until Marquette Madness.......check out the way cool video from the GoMarquette site, which is embedded below. Muy bien. How does Dominic James not cut his head on the rim? Insane.