DeCourcy slams Marquette; media updates

The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy is at it again.

In case you missed it yesterday DeCourcy called out Marquette as a burden on the Big East while the conference looks to re-invent itself as a stronger BCS member. In the article DeCourcy argues that the Big East made a mistake by adding Marquette and DePaul in 2005 because their membership complicates the league's current expansion pursuits. Further he presumes that the conference's legacy members "must be regretting" the 2005 expansion.

Really? I disagree and wonder why Marquette is the Big East's burden rather than Providence, Seton Hall or DePaul (which he also calls out in the article to a lesser degree). Marquette's unquestioned commitment to the hoops program and competitive athletics across the board is the standard by which these other universities are compared. DeCourcy is assigning a perverse value to conference longevity. That should never be the a driver for evaluating a program's relative contribution and value to its league. Further, it remains unclear whether basketball-only schools, legacy or not, negatively impact the conference's current effort to double-down on football.

DeCourcy defended himself this morning on The Doug and Mike Show on 1250 WSSP-Milwaukee. Check it out here. Nice job by Doug Russell to land this interesting interview.

The MUScoop community is all over this one. What kind of backhanded snipes will DeCourcy make in two years when we win the Big East Championship? Yeah, we went there!

And now for additional updates on Marquette hoops from around the Interwebs:

• Bob Wolfley churns out a memorable piece on Maurice Lucas in the Journal-Sentinel, detailing Luke's decision to forgo his senior season at Marquette for the ABA.
• Jeff Goodman previews the Big East and picks MU as the league's 5th best team. Vander Blue is his rookie of the year.
• Kyle Franko from Pressbox previews MU's season including a best and worst-case scenario.
  
• The Marquette Tribune evaluates the 2010-2011 Warriors in their annual basketball preview. The main landing page is here -- look for links to the various articles below.
• Marquette is recruiting a German big man who is prepping in Delafield, Wisconsin. Milwaukee has excellent German cuisine, big fella. Here's a bit more on Martin Breunig.
• MU graduate Dominic James was named the player of the week in the Bulgarian league.
• MU graduate David Cubillan led his team to the pro title in Venezuela, scoring 17 in the deciding game.
• Can you speak Italian? If so, here's Travis Diener.

Marquette Media Update

UPDATED

Today's Must Read Items

First things first, if you missed it, check out the Recruiting Update below. Tim's update was like tasty, tasty crack. Posted after the article yesterday, it looks like Mike Shaw will be at Madness. Marquette's chances seem strong based on the article, but honestly, we are puzzled by the info they put in about Shaw's academics. By the way, there are 12 more test dates for the ACT/SAT during this academic year.

After recruiting, your second stop needs to be this great article about Marquette legend Hank Raymonds. Getting only minimal coverage, Coach Raymonds was diagnosed with a brain tumor over the summer. At 86 years old, Raymonds may not have a lot of time left on this earth. Let's cherish him a little more, because he's one of the true Marquette legends.

Updated with news from Rosiak - your third must-read of the day is his update on Boot Camp, which includes discussion of the schedule, boot camp, foot injuries, and Jamil Wilson petitioning the NCAA (not happening).

Moving on, we'll catch up on Marquette news from around the Internets.

News from Marquette

Madness is in two weeks. Let's restate that. COLLEGE BASKETBALL IS HERE AGAIN OFFICIALLY IN TWO WEEKS. I swear these offseasons get longer and longer. Surprisingly, there is very little info on Marquette's website.

After Madness, Marquette is holding Walk-On Tryouts on Oct 18th. You've got to be a current student, email Brad Autry, and get cleared in advance. Good luck unseating The Wild Rumpus. I heard on the "Internet" Frozena killed a guy last year.

Can't make it to Madness? Hit up the Fish Fry / Haunted Hoops event on Oct 22nd. Marquette has online registration or a PDF version. Reception is at 5, scrimmage starts at 7. Kids of all ages can wear their costumes.

MU release their Marquette Revealed - Episode 5 earlier this week. I've liked other videos, but this one was weak. However, supposedly more access is forthcoming and has been restricted so far due to NCAA regs. Eventual end product will consist of two, 30-minute HD TV shows, which will include some of the video in the webisodes and other footage as well.

Going to be on campus tonight for family weekend? Buzz is speaking tonight, for the second year in a row. It'll be in the Monaghan Ballrooms of the Alumni Memorial Union at 6 pm. Check the link for more details.

Marquette Players that Play for Money

People in Portland seem to be pretty psyched about Wesley Matthews.

Catch up on some results of Dominic James playing in Bulgaria. His team just lost the first leg of the EuroCup Qualifying Round (78-74), with James chipping in 10 pts and 6 assists. A few days ago James went for 17 pts, 7 rebounds, six assists in a victory. That second link is worth reading just for the translation, even if their English is better than my Bulgarian.

Other random news

Dick Enberg's play, "Coach: The Untold Story of College Basketball Legend Al McGuire", is going to be both at Belmont Abbey and Indiana University in October. Now, before you freak out about Crean and Indiana and why-the-hell-do-you-keep-using-Marquette-stuff-at-Indiana-when-it's-Indiana-it's-Indiana, Enberg got his masters and doctorate degrees from IU. okay, fine.

Buzz was quoted in this DeCourcy article about how thin the margin is in the BE.

The Racine Journal Times is asking who should be the first inducted into the Racine County Sports Hall of Fame (scroll down). Stupid, but go vote for either Jim Chones or Jim McIlvaine. If you want to.

Finally, attendees at Marquette games this year will see a brand-spanking new scoreboard. Here's the fact sheet. Both the Marquette link and the Journal-Sentinel article also include some short video clips.

PS - Donate to Al's Run. People that don't donate like kids getting sick. What kind of monster are you?

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.

Dog Days Media Update

With August coming to a close quickly, here's a look at news items about the Marquette hoops program from the past few days:

• First, Liam McMorrow is quite the intriguing character. The Canadian seven-footer grew several inches in the last few years and initially played hoops to mollify incessant questions about his athletic interests. BTW, as tough as this kid might be, I'm guessing his hockey thug brother sets the tone at home. Read all about it here in the Toronto Sun.
• Rivals.com is out with their post-summer rankings for the class of 2009. All three of MU's 2009 high school commits cracked the top 100: Jeronne Maymon (#46), Junior Cadougan (#60), and Erik Williams (#99). A fine showing for MU -- and we expect Williams to rise during his senior year as he returns to full health following the ankle injury last winter.
• Tom Shanahan, columnist for the Voice of San Diego, remembers Al McGuire with now notable playwright Dick Enberg. Good stuff, as always, when it's about Coach Al.
• Mark Miller of Wishoops.net updates readers on several players, including 2010 guard Chim (T.J.) Kadima who just visited MU.
• Mike DeCourcy from TSN penned a Q/A with new coach Buzz Williams. While the interview is quite good and we realize coach Williams can't discuss the 2009 class, Mike chose not to pepper Buzz with questions about coaching at a school "outside his geographic comfort zone" or the disadvantages of recruiting at the "Western edge of an Eastern league". Apparently TC was too busy finalizing his own contract to FUD* the Warriors program once more. Regardless, Buzz is refreshingly honest and it shows in this Q/A once more when he calls a spade a spade in reference to MU's big men, "we are very disproportionate, as it compares to our league, to have four scholarships at one position."
  
• MUScoop asks: Is a low post threat essential for a championship level team? Jump in.
  

*Fear Uncertainty Doubt

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.

Morning grinds

A few items of note regarding MU..........

Marquette Tribune's Steve Yanda paints himself green with envy at the opportunities that await Jerel McNeal. Yanda rightly expects McNeal to declare for the NBA draft shortly -- but to do so without an agent, and ultimately return to MU.

Now for the main event.

Mike DeCourcy says it will be tough for MU (and PC) to recruit in the Big East because the league is, well, too tough -- and infers that new head coaches Buzz Williams and Keno Davis might be in over their heads.

Nobody is denying that the Big East is rough, but DeCourcy downplays MU's strengths to the point where he views PC as a program on par with MU. Of course, this is not the case on any level, just look at the relative successes of each program in the last decade, not to mention facilities, fan support, television appearances, and NBA footprint. MU certainly left itself open to criticism for hiring Buzz Williams -- but the PC comparison is a non sequitur.

Still, DeCourcy marginalizes Marquette's position in the Big East:

"When the Marquette job opened and its fans wondered if Xavier's Sean Miller would be interested in moving, the answer was obvious -- but not to them."

Few MU fans (any?) expected MU to land Miller. The buzz on Miller's interest in potentially moving on from Xavier was more of a media creation than any Marquette fan's expectation. When the Pitt job opens up, Miller will move on. Fine with me.

"Marquette built one of the nation's best practice facilities and has shown a willingness to invest in coaching salaries, but it cannot change the fact it is at the Western edge of an Eastern league."

The 'western edge of an Eastern league' reeks of spin from competitive coaches, or even coaches formerly on the MU staff. Despite their proximity to the Center of the Big East Universe, programs like Seton Hall, Rutgers, St John's and Providence have somehow struggled to be competitive for what, a decade or more? To read this column, you'd expect that MU had failed miserably during its Big East tenure.

Players who grow up in Wisconsin generally dream of playing in the Big Ten, which is one reason the Badgers have enjoyed an edge in drawing the state's elite prospects

Marquette never was a program built on the backs of talent from the Dairy State. MU has always gotten its share of local kids (Diener and Novak for example), but historically recruited with greater success regionally and nationally. This is a non-issue for the program.

Both Marquette and Providence have hired promising coaches. But each has moved out of his geographic comfort zone and will have to overcome that.

Hmmm........After DeCourcy just pointed out that homestate kids don't flock to play ball at MU how can he now say that hiring a coach from outside the state (or Midwest) is now a disadvantage? Should MU have doubled-down with a yokel so he could swim upstream in a state where the cultish following of the red-clad flagship institution is culturally ingrained?

When Marquette hired Tom Crean, geography mattered more than it does now. With Marquette playing in an East Coast-based league, a coach with a national reputation as a strong recruiter just might be the right fit (process be damned), if for no other reason than being on the 'western edge of an Eastern league'.

Big East battles aren't confined to the court. In fact, the confrontations along the recruiting trail can be even more intense. No joke.

Agreed. And let's face it, after landing the blowout class headlined by the Three Amigos, Tom Crean delivered a pair of decidedly underwhelming classes to follow. Simply put, other than Lazar Hayward and maybe Trevor Mbakwe, Crean left behind a roster of questionable role players with marginal skills. True to form, it took Crean three years to land another promising class, one broken up by his Irsay-esque departure. Crean often recruited his best talent when his back was against the wall -- and heading into 2009, it would have been at Marquette because of the mistakes, misses, and reaches made in between.

In the end, maybe these perceived recruiting issues at Marquette had less to do with geography and more to do with the talent evaluation and roster development of the previous head coach.

DeCourcy updates: Buzz Williams called back from San Antonio

Mike DeCourcy, who last week provided exclusive insight into MU's search for a new head basketball coach, today reports that Buzz Williams has been called back from San Antonio to meet with university officials. According to a source cited in the report, Williams has a 'great chance' to replace Tom Crean.

In addition, current MU Board of Trustees member Doc Rivers somewhat endorsed Williams' candidacy in this report from the AP.

"Buzz wouldn't be a bad guy," said Rivers, a former Marquette player and current university trustee. "He'd be terrific. But they're going to interview a lot of guys, which they're already doing. We'll see."

Talk about it at MUScoop.

Exclusive: Mike DeCourcy on the Marquette coaching search

It is our pleasure to welcome The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy, one of the nation's top college basketball writers, to Cracked Sidewalks.

Mike was gracious enough to offer his perspectives on the Marquette program and the current search for a new head basketball coach in this Q & A, which he completed exclusively for Cracked Sidewalks.

Which names do you expect to hear in connection with the job?
(MD) There are few things I hate worse than "lists" and "names being mentioned." Whose list? Mentioned by whom? Too many in the media just throw out as many people as it seems might be peripherally connected with a job without any consideration to whether that person might actually be interested, or whether that person might be qualified, or whether that person would be of interest to the people doing the hiring.

What do you think are the most important criteria Marquette will need to consider when narrowing down candidates for the next coach?
(MD) Getting the best person for the job. That's all. He'd better be an excellent recruiter, because even though Marquette is a wonderful university with a passionate following, it is a Big East school in Big Ten country -- and that makes it, by definition, a difficult sell. Tom Crean recruits as well as any head coach, and it was tough for him to get all the people he wanted.

The next coach also better be good with Xs and Os, because he almost certainly is going to be going against teams with better players -- there aren't going to be many years in which the Golden Eagles' talent is not bested by some combination of Connecticut, Georgetown, Syracuse and one or two others.

In your opinion, which coach would be the best fit for the job?
(MD) I don't think Marquette should fear hiring an assistant. It worked out beautifully last time. One person I would tell you is very gifted and ready to make this kind of move is John Groce, the associate head coach at Ohio State. He helped build the roster that went to last year's NCAA title game, had a large hand in recruiting Stanley Burrell for Xavier, which made this year's Elite Eight and was a big part of Butler's success early in this decade. He does much of the gameplanning and play-calling for the Buckeyes now. He would excel in this position.

Marquette has a lot going for it in terms of the Big East, great facilities, commitment to pay large dollars, but coaching searches are always less fruitful than fans want. To what extent will MU be able to attract a top candidate?
(MD) When Marquette hired Tom Crean, how many fans really knew who he was? Maybe those who were really in tune. Not to be disrespectful, but fans too often get caught up in whether a coach is famous and not whether he's truly gifted. Getting a "name" coach generally is the least important consideration.

Will having a new athletic director hinder Marquette's ability to land one of its prime targets?
(MD) I would think not, so long as that AD consults the right people and makes wise decisions. Hey, Indiana's AD was on a long losing streak and pulled out Tom Crean. So I wouldn't put it past anyone to hire a good coach.

Buzz Williams is a hot name on the message boards because the feeling is he could stop the bleeding. Hiring from within paid dividends for Pitt with Jamie Dixon, do you see any parallels here?
(MD) It's a different deal, but that doesn't mean Buzz couldn't do a great job. Jamie helped Ben Howland build up the program. He helped write the blueprint. Buzz was a relatively recent addition to Tom's staff. However, Buzz has more head coaching experience than Jamie had and is an extremely accomplished recruiter. His connections to Texas offer Marquette an avenue to talent that could be very useful. I thought Buzz was a great hire by Tom. Keeping him could work out very well.

One of the best aspects of the Big East is that the BE Champion should be considered a strong candidate to also be the national champion. However, it's clear that one motivator for Crean to move to IU was the ability to attract better recruits and contend for that same NCAA championship. To what extent do you think Marquette will be able to contend for the Big East and NCAA Championship?
(MD) I'd say the two are more mutually exclusive than you suggest. Pitt has proven that. Pitt has won Big East titles -- regular-season and tournament -- with teams that had virtually no chance of winning the NCAAs. You need much more talent to win six NCAA Tournament games than to win even the best league over the course of 18 games. It's a different challenge and values physical toughness and stamina much more than individual playmaking ability.

Mike, thanks for taking the time to offer your perspectives during a busy Final Four week.

Folks, please be sure to bookmark Mike's landing page over at The Sporting News and check back often for the latest news and perspectives on college hoops.