Cottingham details 'the process'

OK, let's start with the good stuff.......Bob McClellan from Rivals.com pulled together an article on Buzz Williams -- the piece effectively recaps the 'how we got here' and 'here's what we know about Buzz' storylines.

Of course, we also have to put up with Marquette AD Steve Cottingham's defense of his unwillingness to conduct a thorough, national search to fill the institution's most visible job. So, in honor of FireJoeMorgan.com, we're going Ken Tremendous on Cottingham.

"I think the general public might see it that way (as a risky hire)," Marquette athletic director Steve Cottingham told Rivals.com.

Despite being an inside job, the Politburo would have seen it as a risky hire. Hiring a coach embroiled in a legal battle with his previous employer -- a job he left under questionable circumstances after a losing season -- is risky. For a university that believes its men's basketball program is a key part of its strategy to attract interest from prospective students and dollars from alums, the hire was risky by any measure.

"My view is it's a much greater risk to hire somebody based on the popular opinion."

Please ring that gong, Chuck Barris.

Would everybody who thought that MU should hire a coach based on popular opinion raise your hand? (no hands go up in our virtual world).

No, Mr. Cottingham. Marquette fans wanted to see the institution engage in a competitive evaluation and hiring process that didn't include "hire the last assistant remaining in the program" as a key criterion.

"There wasn't a risk in hiring Buzz because we know what he can do and know what he's going to do."

Seriously, Cottingham said that. You can't make this stuff up. To recap, here is what we knew about Buzz Williams at the time of his hiring:

• Buzz Williams did not have to defend his resume or approach to building a program against a slate of competitive candidates.
• Buzz Williams quit on the folks at the University of New Orleans and was engaged in a protracted legal battle with them.
• Buzz Williams led UNO to a 14-17 record as head coach.
• Buzz Williams played a brief, minor role in building the MU program.
  
• Buzz Williams would have been an assistant coach at any other D1 program in the nation for the 2008-2009 season.
• Buzz Williams seems to have been an effective recruiter as an assistant coach.
  
• Buzz Williams might be just fine in the end. Or he might not.

"It would have been easy to settle for a name on somebody else's list."

I think Cottingham mis-spoke here. What he meant to say was, "It would not have been easy to conduct an aggressive, national search. Such a search would have taken time and forced candidates to demonstrate their competing visions of Marquette basketball. Those candidates could have challenged this institution's perspectives in what would have been a very healthy dialectic. Ultimately we just didn't need that kind of distraction."

Cottingham admits other coaches were approached. He declined to reveal any names.

Approached? Stalked? Left messages for? Sigh.

It took Buzz Williams more time to hire his first assistant coach than it did for MU to hire its 16th head basketball coach. And per Internet reports, Williams actually conducted an aggressive national search to build out his staff (I didn't think MU allowed such a thing!). Bravo, Buzz.

"We did our job in terms of looking at people we thought would be interested and would be the right fit"

Looking at people but not interviewing people, apparently.

"That's all part of doing your due diligence."

Due diligence? This process was reminiscent of the fella who marries the first girl he kisses, only to realize later that playing the field for a while might have resulted in out-kicking his coverage.

"Buzz emerged pretty quickly as a strong candidate."

A haunting refrain reappears near Cottingham's noggin as a Pop-Up Video bubble , "Hire the last assistant remaining in the program."

"Recruiting is a huge part," Cottingham said.

Of course!! Nobody else that MU might have considered as a head coach can recruit -- only Buzz Williams can recruit. It's all making sense now.

"Even during the season, it became clear to me he'd be a high-major coach," Cottingham said. "I just didn't expect it would be at Marquette."

On this point we agree. Nobody else did either.

Um, hi....we're back

Life (er, work) has a funny way of interrupting your hobbies, hence the dearth of material here for the last several days. Capitalism has a funny way of demanding increasing amounts of your time. Anyway, we're back. For those of you who follow the threads on MUScoop and other sites, some of this might be redux -- but let's get caught up with Marquette hoops.

Marquette has offered 2009 stud Jeronne Maymon of Madison Memorial High School. Mark Miller of WSN Boys Basketball has the details here. Maymon, a 6'6" combo forward, currently sports offers from MU, USC and Iowa State with many more to follow. Maymon is off to a fast start this spring on the AAU circuit, turning in a series of eye-catching performances.

Darrius Morrow signed with ECU. Recruiting successfully requires patience and vision more than a hunger to settle for the 'best (only?) player available'. I'm glad to see that Buzz Williams appears to have exhibited that with Morrow.

6'10" Kyle Rowley reclassified to 2008 and signed with Northwestern. Good luck, Kyle.

According to the Big East Basketball Report, MU is after 2009 PG Justin Jordan of Fort Wayne.

Marquette University's athletic programs delivered academically once again. According to MU, each of th university's 14 athletic teams exceeded the NCAA's required Academic Progress Rate (APR). Congratulations, MU. If you want to see what happens when a university does not take care of the academic side of life, check out the SHU situation. For a history on MU's position with the APR over time, read our post on the subject from last year.

Steve Yanda of the Marquette Tribune ran a provocative article about the university's proclivity to favor the internal hire over a competitive, national search. Here's my key take-away from the article:

In February, Cottingham was named Marquette's athletic director after a 14-month interim stint during which he conducted the search for a permanent replacement. Though Cottingham stated throughout the search process that he was not interested in the full-time position, he eventually concluded he was the best person for the job.

Of the 60 candidates who applied for the full-time position, none were interviewed. As a private institution.

Talk about it in this thread at MUScoop if you're interested.

New Marquette AD faces daunting task

Now that Tom Crean has cast his lot with the Indiana Hoosiers, Marquette faces the unenviable task of starting anew.

Steve Cottingham, Marquette's newly minted AD, will lead the effort to find a new head basketball coach just 36 days after taking over the reigns of an athletic department for the first time. Cottingham has never hired a coach before (a scenario which made Cracked Sidewalks ask "Why Cottingham" when he was originally announced). Cottingham now faces the daunting challenge of replacing the man who, along with strong support from the administration and alumni, rebuilt the Marquette program to heights only surpassed by the legendary Al McGuire.

Given MU's willingness to pay Tom Crean top-dollar to run the program, there's no reason to believe that the administration will pare back its commitment to maintaining a high level of success with the men's basketball program. In the past, Marquette University President Robert Wild has indicated that a successful men's basketball program is a key aspect of his overall strategy for the university. As long as Father Wild remains at MU, expect the Golden Eagles to invest in hoops.

Considering the administration's long-term commitment to hoops, Cottingham should have the resources to land a very desirable candidate. Of course, he'll need to because this hire will define his tenure at Marquette.

With first-class facilities, strong support from the administration, a large budget, a burgeoning fan base, expanded online coverage, and a strong roster of returning talent (we hope), the Marquette coaching job is as appealing as it's been in a long time. Now it's time to fill it with a candidate who can continue the momentum the program has built during the past nine seasons.

Steve Cottingham is on the clock.

......much more to come here on Cracked Sidewalks, check back often!