"My rule was I wouldn't recruit a kid if he had grass in front of his house.
That's not my world. My world was a cracked sidewalk." —Al McGuire

Showing posts with label rosiak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rosiak. Show all posts

Friday, May 02, 2008

Buzz Williams update, new potential recruit emerges

According to this report from a K-State blog penned by a reporter from the Wichita Eagle, it appears that MU is in pursuit of 6'2" combo guard Varez Ward from the Patterson School in Lenior, NC. Marquette is in good company with Ward -- Texas, Arkansas, K-State and FSU have also offered according to his coach.

Also today, Rosiak files this report on the outlook for Buzz Williams first year on the sidelines at MU -- somewhat of a very early season preview. In addition, Buzz Williams sat down with Todd Rosiak for a thorough overview of the program in this blog entry. Among the most interesting nuggets:

  • Regarding the last open scholarship -- Williams indicated it could be used for either the 08 or 09 classes;
  • Williams expects Butler and Fulce to be 'ahead of the curve' as compared to true freshmen next season;
  • David Cubillan will have surgery on his left shoulder soon. He recently had surgery on his right shoulder and has not had an individual workout yet this off-season.
  • Williams took the high-road on the Tyshawn Taylor situation. Smart.
  • There are no updates on McNeal's NBA process in the report
  • Varez Ward is not mentioned in the Rosiak update.
BTW, here is a YouTube clip of what appears to be Varez Ward from his junior year in high school --against Nick Williams' LeFlore Rattlers, no less.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Mbakwe, Taylor updates

Read Rosiak, folks.........great reporting by Todd again today.

Bob Hurley takes a few more swings at MU

.....even though NCAA regulations prohibit Marquette from granting a release to Tyshawn Taylor just because his high school coach says he wants one.

Oustanding work by Todd Rosiak......this is quite a soap opera.

"It's a stall, there's no doubt about it," he said. "If they say otherwise...if this was St. Anthony's High School, and a young man's family came to me and told me that they were unhappy and would I sign our state waiver so that they would be eligible to play someplace else, if I'd done the best I could coaching and it wasn't working, I would sign it and they'd be gone and I'd wish them the best of luck.

Of course, the "young man's family" has not made the request -- so the grandstanding high school coach maintains his faux platform. Thankfully, MU's Mike Broeker correctly addresses the crux of the matter:
"Our obligation is to the student-athlete," said deputy athletic director Mike Broeker. "And up to this point, neither Tyshawn nor his family has informed us of his decision."

Talk about it here at MUScoop.


TREVOR MBAKWE UPDATE
Charley Waters from TwinCities.com reports that Trevor Mbakwe will stay at Marquette:
Former St. Bernard's and Henry Sibley basketball star Trevor Mbakwe, who considered transferring from Marquette after his freshman season this year, has decided to remain with the team. The Gophers were expected to pursue the 6-foot-8 forward if he had made himself available.

There's been no official confirmation from MU regarding Mbakwe.

Joseph Fulce sticks with MU and more

UPDATED
"Everything's real good. I'm still going to Marquette," he said. "I'm excited, my family's excited. It's a great place for me, I'm going to get a great Jesuit education."


After a stretch of uncertainty with key recruits in the wake of the Buzz Williams hiring, Todd Rosiak once again puts fans' minds at ease today with a positive update on Joseph Fulce, the 6'6" combo forward from Tyler JC. Fulce remains an MU commit.

What's more, for the second time in as many days we're hearing from recruits and those close to them about how much they value a Jesuit education . Consider what John Harmatuck, Erik Williams' high school coach, said yesterday to the guys at the SportsBubbler:

“Erik’s parents really value a Jesuit education,” Harmatuk said. “Erik went to a Jesuit school (Strake Jesuit) as a freshman. His parents are very impressed with Marquette as a university, first and foremost.”

Not to mention what the hyper-talented Williams said himself at the SportsBubbler:

"
I committed to Marquette because of everything that it stands for and has to offer."

These comments above reflect the kinds of values many traditional students appreciate when they decide to attend Marquette University - -and its good to see future student-athletes recognize and value what differentiates MU.

Oh, by the way ...... Fulce and Williams can play. Check out this video of Fulce from his high school days in Plano when he led his team to the state title.

JIMMY BUTLER AND SCOTT MONARCH TO JOIN MARQUETTE?
According to a blog on the Des Moines Register, Marquette is poised to gain a commitment from Jimmy Butler, a high-flying 6'6" guard/forward from Tyler JC. Like Fulce, Butler will have three years of eligibility remaining at a Division One program.

In addition, the Register reports that Scott Monarch has accepted an assistant coaching slot at MU. Monarch is currently an assistant coach at Tyler JC and was on Buzz Williams' staff at UNO. We'll await verification from MU.

Kudos to MUScoop for finding these gems.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Come back in from that ledge, my friend

.......at least that's one way to look at the reassuring Rosiak report concerning Erik Williams and Chris Otule:

Erik Williams, a fast-rising junior from Cypress Springs (Tex.) High School told me this afternoon that he remains committed to MU...........Williams also said that he keeps in contact with Chris Otule, one of three remaining signees for next season, and Otule told him he will also honor his commitment to MU.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Rosiak details the search; Transfer rumors and more

UPDATED
Todd's latest blog is in the spotlight today.......check it out for details on the coaching search. Talk about it here at MU Scoop. Rosiak also reports on yesterday's introduction.

Rosiak had the scoop on a possible Trevor Mbakwe transfer last week, and now the Minnesota boards are buzzing about it per this thread. One down?

We linked to this last night, but in case you missed it -- Buzz Williams will try and retain Tyshawn Taylor when he visits Jersey City on Friday.

Bob Wolfley speaks with Buzz Williams mentors and former bosses in his latest column.

Chas Rich at AOL Fan House evaluates MU's decision to hire Buzz Williams -- another fine blog by Chas.

And dont forget.......Please click on this link to land over at the eBay auction for a pair of tickets to the sold out Marquette Basketball Banquet. All proceeds go to a great cause -- Camp Anokijig, a non-profit youth and family camp located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Monday morning coaching update

A few key items from around the Web regarding the MU coaching search:

Monday, March 17, 2008

NCAA 2008 media updates

Here's hoping the Cracked Sidewalks readership has a subdued, manageable work week -- after all, there's an NCAA tournament to prepare for.

Here are this morning's key media updates -- pls note that MU beat reporter Todd Rosiak will host a chat at 8pm CST on Tuesday live from Anaheim.


In case you are interested, here's the complete line-up of games in Anaheim on Thursday, all times PDT:

No. 6 Marquette vs. No. 11 Kentucky - 11:30 a.m
No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 14 Cornell - 25 minutes following
No. 8 Brigham Young vs. No. 9 Texas A&M - 4:25 p.m.
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 Mississippi Valley State - 25 minutes following

Much more to come all week long..........

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Media Updates

UPDATED
Just a few quick links before things kick off tomorrow night.

Basketball Prospectus previews the conference tourneys for the Big East, as well as Conference USA, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, and the Pac-10. Marquette is given a 90% chance of beating Seton Hall and a 56% chance of making it to the semi's. Our odds of winning the whole tournament? 15%! Pomeroy also says:

I believe Marquette would be the first team to go 4-0 in two different conference tourneys if they were to pull this off. Back in '97, they won the CUSA Tourney by winning four games in four days.

Dwyane Wade's season is over. If you didn't catch it this morning, Steve Novak was also on the front of espn.com.

The JSOnline Weekly Marquette Report (still not calling it Golden Eagles) covers who is Hot and who is Not

Rosiak's preview calls Seton Hall a good matchup, and discusses how our current draw in the Big EAST tournament is favorable. Concerned about winning three times in one season against an opponent? According to Spiral97 at MUScoop.com, in 2007 a team that won the first two games ended up winning 71.4% of the time.

The Journal-Sentinel also published their All-State Starting Five CB Team, and Dominic James was left off of the list. Michael Flowers was named Player of the Year, so good for him. Frankly, I really can't quibble with Dominic James being left off the list. He finished third in cumulative net points for Marquette at 81.2 pts, just behind Lazar Hayward (82.8 pts) and Jerel McNeal (98.0 points). However, I do have to wonder how much of this is due to the fact that James has had two highly criticized games in the last week. Is this just an example of recency bias?

Former Marquette recruiting target Frank Ben-Eze has decommitted from Harvard, according to the NY Times. Although, Marquette is already one player over the signing limit, there is a good chance we'll see him more in the future. Connecticut, Boston College, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, DePaul and Rutgers have already inquired about Ben-Eze's availability.

The Bracket Project, an aggregation of NCAA seeding prognostications, has MU listed as a 6 seed right now.

Finally, The Big East Basketball Report posted its annual post-season bloggers' all conference selections. Click here to check it out.

Here's a look at the 2007-2008 Cracked Sidewalks All-Big East ballot:

Big East POY
Luke Harangody: toughest player in the Big East

FIRST TEAM
Roy Hibbert .... best player on the best team in the league
Donte Greene .... high energy, productive player
AJ Price ... finally arrives as the player many expected to see years ago
Kyle McAlarney ...... exceptional bounce back season
Terrence Williams ..... best all-around player in the league

SECOND TEAM
Jerel McNeal .... one of the league's best disruptors
Dominic James ... played through injury and turned in a productive season
Kentrell Gransberry .... a beast on the blocks
Deonta Vaughn ... key to the surprising Bearcats
Jeff Adrien .... an absolute load for the Huskies

THIRD TEAM
Sam Young ..... versatile forward led the Panthers
David Padgett .... Ville's most vital player?
Jerry Smith ..... solid all-around performer
Jonathan Wallace .... under-appreciated talent
Scottie Reynolds .... somewhat of a sophomore slump but still among the best

Big East Freshman of the Year
Dante Greene

All-Freshman FIRST TEAM
Jonny Flynn
Dominique Jones
DaJuan Blair
Mac Koshwal
Dar Tucker

All-Freshman SECOND TEAM
Austin Freeman
Justin Burrell
Mike Coburn
Antonio Pena
Corey Fisher

Coach of the Year
John Thompson

Defensive Player of the Year
Hasheem Thabeet

Most Improved Player
Sam Young

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Things to Consider Down the Stretch

Want a reason to believe that this Marquette team could be different than the last two years? According to Pomeroy, Marquette has the #15 offense and the #11 defense in the country. This is in spite of our team troubles in the early part of conference play. Here's a quick view at the 2007 and 2006 Pomeroy statistics.


Interestingly enough, our performance in the past two NCAA tournament games has been an exaggerated microcosm of the team's rankings. The 2006 MU defense was the weak point, and that team was torched by Alabama. The 2007 weak area was the offense, and... well, let's just not discuss the woeful ineptitude of the MSU game. Frankly, looking at the Pomeroy Rankings, it's not really a surprise that Marquette ended up seeded where they were in the tournament.

This team is better than the last two years on both ends of the court, and they are playing better overall as well. It's okay to believe that this team is good.

On the other hand...

Marquette is also only 3-6 against Top 50 RPI teams this year. As Hilltopper says, despite all the stats it really only matters how well you do on the court against the top teams. Regardless of home/away, good teams need to beat other good teams. There are at least two more potential games for Marquette against Top 50 teams (Georgetown and Syracuse), so perhaps MU will get that record closer to 0.500. However, it's far more likely that we split, which would leave Marquette with a record of 4-7 against Top 50 RPI teams going into the Big EAST Tournament. A few wins in the tournament may also help MU beef up this portion of the record but we'll mostly likely end up sub-0.500 for the season.

Performing well in the NCAAs is about defeating the top teams, and so far this year, Marquette has not done well. It's also okay to be nervous about how well Marquette will do in the NCAA tournament. If 2008 ends up as also an exaggerated microcosm in the tournament, then one need only think of how poorly we looked against Louisville...

====

Links

Rosiak's blog has had several nice entries the last few days. Lots of good links from Rosiak. The most recent entry includes coverage of how Jay Bilas lists Jerel McNeal as one of his six defensive candidates, as well as bracketology updates. Frankly, Cracked Sidewalks just doesn't see the same McNeal defensive brilliance. His Defensive Rebounding Percentage, his Block Rate, his Steal Rate, and his overall Defensive Rating are worse than last year.

The Journal-Sentinel has their Weekly Marquette Report (sorry, but I'm not calling it Golden Eagles). They look at who is Hot (Barro) and who is Not (Burke).

updated: Information regarding Top 50 teams based on brewcity's blog comments

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Notes from around the Web

A few links to get caught up on:

Friday, January 04, 2008

Miss a day, miss plenty

.......in the wake of last night's thrashing of Providence, here are a few media updates - - and we'll get our WVU preview posted on Saturday. Rosiak has the key updates of the day:

  1. Marquette will have a chance to take down The Necklace next season when the Golden Eagles take on Bruce Pearl's UT Volunteers in Knoxville.
  2. The bummer news is that prize 2009 recruit Erik Williams of Cy Springs High School in Texas broke his ankle and is out for 6-8 weeks. All the best for a speedy recovery, Erik.
Additional updates of note:
New York area alums take note! MU has asked that local alumni buy tickets directly through the MU website at this link for the St John's game in MSG on February 20. Let's have a big turnout, ok?

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

MU Media Updates

While we're in the middle of a slow week of media coverage for MU, there are a few links below that you should check out:

BTW, kudos (major kudos) to the MU administration for prioritizing basketball, committing to invest in a big-time program over the long-term, and energizing the fan base. Look, we could be DePaul -- and just a decade ago the programs were largely comparable. Now the Blue Demons program is in danger of falling off the map. After a lackluster 2006-2007, Paul Gleason's team has not been competitive early this season and fans are now talking openly about their desire to eschew the Big East for the greener pastures of those darling mid-majors.

Bravo, MU.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Using Oooze, part deaux

A few weeks ago I offered a mildly hysterical perspective on Ousmane Barro's slow start to the season. That entry was prompted by a number of factors, namely: Barro's failure to start a game this season (he started 32 last year), the intimation that Oooze was foul prone, the precipitous decline in his production across the board, and the notion that the inimitable Dwight Burke emerged as the starter.

OK, so maybe I was hasty in rushing to judgment in asserting that Oooze should start and play more, and that Burke should sit and play less:

  • Dwight Burke, you've surprised the heck out of everybody this year. Where the heck have you been for the past two seasons? Your marvelous development as an upperclassman has to surprise even the most optimistic Golden Eagles fan. Bravo, man. Keep it up. But again, where did this come from?
  • Barro's supposed "proclivity for early foul trouble." I went to great lengths to demonstrate that last season, Barro didn't have this affliction -- in fact, he fouled about as often as Wes Matthews and less than Dan Fitzgerald. But, as one of my more sane co-conspirators pointed out, "look you simpleton, last year Barro was our only decent option at the '5'. A foul on him was a way bigger deal than a foul on one of our 600 guards." Bingo.
So, when Tom Crean discussed the new big man rotation in the latest bit from Todd Rosiak - - I guess I have no choice but to be converted:
We started the season bringing Ousmane (Barro) off the bench for no other reason than I didn't want him in early foul trouble because last year I felt we had too many games - go back to the Wisconsin game; the whole dynamic of the game changed when we had to sit Ousmane down - and we wanted to guard against that a little bit, he said. Still get him quality minutes but let the game get going before we get him in. Well, Dwight Burke's making it tough for me to change my mind. I look at those two as being contributors.
Bottom line: the rotation seems to be working.

I still can't get over the decline in Oooze's overall production this year after seeing such consistent improvement in him in each of the previous three seasons. However, the formula might just be better for the make-up of this team. After all, depth on the frontline was (is?) one of the primary weaknesses for this bunch......perhaps the two-headed monster can hold that line just enough to get this team over the top.

Monday, December 03, 2007

MU running up the score? TC comes out firing

Rosiak has the latest in his blog........an unusually agitated Tom Crean fires away at the notion that MU ran up the score this past weekend against one of the programs in the University of Wisconsin system -- and how the message was delivered from the easily defeated cross-town coach. Talk about it on MUScoop.

This lousy series can't end fast enough.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

What is up with Ousmane Barro?

From Todd Rosiak's chat tonight:

Q: LP of Chicago - Why isn't Ooze really starting? We have had big problems on the boards this year. This will only get worse vs UW and in the BE. If anything, start him in to win the jump ball.

A: Todd Rosiak - Start him to win the jump ball? You're joking, right? Barro isn't starting because of his proclivity for early foul trouble, as well as for the energy he's been bringing off the bench. Use Burke to bang around early, then bring Barro in and get some stuff done a few minutes in. Makes sense to me. That also could change in the coming games, especially if Burke continues to be the non-factor he was in Maui.


***************************
I gather from Rosiak's answer above that Crean indicated Barro is coming off the bench to avoid early fouls. Whatever. Barro has not started a single game in the current campaign, so it is not possible for him to have a 'proclivity for early foul trouble' because by definition he's not even in the game early.

Still, if Barro had this 'proclivity' everybody would have noticed it last season when the big fella started all 34 games for Marquette and averaged just 2.6 personal fouls per game (which was far less than the 3.5 fouls per game delivered by McNeal or the 2.9 from Fitzgerald last season, and in line with Matthews' 2.5 per game).

Look, this should be a much bigger issue for TC with the media and fan base, IMHO. A senior, a 34-game starter just one year ago is now an underachieving bench player relegated to watching a marginal Big East post player take his minutes.......all to avoid a few early fouls? That's silly -- it is not like Barro is being benched in favor of bona fide Big East talent.

The early foul trouble notion is merely an excuse. Barro must be coming off the bench for other reasons - - maybe he's hurt, perhaps he's plateaued as a player, he might have tuned the coach out, or maybe he's simply regressed. After demonstrating substantial improvement between his sophomore and junior seasons, Tom Crean surely didn't expect his big man to take three steps back as a senior.

Something is amiss.

Barro's minutes are down dramatically from 27+ a year ago to just about 20 per game now, and he's averaging fewer points per game than he did as a sophomore. And wouldn't you know it, his fouls per game are up this year. Note to self: perhaps Barro is a lousy bench player. Can anybody envision a scenario where a former starter does not adjust well to a reduced role as a marginalized bench player thereby making himself even less effective when he enters the game?

Simply put - - as a starter, Barro scores more and fouls less than he does as a bench player. The logic is flawed. Let's hope TC changes course soon, or that Barro helps Crean see the light and earns his starting role once again. This team needs him.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Milestones and Walkons

A couple hits for this morning:

  • Tonight, Dominic James stands at 991 points, and should hit his 1,000th point. When he hits that milestone, let's stand up and show him some love. He still has a ways to go to hit MU's top 25 scorers, but will be there right around when the Big East season begins. If DJ hits 15 ppg, he'll end the year inside the Top 15.

  • Todd Rosiak reports that with Mbakwe and Christopherson out, Crean is looking to add a walk-on or two to add bodies to the practice sessions.

    So, if you see a 6'8+" guy walking around campus, could you direct him to the Al Center? Thanks.
  • Thursday, November 08, 2007

    Updates from around the Web

    OK......the season is essentially underway -- btw, how about Gardner-Webb! -- and here are two blog entries to check out:

    Sunday, November 04, 2007

    Newest Warrior: Chris Otule

    According to Todd Rosiak, Chris Otule, a 6-foot-10 center from Fort Bend Bush High School in Richmond, Tex., has orally committed to MU.

    "Chris is probably one of the fastest-developing big men I've been around," said coach Ronnie Courtney, who is in his first year as coach at Fort Bend Bush after a six-year stint as head coach at Division I Texas Southern University. "Last year he had a season where he didn't play a whole lot, but got in here and had a great summer and came back to school and is improving as we speak. A very mannerable and intelligent young man, I can tell you that."

    ...Otule's commitment puts MU over the scholarship limit heading into the 2008-'09 season, as its three available tenders have already been committed to Fulce, Nick Williams and Tyshawn Taylor.

    Sunday, October 28, 2007

    Rosiak catches up with Tyshawn Taylor

    Rosiak blogs his interview with PG Tyshawn Taylor. Check it out here.