2011-12 Schedule

Marquette's 2011-12 schedule came out yesterday.   Here's a month by month break-down:

(bold = Home Games)

November
11- Friday - Mount St. Mary's (2010 Pomeroy: 267)
14- Monday - Norfolk State (302)
18- Friday - Winthrop (Paradise Jam - Virgin Islands)  (229)
19 or 20 - Mississippi (70) or Drake (200) (PJam)
21- Monday - TBA (Virginia- 94, TCU 173, Drexel 92, Norfolk 302)  (PJam)
28- Monday - Jacksonville (164)

November starts out with a couple of classic cupcakes at the Bradley Center, and on to a generally weak Paradise Jam field whose goal last year was reaching the NIT.    The Bradley Center faithful get one Friday night game, albeit a sugary opponent, unlikely to garner a large crowd.   If MU is as good as some think they are, we hit December with 6 wins.

December
3-Saturday @Wisconsin (2010 Pomeroy: 7)
6-Tuesday vs. Washington in NYC (17)
10-Saturday - UW-Green Bay / Brian Wardle Classic (156)
17-Saturday - Northern Colorado (126)
19-Monday - @LSU  (227)
22-Thursday - UW-Milwaukee (140)
29-Thursday - Vandy (35)

Warrior fans should be pleased with this December schedule.  Usually, December is the UW rival game plus 5 cupcakes.  This year, UW, Washington, and Vandy, NCAA contenders all.  The cupcakes, usually hovering in the 300+ RPI range, this year are in the 150 range, which will help the SOS.  Even the "biggest" cupcake, LSU at 227 is a road game, counting as 1.5 wins if we can take home a W in the Craig Pintens Classic. 


The Bradley Center gets two Saturday games, UW-Green Bay and N. Colorado.

MU pegs 4 wins, plus 1-2 or 3, and enters the BE schedule north of 10 wins.

January
1-Sunday - Villanova
4-Wednesday - @Georgetown
7-Saturday - @Syracuse
11-Wednesday - St. Johns
14-Saturday - Pittsburgh
16-Monday - Louisville (2:30pm)
21-Saturday - @Providence
24-Tuesday - USF
28-Saturday - @Villanova
31-Tuesday - Seton Hall

Ten tough games in 31 days?  Happy New Year.  January is like a month long NCAA tournament, playing 7+ games versus teams headed for the Dance.  The season starts with a brutal 3 game stretch, Nova, @GTown, @Syracuse (where we've never won.)  It's possible 7 days into the season, we could be 0-3, riding low.

The one oddity here is the Monday afternoon game versus Louisville at the Bradley Center, on MLK day.  Since only a scant 30% of the country has MLK day as a vacation day, this presents a scheduling problem for a large chunk of Bradley Center faithful. 

<rant> Frankly, as a season ticket holder, I'm personally irritated by this as Louisville is a premier team and rival, a game many look forward to each season.   While it's nice to have Marquette participating in "Big Monday" it does no good when half the audience is at work, earning money to, you know, afford the tickets in the first place.  "Just Take A Vacation Day" has been mentioned by many, as if to suggest vacation days are an endless and costless resource.  Marquette has irritated thousands of their loyal customers here, bowing to ESPN's siren scream. <end rant>

February
4-Saturday @ Notre Dame
6-Monday @ DePaul
11-Saturday - Cincinatti
18-Saturday @ UConn
22-Wednesday - Rutgers
24-Friday - @WVU
29-Wednesday - @Cincy - Leap Year Classic

7 games, 25 days.  Again, ouch.   Slightly easier than January in terms of opponents, but 5 of 7 on the road = a tough month.   Could win 3, could win 5-6.  I'm guessing Feb 11 is "National Marquette Day."

March
3- Saturday - Georgetown / Senior Night.
6-10 : Big East Tourney

Georgetown will be a tough final game, especially considering MU's four year Senior Night losing streak.  Well, maybe we're "due."

MU wins 8 of 9 BE home games + 3 or 4 roadies = 11-12 BE wins, plus another 11 OOC = 22 wins.

2011-12 Schedule Pluses

• Vastly Improved November & December non-conference schedule
• Only 2-3 Bradley Center Super-Cupcakes  (last few years, we averaged 6)
• Vandy
• Washington @ Madison Sq. Garden.  Good to get team at MSG, prior to BET.
• Paradise Jam
• Road game @LSU = 1.5 RPI wins.  I like this.
• Whopping 15 games on National TV: 1 CBS, 7 ESPNs, 7 ESPNU.

2011-12 Schedule Minuses

• Brutal 3 game start to BE: Nova, @GTown, @Cuse
• BE Mirror teams: Cincy, Nova, GTown = rough SOS
• Monday afternoon game vs. rival Louisville = lots of empty seats
• 5 Saturday games, 3 afternoon + 2 TBA cupcakes = no premier Saturday Night games. 
• Two of final three games on road
• No CUSA teams in Big East / easy wins.

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.

The Wayback Machine shows the road ahead

With the NBA draft deadline passing earlier this week a host of very early pre-season rankings are popping up for the college basketball-starved. For Marquette the pattern is predicable with Adam Zagoria notably slotting the Warriors in for a 12th place finish in the still far-off BIG EAST season. Zagoria cites the loss of key players (including Patrick Hazel, LOL) and inexperience as the reasons for the low expectations which Chris Dokish at the NBE Basketball Report also notes as he picks MU to finish 11th overall.

Considering the dramatic roster turnover these predictions are somewhat sound but MU fans ought to remember that Marquette's first BIG EAST squad was picked to finish 12th overall for similar reasons, yet surprised with a 4th place finish. (**Say what you want about Tom Crean, but he did a heck of a job coaching that team and deserved the BIG EAST Coach of the Year nod over Jay Wright. If somebody can explain to me why Wright was the pick -- after all, Nova was favored to win the league and they did what was expected (barely) -- I'm all ears.)

Since it's only June optimism abounds in these parts and looking ahead there are a number of parallels between the Three Amigos' freshman season and the campaign Buzz' Bunch will kick off in the fall. Consider......

The return of an outstanding senior scorer. Lazar Hayward is this year's Steve Novak. As a senior Novak was the most efficient offensive player in the country and a nearly impossible match-up. Luckily for MU, Hayward is the most efficient returning offensive player in the BIG EAST (for higher-usage players, ie: involved in 20% of their team's possessions). Hayward averaged 16 points and 8 rebounds per game as junior. Steve Novak averaged 14 points and four rebounds per game as a junior and elevated as a senior averaging nearly 18 points and six rebound per game. This is promising.

An offensively efficient role player. Jimmy Butler led the BIG EAST in offensive efficiency last season. Though the sample size is small which is what you'd expect from a role player Butler saved his best for the back half of the BIG EAST conference slate, a positive indicator for next season. Looking back to the 05-06 team, senior Joe Chapman was the 6th most efficient offensive player in the BIG EAST, providing a serviceable veteran threat to complement Novak's greatness. The 2005-2006 team was not simply Steve and the Amigos.

Overloaded, redundant perimeter talent. I knocked Tom Crean's inability to balance a roster many times, but in 2005-2006 the formula worked. That squad had no discernible inside presence much like we'd expect from Buzz' Bunch next season. However by adding the Three Amigos to Novak and backcourt/wing role players like Joe Chapman and Dan Fitzgerald (who nailed 40% of his three-pointers that year) Crean created match-up problems for the opposition in most conference games. Fast forward to next season when Buzz Williams will surround veteran role players Maurice Acker, David Cubillan and Jimmy Butler with newcomers Junior Cadougan, Dwight Buycks, Erik Williams and Darius Johnson-Odom. In effect, the formula could be familiar to the Warrior faithful though next year's team also figures to receive a sizable boost from freshman power forward Jeronne Maymon.

The BIG EAST takes a step back. After the 2004-2005 season the BIG EAST endured a massive talent exodus highlighted by Charlie Villanueva, Hakim Warrick, Ryan Gomes, Chris Taft, Chevy Troutman, Chris Thomas and Josh Pace. When teams laced'em up in the 2005-2006 season two teams stood out as heavyweights, Villanova and UConn. The rest of the league was balanced with only four games separating the 3rd place and 10th place teams. In addition, 2004-2005 BIG EAST champ Boston College left the league that previous summer and 2005 Final Four participant Louisville joined the BIG EAST after losing All-American Francisco Garcia as well as starters Ellis Myles and Larry O'Bannon. And we all know what happened to Bob Huggins at Cincy that off-season. Crean's squad took full advantage of a younger, tamer BIG EAST to storm to the top quarter of the league.

This past season the BIG EAST was historically dominant placing five teams in the Sweet 16 and three in the Elite 8. As you'd expect the outgoing talent from those teams is extraordinary. Hasheem Thabeet, Jeff Adrien, Earl Clark, DaJuan Blair, Sam Young, Levance Fields, Terrence Williams, DaJuan Summers, the Three Amigos, Paul Harris, Jonny Flynn, A.J. Price and Dante Cunningham are just a few of the athletes who will play the game for a living in the fall. An exodus like that creates somewhat of a vacuum that a talented team -- no matter how young or inexperienced -- figures to take advantage of. To be sure, every other BIG EAST team is re-loading for the winter and a pair of unheralded teams like Cincinnati and Seton Hall could be poised for breakthrough seasons, so why not MU?

Player development: With roughly five months until the Warriors kick off the season, player development is crucial and based on Buzz Williams' comments last week on the radio it appears that Chris Otule is making giant strides this summer. On the 05-06 team, sophomore Ousmane Barro averaged a quiet four points and three rebounds per game, figures that could be attainable with modest progress from Otule.

Otule's progress is tempered a bit by Joe Fulce's problematic knee which required surgery and will keep him out of action for about 12 weeks, but the MU roster can overcome that loss. In addition with JUCO All-American Dwight Buycks already on campus hitting the books and the off-season program the Warriors could shore up their backcourt more quickly than expected.

Again, why not? History could be on the Warriors' side this winter.

AOL FanHouse Previews Marquette

The folks at AOL FanHouse contacted Cracked Sidewalks about doing a season preview. They selected the ranking, but our own Tim Blair did the writeup.

The format is also interesting. Here is the permalink for the writeup. If I believed in polls or rankings as anything more than a forum for publicity, I'd say that their selection of Marquette is too low. I might even make a snarky comment that Chas Rich is a Pitt fan (from Pitt Blather). This ranking is even from before the recent injuries.

However, it's still another Marquette preview and nice to get some Marquette publicity. Congrats and nice job, Tim.

Jim McIlvaine previews the Golden Eagles

The season tips off in just a few days, and we've lined up a series of preview postings that will roll right up to Friday night's opener. To kick things off, we're pleased to welcome Marquette legend Jim McIlvaine back to Cracked Sidewalks to share his perspectives on the upcoming season. And away we go.......

When you played with the Nets the team went through three head coaches. Based on your experience, what were the greatest challenges in adjusting to a new coach once the season began?
They actually fired John Calipari shortly after I arrived and hired Don Casey as his interim replacement. Casey stuck around for another season, before they brought in Byron Scott.

I think the the most important thing for me was to make sure both coaches had a good feel for who I was as a person and a player, before the season started. After you play in the NBA for a few seasons, people seem to try to describe everything there is to know about you in two or three sentences. Anything they don't know about you, they assume, based on those two or three sentences. I think it helped my relationship with both coaches, to sit down and talk to them early on, before they were able to make assumptions about me based on what they might have seen in a few minutes of tape or read in a newspaper clipping somewhere.

Do you expect Buzz Williams to innovate with this team, or stick to similar schemes since he's inherited such a veteran crew?
Much like Bob Huggins did at West Virginia last season, I think we'll see Buzz stick with what works for this team in terms of the strengths of their personnel. That's not to say we won't see new elements to the team at both ends of the court, but many changes will be subtle and come over time. Quickness and strong perimeter play is obviously our calling card, so an emphasis on those areas will remain. However, we've already seen more integration of a traditional "back to the basket" post game in his half-court sets and that will continue as our post players (and the people passing to them) continue to gain confidence in their abilities in the low post. I think we'll also see more of an emphasis on an offensive game that reads and reacts to the defense, instead of running specific options off plays called from the bench.

What are you looking for in early season games from the team?
Obviously we have a lot of veteran talent, but there are some key positions where we have new players. Practicing against each other only tells coaches so much about how these players react to each other and how different lineups work in game situations. It's the opportunity to play against other teams, who have different strengths and weaknesses than Marquette's, that give coaches a better feel for what's going to work and what won't, once conference play starts.

The three-point line was moved back to 20 feet, nine inches this season. How do you think the new distance will affect MU both offensively and defensively?
For certain perimeter players on our team, I don't think it will have much impact in terms of their shot selection. However, I think it will make other players a little more selective in their shot selection. I think it will also help open things up for low-post play, as perimeter defenders won't be able to "dig" into the post as easily, because their rotations to the perimeter will be longer.

Defensively, I think teams will be forced to make more of a commitment as to how they choose to defend the post. Unless they have longer perimeter players defending post entries, teams defending a strong post player (like Luke Harangody), will either have to rely on the defense of the player guarding him or commit to double-teaming him and prepare to rotate on passes out of the post. The extended line should also help spread the court more for dribble penetration, especially for teams who have reliable spot-up shooters on the perimeter.

What kind of an impact do you expect to see from freshman big man Chris Otule, who figures to see consistent minutes this season?
Big guys always develop at a different pace than perimeter players and I don't think Chris, Liam or any of our other bigs are any different in that regard. Defense and rebounding will come easier for them than scoring, but that's to be expected. Chris has good hands that work well together, which isn't always the case for big men. This means he goes after rebounds and post-entry passes with the strength needed to hold onto the ball, but he's also able to transition into a mode where he's able to make an offensive move with a softer touch, that won't leave the backboard shaking from impact. Chris is aggressive and eager to learn and I think the coaching staff will continue to focus on channeling that energy in a way that won't lead to foul trouble.

The Three Amigos have been the heart and soul of this program since arriving on campus. What do you expect from James, McNeal and Matthews this season?
I expect all four of our seniors to continue representing our university with the class and dignity that makes all alumni proud to be associated with Marquette. On the court, this is the season that will define their legacy. They were one of the most-heralded recruiting classes in recent history at Marquette and they will certainly leave their marks in the record books. I think they'll all be disappointed if they don't make it past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Obviously, a lot can happen between now and then with injuries and other unforeseen bumps in the road, but they certainly have the potential to do that and no conference in the country will better prepare a team for the NCAA tournament than the Big East.

Are there any players on the roster who could provide an upside surprise for MU this season?
Even though they're both drawing a lot of attention now, I think Jerel and Lazar will still surprise people with how much they've elevated their games at both ends of the court. I think Pat Hazel, Chris Otule and Dwight Burke will also be a pleasant surprise for many of our fans, who haven't looked for any significant offensive contributions from our post players. Dwight's shot has undergone a massive transformation over the summer and he's now a comfortable and confident foul-shooter. He already has the strength and experience to compete in the low post and the fact that he can now knock down free throws reduces the inclination teams might have to automatically foul him on an offensive rebound. Chris should get enough minutes over the course of the regular season, that come tournament time, he (and his teammates) will have gained confidence in his play that you don't normally see in freshmen.

I think Pat Hazel is also benefiting from flying under the radar as Lazar Hayward did earlier in his career. Everyone will focus on Lazar and the seniors and ask about how Otule will fare and that will allow Pat to come in and make solid contributions and build on his playing time as the season goes on. I know the coaches and players feel he has made tremendous progress from last season and at this point, he is our strongest finisher in the post. I don't want to mention every player on the roster, although I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't say Jimmy Butler could see some significant minutes this year as well.

What is something about the life of a radio color commentator that the common fan might not know?
Regardless of what you do outside of radio, TV or other media work, as a member of the media, you automatically turn into a cheapskate and a food critic. That means free press room food (and it's not always free) now becomes the subject of intense scrutiny, regardless of whether it's me calling the games with Homer or Donald Trump. We could all pay for a meal prior to the game and have confidence in knowing we'd gotten a good meal in our stomachs, but it almost feels forbidden to do that now, unless someone else is buying. We would rather starve ourselves, waiting to find out what's in store for us when we arrive at the arena. I've had everything from a bowl of pretzels and flat soda to food that would make Emeril Lagasse jealous and I'd have to say the Bradley Center food is the absolute best! If people knew how good the Bradley Center media food was, everyone would start their own sports blogs and Scott Kuykendall's phone would be ringing off the hook for media pass requests.

A few years ago you took on the challenge of saving Camp Anokijig. How is the camp doing today?
We're just finishing up our third full season as an independent youth and family camp. Even though many camps in the area saw a decline in attendance this past summer, we had our third record year in a row and we couldn't be happier. We're still working very hard to pay down the debt we incurred to save the camp from developers and we still have a long way to go in that regard, but we're making progress every day.

In addition to the blog I maintain at ESPN Milwaukee, I also help maintain a blog for Camp Anokijig (which the Cracked Sidewalks crew helped us set up), which talks about all our latest developments.

Jim, thanks so much for joining us here on CrackedSidewalks.

Cracked Sidewalks Preseason Roundtable

Now that the start of the season is a little more than two weeks away, I asked my fellow contributors here at Cracked Sidewalks to consider four key questions about the 2008-2009 Marquette Warriors. We decided to mix it up in a roundtable format. Let's get to it.

#1 - What's the most compelling storyline for you in the upcoming season?

Kevin Buckley (aka mu hilltopper)
The major storyline is Buzz and the post-Crean era. Buzz will be compared to Tom Crean six umpteen times this season. How does Buzz's offense compare to Crean's .. does Buzz market himself and/or the team like Crean did .. does Buzz constantly yell out plays like Crean did .. How many Diet Pepsis/per game will he drink. Ad infinitum. -- The storyline prior to Crean leaving would have been how the Big Three will do during their final season at MU .. can they add to their one NCAA victory count.

Tim Blair (aka NY Warrior)
This season is all about Buzz Williams. Can he coach and manage a program through what promises to be one of the toughest BIG EAST conference seasons of this or any era? Since MU returns just about anybody who mattered from last year's 25-win team, all eyes will remain on the coach.

Steve Susina (aka Marquette 84)
There are two obvious ones: "Can Buzz Coach?" and "Final Hurrah for the 3 Amigos." Since there will be plenty of ink on each of these, here are five less compelling, but possibly intriguing storylines.

-- How much does Chris Otule develop over the course of the season?
-- How much playing time can Joe Fulce earn?
-- Does Pat Hazel break into the rotation?
-- Can Rutgers, Providence, Cincy or Seton Hall crack the top half of the league standings, and who do they displace (Syracuse? WVU?).
-- What does the impending retirement of Mike Tranghese mean for the future of the league?

Rob Lowe (aka Henry Sugar)
In my opinion, the most compelling storyline for me is if or how different the team will be from last year. We all know that the team has returned the Three Amigos, with their 1,000 points scored, plus Lazar. Big things can and should be expected from this team. However, to what extent have they kept pace with the rest of the Big East that is also returning talent and experience? I really don't see any reason that the team will be any different than last year, so I'm waiting to see if there is anything that shows if we have hope of playing on the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.


#2 - What specifically are you interested in seeing in some of the early season games?

Kevin Buckley (aka mu hilltopper)
Several things. I'm curious if Jerel McNeal will continue to be as white hot as he was when last season ended. The pre-conference games are also the time to evaluate the new guys, plus the 2nd and 3rd guys off the bench in each position. What will Fulce, Butler, and Otule bring to the table .. and has Patrick Hazel improved?

Tim Blair (aka NY Warrior)
The new offense. After years of Tom Crean's control-freak tendencies from the sidelines, I'm anxious to see if Buzz Williams affords his guys more breathing room and allows the players to get into the flow of a game rather than constantly dictating from the bench. With smart, veteran and athletic guards, you'd figure that Marquette should be able to take full advantage of an opponent if the Warriors are allowed to play more instinctive basketball.

Steve Susina (aka Marquette 84)
I don't have any doubt that MU will have the talent to compete and win against most of the early season schedule. I expect that an experienced team will be able to execute from a technical perspective. Instead, I'll be looking more closely at intangibles like game prep and motivation.

First big test will be the Chicago Invitational--specifically to see if MU has the killer instinct to put away decent teams early. Both Northern Iowa and Dayton are the type of teams that are capable of pulling off a major upset (see last year's UD/Pitt game). They are also the types of teams that could lead MU to a sense of complacency. Playing well will require not just a solid game plan, but will be a test of how well Buzz can motivate the team against what is, at least on-paper, lesser competition.

Rob Lowe (aka Henry Sugar)
More than anything, I'm interested in what the offense looks like. There have been some early indications online and then from the scrimmage, but we expect that the offense will begin to look more solid (we hope) in the early season games. A close second will be the performance of Joe Fulce. Third is how efficient McNeal is and how many shots he takes.


#3 - What do you think is most important for the team to be successful this year?

Kevin Buckley (aka mu hilltopper)
Well, since about 80% of our minutes are returning this year, the players aren't a big variable in this year's success. Freeway could guide this team to 20 wins. It's all about Buzz, and the other assistants, and their ability to motivate and game-coach. If they can do that well, when it counts, this season could be a huge success.

Tim Blair (aka NY Warrior)
I hear chatter about the need for MU's bigs to produce, and some lament how MU lost four players 6'7" and taller from last season. But let's face it, the bigs MU lost were either hurt (Mbakwe), confused (Barro), ineffective (Fitzgerald), or a non-factor in 32 of 35 games (Blackledge). It's simple, for the fourth year in a row Dominic James is the most important player on the team. I know Jerel McNeal was sublime in March (was he ever!), but Dominic James is the conductor of this orchestra.

Steve Susina (aka Marquette 84)
Avoiding injuries.

Yeah, there are a couple of teams that could pose matchup problems with our front-line, and we may lose one or two games against a team with a UConn-like frontcourt. However, our backcourt will create problems for just about everyone else--unless we lose McNeal or James for an extended period of time.

Frankly, its about time for a little good luck in the injury department. With injuries to Diener, Kinsella, Matthews, McNeal, and Mbakwe over the past few years, it's time for MU's luck to change for the better.

Rob Lowe (aka Henry Sugar)
Dominic James! I know the conventional wisdom is the performance of our big men, how well McNeal plays, or even the contributions from our newcomers. However, I looked at some of the numbers from last year, and when DJ is "net positive" the team almost always wins. When he's "net negative" then the team almost always loses. I want to see how many shots he's creating for his team-mates and how efficient he is shooting the ball.


#4 - To what extent have you changed your mind about Buzz?

Kevin Buckley (aka mu hilltopper)
I think we've all been surprised and impressed with his ability to get quality kids to commit to MU. It takes a special kind of guy to get the recruits he has, with the admittedly small amount of fame, exposure, and head coaching experience he possesses, especially when compared to the last coach.

Tim Blair (aka NY Warrior)
Not much. To date, Buzz Williams has done what he needed to do, maybe more. Williams was positioned as a premier recruiter, and so far he's been even better than advertised. In addition, Buzz was smartly rolled out to the MU community and the media, generally making a positive first impression.

Still, the hard part is just beginning. Williams inherits a team that won 25 games last year, returns four starters and has one of the nation's best backcourts. Yet national and conference expectations are muted due to the depth of the BIG EAST, MU's roster limitations, and the presumption of taking a step back due to coaching turnover. Until I see how Buzz Williams responds to adversity, how his team responds to adversity, how he manages this team through the BIG EAST, and whether or not he can successfully navigate the pitfalls that are sure to emerge in the next six, pressurized months -- well, the jury will remain out.

Steve Susina (aka Marquette 84)
I haven't--I was on the bandwagon early on. While I would have liked to see Sean Miller, Buzz is a much better 2nd choice compared to some of the mid-major names that were bandied about.

Rob Lowe (aka Henry Sugar)
I'll admit to being a vociferous opponent of the Buzz hiring. However, I was willing to give him a shot if he proved himself. So far, Buzz has definitely proved himself. He certainly has the recruiting chops we were sold on, he put together what is on paper a very solid staff, and he represents the university well. I'm excited that we'll finally get a chance to see how well he can coach to address the last, very big question.

====

Thanks to my fellow Cracked Sidewalks contributors for their opinions. The first exhibition game is just nine days away.

Jamil Wilson, UW tickets, Maurice Acker and more....

Morning grinds...........

Racine Horlick's Jamil Wilson narrowed his list to four schools and indicated he'll commit early. Wilson is down to Marquette, Michigan State, Texas and Oregon. The guys at MUScoop are talking this up.

Ballin Is a Habit is running through a preseason top 25 and slots MU in at #16. The guys there did a nice job analyzing MU, so check it out.

.......And hey, if you think being ranked 16th is impressive---consider that USA Today apparently picked MU to win the BIG EAST. The USA Today conference preview is here.

Maurice Acker is the latest to participate in MU's new podcast series. Just a few days ago, MU spoke with assistant coach Dale Layer too -- click here to listen to the Layer podcast. The landing page for the MU podcast series can be found here.

Remember the back and forth we had with the MU athletic department about the ticket policy for the UW@Madison game? Well, the MU/UW ticket limit for season ticket holders is four. Talk about it at MUScoop.

Finally, East Coast MU alums might consider making their way to Manhattan on October 23 for the latest installment of Marquette CIRCLES. The event, hosted by Fr. Wild, will be held at the Harvard Club that evening. Complete details are available here.