Maryland - Eastern Shore

Just a few links for tonight's game

Here is the official GoMarquette.com preview. Click here for the UMES Game Notes.

Rosiak also has his preview on the blog. Did you know UMES has a player called Freddy Obame Obame? Or did you know about some of these famous UMES alums?

In a few other random links, here is a nice feature from Marquette on catching up with former players. Speaking of former players, the the jumpman23 site has an interactive "interview" with Dwyane Wade.

In quasi-disappointing news, PF target Tarik Black signed with Memphis yesterday. Get over your disappointment by watching the full "Remember the Titans" Intro Video before tonight's game.

Game Day is Back

Heck yeah... Game Day is back as Marquette takes on Centenary tonight at (checks sweet wallpaper) 7:30 pm.

Here is the official release from Marquette, including their Game Notes. In addition, at the link, they have a video clip of Buzz previewing the game. (We love the Athletic Department upping the game this year with all the video content). If you've not bought tickets yet, all tickets are half-price... so go watch the game.



Speaking of upping the ante, Marquette is initiating Live Blogging for this game. Here is the direct link. It'll be interesting to see how this goes.

Rosiak also has his preview of Centenary. In addition, he checks in today with a post on Musical Lineups? Basically, Buzz admits he still doesn't have a feel for who and what combinations will be most productive. Not surprising.

The Marquette Superfans have also released their Gold Mine newsletter for today's game. And speaking of super fans, take a look at these Marquette fans and get ready for game time.

If you want to see the world through Centenary's eyes, take a look at their Cents Basketball website, as well as an article from the Shreveport Times.

That's it (so far) for game day information. However, Marquette target Tarik Black is saying he hopes to make a decision in the early signing period. Black had been rumored to wait until the Spring. This kid can play ball, and would be a great complement to Jones and Blue.

Finally, go watch this sick dunk from Wade last night.

Jones, Blue sign with Marquette as Signing Period Opens

Buzz Williams and his staff were rewarded for months of aggressive recruiting when a pair of top 100 players signed on to play basketball at Marquette today.

Williams' second recruiting class at Marquette is highlighted by guard Vander Blue. Blue, from Madison (WI) Memorial, reneged on a commitment to UW@Madison to sign with the Warriors. A consensus top 40 player in the class of 2010, Blue is the highest rated recruit to sign at Marquette in decades. Scout.com lists Blue as the nation's third-best shooting guard while Rivals.com slots Blue in as the 22nd player in the nation regardless of position. To see Blue in action check out this video.

Also signing with Marquette today is 6'6" forward Jamail Jones. Originally from Decatur, Georgia, Jones is completing his high school eligibility at Montverde Academy in Florida. As a junior Jones averaged 17 points, 10 boards, 8 assists and three blocks per game. Jones verbally committed to Marquette in August, choosing the Warriors over Virginia, Georgia Tech, Xavier, Cincinnati, and Clemson.

Signing Vander Blue looks to be a watershed moment for head coach Buzz Williams. Williams has now signed the top prospect in the state for the second straight year, with Blue will joining fellow Madison Memorial star Jeronne Maymon on campus next fall. While message board chatter indicated that Bo Ryan did not aggressively pursue Maymon, the same can't be said of the more highly regarded Blue. Today Williams served notice that while he recruits nationally he gives no quarter in America's Dairyland.

In landing both Blue and Jones, Williams also is on the verge of breaking one of Marquette basketball's most frustrating cycles -- the inability back up one strong recruiting class with another. Last year Williams smartly capitalized on the recent success of the program and the promise of immediate playing time to attract current freshmen Maymon, Erik Williams, Junior Cadougan and Yous Mbao.

With today's signees Williams is proving that he can sell the Marquette program to the country's most desirable talent in more ways than one, something his predecessor was unable to do. Tom Crean, particularly with the Three Amigos class, became overly-reliant on a smaller pool of players which, in turn, inhibited his ability to sign other talented kids in subsequent classes. Buzz Williams will coach through the downside of that legacy this year but now has two more cornerstones in place as he rebuilds Marquette hoops.

Marquette still has two open scholarships to fill and remains heavily involved with a number of notable players, including 6'8" Tarik Black from Memphis. The national signing period continues through November 18.

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.