Aki Collins & Liam McMorrow Interviews

Assistant Coach Aki Collins and Liam McMorrow did interviews on Buzz's show. Thanks to Time Warner Sports Channel 32 in Milwaukee.

Liam:



Aki:

Dale Layer named assistant coach at MU

Buzz Williams went with experience and familiarity to fill the final assistant coaching spot on his bench when he welcomed former Colorado State head coach Dale Layer to Marquette.

Layer, head coach of the Rams from 2000 - 2007, led CSU to one conference title and compiled a 103-106 record overall. Buzz Williams served on Layer's staff in Fort Collins for four years. Layer spent this past season as an assistant at Liberty University and has been in the coaching business for 30 years.

Read all the details here at GoMarquette.com

So, Buzz Williams will go to battle with Tony Benford, Dale Layer and Aki Collins. These coaches are an interesting mix given that their strong national footprint as coaches does not include the significant Midwestern flavor that characterize most Marquette coaching staffs.

With this hire, Williams has a decidedly veteran assistant coaching staff considering Layer and Benford combine for more than 45 years on the sidelines. Throw Collins' New York City heritage and recent work at a Jesuit university, and the make-up of the staff appears strong - with only the one glaring weakness:

• Can this group of coaches successfully recruit the Midwest?

Perhaps they don't need to -- well, let's not go that far.

Recently, MU's roster has been built with recruits from outside of MU's home region. Still, recruiting well close to home -- ie, MU's own back yard and Chicagoland -- will be one aspect of the next six months (until National Signing Day) fans will track closely.

Buzz Williams hires two assistant coaches

Rosiak breaks the news in a blog loaded with great information -- Buzz Williams hired two assistant coaches today:

• Tony Benford from Nebraska (by way of Arizona State and New Mexico)
• David "Aki" Collins from Fairfield (by way of Marshall, Howard and Colorado)

From the Nebraska athletics site a few key points on Tony Benford:

• Native of Hobbs, NM
• Played collegiately at Texas Tech
• Collegiate assistant coach since 1993
• Assistant coach and later associate head coach at Arizona State (eight seasons in Tempe)
• Assistant coach at Nebraska since 2006

From the Fairfield athletics site a few key points on Aki Collins.

• Native of Brooklyn, NY
• Played collegiately at Morehouse College and Clark College
  
• Assistant coach at Fairfield since 2006
• Assistant coach at Marshall for three seasons
• Assistant coach at Colorado for three seasons

Welcome to Marquette, gentlemen.

The net: Buzz Williams hires a pair of coaches with recruiting chops, with relationships in different parts of the country, and gets the added benefit of Benford's extensive experience as a top assistant at major programs.

According to Rosiak, Williams has one more assistant to hire -- perhaps one with a heritage and relationships in the Midwest. We shall see.

BTW, it looks like Scott Monarch, who's name did not come up in Rosiak's blog, might be the director of basketball operations (or a similar type of role).