College Basketball Thread 2013-14

[paul253]

Kind of ironic if Smart goes to Marquette because I wouldn't be surprised in VCU is in the Big East in the next 5 years. Good hire though. I was never really sold on Williams as a coach. For one I don't think he earned the MU job. Two it doesn't seem like he can recruit anything other than small forwards and wing players. Three he doesn't seem to be all that good at developing young players, as evidenced by the plethora of top 100 recruits who have flamed out at MU. I think Smart, and maybe even Howland, would be a significant step up from Williams.

[FVBrewerFan]

Would be thrilled with Smart or Amaker. Howland or Marshall would be fine. I've been saying it all year, Buzz Williams is not a good coach, glad he's gone. He was a very good recruiter, and he was good at getting his kids to play hard, but that's about it. I want a basketball coach first, recruiter 2nd. Yes, I do understand recruiting is still really important, but I think you need to start with someone who can really coach.

 

Hopefully they can act fast before too many guys decide to transfer or in the case of incoming class de-commit. (or whatever you call it.)

[homer]

Smart going to MU makes about as much sense as Buzz to Virginia Tech.

[LouisEly]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/buzz-williams-needed-someone-new-to-appreciate-him-b99230830z1-251607361.html

 

"At more than $260,000 per player per year, Marquette spends more on men's basketball than any school in the country except Duke. At $2.8 million a season, Williams was drawing a top-10 salary. The Golden Eagles stay in five-star hotels and little expense is spared on the coach during recruiting trips."

 

That's a reason to leave VCU for Marquette... if college basketball is where you want to be. That, and two back-to-back top 25 recruiting classes you would be inheriting (if you add Fischer to the class of 2013, it may be a top-5 class). I had a hunch that Smart was eying the NBA though.

 

From what I hear, Buzz didn't like the new Big East. I think it was a little of that, and a lot of alumni/boosters giving him an earful about the team's performance this year. Or maybe he knows it's time to leave before people figure out he's not that great of a coach.

[homer]

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/goldeneagles/buzz-williams-needed-someone-new-to-appreciate-him-b99230830z1-251607361.html

 

"At more than $260,000 per player per year, Marquette spends more on men's basketball than any school in the country except Duke. At $2.8 million a season, Williams was drawing a top-10 salary. The Golden Eagles stay in five-star hotels and little expense is spared on the coach during recruiting trips."

 

That's a reason to leave VCU for Marquette... if college basketball is where you want to be. That, and two back-to-back top 25 recruiting classes you would be inheriting (if you add Fischer to the class of 2013, it may be a top-5 class). I had a hunch that Smart was eying the NBA though.

 

From what I hear, Buzz didn't like the new Big East. I think it was a little of that, and a lot of alumni/boosters giving him an earful about the team's performance this year. Or maybe he knows it's time to leave before people figure out he's not that great of a coach.

 

 

Turning down UCLA to coach Marquette does not make sense. Heck, turning down Illinois to coach Marquette does not make sense. Maybe it did in the old Big East but not nowadays.

[patrickgpe]

http://fox11online.com/2014/03/24/report-smart-to-be-new-coach-at-marquette/

 

hoping this is true, if it is, this couldn't have worked any better for Marquette.

[RockCoCougars]

If true, this is going way under the radar. Over the past few years, whenever Smart was linked to a job, it was all over ESPN and the like. As for why he would come here, it was home. Also, I'd think that the fact that the recruiting hotbed of Chicago is ripe for the picking would be enticing. I'm sure that the mega-bucks that they are throwing around at him wouldn't hurt either.

[LouisEly]

Turning down UCLA to coach Marquette does not make sense. Heck, turning down Illinois to coach Marquette does not make sense. Maybe it did in the old Big East but not nowadays.

I can understand turning down UCLA. 1) Lots of pressure and very high expectations at UCLA, and B) Smart has no knowledge of or experience with recruiting on the West coast. I believe only one of his players at VCU is not from the Eastern time zone, and that guy is from exurban Nashville, TN. He at least has some knowledge of the Midwest landscape and likely has more connections in the Midwest. And like RockCo said, where are the four-star kids from Chicago going to go? The five-star kids will go wherever (Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, etc.), but the four-star kids aren't going to go to DePaul or Northwestern. And Illinois plays in an arena that was built in 1963; Marquette plays in an NBA arena. Not the best NBA arena, but still an NBA arena and way better than the State Farm Center. Where is a recruit going to want to play - an NBA arena, or a "hall" built in 1963?

 

ESPN is reporting that Wake Forest has reached out to Smart too. Just because Wake was successful back in the day of Tim Duncan and Chris Paul means about the same as Marquette playing off of the days of Dwayne Wade. Wake has only been to the tourney twice in the last nine years.

[jjfanec]

Turning down UCLA to coach Marquette does not make sense. Heck, turning down Illinois to coach Marquette does not make sense. Maybe it did in the old Big East but not nowadays.

I can understand turning down UCLA. 1) Lots of pressure and very high expectations at UCLA, and B) Smart has no knowledge of or experience with recruiting on the West coast. I believe only one of his players at VCU is not from the Eastern time zone, and that guy is from exurban Nashville, TN. He at least has some knowledge of the Midwest landscape and likely has more connections in the Midwest. And like RockCo said, where are the four-star kids from Chicago going to go? The five-star kids will go wherever (Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, etc.), but the four-star kids aren't going to go to DePaul or Northwestern. And Illinois plays in an arena that was built in 1963; Marquette plays in an NBA arena. Not the best NBA arena, but still an NBA arena and way better than the State Farm Center. Where is a recruit going to want to play - an NBA arena, or a "hall" built in 1963?

 

ESPN is reporting that Wake Forest has reached out to Smart too. Just because Wake was successful back in the day of Tim Duncan and Chris Paul means about the same as Marquette playing off of the days of Dwayne Wade. Wake has only been to the tourney twice in the last nine years.

 

Marquette is a good job but I think people are missing how much the decline of the Big East is factoring in coaches decisions. No teams in the Sweet 16 this year and not a lot of reason to think next year will be better. Buzz leaving and the chance Chris Mack leaves Xavier would be big blows. Marquette could really soften that blow with Smart. I could see Smart not going to a top tier conference because a lot of people doubt if his system can work there. It could but you dont see anything like it in major conferences. Seems like something that works best against lower level teams or in a tournament setting where teams havent seen it before. It doesnt seem to bother the top teams in VCU's conference

[Funketown]

Sounds like Smart to Marquette is nowhere near a done deal.

[homer]

Turning down UCLA to coach Marquette does not make sense. Heck, turning down Illinois to coach Marquette does not make sense. Maybe it did in the old Big East but not nowadays.

I can understand turning down UCLA. 1) Lots of pressure and very high expectations at UCLA, and B) Smart has no knowledge of or experience with recruiting on the West coast. I believe only one of his players at VCU is not from the Eastern time zone, and that guy is from exurban Nashville, TN. He at least has some knowledge of the Midwest landscape and likely has more connections in the Midwest. And like RockCo said, where are the four-star kids from Chicago going to go? The five-star kids will go wherever (Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, etc.), but the four-star kids aren't going to go to DePaul or Northwestern. And Illinois plays in an arena that was built in 1963; Marquette plays in an NBA arena. Not the best NBA arena, but still an NBA arena and way better than the State Farm Center. Where is a recruit going to want to play - an NBA arena, or a "hall" built in 1963?

 

ESPN is reporting that Wake Forest has reached out to Smart too. Just because Wake was successful back in the day of Tim Duncan and Chris Paul means about the same as Marquette playing off of the days of Dwayne Wade. Wake has only been to the tourney twice in the last nine years.

 

 

Wake plays in the ACC.

 

And coaches that can recruit can recruit anywhere.

[WV Brew]

It could be nothing more than a guy from New Orleans finding out he didn't like Wisconsin winters.

[bjkrautk]

ESPN is reporting that Wake Forest has reached out to Smart too. Just because Wake was successful back in the day of Tim Duncan and Chris Paul means about the same as Marquette playing off of the days of Dwayne Wade. Wake has only been to the tourney twice in the last nine years.

 

 

Wake plays in the ACC.

 

And coaches that can recruit can recruit anywhere.

 

Not to mention, the distance between his VCU recruiting network and Wake Forest (Winston-Salem, NC - part of the triangle with Duke and UNC) is a lot closer than Virginia to Wisconsin.

 

Given the defections from the Big East in conference realignment, it's not a given to say that a middle-to-high Big East school is a better opportunity than a lower-tier ACC school. As Coach Bennett showed in recent years, it is possible to turn around a struggling ACC team....if you can recruit.

[FVBrewerFan]

If Smart was smart, I'm sure he reached out to talk to Buzz. My guess is Buzz painted a picture of disarray and may have scraed Smart a bit. Let's face it, no President, no AD, a conference with an uncertain future. None of those things alone are deal breakers, but add it all up and it doesn't shout "great job."

 

But money still talks, so if it isn't Smart they will still get a high quality coach. And it is still a good program, it's not like the Big East is suddenly the Horizon League. It didn't help that MU and Georgetown both had down years the 1st year of the new Big East.

[LouisEly]

Wake plays in the ACC.

 

And coaches that can recruit can recruit anywhere.

Virginia Tech plays in the ACC too. So why did Buzz make a bad move, but Smart to Wake is better move for him than to Marquette?

 

Regardless, my bet is that Smart is eying the NBA next.

[PeaveyFury]

Well, apparently the Smart to Marquette rumors were started by a student journalist and may never have been close to legit:

 

http://deadspin.com/shaka-smart-not-actually-marquettes-new-coach-despite-1550922499/1551468628/+bubbaprog

[homer]

Wake plays in the ACC.

 

And coaches that can recruit can recruit anywhere.

Virginia Tech plays in the ACC too. So why did Buzz make a bad move, but Smart to Wake is better move for him than to Marquette?

 

Regardless, my bet is that Smart is eying the NBA next.

 

 

That's like coaching at Penn St in the B1G.

[patrickgpe]

The fact that the president appointment was moved up a month, tends to make me think that MU is going to hire a big name coach and soon. I think having some stable leadership in place will make it more attractive to come to Marquette. I still think its going to be Howland or Smart and he will be named by Friday.

 

Usually in cases like Smart, there is either an announcement from the coach or a raise in pay is made. Neither has happened. There has been no public comments from Smart. This leads me to think that he is still in play.

[jjfanec]

When if ever do coaches make statements? Maybe if they are asked by a reporter but it is not standard practice. Not saying Shaka isnt coming but apparently this is the exact way he has handled every other time he has been rumored for an opening. He could end up at Marquette but people are making way too much out of the fact that he hasnt said anything. Chris Mack hasnt said anything about the Wake Forest offer but it doesnt sound like it is likely for him to end up there.

 

I would put money on Howland but since I have zero inside knowledge I guess smart could be in play. If I were Marquette I would much rather have Smart. Howland's last 5 years at UCLA were not inspiring. No Sweet 16 and he missed the tourney two times. Add onto that all the drama that is covered in the SI article and I dont think I would bend over backwards for the guy.

[hurricanecrush]

Well, apparently the Smart to Marquette rumors were started by a student journalist and may never have been close to legit:

 

http://deadspin.com/shaka-smart-not-actually-marquettes-new-coach-despite-1550922499/1551468628/+bubbaprog

 

The student hoax was the phony press conference, not the rumor that it was a done deal.

[DHonks]

best chance of keeping the awesome recruiting class is Smart. Given Marquette's talent, wing-depth, and lack of size, they could be a perfect team for the Havoc-D

[homer]

The fact that the president appointment was moved up a month, tends to make me think that MU is going to hire a big name coach and soon. I think having some stable leadership in place will make it more attractive to come to Marquette. I still think its going to be Howland or Smart and he will be named by Friday.

 

Usually in cases like Smart, there is either an announcement from the coach or a raise in pay is made. Neither has happened. There has been no public comments from Smart. This leads me to think that he is still in play.

 

 

I get it, but it's kind of sad that you rush to hire a president in order to hire a basketball coach.

[FVBrewerFan]

Since the new President is from UWM, hard not to automatically throw Jeter in the mix as a real possibility.

[patrickgpe]

Since the new President is from UWM, hard not to automatically throw Jeter in the mix as a real possibility.

 

Jeter will not be a candidate. Marquette needs to make a splash. Hiring Wardle or Jeter will no nothing to keep recruits / season ticket holders / donors / and help future recruiting.

 

Jeter was on the verge on being fired this season before they got hot in February and March.

 

Latest name being floated around the web is Bruce Weber. Makes sense but not sure how legit the rumors are.

[patrickgpe]

Bill Cords will stay on for another year as the interim AD.

 

This doesn't make sense. I know Marquette has a lot of hires to make before next school year. The new coach now has to wait a full season to find out who he is answering to. This isn't really saying that the athletic department is stable.