Buzz Williams interview

[DudeAnon]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketb ... te-for-vtu

Simply put, once Williams decided to go into what he called an "information-gathering mode," his mind wouldn't rest until he had more data than you can imagine. He projected the likelihood of basketball programs not connected to football programs flourishing over the next 10 years in this ever-changing climate of college athletics. He studied how many programs succeed at a high level without some sort of ESPN contract.

Was Williams in trouble at Marquette?

Not at all.

He had made five NCAA Tournaments (in his first six seasons), advanced to the Sweet 16 three times and the Elite Eight once before the age 40, and most young coaches would become intoxicated with that level of success. Not Williams, though. He instead identified it as the bar set, and then he assembled "facts and data" in an attempt to determine whether it was reasonable to expect to maintain that level of success in a less-attractive Big East while playing league games off of ESPN and on Fox Sports 1. He concluded that it probably wasn't.

Consequently, Williams determined it was wiser to jump while he was still ahead, and though his contract at Virginia Tech is technically for less money on a per-year basis, it's a seven-year deal with an automatic rollover clause that will never allow it to be less than a five-year deal, meaning the security provided makes it a better deal for a man openly planning for the day he's fired.

TL;DR
Coaches care about prestige and money more than loyalty.

[Jays26]

What a tool. To be honest, glad he is gone.

[DudeAnon]

What a tool. To be honest, glad he is gone.

Agreed, I hate how he (and some other coaches) just beat around the bush.

Instead of saying simply "I left because its better for my career" he says "I have an obsession with numbers"

Almost seems like he is trying to justify being a phony rather than just know that all coaches do it.

[FormulaX]

He should do just fine at VT. Home of Mr. Vick. Guess the pressure to succeed at Marq. was to much? Didn't read anything about how the favorite in the "weaker" Big East choked. Hey Buzz, why didn't you just succeed at Marquette and then inherit the Texas job? There won't be any microscopes closing in on him in Blacksburg. Boy, he is so clever and eccentric! Not fooling anyone Buzz. Just, strokes who need an interesting article. Glad it was X that sent you out of the BE with a loss!!!

[GoldenWarrior11]

Look, I loved Buzz as our coach. He was a character. He LOVED being the underdog. He recruited terrific athletes and created teams that routinely made the NCAA tournament. He several kids to the NBA too (Butler, Crowder, Blue, Buycks, DJO, Hayward). I would actually argue that he experienced more success than Tom Crean (who took our school to the Final Four). I think he, possibly, got overwhelmed with the constant success he had (especially after the struggles this past season), and needed to make a change.

However, in the article, he says he went into "information-gathering mode". What did his information turn up regarding a coach's success AFTER they left Marquette? Tom Crean has a winning percentage of .510 at Indiana in 6 seasons - one of the BEST basketball programs in the country. Mike Deane had losing records at both Lamar and Wagner after being let go from Marquette. Kevin O'Neil almost bounced around as many teams as Larry Brown did, having losing records at Tennessee, Northwestern and USC.

Virginia Tech will be a TREMENDOUS challenge. He may succeed there, he may not. Constantly facing the likes of Duke, UNC, Syracuse, Virginia, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, and the rest of the gauntlet of the ACC, will pose a consistent challenge just to be middle of the pack. I will still root for him (not over my Warriors), but the odds are not in his favor.

[redmen9194]

Tech may be a career killer for him. When Quette came into the Big East, they were already a good program ready to compete with the teams that made up what was the greatest conference in history. They were a top half team when they joined. Tech was a bad team in a conference where there were only three or four good teams. Now, in the new ACC they have to jump to many teams to be on Quette's level. It's not going to happen.

[stever20]

Look, I loved Buzz as our coach. He was a character. He LOVED being the underdog. He recruited terrific athletes and created teams that routinely made the NCAA tournament. He several kids to the NBA too (Butler, Crowder, Blue, Buycks, DJO, Hayward). I would actually argue that he experienced more success than Tom Crean (who took our school to the Final Four). I think he, possibly, got overwhelmed with the constant success he had (especially after the struggles this past season), and needed to make a change.

However, in the article, he says he went into "information-gathering mode". What did his information turn up regarding a coach's success AFTER they left Marquette? Tom Crean has a winning percentage of .510 at Indiana in 6 seasons - one of the BEST basketball programs in the country. Mike Deane had losing records at both Lamar and Wagner after being let go from Marquette. Kevin O'Neil almost bounced around as many teams as Larry Brown did, having losing records at Tennessee, Northwestern and USC.

Virginia Tech will be a TREMENDOUS challenge. He may succeed there, he may not. Constantly facing the likes of Duke, UNC, Syracuse, Virginia, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, and the rest of the gauntlet of the ACC, will pose a consistent challenge just to be middle of the pack. I will still root for him (not over my Warriors), but the odds are not in his favor.

I wouldn't say that saying that about Tom Crean at Indiana is really fair. He inherited a hazmat situation when he got there. You take out the 1st season and he's got a .569 winning pct at Indiana.

I think if he had gone anywhere else, no one would have argued his points at all. Like it or not- not being on ESPN is a very real factor. Is the Big East viewed as well as it was 2 years ago? No way. Are the football schools going to pick up momentum in a way that we've not seen yet? Very possibly and you just look at the old Big East- tournament champs last 13 years- only UConn in 2002 and Georgetown in 2007 won it w/o FBS football. From '96-'13 only St John's in 2000 and Georgetown in '07 doesn't have FBS football now. You say why use '96 or '01? I'd say using '99 is very fair because that was the dawn of the BCS era. So in the 15 years of being a BCS conference, only 3 times was the basketball champ not in the BCS conference. With the money involved in football now- is that going to make that trend go even quicker?

[aughnanure]

Paint Touches' Response.

http://painttouches.com/2014/06/20/buzz ... departure/


Buzz is a fraud.

[billyjack]

Paint Touches' Response.

http://painttouches.com/2014/06/20/buzz ... departure/


Buzz is a fraud.

Nice job by Paint Touches...

"One thing this article did answer is why he chose VT. He needed the lowest bar possible. He fears failure. He doesn’t want to HAVE to win. He’ll take all the plaudits for winning at a place where it wasn’t expected, but just don’t ask him to provide the goods on demand.

That;s a bit of a strange way to look at things if you’re a coach, but perfectly reasonable for a human being. Buzz, strange as he may be, is still human."

--> Buzz says he likes being the underdog... says that FS1 puts the Big East at a disadvantage compared to being at a football school and on ESPN (kind of the definition of "underdog")... then bolts from that underdog role... odd thought process... bottom line as a Big East fan is that I'd rather have players and coaches in this conference that are confident and aggressive with where the Big East is going... and I'm really cool with Wojo being at Marquette, with his first quotes including (paraphrased) "this is a conference committed to basketball... how could you not love the Big East as a basketball fan..."

[GoldenWarrior11]

Look, I loved Buzz as our coach. He was a character. He LOVED being the underdog. He recruited terrific athletes and created teams that routinely made the NCAA tournament. He several kids to the NBA too (Butler, Crowder, Blue, Buycks, DJO, Hayward). I would actually argue that he experienced more success than Tom Crean (who took our school to the Final Four). I think he, possibly, got overwhelmed with the constant success he had (especially after the struggles this past season), and needed to make a change.

However, in the article, he says he went into "information-gathering mode". What did his information turn up regarding a coach's success AFTER they left Marquette? Tom Crean has a winning percentage of .510 at Indiana in 6 seasons - one of the BEST basketball programs in the country. Mike Deane had losing records at both Lamar and Wagner after being let go from Marquette. Kevin O'Neil almost bounced around as many teams as Larry Brown did, having losing records at Tennessee, Northwestern and USC.

Virginia Tech will be a TREMENDOUS challenge. He may succeed there, he may not. Constantly facing the likes of Duke, UNC, Syracuse, Virginia, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, and the rest of the gauntlet of the ACC, will pose a consistent challenge just to be middle of the pack. I will still root for him (not over my Warriors), but the odds are not in his favor.

I wouldn't say that saying that about Tom Crean at Indiana is really fair. He inherited a hazmat situation when he got there. You take out the 1st season and he's got a .569 winning pct at Indiana.

I think if he had gone anywhere else, no one would have argued his points at all. Like it or not- not being on ESPN is a very real factor. Is the Big East viewed as well as it was 2 years ago? No way. Are the football schools going to pick up momentum in a way that we've not seen yet? Very possibly and you just look at the old Big East- tournament champs last 13 years- only UConn in 2002 and Georgetown in 2007 won it w/o FBS football. From '96-'13 only St John's in 2000 and Georgetown in '07 doesn't have FBS football now. You say why use '96 or '01? I'd say using '99 is very fair because that was the dawn of the BCS era. So in the 15 years of being a BCS conference, only 3 times was the basketball champ not in the BCS conference. With the money involved in football now- is that going to make that trend go even quicker?

Well, Tom Crean is on a very hot seat in Bloomington. He is the only coach in NCAA history to have two of the top 4 picks in a draft (Oladipo, Zeller - 2013) and NOT advance past the Sweet 16. He had several players transfer out this year. It will be difficult to see the Hoosiers finishing higher than the middle of the pack of the B1G. If you told me, 7 years ago, that Crean had not made in past the S16, no matter how dire the situation was when he got there, it may not be considered a failure - but it certainly cannot be described as be really successful, especially at a place like Indiana.

The football balloon can only expand so much before it either pops or cannot get any bigger. The size conferences are today, there is only so many spots for successful teams before parity kicks in. Not being on ESPN isn't as a big deal as it would have been 5-10-15 years ago. Like it or not, Fox Sports 1 will be successful and become an alternative establishment to ESPN. FS1 is on in 90 million homes (ESPN has 99 million). They have a strong branding awareness strategy that took effect last year, and, with MLB, NASCAR, MLS and College Sports (Big East and Big XII), they will only grow in content to offer viewers.