Years ago, when I covered college sports in another state, the local football team hired a new young coach. It was the guy’s first head job, and he was taking over a storied-but-struggling program that was in danger of losing its spot on the national stage. He was introduced at a raucous pep rally, and then he moved into a conference room for questions from the press.
I don’t remember all the details of what he said, but his general message boiled down to two words: No excuses. So long as he was in charge, there would be none. And you believed him. He just had a certain quality and charisma about him. You knew he was a winner, even though you’d never seen him coach a game.
When the presser was over, I turned to my sports editor, who was sitting next to me, and said, “This guy’s special. He’s gonna win a national championship.”
Two years later, Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma Sooners had done just that.
No new coach has made such an impression on me since then, but the one who’s come closest may surprise you.
His name is Buzz Williams, and while I’m not ready to predict a national championship, I’m certain of this: Marquette basketball fans will fall in love with him.
The Williams era officially starts Friday, when Marquette opens its season against Houston Baptist, which doesn’t have a prayer. My first up-close look at Williams came during Marquette’s media day last month, and that’s when the Stoops flashbacks started.
Stoops had a top-notch pedigree as an assistant, serving as Bill Snyder’s defensive coordinator during Kansas State’s historic turnaround and holding the same post on Steve Spurrier’s national title team at Florida. Williams, too, has some impressive ties, most notably assistant coaching tenures under Tom Crean and Billy Gillespie, who’s now at Kentucky.
But the similarities went deeper than comparing resumés. It was about what the two coaches said and how they said it. Moreover, it was about how you felt when you left their presence. You simply trusted their abilities to get things done.
Stoops’ “no excuses” press conference has stayed with me for a decade. And while Williams didn’t explicitly use the words “no excuses,” he made it clear there would be none.
“We want to be the hardest-working, most competitive program in the country today,” Williams said.
And, “I’ve got to be accountable every morning when I wake up.”
Plus, “One hundred percent of the time, I’m gonna be 100 percent honest.”
From another coach, the quotes could be shrugged off as mere coach-speak, but Williams is not a man prone to lip service. He’s as efficient with his words as he is with the minutes of his days.
The message didn’t take long in filtering down to Marquette’s players. They’re well aware of what’s expected. Just your basic, everyday batch of excellence. “Buzz, he doesn’t give an inch,” said senior guard Wes Matthews, one of Marquette’s mainstays. “If it’s not right, we’re not getting through it until it’s right. It’s gotta be right.”
There was a similar perfectionist attitude with Stoops, as there probably is with every successful coach. It comes with the territory. You need pressure to make diamonds.
Don’t get me wrong. None of this is meant to say that Williams is a complete Stoops clone, only that he’s surrounded by that same early aura of success. My first impression of Buzz is that he’s far more personable than Stoops, who was never rude toward reporters, but would sooner lose a kidney than smile at them. And while both men have a serious streak of passion and confidence, Williams tempers his with a genuine humility.
“I’ve been blessed to work everywhere I’ve worked, ’cause I wasn’t supposed to work anywhere,” Williams said, a nod to his lifelong underdog status. “This is bigger and better than any dream that I’ve ever had.”
It’s the kind of thing that brings him back down to earth, and is probably why he’s such a heralded recruiter. Players like coaches they can relate to. So will the fans.
None of that will matter if Williams doesn’t win games, but the Marquette brass doesn’t sound too worried.
“My job is to hire the person I think will take us to greatness,” Marquette athletic director Steve Cottingham said after hiring Williams. “Further than we’ve been in the NCAAs, and win and compete at a national level.”
Further than Crean, eh? Doesn’t that mean a national title game?
Maybe Cottingham was at that Stoops presser, too.
Quote of Note
“When the epitaph is written on the Green Bay season, blame the run defense.”
– Peter King, in his Monday Morning Quarterback column on SI.com, as close to a weekly must-read as there is for NFL fans. (Assuming you ignore the Coffeenerdness stuff).
In other news…
Dearly Departed?
It’s too soon to say that Green Bay’s playoff hopes died over the weekend, but after a 28-27 loss to Minnesota, the prognosis isn’t looking good.
It’s bad enough that Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson ran for 192 yards and the winning touchdown, further proof that Green Bay’s run defense is just so much papier mâché. Now comes word of another shredding – the loss of linebacker Nick Barnett for the season.
Moreover, the offensive line should be charged with assault after what happened to Aaron Rodgers on Sunday. The guy took more hits than Sarah Palin, only he wasn’t winking afterward.
But the most disturbing thing may be how it all ended. With the game on the line late, coach Mike McCarthy had so little faith in Rodgers and the Pack’s offense that he seemed happy in settling for Mason Crosby’s decisive 52-yard-field goal attempt. Once the Packers reached the outskirts of Crosby’s range, McCarthy’s play calling got more conservative than Pat Buchanan. “I was fine with the distance that we kicked it from,” McCarthy said.
So apparently McCarthy had more confidence in Crosby hitting from 52 yards than he did in his offense gaining 10. That’s some statement.
And finally…
It’s hard getting Shaquille O’Neal’s attention when you’re just 5-foot-3. Fortunately, I had some help.
Shaq was in town with the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, and in a pretty good mood after dropping 29 points and 11 rebounds while beating Milwaukee 104-96. He was about to leave the visitor’s locker room when I approached his kneecap and relayed what Bucks coach Scott Skiles had said after the game.
Remember, Skiles was Shaq’s point guard when the duo played for Orlando in the 1990s. And no, it wasn’t a retelling of the day Shaq tried killing Skiles with one punch. Instead, minutes after Shaq pummeled his Bucks, Skiles mentioned that Shaq was his favorite teammate ever.
That got Shaq’s attention, and he got a little nostal-Shaq.
“Skiles helped make me,” Shaq said. “He’s the toughest little point guard I’ve ever seen.”
That’s high praise coming from a guy whose current point guard is two-time MVP Steve Nash. But Shaq brought him into the conversation, too.
“Steve Nash is like a hip-hop version of Scott Skiles.”
I’m not quite sure what that means, but it must be good.
Tune in every Tuesday morning during the 6 o’clock hour when I join Doug Russell and Mike Wickett on SportsRadio 1250 AM for Tuesdays with Howie. You can also find the segments in their Audio Vault. And don’t forget to check out our new fitness column, Training with Tim.
