Buzz-Word

For some reason, when I think of Marquette Basketball, I think of a 5'9'', nappy-headed electrical engineering major who didn't even strap up his Nikes once for a single varsity basketball game. Maybe it's because that one person has a profound love for a college basketball team that is so deep, he doesn't care that they have the same color scheme (light blue/yellow) as a newborn infant's bedroom. It really doesn't bother him that nobody outside the city limits of Milwaukee knows one player on Marquette's team by name--he knows all of their social security numbers and D.O.B's. It didn't feel right to do an Illinois season preview and not give Ryan Agnew and his beloved Marquette Golden Eagles a voice promoting another season of mediocrity in the Bradley Center. As a Marquette alum, "Rags" has been seen watching every single MU game for the better part of his 24 year existence on the Earth, and was also often spotted carrying Jerel McNeal's books to class when the two both called Marquette's campus their home in 2007. And hey, let's be honest, they lost to DePaul last year, so I felt kind of bad for him. Anyway, here it is. All of you Golden Eagle football/basketball fans go nuts (crickets).

This is my second “guest post” for Austin Scott. I figured I owed it to all the people who voted for me in the poll for who you most wanted to write a guest post – yes, I voted for myself…multiple times.

The Marquette basketball team is coming off a roller coaster ride of a season in 2009-2010. A team which won 11 of their final 13 games in Big East play – which included two buzzer beaters by Jimmy Butler and an upset over 45 year old Scottie Reynolds and the Villanova Wildcats to advance to the semi finals of the Big East Tourney.

MU loses 3 seniors from a year ago in Maurice Acker (not to be confused with the late He Ping Ping- shortest man in the world), David Cubillan and Lazar Hayward. Lazar was hands down the heart and soul of the team last year, and easily one of my favorite players in Marquette basketball history. He was the last pick in the 1st round (Wizards, traded to T-Wolves) of the 2010 draft and scored his first NBA points just a few nights ago, an occasion for which him and John Flynn went out to slam a couple of Camo-Ice 40 ouncers and hit on some underage Minneapolis coeds.

MU is slated to finish 11th by the “experts” from ESPN, and is picked to finish 6th in the BE coaches poll. With that being said, Marquette Basketball is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Big East..."they gets no respect". I think part of that is because Marquette will be expecting some of their newcomers to contribute right away and although that isn’t necessarily ideal for a Big East team, Marquette has a lot of new faces in the locker room and there is a lot to be excited about (not much really goes on in Milwaukee).

Freshman guard Vander Blue is the highest recruit MU has landed in the past 30 years…and made for quite the stir when he rescinded his verbal commitment to UW-Madison to play for a coach who doesn’t look like their mascot. Blue is very athletic and works very hard on the defensive end of the floor. His offense still needs work, but he assures us on Twitter that he is working on every day to get better. If nothing else, his last name should result in the Bradley Center music coordinator to blast the Eiffel 65 hit "I'm Blue (Da-ba-dee-da-ba-die)" at least 60 times this season, which is a plus.

Another exciting guard with stupid athletic ability is Reggie Smith. As the bums outside the Wells Fargo building in downtown Milwaukee would say, "Diss dude got boom/bounce/ups/hops/rise/etc./etc." He is a great change of pace guard, and will provide a spark as probably the 2nd or third man off the bench for Buzz Williams.

However, Jae Crowder is my pick-to-click as far as team impact goes. I think he will start every game for MU this season. The 6’6” 2010 JUCO player of the year can shoot from the outside and has the ability to finish in the painted area. Also, he will have the opportunity to score quite a bit as teams will be focusing on Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler like one of those optical illusion mind-trick pictures.

Davantae Gardner rounds out their newcomers as the team's freshman center – er project. He tipped the scales at about 310 his junior year in high school, but has been working hard and now is more comparable to an overweight Kevin Callaghan, circa 2007, living large on a steady diet of Chicago style hot dogs and Old Style. His body transformation makes you wonder if he spent the summer at Camp Hope with Tony Perkis and Gerald Garnder shedding lb.'s and strapping beef sticks to his back. Either way, I'm hoping all of the perkisizing has paid off. Look for him to get some meaningful minutes early in the season, but will most likely see his playing time and diet fade as the season wears on. He has great hands and soft touch for a big guy, and hopefully can make a splash as a sophomore, or transfer to a school where he can get some NFL looks on the O-line.

Jamail Jones is another 6’-6” “interchangeable” guard in Buzz Williams' (who ironically cannot grow out a "buzz-cut") offense. I love his athleticism and he’s not afraid to battle down low with a bigger player.

Marquette returns 3 guards who can flat out play. Junior Cadougan is fully recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon last season and has looked great in preseason workouts (not like I have access to those or anything, but I do have the internet, and an excess of free time). He is a terrific point guard who knows how to run the offense and really uses his body to abuse smaller defenders, and female MU undergrads. Dwight Byucks is a scorer with likely the worst name in the Big East. However, he has a tendency to turn the ball over, and Buzz values possessions like Chris Fehrenbach values a Chicken Queso. DJO (Darius Johnson-Odom) has the most “star power” on the team and provides MU with college basketball's next hyphenated superstar since Chris Douglas Roberts' departure from Memphis. This left handed guard is perhaps the most athletic player on the team and can absolutely light it up from beyond the arc. He will need to be more assertive on the offensive side of the ball this season, and there will be plenty of available shots for him.

Marquette also returns 4 players in the front court. Jimmy Butler was a “good glue guy" (shout to to Mat Demars) while we had the 3 amigos (Mcneal, James, Wes Matt) but has since evolved into a go-to guy for Buzz Lightyear. Butler is a crafty player and is the senior leader of the Golden Eagles this year. Chris Otule (Oh-tool-ay), trust me, he's not Irish, will be the wild card this year. He has been slowed the past two seasons by injury but it seems he is finally healthy. Marquette will need him to play big minutes this year and help out on the offensive and defensive boards. Joe Fulce in another returning player and is easily my least favorite player on the team. He does have the ability to provide a spark off the bench and since he’s a senior, I think Buzz will go to him more often this year. Erik Williams is the dark horse. He seems to have improved every time he hits the floor. Defensively he just was not there last year and that cut into his playing time – or lack thereof. Any minutes he can give this year will do wonders for the team down the road. With all this being said, if you need to find me during the winter months, I will be happily rocking the best shorts in college basketball today as I post up on my couch to watch MU, or you can find me at www.twitter.com/RyanAgnew3

Projections
Starting Lineup
PG – Junior Cadougan So.
SG – Darius Johnson Odom Jr.
SF – Jimmy Butler Sr.
PF – Jae Crowder Jr.
C – Chris Otule So.

Regular Season: 21-10
Big East: 11-7

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man likes Cliff Lee and the Rangers to hold off playoff elimination tonight in Texas at (-174).I know those are not the best odds, but this game is virtually a lock. Dominant pitcher/at home/facing elimination combo is deadly. Trust the Pulse Man.

Pick of the Day: Giants @ Rangers- RANGERS (-174)

Record:(27-21-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Ryan Agnew