State of the Buzz, Preseason

[DCDeac]

What treatment did he recieve that he didn't deserve?

Did his girlfriend/baby mama not end up in the hospital with a fracture due to an altercation he was involved in?

Walker lost a semester, and we don't know what his involment was related to stealing a frickin laptop....and woods suspension, no arrest, and continued eligibility to play ball for violence is 'undeserved'... please explain.

I feel like my post has been misinterpreted.

That is what Wake looks like to the outside world, that list is the mud we've been dragged through, justified or not. I'm not passing judgment on each individual item. I'm just saying that when friends of mine that are into sports think of Wake, that's the list they joke about.

In light of that, I don't find it surprising or deceitful or excuse-like to talk about culture change a lot. That's all.

 

[deacfreke2]

This. He had a really difficult situation, and performed how you'd expect someone to perform in a really difficult situation. I'm more optimistic about the recruiting (I do think he's one of the better recruiters in the ACC right now), but I'm not Bz-in. I'm just not Bz-out, either.

It's easy to respond passionately and crucify the guy, but very little of last year was honestly his fault. I want to see how he does over the next two years before I make any definitive statements on his ability to coach this team.

Great post. :golfclap:

 

[PhillyDeac]

Great post. :golfclap:

agree...I'm just glad the BZZZ - I'm not sure's are winning.

 

[MBDeac08]

Wait see, though I'm not optimistic about it. I thought we would at least see improvement as last season went on, but that didn't really happen. No point in writing him completely off because its not going to make much difference; Wellman is going to give Buzz time to develop and build the program, we all know that.

I expect to see some close games this year (at least at home). 4 minutes left in a game, we should be within 5-10 points of most teams. That is my expectation, which is a piss poor expectation for our program, but that's the way things are now.

 

[DeacLaw05]

BzzOut now, BzzOut forever...

I saw everything I needed to see last year to prove to me that this guy can't cut it in the ACC.

 

[deacfreke2]

Wait see, though I'm not optimistic about it. I thought we would at least see improvement as last season went on, but that didn't really happen. No point in writing him completely off because its not going to make much difference; Wellman is going to give Buzz time to develop and build the program, we all know that.

I expect to see some close games this year (at least at home). 4 minutes left in a game, we should be within 5-10 points of most teams. That is my expectation, which is a piss poor expectation for our program, but that's the way things are now.

Just don't everyone freak out if we lose to Loyola. It's a fluke that they would have their best talent ever when we schedule them during a down period but that's what's happened. It's just as much a fluke that I stumbled into reading info about them. What I found is that they decided to recruit DC and Baltimore hard and somehow it's working for them. Patsos being a former Maryland assistant has helped with that.

Hope we can find a way to start 1-0 and win some pre-conference games from there.

 

[myDeaconmyhand]

I saw the games. It was a bad team. Bad teams get blown out sometimes. Could he have done a better job? Sure....He was expected to be shit last year. But for now, I'm in the wait and see category.

How many people on here truly expected Buzz to lose every ACC game by 20+ points? With such low expectations, I'm not sure how Bzz could have ever disappointed you without forfeiting every game and shitting on mid-court. Personally I find it impossible to both give a shit about Wake Basketball and accept last's seasons total failure.

 

[TBR]

So you want to see him coach for another 2-3 years? I'd call you a wait-and-see, unless there's nothing he could do in the next 2-3 years to make you change your mind.

Only want to wait 2-3 years because if we don't then Wellman's poor management of the program will be even more obvious, and will result in us having to hire Buzz 2.0.

 

[Deac65]

This. He had a really difficult situation, and performed how you'd expect someone to perform in a really difficult situation. I'm more optimistic about the recruiting (I do think he's one of the better recruiters in the ACC right now), but I'm not Bz-in. I'm just not Bz-out, either.

It's easy to respond passionately and crucify the guy, but very little of last year was honestly his fault. I want to see how he does over the next two years before I make any definitive statements on his ability to coach this team.

One of the more intelligent quotes I've read. I can't believe some of the vitrol and personal insults Buzz has received from day one. I think some were just mad we didn't get a high profile coach and have been taking it out on him ever sense,

I've said before that I am in the give the guy a chance category. I truly don't believe anyone could have done any better with all that was thrown at him. We were probably at one of the lowest points we have ever been in when he came. I'll reserve judgment to see how hard and smart this year's team plays and then see how the 2012 recruits do.

 

[ArlingtonDeac]

The idea that the bad situation Bzz inherited somehow negates the reality that he did as badly as possible with that bad situation makes no sense. Bzz was a healthy part of why we weren't just bad, but were "crap the bed twice" bad. He was just as big a contributor to our failure as anyone else.

But he's righted the recruiting ship, and gets a chance with a new set of "his" guys. But let's not kid ourselves. A good portion of why we were so incredibly, terribly, record-setting bad last year had to do with poor coaching. We were just as awful in our last game as our first, and played the whole year with little hustle, imagination, pride, direction, or emotion. Bzz took a bad situation and bottomed out with it. I don't think anyone could have done worse, and that's the best you can say for it.

He's batting with an 0-2 count, but he's not out.

 

[coredeac]

I'm wait-and-see but there needs to be some clear player improvement as this season progresses.

My issue with the Buzz situation is the manner in which the hire was conducted. Basically, the AD served us a shit sandwich and forced us to collectively eat it. Then, had the audacity to do multiple post-game analyses of just how happy he was with the program. I believe the pinnacle was the "sock comment" after just having our asses handed to us by W&M or Presbyterian (can't recall which).

 

[RedSoxFaithful]

How many people on here truly expected Buzz to lose every ACC game by 20+ points? With such low expectations, I'm not sure how Bzz could have ever disappointed you without forfeiting every game and shitting on mid-court. Personally I find it impossible to both give a shit about Wake Basketball and accept last's seasons total failure.

To be fair, I don't think any of us realized exactly how bad the situation was that VCU game hit. Even after the Stetson loss, there was some optimism and reasoning that we were watching a group of inconsistent freshmen learning to play together. After the VCU game, I think it became clear that the team had some real ball handling and defensive issues and was going to be fucked come ACC play.

We can call last season a total failure, and you can say I'm accepting that it was. Fine. But how much of that was on Bz? Are you honestly delusional enough to believe he was the difference between Wake being bad and Wake being a catastrophic disaster? I'll say it again: We sucked all-around. There's no way to say that the failures of a team that didn't have a point guard for most of the season, that was giving significant PT to 5 freshmen, that got negative total value from two guys playing a combined 50 minutes/game, and that had virtually no frontcourt depth, were at all on a head coach that inherited literally every single one of those problems. I'm not saying they weren't on Bz; I'm just saying that it's impossible and batshit crazy to assume that they were.

I'm not accepting last year's failures any more than I'm acknowledging that they occurred, and expressing some level of optimism that we're on the right track towards recovering from them.

 

[Winkathomelygirl]

I just want to go on record as saying I'm Buzz-in because he is turning around the program using the exact same methodology as I would use. Either he knows what he is doing or I don't.

 

[88Deac]

John Wooden, Bob Knight and K together could not have done better with our team last year. We were weak everywhere, and grossly weak in what I consider the most important position: PG. We could barely get the ball in the front court and get into an offense. PG is like the QB position. Look at the Colts. They lose Manning and they go from Super Bowl contenders to worst team in the NFL by far. It ain't bad coaching..... I still can't believe people cast any blame on Buzz for last year. He needed to come up with a strong 2012 class, and damn if he didn't deliver. In a very big way. We are going to struggle this year, but whether we end up with 8-12 wins, or 12-16 mostly depends on the PG play. With what we have anything close .500 ball will be a VERY good season. Then we'll be loaded with upperclassmen and with a strong group of freshmen, some of whom you'd expect could contribute tosome extent as backups, and some maybe more. Things are definitely looking up. That Buzz recruited the 2012 class despite our delusional fan base who bitched and moaned all last year calling for his head was nothing short of spectacular. It has to get easier after that. But we will struggle this year. No doub. So I expect much more of the same.

 

[TBR]

To be fair, I don't think any of us realized exactly how bad the situation was that VCU game hit. Even after the Stetson loss, there was some optimism and reasoning that we were watching a group of inconsistent freshmen learning to play together. After the VCU game, I think it became clear that the team had some real ball handling and defensive issues and was going to be fucked come ACC play.

What was clear to me was that the team was completely unprepared for VCU's full court press.

 

[TBR]

John Wooden, Bob Knight and K together could not have done better with our team last year. We were weak everywhere, and grossly weak in what I consider the most important position: PG. We could barely get the ball in the front court and get into an offense. PG is like the QB position. Look at the Colts. They lose Manning and they go from Super Bowl contenders to worst team in the NFL by far. It ain't bad coaching..... I still can't believe people cast any blame on Buzz for last year. He needed to come up with a strong 2012 class, and damn if he didn't deliver. In a very big way. We are going to struggle this year, but whether we end up with 8-12 wins, or 12-16 mostly depends on the PG play. With what we have anything close .500 ball will be a VERY good season. Then we'll be loaded with upperclassmen and with a strong group of freshmen, some of whom you'd expect could contribute tosome extent as backups, and some maybe more. Things are definitely looking up. That Buzz recruited the 2012 class despite our delusional fan base who bitched and moaned all last year calling for his head was nothing short of spectacular. It has to get easier after that. But we will struggle this year. No doub. So I expect much more of the same.

Lord almighty, the 2012 class is good, but it isn't any better than the 2010 class was. It isn't a miracle so adjust expectations accordingly.

And saying crap like Bob Knight, John Wooden, etc couldn't have done any better doesn't make you look anymore reasonable than those that lay the blame 100% with [Redacted].

 

[ArlingtonDeac]

John Wooden, Bob Knight and K together could not have done better with our team last year.

Of course they could. Those are some of the best coaches in history, and regularly take players and get them to overachieve or, at the very least, improve. Last year we looked as poorly coached as we were assembled. If you want to play that card, I would counter that no coach could have possibly gotten less out of last year's team than Bzz did. We played to the absolutely lowest level possible for that team. In all seriousness, I think our W-L record would have been the exact same without a coaching staff at all, given that we didn't get any better as a team during the year, and didn't win a single game that we should not have (but lost quite a few that still boggle the mind). What win did Bzz get us, or would we not have gotten with a generic high school coach in charge? What 20 or 30 point loss did Bzz prevent from being a 50 point loss? When you bottom out, everyone is to blame to some degree. Bzz was not an innocent bystander in our being utterly non-compeititve all year.

I'm Bzz-wait, and he's got my support to try to turn this program around, but I'm not sure any coach added less value to a team than Bzz added to ours last year, unless you want to count "culture" and other things that have no tangibility. I'm hoping he was just suffering from growing pains and will rebound with hand-selected players. But some coaches can get the best out of anyone (such as the three you listed). Bzz is not one of those coaches.

 

[91deac]

I would be happy if he beats the teams he should, never mentions the world Colorado and doesn't blame the fans.

 

[Deacsfan27]

The idea that the bad situation Bzz inherited somehow negates the reality that he did as badly as possible with that bad situation makes no sense. Bzz was a healthy part of why we weren't just bad, but were "crap the bed twice" bad. He was just as big a contributor to our failure as anyone else.

But he's righted the recruiting ship, and gets a chance with a new set of "his" guys. But let's not kid ourselves. A good portion of why we were so incredibly, terribly, record-setting bad last year had to do with poor coaching. We were just as awful in our last game as our first, and played the whole year with little hustle, imagination, pride, direction, or emotion. Bzz took a bad situation and bottomed out with it. I don't think anyone could have done worse, and that's the best you can say for it.

He's batting with an 0-2 count, but he's not out.

I mean he could have lost all of the games he coached.

 

[TBR]

I'm wait-and-see but there needs to be some clear player improvement as this season progresses.

My issue with the Buzz situation is the manner in which the hire was conducted. Basically, the AD served us a shit sandwich and forced us to collectively eat it. Then, had the audacity to do multiple post-game analyses of just how happy he was with the program. I believe the pinnacle was the "sock comment" after just having our asses handed to us by W&M or Presbyterian (can't recall which).

William and Mary handed our asses to us in 2009; Presbyterian handed our asses to us in 2010.