brewcity77

From what I recall following the Coleman recruitment from the Marquette side, physically, he's a beast. Strong, eats a lot of space in the lane, and has the frame to be an immediate contributor. The worries were effort and academics. If Benford can keep him motivated and on track scholastically, I think he could be a very good get. He got a long look from Buzz up here at Marquette.

All the names I've heard are guards.

Jamail is a legit 6'6", I absolutely assure you of that, but he's definitely a natural SF, not a PF. He had to play some PF this past season but only because both our centers were out with injury, which meant anyone 6'6" or bigger was going to play the 4 or 5. But regardless of what Rivals is calling him, Jones is not a PF and doesn't play like one. Like I said, I think he'd be a solid add, but not a game-changer, and if you guys are sold on the people there, I'd hope that Benford can keep them. If I were putting money down, I'd say Jones ends up at Georgia State, though honestly I'd prefer he goes somewhere with a chance to win something, and I'm not sure GAST has that.

I know Benford was a big fan of Durley's, he was his lead recruiter at Marquette. I would guess that it's a good sign Benford won't be cleaning players out of house the way Larry Brown has done at SMU. Granted well over 25% of all college basketball players transfer, and it's almost expected when a new coach comes in that 2-3 guys will leave. If some of your guys guys do explore options, I could see transfers from MU being a possibility, starting with Jamail Jones, but there are rumors there could be more guys from Marquette in play. I hope Durley and Jones are the only two out, but rumors are as many as 1-3 more could be headed out, including some starters. Our school year ends on May 11, so if anyone else is transferring, it will probably be the week after that.

Yes, it is. That's why you'll often see assistant coaches that get hired have the announcement delayed by a few weeks. Like Jerrance Howard, who was mentioned in reports as joining Brown at SMU weeks ago, but was only officially announced a few days ago. It allows them to have unlimited NCAA contact as they technically are unemployed, then take advantage once they sign on somewhere. While it seems underhanded (and maybe it is) it's also fairly standard practice. This, however, I do not believe is legal. Players on academic scholarships should not be eligible to participate as athletes because of the reasons mentioned, what would stop a school from loading up on an extra 4-5 scholarship players by simply hiding them under athletic scholarships? I'll be curious to see how this is handled...I'm 95% positive the NCAA doesn't allow this.

Jones is a good but streaky three-point shooter. He struggled to get into a groove at Marquette, but I watched him in a lot of summer league games (though little defense) and he would have games where he hit 6/7 from 3, then the next day would go 1/8. When he's on, he's great. Defensively, he's decent, and he added a ton of muscle. He is a physical specimen, can throw down some monster dunks (was on ESPN's top-10 twice in HS), but just couldn't force his way onto the court at Marquette. It was a combination of being behind some excellent talent at the forward spots -- Jimmy Butler is in the NBA, Jae Crowder is likely following him, Jamil Wilson looks like NBA talent -- but also not being able to force his way onto the court for long enough stretches to get into a rhythm. I think he could be a productive player and develop into a starter as a junior and senior, especially with the one year sitting as a transfer, but I don't think he'd be a program-changer by any means. He is, however, a very hard worker and excellent teammate, by all accounts. I think he could help your program if Benford finds room, but just because he was top-100, don't expect him to be a step-in replacement for Tony Mitchell when he leaves for the NBA.

Just saw that Benford added Bart Lundy to his staff as an assistant, he was our Director of Basketball Operations at Marquette and most MU fans were hoping he would step into Benford's job. Another very solid hire, He's a former D1 Head Coach that has been learning on the job behind a great staff at Marquette. I'm confident Lundy will be a great #2 on the bench for Benford, and will work hard on the recruiting trail. Of course it's all opinion, but I think you guys have every reason to be very excited about this team in the coming years.

If you guys get the move to C-USA, I'd love to see a home-and-home, but I have a feeling Broeker will hold off at least until then. As far as Mitchell...you aren't kidding. I'm guessing he'd be the best player on Marquette if he were here. I think he could very well have an Isaiah Canaan, Kenneth Faried, Stephen Curry type impact this year and end up making some All-American teams. I think Benford has a great chance to make the NCAAs with Mitchell leading the team, and hopefully that will only help get you guys into C-USA, and while it will be near-impossible to replace him, hopefully open some eyes and get consistently good recruits coming to UNT.

I really hope Benford can find room for Durley. While he is definitely a project, he put up some decent AAU numbers on the same team as Ridley. Though Durley may still need a year of prep school, which would let him keep his eligibility and refine his game. Not sure he'll go that route, the MU coaching staff suggested it and that was when he asked out of his LOI. Great kid and great potential, but not ready to be a D1 contributor just yet.

Yeah, he played at Texas Tech and has really done a good job recruiting out of there since coming to Marquette. I am confident he'll be able to take advantage of the fertile recruiting grounds down there and keep some kids in the area that might have gone elsewhere otherwise. I think convincing Tony Mitchell to stay will be huge, especially if he can manage to get to the postseason next year. Out of Texas, he was our lead recruiter on Erik Williams, Aaron Durley, TJ Taylor, and Junior Cadougan. He's well-tied in to the state. EDIT @ DeepGreen: Actually, our Assistant AD, Mike Broeker (he handles scheduling) tweeted this the other day about Tony: "Tried to schedule him to guarantee game yesterday, he passed, smart guy, showed me he is ready to be a HC. #mubb" Wouldn't surprise me to see it down the line, but I think Tony will wait until he builds the team up a bit, and possibly until after the move to C-USA. Though maybe we'll meet in March...

One of the few issues anyone at MU has with Buzz is over-offering (though rarely oversigning). He's had three guys that got released after LOIs were signed. The first, Brett Roseboro, got to campus and it was clear from day one he was hopelessly overwhelmed. The second, DJ Newbill, was released on a technicality that he hadn't applied to Marquette, which voided the LOI. The release coincided with a top-50 local player was transferring (Jamil Wilson), that one rubbed some people the wrong way. Now with Durley, he was told that because Chris Otule was getting a 6th year of eligibility he likely wouldn't play until his junior year. Durley wanted to come here, but requested his release when he learned that he wouldn't really get a chance for 2 years. I hope that Buzz cleans this up and holds off with offering project players until the Spring. As far as Benford recruiting, I'm confident he'll do great. He's been one of our top recruiters for the past 4 years and is a great talent evaluator. I know he was high on Durley's potential, and I really hope he is able to find room for him at UNT. Aaron seems like a fantastic kid and I really want to see him get every opportunity to succeed. Disappointed it won't be at Marquette.

Exactly right, it was a promotion Buzz gave to Benford to justify a bit of a raise to make him Marquette's top assistant, as well as to help put his name out there for other gigs.

Hi guys, just wanted to give you some thoughts on your new HC, Tony Benford. First of all, let me say that I think this is a fantastic hire. Benford has been ready for this for the past couple years and was Buzz's top assistant at Marquette. He's a great recruiter and has helped turn Marquette into a recruiting force on a nationwide stage, drawing top-100 recruits from Texas (Erik Williams), California (Juan Anderson), Chicago (Steve Taylor), Milwaukee (Duane Wilson), as well as last year's Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder from Georgia. Seeing that it looks like Mitchell will be staying, it's safe to say Benford has some respect down there already. Also, I'm really hoping Coach Benford extends an offer to Aaron Durley. He originally signed a LOI with Marquette, but after a disappointing senior season, MU told Durley that they would prefer he go to prep school because if he came here, he likely wouldn't play until his junior year because fellow Fort Bend Bush alum Chris Otule will be staying for a sixth season, putting Durley 3rd on the center depth chart behind CO and Davante Gardner. Durley is a fantastic kid and a good athlete that needs some time to develop into a D1-level player, and I think Benford could get a lot out of him. Either way, rest assured that with the hire of Benford, you gained a lot of fans up in Milwaukee. While we're sad to see TB go, we know this was an opportunity he deserved and have every hope and confidence that he can succeed down there. I guarantee I'll be cheering for the Mean Green against everyone other than Marquette. Go Mean Green!