Buzz Williams at his Best

Marquette's win Friday night at West Virginia was a great night for Buzz Williams. It was a perfect microcosm of why Golden Eagle fans (and many others) love the guy, and it had almost nothing to do with what happened during the game. It was about what happened before and after.

There's a lot to love about Buzz Williams.

Before the game, Buzz suspended four players for half the game (Vander Blue, Junior Cadougan and Darius Johnson-Odom for the first half and Todd Mayo for the second). This isn't the first time this season Buzz has suspended players for all or part of game for unspecified team rules. Williams is big on discipline, and he said he needs to teach his guys life lessons.

When asked for specifics about what rules were broken, Williams never reveals those. He keeps those problems in house. As a fan, I want to know what's going on. It would be nice to know exactly what these guys are doing. Are they breaking curfew? Swearing? Cheating on tests? Not eating their vegetables? A little transparency would be nice. However, I can understand Williams wanting to keep these things private. I would imagine that it helps any hurt feelings over the suspension to heal a little more quickly if no one knows what's going on.

Williams simply says things like, "Do you have kids? Do you discipline them? Okay." And we all get it. I'm not sure I get suspending them for half of an important game when you could punish the players in practice, but I guess that's why Williams is a head coach making millions of dollars and I'm a producer/blogger making... well, less than that.

That was all before the game. It tells us that Williams is maturing as a coach. After the rumors of lack of control and alleged assaults that happened last season, it is good to see Williams is laying down the law and teaching his players lessons that they will need after basketball is done.

Then there was what happened after the game. Buzz dancing on the court showed his quirky personality that has made him such a media darling. We've seen crazy sideline antics, hilarious soundbites and great stories from him before. It's part of his charm. It's easy to praise him when he's your own coach. If I were a West Virginia fan, I'd be ticked. Thankfully, I'm not a West Virginia fan. I've never burned a couch in my life.

Williams likes to play himself off as a dumb Texas hick sometimes, but he's not nearly as dumb as he makes himself out to be. He's actually very smart. Maybe his little dance was simply a case of a guy getting caught up in the emotions of a big win. Then again, there may be a part of Williams that knew exactly what he was doing. Nobody outside of West Virginia likes West Virginia, and rubbing it in a little as they head to the Big 12 was just perfect.

No doubt. Buzz has some Al in him.

Doesn't it remind everyone of Al McGuire? There's the classic photo of Al McGuire waving to the Wisconsin student section after a big win. And I may be off here, but I've heard that the iconic photo of Al McGuire waving with two hands was actually Al waving sarcastically to some heckling Notre Dame fans. True or not, that's the Al that Marquette fans loved. It's why they love Buzz Williams, too.

I've written this entire blog about why Williams was at his best on Friday night, and I've yet to talk about how he coached during the game. He played half the game with only six guys, and he led the team back from 11 down at the half (and down by as many as 15) with another player suspended.

The guy is getting it done. I love having Buzz Williams as Marquette's coach, and I hope he stays there a long, long time.

A couple other quick nuggets from Friday's win:
- The Big East Player of the Year race is over. Jae Crowder won it. He didn't have his best night shooting the ball, but still got 26 points while Kevin Jones had just 12. He was the glue that kept that team together in the first half when those three guys were sitting out. It's time to talk about Crowder as an All-American. He might not make the first team, but who knows?
- Seeing Marquette play without Junior Cadougan for a half then getting him back made it crystal clear how critical he is to Marquette's transition game. They need him to play well, and he did.
- Marquette still misses Davante Gardner a little, but only a little. He won't get his starting job back if/when he is healthy. This team is playing too well. Gardner will become a valuable player off the bench as a big man, though.
- Earlier in the year, I (and many other #mubb Twitter folks) groaned over every slow Marquette start. They have overcome so many, however, I don't think I'll get bent out of shape even if they are down 30 at some point this season. They keep rallying to win these games, and that's a credit to Buzz Williams.

I have no idea how far this team can go in March, but there is really a lot to like right now.