Marquette junior point guard Vander Blue is not on the DraftExpress.com 2013 Mock Draft and he’s not listed among the Top 100 prospects on the site, either.
But that hasn’t stopped the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Blue from delcaring for the NBA Draft.
“I’ve had three great years here and appreciate everything Marquette has done for me during that time to help me develop,” Blue said. “At this point I want to pursue my dream. I’ve prayed about it and discussed it with my family and think this is the right decision for me at this time. To read more of this story, click here
By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Buzz Williams is on the brink of joining some elite company.
The 40-year old Greenville, Tex., native is one win away from joining some legends of the profession who have all been to a Final Four.
A mere 26 hours before he has to go through one of those legends of his profession in Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, Williams knows that he and his Texas-sized shtick shouldn’t be here, mentioned with names like Boeheim, Rick Pitino, John Thompson Jr. and Jim Calhoun.
All four have been to at least one Final Four, all four have won a national title. Williams is one game from the former and three games from the latter, yet is self-aware to the point that be believes his name and those names do not mix.
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NEW YORK — Saturday was quite a day for Steve Novak and his alma mater at Madison Square Garden.
Hours after coach Buzz Williams and Marquette stunned St. John’s, 69-67, in overtime on an acrobatic, last-second driving layup by Vander Blue, Novak scored a season-high 20 points to help the Knicks crush the Utah Jazz, 113-84.
“It’s been a good day in the Garden, hasn’t it?” Novak said with a smile. “The Marquette boys got a share of the Big East title. I’m so proud of them, they’ve been playing unbelievable…It was good to see those guys get the win.”
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Marquette sophomore guard Todd Mayo has been declared academically ineligible.
Coach Buzz Williams announced Monday that Mayo is unable to practice or play indefinitely.
“Todd understands success in our program requires a sincere commitment to excellence on and off the floor. I’m extremely disappointed he’s put himself in this position, but he has the full support of our program as he works to improve,” said Williams. To read more of this story, click here
JaJuan Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 188-pound shooting guard from Memphis Southwind, verbally pledged to Marquette on Friday.
Johnson chose coach Buzz Williams’s club over Alabama and Miami.
“He liked the intensity and the strength of their program,” Shaun Williams, JaJuan’s mother, told SNY.tv Friday. “With back-to-back Sweet 16s, [he feels they have] the ability and the urge to make the Final Four instead of just making it to the [NCAA] tournament.”
Johnson is a prolific scorer and Shaun said that’s what her son will deliver to the Big East program. To read more of this story, click here
JaJuan Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 188-pound shooting guard from Memphis Southwind, enjoyed his weekend visit to Marquette and is now weighing his next move.
Johnson may or may not visit UConn next, and also holds offers from Alabama and Miami.
“It went good,” Johnson, the Rivals No. 20 shooting guard in the Class of 2013, told SNY.tv of his visit to Marquette for Midnight Madness. “They showed me around. They told me what position I was going to play and what I could bring to the team.” To read more of this story, click here
Memphis Southwind guard JaJuan Johnson cancelled his weekend visit to Texas and now looks ahead to visiting Marquette this coming weekend.
“The Texas staff and I decided that it was best thing for me and the program,” the 6-foot-5 Johnson told ESPN.com.
“It was mutual, kind of a mutual thing,” Southwind coach Paul Edwards told SNY.tv. To read more of this story, click here
NEW YORK — Marquette has now entered the post-Jae Crowder/Darius Johnson-Odom Era, but don’t bet against Buzz Williams’s team.
The Marquette coach says his team may have no “great” players like the aforementioned duo currently in the NBA, but does have a whole lot of “good” ones.
“Those guys that are returning are going to have to be more than they’ve ever been in their career,” Williams, whose team is ranked No. 15 in the Sheridan Hoops Preseason Top 25, said here last week.
Once of those guys is senior point guard Junior Cadougan, a 6-foot-1 native of Toronto. To read more of this story, click here
(AP) — Marquette coach Buzz Williams fired assistant Scott Monarch on Friday, and Williams will serve a one-game suspension as part of the school’s self-imposed sanctions for recruiting rules violations it reported to the NCAA.
The school said Monarch gave team-issued apparel and provided transportation to an unnamed recruit, then was “found to have been untruthful with department administrators on multiple occasions” after the violations were discovered.
“When I was allowed to review the report earlier this week, I was deeply saddened to learn of an error in judgment of one of my assistants and closest friends,” To read more of this story, click here
When college coaches were allowed to begin texting high school recruits last Friday at midnight, Kendrick Nunn said he heard from several schools.
But Marquette came first.
The 6-foot-2 Chicago Simeon shooting guard told SNY.tv he was also contacted by Memphis, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Texas A&M and Florida, and he said North Carolina reached out to his father.
Providence, DePaul and Illinois are also involved and Melvin Nunn, Kendrick’s father, told ESPNChicago.com his son may trim his list to 3-5 in July. To read more of this story, click here
