MU: Surprise of the Big East; Crean addresses coaching rumors

On a day when MU fell short of a ranking in both the coaches and AP polls, Chris Jenkins of the Associated Press casts the spotlight on the Marquette program. And Tom Crean addressed the annual rumor mill.

Facing their first season in one of the nation's top power conferences with three freshmen guards, this year was expected to test the patience of Golden Eagles coach Tom Crean.........
......."We knew what our goals were and what we expected to do this year," said senior forward Steve Novak. "Obviously, there was a lot of cynics and skeptics that said a lot of things at the beginning of the year, and we've obviously proven many of them wrong."

Oh, and about those silly rumors......looks like Tom Crean will be stickin' around at Marquette for years to come:

With Marquette rising back toward national prominence, and high-profile coaching openings at Indiana and Missouri, the annual rounds of Crean-to-wherever rumors are beginning already.
Crean has turned down overtures from Big State U. in the past, and insists it won't be a distraction.
"I mean, just go to the track record," Crean said. "There's never been any reason to think those things. (I've) got a long-term contract, got a young team. There's no reason to even fuel that speculation or spend a lot of time talking about it."