Lookin' for a Throwback Jersey?

How about a Christian faith-based throwback jersey? Who knew! Check out the images and related smartassery over at A Perfectly Cromulent Blog.

Quick Updates

Per yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Vanderbilt transfer DeMarre Carroll will decide between Missouri, N.C. State, Alabama-Birmingham, Marquette and Memphis within the next few weeks. Mizzou looks to have the inside track.

Meanwhile, MU is awaiting a decision from JUCO All-American Lance Stemler, who will visit Inidana this weekend.

Rosiak: Stemler to decide soon

.....looks like early next week. The JUCO All-American is down to MU, SLU, Nebraska and Indiana. Here's Rosiak's article.

For the Love of the 'Lanche!!

If you are so inclined, click here to link over to the comments section from our post yesterday on the 9th anniversary of end of an era, the closing of the Avalanche Bar. We have plenty of room for more 'Lanche memories.

Marquette Basketball Banquet Recap

Tom Crean hosted last night's Marquette Basketball annual awards banquet last night at the AMU. Steve Novak was named Most Valuable Performer for the 2005-2006 season. The official recap is available at GoMarquette.com.

Scout's MarquetteHoops.com also recaps the event via a wonderful Q/A with Digger Phelps. Phelps was the keynote speaker -- and he fessed up to matching highlighters with his tie. Bravo, Andrew Sharos. Check out their feature Q/A here.

In addition, MarquetteHoops is reporting that MU recruits Scott Christopherson, Keaton Nankivil and Lance Stemler were at the banquet last night.

RIP: Remembering the Avalanche Bar

April 24, 1997. The Day the 'Lanche Died.

As an undergraduate student at Marquette University from 1987-1991, my not-so-unofficial motto was "Don't let school interfere with your education."

Seriously, who will wake up at age 70 and say, "Damn, I shoulda gotten out of bed for that 8am biology lab!" I'm sure this perspective on collegiate life was shared by many. It even was perfected by a few folks I know.

One reason this life view was so rewarding at MU was the Avalanche Bar. As the saying went, "Get your degree at Marquette, get your education at the 'Lanche." This bar could not be topped for any number of reasons, including:

• -Red, White and Blue beer on tap, cheap enough to buy with couch change.
• -Naked beer slides
• -Avalanche mugs -- an exclusive club
• -Two windows (kind of)
• -It was generally an upper-classmen's hangout....very few newbies
• -The 'booze to go' cooler at the front of the bar -- the ideal way to invite the thirsty locals into the collegiate scene.

Here's what the Marquette Tribune had to say on this fateful date, April 24, 1997. Here's the MJS' take from May 2, 1997 .

The 'Lanche was demolished nine years ago today in favor campus redevelopment and some rather nice student housing. Perhaps the students in those units wake up from time to time hearing the ghosts of patrons past at the 'Lanche.....some singing 'Brown-eyed Girl', 'Born to Run' and other cliche bar tunes. I'd bet there are also a few ghostly shrieks from those who dared slide naked across the 'Lanche's battered linoleum floor (often coated with shards of broken beer bottles). And the smell -- well, there's no way the unforgettable stench of stale beer can ever be removed from that site, not after more than 60 years of serving Milwaukee's finest beverages.

My best 'Lanche memory? I enjoyed my last beer as an undergrad inside that hallowed saloon -- slamming a few before running across the street to claim my diploma in front of the Union. Thanks, Dr. Friman!

The Mathu Party Page has a bunch of good material on the 'Lanche, including poignant poetry. Check out their home page here.

Avalanche Bar, RIP. Anybody have any favorite Lanche memories?

5-1 odds to land Carroll, UPDATE on Stemler

Hey, we have an entirely new way of following transfers! Bob McClellan of Rivals.com via Yahoo!Sports handicapps the DeMarre Carroll sweepstakes and opens the line with MU as a 5-1 underdog for landing the talented forward. Mizzou is the house favorite at 2-1.

Read about it here.

UPDATE ON LANCE STEMLER
Per the Billiken board, Stemler now has been offered by Indiana. The SLU board references a premium article from Scout.com. Read the Billiken board thread here (complete with MU envy, I might add).

DeMarre Carroll leaves Vandy: Bound for Marquette?

A rather intriguing possibility opened up yesterday when Vanderbilt's DeMarre Carroll, a 6'7" forward, announced he would transfer out of the SEC school.

Per the Nashville City Paper, "Vanderbilt announced Tuesday that Carroll will be released to transfer to Missouri, N.C. State, Alabama-Birmingham, Marquette or Memphis. His uncle, former UAB coach Mike Anderson, was recently named head coach at Missouri."

Additional commentary about Carroll 's departure is available here at the Commodores' Scout.com site (for subscribers, I believe).

It looks like Mike Anderson will be tough to beat in the race to sign Carroll, but Crean recruited him out of high school where DeMarre was a 2004 all-state pick in Alabama. Last season for the Commodores, the rangy Carroll started 15 games and averaged a solid 11ppg and better than 6rpg. He led the team in steals and offensive rebounds, and was efficient offensively connecting on 51% of his shots.

Based on what we've read, it seems hat Carroll has many of the same attributes that drove MU to recruit Jonathan Mitchell so aggressively. Mitchell eventually signed with Florida. As an athletic combo forward, Carroll would fill a huge need for the program starting in the 2007-2008 season.

MU is still actively recruiting Lance Stemler, a 6'8" JUCO All-American who visited Nebraska last weekend. He's expected to visit MU, George Washington and SLU before making a decision early next month.

Its unclear if Coach Crean would take Stemler over Carroll, or vice-versa. However, since MU only has one scholarship to offer at the present time this might be an either-or equation.

Here is Carroll's bio from the Vandy site.
Here is Carroll's player page from Sportsline, including game-by-game stats.

With the 29th pick in the NBA Draft

the New York Knicks select Steve Novak from Marquette University.

Well, at least that is the way the guys over at DraftExpress see it right now. This is the second consecutive mock draft that Novak has been tabbed as a first-rounder on their site. Here is their profile of Novak.

Meanwhile, NBADraft.net has Novak slipping into the second round -- going to the Atlanta Hawks. Here's the NBADraft.net profile of Novak.

"McGuire" back for a second run.

If you missed Dick Enberg's one-man play "McGuire" last year, you have another chance.

MU announced that the play, which chronicles Al's life from his days as a Brooklyn youth, MU's most famous coach, and NBC broadcaster, will return to campus later this year, with a brief run June 1st through 11th. Evening performances are available June 1st-3rd and 7th-10th, with matinees on the 4th and 11th.

Tickets are $20 available through the Helfaer Theatre Box Office.

Recruiting Update: Stemler the All-American; Love considering Dayton?

Marquette recruit Lance Stemler (pictured) was selected as a first-team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association. Congratulations to Lance. Per the Belleville-News Democrat, Stemler is being recruited by Nebraska, Marquette, SLU, and George Washington -- and will make a decision early next month.

Meanwhile, thanks to the 'virtual RFID' known as Sitemeter, it seems that the University of Dayton might be in the mix for JUCO power forward Josh Love. Posts on the UD message board indicate that the Flyers are involved with Love. There has not been much buzz lately about Love's recruiting - -and the Flyers were not one of the teams mentioned when his name first surfaced in MU circles last month. That said, academics might an issue with Love.

Steve Novak: NBA Draft Stock Rises

.....or so it would seem, based on his fine performance at the Portsmouth Invitational earlier this week. Novak led his team to a third-place finish at Portsmouth, and was named to the event's first team.

Novak averaged 16ppg and 6rpg during the three-game tournament. He shot the ball well (basically at the same percentages he delivered last season), hitting on 47% of his shots including 45.5% from three-point range. Rosiak interviewed Novak and Crean in his article today.

After his performance this week, NBA.com opines that Novak is likely to be a second round draft pick. Well done, Steve.

Bookmark suggestion: The Game Live

......OK, so this is not exactly related to Marquette basketball, potential recruits or even Mandisa's demise on 'American Idol' - - but consider bookmarking The Game Live. The site is full of gameday audio links for just about any sporting event you might be interested in. East Coast Hockey League fans (among others)-- you're in luck!

Bennie Seltzer Named Assistant Coach

Wasting little time, Tom Crean announced yesterday that Bennie Seltzer would join the program as an assistant coach. Seltzer replaces Jean Prioleau who left last week for Iowa State.

Seltzer comes to MU from Oklahoma where he was a long-time assistant for Kelvin Sampson. Seltzer, who played for Sampson at Washington State, joins another former Sampson assistant -- Jason Rabedeaux - - on Tom Crean's bench.

Welcome to Marquette, Bennie!

Lance Stemler will officially visit Marquette

Today's Belleville Post-Democrat mentions that Lance Stemler will officially visit Marquette University in the coming weeks. Stemler is a 6'8" sweet-shooting big man, who would presumably be brought in to play both SF and PF at Marquette, as Marquette loses both Steve Novak (graduation) and Ryan Amoroso (transfer). Stemler played his high school ball at Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo, IL (near St. Louis, MO), and currently attends Southwestern Illinois College, a junior college in Belleville, Illinois. Stemler also spent one medical redshirt year at Bradley University after a wrist injury.

Stemler is also committed to visiting SLU and Nebraska, and is still deciding on a visit to George Washington. Stemler has two more years of collegiate eligibility available.

Read about Stemler's choices here

Novak performs well in Portsmouth debut

Steve Novak scored 11 points on 4-9 shooting (2-6 from deep) and grabbed 3 rebounds in 26 minutes of action at the Portsmouth Invitational last night. Novak's team, MD Designs, won the game 79-74 over Sales System Ltd.

Click here for the Portsmouth results page. Novak's squad played last night at 9pm -- click on the link for game to view the play by play and box score. MD Designs plays this evening at 9pm EST against Holiay Inn Portsmouth.

Novak Debuts in Portsmouth Invitational Tonight

GoMarquette has a quick rundown of Steve Novak's participation in the Portsmouth Invitational. Novak's first game is tonight at 9pm EDT. Here's the link.

Rosiak Touches all the Bases

OK, the headline is a mixed metaphor considering the subject matter .... but today's Rosiak article on MU is chock-full of useful info about the program: TC on Acker, Novak topping the Globetrotters on his way to Portsmouth, and Bennie Seltzer as the leading candidate to replace Prioleau. You can find the article here.

Bennie Seltzer was an assistant for the last nine years at Oklahoma. He played for Kelvin Sampson at Washington State (played very well, btw). Here is his bio from the OU site.

Recruiting Season Picks Up Today

Beginning at Noon EST today, NCAA basketball coaches were freed up to contact prospective recruits. There are a few dead periods, but in general, coaches can look to close the deal this month (in the case of Tom Crean).

Lance Stemler? Josh Love? Tyrone Nash? Phil Jones? Who knows, but you'd expect MU to have some sort of announcement about a spring signee shortly.

In addition, you'd figure that current high school juniors Scott Christopherson, Mac Koshwal, Trevor Mbakwe and Keaton Nankivil would be on Coach Crean's speed dial this month.

Congratulations to Dave Gavitt, Hall of Famer

In case you missed it, Dave Gavitt was selected to the the 2006 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame yesterday. Gavitt was a highly successful coach at Providence College before leaving coaching at the age of 43. Soon after, Gavitt founded the nation's premier college basketball conference, the BIG EAST.

Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe delivered a fine column about Gavitt.

Prioleau leaving for Iowa State

In a bit of a head scratching move, MU assistant coach, Jean Prioleau is leaving to become an assistant coach at Iowa State for new coach, Greg McDermott, according to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=2

In Rosiak's article, Crean is quoted as saying that the position will be filled very soon and that he already has his eyes on the replacement. One obvious replacement would be Tim Buckley, former MU assistant and recently fired Ball State head coach, although Buckley might be in line for the Canisius head job, as reported by the Ball State message board and the Buffalo News. http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20060401/1050830.asp

Another obvious candidate is Jon Harris, former MU cager, who has spent the last three years on the staff of former MU assistant and current UWGB head coach, Tod Kowalcyk, and is currently Coach K's top assistant. Harris came in mid-season during the Final Four run in 2002-2003 as a graduate assistant, and provided a spark on the staff in helping out big men Robert Jackson and Scott Merritt in practice.

If Crean wants to hire from within, there is also current director of basketball operations, Todd Townsend, and former MU star and NBA player, Tony Smith, who served as a special assistant this year while finishing his undergraduate degree. Of course, former MU star, Brian Wardle is also on the staff at UWGB, and there are many other options outside the Marquette family who could fill Prioleau's spot.

We wish Coach Prioleau luck in the future, and we're very disappointed he has decided to leave. This was almost certainly Coach Crean's best coaching year to date, and that was thanks in no small part to the wonderful assistant coaches he had in place this season.