Critics Get a Clue: Buzz and Crean 2 of Top Coaches in Country

Don't look now, but the haters of the last two Marquette coaches are having a bad year.

As I keep up with my running total of the bid chances for all 351 teams, I suddenly realized Virginia Tech had a bye in the ACC tournament and was up to 67th at www.kenpom.com. What? Weren't we all in shock when Alabama State of the SWAC started the season by going into Va Tech to stun Buzz and the Hokies?

Suddenly Virginia Tech has won five straight games to close out the ACC season and earn the buy as the 6th seed. No one expects them to win, but their most likely path would be to beat Florida State and Miami - both of which they beat by double digits during the current five game winning streak - to play a UVa team they beat once this year in the ACC semifinal.

The arrows directed at Buzz despite an unheard of three straight Sweet 16s at Marquette are unwarranted - that almost never happens and we will very likely never see it again despite my hopes for a great future at MU.

Then there is Tom Crean, who has clinched a Big Ten title. There was some glee in some MU circles on the "Tom Crean is on the hotseat" reports after the blow out loss at Duke early this season but guess what - the coach of Indiana is always on the hot seat. You cannot question the ability of a coach that is playing the final game of the season having already won the Big Ten regular season title.

We have a great coach and kudos to Marquette for the wonderful hiring of Steve Wojciechowski and making MU a part of the incredible effort to get the new Big East the Fox Sports deal that has us on TV almost every game and playing in Madison Square Garden.

But as soon as a new regime comes in - whether it is a coach or a CEO of a company - everyone starts telling a new story of how terrible the past regime really was and the gross incompetence that the team or company somehow survived.

Get a clue.

No Tom Crean, no Dwyane Wade. No Wade, and no Final Four run and in turn invitation to the Big East. We needed a sales prep to make Marquette basketball relevant again and he did.

No Buzz Williams and MU gets one final year of the Three Amigos and then the program goes second tier. Call me the next time MU makes three straight Sweet 16s. That just doesn't happen.

Wojo will be great too - but we were very lucky to have the last two.