Marquette's Buzz Williams Has Flawed Recruiting Pattern

The suspension of Todd Mayo has sparked a lot of conversation about Buzz Williams and the players he recruits.  Williams has taken a lot of criticism for adding so many junior college transfers to the roster, especially since Marquette is such a good academic school.

This is Mayo’s third suspension for not complying with academic requirements while being a member of the Golden Eagles, yet he was not kicked off the team.  It sounds like the prior suspensions really taught him a lesson.

Williams attests his open-minded recruiting to his own past, a JUCO transfer himself.  He feels that he can relate to people that have had a rough past, therefore, is willing to give them the opportunity to play and attend school at a place like Marquette.

Although this is a nice idea, its hard to coach kids that go in and out of being suspended and often do not appreciate the education being offered to them.  It hurts the reputation of both your school and your basketball program to receive negative attention in the press for suspensions like those of Todd Mayo.

In the past, Darius Johnson-Odom, Junior Cadougan and Vander Blue have all been suspended for various reasons.  There seems to be a constant theme among the Marquette players, yet Williams has not taken this into consideration while recruiting.

It is hard to credit your players for having good character or commitment to your program when they are doing things that contradict that and result in constant suspensions.

Williams might want to reconsider his recruiting criteria in the future for the sake of Marquette’s reputation.