I've watched, with a combination of amusement and annoyance, as some have posted negative comments on the recent signing of Marial Shayock. Clearly, this signing was a debacle. I mean who needs a 6-7, 4-star player who has only begun to scratch his potential. I too would like to see us sign a post player but the fact of the matter remains that great post players are difficult to procure. We have two on our current roster (Chris and Davante) neither of which were highly recruited out of high school. Both, thanks to their own ability and strong coaching, have become good players. However, the fact remains that the truly great post players, if your program is fortunate enough to sign one, are likely to only be around for a season. I am very hopeful that young Mr. Stone will select his hometown school and re-team with Duane Wilson to provide Marquette fans with some great moments. Apparently, we seem to be in good shape but only time will tell.

That said many Marquette fans have become very jaded and somewhat ridiculous in the critical comments regarding the program and more specifically the recruiting efforts. This class now features four 4-star recruits (although some may speculate the Mr. Harris might no longer be a member) and comes on the heels on a top 10 class (Mr. McKay's disappointing departure notwithstanding). This is a golden era in Marquette basketball. Coach Williams has elevated the program to the point where we are seriously considered by many of the nation's best players. I have complete faith in Buzz, and his staff, to secure not only players that can perform exceptionally well on the court, but also possess the character and intellectual capacity to achieve success socially and academically.

I was struck yesterday with the announcement that Matt Farrell, a point guard from New Jersey, had verbally committed to Boston College. Apparently, young Mr. Farrell selected BC over offers from Dartmouth and Monmouth. Clearly, Mr. Farrell must be a very bright young man to attract the interest of such demanding academic schools as BC and Dartmouth but it's also clear that BC's basketball program has clearly fallen upon lean times when they are reduced to beating out the aforementioned schools for talent. I'm not taking a shot at Mr. Farrell as I'm sure he's a fine young man and a good basketball player. However, I can only imagine the meltdown, throughout Marquette nation, if we beat out similar schools for a recruit. The fact is there was a time (which many of us lived through) where we had a great X & O coach (much like Donahue at BC) whose recruiting skills were equally questionable. We would routinely beat out such powers as Evansville and Loyola for recruits with the hopes that Coach Deane would be able to "coach them up." The results were occasional breakthrough recruits (Wardle, Henry) but more often then not less than stellar results. So let's give this staff the credit they deserve and trust that they will find the right student/athletes to sustain and even improve upon the success they have achieved. Will there be bumps (McKay being the latest)? Sure, but all in all I have to say the results speak for themselves and those results have been outstanding!