The’ Marquette Warriors look to have another great season under the helm of McGuire.  Befit their nickname the Warriors battle every opponent as if it were a fight to the death.  McGuire uses his great recruiting skills to go into the inner cities ‘my rule is I wouldn’t recruit a kid who had grass in front of his house.  That’s not my world.  My world’s a cracked sidewalk’ and bring out some of the most talented kids in America.  He took their rough skills and molded them into a team that was worthy of challenging any team in the country on any given night.  Of course no man is an island and McGuire has one of the best assistant coaches in the country in Hank Raymonds, who the opposite end of the spectrum from his mentor being a detailed oriented instructor.  As McGuire said ‘Hank’s a perfectionist.  If he were married to Raquel Welch, he would expect her to cook.’  McGuire might be more known for his ability to entertain with his speech but he has all of his bases covered and he has players that match his personality.  ‘A team should be an extension of a coach’s personality.  My teams are arrogant and obnoxious.’

There are high expectations in Milwaukee as the season starts as McGuire brings back an experienced team that has done well in the National Spotlight of the NIT.  The bright lights of New York called the Warriors (ala Luther) after turning down a trip to the Big Dance as McGuire did not like his low seed and having to travel out West.  Now the Warriors are entering the brave new world of a power conference and with McGuire at the helm knew they were in for a very entertaining season.  McGuire was going to do whatever it takes to get attention to his Midwestern program including wearing bright yellow bumble bee uniforms and playing all comers anywhere.  Of course they did all of this before joining Conference USA but will continue to do so even with the strength of schedule of this new power conference.  Most of these teams were from the Independent ranks and were used to playing many different opponents and different levels.  McGuire was the Maestro and was becoming the voice of the college basketball with his one-liners and quips and his ‘David versus Goliath’ mentality and was willing to put his boys into the spotlight to prove they belonged with the elite. 

The Warriors were not all about McGuire and his phenomenal coaching and promoting.  He did have some talent as well.   Junior center Jim Chones is an example of the type of player McGuire has landed.  The Racine Rail as he was known was a big time recruit for McGuire as he brought the kind of size this program has been lacking before he joined their ranks.  Tough as nails underneath, Chones has the complete game for a post player.  He is a bit thin as his nickname implies but he can post up and rebound and uses his six foot eleven inch frame to intimidate the other team.  He is definitely an aircraft carrier that a team must have to compete in the open waters of NCAA play.  Nobody understands this better than McGuire and he went after Chones hard.  Chones is not from the Streets of New York or Chicago (though he does love his jazz and he is an accomplished bass guitarist) like most of McGuires recruits but he did have a hard time getting and staying eligible and avoiding injuries especially in the brutal C-USA with all of the beast underneath.  The Warriors were a completely different team when he was on the court.  Chones ended up missing 11 games this season and the Golden Eagles lost 6 of those.  When he was healthy and fit down the stretch he was integral to the success of his team with his superior defense and shot blocking and his solid offensive skills.  Chones may not have been the most known or received the most accolades but he was the most irreplaceable player on the roster.  The pros know this as they have ringing his phone non-stop since he got to Milwaukee and sooner or later this kid from a poor family is going to answer  and with McGuire’s blessing of course. 

Some people call him the Gangster of Love.  Some people call him Maurice.  Nobody defines the term power forward better than junior Maurice Lucas and nobody fits the style of play that McGuire wants to play better than Maurice.  ‘Luke’ is all man.  Tough as nails like the town he hails from , Pittsburgh PA, Lucas has a bit of a reputation as an ‘enforcer.’ He loves to mix it up underneath and will not back down from anybody.  His confrontation with Bill Laimbeer of Notre Dame almost led to a riot but Lucas went toe to toe with the much bigger Laimbeer and did not give an inch.  He did miss a few games due to suspensions but he like Chones made the Warriors better.  Lucas is not all about toughness.  He has a great offensive game.   He loves to score around the basket but has a solid mid-range game as well.  He draws fouls going strong and I mean strong to the hoop.  HE can also rebound with anybody.  The combination of Lucas and Chones down low has made the Golden Eagles a front line who can hang with anyone in the conference and maybe one of the best in the country.  They complement each other perfectly with Chones being the shot blocker and Lucas handling most of the dirty work.  Most importantly was that unlike the deep back court that McGuire has at his disposal he really only had two studs down low.  When either one misses a game the Golden Eagles struggle even against lesser teams (which they did not play many) but had no chance versus the Big Dogs.  Maurice truly was the heart of this team as well as the baddest enforcer in the game but Luke can also play a little basketball.  But is he the pompatus of Love?

These two might have provided the size and the muscle but the heart and soul and the toughest guy on the team is fellow Junior Butch Lee.  McGuire found a diamond in the rough in the Puerto Rican transplant.  He came to the Bronx and learned the tougher side of the game the hard way.  On the glorious streets of NYC.  The point guard is one of the best defenders in the Midwest and knows how to lead a team.   He set the stage with his gritty play and splendid courtmanship.  Quick as a cat, Lee is known for being tough as nails but is also a very solid scorer who takes good care of the ball and gets his teammates the ball.  He loves running the show and is a great general for McGuire.  Lee was challenged a bit this year as McGuire has recruited some great back court players to Milwaukee but the kid never missed a beat and shook off all challengers being one of two guys on the roster to not miss a game and the only one to not miss a start. McGuire loves this kid’s heart and he is already a legend in his home territory as he was the leader of their national team last summer that got a bronze in the PanAm Games almost pulling off the upset of the tournament over the US.  

Senior Don Kojis mans the other forward spot (most of the time) and he too is a tough hombre.  Only six four, Kojis is a monster on the boards.  He has leapers like a kangaroo and almost perfect timing.  This hometown kid is the only carryover from before McGuire but Al kept him around due to his desire and heart.  He just won’t give in or give up and as many times as it looked like somebody was bypassing him in the rotation that is one heck of a quality to have.  He has a fine touch but at times gets overmatched by quicker players though he usually makes up for this with his determination.  He did lose minutes as the year progressed to some younger more athletic Warriors.  He is a marksmen from the corner and plays tough man defense and is not afraid to mix it up.  He is not the street type of player he usually recruits but McGuire loved having him around for leadership and his overall solid game.  

McGuire will the season with cat quick Dean ‘The Dream’ Meminger at the other guard opposite Lee.  Meminger loves to drive but also has decent range.  He is not overly physical and sometimes got overmatched against bigger guards.  He was the MVP of last year’s run to the NIT title and he is quick or as McGuire would say ‘Dean Meminger was quicker than a 11:15 Mass at a seaside resort.’ Realistically Meminger has the game of a point guard as he is a good distributor but with Lee around he was kind of stuck as the two.  At least until McGuire can find somebody to move him into the more suitable combo guard he was made to be.   Either that or he beats out Lee at point as this teams needs a more athletic (and bigger) two that can match up with the Big O’s and Darrell Griffiths of this new league.  McGuire is going after a few much bigger and athletic wings to fill this void and these kids will get thrown into the fire like all of McGuire’s great recruits do.  He does not have enough depth on this roster to wait for kids to develop.   

McGuire has a deep bench with which to choose from.  Senior George Thompson is natural scorer on the wing.  Thompson is very important to the history of this program as he was McGuire’s first major recruit.  He plucked him right off the streets of Harlem and he became an instant star.  Thompson is small for a wing (a tad under six three) but he knows how to get to the hoop and score.  He is blacksmith strong and uses this strength to maneuver into the key and battle with the big boys.  He is as good as there is at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line.  He got some starts early but McGuire wanted his instant offense off the bench and he was correct per usual.  It shows you how unselfish Thompson is that he would accept this new role after being the star of the team for the last two years.  Thompson can flat get to the hoop ala Wade and McGuire did not want both of these guys starting next to each other.  He understands balance and he wanted Thompson to be the Wade clone (or vice versa) to keep that pressure on the other team.  Thompson as McGuire would tell was the key to the development of his program as it showed that Al could go into the inner cities and was willing to bring some of this incredible talent back to Milwaukee and give these kids a chance to not only develop their games but get educations.  Someday his # 24 will be hanging from the rafters of the Bradley.  Glenn “Doc” Rivers is a playmaking big guard who has great range.  He is a tough matchup for anyone and has a sense for the game.  He got quality minutes and produced well especially defensively with his long reach and high basketball IQ. McGuire got him into games as much as possible as he did not like him sitting next to him trying to tell him what to do if he were the Coach.   Junior Jerome Whitehead was an able backup up front to Chones.  A spaceater and rebounder, Whitehead brings toughness to the Warriors as if they didn’t already have enough.  Freshman Jim McIlvane is the best shot blocker on the team and got some minutes but is a true project offensively and McGuire only used him in special situations, primarily games that Chones missed.  Bo Ellis has played in every game since he was a freshman and started some.  He is a winner and a solid combo forward.  He does not have the talent of some of his peers but gets the job done with smarts and willingness.  Ellis is more suited as a four and is tough on the boards and very tricky but McGuire did play him against some bigger threes.  Larry ‘the Hawk’ McNeill and Earl Tatum, both New York kids with McGuire’s pipeline, also got some minutes and produced when called upon.  Tatum is an offensive wing stuck behind Wade and Thompson and Kojis though he had some big games early on.  He lost some major minutes when Wade basically took over the team but McGuire used him at some opportune times down the stretch.  McNeill is a gifted big man who is very aggressive who got some minutes when Chones and Lucas had to miss time.  He had some huge games including one where he did not miss a shot (Minnesota) and scored 20 points (ten for ten shooting) with 8 boards to lead the Golden Eagles back to victory.  Maybe most important was when McGuire decided to bring up freshman Wes Matthews from the JV squad.  McGuire and his assistant Hank Raymonds have stockpiled talent and their JV team coached by Buzz Williams/Tom Crean made the national sweet 16 in their tournament.  The biggest weakness for the Golden Eagles is three point shooting and he has recruited heavily to fill the void. This group of backups all brought something unique to the court and McGuire was the master of knowing how and when and how often to use them.  McGuire understands the expectations of being a role player as he was once a bench player for the Knicks why his brother Dick was the star.  ‘My role on the Knickerbockers was to go in and disrupt the opposition, to throw off their rhythm, to change the game.  They called a scrambler, that’s where I came up with the group called scrambled eggs at Marquette.’ McGuire did indeed have a special group called ‘scrambled eggs’ that he would use once every three or four games to shake things up when the regular rotations were not working or there seemed to be some complacency on the court.  McGuire does not like complacency.  Of course in one game McGuire came to his coach and pleaded to go in and told him that “I can stop Cousy.” Inserted into the lineup McGuire proceeded to foul him on the next six trips down the court. 

The Marquette Golden Eagles hope to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament.  Coach Al McGuire has put together a special group of players from all corners of the country (especially the paved ones) and he has taught them how to win.  A tough schedule in the new super Conference-USA will prepare them well.  With most of his players returning, no one would be surprised to see the colorful McGuire cutting down the ropes next year and then turn and fly away into the clouds in his final game with the perfect Grease ending.