Debacle tells Deane: Time for a change

0 Comments | Milwaukee Journal, The, Jan 13, 1995 | by DARRYL O. LEDBETTER

The Journal staff

Mike Deane, Marquette University's first-year coach, has seen enough dispirited play.

There will be changes. Immediately.

"I'm sure that there will be one change in the starting lineup," Deane said. "That's in my mind right now. I don't like to make decisions based out of frustration or emotion so I will wait until {Friday} in practice. But I suspect that there will be at least one change in the starting lineup."

The change could be veteran Will Gates or freshman Zack McCall for either Roney Eford or Anthony Pieper.

A humbling 91-64 thrashing by the University of Cincinnati on national television in Marquette's Great Midwest Conference opener at Bradley Center has Deane searching for answers.

A crowd of 12,293 was on hand, but most of them headed for the exits early Thursday night.

"The attitude has changed here," Deane said. "Some guys are tentative. But I think the majority of guys are not dedicated and committed to the team and the program.

"We have some guys that are more concerned about their own individual interests. I think that happens with every team over a period of time, but I'm really frustrated because I don't know where the solution to the problem is."

The Bearcats improved to 11-5 overall, 2-0 in the Great Midwest.

"It felt good to kick somebody's {behind,}" Cincinnati's Danny Fortson said. "It was easy. We made up our minds that it was going to be easy tonight."

The Bearcats were calling the Golden Eagles "soft" after the spanking, Marquette's worst since being drubbed by De Paul, 84-56, on Jan. 28, 1991.

"They didn't guard us hard in the post," Fortson said. "They pretty much let us do what we wanted to."

Fortson, a highly regarded freshman, finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Arthur Long had 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Bearcats were led by LaZelle Durden's 25 points.

Marquette, which has dropped three straight, was led by Anthony Pieper's 13 points. After opening the season, 6-0, Marquette has dipped to 8-4, 0-1.

"We are just soul searching right now," said Tony Miller, Marquette's senior point guard. "The guys have to go home and think about the future right now. The season is very far from over."

Cincinnati dominated from the beginning.

The Bearcats raced out to a 12-2 lead before the Golden Eagles scored their first field goal with 13 minutes 19 seconds left in the first half. Cincinnati's first three baskets were scored off offensive rebounds.

"It seems like we are willing to bang and knock each other around {in practice}," Deane said. "But when it comes time to go out on the floor and do it, there's a hesitation for some reason."

Cincinnati led, 18-9, before going on a 15-2 run to blow the game open. Fortson and Durden each scored six points during the spurt.

With the Bearcats up, 33-11, the Golden Eagles fans started booing.

"Wake up Mike Deane," one fan bellowed.

"Call a timeout because you need one," another said.

"You're making them look good. They are not better than Wisconsin," another fan barked.

Marquette never mounted a serious charge as Cincinnati eventually built a 30-point lead, 91-61.

Deane did not absolve himself nor his staff from blame.

"As I've watched this thing unfold, I've made some poor decision in regards to personnel early on in the season," Deane said. "I'm regretting them a great deal right now. Now that those decisions have been made, we have to move on and try to adjust and come up with a performance that's worthy of Marquette University. Something that the fans can get behind."

Deane was cautious about singling out players, but it's no secret that Eford and Pieper have struggled. Eford made only 2 of 7 shots. Pieper made just 2 of 11. Pieper has made just 17 of 63 shots (27%) over the least six games.

"We have a number of guys who obviously don't seem very confident shooting the basketball right now," Deane said. "We have to get the ball to the basket. We have to get guys to not hesitate."

Deane does not believe that Cincinnati is 27 points better than Marquette.

"I thought they played a solid basketball game," Deane said. "They played a physical basketball game. That's their style of play. But I didn't see anything extra special from Cincinnati that would suggest that we should not have been in that game at all."

Cincinnati assistant coach Larry Harrison agreed.

"They are not that bad, not 27 points," Harrison said.

Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins felt something was missing from the game. He missed chatting with former MU coach Kevin O'Neill.

"It is kind of strange because the dialogue during the game was always so entertaining from Kevin," Huggins said. "I wanted to mention Kevin because Kevin played last night and said that he'd mention me at his press conference if I mentioned him here."

Notebook: Marquette's series with Notre Dame is in jeopardy. The two schools have been playing since the 1919-'20 season.

Marquette athletic director Bill Cords talked about the series at halftime of the game on WISN-AM radio.

"I'm pretty sure that we are not going to be able to play on a consistent basis," Cords said. "They are going into the Big East and they play a lot of games in that conference. They have natural rivals, too, and quite frankly they will try to play some teams that they can probably beat, too. I understand that." . . .