MILWAUKEE — A 27-year-old assistant coach at Northwestern State University in 1999, Buzz Williams was asked what his ultimate coaching fantasy was.
"As a Division I head coach, my team wins the conference championship in a game televised by ESPN, with all the players' families in the stands," he said in a quote printed on the team's game programs. "Each player goes on to graduate with honors."
Though the second and third part of his dream may not come true, Williams enters the weekend with a great chance at winning that league championship for Marquette.
With a victory against St. John's at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Williams and his Golden Eagles will clinch at least a share of the school's first Big East Conference title after being picked to finish seventh in the preseason.
Oh, and Saturday's game is being televised by ESPN, so the entire nation can watch the Big East's best coach at work. In a league that includes legends Jim Boeheim and Rick Pitino and single-season standouts from other schools, it's Buzz Williams who should be the league's Coach of the Year if his team wins the championship.
It's difficult to praise the work Williams has done this season without appearing to criticize his players, but few would argue that the Big East's heavyweights step on the floor each game with more talent than Marquette. Syracuse, Louisville and Georgetown all have future NBA lottery picks on their rosters, and the Golden Eagles might not have a single player who will ever dress for an NBA game.
When the NCAA tournament field is announced a week from Sunday, the majority of bracket predictions filled out by the experts will have at least one of Syracuse, Louisville or Georgetown in the Final Four. None will have Marquette, yet the Golden Eagles can at least share the title in the league in which they all play.
Williams has gotten his players to buy into his way. He made it from Northwestern State to Marquette by chasing his dream with relentless pursuit, never satisfied even to this day. Ask a Marquette player about a big win and it won't be long into the answer before that player says it's over and his mind is on the next game. These guys are well-schooled.
You beat Syracuse? OK, now can you get up early the next day to focus on getting better in practice and going to class? Williams has mastered getting his team to play with the edge with which he coaches, almost playing to prove him wrong when he constantly says it isn't any good.
Does Georgetown's John Thompson III deserve to be Big East Coach of the Year? Of course he does. Picked to finish fifth in the Big East, Thompson had his team ranked fifth in the nation before losing Wednesday and is a win against Syracuse away from at least a share of the conference crown.
If Williams doesn't win a piece of the title and Thompson does, it will be hard to argue against the Georgetown coach. But if Thompson doesn't have that separator and both share the conference championship, Williams will have exceeded expectations by a greater margin and done it with less talent.
The Hoyas have the favorite for Big East Player of the Year and one of the favorites for the Naismith Trophy in Otto Porter. Marquette was the only team to lose two first-team All-Big East players from a year ago and had nobody on any of the preseason All-Big East teams.
Connecticut's Kevin Ollie and Villanova's Jay Wright should be considered for the Coach of the Year award, but neither has matched Williams or Thompson this season. Ollie has kept his Huskies afloat and competitive despite NCAA sanctions preventing UConn from competing in the postseason. Wright has guided a team predicted to finish 12th in the league from early-season struggles to a possible NCAA bid.
Both have done a fine job, but neither will come close to winning the league.
If recent history is any indication as to how Tuesday's vote will turn out, coaches who exceed expectations are usually rewarded. Last season, Stan Heath was Coach of the Year after South Florida finished fourth in the league and made the NCAA Tournament when it was picked to finish 14th.
In 2011, Mike Brey took home the honor after leading Notre Dame to third place in a tough league when the Irish were projected to finish seventh. Jim Boeheim won in 2010, when Syracuse won the league despite being expected to be rebuilding and in the middle of the pack.
On Dec. 19, Marquette traveled north to Wisconsin-Green Bay and was humiliated by an intrastate rival. The Golden Eagles were upset by an average mid-major Phoenix team and looked bad in the process.
Back home in Milwaukee, the sky was falling. Fans were ready to write off the season, the school's NCAA Tournament streak was going to end with a thud and sights were set on next year, when a top-10 recruiting class will hit campus.
This team was just not good enough. Didn't have the go-to guy.
Since that night, Vander Blue has grown into a first-team All-Big East player, Davante Gardner has developed into the Big East's Sixth Man of the Year, Todd Mayo has re-emerged and Jamil Wilson has found consistency. All that happening at once is no coincidence.
Another question on Northwestern State's program asked Williams for a few of his favorite quotes."Are you kidding me?" and "Get it done, chief!" made the list of three.
Both are fitting because the first would have been the reaction to any preseason talk of a conference title at Marquette and the second is all Williams has to do Saturday to put an exclamation on a coaching masterpiece. Get it done, chief, indeed.
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