Let’s take a minute to catch up with what’s been happening with Marquette Basketball.

Davante Gardner Invited to World University Games Camp

Marquette forward Davante Gardener was invited to training camp for 2013 USA Basketball Men’s World University Games team June 24-30 in Colorado Springs, CO.

Head coach Buzz Williams told GoMarquette.com:

“We are extremely happy for Davante and the opportunity to showcase his skills at the international level. It’s really as testament to his hard work and development that he has emerged as one of the top players in his age group and the entire experience will be beneficial to his continued improvement.”

The 2013 World University Games will be played in Kazan, Russia July 6-17. The team is led by Davidson College’s Bob McKillop, and assistant coaches John Beilein of Michigan and the University of South Carolina’s Frank Martin.

Best of luck to Davante Gardner at training camp.

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Marquette University’s head basketball coach Buzz Williams was named a court coach for USA Basketball U19 team training. Selections were made by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team committee.

Coach Williams along with Ed Cooley of Providence College and Tim Ryan from the College of Central Florida (NJCAA) were selected as the three court coaches that will assist at the 2013 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team during the June 14-19 training camp.

Coach Williams had this to say on his selection:

“It’s an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to represent the program while coaching with USA Basketball this summer. I am really looking forward to serving as a court coach, while at the same time working with some of not only the top players in the country, but some of the best coaches as well.”

Congrats to Coach Williams on his selection.

Here is the statement put out on the Marquette University men’s basketball Facebook page today:

“Freshman forward Steve Taylor, Jr., of the Marquette University men’s basketball program underwent elective surgery to his right knee in order to remove a benign growth on Wednesday morning.

Surgery was conducted by Dr. Ted Gertel, MD, the team’s orthopaedic surgeon, at Aurora Sinai Medical Center. The estimated recovery time is 3-4 months and the successful procedure addressed an issue that had existed for a number of years.

Taylor is expected to be released from the hospital Friday afternoon.”

We wish him the best of luck on his recovery.

Marquette junior Vander Blue will forgo his senior year to enter the NBA Draft. He plans to sign with an agent.

Vander Blue ends his three-year career at Marquette with 80 starts in 106 games. He has career averages of 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per outing. He finished with 982 points and just missed becoming the 45th player in school history with 1,000 career points.

Here are Vander Blue’s thoughts on his career at Marquette:

“I’ve had three great years here and appreciate everything Marquette has done for me during that time to help me develop. At this point I want to pursue my dream. I’ve prayed about it and discussed it with my family and think this is the right decision for me at this time.”

“I really want to thank all of the coaches and staff at Marquette for helping me become a better player and a man,” Blue added. “I also loved and appreciate the support shown by Marquette fans across the country during my career, especially during home games at the Bradley Center.”

Head coach Buzz Williams said this about Vander Blue:

“As a program, we are all very thankful for everything Vander has done to help our team over the last three years, but more importantly I admire the growth he has made off the floor as a person. He has had success in each role that he has played every year he has been here, and has continued to improve. We will always be grateful for his contributions and wish him nothing but the best in his professional career.”

Best of luck to Vander Blue in the NBA Draft.

Marquette defeated Miami, 71-61, to move on the the Elite 8. The Golden Eagles showed up in top form and Miami just couldn’t catch up. This will be Marquette’s first Elite 8 appearance since 2003.

Vander Blue scored 14 points, Jamil Wilson added 16 points and eight rebounds and Davante Gardner had 14 points.

Here is a post game interview by Marquette’s Juan Anderson as he interviews his teammates.

Former Marquette basketball star Steve Novak visits with the team after the win over Miami.

Marquette defeated Butler, 74-72, in another crazy game. It came down to the final seconds but Marquette was able to hold Butler to move onto the Sweet 16.

Davante Gardner made two free throws with under five seconds left in the second half. That gave Marquette a four point lead over Butler but a goaltending call gave them a two point lead. It was a crazy last three second with turnovers galore but the Golden Eagles were able to stay on top in the end.

Marquette’s Vander Blue scored 29 points.

Here are Head Coach Buzz Williams’ post game thoughts to the team.

Marquette defeated Davidson,59-58, in the final seconds of the second round of the NCAA  Tournament. This is proof that the Golden Eagles do not give up despite being down.

Here are analyst Charles Barkley’s thoughts on the game:

“This game is a perfect example of why I would never coach. Because there is no way in the world Davidson should have lost that game. You take your hat off to (coach) Buzz (Williams) and his guys. But Davidson’s got to feel like – sometimes you have to say to yourself did they win or did we lose it? Davidson lost that game.”

I am still so stunned by this game. Enjoy some video recaps of the game.

Vander Blue NCAA Tournament Post-Game vs. Davidson

Coach Williams’ Post Game Locker Room Speech

Marquette faces Davidson in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Here’s a little about Davidson.

The Davidson Wildcats were the Southern Conference Champions this season. Davidson’s head coach, Bob McKillop, has made six appearances in the NCCA tournament. His team enters the second round on a 17 game winning streak.

The Wildcats are an experienced team with three seniors and two juniors in the line up. They are led by two time conference player of the year Jake Cohen. He averages 14.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Junior De’Mon Brooks averages 3.4 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game which is a team-high. As a team Davidson is an 80.1% free throw shooting team led by the nation’s top free throw shooter senior Nik Cochran at 95.5%.

Both of these teams have experienced players that have played in an NCAA Tournament game. Davidson has a better record than Marquette but has not had much experience on the road. This game is going to be very close. We’ll see how it plays out on Thursday at 2:10 pm CST.

The Marquette Golden Eagles received a number 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament East Region.

Marquette finished 23-8 overall and 14-4 in the Big East.

Head Coach Buzz Williams had this to say on the no. 3 seed selection:

“I think it’s deserved. For us to have won 14 games (in the Big East) with what we lost says a lot about these kids.”

The Marquette Golden Eagles will face Davidson on Thursday.

Marquette fell to Notre Dame, 73-65. Notre Dame could not stop hitting threes and that was to the detriment of Marquette. The game was very close until the end. Notre Dam pulled away to win it.

Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton scored 18 points including six 3-pointers.

Marquette’s Jamil Wilson had 16 points and Junior Cadougan added 14 points.

Here are some highlights and post game remarks.