Over the years, the relationship between Orsen and Amplo has developed on and off the field to the point where Amplo now turns to one of his former players for advice.

“I loved playing for him,” Orsen said. “On the field he is very intense. Off the field, you could talk to him about any problems you might have in your life.”

When Amplo was coaching with the Pride, Orsen was an instrumental player in the team’s run to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Tournament. In his junior and senior year, Orsen served as captain due to his leadership and versatility. He was flexible and open to playing any position on the field, which ultimately strengthened his I.Q. of the game.

“While being a good defender, you have to have an offensive mentality,” Orsen said. “After playing as an attackman my whole life, I knew what an attackman’s tendencies were. As a defender you’re trying to take that away.”

Amplo believes that Orsen’s transition as a player speaks the values of the traits he wants to instill in his team now.

“The most important thing that I want to instill in the guys here at Marquette is to buy into our team concept of doing everything for the team first,” Amplo said. “There’s not a person that I’ve been around that exemplifies that more than (Orsen). He put the team ahead of himself.”

Orsen is still growing as a recruiter and as a coach. Before arriving at Marquette, he spent the last few years as a manager for Trinity Lacrosse, one of the more renowned lacrosse programs that offers summer camps and clinics all around the country.

According to Orsen, teaching fundamentals to five-year-olds is not as easy as it sounds, and he uses the experiences from Trinity Lacrosse to reiterate the importance of nailing the basics on the field.

After working with Orsen for a year, assistant coach Stephen Brundage believes that the coaching staff made do with what it had in 2011-’12 and realized there will be obstacles on the road to the Big East.

“It hasn’t been the smoothest road, but we knew that going in,” Brundage said. “But overall, our guys have been great to and have worked their tails off. All the stuff we don’t have yet hasn’t bothered us because we just want to work and get better.”

Practices for the men’s lacrosse team ended earlier in the week and the team’s last day of weight lifting sessions was on Tuesday. Following the season, Orsen will be suiting up for Team USA in the 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in the Czech Republic. Amplo looks back on the year with his two assistants and could not be more thankful for their work.

“I want to thank them for believing in my vision for the program and understanding that there will be obstacles and challenges,” Amplo said. “They get more excited about those challenges than I do, and I need that as a head coach. I need guys that believe in the same things just as much as I do. They’ve shown that to me, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

No, it’s not difficult to see why Buzz Williams likes his newest guard.

The sixth junior college commitment for Williams in five recruiting classes, the 6-foot-4 combination guard from Dennison, Tex. will help fill the void left by Darius Johnson-Odom’s graduation.

“He’s got a great personality and a million-dollar smile,” said Chuck Taylor, T.J.’s junior college coach. “He’s very coachable and respectful, and people really love him around campus. He’s going to be something to see for three years.”

Like Johnson-Odom and Williams, Taylor did not take the easy road to Marquette.

After selecting Oklahoma over Marquette as a high school senior, Taylor spent one semester playing for Jeff Capel and the Oklahoma Sooners, where he suffered a concussion in preseason workouts. He never stepped on the court at Oklahoma, transferring to Paris Junior College, where he played last season.

Taylor averaged 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Dragons, leading his team to a 23-7 record. In addition to his all-conference and all-region team honors, he was also named a third-team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Jae Crowder, Dwight Buycks and Johnson-Odom (first team), Joe Fulce (second team) and Jimmy Butler (honorable mention) earned All-American accolades at their respective junior colleges before committing to Marquette.

“History has proven that the guys we have signed with three years of eligibility remaining have been really good for us,” Williams said. “And I have great belief that T.J. will be next in that line.”

Taylor also received MVP honors at the Paris JC basketball awards ceremony Monday night and was named the Paris student-athlete of the year.

Taylor was used primarily on the wing at Paris, allowing the freshman to stretch the defense and attack the basket. He said he can play point guard if necessary, and he excels in transition offense. The lefty also took on more of a vocal leadership role as the season progressed.

Taylor originally chose Oklahoma over Marquette because of location and familiarity, but his sustained relationship with Williams and former assistant coach Tony Benford made his second Division I commitment an easy one.

Though he had not taken any visits to Marquette before he committed, Taylor made a trip to Milwaukee for Marquette Madness. Taylor said he enjoyed the atmosphere and formed relationships with sophomores Vander Blue and Jamil Wilson.

Blue, who has made efforts to guide younger players, shared words of wisdom with Taylor on the visit.

“(Blue) told me to come in and work hard, and he told me it was going to be rough but that I’d be able to get through,” Taylor said. “Jamil (Wilson) told me the same thing, that it’s all mental.”

Taylor will arrive at Marquette with no true Division I experience, but he may be forced into a significant role in the Marquette backcourt.

Johnson-Odom started 34 of 35 games last season, averaging a team-high 18.5 points that Marquette will need to replace.

Junior Cadougan, Todd Mayo and Vander Blue are all in line to start, but Taylor’s versatility could push him into an important role off the bench, much like Mayo had last season.

Regardless of position in the rotation, Taylor said he is prepared to make the most of his second chance.

“I get to show everyone what I can do,” T.J. Taylor said. “I’ve been the underdog my whole life, and now I have a point to prove.”

In doing so, I am very lucky to have been able to work with a few people that have directly affected my work in a very positive way. Those people are all seniors, and will be graduating later this month, meaning I probably won’t get to work with them ever again. This column is my way of saying thank you to them.

Through Marquette Radio, I got to work with Michael Wottreng, who gave me my first chance last year. Michael hired me as an assistant sports director and gave me the chance to meet people and have experiences I will never forget. He went from being my boss to someone who has become a great friend.

After getting hired by the Tribune in November, I was able to work with three guys who have each been fantastic to me.

Mike Nelson, who was editor of the sports desk until February, gave me the chance to write this column every week. I had a bit of writing background, but he thought I would do well for this paper. Because of that, I have discovered how well this paper is run and the great people that are a part of it.

Mark Strotman wrote most of the content on Paint Touches this year and showed incredible commitment in doing so. He would talk to players and write stories when he didn’t have to. But he did so to keep the Marquette basketball faithful up to date and entertained throughout the season.

Before I was hired by the paper, I would always read Andrei Greska’s columns, and every time I did I would always think the same thing afterward: “Wow.” So when I was hired to be the Thursday sports columnist, I felt plenty of pressure to follow up what he wrote. He has helped me improve my writing through his writing and editing. Because of Andrei, my vocabulary has forever been augmented.

MUTV has introduced me to two people that have both been great examples, and I’m pretty sure neither one knows how influential they have been to me.

Donnie Dwyer is the most enthusiastic and energetic person I have met in broadcasting. Through appearing on the MUTV show he produced, I’ve seen his passion for both the behind-the-scenes and on-air aspects of the show.

I know he has sent tapes to every station possible that is hiring, and I know one of them will see what anyone who has worked with him has seen and will give him the chance to start a successful career.

I also was an intern at 540 ESPN Milwaukee during my sophomore year, and I met plenty of people who have helped me grow. Maria Sapienza works part-time at the station and is also the director of Client Productions at MUTV.

I was able to work with Maria a lot at the station, and from this experience I learned more than she will ever realize. Saying Maria is fun to work with is an understatement, but she also knows when it is time to get work done. I have looked up to Maria’s attitude and energy ever since I worked my first promotional event with her.

It’s not only these six seniors who have greatly helped me throughout my time at Marquette. To the rest of you whom I didn’t mention, and you know who you are, thank you. While things about Marquette are fantastic. The people I have met and the friendships I have made are second to absolutely nothing.

Coming off a home meet against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Illinois-Chicago and Northwestern, the team returns to South Florida, where it opened its outdoor campaign. Coach Bert Rogers is taking his biggest group of qualifiers to the conference championship.

Senior thrower Robert Bleem believes the larger crowd is going to help as one of the team’s strengths is voicing support for one another.

“Marquette definitely has a bigger voice than most teams. We cheer every teammate on and want them to achieve their best,” Bleem said. “Having a big crowd is going to get people amped up and personal bests could be in place.”

For some, like junior sprinter Kyle Winter, it will be a more tactical race as he will see what the competition is doing before he decides how fast he will go. At the 2012 Big East Indoor Championship, everyone started off slow which allowed Winter to kick at the very end and pick off the competition for the win.

If the other runners start off fast, Winter could be getting some help as he tries to reach a regional qualifying time. Winter ran a 48.30 in their last visit to South Florida. This week at practice the sprinters are focused on “revving the engine.”

“We’ve been doing speed all week. We’re not doing miles,” Winter said. “We’re keeping our bodies pretty healthy and just working on speed to rev the engine.”

Rogers sees big performances coming from Winter on the men’s side, where he could be joined by several seniors like sprinter Tyler O’Brien, distance runner Jack Hackett and thrower Jonathan Kusowski to make noise at the championship.

“We’ve got a number of guys in a number of different areas that I think can get us points,” Rogers said. “I’m pretty excited about where our guys stand, and I think we want to do like we did at the indoor championship.”

On the women’s side, the focus will be on individual performances as they finished last at the 2012 Big East Indoor Championship. Rogers believes the athletes will display some personal bests.

There will still be a few meets once the conference championship concludes. The goal of those meets is to serve as a last chance opportunity for those athletes to try and secure their spot in the top 48 of their respective event in order to participate in the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Austin, Tex.

With their careers starting to come to an end, Bleem foresees some great times being run by the senior.

“Everyone’s got a little fire in their eyes right before they’re done,” Bleem said. “We’re going to see great marks between Blake Johnson, Peter Bolgert, and Tyler O’Brien because they’re all wanting to go out with a bang and show off what they’ve achieved in their time here.”

Calum Mallace has yet to see action in a game for the Montreal Impact due to injury. Photo by Elise Krivit/elise.krivit@marquette.edu

In October, Calum Mallace was leading Marquette to a conference championship as the Big East Midfielder of the Year.

In January, he was picked in the MLS Superdraft by the Montreal Impact with the first selection of the second round. Now, his focus is breaking into the Impact lineup as a rookie.

Mallace has yet to make an appearance for the Impact, an expansion team in its first season.

He was part of the 18-man squad for the first four games of the season, but did not make it off the bench. Mallace recently suffered an ankle injury and just started training again about a week and a half ago.

Mallace is staying positive, saying he is extremely lucky to even have this opportunity, and to get paid to play the game he loves every day.

“I wake up every morning (and) go straight to training, which is the best feeling ever,” Mallace said. “I love training as much as I love games. To wake up and be able to do that every day, play the game I love, and get paid to do that, it’s an amazing feeling. I’m very lucky to be able to do that.”

The Impact’s Davy Arnaud, a midfielder, is one of the longest tenured players in the MLS: striker Bernardo Corradi has played all around Italy and scored goals wherever he’s been, and defender Matteo Ferrari has played in the UEFA Champions League.

Mallace said he doesn’t really notice he is playing against players like that until a training session is over and he can look back on it.

“You don’t really think about it in training when you’re playing against them,” Mallace said. “But after (training) you kind of take a step back and say, ‘Wow, these guys have played with the best at the highest level and hopefully they’re making me better.’”

For the rest of the season, Mallace doesn’t have a certain number of appearances he’s hoping for. As a rookie in the MLS, it is difficult to break into the starting lineup.

So Mallace is planning on working as hard as he can for the rest of the season so he gets his chance with the team.

“If I got the start next game and played every game for the rest of the season, that would be a dream,” Mallace said. “But that’s obviously not going to happen. So right now for me individually, it’s just pushing myself along every day, and contributing to the team as much as I can, and if or when I get that opportunity I’m definitely going to take it.”

Louis Bennett, Mallace’s coach at Marquette, said Mallace has a very bright career ahead of him and said he “would expect him to play about 15 games” this season.

Bennett said because of the franchise being in its inaugural season, the Impact needs to play experienced players and win games. But once Mallace gets his feet on the ground and the season gets going, he’ll break onto the team and make a difference.

“He’s definitely got the attitude,” Bennett said. “So when that door opens fully, he’s going to push it open and run straight through.”

10. Three volleyball players named All-Americans

Junior middle hitter Danielle Carlson, freshman setter Chelsea Heier and senior outside hitter Ciara Jones were named Honorable Mention All-Americans for their efforts last season. The three raised coach Bond Shymansky’s number of All-Americans at Marquette to six. The Marquette program has seen just eight All-Americans in its history.

9. Mallace becomes first Marquette player drafted by an MLS team

Calum Mallace, who was named the 2011 Big East Midfielder of the Year, was drafted 20th overall by the Montreal Impact on Jan. 12. Mallace finished his career at Marquette with 13 goals and 13 assists and was named Second Team All-American in 2011 by College Soccer News.

8. Kulla named Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year

Not only did Natalie Kulla finish her career as the most decorated goalkeeper in Marquette history, she also took home the Big East Scholar Athlete of the Year, the first for any athlete at Marquette. Kulla was named the Big East Goalkeeper of the Year twice and is the holder of Marquette’s single season (16) and career (43) shutout records.

7. Cross-country matches best Big East finish ever

A seventh place finish at the Big East Conference Cross Country Championships for the men’s cross-country team equaled its highest finish at the Championships since joining the Big East in 2005. The team then went on to finish eighth at the NCAA Great Lakes Region Championships the following weekend, which was the team’s highest finish at that meet since 2007.

6. Mitchell records win No. 300

Although it was a rebuilding year for the women’s basketball program, head coach Terri Mitchell picked up her 300th career win in a 96-35 rout of New Orleans on Nov. 29. Mitchell finished her 16th season on the bench with Golden Eagles with a record of 310-188 and is the winningest coach in program history.

5. A three-peat for women’s soccer

While the men’s soccer and women’s volleyball team’s shocked a lot of people with their runs this year, the women’s soccer team continued its dominance of the Big East and college soccer landscape by winning its third straight American Division title. Marquette advanced to the NCAA Tournament and knocked off Toledo before falling to Penn State in the second round.

4. Volleyball earns first NCAA Tournament bid

After coming within a set of playing for the Big East Championship on its home court, the Marquette women’s volleyball team had to wait in angst to see if it would be invited to the NCAA Tournament. The word came and the Golden Eagles knocked off Western Kentucky 3-1 before falling to eventual national runner-up Illinois on the Fighting Illini’s home floor.

3. Men’s soccer shocks the Big East

For the first time in program history, the Marquette men’s soccer team won the Big East Blue Division after a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh on Oct. 29. The title was the Golden Eagles’ first since 2002 and just the third in program history. Marquette was picked sixth in the eight-team division to begin the year but finished 9-8-2 overall and 6-2-0 in conference play.

2. Crowder named Big East Player of the Year

Crowder finished the regular season averaging 17.6 points per game, which ranked third in the Big East, and also hauled in 7.9 rebounds per game, the No. 9 mark in the conference. Crowder was also a pest on defense, recording 88 steals, which put him one back of the regular season program record. Crowder was also an AP Second Team All-American selection and was named to the John R. Wooden Award All-America Team.

1. Golden Eagles soar to second straight Sweet 16

Led by the senior leadership of guard Darius Johnson-Odom and Crowder, the Marquette men’s basketball team cruised to a 25-6 regular season record and finished second in the Big East, its highest finish ever. After wins over BYU and Murray State, only a cold shooting night against Florida prevented a rubber match with Louisville for a spot in the Final Four.

Julie Jeziorowksi is looking forward to getting away from the rigors of structured life as a student athlete this summer. Tribune File Photo.

Finals week is the only thing standing between most students and the start of summer break. The Marquette volleyball team may be looking forward to the summer months more than anyone.

During the school year, student-athletes have rigorous schedules with little downtime. The combination of class, study halls, practice, travel and games can leave players very eager for the third week of May.

Volleyball players head in to summer with little on their schedules. Most players take only one class and there is more leisure time than usual.

“It is not very difficult balancing one class,” said sophomore defensive specialist Rachel Stier. “We like the summer because we get to explore Milwaukee, go to the beach and live like a normal person.”

The resounding topic from every volleyball player was the chance to play at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee or on the sand courts at the Rec Center on campus.

Getting a chance to play volleyball without coaches correcting them or in loud gyms is something each player savors.

“It’s kind of funny how when we don’t have volleyball, we want to play volleyball,” said sophomore libero Julie Jeziorowski. “The beach is more free and people get upset because we always beat them.”

It’s not all fun and games at the beach for the team. The players realize it’s an opportunity to hone their skills as they prepare for the fall season.

“For open gyms, instead of having them inside in a gym like we always do, we go to the Rec or down to Bradford Beach,” said redshirt junior right-side Holly Mertens. “It helps us with our technical skills in a different atmosphere.”

The volleyball team also does something unique for a major college team. Each year, the Golden Eagles host a grass tournament at Bradford called Triplesfest. The event is a fundraiser of sorts for the team.

The tournament normally runs during the same time as Summerfest and gives teams a chance to check out some of the live bands in between matches.

The players work the event in various positions giving them a chance to be involved with the Milwaukee community.

The team also works at summer camps for girls third grade to high school seniors. The team gets a chance to teach younger players about their positions and as a part of multi-day camps.

The summer is also an opportunity for the incoming players to get used to their new school.

The athletes take a few classes with mandatory study halls as they get acclimated to Marquette. The current players use this time to help the fresh faces prepare for the fall.

“It’s nice to play with them and get some chemistry going,” Mertens said. “We get to teach them technique and what we are looking for so they are ready for it in the fall.”

Not a lot changes for most college students in the summer, but for student-athletes, it is a two month period where they take full advantage of the opportunity to get away from the pressure of being a Division 1 player.

Michael Otz / Tribune File Photo.

The Marquette men’s golf team ended its season with an eighth-place finish in the Big East Championships. The Golden Eagles finished above South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers and Cincinnati in the field of twelve teams with an overall score of 898, 34-over par.

Coach Steve Bailey said some rough holes at the beginning of the rounds kept Marquette from placing higher, but he was proud with the way his team responded.

“We had some bad starts, and guys turned it around,” Bailey said. “Ryan (Prickette) hit one of his first shots out of bounds to double bogey and came back to play one-under the rest of the round. We had some guys fighting, and we wish we could’ve finished higher, but I saw some positives.”

Bailey said he still has yet to see his team put on a complete top-to-bottom performance, as again he saw solid individual performances that were offset by other individual struggles.

“Everyone contributed at some point this week, but we still haven’t gotten the full five out there,” Bailey said. “We really struggled in particular on the par fives. If you’re going to succeed in this sport you have to take advantage of them, and unfortunately we didn’t do that this week.”

The end of the tournament also marked the end of senior Matt Haase’s Marquette career. Haase led the Golden Eagles along with sophomore Michael Motz as both players finished with overall scores of 225, placing them in a tie for 31st place on the individual leaderboard.

Haase shot a 79 in the second round sandwiched between two 73s in the first and third rounds, while Motz fired a pair of 74s in the second and third rounds after a 77 on the first day.

Motz said the tournament was disappointing and frustrating. But that his team had really left everything on the course. Haase felt the tournament was “so-so,” but said he didn’t have any regrets.

“There’s always going to be shots left out there, but overall I felt like it was decent,” Haase said. “I feel like it was one of the better tournaments I’ve had in a while, and I was leading the tournament on the first day at one point.”

Bailey said Haase had been playing really well as of late, and he was happy with his lone senior’s effort to close out his career.

“He had some good stretches of solid golf this week,” Bailey said. “He was unable to finish out some rounds the way he wanted to, but he had a nice birdie on the second to last hole Tuesday. He’s a guy you want to build your program around and a hard worker, so we’re going to miss having him around.”

With the summer looming ahead, Bailey named Motz and sophomore Corey Konieczki as his top prospects to replace Haase’s leadership.

“Michael’s really shown that when he can get going, his good is really good,” Bailey said. “We need him to be more consistent, but he’s going to be a team leader next year. I was also proud of the way Corey bounced back. Ryan (Prickette) is only going to play in the fall next season, so Corey and Mike are going to have to carry that leadership torch.”

As for Haase, he plans on taking it easy and said he doesn’t have any plans to go pro in his sport.

“It’s just going to be for fun now – I’m not going to try to play professionally or play any tournaments this summer,” Haase said. “There’s been a lot of highs and a lot of lows for me at Marquette, and overall it’s been a tremendous experience. The teammates I had were incredible, and they really are what kept me going while I was here.”

Larry WIlliams. Photo courtesy of Marquette Athletics.

When former athletic director Steve Cottingham resigned in June, the Marquette athletic department looked like it was on the verge of collapse amid sexual assault allegations. The school needed to find someone that could rebuild Marquette’s image. Enter Larry Williams, a former Notre Dame football standout who played five years in the NFL. The Tribune asked Williams some questions via e-mail to learn more about his first semester at Marquette.

Q: How was your first semester at Marquette? What went better than expected? What needs the most work?

A:  My first semester at Marquette has been great. The enthusiasm that the community has for the university, especially for its men’s basketball program, is something special. I am excited to help identify and pursue a clear path that will allow Marquette to be viewed as the premier non-football-playing athletic program in the country, one that is firmly committed to the university’s core values and celebrates its rich history.

Q:  How does your experience as a former athlete help you in this role?

A:  My experience as an athlete informs every decision I make because Marquette athletics is ultimately about the full development of each of our student athletes. I was fortunate to have a broad and deep experience as an athlete, with exposure to great and less-than-great coaches and administrations, and great and less-than-great success formulas. So with every decision I make, I ask, based on my experience, what’s in the best interest of the development of our student athletes?

Q:  For a school that relies heavily on the men’s basketball program, how will you ensure the other sports get their due?

A: Amassing and channeling resources is an enormous challenge. Maximization of the resources that can be generated through men’s basketball is certainly important as some of those resources can be redirected. However, we must also be diligent about being creative in regards to revenue generation opportunities in other programs and cost containment.

Q:  How will you make sure Marquette has its say in the conference realignment discussions?

A:  It is imperative that Marquette remain elite in men’s basketball, but also Marquette must be able to demonstrate broad-based success, in order to have a voice and place in whatever the new world of conference alignment becomes.

Q:  College basketball coaches rarely stay at one place for more than a few years before seeking a better opportunity. How will you ensure Marquette is destination rather than a stepping stone?

A:  Marquette is already a destination in the world of college basketball. The investment that the university makes in the enterprise, the support that the community demonstrates for the program and the rich history and core values that underpin the university absolutely make it a uniquely desirable place in the landscape of college athletics.

As long as those elements are maintained, the coaching world knows that remarkable student athletes can be formed here and national championships can be won here.

Q: What are your top priorities for summer getting prepared for your first full season?

A:  My top priority is to finish a clear plan of action that we will take in athletics to ensure ultimately that our student athletes are formed in ways that will allow them to make the world a better place. Along the way, we will also enjoy tremendous success. Athletics is unique in its opportunity to teach remarkable skills.

With an up-and-coming program, not too many people are knocking on Marquette’s doors asking to play lacrosse just yet. As a result, Brundage hits the road or boards a flight every weekend to look for more players that could help the program make a name for itself early on. Amplo believes that one of the biggest strengths that Brundage brings to the table is his recruiting skills as a young, charismatic coach.

“(Brundage) is not only excited to teach but to recruit as well. He’s got an eye for evaluating talent,” Amplo said. “He’s got a great personality and understands what a young man wants to get out of college. He’s got a unique ability to portray that to them.”

Brundage learned how to recruit and coach at his first job with Drexel. His recruiting skills were put to the test in the Ivy League, where he was expected to bring in top talent with no scholarships and higher academic standards.

Princeton is currently ranked tenth in the nation and sophomore Tom Schreiber has been a big part of their team. Brundage worked closely with him on offense to make him an all-conference player. He believes that in due time, he can do the same with some of Marquette’s players.

“I am very happy with where we are with recruiting right now. We are going up against some really good schools,” Brundage said. “We’re going to get some really good players, and I will have the opportunity to coach somebody that has the potential to be an all-conference kid.”

Fellow assistant coach John Orsen is just as excited about the incoming players arriving in August. He has a positive outlook on what the team will looks like once it starts playing games.

“It’s not going to be as scary as we first thought. I think the guys have really grasped what we’ve taught this spring,” Orsen said. “We’ve got some great athletes coming in, so we’re going to match up well.”

Amplo and Brundage are no strangers to matching up against each other. They have stood across from each other on opposing sidelines, but now share the same team. Amplo and Brundage have worked well and bonded in their first year together, but they still share laughs from their days as rivals.

“(Playing and coaching against Amplo) was great because I was usually winning,” Brundage said. “I think my record while playing at Loyola was 3-1. While at Drexel and Princeton, we may have split. Coach Amplo and I didn’t know each other personally, but we always respected the other because we’d always been going at it.”

There’s no telling how the next few years will play out, but Amplo believes he will always have the last laugh.

“(Brundage) thinks he has the upper hand. However, his success in the score column is nowhere near to my success in the amount of playoff games that we’ve played in,” Amplo said. “He has different levels of evaluating success.”

But as he prepares to make the move from forward to shooting guard, the one area Crowder knows he will have to perfect is his agility.

Crowder has trained during the week in Milwaukee with Marquette strength and conditioning coach Todd Smith and Mike Lee, head skill development trainer at Mike Lee Basketball.

Lee, who trained Marquette’s Lazar Hayward and Steve Novak in their pre-draft workouts, also works with Darius Johnson-Odom.

The trio has focused on shooting, ball-handling and game situations, but Lee was most impressed with Crowder’s footwork during their agility work and subsequent on-court drills.

“One thing that really has stood out about Jae is that he has great footwork,” Lee said. “Playing the ‘2’ or the ‘3’, a lot of it is about footwork. He has good footwork off the dribble and catch, and that’s the basis for shots in the NBA.”

Crowder will continue to work out with Johnson-Odom and Lee in Milwaukee, but once classes end this Friday he will travel and stay in Miami, where he currently trains on weekends.

Athlete’s Edge Sports Performance Training was the landing spot for Crowder’s workouts. He has worked with two coaches the last month, one for shooting and ball-handling and the other for agility work.

Darius Johnson-Odom. Tribune File Photo

His agility coach, Mike Smith, said their focus now is improving Crowder’s explosiveness on his first step, as well as hip and lateral movement.

“At the next level it’s all about separation,” Smith, who trained Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Knight last year, said. “It’s about going from one movement to the next and having a lightning quick first step.”

Because Crowder is only in Miami on the weekends, Smith said they have focused on “essential workouts,” but once he arrives in Miami for the duration of his pre-draft regimen, workouts will increase in difference and intensity.

Crowder will begin training on the beach, running hills and even running on tracks to improve forward movement.

For now, Crowder has focused his workouts on both bursts of speed and quick movement.

“We work on power stuff through band work and exploding into the first step,” Crowder said. “And then without, we do cone work and ladder work moving at a fast speed.”

Other agility drills Crowder and Smith work on include working with bands for resistance, medicine balls for added upper body strength and lunges for upper leg explosion.

Additionally, Crowder’s agility workouts roll over into his shooting and ball-handling drills.

The high volume of shots and the intensity of dribbling drills has helped Crowder maintain peak physical condition and improve his range.

Many of Crowder’s shooting workouts include moving without the ball and coming off screens, while his dribbling workouts include lateral movement and quick direction change.

“I’m trying to make him bigger, quicker, faster and stronger, regardless of where he’s playing,” Smith said. “I’m trying to make him more athletic. His footwork is great, and I want that to transition to basketball.”

Whatever his agility drills, both Lee and Smith agreed that Crowder’s attitude and commitment are vital to improving his agility.

That, they said, is something Crowder has had no problem doing.

“They’re easy to work with because they work,” Lee said of Crowder and Johnson-Odom. “There’s pretty much zero motivation needed on my part. They’re ready to work and ready to get better every day.”

Bennett believes he has now found out which of his current players are able to step in and play significant minutes, and who still needs work.

“If we lose one or two key players, I want us to be able to win games,” Bennett said. “That’s why we played a lot of people. We’ve definitely been able to see who can, who could and who might need a little bit more time. So mission accomplished, really.”

Marquette completed its spring season by winning the 2012 D1 Wisconsin Spring Cup on Sunday. They defeated Wisconsin-Milwaukee 5-1 in the morning and the Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix 2-0 in the final.

Sophomore midfielder Bryan Ciesiulka scored four goals on Sunday, including one penalty kick in each game, netting two in the morning against the Panthers and two more against the Phoenix in the afternoon. With the departure of Calum Mallace, Ciesiulka will spearhead the Golden Eagles’ attack. Scoring seven goals in two games on Sunday, that attack looked as potent as ever.

“This whole spring for me was trying to be dangerous and putting myself in positions to score and assist,” Ciesiulka said. “My teammates today just put the balls on platters for me. We played well, and they were good goals.”

Keeping the ball out of their own net has been a bit of a problem. Sophomore defender Paul Dillon, who played every minute in the fall, noted the goals they conceded came toward the start or finish of games. Dillon put that down to the constant rotation of players throughout the spring.

“We’re conceding goals either really late in games or in the first couple minutes of games, so it’s obviously frustrating,” Dillon said. “But that’s sort of a result of unfamiliar faces.”

Last year was the first time the team truly put Bennett’s preferred style of play into practice. With their smooth, passing style the Golden Eagles took the Big East by storm.

While conceding goals, the Golden Eagles have still maintained plenty of possession time, and Bennett says goals scored against them are just part of the game. He said he thought it wouldn’t be a problem in August.

“I was disappointed that we’ve given goals away in games that we’ve had over 75 percent of the possession, but soccer is like that,” Bennett said. “I was disappointed in that, and that we gave goals away late in the game.”

While there may be some new faces on the team by the time next August rolls around, Bennett is confident in the core of his team at the moment. Bennett has built a certain style of play during his time at Marquette and believes it’s up to the experienced, established players to maintain the passing game the Golden Eagles wish to play.

“Right through the spine,” Bennett said, “I think collectively Eric Pothast, Axel (Sjorberg), Ryan Robb, B (Ciesiulka), all the way up, are going to be important so we can maintain a style.”

With the core of the team in place, Bennett’s Golden Eagles look poised to be contenders in the Big East again next fall.

Andrei Greska

So with this being my last column ever, and all I planned to get all sappy on you and tell you how fast these four year went. I’d drop in some funny anecdotes and finish with a few words of “wisdom” that you wouldn’t listen to.

And then Derrick Rose blew out his knee.

Memories of Chris Otule clutching his knee at Madison Square Garden hauntingly came flooding back in.

At 5:45 p.m. on Saturday “ACL,” “Derrick Rose” and “I cried when” were all trending worldwide on Twitter. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how most Chicagoans were arranging the three trending topics in their tweets.

You watch sports for years on end in that vain hope that you may one day get the good fortune to see your team challenge for a championship. In Derrick Rose, Bulls fans had hit the lottery 1,000 times over.

Here was a humble Chicagoan who also happened to be one of the best basketball players in the world. He was the one that would take the Bulls to levels not seen since No. 23 broke Utah’s heart one last time. And in a simple drive to the basket — boom goes the dynamite.

BullsBlogger on Twitter summarized it best: “Title-contending seasons are rare, and who knows how many of those we’ve lost today. That’s the big-picture kick in the sack.”

It’s not just this season that has been lost — no sane human being can legitimately expect the Bulls to beat the Heat, let alone win the whole thing — but Rose will now miss the Olympics this summer and who knows how much explosiveness will return whenever it is he does get healthy.

You know it’s serious when Twitter unites in eulogizing a player. Kevin Love, Bill Simmons, Jeff Goodman, Darren Rovell and even noted LeBron-lover Mark Strotman tweeted how sad it was to see him go down like that.

I was crushed, heartbroken, incredulous and just downright miserable from that point on. How could this happen? Why was he in? Is it the shoes?

Beyond the personal grief, there was one even scarier outcome as a result of Saturday’s events: the power of false information on Twitter.

From the time the game ended it was all speculation as to what the extent of the injury would be. For the first few hours no one really knew anything, which didn’t stop people from pretending they did.

A fake ESPNChicago retweet claimed that Rose had torn his MCL and ACL, would miss the remainder of the playoffs and would have surgery on Tuesday. The real ESPNChicago account immediately rebuffed these assertions saying they still did not have any information.

However, an employee at the NBC affiliate in Miami did not get the memo — as Stacey King likes to say — about the fake tweet and ran with the information. A few minutes later the Twitter account under BreakingNews repeated NBCMiami’s claims, broadcasting the false information to its nearly 3.9 million followers.

From there all hell broke loose as tweets and retweets flowed endlessly. In a matter of minutes the whole world had been duped by one fake tweet and one reckless intern — most likely the one running NBC Miami’s Twitter feed.

It was the absolute most incriminating indictment of today’s journalism mentality. Sure there is a need to get information quickly, but in today’s scoop-getting society, speed trumps truth way too often.

Dr. Stephen Byers taught me in one of my first journalism classes at Marquette to believe none of what we were told without verifying it. Your mommy says she loves you, eh? Prove it.

That’s what you learn in journalism school. The truth is the ultimate goal.

Not anymore.

I’m scared of the implications of this first-past-the-post mentality. In the sporting world the consequences are frustrating, but in the end irrelevant. In the military realm, where a twitch of an index finger can mean the destruction of entire cities, it’s downright frightening.

You would hope that government officials would be smart enough not to fall for false tweets. Then again, there are sitting congressmen who have linked to articles from the Onion in support of their policy decisions.

So this is it. Rose has wilted and my profession flopped. I guess it can’t always be seashells and balloons.

Coach Bert Rogers said he took the invitational predominantly as one last chance to get better before the Big East Conference Outdoor Championships this weekend.

“We were looking to use that meet as sort of a last tuneup for the Big East,” Rogers said. “It was cold, and the conditions could’ve been better, but a couple of our guys were looking to finally PR, and they succeeded in that.”

Ten Marquette women and three Marquette men achieved personal records in the invitational, while three athletes recorded top-five all-time marks.

Junior Chanel Franklin won the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.35 seconds, a meet record. Franklin also led the charge in Marquette’s one-two-three finish in the 200-meter dash along with sophomores Gretchen Homan and Kate Hein. The trio recorded times of 25.94, 26.11 and 26.31 seconds, respectively. Franklin’s 4×100 meter relay team of senior Stephanie Grant and sophomores Carlye Schuh and Katie Kemmerer also took first place.

Schuh took home the long jump title with a leap of 18 feet-1.75 inches, freshman Kathryn Koeck won the hammer throw with a toss of 172 feet one inch, and sophomore Kristen Gaffey won both the shot put (44 feet, nine and half inches) and discus throw (141 feet five inches.)

Senior Courtney Kelly, who claimed a victory in the steeplechase with a time of 11 minutes 15.12 seconds, said she got everything she wanted out of the weekend.

“I definitely need to work on hurdles and my water landing, but today was a good step,” Kelly said. “The weather was rough. I tried to take advantage of the wind, but it was rough on the home stretch. I’m definitely looking for a PR next weekend.”

On the men’s side, freshman Michael Kemmerer won the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.09 seconds, and junior Patrick Maag won the 5,000-meter run recording a personal and meet record time of 14 minutes 44.10 seconds.

Senior Jonathan Kusowski won the hammer throw with a toss of 187 feet seven inches, good for third on Marquette’s all-time list.

“I was hoping for a little bit more today, but with the weather it was hard to pull it all together,” Kusowski said. “Having all your friends around you really makes you want to throw farther. I’m definitely trying to hammer out some kinks. It felt like practice being at home, but I tried to take it like every other week.”

Rogers said the rare home meet was a nice opportunity for his athletes, especially the seniors, to play in front of their friends, families and teachers. Rogers was especially impressed with Kusowski’s throw and said he thinks it bodes well for Marquette heading into the conference championships.

“We should really be able to compete well in a number of events,” Rogers said. “Some of our guys, like (senior) Tyler O’Brien have been getting it done year-in and year-out and we are looking to finish towards the top in several big events.”

Hailing from Winneconne, Wis., the Koecks were teammates on Winneconne High School’s track and field team. It was there that the chemistry between Will and Kathryn blossomed as they started to understand how similar their throwing styles were.

“During practice we would be pushing each other to do the best that we could do and give pointers here and there,” Will Koeck said. “At this point, we know how the other reacts to certain information and helpful hints.”

During the 2011-’12 indoor track season, Will set the freshman record in the weight throw in his first attempt at the event. His sister similarly set a record in her freshman year in the hammer throw.

Kathryn, a sophomore, credits their high school coach as a root to the Koecks’ early collegiate success since he allowed them to weight lift under his supervision.

“When we arrived at Marquette, the adjustment to lifting was a lot easier. The weights were heavier and some of the drills were different, but we had an upper hand in that,” Kathryn Koeck said. “The coaching style was also different, but in the end it helped us become better athletes.”

Coach Michael Koenning works closely with both of the Koecks as the associate head coach. From lifting sessions and practices, he believes that the motivation to improve is one of their strengths as a pair.

“They’re both really hard-working and willing to put the time in to be successful,” Koenning said. “Having the same attitude from both of them helps. They keep an eye on each other to see who’s working hard, and who can work harder.”

Will was very fortunate to have senior Jonathan Kusowski take him under his wing from the very first day of practice, where the freshman was monitored at all times. The two of them helped carry the throwers during the indoor season as they both qualified for the Big East Conference Championship in New York City.

Former Marquette thrower Jaime Roth was Kathryn’s model in the hammer throw last year, but this year freshman Samantha Kennedy has taken on the role of pushing her in the weight room and the thrower’s field. Koeck will be a junior next year and believes that she will use the experiences with Roth and Kennedy to impact the incoming underclassmen.

Both Will and Kathryn Koeck had nothing but positive things to say when assessing each other’s potential. Will believes that his sister has the skill set to make it to the regional championship and put on a good performance.

“(Kathryn) has got the hard work ethic, effort, and dedication there to do well,” Will Koeck said. “She’s just got to put it in the right spot to get out there and compete.”

Similarly Kathryn believes that a school record is within her brother’s reach based on what he has shown thus far.

“He’s on track to have much bigger school records,” Kathryn Koeck said. “He’s shown that he can throw farther. He’ll be able to smash any of the school records.”