MILWAUKEE — The first person I thought of when it was reported Brent “Buzz” Williams was a top candidate to replace Tom Crean at the helm of Marquette’s basketball program was Frank Martin. After flashes of the Kansas State head coach rushed through my head, I groaned. What on earth was Marquette thinking?

When news of Williams’ hire as the 16th head men’s basketball coach in the program’s history became official Monday night, I groaned again. What on earth is Marquette thinking?

I want to give this guy a chance. I really, honestly do. From all accounts, he is a superb recruiter with deeply established roots in several southern states, including the athletic hotbed that is Texas. Words like “tenacious” and “well-organized” have been used to describe Williams by some of the top college coaches in the country.

An assistant coach at Marquette for the past year, Williams played an instrumental role in recruiting a majority of Marquette’s incoming class of basketball studs.

And still, I can’t help but think of Martin every time Williams’ name is brought up.

For those of you unfamiliar with anything relating to Kansas State, Kansas State’s basketball team or the state of Kansas in general, Martin was hired to replace Bob Huggins as the Wildcats’ head coach April 6, 2007. He had served as Huggins’ assistant at Kansas State during the 2006-07 season.

Just like Williams, Martin is known to be a top-notch recruiter. He played a vital role in convincing current Kansas State stars Michael Beasley and Bill Walker to turn down other programs with more storied histories and wander out into the cornfield abyss that is Manhattan, Kan.

Walker played part of the 2006-07 season before injuring his left ACL and redshirting the rest of the year. When news broke that Huggins was heading off to coach at West Virginia, there were concerns among the Wildcat faithful that Walker may transfer out of the program.

Beasley was busy finishing out his senior season as a high school All-American during Walker’s freshman campaign at Kansas State. When news broke of Huggins’ departure, there were concerns Beasley may not come to the program at all.

School officials assuaged their basketball team’s fan base — one that had been invigorated by a successful one-year Huggins coaching stint, during which the team went 23-12 and finished fourth in the Big 12 conference — by naming Martin as Huggins’ successor.

I thought then, and I think now, that Kansas State’s decision was incredibly short-sighted. Yes, hiring Martin was smart in that it enabled the Wildcats to keep two of the most prized recruits in the program’s history. And yes, the team will enjoy considerable success for as long as those two players stick around.

This season, Kansas State advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. It even advanced to the second round before being eliminated by Wisconsin. Beasley was the team’s go-to player all season, averaging 26.2 points per game and 12.4 rebounds per game. He was a unanimous selection to the Associated Press All-America first team and was named National Player of the Year by several media outlets. Walker averaged 16.1 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game, both good for second-best on the team.

But what happens after Beasley and Walker decide they no longer want to toil among collegiate competition? What happens when the desire to earn a seven-figure paycheck overrules the desire to remain a kid? What happens when those two players leave Kansas State in a thick cloud of dust as they head off to the fame and fortune afforded by the NBA?

My guess is that’s when Martin truly will be exposed as a head coach. It’s easy to have all the right answers when your players are spectacular and make most of the decisions for you.

But take those players out of the equation and all you’re left with is a very good assistant coach who is in too far over his head to see the light of day.

I fear the same fate is in store for Williams. We know he can recruit. We think he stands a better chance at keeping the incoming class intact than any other coach Marquette could have hired. We also think that, barring a mass exodus of current players to either the NBA Draft or another college program, the team will do fairly well next season under Williams’ leadership.

But down the road, the picture becomes murkier. Can Williams continue to recruit at the level he did as an assistant, now that he has to balance all the other responsibilities of a head coach? Was Williams’ unsuccessful one-year stint as a head coach at New Orleans — the Privateers went 14-17 with Williams at the helm in 2006-’07 — an aberration or an ominous bit of foreshadowing?

Can this guy succeed as the figurehead of Marquette’s men’s basketball program after his current batch of players has moved on?

Too many questions abound right now for me to be encouraged by the hire. Like Martin when he was hired, Williams has no promising college head coaching track record on which to lean.

Maybe this all will work out. Maybe Martin is more than just a high school head coach-turned hotshot college assistant. Maybe Williams is more than just a reputable college assistant known for his recruiting acumen.

Maybe Marquette made the right choice. For Athletic Director Steve Cottingham’s sake - heck, for the sake of all those involved in making the decision — I hope Williams turns out to be an impeccable hire.

Until I am proven wrong, I will continue to think of Martin every time I hear about Williams. Until I am proven wrong, I will continue to groan.