When Joseph Fulce rolled out of bed on the morning of April 1, 2008, he had an unread text message waiting on his cell phone.

The message was simple, yet surprising — Marquette coach Tom Crean, the man who recruited Fulce to come from Tyler (Tex.) Junior College to Marquette, had bolted to take the head coaching spot at Indiana.

"I got it in a text message from one of my friends when I woke up that morning," Fulce said. "I was just like 'What? The head coach left?' I thought it was a prank or something at first."

Fulce wasn't alone. Crean managed to make his move without tipping off anyone, from newly appointed athletic director Steve Cottingham (who found out upon landing in Denver, Colo., where he was to watch the women's basketball team in the semifinals of the WNIT Tournament), to Golden Eagles mainstays Jerel McNeal and Dominic James.

Fulce's initial skepticism of the story — it was, after all, April Fools Day — ended when he received a phone call from his mother. His focus shifted immediately to his future at Marquette, now coached by Buzz Williams.

"I said to myself, 'Man, for real?' And I was just like 'I'm not going anywhere'," Fulce said. "It was one of those situations where I decided I came to Marquette for Marquette . anything else that comes with that I have to roll with the punches."

Now the 6-foot-7, 205-pound sophomore forward will be counted on to play meaningful minutes for the traditionally size-starved Golden Eagles. He'll be joined by sophomore guard Jimmy Butler, who played with Fulce at Tyler.

Butler was added to this year's recruiting class when recruits Tyshawn Taylor and Nick Williams asked to be released from letters of intent following Crean's departure.

Fulce averaged 16.6 points and 13.2 rebounds per game last season for Tyler, and Butler averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Both players have shown flashes of unbridled athleticism — look no further than the dunk-fest at this year's Marquette Madness for proof — but must quickly adjust to the challenges of playing the Big East Conference.

"Any time you can sign players that have prior experience, it's a positive," Williams said. "No matter how good your high school team is, and no matter what state you play in, anytime you go from high school to the best league in the country it's a big separation."

Fulce and Butler "weren't in complete shock over the last 55 days (of workouts). They were in some shock, but not in complete shock."

Butler's road to consistent playing time at guard will be riddled with unquestioned starters like seniors James, McNeal and Wesley Matthews. He'll also have to jump over experienced role players — like David Cubillian and Maurice Acker — to earn minutes.

But he's already leaped over one of his toughest hurdles — joining a Marquette squad known for its ability to score in transition.

"The pace of the game, the type of team that we had we're going to get up and down the floor," Butler said. "In junior college, we got up and down the floor, but not as quickly as we do now.

"This is a change . getting up and down the floor, it feels so natural now. I like the style of play."

Fulce will likely find getting minutes in the Marquette rotation a bit easier, as long as he recovers quickly from a stress-related injury to his right knee that will keep him out the first two weeks of the season. He should be counted on to give junior forward Lazar Hayward a break at times. Unlike Butler, Fulce said he barely had to make a transition to Marquette's style of offense.

"I love to run, that's my thing," Fulce said. "I like to outrun my opponents, I like to run up and down the floor with them. If they can keep up, that's fine. But if they can't, I'm going to keep running."

And as long as Fulce can keep running down the court he doesn't really care which coach is running the show at Marquette.

"I'll do whatever it takes to win . we're real big on roles," Fulce said. "Everybody plays to (their role) and does what they're supposed to."