Scholarship table
I wonder when this interview was actually cobducted.
Most erudite Marquette coach… hands down Kevin O’Neil. His mastery of the “f” bomb is second to none.
He “worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium, a master.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvv2SKqWDXYSkip ahead to 13:31 to get Shaka's take on the portal.
For some reason, I still don’t think that scoopers will believe him.
https://twitter.com/MarquetteMBB/status/1785354412283568622/video/2
Even though his answer regarding transfers essentially eliminates getting "a Kolek replacement", "a 7' big guy who can shoot and rebound", a player who can "improve the team" and keep Marquette from becoming "mediocre" with "stubborn" Shaka as our coach, they will drool over every player in the portal and believe that Shaka will come to his sense, admit he made a mistake, and see the wisdom of their suggestions.
If Shaka didn't believe in the portal, his first year record would have been like 3-26 or something. We would have been starting assorted Wojo leftovers and maybe a walk-on or two. Instead, we had a team that made the NCAA because of the portal.I give Coach Shaka credit because he keeps his word. He recruits young men who are going to improve and grow into a major role with MU. He can go to a HS senior and tell them with authority what his plan for them might be, how they fit into being an MU winner and they can feel confident they won't be over-recruited in the portal.Can Bruce Pearl say that? Nate Oats or Danny Hurley?Ultimate issue is whether the HS senior choosing Marquette will get us to the promised land. I'm still excited about Al Amadou but I still sometimes wonder why he didn't enter the portal, given last year's playing time. I trust Coach Shaka has a plan!Dean Smith didn't take transfers either. It took awhile, but look what happened!
Even just 3 years ago, the portal was dramatically different. NIL wasn't a thing yet, and a player couldn't transfer multiple times in his career without sitting out.And obviously, the Marquette basketball situation was vastly different than it is today. Shaka took over in late-March, when pretty much every high school recruit had committed somewhere. Shaka had to quickly re-recruit the returning players and had to bring in bodies to fill out the roster. That two of them were multiple-year players TK and OMax - two sophs-to-be who had yet to blossom as college players - helped create the successful program we currently have. It's like comparing apples and kumquats.
The only part of your post that I have trouble with is the bolded, as Shaka's first year was a one-time exception (even though he just completed season #3). C'mon dgies! Jeez! Cut me a little slack, will ya?