Shaka's In-Game Coaching Percentile

[We R Final Four]

But I think that *is* his situational plan.  He has a "system", likes to use multiple guys, but will reinforce the same fundamentals regardless of the situation.   He's counting on the guys executing what he preaches every time down the floor (offense & defense).  Not changing it just because it failed a few times.  The polar opposite of Crean and his "playbook".

It's not a bad plan when it works (see, quickly running up the score), but as we've seen, all players are subject to droughts and breakdowns in executing the plan.

i completely agree with this.
He has/wants players, not a lot of plays.

[MU82]

My expectations were along the lines of yours Goose.  I just don't see happening after watching them stumble with late leads against Purdue and Providence and not being able to score against enough against Wisconsin (bad loss) and Miss State.  Creighton has lost six in a row so tjats not much of a quality win.  The Baylor game may be an aberration at this point.   The "cookies crumbling" taste a lot like a Wojo team. I think now 19 wins is the ceiling on this team.  We shall see...

Teams often improve. I mean, after we started the 2021-22 Big East season 0-3 (ending a 1-5 overall run for the team) did you "see happening" us winning 8 of our next 9 games?

We're better than we were last season, and the Big East is not as good. Try to be at least a little patient. a little optimistic, and a little less knee-jerk after any result you don't like.

Do you guys realize how close we are to being 13-0 and ranked in top 10 right now? At the end of the day, all a coach can do is give his team the best possible chance to get a win.

And this is at the other extreme. We lost those 4 games because we didn't play well enough at key junctures. And part of that was quite arguably the coach not always giving his team the best possible chance -- and I say that as a fan who really likes Shaka.

We're having a good season, and I'm optimistic that it will be a real good one before it's over. One thing I'm sure not gonna do is declare on Dec. 21 that we're doomed for mediocrity. There's a ton of ball still to be played -- and I think we'll have had a very nice season, including an NCAA bid (and hopefully a couple of NCAAT wins), before it's over.

[DoctorV]

I thought 9-11 to start the season and I think 8 or 9 wins is realistic.

They arent going to blow many, if any league teams out. Gotta be able to close.

Seton Hall is bringing in a borderline Top 20 defense that is looking for it's 1st league win.  That one makes me incredibly nervous.

Well now I’ve got to think about that elite defense for the entire week, thanks for nothin.

One of the things I forgot to mention that hasn’t gotten as much talk as it should-
The Big East as a conference is in GREAT hands going forward.

Shaka for one. Sean Miller and Thad Matta should be excellent additions to those programs.
Hurley, McDermott and Cooley are already doing amazing work.
I’d imagine Shaheen Holloway will have SH very competitive, they are already great defensively in year 1 and I believe that’s his calling card.

That’s 7 out of 11 in really really good hands going forward.

I’d call Mike Anderson an unknown at this point but he’s been good in the past and I think he rights the ship at StJ, wouldn’t be surprised if they danced this year.
Neptune is an unknown at a great program, so tbd.

The other two won’t make it.

Overall though some really well coached teams that will be a nightmare to face as long as their head coaches are in place, even this season.

[GoldenEagles03]

Well now I’ve got to think about that elite defense for the entire week, thanks for nothin.

One of the things I forgot to mention that hasn’t gotten as much talk as it should-
The Big East as a conference is in GREAT hands going forward.

Shaka for one. Sean Miller and Thad Matta should be excellent additions to those programs.
Hurley, McDermott and Cooley are already doing amazing work.
I’d imagine Shaheen Holloway will have SH very competitive, they are already great defensively in year 1 and I believe that’s his calling card.

That’s 7 out of 11 in really really good hands going forward.

I’d call Mike Anderson an unknown at this point but he’s been good in the past and I think he rights the ship at StJ, wouldn’t be surprised if they danced this year.
Neptune is an unknown at a great program, so tbd.

The other two won’t make it.

Overall though some really well coached teams that will be a nightmare to face as long as their head coaches are in place, even this season.

I believe they are 22 in KenPom for defense.

They have a bunch of able bodies and a ton of size.  Maybe not much scoring but they have guys who could get hot and their defense is plenty good enough to beat any Big East team.

[GoldenEagles03]

Just did a little looking at Shaka's overall resume.  Shaka is 305-159 as a head coach.

He has never won a regular season conference title.

He has won 3 conference tournaments. He won the NIT.  He won the CBI.  He's made it to a Final Four.

His teams are structured to compete in every game throughout a season, but they are built to play well in tournament settings.  Hopefully this team proves to be just that.

Love where he has this group.

[Daniel]

Very solid in-game coach…. One of our best.   Bottom line is, the schematic to get open shots generally works.     But players need to make the shots.  But overall, Shaka is very very good

[Class71]

Smart is MU's best coach in years.

Impressive game. No shame here. We played tough but lost in a close game as predicted. Differential in fouls was enough to make the difference. We will beat them in Milwaukee.

Five areas to improve.

1) Practice shooting foul shots.
2) Build strength over the summer.
3) Be set before shooting threes.
4) More practice shooting threes.
5) Work on rebounding/blockouts.