Yet another great article from The Athletic about Marquette and Shaka being a perfect fit.
https://theathletic.com/4297513/2023/03/11/marquette-big-east-tournament-shaka-smart/
That might be the best article yet that I've read on this topic.
I have an Athletic subscription but hadn't gotten to today's stuff yet, so thanks for posting.
Each of us should pinch himself or herself every day that we actually got Shaka.
Quote from: MU82 on March 11, 2023, 11:00:03 AM
Each of us should pinch himself or herself every day that we actually got Shaka.
(https://64.media.tumblr.com/dbc2e0d208beb74c8b829f6304cc834b/tumblr_ozfmliU0Z31u501aoo3_400.gifv)
"There is good, and there is impeccable. Every last bit, falling in line. Smart might have needed the place more than the place needed him because the way he coaches actually works in Milwaukee, but that's semantics now. It's a hire that, as it stands, is the apex of getting it right. Every school will want to do its own version of Marquette hiring Smart."
Almost brings a tear to my eye
He's my favorite coach of any team I support possibly ever. We're so lucky to have him.
Nickel
He is climbing ladder of all time favorites in very short order. He has a way to go to be top dog, but rapidly closing the gap on others on the list.
Quote from: Goose on March 11, 2023, 11:55:50 AM
Nickel
He is climbing ladder of all time favorites in very short order. He has a way to go to be top dog, but rapidly closing the gap on others on the list.
I'd imagine Al is at the top by a wide margin and for good reason. I wasn't alive to experience that. But honestly without being hyperbolic I've never liked a coach of any of my teams as much as I like Shaka
Nickel
Like many old timers on here, we have waited a long time to have a coach like Shaka and it has been worth the wait. The excitement level that he has helped generate is nothing short of unbelievable. I could not be happier for all MU fans to have a coach that moves the needle the way Shaka has at MU. If I were younger, he would be my all time MU coach.
It has been a rough go for me this year, I still have a raging case of Wojo induced PTSD. MU has gone from finding ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory to winning the close ones, some would suggest that MU didn't deserve to win.
I give so much credit to Shaka for this year's success, of course the players deserve huge props too, but he has gotten 100% but in from his kids, the passing, the level of effort is unbelievable, IMO. I'm hoping that this could be Shaka's last stop as a coach, that 15 years from now we all are here, crabbing about how so so will never measure up to Shaka, with his multiple Natties, Final Fours, Elite Eights etc...
RING OUT AHOYA!!!
The best part of this article, for me, was reading Scholl's comments. He knows what he has in Shaka and it's going to take a lot for MU to ever let him leave.