All--I have been a bit out of things with this program the last two years (for professional and personal reasons that required attention elsewhere). Although I've been tracking scores and recognize this season is completely lost, that's about all I know.
So here's the hypo: we're sitting in a bar and I asked you for a quick summary of what's going on with MU basketball right now, what you would you say? A Grand Unifying Theory as to how we got here, so to speak. Is it just that the talent isn't there and wasn't properly addressed through the portal? And who are players we want to invest in to turn things around quickly, if any? I've scrolled through some topics but can't quite tie it all together easily. Grateful for anyone's input.
Hmmm. Plenty of opinions out there.
Go to the second page of threads. Near the top, there's a post by Hards Alumni literally titled, "How We Got Here and How We Get Out" that does a pretty decent job of summarizing things.
IMO, we slowly accumulated a bunch of dead weight during the highly successful first few years. Then once that group departed, we were left with the dead weight and newcomers. It was a tough spot to be in for Shaka because there wouldn't have been much playing time available for guys who would be juniors now in their first 2 years.
In hindsight, wish Shaka treated this like his first year. Remove the dead weight (ie Dexter Akanno and Jose Perez) and replace them with more proven players. I guess it was tougher because he had closer relationships with the current dead weight. I do think Shaka could have bridged the gap better as the culture turned over to these new 1st and 2nd year guys.
So, I think the future is still bright but this year was mismanaged. A quicker hook is needed on the players who don't meet expectations after 2 years. Hopefully lessons learned and it's avoided in the future.
Thank you for the replies and for directing to Hards' excellent analysis. That was exactly what I was hoping for. Country Roads' take is a nice snippet.
Quote from: Babybluejeans on January 24, 2026, 12:17:21 PMSo here's the hypo: we're sitting in a bar and I asked you for a quick summary of what's going on with MU basketball right now, what you would you say?
"<burp> man, fuk shaka. <burp> look at the rack on that chick. This PBR is going down like glass, pawz. <uuuccccckkkkkkkkk>. we can't shoot or play defense. u gunna eat that last cheese curd? <belch>"
Chase and ben are terrible seniors. The juniors were literally the worst class in marquette history. Shaka didn't use the portal.
Why do we continue to beat this dead horse? We all already know the issues.
Quote from: CountryRoads on January 24, 2026, 01:25:00 PMIMO, we slowly accumulated a bunch of dead weight during the highly successful first few years. Then once that group departed, we were left with the dead weight and newcomers. It was a tough spot to be in for Shaka because there wouldn't have been much playing time available for guys who would be juniors now in their first 2 years.
In hindsight, wish Shaka treated this like his first year. Remove the dead weight (ie Dexter Akanno and Jose Perez) and replace them with more proven players. I guess it was tougher because he had closer relationships with the current dead weight. I do think Shaka could have bridged the gap better as the culture turned over to these new 1st and 2nd year guys.
So, I think the future is still bright but this year was mismanaged. A quicker hook is needed on the players who don't meet expectations after 2 years. Hopefully lessons learned and it's avoided in the future.
We shall see.
Quote from: CountryRoads on January 24, 2026, 01:25:00 PMIMO, we slowly accumulated a bunch of dead weight during the highly successful first few years. Then once that group departed, we were left with the dead weight and newcomers. It was a tough spot to be in for Shaka because there wouldn't have been much playing time available for guys who would be juniors now in their first 2 years.
In hindsight, wish Shaka treated this like his first year. Remove the dead weight (ie Dexter Akanno and Jose Perez) and replace them with more proven players. I guess it was tougher because he had closer relationships with the current dead weight. I do think Shaka could have bridged the gap better as the culture turned over to these new 1st and 2nd year guys.
So, I think the future is still bright but this year was mismanaged. A quicker hook is needed on the players who don't meet expectations after 2 years. Hopefully lessons learned and it's avoided in the future.
I like using the full 15-man roster to take some chances, use redshirts, etc.
But the flip side of that is it doesn't leave any flexibility. For example, if Shaka doesn't want to push underachievers out, he needs to keep one or two open spots available.
I have been asked. When asked I say that Shaka avoided the portal and bet on development of the young guys to fill the holes created by graduation losses. It didn't work. What he (and we) thought would be a reload turned into to a rebuild.
Ah. Makes sense.
Then the inevitable transition into how much they dislike the portal/NIL combination in general.
And then around here, the people I talk to transition into the football teams at MSU/UM/ND, how much they like Izzo/ May, now they are worried about what happens at MSU when Izzo leaves, or if May will be able to continually reload.
We have no upperclassmen that can play ball to the level we became accustomed to with the Tyler/Oso group. Good news is some of the kids look like they could become stars.