Quote from: jfp61 on December 11, 2025, 02:30:33 PMFor me personally. If I was a basketball czar. Or if I were a new coach.

I would group the team like this.

Show the door- Caedin, Damarius, Tre, Sean.
Perfectly fine with them leaving. Josh, Ian, Sheek, Adrien, Michael, Zaide.
Mildly fine with them leaving. Royce and Nigel.


This roster has players that will be good and start some day, they just should be juniors or seniors when that happens.

My hope is that 1-2 guys flash late. But I have my doubts that they will.

I asked a serious question, and you provided a serious answer, so I appreciate that.

I disagree with much of what you're saying, but I'll leave it alone. Have a good one.

Quote from: jfp61 on December 11, 2025, 02:30:33 PMFor me personally. If I was a basketball czar. Or if I were a new coach.

I would group the team like this.

Show the door- Caedin, Damarius, Tre, Sean.
Perfectly fine with them leaving. Josh, Ian, Sheek, Adrien, Michael, Zaide.
Mildly fine with them leaving. Royce and Nigel.


This roster has players that will be good and start some day, they just should be juniors or seniors when that happens.

My hope is that 1-2 guys flash late. But I have my doubts that they will.

Thank Christ you're not.

Quote from: panda on December 11, 2025, 02:48:41 PMWhat do you see happening between now and then that would drastically change the outlook of this team for 2026?

My point is you can't know what the rest of the year and off season bring so consider patience.

Quote from: WhiteTrash on December 11, 2025, 02:32:03 PMI have no doubt the cap will NOT happen in MLB, but the players have ended up with the same results as NBA and NFL. Competitive balance would be the benefit to the sport, but there seems to be no material benefit for all the players to not have the cap.

The NFL & NBA & NHL did not end up with caps/floors because the players are getting poor advice and representation. They valued competitive balance and a guaranteed floor on salaries. Both systems seem to work and result in the same outcome.

The material benefit to not having a cap is that you haven't started a precedent - one that could be potentially harmful to players' compensation long-term.

In the NFL, NBA and NHL, the unions aggressively fought salary caps, so much so that they were willing to lose major chunks of seasons. There was no "kumbaya, let's help the owners and everybody will benefit." Those unions simply were neither as powerful nor as unified as the MLBPA. The NFLPA was undercut by its management being cozy with NFL power brokers.

In the NHL, the salary cap definitely has muted salaries and has forced good teams to have to break themselves up; I doubt many players would say it has been a good thing for them. The NBA and especially NFL have grown revenues enough that by and large the caps have not hurt the players, at least not yet.

Quote from: Pakuni on December 11, 2025, 02:39:35 PMMarquette went from 7-9 in CUSA and KenPom #98 in 2004-05 to 10-6 in the Big East and KenPom #36 in 2005-6.
But the three amigos probably aren't walking through that door.

Yes agree it was mostly the Amigos and they are not walking through that door.  But our Big East affiliation helped some also. And our relationships with UCONN and ND behind the scenes helped a little too as Marquette made the Big Dance the next 8 years in a row.

Until ND and UCONN left the Big East after 2013. ND and UCONN basketball like Marquette Basketball fell after UCONN's title in 2014. Both Marquette and UCONN regained strength after UCONN rejoined the BIG East for the 2021 season and Shaka took the job this time.
Am worried Saint John's might have become better friends with UCONN since they control Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament and have a new big donor.

Quote from: Hards Alumni on December 11, 2025, 02:27:54 PMIt's December 11th.  Let the season play out, and then let the offseason as well.

Unless you're very sure of everything that will happen before October 2026.

What do you see happening between now and then that would drastically change the outlook of this team for 2026?

Quote from: Pakuni on December 11, 2025, 02:39:35 PMMarquette went from 7-9 in CUSA and KenPom #98 in 2004-05 to 10-6 in the Big East and KenPom #36 in 2005-6.
But the three amigos probably aren't walking through that door.

Heck they might be ! There are some talented kids coming into the program but there sure as heck isn't a Steve Novak on this roster to carry them. This current team is so devoid of bonafide high major talent that there isn't much to look forward to with a few freshmen coming in next year.

Quote from: panda on December 11, 2025, 02:17:57 PMThe outlook for next year looks bleak as well, with no significant transfers coming in.

In what world does one of the worst high major teams one year turn into a good team the following year by adding a couple of freshmen?

Marquette went from 7-9 in CUSA and KenPom #98 in 2004-05 to 10-6 in the Big East and KenPom #36 in 2005-6.
But the three amigos probably aren't walking through that door.

Nigel - ??
Stevens - ??/Zaide
?? - Phillips
Royce - Egbuonu
?? - Sheek/Clark

I'd feel good about the above lineup next year.  The ??'s are where I'd add a legit, experienced transfer.

Quote from: Mu8891 on December 11, 2025, 11:42:08 AMOk.  So Gold is in the top 3. But ...
If SS does not go to the portal
( and I don't think that he will ), then how is this team not just as bad or
Worse next year ?

And guess what... James will have lots of suitors after the season. $hit, he probably has people sniffing around already. So, if he likes V better than the RG, then... uhh ...

That is the problem with this down of a season.  No one anticipated lower mid major badness.  Things could fall apart like a RGV house of cards but I really hope Shaka has forged enough of a good relationship with his best players that they stay.  Obviously the money will have to match.  Shaka definitely made it harder on himself by missing on his talent evaluations in the sophomore and junior classes.  I have faith he will learn from his mistakes and get the team out of this mess.