Are you excited that Marquette hired Shaka Smart?

[1SE]

This was a home-run hire by Scholl - whom I've been very hard on in the past. This will be up there with the biggest hires of this cycle - maybe if Moser goes to IU and if UT can lure Beilein or Beard - but this is right there with them. I would have been fine with Moser, but despite the FF he wasn't/isn't the name to the casual observer that Smart is. Honestly, if you asked me in February who "Porter Moser" was I wouldn't have known - if you said the Loyla Coach I'd say - cool - but I wouldn't have known his name. If they make the FF again this year that will probably change but a bird in hand is always worth two in the bush. Moser would have been a great hire too, but had we waited for Moser, and got turned down and missed our opportunity with Smart in the process that would have been a disaster.

If he works out remains to be seen, but I'm willing to hope for the best. As others have mentioned, the ceiling is very high. I don't think we could have done a better job and I'm more optimistic about the future of the program than at any time since 2003. (Success with Buzz was great, but the phony cowboy/squeemishness of those years diminished the taste of that success).

With Smart we have the opportunity to win big and do it in the Marquette way. Buzz brought the former. Wojo brought the latter. Smart has the potential for both.

[WarriorFan]

I'm excited but I want Shaka the system coach and not Shaka the player coach. 

It's pretty clear to me now that Wojo's strategy was to promise certain players they would get the ball and the freedom to do what they want with the ball.  A few others were promised a role.  A rare few (Sacar) graduated from role to "do what you want".  Behind that, there was no system.  Wojo might call it trust in the players, but the total was never greater than the sum of the parts. 

Shaka proved at VCU to have a system that made the total greater than the sum of the parts.  He also has a strong defensive system.  Good systems win games in the BEAST. 

Get good players - yes - necessary... but also install the system to make the end result even better. 

[cheebs09]

What else in his record at Texas - despite his failures in March when it counts - would lead you to believe he will do better in Milwaukee than he did in Austin?

I think he had some really bad luck at Texas. His tournament losses are by something like a combined 13 points. He had injuries and a cancer diagnosis to top players.

He was able to change from Havoc and still have very good defenses. Some wonder if he got into the Jay Wright problem of chasing stars but not really players that fit. That's when Wright had his lull before winning two titles. Not saying Shaka will do the same, but since we won't quite get the talent Texas did, we might get players that better fit his system.

I also don't know how much Texas welcomed him. I think going to a basketball school in a conference like the Big East will be very good. It seems like the VCU situation on steroids.

[MUDPT]

Badger fans are big mad (scared) about it on Twitter, so it's probably a good hire. Then again, most of them know nothing about CBB...

[MUCam]

I think he had some really bad luck at Texas. His tournament losses are by something like a combined 13 points. He had injuries and a cancer diagnosis to top players.

I am wary of making excuses for past performance, but there is truth to this. Along with those losses and that diagnosis, if you followed Texas, he had some untimely injuries and some early NBA departures that affected continuity.

That said, he clearly wasn't successful and I don't blame Texas for being disappointed after 6 years. With the last minute losses, perhaps he shouldn't have had his teams in a position to lose that way, so that's the counter argument.

Sometimes, for a lot of reasons, a situation just doesn't work out or isn't the right fit.

For Marquette, here is what I know. He's been successful before. He can recruit. He's had great defenses. And, he is a nationally known name from a Power 6 conference. Those are positives. It makes MU look strong to be able to attract him. I'm willing to give him a blank slate and let him get to work.

For me, he was one of 4-5 guys I would have been super happy with. He wasn't my top pick, but he was in my candidate pool as someone I was excited to get. The sour grapes being exhibited on this board because some people's guy didn't get chosen are ridiculous. Especially when you consider that most of us - if not all of us - were not privy to the decision making process and don't know why the choice was made. Was Moser lukewarm in reception? Did Beilein insist on bringing his son as an associate coach? Did Gates acknowledge that FSU is his dream job? We don't know any of it. To criticize a decision that was made without knowing how the sausage was made is comical. It speaks more of the critics than the decision.

As with every coaching decision, only time will tell how he does. But I for one am excited, even if he wasn't the #1 on my personal list.

Long meandering stream of consciousness post over now...

[lohaus]

Checks quite a few boxes....

1. Head coach Experience
2. Previous wins in ncaa tourney (not at Texas)
3. Proven defensive system
4. Ability to recruit nba players
5. Wisconsin guy
6. Diversity
7. Regardless of how long ago, this is still a final four HEAD coach

It is better to end things at Texas too early then too late. For Pete's sake, Marquette program dropped to the level of just hoping that we beat DePaul or St John's . . . From I hope we don't lose a game against DePaul/St John's to keep us out of the tourney with a 500 record  . . To getting destroyed in the first round and embarrassed by Morant . . . To can we at least win 1 out of 5 games to be BEAST champs.

[Viper]

Want to be entertained? Jump over to Buckys 5th Quarter. Comments on MU hiring Shaka are hilarious. As if RED is a historic program...the UCLA of college basketball. Dang I hate those guys. And yes, a little hate is...good.😀

[GOO]

I'm a projo who thought Wojo should get another year.

But that is the past.  I see more clearly now. The veil has been lifted.

This is a hugh hire by MU.  A Wow hire. I am astonished that they pulled this off. I am excited.  Big time hire, biggest in MU's history by far. 

I think it is an upgrade on many fronts and the type of upgrade where we don't have to take a step back for 2 or 3 years.

And from fan excitement, marketing, Milwaukee relevance, this is a big hire.  Big upgrade.   Instant excitement to have him on the sidelines of Fiserve.   I bet the students get fired back up some as well. He seems to relate to the youngsters.

[shoothoops]

Are you "excited" that MUBB hired Shaka Smart? That's a bit strong. (No pun intended) Hopeful, sure.

So let's take a look at some of Shaka's experience, positive things, things to work on etc...

Smart was an assistant at four different places in various leagues prior to becoming a head coach where he made contributions and gained valuable experience. And as a head coach he had players go on to the professional basketball level.

As a head coach, Smart made 8 of 12 NCAA Tourneys as a head coach. (He would have missed 2020's NCAA Tourney.) He made a Final Four in 2011. He's won in the NCAA Tourney first Round two other times. He won the Big 12 Conference Tourney Title in 2021. He also won the A-10 Tourney in 2015, and a Colonial Conference Tourney Title in 2012. He was able to finish 3rd in the Big 12 twice, and he was able to finish 2nd in the A-10 twice, and 2nd in the Colonial once.

In the NCAA Tourney, his last NCAA Tourney win was vs Akron, in 2013, and he had a 2012 NCAA Tourney win over Wichita St. as the two NCAA Tourney wins for him outside of his Final Four Season. Smart has made the 2nd weekend of the NCAA Tourney in 1 out of 12 seasons.

In Smart's Final Four Season, he took an 11 seed, 4th place Colonial Team that finished behind George Mason, Old Dominion, and Hofstra, from the NCAA Tourney First Four, all the way to the Final Four.

How did Smart do compared to his league peers at Texas? Smart never finished first in the regular season league, in three different leagues. While he was at Texas, four other teams were able to do it. He didn't have any 2nd place finishes at Texas. Add an additional 5th team that was able to do that. Texas did finish 3rd twice, as did an additional sixth team, and, that team the year before Smart's arrival, finished 2nd and made the Final Four.

The only two teams in the Big 12 that didn't either finish in the top couple of teams in the regular season, or not win a conference tourney during his time there, were TCU and Oklahoma St.. ...Kansas, Baylor, Kansas St., Oklahoma, West Virginia. Texas Tech, Iowa St. were all able to do it. Smart had an overall losing conference record at Texas, including 3 straight losing record seasons ar one point. Smart made the NCAA Tourney in 2 of his last 5 seasons.

Texas. How does his time at Texas compare to his predecessor at Texas?  In 17 seasons, Rick Barnes made the NCAA Tourney 16 times. While there, he went to a Final Four, 2 Elite 8's, 2 Sweet 16's. He won 19 NCAA Tourney games in 17 seasons. He won 3 regular season league titles, finished 2nd 5 times, and finished 3rd 3 times.

So, in partial summary,

8 of 12 NCAA Tourneys. Hopefully he can keep building upon that a little bit, and make that almost annual at Marquette. Texas stands out here as Power 5/Big East league. He was 3 out of 6. We try to use a league as comparable to Marquette's league as possible.(a Power 5/Big East League)

NCAA Tourney wins in 3 of 12 seasons, 1 season making the 2nd weekend or better out of 12. Hopefully he can win NCAA Tourney games in more seasons, more often. Again, at Texas, zero NCAA Tourney wins in six seasons.

Zero regular season league titles in 12 seasons, in 3 leagues, including all six years at Texas. Hopefully he will win some regular season league titles at Marquette.

Smart had two top 3 league finishes at Texas in six seasons. He did this in 1 of 3 Colonial Seasons and 2 of 3 A-10 seasons. Hopefully can add to this at Marquette.

Smart won 3 conference tourney titles in 12 seasons, in 3 different leagues, including 1 in his 6 seasons at Texas.. Hopefully he can mix that in at Marquette.

He had a winning league record in both the Colonial and A-10. But he had a losing league record at Texas, having winning league records in two of six seasons. Hopefully he can produce more winning league records more often at Marquette.

So, these are some of the areas where Smart has had some success, and these are some areas, where he can hopefully build upon that at Marquette. He'll get a fair chance the next few to several years. I do believe it's significant, and long overdue for Marquette to have a Black and/or Minority HC in any sport. Good luck to him. 👍

[Tha Hound]

Want to be entertained? Jump over to Buckys 5th Quarter. Comments on MU hiring Shaka are hilarious. As if RED is a historic program...the UCLA of college basketball. Dang I hate those guys. And yes, a little hate is...good.😀

I'd rather walk into oncoming traffic than read what Tom from UW-Platteville has to say about our program

[forgetful]

Curious about whether those that are not excited about the hire, if they would change their tune if Shaka had his first press conference catered by Aryb's, free roast beef and cheddars for everyone.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Curious about whether those that are not excited about the hire, if they would change their tune if Shaka had his first press conference catered by Aryb's, free roast beef and cheddars for everyone.

Oprah can MC.

[MU82]

Seth Davis with an article on Shaka in The Athletic, mostly about his time at Texas, with this headline:

Shaka Smart was once a shooting star. Now he's just looking for another shot at Marquette

https://theathletic.com/2480309/2021/03/26/shaka-smart-was-once-a-shooting-star-now-hes-just-looking-for-another-shot-at-marquette/?source=weeklyemail

I'll respect the paywall so won't cut-and-paste, but here's a couple of little tidbits.

Similar to what many Scoopers said about Wojo (until this season):

Smart's teams were never bad, but they were never good enough, either.

Conclusion:

This is one of those rare instances when a coaching change benefits everyone – the coach, the school he's leaving and the school he's going to. Smart had his turn as a shooting star, but that light has faded. He's just a basketball coach now, eager for another shot, and he's going back home to take it.

[Dawson Rental]

Considering that my OTHER team whose fans were hoping for an impact hire ended up hiring a former assistant to the failed coach who, despite rumors of him being a great recruiter in Minnesota, STILL let Tre Jones, McKinley Wright, Theo John, Dawson Garcia AND Matthew Hurt slip though his fingers, I am absolutely thrilled.  I was thinking we were going to end up with Chris Carrawell or Isaac Chew.

There was probably serious consideration given to Isaac Chew but only on an interim basis long enough to recruit MU's best players and recruits to Texas A&M. 

That dude did some serious bridge burning on his way out the door at MU.

[79Warrior]

Seth Davis with an article on Shaka in The Athletic, mostly about his time at Texas, with this headline:

Shaka Smart was once a shooting star. Now he's just looking for another shot at Marquette

https://theathletic.com/2480309/2021/03/26/shaka-smart-was-once-a-shooting-star-now-hes-just-looking-for-another-shot-at-marquette/?source=weeklyemail

I'll respect the paywall so won't cut-and-paste, but here's a couple of little tidbits.

Similar to what many Scoopers said about Wojo (until this season):

Smart's teams were never bad, but they were never good enough, either.

Conclusion:

This is one of those rare instances when a coaching change benefits everyone – the coach, the school he's leaving and the school he's going to. Smart had his turn as a shooting star, but that light has faded. He's just a basketball coach now, eager for another shot, and he's going back home to take it.

Last sentence I totally agree with. Shaka gets a big reset coming to Marquette. He will come in to prove his detractors wrong. I believe we will see a fired up Shaka which will translate into some fun Marquette basketball. The future is looking very bright for Marquette fans.

[Dawson Rental]

Here's hoping for Rick Barnes 2.0, rather than Wojo 2.0.