I'm in the Shaka camp....

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I don't think Borzello was using "end of the day" in a literal sense.

I know. Neither did I.

[MUWarrior4Life]

I'm in 4 Shaka camp as well. Nuff said......

[Wisco]

Howland would be great but Shaka would be ideal.

Shaka now knows he has to move programs with Buzz now at VT and Bennett now having UVA on a roll also. He knows it will be harder than ever to be the midmajor alternative in a state now with two players at the super major ACC.

Shaka will move this offseason but the question is will it be Marquette or not?

You can't underestimate that most of the great college players are minorities and having a minority coach can be a recruiting advantage. I can almost guarantee if Smart is named coach it will become an issue of does he keep Buzz's recruits who all want to stay at MU or does he take his 3 top 100 VCU recruits with him to MU who all want to play for him (of course he has to keep the MU kids but if any of them want out he has options to replace them with).  

I'm told he doesn't want to coach at a blue blood and hence why he has turned down some programs in the past. I was also told he might move to MU last summer if the job became available. He didn't want the ill job as recruiting Chicago alone can be slimey, he didn't like their AD and no coach wants to live in Champaign which is gross and three hours from anything.

I think people underestimate how good our freshman class with fish, Wilson, Burton, Dawson and JJJ will be if they all stay. They are deers athletically and need to run and Shaka's style of play would be best suited for them. Fish looks like he can run some too but when the defense gets back he can be our Devante for half-court sets.

I have to imagine Howland is being pushed by Cords as he likes no non-sense coaches with a track record. However I have to imagine Doc might be pushing for Shaka knowing the conference won't recruit for itself anymore as much and Howland won't have palm trees on campus to sell recruits and can't totally rely on his pitch that I was Russel Westbrook's college coach.

Two great choices either way....will be interesting to see what happens and then find out what happened behind the scenes.  

Shaka isn't intimated by the ACC programs in our state. I've been told that he is completely with VCU's position. As I stated in another thread, he wasn't as happy with the athletic department his first few years but things have now progressed to the point where he has nearly gotten everything he wants (short of a move to the Big East, which it appears we are attempting to set ourselves up for). His relationship with the administration here at VCU is incredible. Again, he can do no wrong here and is pleased to be in that position. He can shape the basketball program literally any way he likes it.

We went undefeated in the state last year (and that included a road game at UVA and a neutral against Tech). Shaka is bringing in a top 15 recruiting class next year. We run a completely different system than UVA so it's not like we are competing for many of their recruits. VT is an entirely different story...it will take a lot of hard work for Buzz to mold that place into a more attractive destination than VCU at this point.

Thus, when I say that my guy told me that he has already turned away Marquette, I don't think it should be viewed as a knock on Marquette, the BE, or whatever. I seriously, seriously believe that he is content until a blue blood comes knocking.

[WarriorFan]

If Shaka is indeed SMART, why would he take a job where:
a) the current AD is a place holder
b) you don't know who your boss will be
c) you don't know who the new big boss will be
d) you cannot evaluate FIT at all because you don't know the institution's objectives and there's no-one around who can stand behind an explanation
e) you're still young and another similar opportunity will come along next year.

Unfortunately, MU's overall lack of top management kills the concept of bringing in anyone under 50 or anyone who isn't on the rebound.

I'd love to see Smart at MU... but I'd never take a job under those circumstances.

[Skatastrophy]

I want Shaka. Not because I think he's the best coach for the job, but because it would be great to watch VCU cry over their lost coach.

That probably makes me a bad person. Meh.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Shaka isn't intimated by the ACC programs in our state. I've been told that he is completely with VCU's position. As I stated in another thread, he wasn't as happy with the athletic department his first few years but things have now progressed to the point where he has nearly gotten everything he wants (short of a move to the Big East, which it appears we are attempting to set ourselves up for). His relationship with the administration here at VCU is incredible. Again, he can do no wrong here and is pleased to be in that position. He can shape the basketball program literally any way he likes it.

We went undefeated in the state last year. Shaka is bringing in a top 15 recruiting class next year. We run a completely different system than UVA so it's not like we are competing for many of their recruits. VT is an entirely different story...it will take a lot of hard work for Buzz to mold that place into a more attractive destination than VCU at this point.

Thus, when I say that my guy told me that he has already turned away Marquette, I don't think it was anything personal. I seriously, seriously believe that he is content until a blue blood comes knocking.

Sound a little insecure trying to defend him so admirably eh? I kid, theres no reason for Shaka leaves unless MU has some sort of wild card that nobody knows about like agreeing to hire the current VCU AD.

[jesmu84]

Jerry Meyer ‏@jerrymeyer247  14m
Getting 2 streams of information on Marquette. One stream is saying Ben Howland. The other stream is saying Shaka Smart.

Jeff Borzello ‏@jeffborzello  9m
Been hearing the same re: Marquette. I think Howland gets it at the end of the day, but they are willing to throw tons of money at Shaka.

that seems like a Strong statemenet

[Wisco]

Sound a little insecure trying to defend him so admirably eh? I kid, theres no reason for Shaka leaves unless MU has some sort of wild card that nobody knows about like agreeing to hire the current VCU AD.

I could see how I might sound like a Shaka slurper right now, but I am trying my best to be objective. I am an admitted fan of both programs, and have actually been a Marquette fan for much, much longer (my family history runs deep with the Warriors). I have no agenda really. I'd love to see Shaka at Marquette but selfishly I want to hold on to him while I'm still a student at VCU. I just want to relay the fact that the "guy" I keep referring to is very reliable and knows his stuff when it comes to all of this. Again, no one on here knows me from some bum on the street though, so...speculate on.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I could see how I might sound like a Shaka slurper right now, but I am trying my best to be objective. I am an admitted fan of both programs, and have actually been a Marquette fan for much, much longer (my family history runs deep with the Warriors). I have no agenda really. I'd love to see Shaka at Marquette but selfishly I want to hold on to him while I'm still a student at VCU. I just want to relay the fact that the "guy" I keep referring to is very reliable and knows his stuff when it comes to all of this. Again, no one on here knows me from some bum on the street though, so...speculate on.

You have to realize though that we at scoop hear about people and their "sources" so often there are only like 2 people we can trust besides ourselves. Speaking of which, where has Bigdaddy been?

[VegasWarrior77]

Just heard on an ESPN radio update (about 10:20 CDST) that both Marquette & Wake Forest have reached out to Shaka Smart.

[Eldon]

that seems like a Strong statemenet

Subtle.

[Wojo'sMojo]

If we are willing to throw tons of money at Shaka, I think we have obviously been in contact and are waiting on him. If he says yes, great. If he says no, Howland will probably be called immediately and he will be our next coach.

[NivTastic]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10665268/marquette-golden-eagles-wake-forest-demon-deacons-reach-vcu-rams-coach-shaka-smart

[mr.MUskie]

If Shaka is indeed SMART, why would he take a job where:
a) the current AD is a place holder
b) you don't know who your boss will be
c) you don't know who the new big boss will be
d) you cannot evaluate FIT at all because you don't know the institution's objectives and there's no-one around who can stand behind an explanation
e) you're still young and another similar opportunity will come along next year.

Unfortunately, MU's overall lack of top management kills the concept of bringing in anyone under 50 or anyone who isn't on the rebound.

I'd love to see Smart at MU... but I'd never take a job under those circumstances.

So you put into his contract all the rules about recruiting, scholastics, JUCOs, etc. then it doesn't matter who his new boss is. His contract says what he can do.

[LAZER]

I could see how I might sound like a Shaka slurper right now, but I am trying my best to be objective. I am an admitted fan of both programs, and have actually been a Marquette fan for much, much longer (my family history runs deep with the Warriors). I have no agenda really. I'd love to see Shaka at Marquette but selfishly I want to hold on to him while I'm still a student at VCU. I just want to relay the fact that the "guy" I keep referring to is very reliable and knows his stuff when it comes to all of this. Again, no one on here knows me from some bum on the street though, so...speculate on.

So how much is VCU able to pay Shaka?  I wonder if Buzz pulling in $2.5MM at VTech has caught his attention.

[🏀]

Boom. Shaka-shaka shake the room.