The Shaka Smart hire will go down as one of the smarter hires in MU coaching history. Why?
1. Unlike previous hires, Shaka has already had his "go" on the big stage at Texas. The pressure there to succeed is similar to any blueblood school - Recruit Elite Athletes, Get to the Final Four, and contend for a title. Shaka had the experience and didn't thrive in it with the constant pressure. He won't be looking to go elsewhere, is young 43, and is already from Wisconsin. Shaka presents an opportunity to coach MU for more than a decade, possibly.
2. Recruiting. Shaka has recruited and sent multiple big men to the NBA Jarret Allen, Mohammed Bamba, Jaxson Hayes, and Larry Sanders. That bodes well to keep up and comers Garcia and Lewis from transferring as they will be featured in a system that utilizes/features their skills.
3. Other Candidates
The other candidates namely John Beilein, Dennis Gates, and Porter Moser don't offer as much Shaka does
Beilein is 68 and was run out of his last NBA job for using the "thug" term. In this cancel culture we live in, Beilein isn't attuned to younger players anymore. On the recruiting trail his gaffe would be used against him immensely. Plus, he's 68 and represents the "Old School". MU needs young blood, not someone who's career is in its twilight.
Dennis Gates - Gates was probably the most intriguing option. He recruited and developed 2 NBA draft picks at FSU, 2x Forwards Jonathan Isaac and Mfiondu Kabengele. Like Shaka, he has a knack for finding and developing talented big men which is crucial to keeping Lewis and Dawson. Gates literally turned Cleveland State into a winning program his second year on the job by winning the conference tournament and Horizon League. After reading the articles below, on Gates, you get a feeling that this guy is going to become something special down the line. The question that lingers, though, is does he have enough experience coaching a program yet? Sure he turned around Cleveland State in a short amount of time, but 2 years as a head coach is still very raw despite over a decade as an assistant. We saw with Wojo that he was in too deep. His recruiting was all over the place and he never got a system going that fit the players he recruited. Wojo rarely imposed will on the opponent and was almost always outcoached. Could the same have happened to Gates? It's possible. Gates 15th seeded Cleveland St. was ousted by Houston in a 31 point blowout. Simply put, Gates is still earning his stripes and is a risk. The Marquette AD blew the Wojo hiring by extending him too long. If another flop is hired as basketball coach, the AD is gone. Gates is too risky here and Shaka is more of a sure bet. However, if circumstances are different and Wojo had won at MU and left for greener pastures, Gates is probably the hire.
https://247sports.com/college/florida-state/Article/Florida-State-Seminoles-Mens-Basketball-assistant-Dennis-Gates-taking-head-coaching-job-at-Cleveland-State-133934417/https://theundefeated.com/features/dennis-gates-bet-on-himself-and-brought-cleveland-state-back-to-the-ncaa-tournament/Porter MoserProbably the most popular coach on most people's lists. After a Final Four and demolition of NCAA tourney favorite Illinois, Moser was high on a lot of lists for achieving much with little talent. Moser's system is like watching "the art of basketball" with crisp passes, cuts, and straight fundamentals on display. Moser has that Bo Ryan or Tony Bennett feel where the system is greater than any one player. When executed, the Titans of College Basketball fall.....especially in the NCAA tourney where you have little time to adjust to such a different style of play. While this style of play is successful, is it for Marquette? Moser compiled a regular season losing record against ranked teams at Loyola. That is a red flag. Now, the argument against that is...... well it was in the beginning of the season and Moser doesn't have access to better talent. Yes, that is true..... a system like Moser's with inferior players needs half a season before it begins to execute well enough to take down better talent. Can Porter recruit better at MU to compensate for that? That's a huge question that doesn't have an answer. The last time MU went with an X's and O's coach, it was Mike Deane. His recruiting didn't pan out. Simply put, the risk was too high for an AD that is already under stress by the donors/fans. Also: Moser's system/culture is enforced by seniors, so it needs 4 years to blossom. MU doesn't have the patience right now to see if that experiment works.
Shaka is here. We get a coach who can recruit well and should get some NCAA tourney victories here. His career at Texas makes me much less excited this time around than during the #DoneDeal days, but it's much harder to build a program with 5 stars these days. They just don't stick around and it's tough to build a culture with players leaving all the time. It will be harder to get 5 stars to come to Marquette as it isn't Texas, but maybe that's a good thing. Maybe we will have senior leadership from 4 and 3 stars which is what you need to be successful in the tourney. Heck..... Shaka got to a final four with mostly 2 star recruits. I think the Blueblood model is on the way out and upper classmen-system basketball is about to take over for college basketball. The bluebloods showed us that this year. Maybe Shaka will adapt. Either way, he has a system, can recruit, and is still young. Right now that's what MU needs and it hasn't had that the last 7 years.
The future is brighter, but still with some question marks. Smart coaches adapt and Shaka is smart. Let's see what he can do without immense pressure, while having access to some decent resources.
