Texas Fans Done With Shaka Smart - Is His Fate Tied To Wojo's?

[MUbiz]

TIL Tex Winter never made it better than a very mediocre couple years at MU.

Tex ended up OK in the end 

[Dr. Blackheart]

TIL Tex Winter never made it better than a very mediocre couple years at MU.

Tex had his only head coaching banner hanging in the Bradley Center rafters.

[Galway Eagle]

Tex had his only head coaching banner hanging in the Bradley Center rafters.

Wouldn't that mean Rick never had a banner to hang either?

Also thank god they subtly got right of a sub .500 season banner

[Dr. Blackheart]

Wouldn't that mean Rick never had a banner to hang either?

Also thank god they subtly got right of a sub .500 season banner

Drunk?

[Galway Eagle]

Drunk?

Sick, so yes.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Sick, so yes.

Get well, friend!

[Pakuni]

Tex had his only head coaching banner hanging in the Bradley Center rafters.

[Hards Alumni]

ND sucks

Bravo!

[CTWarrior]

Based on what Shaka had done at Texas, which wasn't that much different from what Wojo did at MU, I could see the reason for concern at the time.  But it was pretty obvious Wojo had to go, and I'm really glad any concerns about Shaka turned out to be unfounded.   

It is just great to be excited about MU Hoops again.

[WhiteTrash]

Based on what Shaka had done at Texas, which wasn't that much different from what Wojo did at MU, I could see the reason for concern at the time.  But it was pretty obvious Wojo had to go, and I'm really glad any concerns about Shaka turned out to be unfounded.   

It is just great to be excited about MU Hoops again.

Was very happy MU moved on from Wojo. It was the type of move you'd expect from a program with very high standards. Let's face it, Wojo had a solid record and off the court he and the players were A+. A great number of schools would have been very happy with Wojo and his results (looking at you, DePaul).

MU rededicated itself to being elite in basketball with O'Neill then axing Deane who averaged 20 wins a season, and so on. MU is big time basketball; which is why I never could grasp the argument to keep Wojo because we couldn't do better. 

[Uncle Rico]

Was very happy MU moved on from Wojo. It was the type of move you'd expect from a program with very high standards. Let's face it, Wojo had a solid record and off the court he and the players were A+. A great number of schools would have been very happy with Wojo and his results (looking at you, DePaul).

MU rededicated itself to being elite in basketball with O'Neill then axing Deane who averaged 20 wins a season, and so on. MU is big time basketball; which is why I never could grasp the argument to keep Wojo because we couldn't do better.

The argument in 2020 was Covid finances which turned out not to be a problem.  I underestimated the funds available to fire him and get Shaka.

[WhiteTrash]

The argument in 2020 was Covid finances which turned out not to be a problem.  I underestimated the funds available to fire him and get Shaka.

I can follow that logic.

Some on here simply questioned the quality and attractiveness of the MU job. That was where I was honestly baffled.

Everyone, seriously everyone, I have met and follows CBB to any degree always mentions or talks at great length about how MU is 'big time' CBB. And those people I'm sure have no idea about the financial commitment MU has that sustains the decades of top tier basketball.

I'm not claiming MU is a blue blood, but what box is MU not checking as an elite basketball program?

[Uncle Rico]

I can follow that logic.

Some on here simply questioned the quality and attractiveness of the MU job. That was where I was honestly baffled.

Everyone, seriously everyone, I have met and follows CBB to any degree always mentions or talks at great length about how MU is 'big time' CBB. And those people I'm sure have no idea about the financial commitment MU has that sustains the decades of top tier basketball.

I'm not claiming MU is a blue blood, but what box is MU not checking as an elite basketball program?

It was a perfect storm of events.  One of those moments where both sides ran towards each other.  Abeline Christian win changed the course of Marquette basketball

[Dr. Blackheart]

It was a perfect storm of events.  One of those moments where both sides ran towards each other.  Abeline Christian win changed the course of Marquette basketball

And a donor's checkbook.

[Elonsmusk]

It was a perfect storm of events.  One of those moments where both sides ran towards each other.  Abeline Christian win changed the course of Marquette basketball

And it sure seem like a perfect "marriage" at this time.  Shaka is a phenomenal human being, whose values and principles align perfectly with Marquette's.  Lovell and university admin realize what an asset Shaka is to the university and there seems to be a fantastic chemistry between Shaka, Lovell, Scholl etc. 

Further, I can't see how any professors at MU could not, at minimum, respect Shaka and his intellect -even if they may harbor some resentment toward a basketball coach being the highest paid employee at the university.

I was a huge Buzz fan, but can reflect back and say Shaka ultimately is a much better fit at MU from every perspective.

Not sure which donor(s) wrote the checks to make the move happen, but MU and its alums should be forever grateful to that/those donor(s).

[MU82]

The argument in 2020 was Covid finances which turned out not to be a problem.  I underestimated the funds available to fire him and get Shaka.

Yessir. I really had absolutely no idea that we had alums willing to spend millions of dollars to do that kind of buyout. Obviously I'm thrilled with the way things worked out.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The argument in 2020 was Covid finances which turned out not to be a problem.  I underestimated the funds available to fire him and get Shaka.

That and at the time MU was in a public fight with its faculty over recent layoffs (which was another symptom of the COVID finances). I think there was legitimate concern about the perception of paying millions to fire an employee when the university had just laid off dozens of employees citing the financial health of the university. Donors removed that concern.

I can follow that logic.

Some on here simply questioned the quality and attractiveness of the MU job. That was where I was honestly baffled.

You have to be honest about the MU job. It is a very quality and attractive job...for mid and low major (and a handful of the lower P6) coaches looking to move up, assistant coaches looking to get a promotion, or unsuccessful P6 coaches looking to get a fresh start. MU is not a good enough job to poach a successful P6 (now P5) coach. And that's not an insult, that's true of all but maybe 10-15 programs.

This is part of why the timing of Wojo being fired happened when it did. Ideally, you go into a coaching search with a target in mind and knowing that you can get that target and that they're going to be an upgrade over your current coach. In our case, that target was Porter Moser. MU knew that the very worst they could do after they fired Wojo was Porter Moser who would have been a significant upgrade. Then Abilene Christian beat Texas and Shaka went from a successful P6 coach to an unsuccessful one who we fortunately knew had a lot of potential still in him. The rest is history

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

This is part of why the timing of Wojo being fired happened when it did. Ideally, you go into a coaching search with a target in mind and knowing that you can get that target and that they're going to be an upgrade over your current coach. In our case, that target was Porter Moser. MU knew that the very worst they could do after they fired Wojo was Porter Moser who would have been a significant upgrade. Then Abilene Christian beat Texas and Shaka went from a successful P6 coach to an unsuccessful one who we fortunately knew had a lot of potential still in him. The rest is history

I'm going to go ahead and disagree that Porter Moser is a clear upgrade over Wojo.  As a tactical coach, Moser is hands down better than Wojo.  But recruiting would be a HUGE downgrade. 

Moser gave me Mike Deane 2.0 vibes.  And his run at Oklahoma has done little to change my opinion.   Looking at their roster, it's very transfer heavy.  And those transfers fall into two buckets: 1) Good mid-major players and 2) Bad high-major players.  It's definitely not an NCAA tournament caliber roster.

Maybe Moser is just a bad recruiting fit at Oklahoma.  But, man, the shine wore off pretty quickly.  I imagine Moser will be on the hot seat pretty soon, if he isn't already.  I foresee him eventually ending up back at a mid-major.

[jfp61]

I'm going to go ahead and disagree that Porter Moser is a clear upgrade over Wojo.  As a tactical coach, Moser is hands down better than Wojo.  But recruiting would be a HUGE downgrade. 

Moser gave me Mike Deane 2.0 vibes.  And his run at Oklahoma has done little to change my opinion.   Looking at their roster, it's very transfer heavy.  And those transfers fall into two buckets: 1) Good mid-major players and 2) Bad high-major players.  It's definitely not an NCAA tournament caliber roster.

Maybe Moser is just a bad recruiting fit at Oklahoma.  But, man, the shine wore off pretty quickly.  I imagine Moser will be on the hot seat pretty soon, if he isn't already.  I foresee him eventually ending up back at a mid-major.

I don't think Moser is the best coach, but Moser would have undoubtedly been a significant improvement on wojo.

Moser's first year at Oklahoma was higher rated in KP than EVERY wojo team. Moser went to a final 4 from the missouri valley, and then took a top 10 computer team to the sweet 16. The Big 12 doesn't have any bottom feeders, he is just getting beaten down by a conference chalked full of talent. Every Wojo Marquette team would look the same way in that conference.

Nothing about Moser was "Mike Deane 2.0". Mike Deane lacked clear success as a mid major before MU. If i had to call someone in the conference Mike Deane it would be Kim English. But at least Kim has youth on his side.

[Uncle Rico]

I don't think Moser is the best coach, but Moser would have undoubtedly been a significant improvement on wojo.

Moser's first year at Oklahoma was higher rated in KP than EVERY wojo team. Moser went to a final 4 from the missouri valley, and then took a top 10 computer team to the sweet 16. The Big 12 doesn't have any bottom feeders, he is just getting beaten down by a conference chalked full of talent. Every Wojo Marquette team would look the same way in that conference.

Nothing about Moser was "Mike Deane 2.0". Mike Deane lacked clear success as a mid major before MU. If i had to call someone in the conference Mike Deane it would be Kim English. But at least Kim has youth on his side.

Porter Moser era Marquette after two years versus Shaka Smart era Marquette after two years is an interesting thought exercise.  I have severe doubts Marquette is a legit national title contender in year 3 of a Moser era at Marquette. 

[The Lens]

Porter would have yielded slightly better results than Wojo but they would have felt better.

Taking no names and coaching them up to a Top 6 BE finish and a 7 through 10 seed feels better than taking 9 RSCI Top 100s and ending up losing in the first round.  MU fans are not used to their teams being talented and underacheiving.  Usually if we're talented we win and if we're not we half the time over acheive.  Wojo was the opposite of what MU has experienced the last 50 years.

[Galway Eagle]

Porter would have yielded slightly better results than Wojo but they would have felt better.

Taking no names and coaching them up to a Top 6 BE finish and a 7 through 10 seed feels better than taking 9 RSCI Top 100s and ending up losing in the first round.  MU fans are not used to their teams being talented and underacheiving.  Usually if we're talented we win and if we're not we half the time over acheive.  Wojo was the opposite of what MU has experienced the last 50 years.

Idk about you but I'd say between 02-10 we had plenty of extremely talented teams yet only 1 run. In fact go even further to 93 and we have 2 runs out of 11 attempts not sure that qualifies us as being used to winning if we're talented.

[MU82]

Porter Moser era Marquette after two years versus Shaka Smart era Marquette after two years is an interesting thought exercise.  I have severe doubts Marquette is a legit national title contender in year 3 of a Moser era at Marquette.

Yep.

[The Lens]

Idk about you but I'd say between 02-10 we had plenty of extremely talented teams yet only 1 run. In fact go even further to 93 and we have 2 runs out of 11 attempts not sure that qualifies us as being used to winning if we're talented.

And that's why fans began to sour on Crean.  And then grew to love Buzz.  Buzz always felt like he was overdelivering (until he didn't) in part bc he was bringing in jucos and retooling a lot. 

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

By "Mike Deane 2.0," I meant that I viewed both he and Moser as good tacticians but my gut instinct was that Moser would struggle with recruiting just as Deane did.

Ultimately, we'll never know how Moser's recruiting at Marquette would have played out.  But his recruiting at Oklahoma has done nothing to change my opinion.