Shaka to Marquette?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The story of Shaka at Texas requires some context. Shaka walked into a much better roster than anything Wojo walked into, ranked #34 preseason by KenPom. But it was senior heavy. 4 of their top 6 guys were seniors (and 5 of their top 8). Add in his best player Isaiah Taylor mistakenly thinking he was going to be drafted and Shaka's second year started with zero starters from the previous year, a classic rebuilding year. In year one they lost a hearbreaker to 11 seeded Northern Iowa in the NCAAT.

Similar to Wojo's second year, Shaka's second year had highish expectations (preseason #45 in KenPom) due to a highly ranked recruiting class. Shaka ran out a starting of 4 underclassmen and a senior big man who started out of necessity. Results were not good but usually a roster with 5 underclassmen playing 26+ minutes a game means a promising future. Unfortunately some things both forseeable and unforseeable ended up undermining that.

First, star sophomore Tevin Mack had....off the court issues (he would end up committing to play for four different universities in four years) and had to leave the university. Next, former 5-star Jarrett Allen predictably went pro and ended up with a solid career in the NBA. But no one could have predicted that Andrew Jones, former 5-star and the guy who was supposed to be Shaka' best player in year 3 would be diagnosed with leukemia. He did play a few games in year 3 before the diagnosis but it clearly limited his play and eventually shut him down. So instead of a rebuilding year, Shaka ended up losing 3/4 of his top players (and 5 of his top 7). Allen was absolutely predictable. Mack...the coach is responsible for the players he recruits but hard to place that all on Shaka. Jones, Shaka bears no responsibility for.

Despite losing their star, the Longhorns ended year 3 about where they were supposed to. KenPom pegged them as the 37th best team preseason (prior to Jones' diagnosis) and they finished 38th. They earned a 7 seed but got a brutal matchup with Nevada who KenPom pegged as a couple point favorite in that match. Texas lost in OT. It should also be noted that Texas was missing starting guard Eric Davis for that game. Davis got caught up in the Christian Dawkins scandal (he committed to Rick Barnes but stayed when Shaka was hired).

Year 4 was a weird one. They were projected as the 16th best team in the country by KenPom. They finished 25th...but only made the NIT. Texas has the honor of being the third highest ranked KenPom team ever (since KenPom became a thing in 2002) to not make the NCAAT. The other two? 2002 South Carolina and 2018 Penn State (you know, the ones that beat us in the NIT). Their resume included wins over #7 UNC on a neutral court, #9 Purdue at home, #20 K-State on the road, #32 Oklahoma at home, #17 Kansas at home, #35 Baylor at home, and #15 Iowa State at home. That's a lot of quality wins. But the B12 was very strong that year and they picked up a lot of losses to very good teams (as well as two bad losses to #122 Radford and #132 Georgia). The NIT is never a good look for Texas, but at least they won it.

Year 5 was by far the most disappointing. He lost his two best players from the year before but they should have been an NCAA worthy team. Instead COVID saved Shaka from the boosters' wrath.

Year 6 ended with a thud but it's hard to call a B12 championship and a 3-seed a bad season, no matter who you are.

Those saying that Shaka is equal to Wojo are not making meaningful comparisons. Yes, Wojo has a better overall W/L record. The B12 is a much tougher league than the Big East. That's not debatable. Yes, both have zero tournament wins. But in six years, Shaka got them a 3, a 6, and a 7 seed. In seven years, Wojo got them a 5 and a 10 and did enough in the COVID year to earn somewhere between an 8-11. If the argument is Shaka can't win in March...first I'd say that's not a meaningful argument, second I'd point out that the dude has a Final Four. Clearly he can win in March, he hasn't at Texas.

I can also say with some experience that Austin has never embraced Shaka. Texas boosters are the worst kind of fans that you can imagine and they have not hid their disdain for a Black Midwesterner running their program very well. Don't believe me? Check out the recent Texas  Tribune article that got ahold of a bunch of booster emails regarding the Eyes of Texas song. That's what people are willing to write down and sign their name to. The stuff they are willing to say behind closed doors is worse. What level of impact that may have had on Shaka's success...I don't know. But I don't think it's unreasonable to think that a change of scenery could yield better results.

I don't know that Shaka is my first choice. I really like Smith, I think he could be the next Beard. I am also very intrigued by Gates. But I think Shaka deserves to be on that list if he is serious. This morning I dismissed it as Shaka lobbying for a contract extension. Now I think he's in need of a reset. People have been praising Mike Anderson who got fired for not winning enough at Arkansas. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that Smart could do even better here.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I do find it more than slightly ironic that people here are praising Shaka's success and Final 4 run at VCU nearly a decade ago.

(A final four run I may add that ended to an 8 seed and needed a last second winner against 10th seeded Florida St.)

But completely discredit Moser's much more recent success.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I do find it more than slightly ironic that people here are praising Shaka's success and Final 4 run at VCU nearly a decade ago.

(A final four run I may add that ended to an 8 seed and needed a last second winner against 10th seeded Florida St.)

But completely discredit Moser's much more recent success.

I think Moser's final four should absolutely be considered. I also think that the following year where he underperformed his KP expectations by 65 spots should also be considered. That's my issue with him. He either wildly overperforms expectations or wildly underperforms. I don't like inconsistency. He's on my list to interview....but he's towards the back.

[JWags85]

I do find it more than slightly ironic that people here are praising Shaka's success and Final 4 run at VCU nearly a decade ago.

(A final four run I may add that ended to an 8 seed and needed a last second winner against 10th seeded Florida St.)

But completely discredit Moser's much more recent success.

He also rolled out Top 25 teams 3 of the next 4 seasons after the FF before he left for Texas.  As TAMU said, Moser has been a bit less consistent. Shaka has been disappointing at Texas, I'm not sure if he's the guy for Marquette, but he made a FF and kept it rolling at VCU. He didn't spike and then return to an NIT or CBI level

[Goose]

Shaka would be a big time hire for MU. I believe he would have great success if he ended here. Fingers crossed.

[1SE]

These Shaka/Wojo comparisons are ridiculous. Other than the lack of NCAA AT THEIR CURRENT STOP, there is no comparison (and that is troubling, but the fact the guy has a FF under his belt is somewhat reassuring). AND if he HAD had NCAA success at UT, there wouldn't be any remote possibility of us getting him.

Since Shaka bottomed out in 2017, he's been* to 3 of 4 NCAAs (let's say a first-four team in 2020) and won the NIT the other year. He's improved his conference standing every year and snagged a B12 tourney title. Wojo on the other hand has been on a clear downward trajectory since February 2019.

The ACU loss was super-ugly, not doubt. But the NCAA tourney is a crap shoot right? Shouldn't have been in that situation, but if ACU doesn't get a questionable call with 1.2 left, or misses a FT, and Texas squeaks through they get another win and make the S16, Shaka looks like he's on a great trajectory and gets an extension.

Vander misses that layup against Davidson and do we venerate St. Buzz in the same way?

Shaka is a steal. If UT is willing to let him go without a buyout we would be crazy not to take him.

[muwarrior69]

If Shaka were fired wouldn't Texas go after the same coaches we are?

[niquejamesfan]

St. Buzz😊?
#donedeal

[Silkk the Shaka]

I've been a big Shaka fan but I have to say - watching Moser adjust after getting down big yesterday compared to watching Shaka's team get out worked badly by a team with far less size, athleticism and talent is worth something.

Precisely, couldn't come up with a better microcom example of what we need vs. what we just got rid of

[MUDPT]

The story of Shaka at Texas requires some context. Shaka walked into a much better roster than anything Wojo walked into, ranked #34 preseason by KenPom. But it was senior heavy. 4 of their top 6 guys were seniors (and 5 of their top 8). Add in his best player Isaiah Taylor mistakenly thinking he was going to be drafted and Shaka's second year started with zero starters from the previous year, a classic rebuilding year. In year one they lost a hearbreaker to 11 seeded Northern Iowa in the NCAAT.

Similar to Wojo's second year, Shaka's second year had highish expectations (preseason #45 in KenPom) due to a highly ranked recruiting class. Shaka ran out a starting of 4 underclassmen and a senior big man who started out of necessity. Results were not good but usually a roster with 5 underclassmen playing 26+ minutes a game means a promising future. Unfortunately some things both forseeable and unforseeable ended up undermining that.

First, star sophomore Tevin Mack had....off the court issues (he would end up committing to play for four different universities in four years) and had to leave the university. Next, former 5-star Jarrett Allen predictably went pro and ended up with a solid career in the NBA. But no one could have predicted that Andrew Jones, former 5-star and the guy who was supposed to be Shaka' best player in year 3 would be diagnosed with leukemia. He did play a few games in year 3 before the diagnosis but it clearly limited his play and eventually shut him down. So instead of a rebuilding year, Shaka ended up losing 3/4 of his top players (and 5 of his top 7). Allen was absolutely predictable. Mack...the coach is responsible for the players he recruits but hard to place that all on Shaka. Jones, Shaka bears no responsibility for.

Despite losing their star, the Longhorns ended year 3 about where they were supposed to. KenPom pegged them as the 37th best team preseason (prior to Jones' diagnosis) and they finished 38th. They earned a 7 seed but got a brutal matchup with Nevada who KenPom pegged as a couple point favorite in that match. Texas lost in OT. It should also be noted that Texas was missing starting guard Eric Davis for that game. Davis got caught up in the Christian Dawkins scandal (he committed to Rick Barnes but stayed when Shaka was hired).

Year 4 was a weird one. They were projected as the 16th best team in the country by KenPom. They finished 25th...but only made the NIT. Texas has the honor of being the third highest ranked KenPom team ever (since KenPom became a thing in 2002) to not make the NCAAT. The other two? 2002 South Carolina and 2018 Penn State (you know, the ones that beat us in the NIT). Their resume included wins over #7 UNC on a neutral court, #9 Purdue at home, #20 K-State on the road, #32 Oklahoma at home, #17 Kansas at home, #35 Baylor at home, and #15 Iowa State at home. That's a lot of quality wins. But the B12 was very strong that year and they picked up a lot of losses to very good teams (as well as two bad losses to #122 Radford and #132 Georgia). The NIT is never a good look for Texas, but at least they won it.

Year 5 was by far the most disappointing. He lost his two best players from the year before but they should have been an NCAA worthy team. Instead COVID saved Shaka from the boosters' wrath.

Year 6 ended with a thud but it's hard to call a B12 championship and a 3-seed a bad season, no matter who you are.

Those saying that Shaka is equal to Wojo are not making meaningful comparisons. Yes, Wojo has a better overall W/L record. The B12 is a much tougher league than the Big East. That's not debatable. Yes, both have zero tournament wins. But in six years, Shaka got them a 3, a 6, and a 7 seed. In seven years, Wojo got them a 5 and a 10 and did enough in the COVID year to earn somewhere between an 8-11. If the argument is Shaka can't win in March...first I'd say that's not a meaningful argument, second I'd point out that the dude has a Final Four. Clearly he can win in March, he hasn't at Texas.

I can also say with some experience that Austin has never embraced Shaka. Texas boosters are the worst kind of fans that you can imagine and they have not hid their disdain for a Black Midwesterner running their program very well. Don't believe me? Check out the recent Texas  Tribune article that got ahold of a bunch of booster emails regarding the Eyes of Texas song. That's what people are willing to write down and sign their name to. The stuff they are willing to say behind closed doors is worse. What level of impact that may have had on Shaka's success...I don't know. But I don't think it's unreasonable to think that a change of scenery could yield better results.

I don't know that Shaka is my first choice. I really like Smith, I think he could be the next Beard. I am also very intrigued by Gates. But I think Shaka deserves to be on that list if he is serious. This morning I dismissed it as Shaka lobbying for a contract extension. Now I think he's in need of a reset. People have been praising Mike Anderson who got fired for not winning enough at Arkansas. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that Smart could do even better here.

Thank you! Shaka and Wojo's NCAAT resumes are not really close. At the end of regulation, Shaka's net point differential is -4. If you look at the score with 3 seconds left, it's +2. We can argue about opponent strength, but it's not close to Wojo's -39.

[avid1010]

Shaka would be a big time hire for MU. I believe he would have great success if he ended here. Fingers crossed.

100%

[The Sultan]

I'd love if Shaka came to MU.  He is actually the candidate that I have the least concerns with. 

[willie warrior]

Rocky and Hilltop must love all the speculation, opinion, and other comments hitting this board over the last few days. Hope you guys are getting paid somehow for this. What is the post traffic since all this started?
And how the hell can anybody keep up with this? Hire Shaka, no Shaka. Hire Pitino, No Pitino. Hire Wardle, No Wardle. Hire Bielein, No Bielein. Hire Moser, No Moser. Bring back Crean, hell no Crean.
Guess all this proves is that there are plenty of MU fans out there and the internet gives them access to voice their pleasure/displeasure.
Enjoying this a lot, but this search needs to get going in earnest. If Loyola wins today, likely the board will explode even more.

[willie warrior]

I mean Nate Oats isn't coming, I don't know who people expect, but if there's a candidate better than Shaka, I'd love to see people name him.

Now it'll be interesting to see if Shaka gets fired this week.

Dont think he will be fired, he won the tourney and made the dance. But what the hell does anybody know? Even the guy that saw his disorganized office admits that he does not know.

[Warrior2008]

The story of Shaka at Texas requires some context. Shaka walked into a much better roster than anything Wojo walked into, ranked #34 preseason by KenPom. But it was senior heavy. 4 of their top 6 guys were seniors (and 5 of their top 8). Add in his best player Isaiah Taylor mistakenly thinking he was going to be drafted and Shaka's second year started with zero starters from the previous year, a classic rebuilding year. In year one they lost a hearbreaker to 11 seeded Northern Iowa in the NCAAT.

Similar to Wojo's second year, Shaka's second year had highish expectations (preseason #45 in KenPom) due to a highly ranked recruiting class. Shaka ran out a starting of 4 underclassmen and a senior big man who started out of necessity. Results were not good but usually a roster with 5 underclassmen playing 26+ minutes a game means a promising future. Unfortunately some things both forseeable and unforseeable ended up undermining that.

First, star sophomore Tevin Mack had....off the court issues (he would end up committing to play for four different universities in four years) and had to leave the university. Next, former 5-star Jarrett Allen predictably went pro and ended up with a solid career in the NBA. But no one could have predicted that Andrew Jones, former 5-star and the guy who was supposed to be Shaka' best player in year 3 would be diagnosed with leukemia. He did play a few games in year 3 before the diagnosis but it clearly limited his play and eventually shut him down. So instead of a rebuilding year, Shaka ended up losing 3/4 of his top players (and 5 of his top 7). Allen was absolutely predictable. Mack...the coach is responsible for the players he recruits but hard to place that all on Shaka. Jones, Shaka bears no responsibility for.

Despite losing their star, the Longhorns ended year 3 about where they were supposed to. KenPom pegged them as the 37th best team preseason (prior to Jones' diagnosis) and they finished 38th. They earned a 7 seed but got a brutal matchup with Nevada who KenPom pegged as a couple point favorite in that match. Texas lost in OT. It should also be noted that Texas was missing starting guard Eric Davis for that game. Davis got caught up in the Christian Dawkins scandal (he committed to Rick Barnes but stayed when Shaka was hired).

Year 4 was a weird one. They were projected as the 16th best team in the country by KenPom. They finished 25th...but only made the NIT. Texas has the honor of being the third highest ranked KenPom team ever (since KenPom became a thing in 2002) to not make the NCAAT. The other two? 2002 South Carolina and 2018 Penn State (you know, the ones that beat us in the NIT). Their resume included wins over #7 UNC on a neutral court, #9 Purdue at home, #20 K-State on the road, #32 Oklahoma at home, #17 Kansas at home, #35 Baylor at home, and #15 Iowa State at home. That's a lot of quality wins. But the B12 was very strong that year and they picked up a lot of losses to very good teams (as well as two bad losses to #122 Radford and #132 Georgia). The NIT is never a good look for Texas, but at least they won it.

Year 5 was by far the most disappointing. He lost his two best players from the year before but they should have been an NCAA worthy team. Instead COVID saved Shaka from the boosters' wrath.

Year 6 ended with a thud but it's hard to call a B12 championship and a 3-seed a bad season, no matter who you are.

Those saying that Shaka is equal to Wojo are not making meaningful comparisons. Yes, Wojo has a better overall W/L record. The B12 is a much tougher league than the Big East. That's not debatable. Yes, both have zero tournament wins. But in six years, Shaka got them a 3, a 6, and a 7 seed. In seven years, Wojo got them a 5 and a 10 and did enough in the COVID year to earn somewhere between an 8-11. If the argument is Shaka can't win in March...first I'd say that's not a meaningful argument, second I'd point out that the dude has a Final Four. Clearly he can win in March, he hasn't at Texas.

I can also say with some experience that Austin has never embraced Shaka. Texas boosters are the worst kind of fans that you can imagine and they have not hid their disdain for a Black Midwesterner running their program very well. Don't believe me? Check out the recent Texas  Tribune article that got ahold of a bunch of booster emails regarding the Eyes of Texas song. That's what people are willing to write down and sign their name to. The stuff they are willing to say behind closed doors is worse. What level of impact that may have had on Shaka's success...I don't know. But I don't think it's unreasonable to think that a change of scenery could yield better results.

I don't know that Shaka is my first choice. I really like Smith, I think he could be the next Beard. I am also very intrigued by Gates. But I think Shaka deserves to be on that list if he is serious. This morning I dismissed it as Shaka lobbying for a contract extension. Now I think he's in need of a reset. People have been praising Mike Anderson who got fired for not winning enough at Arkansas. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that Smart could do even better here.

Thank you. The Shaka and Wojo comparisons are laugh out loud stupid. Shaka has a final four at a basketball only school and a conference tournament championship of arguably the best basketball conference in the country. The ncaa success, or lack there of, at Texas isn't great but it's not littered with 20 point drubbings.

As I've said before, I still don't think it'll happen and think the Goodman thing was Shaka using Marquette as leverage. But it's definitely more of a possibility than I previously thought and would be an absolute home run for Marquette if Scholl can pull it off.

[GOO]

. If Loyola wins today, likely the board will explode even more.

Yes, if Loyola wins today he probably moves up to the top of the Indians list?

Shaka would be great, so would Moser, so would Crean as it would be his lifetime job without the constant yearly he is going to leave.

I hope we end up with the guy we want and not plan D. Our AD has made some good hires, I trust him to do it again as long as he can reel in the one he wants. 

[WarriorPride68]

The story of Shaka at Texas requires some context. Shaka walked into a much better roster than anything Wojo walked into, ranked #34 preseason by KenPom. But it was senior heavy. 4 of their top 6 guys were seniors (and 5 of their top 8). Add in his best player Isaiah Taylor mistakenly thinking he was going to be drafted and Shaka's second year started with zero starters from the previous year, a classic rebuilding year. In year one they lost a hearbreaker to 11 seeded Northern Iowa in the NCAAT.

Similar to Wojo's second year, Shaka's second year had highish expectations (preseason #45 in KenPom) due to a highly ranked recruiting class. Shaka ran out a starting of 4 underclassmen and a senior big man who started out of necessity. Results were not good but usually a roster with 5 underclassmen playing 26+ minutes a game means a promising future. Unfortunately some things both forseeable and unforseeable ended up undermining that.

First, star sophomore Tevin Mack had....off the court issues (he would end up committing to play for four different universities in four years) and had to leave the university. Next, former 5-star Jarrett Allen predictably went pro and ended up with a solid career in the NBA. But no one could have predicted that Andrew Jones, former 5-star and the guy who was supposed to be Shaka' best player in year 3 would be diagnosed with leukemia. He did play a few games in year 3 before the diagnosis but it clearly limited his play and eventually shut him down. So instead of a rebuilding year, Shaka ended up losing 3/4 of his top players (and 5 of his top 7). Allen was absolutely predictable. Mack...the coach is responsible for the players he recruits but hard to place that all on Shaka. Jones, Shaka bears no responsibility for.

Despite losing their star, the Longhorns ended year 3 about where they were supposed to. KenPom pegged them as the 37th best team preseason (prior to Jones' diagnosis) and they finished 38th. They earned a 7 seed but got a brutal matchup with Nevada who KenPom pegged as a couple point favorite in that match. Texas lost in OT. It should also be noted that Texas was missing starting guard Eric Davis for that game. Davis got caught up in the Christian Dawkins scandal (he committed to Rick Barnes but stayed when Shaka was hired).

Year 4 was a weird one. They were projected as the 16th best team in the country by KenPom. They finished 25th...but only made the NIT. Texas has the honor of being the third highest ranked KenPom team ever (since KenPom became a thing in 2002) to not make the NCAAT. The other two? 2002 South Carolina and 2018 Penn State (you know, the ones that beat us in the NIT). Their resume included wins over #7 UNC on a neutral court, #9 Purdue at home, #20 K-State on the road, #32 Oklahoma at home, #17 Kansas at home, #35 Baylor at home, and #15 Iowa State at home. That's a lot of quality wins. But the B12 was very strong that year and they picked up a lot of losses to very good teams (as well as two bad losses to #122 Radford and #132 Georgia). The NIT is never a good look for Texas, but at least they won it.

Year 5 was by far the most disappointing. He lost his two best players from the year before but they should have been an NCAA worthy team. Instead COVID saved Shaka from the boosters' wrath.

Year 6 ended with a thud but it's hard to call a B12 championship and a 3-seed a bad season, no matter who you are.

Those saying that Shaka is equal to Wojo are not making meaningful comparisons. Yes, Wojo has a better overall W/L record. The B12 is a much tougher league than the Big East. That's not debatable. Yes, both have zero tournament wins. But in six years, Shaka got them a 3, a 6, and a 7 seed. In seven years, Wojo got them a 5 and a 10 and did enough in the COVID year to earn somewhere between an 8-11. If the argument is Shaka can't win in March...first I'd say that's not a meaningful argument, second I'd point out that the dude has a Final Four. Clearly he can win in March, he hasn't at Texas.

I can also say with some experience that Austin has never embraced Shaka. Texas boosters are the worst kind of fans that you can imagine and they have not hid their disdain for a Black Midwesterner running their program very well. Don't believe me? Check out the recent Texas  Tribune article that got ahold of a bunch of booster emails regarding the Eyes of Texas song. That's what people are willing to write down and sign their name to. The stuff they are willing to say behind closed doors is worse. What level of impact that may have had on Shaka's success...I don't know. But I don't think it's unreasonable to think that a change of scenery could yield better results.

I don't know that Shaka is my first choice. I really like Smith, I think he could be the next Beard. I am also very intrigued by Gates. But I think Shaka deserves to be on that list if he is serious. This morning I dismissed it as Shaka lobbying for a contract extension. Now I think he's in need of a reset. People have been praising Mike Anderson who got fired for not winning enough at Arkansas. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that Smart could do even better here.

[willie warrior]

The story of Shaka at Texas requires some context. Shaka walked into a much better roster than anything Wojo walked into, ranked #34 preseason by KenPom. But it was senior heavy. 4 of their top 6 guys were seniors (and 5 of their top 8). Add in his best player Isaiah Taylor mistakenly thinking he was going to be drafted and Shaka's second year started with zero starters from the previous year, a classic rebuilding year. In year one they lost a hearbreaker to 11 seeded Northern Iowa in the NCAAT.

Similar to Wojo's second year, Shaka's second year had highish expectations (preseason #45 in KenPom) due to a highly ranked recruiting class. Shaka ran out a starting of 4 underclassmen and a senior big man who started out of necessity. Results were not good but usually a roster with 5 underclassmen playing 26+ minutes a game means a promising future. Unfortunately some things both forseeable and unforseeable ended up undermining that.

First, star sophomore Tevin Mack had....off the court issues (he would end up committing to play for four different universities in four years) and had to leave the university. Next, former 5-star Jarrett Allen predictably went pro and ended up with a solid career in the NBA. But no one could have predicted that Andrew Jones, former 5-star and the guy who was supposed to be Shaka' best player in year 3 would be diagnosed with leukemia. He did play a few games in year 3 before the diagnosis but it clearly limited his play and eventually shut him down. So instead of a rebuilding year, Shaka ended up losing 3/4 of his top players (and 5 of his top 7). Allen was absolutely predictable. Mack...the coach is responsible for the players he recruits but hard to place that all on Shaka. Jones, Shaka bears no responsibility for.

Despite losing their star, the Longhorns ended year 3 about where they were supposed to. KenPom pegged them as the 37th best team preseason (prior to Jones' diagnosis) and they finished 38th. They earned a 7 seed but got a brutal matchup with Nevada who KenPom pegged as a couple point favorite in that match. Texas lost in OT. It should also be noted that Texas was missing starting guard Eric Davis for that game. Davis got caught up in the Christian Dawkins scandal (he committed to Rick Barnes but stayed when Shaka was hired).

Year 4 was a weird one. They were projected as the 16th best team in the country by KenPom. They finished 25th...but only made the NIT. Texas has the honor of being the third highest ranked KenPom team ever (since KenPom became a thing in 2002) to not make the NCAAT. The other two? 2002 South Carolina and 2018 Penn State (you know, the ones that beat us in the NIT). Their resume included wins over #7 UNC on a neutral court, #9 Purdue at home, #20 K-State on the road, #32 Oklahoma at home, #17 Kansas at home, #35 Baylor at home, and #15 Iowa State at home. That's a lot of quality wins. But the B12 was very strong that year and they picked up a lot of losses to very good teams (as well as two bad losses to #122 Radford and #132 Georgia). The NIT is never a good look for Texas, but at least they won it.

Year 5 was by far the most disappointing. He lost his two best players from the year before but they should have been an NCAA worthy team. Instead COVID saved Shaka from the boosters' wrath.

Year 6 ended with a thud but it's hard to call a B12 championship and a 3-seed a bad season, no matter who you are.

Those saying that Shaka is equal to Wojo are not making meaningful comparisons. Yes, Wojo has a better overall W/L record. The B12 is a much tougher league than the Big East. That's not debatable. Yes, both have zero tournament wins. But in six years, Shaka got them a 3, a 6, and a 7 seed. In seven years, Wojo got them a 5 and a 10 and did enough in the COVID year to earn somewhere between an 8-11. If the argument is Shaka can't win in March...first I'd say that's not a meaningful argument, second I'd point out that the dude has a Final Four. Clearly he can win in March, he hasn't at Texas.

I can also say with some experience that Austin has never embraced Shaka. Texas boosters are the worst kind of fans that you can imagine and they have not hid their disdain for a Black Midwesterner running their program very well. Don't believe me? Check out the recent Texas  Tribune article that got ahold of a bunch of booster emails regarding the Eyes of Texas song. That's what people are willing to write down and sign their name to. The stuff they are willing to say behind closed doors is worse. What level of impact that may have had on Shaka's success...I don't know. But I don't think it's unreasonable to think that a change of scenery could yield better results.

I don't know that Shaka is my first choice. I really like Smith, I think he could be the next Beard. I am also very intrigued by Gates. But I think Shaka deserves to be on that list if he is serious. This morning I dismissed it as Shaka lobbying for a contract extension. Now I think he's in need of a reset. People have been praising Mike Anderson who got fired for not winning enough at Arkansas. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that Smart could do even better here.

Good post Tamu. By all means MU should look at him
Just don't see him interested after the last fiasco with him.

[willie warrior]

Rick Barnes made the tournament a lot too.  Shaka is probably toast.

Bold prediction, Rocky. He does check a lot of MU's boxes if available. MU certainly does not lack potential candidates. Now we have to see what the search shakes out.

[The Sultan]

Good post Tamu. By all means MU should look at him
Just don't see him interested after the last fiasco with him.

I actually wonder how much Marquette is going to tread lightly around him given what happened before.

[Viper]

Shaka would be a big time hire for MU. I believe he would have great success if he ended here. Fingers crossed.

why do you believe Shaka would have great success here? As a comparison, Crean has a FF at MU but so-so success since. Shaka has a FF at VCU, but so-so since. I really don't have a candidate I'm totally down with. Some like Bielein, but how many years would he give MU? Some like Moser, but I keep thinking 2ncaa bids in 17 seasons. Are there any others that really jump off the page as a coach MU needs to be hot on the trail of? As for Shaka, why do you think he'd be a great success here? btw, isn't he originally from WI? Oregon, WI?

[The Sultan]

nm

[willie warrior]

Back before WI-57 was upgraded northeast of Green Bay, WI-42 from Manitowoc to Sturgeon Bay was the way we used to get to Door County.  Very scenic trip hugging the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Right about that. Door County--beautiful. But too cold in the fall. Fish boils galore.

[JakeBarnes]

Right about that. Door County--beautiful. But too cold in the fall. Fish boils galore.

Had a blast snowshoeing up there last winter. Hopefully the Fall 50 run happens this year

[brewcity77]

With the caveat that no comparison is apples to apples, here are what Shaka's kenpom Efficiency Margin , Offense, and Defense would look like if you took his results from the past 6 years at Texas and dropped them into the Big East, along with the projected seed the team with that overall Effiency Margin rank earned. As a note, I took Marquette out of the rankings for all of these years because otherwise we're judging Shaka in an 11-team league:

Code Select Expand

Year   AdjEM   AdjOff   AdjDef   *Seed*
2021     2        3        1      *5*
2020     7        9        1      *NIT*
2019     1        2        1      *5*
2018     6        8        2      *10*
2017     7        9        2      *11*
2016     5        6        5      *9*

Who knows what recruiting would've looked like, but even with the injuries and the issues Shaka has had, if you put his Texas results in the Big East, he would've tracked to earn 5 NCAA bids in 6 years and an NIT bid the other. Those defensive numbers would be an absolute identity and calling card. He would've had the best team in 2019 and likely won the Big East title we couldn't secure.

We'd still think he was underachieving relative to Buzz, but we'd also know the context of injuries and issues that TAMU pointed out and are much easier to ignore when all you look at is "3 NCAAs and 0 NCAA wins in 6 years". Also, a little extra context. Shaka's first team that got in as a 6-seed did lose in round one, but it was on a buzzer-beating half court heave by Paul Jesperson after his team scored with 2.7 to play to seemingly force overtime. As TAMU noted, they lost as underdogs to Nevada in overtime in his second tourney bid. Then last night they lost by 1 on 2 free throws by a 57% free throw shooter with 1.4 left. Losing in the NCAAs sucks, but Shaka is three bounces away from winning all of those games.

I'm still stung over 2014. I'm not saying Shaka is the lights-out, surefire candidate. But I do like the idea of someone who held out for the big job realizing that it isn't always what it's cracked up to be and coming closer to home in a league where it's easier to win. Shaka is also just 43 years old. He's going to be doing this for 25 more years. Compare that to Beilein (68), McKay (55), Moser (52), and Smith (48). Other than Gates (41), Shaka is the youngest coach we're possibly looking at with 7 NCAA wins, an NIT title, and a Final Four under his belt. And a hell of a lot of bad luck that led to the disappointing results of the past 6 years. The more I look at him, the more I like him as a candidate.