Shaka to Marquette?

[JakeBarnes]

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.

Thanks for this. A Defensive calling card would be quite the change from previously. If he can learn and add someone to the staff that can shore up an O efficiency, it'd be dangerous.

[tower912]

If Shaka wants to come to MU, great.   We've been burned once by this guy.   I am certainly not getting my hopes up.

[dw3dw3dw3]

Ill trust whatever Scholl decides mainly because the other option is just to be miserable waiting for someone to fail. I don't want Shaka because of name recognition solely. Has to be clear to Scholl that there were issues at Texas that wouldnt necessarily be a problem at MU. A reboot is sometime necessary, but if he doesn't have the passion anymore I hope it's clear to Scholl.

On the surface, Id welcome the hire and give him the full 5 year scoop leash.

[NolongerWarriors]

There was zero "bad luck" last night with Texas.

AC outworked and out hustled them from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

Want no part of Shaka.

[Pakuni]

I'd be perfectly OK with Shaka, but there are enough significant questions about his tenure at Texas that I don't think it's an automatic home-run hire.

Despite TAMU's well done breakdown, when all's said and done, Shaka inherited a program at Texas that was in a much better place than the one he would leave.
Texas had made 16 of the past 17 tournaments under the previous coach and won at least one game 10 times. They advanced to the second weekend five times. As has been discussed, Shaka has yet to win an NCAA tourney game at Texas.
Under Barnes, Texas won 23.6 games per season (10.9 in the Big 12), on average. Under Smart, it's 18.1 and 8.6.
Under Barnes, Texas finished the season ranked eight times, including four in the top 10. They've never finished ranked under Smart. 

Other than the declining results, Smart's teams at Texas - like those of the previous Marquette coach's - have never seemed to add to the sum of their parts. This year's team was ranked 9th by KenPom in the preseason, but finished 22nd. The previous year's team was ranked 32nd in the preseason by KenPom, finished 61st. The year before that, 16th preseason, 25th final.
He's recruited very well, landing three top 10 classes, another one ranked 17th; four 5-star players and four McDonald's AAs; and three NBA first-round picks ... but all that talent he's assembled hasn't translated into on-court success.

And he's done all this underachieving (IMO) at a program that without a doubt has better resources, a better conference, a better location and a better recruiting base than Marquette. If he can't win with all the advantages that UT has to offer, why would anyone think it's unquestionable that he would win at Marquette?

Maybe as TAMU suggests it's simply a matter of fit for Shaka and his results at a place Marquette would be different. I wouldn't be unhappy about giving it a try. But there are enough warning flags out there on Shaka that I don't think anyone is "insane" to have reservations.

[damuts222]

I would be for Shaka. For those pointing to a single game (last night) as evidence, it's one game. There seems to be a higher likelihood that we could turn around the program quicker with Shaka. I'm not sure the same could be said for some of the other candidates.

Below are the incoming recruits for Texas:

http://www.espn.com/colleges/basketball/recruiting/school/_/id/251/class/2021

One of the recruits is from Brookfield, WI.

[4everwarriors]

If Shaka wants to come to MU, great.   We've been burned once by this guy.   I am certainly not getting my hopes up.

I was once told by an MU assistant coach that sometimes you just have stick your head in the sand and put your feelings aside. MU has to get this next hire right. If Shaka turns out to be the man, great. Let's move forward and kick some ass, aina?

[1SE]

There was zero "bad luck" last night with Texas.

AC outworked and out hustled them from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

Want no part of Shaka.

Did Davidson outwork and out hustle MU in 2013? ACU was a stinker for Shaka for sure, but I'm not gonna say no to a guy based on a phantom foul called with 1.2 seconds left.

[tower912]

I was once told by an MU assistant coach that sometimes you just have stick your head in the sand and put your feelings aside. MU has to get this next hire right. If Shaka turns out to be the man, great. Let's move forward and kick some ass, aina?

If he wants to be at MU and MU can afford him, I will support him.   I have no interest in a run back of the prolonged soul selling wooing.

[Pakuni]

Did Davidson outwork and out hustle MU in 2013? ACU was a stinker for Shaka for sure, but I'm not gonna say no to a guy based on a phantom foul called with 1.2 seconds left.

1. Yes. Davidson was the better, smarter team for 95 percent of that game.

2. It was a 100 percent legit foul. Smacked the guy across the chest.
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1373494944665591808/pu/vid/1280x720/HFy8nTdeGeWV8mBq.mp4?tag=12

3. Maybe when you're in position to lose to a 14 seed with 1.2 seconds to play, it's a sign that whatever you were doing for the previous 39 minutes, 58 seconds wasn't working so well.

4. I don't see anyone expressing concerns over Shaka based on just one game.

[Dish]

I'd be perfectly OK with Shaka, but there are enough significant questions about his tenure at Texas that I don't think it's an automatic home-run hire.

Despite TAMU's well done breakdown, when all's said and done, Shaka inherited a program at Texas that was in a much better place than the one he would leave.
Texas had made 16 of the past 17 tournaments under the previous coach and won at least one game 10 times. They advanced to the second weekend five times. As has been discussed, Shaka has yet to win an NCAA tourney game at Texas.
Under Barnes, Texas won 23.6 games per season (10.9 in the Big 12), on average. Under Smart, it's 18.1 and 8.6.
Under Barnes, Texas finished the season ranked eight times, including four in the top 10. They've never finished ranked under Smart. 

Other than the declining results, Smart's teams at Texas - like those of the previous Marquette coach's - have never seemed to add to the sum of their parts. This year's team was ranked 9th by KenPom in the preseason, but finished 22nd. The previous year's team was ranked 32nd in the preseason by KenPom, finished 61st. The year before that, 16th preseason, 25th final.
He's recruited very well, landing three top 10 classes, another one ranked 17th; four 5-star players and four McDonald's AAs; and three NBA first-round picks ... but all that talent he's assembled hasn't translated into on-court success.

And he's done all this underachieving (IMO) at a program that without a doubt has better resources, a better conference, a better location and a better recruiting base than Marquette. If he can't win with all the advantages that UT has to offer, why would anyone think it's unquestionable that he would win at Marquette?

Maybe as TAMU suggests it's simply a matter of fit for Shaka and his results at a place Marquette would be different. I wouldn't be unhappy about giving it a try. But there are enough warning flags out there on Shaka that I don't think anyone is "insane" to have reservations.

Who do you think should be Marquette's next coach?

[Pakuni]

Who do you think should be Marquette's next coach?

Beilein would be my first choice. Gates would be my second. And I'd give Matta a call.
And yes, there are reasons for reservations about each of them as well, just fewer in my mind than Shaka.

[Dish]

Beilein would be my first choice. Gates would be my second. And I'd give Matta a call.
And yes, there are reasons for reservations about each of them as well, just fewer in my mind than Shaka.

Fair enough, none of them are "insane" options. We're cool on my end.

[Goose]

My thoughts on Shaka to MU:

1. I was never angry that Shaka ended up not taking the MU job. There is no doubt I was big time disappointed that he left us at the alter, but I was not bitter towards the decision. I actually thought MU had a steal and were hiring a guy that was actually a better long term answer than Buzz, which seldom happens landing a better coach than when departing.

2. There is zero comparison between Wojo and Shaka as a coach. His pre Wojo resume blows any discussion out of the water. There are many on here that loved making the comparison every time Wojo was called out for lack of success. I would be wiling to say that every team Shaka had at Texas was a better product than what Wojo put on the court and provided far more entertainment value. I want wins in March as much as anyone and believe Shaka will get that done before his career is over. I cannot say that about Wojo.

3. Going back to point 1 to some degree, quite possibly the timing was not right. Following the Buzz success there would have been extremely expectations for Shaka to take that to the next level. To be honest, that might have been hard to do. Buzz provided enough success to keep excitement in the program and building off that would have been a tough task. Right now he would be starting basically from scratch and that might be a great thing for both parties.

4. Style of play means a lot to me and Shaka checks that box.

5. For the past 10+ years I have felt that a program like MU should find the perfect, young black coach and give him the keys to the program. Admittedly I am not up to speed like I was years ago but Shaka sure seems to check that box as well. I think MU would benefit from a black coach, the city of MKE could benefit and MU basketball fans would benefit from Shaka taking over.

6. I am 100% confident that recruiting would be a slam dunk for Shaka and we would own the local kids. In looking back at our best teams over the past twenty years there was always a good mix of local talent, regional and sometime national talent on the team. I have said many times I liked Wojo recruiting like he was at Duke and going national but that was a tough task. I think Shaka would own the MKE market and do exceptional in the other key midwest cities.

7. Someone mentioned yesterday on another post on how Izzo would have handled the Hauser situation and I want to follow up with my take on that. I have always believed that guys in a profession know their peers about 10000% better than I do. I believe that MU hired Shaka that fellow coaches would say it was a major step up for MU. Would even go as far as saying that other BE coaches would be disappointed in the hire.
For the record, I believe the same would be said if MU hired Pitino. Coaches know their business and they know who can really recruit, coach or both.

8. If Shaka is a true candidate I am over the moon happy he lost yesterday. It means it easier to leave his current job and MU can start talking to him today. Anyone that thinks that the loss last night is reason to not hire him truly is not thinking clearly. If he has a chance to end up here, I prefer it to start this week than in three weeks.

To sum it up, I would be an extremely happy fan if Shaka was introduced as the next MU coach.

[1SE]

My thoughts on Shaka to MU:

1. I was never angry that Shaka ended up not taking the MU job. There is no doubt I was big time disappointed that he left us at the alter, but I was not bitter towards the decision. I actually thought MU had a steal and were hiring a guy that was actually a better long term answer than Buzz, which seldom happens landing a better coach than when departing.

2. There is zero comparison between Wojo and Shaka as a coach. His pre Wojo resume blows any discussion out of the water. There are many on here that loved making the comparison every time Wojo was called out for lack of success. I would be wiling to say that every team Shaka had at Texas was a better product than what Wojo put on the court and provided far more entertainment value. I want wins in March as much as anyone and believe Shaka will get that done before his career is over. I cannot say that about Wojo.

3. Going back to point 1 to some degree, quite possibly the timing was not right. Following the Buzz success there would have been extremely expectations for Shaka to take that to the next level. To be honest, that might have been hard to do. Buzz provided enough success to keep excitement in the program and building off that would have been a tough task. Right now he would be starting basically from scratch and that might be a great thing for both parties.

4. Style of platy means a lot to me and Shaka checks that box.

5. For the past 10+ years I have felt that a program like MU should find the perfect, young black coach and give him the keys to the program. Admittedly I am not up to speed like I was years ago but Shaka sure seems to check that box as well. I think MU would benefit from a black coach, the city of MKE could benefit and MU basketball fans would benefit from Shaka taking over.

6. I am 100% confident that recruiting would be a slam dunk for Shaka and we would own the local kids. In looking back at our best teams over the past twenty years there was always a good mix of local talent, regional and sometime national talent on the team. I have said many times I liked Wojo recruiting like he was at Duke and going national but that was a tough task. I think Shaka would own the MKE market and do exceptional in the other key midwest cities.

7. Someone mentioned yesterday on another post on how Izzo would have handled the Hauser situation and I have follow up take on that. I have always believed that guys in a profession know their peers about 10000% better than I do. I believe that MU hired Shaka that fellow coaches would say it was a major step up for MU. Would even go as far as saying that other BE coaches would be disappointed in the hire.
For the record, I believe the same would be said if MU hired Pitino. Coaches know their business and they know who can really recruit, coach or both.

8. If Shaka is a true candidate I am over the moon happy he lost yesterday. It means it easier to leave his current job and MU can start talking to him today. Anyone that thinks that lose is reason to hire him truly is not thinking clearly. If he has a chance to end up here, I prefer it to start this week than in three weeks.

To sum it up, I would be an extremely happy fan if Shaka was introduced as the next MU coach.

Yes. Shaka is option 1 if its on the table. Frankly I'd rather have him over Beilin or Matta or Pitino - even IF those guys were interested, how long are they gonna coach? I want someone who can build sustained success at MU - not someone who is going to make a 3 year push for one last run and then retire. If Shaka came, and it "clicked", we might not have to have this conversation again for another 30 years.

[MUCam]

Yes. Shaka is option 1 if its on the table. Frankly I'd rather have him over Beilin or Matta or Pitino - even IF those guys were interested, how long are they gonna coach? I want someone who can build sustained success at MU - not someone who is going to make a 3 year push for one last run and then retire. If Shaka came, and it "clicked", we might not have to have this conversation again for another 30 years.

I'm Beilein and then Matta over Shaka (Pitino just isn't realistic at all in my opinion for some many reasons). If Beilein is willing to go 7, it would be a no brainer for me.

But, I can totally accept this position. It makes a lot of sense. Shaka does check off a lot of boxes.

Would any of those above come? Hope so, because the next tier (including Poser, Craig Smith, Kelsey, etc) just don't excite me as much. We need a splash.

[1SE]

I'm Beilein and then Matta over Shaka (Pitino just isn't realistic at all in my opinion for some many reasons). If Beilein is willing to go 7, it would be a no brainer for me.

But, I can totally accept this position. It makes a lot of sense. Shaka does check off a lot of boxes.

Would any of those above come? Hope so, because the next tier (including Poser, Craig Smith, Kelsey, etc) just don't excite me as much. We need a splash.

Yeah - I'd rather have Beilein or Matta over tier-2 as well - if they can put us back on the map in 3 or 4 years and then decide to retire we would be well positioned to hire whoever the "hot young coach" at that time.

[Boston Warrior]

Shaka ...
is still young at 43
Has had scar tissue of bad situations
Has a ff and a nit championship
Recruits well
Coaches with a defensive identity
Originally from Madison
He would be a good choice
Is ripe to make a change

Let's go!

[Hards Alumni]

This board is hilarious. 12 hours ago it was "Shaka would never come to Marquette, you're crazy" to the ultimate recency bias of "I'd never want Shaka here".

You guys are something else, Jesus.

100000%.  You're not dealing with rational or intelligent people.

[Bad_Reporter]

My thoughts on Shaka to MU:

1. I was never angry that Shaka ended up not taking the MU job. There is no doubt I was big time disappointed that he left us at the alter, but I was not bitter towards the decision. I actually thought MU had a steal and were hiring a guy that was actually a better long term answer than Buzz, which seldom happens landing a better coach than when departing.

2. There is zero comparison between Wojo and Shaka as a coach. His pre Wojo resume blows any discussion out of the water. There are many on here that loved making the comparison every time Wojo was called out for lack of success. I would be wiling to say that every team Shaka had at Texas was a better product than what Wojo put on the court and provided far more entertainment value. I want wins in March as much as anyone and believe Shaka will get that done before his career is over. I cannot say that about Wojo.

3. Going back to point 1 to some degree, quite possibly the timing was not right. Following the Buzz success there would have been extremely expectations for Shaka to take that to the next level. To be honest, that might have been hard to do. Buzz provided enough success to keep excitement in the program and building off that would have been a tough task. Right now he would be starting basically from scratch and that might be a great thing for both parties.

4. Style of play means a lot to me and Shaka checks that box.

5. For the past 10+ years I have felt that a program like MU should find the perfect, young black coach and give him the keys to the program. Admittedly I am not up to speed like I was years ago but Shaka sure seems to check that box as well. I think MU would benefit from a black coach, the city of MKE could benefit and MU basketball fans would benefit from Shaka taking over.

6. I am 100% confident that recruiting would be a slam dunk for Shaka and we would own the local kids. In looking back at our best teams over the past twenty years there was always a good mix of local talent, regional and sometime national talent on the team. I have said many times I liked Wojo recruiting like he was at Duke and going national but that was a tough task. I think Shaka would own the MKE market and do exceptional in the other key midwest cities.

7. Someone mentioned yesterday on another post on how Izzo would have handled the Hauser situation and I want to follow up with my take on that. I have always believed that guys in a profession know their peers about 10000% better than I do. I believe that MU hired Shaka that fellow coaches would say it was a major step up for MU. Would even go as far as saying that other BE coaches would be disappointed in the hire.
For the record, I believe the same would be said if MU hired Pitino. Coaches know their business and they know who can really recruit, coach or both.

8. If Shaka is a true candidate I am over the moon happy he lost yesterday. It means it easier to leave his current job and MU can start talking to him today. Anyone that thinks that the loss last night is reason to not hire him truly is not thinking clearly. If he has a chance to end up here, I prefer it to start this week than in three weeks.

To sum it up, I would be an extremely happy fan if Shaka was introduced as the next MU coach.

Nice post, Goose.

From everything I was told Shaka does have interest and it's not just Goodman blowing smoke. 

I'm not sure Shaka is Scholl's guy though.  I think Moser might be more his type, but I have no clue. Just speculation on this last part

[Hards Alumni]

Beilein would be my first choice. Gates would be my second. And I'd give Matta a call.
And yes, there are reasons for reservations about each of them as well, just fewer in my mind than Shaka.

I value your opinion more than basically everyone here, but I totally disagree with your list.

[JakeBarnes]

My thoughts on Shaka to MU:

1. I was never angry that Shaka ended up not taking the MU job. There is no doubt I was big time disappointed that he left us at the alter, but I was not bitter towards the decision. I actually thought MU had a steal and were hiring a guy that was actually a better long term answer than Buzz, which seldom happens landing a better coach than when departing.

2. There is zero comparison between Wojo and Shaka as a coach. His pre Wojo resume blows any discussion out of the water. There are many on here that loved making the comparison every time Wojo was called out for lack of success. I would be wiling to say that every team Shaka had at Texas was a better product than what Wojo put on the court and provided far more entertainment value. I want wins in March as much as anyone and believe Shaka will get that done before his career is over. I cannot say that about Wojo.

3. Going back to point 1 to some degree, quite possibly the timing was not right. Following the Buzz success there would have been extremely expectations for Shaka to take that to the next level. To be honest, that might have been hard to do. Buzz provided enough success to keep excitement in the program and building off that would have been a tough task. Right now he would be starting basically from scratch and that might be a great thing for both parties.

4. Style of play means a lot to me and Shaka checks that box.

5. For the past 10+ years I have felt that a program like MU should find the perfect, young black coach and give him the keys to the program. Admittedly I am not up to speed like I was years ago but Shaka sure seems to check that box as well. I think MU would benefit from a black coach, the city of MKE could benefit and MU basketball fans would benefit from Shaka taking over.

6. I am 100% confident that recruiting would be a slam dunk for Shaka and we would own the local kids. In looking back at our best teams over the past twenty years there was always a good mix of local talent, regional and sometime national talent on the team. I have said many times I liked Wojo recruiting like he was at Duke and going national but that was a tough task. I think Shaka would own the MKE market and do exceptional in the other key midwest cities.

7. Someone mentioned yesterday on another post on how Izzo would have handled the Hauser situation and I want to follow up with my take on that. I have always believed that guys in a profession know their peers about 10000% better than I do. I believe that MU hired Shaka that fellow coaches would say it was a major step up for MU. Would even go as far as saying that other BE coaches would be disappointed in the hire.
For the record, I believe the same would be said if MU hired Pitino. Coaches know their business and they know who can really recruit, coach or both.

8. If Shaka is a true candidate I am over the moon happy he lost yesterday. It means it easier to leave his current job and MU can start talking to him today. Anyone that thinks that the loss last night is reason to not hire him truly is not thinking clearly. If he has a chance to end up here, I prefer it to start this week than in three weeks.

To sum it up, I would be an extremely happy fan if Shaka was introduced as the next MU coach.

Great thoughts, Goose. I agree with you on all fronts on this. Would definitely get me excited about mubb.

[MU82]

We've got two Shaka/Marquette threads going, started at about the same time last night in the minutes after the game ended. This one has twice as many pages, so here we are ...

Thanks to TAMU, brew and Pakuni for lots of good, interesting information. Also thanks to Goose for his reasonable thesis on why Marquette should pursue Shaka. All very good reads.

However, think of the things Wojo was mostly criticized for -- the legit, measurable things, not his cuddles and the white t-shirts ...

++ Wojo had zero NCAA wins in his 7 years at Marquette ... Shaka had zero NCAA wins in his 6 years at Texas AND his last 2 years at VCU.

++ Wojo rarely if ever exceeded expectations in his 7 years at Marquette ... Shaka rarely if ever exceeded expectations during his 6 years at Texas.

++ Wojo lost as a 5-seed ... Shaka lost as a 3-seed - and 4 of his 5 NCAA losses since he last won an NCAA tourney game were as the higher seed. (Also, Wojo's loss as a 5-seed was to a future NBA star; I don't think any of the Abilene Christian players will be NBA Rookie of the Year.)

++ Wojo recruited well but had no system ... Shaka has recruited well but seems to have abandoned the system that helped him get to the Final Four all those many years ago.

++ Wojo's team was badly outplayed by Georgetown in his final game at Marquette ... Shaka's team was badly outplayed by Abilene Christian in his final (?) game at Texas.

++ Wojo was living off his reputation as a Duke assistant ... Shaka is living off his reputation as a Final Four coach.

++ Defenders of either coach can point to all kinds of mitigating factors and/or context; Wojo's detractors call those "excuses" ... what are they for Shaka?

Having said all of that ...

I have been a playful critic of Shaka for most of his time at Texas, mostly pointing out that he hadn't accomplished much more than Wojo had despite all the hype he had going in there. During the day yesterday, as several of us talked about Goodman's report that Shaka might consider Marquette again, I finally let myself say, "Well, why the hell not?!?!"

And then, a few hours later, Shaka's overrated Longhorns got outworked for 40 minutes by a team that had been D2 until a few years ago, a team filled with tiny players, a team that doesn't have a single guy who would have been given a scholarship to play basketball at Texas. I mean, how is it possible that a Texas team that had a major height advantage at every position, and 4- and 5-star athletes everywhere, had only 5 offensive rebounds and not a single second-chance point all night? So emotionally, I was like, "No effen way!"

Well, it's a new day, things are calmer now, and I'm a fan of my alma mater's basketball program. If Scholl hires Shaka, I will support him and root for the team.

And it's a reasonable argument that the way Shaka likes to play might work better at Marquette than Texas, and also that the experience of having been humbled at Texas might make him a better coach at his next stop. All one has to do is look at a guy like Majerus. So thanks for our fellow Scoopers for making those arguments.

Still, it's hard to believe that after saying NCAA wins matter, Scholl would go for a guy who is 0-fer over the last 8 years, including a spectacularly horrific failure against a severely outmanned team that just flat outworked Shaka's team last night. And then there's the fact that Shaka already said no to us once. Paraphrasing Tha Hound, shouldn't we have some self-respect?

It's a fascinating conversation for all of us to have, and a difficult decision for Scholl. Here's hoping he makes the right one, whomever it ends up being.

[Pakuni]

I value your opinion more than basically everyone here, but I totally disagree with your list.

That's cool with me. I could be completely wrong.
Any particular reason, though? I definitely see the downsides of each of my top three, but I'm less concerned about those than with the other names that have been tossed around.

[Bad_Reporter]

I see both sides to the argument. 

If I had to pick right now, I honestly think it's Crean.