Shaka to Marquette?

[tower912]

My concern with Shaka is not his coaching.   It is the 10 days of wasted time courting him if he isn't the guy.   Times change, but I haven't forgotten the last time.

[Hards Alumni]

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.

Beilein is a stop gap.  He's too old, and we just have this conversation again five years from now for sure..

Gates I'd be fine with

Matta.  Why would he have interest?  He's been out of the game for four years.  That might be bad.  Sure, he can coach, but his health history, and lack of 'give a sh1t' is a non starter for me.

[4everwarriors]

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.

Nads, do you make soup at home? Figurin' ewe due, 'cuz ya sure njoy stirrin' da pot, kin, hey?

[Dish]

I see both sides to the argument. 

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

You must be following Coaching Changes on twitter.

[MU82]

Nads, do you make soup at home? Figurin' ewe due, 'cuz ya sure njoy stirrin' da pot, kin, hey?

I guess I enjoy "stirrin' da pot" as much as kin TAMU, kin brew, kin Pakuni and kin Goose do. Not to mention kin Doc Dribble.

[MU82]

I see both sides to the argument. 

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

You got anything for us, BR? I am NOT being snarky. What're you hearing?

[Goose]

Doc,

82 sure loves to stir the pot and I can see him at computer laughing his ass off when he hits the post button.

[Mu8891]

Shaka ?  No thanks

No way they hire Crean.

[Bad_Reporter]

You must be following Coaching Changes on twitter.

No, however I did see someone post the link.

The 100 year celebration stuck out to me.  Crean said a lot of things that made me believe he missed MU. He knew he f'd up and tried to strike gold while the iron was hot.   Does he have flaws, absolutely.  But Scholl made it clear he wants a coach with previous coaching experience. Crean did well here, and pushed Marquette for the greater cause then just basketball (still waiting for the soccer benefits)

My Intel isn't on a tweet (I don't have Twitter). My intel is on what i was told by someone I trust who is best friends with Scholl. 

There you have it.  My heads on a chopping block now with fellow scoopers.  Just sharing what I know.

[tower912]

Shaka'n, not stirred?  Shaka and awe?

Both are looking at the same data.   The numbers are what they are.    How you choose to interpret them is up to you.

[4everwarriors]

Doc,

82 sure loves to stir the pot and I can see him at computer laughing his ass off when he hits the post button.

Actually, his computer was able to grab a selfie of Mike hard at work. Thought I'd share with y'all, hey?

[tower912]

Dude, you had the camera backward again and posted a selfie.

[Bad_Reporter]

Actually, his computer was able to grab a selfie of Mike hard at work. Thought I'd share with y'all, hey?

Doc, you could pull some serious coin working on his mouth, eh?

[MU82]

Actually, his computer was able to grab a selfie of Mike hard at work. Thought I'd share with y'all, hey?

Hey you kids, get outta my computer!

[Tums Festival]

No, however I did see someone post the link.

The 100 year celebration stuck out to me.  Crean said a lot of things that made me believe he missed MU. He knew he f'd up and tried to strike gold while the iron was hot.   Does he have flaws, absolutely.  But Scholl made it clear he wants a coach with previous coaching experience. Crean did well here when Dwyane Wade was on the team, and pushed Marquette for the greater cause then just basketball (still waiting for the soccer benefits)

My Intel isn't on a tweet (I don't have Twitter). My intel is on what i was told by someone I trust who is best friends with Scholl. 

There you have it.  My heads on a chopping block now with fellow scoopers.  Just sharing what I know.

FIFY

[Goose]

If Strong had anything to do with the buyout than Crean is in play. I would be disappointed if that was direction they went and hope it does not happen. That said, I would probably buy in and get a bit more excitement for the program than I did during the Wojo era.

[panda]

No, however I did see someone post the link.

The 100 year celebration stuck out to me.  Crean said a lot of things that made me believe he missed MU. He knew he f'd up and tried to strike gold while the iron was hot.   Does he have flaws, absolutely.  But Scholl made it clear he wants a coach with previous coaching experience. Crean did well here, and pushed Marquette for the greater cause then just basketball (still waiting for the soccer benefits)

My Intel isn't on a tweet (I don't have Twitter). My intel is on what i was told by someone I trust who is best friends with Scholl. 

There you have it.  My heads on a chopping block now with fellow scoopers.  Just sharing what I know.

Thanks bad reporter. I appreciate your insights and you've proven yourself to be reliable on multiple occasions. The mouth breathers on this site regurgitating status quo are exhausting.

Your insights are great.

[GooooMarquette]

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.

A more rational list IMO than most here have. Beilein and Matta would both be home runs, but I just don't see them wanting the job. If they did, I'd put them at 2 and 3. My list, based on who I think would be realistic:

1. Gates
2. Smith
3. Moser

[fjm]

MUBB and Shaka talk starts at 19:40ish

https://twitter.com/robdauster/status/1373643338499379205?s=21

[cheebs09]

I'm pretty high on Smith and Gates, but there's definitely some risk for them. I also think Shaka has the same upside, but far less risk. Even though his Texas time wasn't a huge success, he's shown he can coach and recruit in what's been possibly the toughest conference the last 6 years.

I don't think it should be a major consideration, but I'd think Shaka sticks around longer than Gates. Shaka has been to the big school and may see the value in staying at MU (much like Crean sounds like now). I could see Gates being the guy at FSU and Leonard Hamilton is up there in age, despite the fact that I don't know if he's aged in the last 20 years.

[forgetful]

No, however I did see someone post the link.

The 100 year celebration stuck out to me.  Crean said a lot of things that made me believe he missed MU. He knew he f'd up and tried to strike gold while the iron was hot.   Does he have flaws, absolutely.  But Scholl made it clear he wants a coach with previous coaching experience. Crean did well here, and pushed Marquette for the greater cause then just basketball (still waiting for the soccer benefits)

My Intel isn't on a tweet (I don't have Twitter). My intel is on what i was told by someone I trust who is best friends with Scholl. 

There you have it.  My heads on a chopping block now with fellow scoopers.  Just sharing what I know.

No inside information here. But if you asked me yesterday, I would have guessed Crean or Moser.

After yesterday, I think Shaka is right there in the mix, the question is whether that be as option 1a, b or c.

Regardless, I think it is highly likely that Shaka is not in Texas anymore.

[Dr. Blackheart]

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

Why were we burned? With no President or AD, a new league with a new sports channel deal, and a situation where their successful coach was moved along, I don't blame Shaka at all for passing.  A lot is known now including that Wojo set a very low bar.

[GooooMarquette]

Why were we burned? With no President or AD, a new league with a new sports channel deal, and a situation where their successful coach was moved along, I don't blame Shaka at all for passing.  A lot is known now including that Wojo set a very low bar.

But all the reports indicated that Shaka said no because Mrs. Shaka vetoed the move, not because of the leadership situation or the TV deal.

Do you have intel that shows something different?

[4everwarriors]

Never met Scholl, but I get the impression from his actions and also his presser, that putting his own man in as head coach is a very important part of this process. So, while Too Tanned Tommy may be in play with Strong, and shekels can't be ignored, Scholl will ultimately choose the coach without outside influence. To do otherwise would be the exact same ultimatum Woj was put into, hey?

[cheebs09]

But all the reports indicated that Shaka said no because Mrs. Shaka vetoed the move, not because of the leadership situation or the TV deal.

Do you have intel that shows something different?

I thought the AD and President was one of these reasons she vetoed. We are also only getting one side of the story on how that all went down.