This is what you're getting with Shaka

[MUCam]

The Shaka skeptics have some justification.   I am going to choose optimism.

I agree. None of the choices were perfect. Not Gates, not Moser, not Shaka.

But they were all head and shoulders above the last candidate pool, Shaka notwithstanding since he said no.

Arguments could be made in favor of each one of them and against each one of them. Whining about it is silly.

Shaka was not my #1. But there is enough there to be excited.

Plus, we have no idea if Moser said no. So to whine about something we didn't even know to be a possibility is silly. We also didn't get Izzo or Pitino.

[Heisenberg]

Did people not watch his Texas teams and still think this is the VCU guy? His Texas teams were all highly ranked recruits that stood around and watched a guy create off the dribble. No ball movement, no synergy, the opposite of exciting. On defense they didn't try to create TO's and they rebounded poorly. Literally exactly what we just fired. I'm perplexed by this "exciting" brand of basketball narrative.

Agree, Shaka=Wojo2.0

Again, I'm a fan of this hire but will be rooting hard for him.  It is not a bad hire, a disappointing hire, an unproven coach would have been a bad hire.

[Mu8891]

There's really no reason to think
He will be better at MU than UT ...

I don't care about how a defense
Is ranked ( or offense ) ... Like 99%
Of fans I care about wins and wins in
March.   

[TSmith34, Inc.]

So assume MU busted the bank for mediocrity when they could have gotten Moser for much less.

It seems this in likely untrue.

[Silent Verbal]

I'd take Shaka over Moser.  I truthfully thought Shaka was a pipe dream when Wojo got fired.

He plays a more exciting brand of basketball, will recruit better players and the transition will be much, much quicker.  He's also been kicked in the balls at a big school, so the potential for this to be a long term play for Shaka is certainly there.

I would have been happy with Moser, but I think Shaka is more exciting.

I agree with all of this.  He went the "grass is greener" route and it didn't work.  And he's a monster recruiter.  AND he's only two years younger than Gates, with ten times the experience and resume.  This is a steal, and a home run hire. 

[Heisenberg]

It seems this in likely untrue.

could be ... but If MU was ready to go to a salary starting with a "3" or maybe higher, I feel like they could have done better.

[mu.n8ball]

I would be happy with a 3 seed for MU in the tournament. *shrug*

[JakeBarnes]

I agree with all of this.  He went the "grass is greener" route and it didn't work.  And he's a monster recruiter.  AND he's only two years younger than Gates, with ten times the experience and resume.  This is a steal, and a home run hire.

I feel the same way. As the joking orignator of the "shaka to MU" thread after the ACU loss, I didn't think it was that realistic. I feel like Marquette got away with something. Hopefully that bears out on the court

[f/k/a humanlung]

Coaches are what they are.  He is going to give you the same results he had at his high major school the last six years.  No more, no less.

Texas Longhorns (Big 12 Conference) (2015–present)
2015–16   Texas   20–13   11–7   4th   NCAA Division I Round of 64
2016–17   Texas   11–22   4–14   10th   
2017–18   Texas   19–15   8–10   T–6th   NCAA Division I Round of 64
2018–19   Texas   21–16   8–10   6th   NIT Champion
2019–20   Texas   19–12   9–9   T–3rd   Post-season cancelled due to pandemic
2020–21   Texas   19–8          12–6   3rd   NCAA Division I Round of 64
Texas:               109–86 (.559)  52–56 (.481)   

That is zero NCAA wins and a below .500 conference record.

Oh, and he was making $3.2m at Texas.  So assume MU busted the bank for mediocrity when they could have gotten Moser for much less.

And if you TRIPLE his combined margin of defeat in those 3 NCAA games, I think you get to the "best" loss of the Wojo era (19 points).

Wojo is, mercifully, gone.  Deal with it.

[MUfan12]

So some here were willing to accept Moser's crap-ass record before 2018, but now want to ignore Shaka's success at VCU?

[LastWarrior]

Coaches are what they are.  He is going to give you the same results he had at his high major school the last six years.  No more, no less.

Texas Longhorns (Big 12 Conference) (2015–present)
2015–16   Texas   20–13   11–7   4th   NCAA Division I Round of 64
2016–17   Texas   11–22   4–14   10th   
2017–18   Texas   19–15   8–10   T–6th   NCAA Division I Round of 64
2018–19   Texas   21–16   8–10   6th   NIT Champion
2019–20   Texas   19–12   9–9   T–3rd   Post-season cancelled due to pandemic
2020–21   Texas   19–8          12–6   3rd   NCAA Division I Round of 64
Texas:               109–86 (.559)  52–56 (.481)   

That is zero NCAA wins and a below .500 conference record.

Oh, and he was making $3.2m at Texas.  So assume MU busted the bank for mediocrity when they could have gotten Moser for much less.

What did he do at VCU?  Could he coach then?

[f/k/a humanlung]

What did he do at VCU?  Could he coach then?

Nah, he couldn't coach then, either.  He only got them to one Final Four.

[Heisenberg]

What did he do at VCU?  Could he coach then?

This is what he did at the high major level.

[ATL MU Warrior]

I knew something could get Heisy and MU82 on the same side of the table.  I hope they enjoy their tea party circle jerk while the rest of us party tonight.

Corrected.  It is Heisy after all.

[Big Papi]

I prefer Moser over Shaka but in the overall grand scheme of things, I think there is less of drop next year and the potential for the same high.  I would gladly take a 3 seed in the next 2 years and get upset and win a Big East title.  That means we had a damn good year and didn't battle with the bottom dwellers.  Plus, he has had success winning NCAA games and Championships.  Some are not the ones you want to win but its better than sitting at home like we did this year.

I fully support Shaka.  I think he will be successful.  I think it could of been a whole lot worse where we were going on option number 4, 5 or 6.  Instead we get the man the admin wanted.

[LastWarrior]

This is what he did at the high major level.

Final Four not high major level enough for you?

[MU82]

I agree. None of the choices were perfect. Not Gates, not Moser, not Shaka.

But they were all head and shoulders above the last candidate pool, Shaka notwithstanding since he said no.

Arguments could be made in favor of each one of them and against each one of them. Whining about it is silly.

Shaka was not my #1. But there is enough there to be excited.

Plus, we have no idea if Moser said no. So to whine about something we didn't even know to be a possibility is silly. We also didn't get Izzo or Pitino.

Agree 100% with this, and with the tower comment you highlighted.

There are valid criticisms of each candidate, and also many reasons to support each. Shaka is our coach, he brings a lot of great attributes, and I am happy to welcome him as my alma mater's coach.

We Are Marquette!

[79Warrior]

Nope, I'm an MU fan and will root for him as hard as I can.

Just not excited today.

Texas fans are indeed elated he is gone. Change of venue hopefully will hopefully be a positive for Shaka. I do think he can do well at MU.

It will be interesting to see how the players react.

[f/k/a humanlung]

Texas fans are indeed elated he is gone. Change of venue hopefully will hopefully be a positive for Shaka. I do think he can do well at MU.

It will be interesting to see how the players react.

But if you look at the history of Texas fans/boosters, the argument can be made that they are also psychotic.  Expectations are WAY out of line with reality in what seems like a majority of cases.

[JakeBarnes]

But if you look at the history of Texas fans/boosters, the argument can be made that they are also psychotic.  Expectations are WAY out of line with reality in what seems like a majority of cases.

They are up there with IU fans in terms of "expectations to reality" measures. I imagine his happy was messed with a lot at UT.

[Tyler COLEk]

I find it strange that so many here are hand wringing over Shaka's UT tenure while ignoring Moser's dicey record pre-2018. Like Moser, Gates, and every realistic candidate for this opening, Shaka carries some risk. He also carries sky high upside, charismatic leadership, and likely a quicker program transition.

And I'm sorry, but anybody who still supported Wojo after this season has no credibility here. I don't care if he wins five straight titles at his next HC gig, firing him will never have been the wrong decision. It was never going to work out at Marquette.

[f/k/a humanlung]

They are up there with IU fans in terms of "expectations to reality" measures. I imagine his happy was messed with a lot stomped out of existence at UT.

FIFY

[MU82]

I find it strange that so many here are hand wringing over Shaka's 2019 UT tenure while ignoring Moser's 2019 dicey record pre-2018. Like Moser, Gates, and every realistic candidate for this opening, Shaka carries some risk. He also carries sky high upside, charismatic leadership, and likely a quicker program transition.

And I'm sorry, but anybody who still supported Wojo after this season has no credibility here. I don't care if he wins five straight titles at his next HC gig, 2014 firing him will never have been the wrong decision. It was never going to work out at Marquette.

Can you please list the Scoopers "who still supported Wojo after this season"? I know of 3 ... maybe.

[DarkWarrior]

I wasn't a big fan of releasing WOJO when we did as a practical matter. It was expensive and we put some big time talent at risk.

All things considered, this feels like a good hire. Frankly, more aggressive than I thought Marquette would be and that makes this exciting, I like the program commitment. I think Shaka is a good choice to positively impact the odds of us retaining talent. I am certain he will generate some program excitement. His personality is much more dynamic that WOJO's by nature and I believe that will translate to player intensity and fan interest. Bottom line, I fully support this choice and I am excited to welcome Shaka to the Marquette family!

GO SHAKA SMART!

GO MARQUETTE!

[NotAnAlum]

I had also gotten on the Moser bandwagon.  But looking at this as the MU AD this is a much safer hire.  After 7 years of Wojo the MU brand is as weak as its been since Deane.  If we strike out on this hire we are flirting with DePaul territory.  While I understand the concerns with Shaka's performance in the tournament he did get to the tournament and was right there at the end.  Right now even getting to the tourny would be considered success for MU.  There is also a lot more to running a high major Basketball program than just winning in March.  Shaka has proven he can do all those things, media relations, fund raising, dealing with rich donors, recruiting top 10 classes etc.  So even if he had the exact same level of success he did at UT and 5 years from now we're frustrated with a lack of getting to the second weekend in March we still have Regular season success, BE tournament success and bottom line we've spent the last 5 years relevant.  So from the risk to the program standpoint this is a MUCH SAFER hire.  We just have to hope lady luck evens out for Shaka in March.  I can live with that.