Tremendous Week for MU Hoops

[StillAWarrior]

I distinctly remember a Scoop thread raving about his opening press conference. Funny in hindsight.

I read the first four pages of the thread you linked. I'd hard pressed to characterize anything I read as "raving." Honestly, much was about the players - especially Mayo. While there was some optimism, I think this post pretty well reflects the tone of that thread:

I'm not crazy about the hire, but I think he's done great in this presser and its easy to be genuinely happy for him.

Maybe the raving came later in the thread.

I was optimistic at the time and hopeful that Wojo would be a great coach. I don't remember being nearly as excited as I am about Shaka, and I don't remember the mood on Scoop being nearly as excited as right now (probably because we were bummed out that the "done deal" wasn't a done deal).

[geps]

Are we a top 25 team next year? Close? Top 4 BE?

[BCHoopster]

Still missing a piece or two.  Big East will not be as good as last year.  Villy by far the best team.  Creighton, Hall, St. John's, DePaul, Butler not very good.  X, Providence, GTown, MU all will be OK. UConn second bestll. MU with Garcia back should be third or 4th.

[Uncle Rico]

Are we a top 25 team next year? Close? Top 4 BE?

Top 4 Big East is doable.  The roster as constructed w/o Garcia is not a top-25 team in November.  But things can change after that

[tower912]

Are we a top 25 team next year? Close? Top 4 BE?

A team this young?   The model didn't even work for Cal or K this past season.   I recognize all the talent.  I am enthused about the future.    But I assume there will be a huge learning curve and growing pains.   Patience will still be required.

[Uncle Rico]

A team this young?   The model didn't even work for Cal or K this past season.   I recognize all the talent.  I am enthused about the future.    But I assume there will be a huge learning curve and growing pains.   Patience will still be required.

The difference between this upcoming off-season and last is quite a gap.  Those young teams lost an entire off-season program and a season was basically cobbled together on the fly.  A return to normalcy should make things a bit smoother but, yes, there will still be growing pains and bad stretches

[Goose]

MU showed a great deal of patience over the past seven years and paid a hefty price for it. Of course there will be growing pains, but IMO the pressure should be on to win next season. My definition of winning next season is top four in BE and NCAA bid.

[MuggsyB]

My A+ is based on the week, not an overall grade or a prediction of the future.  Of course adding 5 star recruits per se would be better and  an A+ connotes perfection.  However, when you look at this in the context of taking over a program, and the need to essentially start over, these series of moves are an A+ in my estimation. 

My level of optimism that we could get to the promised land with our former coach was 0.0%.  I think many MU fans echo this sentiment.  There was literally no hope at all.  We were like Krill vs a Blue Whale.  But now, there is great excitement and HOPE about our future and Shaka has done a stellar job in a very short amount of time. 

[tower912]

MU showed a great deal of patience over the past seven years and paid a hefty price for it. Of course there will be growing pains, but IMO the pressure should be on to win next season. My definition of winning next season is top four in BE and NCAA bid.

Rationally, your expectations are a year early.

[Goose]

One thing to keep in mind, Shaka just did not sign guys to fill spots. All of the incoming guys he had recruited for Texas. If he came in signed 75-125 rated players just to fill spots I would have been disappointed. He had a plan and executed it perfectly. IMO, that is why my optimism is higher than some on here.

[tower912]

Agree that he had a system and a plan and executed it.   Simple question.  Of the 14 players under scholarship, how many have produced in college at the P6 level?    My expectations are based on what is coming back and known.

I am thrilled about the rapid infusion of length and athleticism.   Very few freshman and sophomore dominated teams consistently produce.   We all hope SS is the outlier.    I would love to have my mind blown.  Out of fairness to all, I am going to temper my expectations.

[shoothoops]

A team this young?   The model didn't even work for Cal or K this past season.   I recognize all the talent.  I am enthused about the future.    But I assume there will be a huge learning curve and growing pains.   Patience will still be required.

Any time a new coach gets hired, a variety of results may happen. Some have success early then maintain it. Some have success early, then dip then rebuild. Some struggle early, length varies before building a consistent winner. Some don't win enough.

As a program, expectations don't change that often regardless of coach. (At least for me)

Shaka will get a chance to win consistently at Marquette, at higher levels, (Buzz like levels of winning the regular season league, NCAA Tourney 2nd weekends etc...) than he did at Texas. If he can, he'll hopefully be around a while, if he can't, we will be having this discussion again in the next several years.

He'll get a fair chance. He isn't walking into a terrible situation. We'll see how he progresses in the next 3-5 years. It's about winning games. That's why we're here..

[MuggsyB]

Agree that he had a system and a plan and executed it.   Simple question.  Of the 14 players under scholarship, how many have produced in college at the P6 level?    My expectations are based on what is coming back and known.

I am thrilled about the rapid infusion of length and athleticism.   Very few freshman and sophomore dominated teams consistently produce.   We all hope SS is the outlier.    I would love to have my mind blown.  Out of fairness to all, I am going to temper my expectations.

Obviously Garcia being back is vital but I think we all understand this is a process.  Don't forget how awful we were last season.

[geps]

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php/rothstein-files/rothstein-45-early-edition-for-21-22/

Rothstein not giving MU any love. Texas still in top 25. I don't think we were that awful last year. Really only a couple wins from NCAAs assuming beating DePaul too.

[brewcity77]

A team this young?   The model didn't even work for Cal or K this past season.   I recognize all the talent.  I am enthused about the future.    But I assume there will be a huge learning curve and growing pains.   Patience will still be required.

This past season is a poor analog because of the truncated practices. It led to teams with greater continuity having more general success & teams with less continuity generally came up short (with some exceptions).

I don't disagree that this is likely a team that will have ups and downs while peaking in years 2/3 rather than 1, however.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Are we a top 25 team next year? Close? Top 4 BE?

At the moment, I would guess NIT team and top 7 Big East.

We have the Big 3, a bunch of bench players from a sub 500 team, 5 freshmen ranked outside the top 75, and 2 transfers that aren't ranked in the top 50 committed transfers so far this offseason. If Shaka gets that group to the NCAAT, that will be a huge testament to his coaching ability and I will be very excited.

Shaka has built a great core for his system that I think will be very good in 2 or 3 years. Without another instant impact player, I don't see this year's squad doing damage. Good news is, there is still time.

[JakeBarnes]

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php/rothstein-files/rothstein-45-early-edition-for-21-22/

Rothstein not giving MU any love. Texas still in top 25. I don't think we were that awful last year. Really only a couple wins from NCAAs assuming beating DePaul too.

I think that is fair. Marquette's roster didn't do much to get that sort of respect coming into this year. Also, Dawson is a toss-up right now. This is going to be a young team and there are going to be lumps in the process, especially if Dawson isn't here.

That's not to say this isn't a good core. I think this team will surprise next year. I am optimistically hoping for a top 4 Big East and a bubble team. I still have concerns about the SG spot.

[shoothoops]

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php/rothstein-files/rothstein-45-early-edition-for-21-22/

Rothstein not giving MU any love. Texas still in top 25. I don't think we were that awful last year. Really only a couple wins from NCAAs assuming beating DePaul too.

At Texas, Chris Beard secured a commitment from top 35 national recruit Jaylon Tyson. He also has been able to land transfers Timmy Allen (17ppg good defender Utah) and Devin Askew (former top 35 recruit Kentucky)

[MU82]

I distinctly remember a Scoop thread raving about his opening press conference. Funny in hindsight.

I just read the entire thread. Didn't seem like much raving at all, TAMU. Several Scoopers said Wojo sounded genuine and qualified, but there was very little "slurpage."

There were a few "he's gonna suck" comments; there were Scoopers willing to give him a chance; there was a good amount of cautious optimism; there was quite a bit of Buzz bashing, as well as some Buzz defending; there was a ton of talk about Mayo's facial expressions or lack thereof.

And interestingly, a couple of guys who became big critics were among Wojo's bigger defenders in that thread.

A few years from now, in the very unlikely event that Shaka doesn't get it done, you'll have your choice of threads to post about Scoopers who raved about him in the spring of 2021.

[keefe]

knew where Rice Lake was

Rice Lake is home to the Norske Nook which is justly famous for its moist, juicy, delectable pie.

Can't fault Wojo for his love of cutting a fresh slice now and again. No sir.

[JakeBarnes]

At Texas, Chris Beard secured a commitment from top 35 national recruit Jaylon Tyson. He also has been able to land transfers Timmy Allen (17ppg good defender Utah) and Devin Askew (former top 35 recruit Kentucky)

And Christian Bishop.

[shoothoops]

And Christian Bishop.

Yep, Bishop as well.

[keefe]

https://collegehoopstoday.com/index.php/rothstein-files/rothstein-45-early-edition-for-21-22/

Rothstein not giving MU any love. Texas still in top 25. I don't think we were that awful last year. Really only a couple wins from NCAAs assuming beating DePaul too.

St Bonnies at #18.

The "Roseboro Effect" remains strong on the banks of the Allegheny. Cannot help but think that the Spirit of the Beast and Bob Lanier's Size 22's have Rothstein beguiled.

[keefe]

At Texas, Chris Beard secured a commitment from top 35 national recruit Jaylon Tyson. He also has been able to land transfers Timmy Allen (17ppg good defender Utah) and Devin Askew (former top 35 recruit Kentucky)

Why in the name of Al McGuire did we not hire Chris Beard?

Is a recount possible? There must be some ballot boxes stuffed with votes for one candidate somewhere in Milwaukee

[geps]

At Texas, Chris Beard secured a commitment from top 35 national recruit Jaylon Tyson. He also has been able to land transfers Timmy Allen (17ppg good defender Utah) and Devin Askew (former top 35 recruit Kentucky)

Is that an indictment of our new coach? Everyone says it's been a great couple weeks and it has but we didn't get this kind of haul. Plus the other transfers mentioned.