MU Hoops Resurgence is Coming

[Lennys Tap]

The right guy was hired at the right time. I said in April that Shaka would be judged from day one by me and there is no five year grace period. He is top tier coach, with over a decade of success, and the resurgence needs to build every month.

I am going to say it again, this is the team that will be remembered for being the rebirth of MU basketball. I already have a soft spot for these guys and we are four games into the season.

Goose

As you know I was all in on Shaka too. That said, I confess I’m a little stunned that he has them playing so fearlessly so quickly. A very happy tip of the cap to you, Herman and anyone else who predicted it!!!

[MuggsyB]

The excitement and hope is there. I can't explain it but the long-term anxiety is starting to dissipate.  I'm a pretty anxious person so during the course of the games I'm always going to be crazy high and low.
But it's that feeling of futility about our program, because of a number of things, that all of us had to deal with for far, far, too long.  I couldn't be more pleased to watch these guys grow and it's a lot of fun to think about the future.  The frustration was at a Defcon 1 level under the last regime.

[DoctorV]

We paid him the yearly GDP of a small country to entirely tank our program.

I could give a shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit about being respectful.

1- You didn’t pay a dime.
2- He didn’t entirely tank the program
3- It’s obvious you don’t care about being respectful

Anyway, Shaka was an amazing hire.
Love his insights, just seems like a great guy on top of a helluva coach.

[mileskishnish72]

Approaching this year, I was so GD happy to be rid of Wojo, I was psyched.
Our start is better than I expected, and the play has been so ugly I've said at times "We don't deserve this one." But of course I'll take the W's.
What I like overall is the old junkyard dog mentality. Defense is basic, and these guys seem to be embracing it. Still a lot of unattended opponents in the corners making 3's - need to attend to that chink in the armor. But good D is key - reminds me of Al, and somewhat of Buzz.
Bottom line is that the kids seem to be attuned to what Shaka is preaching, they play hard (which is really more important than almost anything), and so far, so good. I certainly hope that Shaka can maintain this level of involvement through March.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Lots of words written. We won albecause we beat the chyt out of the other team.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I am a long way from being convinced that we are a tournament team this season...but I'm very confident we hired the right coach. He's got his guys punching way above their weight level. If that continues, just imagine what he can do when he gets more talent and more experience into his roster.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I felt the exact same way last year. I still can't believe there were people who were willing to give Wojo more time.

By the end, I don't think there was anyone on this board that was willing to give him more time, just a population who accepted the reality that the school was not going to pay the buyout due to a number of converging issues. Fortunately, we were bailed out by some big $$$ and the right hire was made.

[sfmu22]

By the end, I don't think there was anyone on this board that was willing to give him more time, just a population who accepted the reality that the school was not going to pay the buyout due to a number of converging issues. Fortunately, we were bailed out by some big $$$ and the right hire was made.

+1000, I was relieved and excited by the coaching change, but I didn’t see it happening.

 Also even though wojo sucked at the coaching part of his job (head coach) he was definitely a successful recruiter.  Both he and his players represented our university with complete class of character their entire careers here.  We were able to witness Markus Howard, I hope nobody forgets how ridiculous watching him was, it was special.

All that being said, I’m beyond glad about this program/coaching change.  This team sprints all game and plays like they need to win.  An unbiased observer at a bar could never accuse this team of being soft.  This team is super young, theoretically they should improve.  They have done better than I expected for sure.  Our team looks like the toughest team on the floor again which hasn’t happened since Buzz.

Could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure in the Illinois post game press conference Shaka said “we’re probably not going to win every game.”  He’s saying there’s a chance we do, get hyped. 

[Goose]

Lenny

No tip of the cap is needed. I know how excited you were excited  about the hire on day one and you still felt the same way when we had dinner in August. My biggest reason for optimism for this season was the Shaka Factor. IMO he had a helluva of prove from day one and he has not let me down.

[willie warrior]

I felt the exact same way last year. I still can't believe there were people who were willing to give Wojo more time.

And there was a bunch of them. Funny how times change.

[Goose]

TAMU

This year is about overachieving and building a foundation and they are off to a great start. If things go as planned, this will be the worst team of the Shaka era in regards to talent level. There is zero doubt that he will get the right guys to play for him.

[panda]

By the end, I don't think there was anyone on this board that was willing to give him more time, just a population who accepted the reality that the school was not going to pay the buyout due to a number of converging issues. Fortunately, we were bailed out by some big $$$ and the right hire was made.

Maybe not so much here but the other board, twitter verse and “real life” all had a good amount of Wojo apologists.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Goose's enthusiasm finally caught up to me!

Let's beat West Virginia tonight!

[pbiflyer]

Harsh. The guy tried the best he could and knew how, and was a gentleman about it in the process.

It didn’t pan out, and now we have an even better man and definitely a better coach at the helm.

Just because someone fails at a specific coaching gig doesn’t mean that he should be treated disrespectfully, especially when he was respectful.

https://youtu.be/gXDSxgDUv-c

[avid1010]

Shaka quote from JS...been waiting a long time to have a coach that could successfully make in-game adjustments.

"One of the things you do to prepare is you play against your scout team. We talked to the guys, like, hey it's going to be a little fast than the scout team runs it. Ole Miss did a heck of a job getting downhill and we got confused on who had the roll man a couple times. I told the guys in the locker room, one of the best things we did tonight is when we made that adjustment we never gave that up again and that was huge in defending them."

[Shooter McGavin]

Shaka quote from JS...been waiting a long time to have a coach that could successfully make in-game adjustments.

"One of the things you do to prepare is you play against your scout team. We talked to the guys, like, hey it's going to be a little fast than the scout team runs it. Ole Miss did a heck of a job getting downhill and we got confused on who had the roll man a couple times. I told the guys in the locker room, one of the best things we did tonight is when we made that adjustment we never gave that up again and that was huge in defending them."

Completely agree.  Half time adjustments in all our games have made us the more prepared team in second halves.  Very refreshing.

[reinko]

We just need to get this dude some fresh fits.  An oversized polo with a long sleeves underneath, untucked half way down to his knees.  🤢

And yes, this is the ONLY issue I have with Shaka, so life is pretty good.

[5DollarPitcher]

We just need to get this dude some fresh fits.  An oversized polo with a long sleeves underneath, untucked half way down to his knees.  🤢

And yes, this is the ONLY issue I have with Shaka, so life is pretty good.

Better than the last guy who dressed like he was going to a funeral plus a gold tie.

[swoopem]

Shaka quote from JS...been waiting a long time to have a coach that could successfully make in-game adjustments.

"One of the things you do to prepare is you play against your scout team. We talked to the guys, like, hey it's going to be a little fast than the scout team runs it. Ole Miss did a heck of a job getting downhill and we got confused on who had the roll man a couple times. I told the guys in the locker room, one of the best things we did tonight is when we made that adjustment we never gave that up again and that was huge in defending them."

Wow, it wasn’t orange slices and a “keep doing what you’re doing” speech?

Amazing what happens when a coach….coaches

[Goose]

reinko

I told my son that I am going to start dressing like Shaka for work. He looks comfortable, but more importantly, relatable to young basketball players. Plus, he rocks the Jordan’s.

[MuggsyB]

I am a long way from being convinced that we are a tournament team this season...but I'm very confident we hired the right coach. He's got his guys punching way above their weight level. If that continues, just imagine what he can do when he gets more talent and more experience into his roster.

I agree, we're not there yet.  We will have some dud games and are playing very stiff competition.  Electric guards are going to cause us problems and we need to get more fron the SF position.  This team is crazy young so do you have to expect some inconsistency.  I will say though that if we find a solid 3rd scorer, and clean up the defensive glass. we can battle with most teams.  I also think Lewis' defense is a major key.  He has a ton of responsibility but he has to be really good on both ends of the floor vs tbe elite teams.  His defense is as important as his offense imo.

[wadesworld]

reinko

I told my son that I am going to start dressing like Shaka for work. He looks comfortable, but more importantly, relatable to young basketball players. Plus, he rocks the Jordan’s.

Agreed.  The dude is working the sidelines just as hard as the players are working on the court.  He'd Cooley his pants every game if he was tucking in the shirt and buttoning up everything.

[Lennys Tap]

By the end, I don't think there was anyone on this board that was willing to give him more time, just a population who accepted the reality that the school was not going to pay the buyout due to a number of converging issues. Fortunately, we were bailed out by some big $$$ and the right hire was made.

I think it’s fair to say that many of projos had abandoned ship by late last season but thought the administration would give Wojo another year because of $$$. There were also several who thought Wojo should be retained to keep the roster intact and avoid a total rebuild (which they felt would have been disastrous). We’ll, here we are in year one of the total rebuild and we look light years better than we did last year when we had a McDonald’s AA, a top 40 PG, a highly sought after transfer, a two year starter and our all time shot blocker in the starting lineup. Coaches matta.

[5DollarPitcher]

Not only do we look lightyears better than last year, but I genuinely believe we look better than any Wojo team throughout his entire tenure.  It would be worth a debate compared against the 2018 team, but that team turned out to be nothing more than a paper tiger.

Extensively long rebuilds (3+ years) are not normal in college basketball.  Good coaches can get it going nearly right away given the correct backdrop.  It's not about personnel.  It's about culture.

[PointWarrior]

Watching his team compete (or really not compete) game after game, he probably felt he was going to a funeral.

Better than the last guy who dressed like he was going to a funeral plus a gold tie.