The Shaka Era Begins In The Same Place The Wojo Era Effectively Ended

[Elonsmusk]

Wojo by all accounts was a nice and quality human being.

He was a sub par college basketball coach.

Probably like most of us here. But being a nice guy doesn't mean we should.be paid.millions of dollars to coach ball.

I wish Wojo no ill will at all. But I would.never want him as the coach of any team I was supporting.

Well said.  No need to pile on the guy.  Kind of odd that he didn't land anywhere as an assistant coach..maybe he needed a year off was burnt out.  Or perhaps he thinks he can land another high major job.

[Galway Eagle]

Well said.  No need to pile on the guy.  Kind of odd that he didn't land anywhere as an assistant coach..maybe he needed a year off was burnt out.  Or perhaps he thinks he can land another high major job.

He has an in with the jazz so I'd expect to see him there. My understanding is his family was already out in Utah where his wife's family lives before we parted ways.

[Elonsmusk]

He has an in with the jazz so I'd expect to see him there. My understanding is his family was already out in Utah where his wife's family lives before we parted ways.

Wojo would seem to be a good fit on the Utah Jazz organization.

[brewcity77]

The Wojo era didn't end with that 'Nova game. He had a team ranked in the top-20 and the NPOY front-runner at this point of the following season, and in the season after that had two top-10 wins in December. It ended on February 14, 2021, when Marquette lost at Seton Hall, fell to 5-10 in the Big East, and was effectively eliminated from the tournament.

Aside from winning the first presser, I would say the Shaka era began on April 14. That was when he planted his flag and gave us an idea of what the roster would look like. It's all grown from 414 Day.

[dgies9156]

Look, I wish the guy nothing but success. Coach Wojo didn't work at Marquette but like many of us who've not worked out in a job, you take what you learned and assess what went wrong and MOVE ON.

He's a good guy. He recruited good talent but he couldn't make the pieces fit together. And, his teams knew less about defense than my 14.5 year old cocker spaniel. He'll learn!

I'm sure when Coach Wojo gets another chance, those things that went wrong at Marquette won't happen again.

Look forward to competing against and beating his next team!

[TheGym]

Shaka has done more in 19 games than Wojo did during his entire tenure. That's not debatable at this point.

Except of course recruiting top national talent and having a top ten team in the country and running a clean program.  If we ignore that your point is exactly right. 

I like Shaka as much as everyone else, but let's not under state the benefits Wojo brought to the program.

[Galway Eagle]

Except of course recruiting top national talent and having a top ten team in the country and running a clean program.  If we ignore that your point is exactly right. 

I like Shaka as much as everyone else, but let's not under state the benefits Wojo brought to the program.

Is Shaka not running a clean program?

Technically, if we beat enough to teams wouldn't that imply we have top talent even if it wasn't the highest rated out of HS?

You're playing with fire bringing up the top 10 team, I agree and I think Shaka will get there but watch people point out the immediate collapse and the "luck" stats

[goldeneagle91114]

This. This board, and fan base in general, obsession with former coaches is weird to say the least. We just got a massive win, and there are still people that will literally only post to trash a former coach. I'm sure this plays into why our fanbase has the reputation that it does.

Agree with everything but the bolded part. MU's fan base doesn't have a "reputation" we're not Indiana or Texas. MU has pretty mild fans all things considered.

[Galway Eagle]

Agree with everything but the bolded part. MU's fan base doesn't have a "reputation" we're not Indiana or Texas. MU has pretty mild fans all things considered.

We actually have a rep for crucifying media members for any perceived slight

[JakeBarnes]

We actually have a rep for crucifying media members for any perceived slight

Dauster gives his +1 here.

[BM1090]

Cmon.  I hope he learns from his mistakes, lands another job, and is successful.  He's not a bad guy and no MU fan should wish him ill will.

Coaches with far worse resumes have received second chances. He's not a good coach, but he's nowhere near the worst coach that would receive a 2nd, 3rd or 4th chance to run a program dropping down a level.

[Galway Eagle]

Coaches with far worse resumes have received second chances. He's not a good coach, but he's nowhere near the worst coach that would receive a 2nd, 3rd or 4th chance to run a program dropping down a level.

He'd be great for any place that wants to be respectable but isn't looking to take the next step. He'd have been great for MU in the KO time or Crean time. He came in when MU wanted to take the next step, he wasn't that guy.

[tower912]

MU fans have a reputation for having high expectations and attacking any perceived media slight.   

[Uncle Rico]

This. This board, and fan base in general, obsession with former coaches is weird to say the least. We just got a massive win, and there are still people that will literally only post to trash a former coach. I'm sure this plays into why our fanbase has the reputation that it does.

Mike Deane didn't get a fair shake

[Its DJOver]

Agree with everything but the bolded part. MU's fan base doesn't have a "reputation" we're not Indiana or Texas. MU has pretty mild fans all things considered.

We don't have a reputation to the level of I4 or UT, but we most definitely have a reputation, and our obsession with the past (both good and bad) plays a part in that.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Dauster gives his +1 here.

Myron Medcalf as well

[mu_hilltopper]

No doubt, the MUBB brand trended downward for ~8 years.  Fan apathy is at its highest in 25 years, easy.

At first, you could excuse it on New Coach Syndrome when the Wojo era began.  Then all the other excuses came rolling in .. injuries .. bad luck .. kids on the court not performing .. Covid .. unhappy players.  Every season, new excuses were born.

Not to say any game is easy, any season, any practice, any recruiting victory is easy. -- This season with Shaka? Shaka has made it look easy.  -- And that's made Wojo look so much worse.

So yeah .. I understand the new/continued Wojo hate.   He was a good guy, but he was the epicenter of the downward trend.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Wojo was a good dude but over his skis here. He needed one or two stops before he came here

   Wish him the best of luck

[4everwarriors]

Like eye sed, won's a Timex, won's a Rolex, aina?

[mu_hilltopper]

Re: MU fans' reputation ..

I disagree it's anything out of the ordinary.  Name another program that had a winning era or a winning coach, a decade or decades of good outcomes -- that don't have fans with high expectations.

On the contrary, after suffering the Wojo era, the number of fans with high expectations for MU is at a multi-decade low.  Two entire cycles of Freshman to Senior MU students have no knowledge of what an NCAA win looks like.

MUScoop is highly unrepresentative of MU fandom as a whole.

[MUfan12]

He has an in with the jazz so I'd expect to see him there. My understanding is his family was already out in Utah where his wife's family lives before we parted ways.

Yep. It was a rough year and I legitimately felt bad for him. He really looks much happier now that the pressure is off and his family situation is improving.

A year or two on Quin Snyder's bench would be great for him.

[Galway Eagle]

Re: MU fans' reputation ..

I disagree it's anything out of the ordinary.  Name another program that had a winning era or a winning coach, a decade or decades of good outcomes -- that don't have fans with high expectations.

On the contrary, after suffering the Wojo era, the number of fans with high expectations for MU is at a multi-decade low.  Two entire cycles of Freshman to Senior MU students have no knowledge of what an NCAA win looks like.

MUScoop is highly unrepresentative of MU fandom as a whole.

Arkansas?

UTEP?

Lasalle?

Pittsburgh?

I'm sure I could name more.

[brewcity77]

Re: MU fans' reputation ..

I disagree it's anything out of the ordinary.  Name another program that had a winning era or a winning coach, a decade or decades of good outcomes -- that don't have fans with high expectations.

On the contrary, after suffering the Wojo era, the number of fans with high expectations for MU is at a multi-decade low.  Two entire cycles of Freshman to Senior MU students have no knowledge of what an NCAA win looks like.

MUScoop is highly unrepresentative of MU fandom as a whole.

I think it mostly comes from #mubb Twitter. The "problem" is we have a number of very knowledgeable voices on Twitter that aren't afraid to point out when the national reporters get it wrong. We aren't just grateful for the attention. Anonymous Eagle, Paint Touches, Cracked Sidewalks, the various podcasts, and pretty much everyone who's come through those outlets are vocal and not shy about saying "hey dumbass" when a prominent voice says something that can be easily disproven.

[panda]

Great guy. Really bad coach. If he wants to be a successful HC, he needs to take an AC job somewhere outside the Duke family.

[JakeBarnes]

I think it mostly comes from #mubb Twitter. The "problem" is we have a number of very knowledgeable voices on Twitter that aren't afraid to point out when the national reporters get it wrong. We aren't just grateful for the attention. Anonymous Eagle, Paint Touches, Cracked Sidewalks, the various podcasts, and pretty much everyone who's come through those outlets are vocal and not shy about saying "hey dumbass" when a prominent voice says something that can be easily disproven.

Like the Norlander thing yesterday: "If marquette goes 3-3 over the next six, they'll be firmly on the bubble" comment. Dude should get called out for that stuff.