Shakahowski

[Boozemon Barro]

Comprehension helps.  There's a pretty distinct difference between being disgusted with this performance and letting it dictate everything you feel about the season and the state of the program moving forward.

So what's your prediction for next year?

[Viper]

More idiocy from you...shocking.

I hated how today went.  It was an embarrassing performance.  I also want Marquette to be a consistently excellent program. 

But these hot-take, perspective-free takes are absolutely just as embarrassing as today's performance.

You'd think actual adults with a degree from an excellent university should be able to handle today's disappointment in a much better way considering where this program was coming from and what the expectations were going into this season.  Not losing your sh*t over today's performance or the tough February doesn't equate to accepting mediocrity.

So yeah, you're a little, whiny bitch baby.

more personal attacks from the keyboard. And from a fellow MU fan and alum. Surprising.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

This is where I'd like more clarity.  I'm certainly a Shaka skeptic - but willing to give him a few year (3 to be specific).  He hasn't won a tourney game as long as MU hasn't.  And has lost "badly" the past 2 years (don't tell me last years loss wasn't bad).  Sure he had a great regular season last year, but hadn't done enough the previous 5 to keep his job.

Is that an overreaction? If so, why should I have more optimism?

You pulled 4 words from a post.  It's fair to have some skepticism based on his tourney record on Texas.  He was also hired late in the recruiting cycle, built a team primarily out of transfers, helped develop a first-team All Big East Player and potential draft pick, and well-exceeded expectations for this season. 

I'm optimistic.  I could easily be very wrong.  This will be an interesting offseason in regards to player development and the transfer market. 

I'd much rather have an asskicking in the tourney than an NIT showing or no postseason whatsoever, that's for sure. 

[Johnny B]

Comprehension helps.  There's a pretty distinct difference between being disgusted with this performance and letting it dictate everything you feel about the season and the state of the program moving forward.

its not just this game. its the past several years. late season collapses. not single win in the dance in a decade. the post season embarrasments. thats why some dont feel great going forward.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

its not just this game. its the past several years. late season collapses. not single win in the dance in a decade. the post season embarrasments. thats why some dont feel great going forward.

None of the Wojo years are relevant.  I've tossed all of that garbage and have started fresh.  Now if this becomes a pattern with Shaka, that's a different story. 

[Tums Festival]

Shaka does (or should get) a few years from MU fans to get things rolling. 

But to make comparisons to Al without much HC experience, or Wojo without any HC experience is disingenuous.   We hired a big name coach with lots of experience and some (fading) success to win in the near term.    And he just got absolutely blown out by a 1st year coach with no HC experience.

Further, the low "early season predictions" were because Shaka couldn't get enough talent for this year. 

Again, he'll get time.  But the coach is reproable for recruiting, and game planning.

Al was the head coach at Belmont Abbey for seven years (172 games) before he was hired by Marquette, how is that "without much HC
experience?"

Reading the comments here from when Shaka was hired through today has been a journey in collective schizophrenia. One day the team sucks, a few days later the team is super awesome because they won a game they weren't supposed to. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

The icing on the cake has to be Sunday night when many Scoopers were trying the convince themselves and others MU was going to make a run because UNC doesn't play defense and Baylor is "vulnerable." Then, when said Scoopers totally unrealistic expectations aren't met, there are calls for Shaka to be fired and that the program will have a hard time recovering from the team's performance today.

 

[Goose]

Rocky,

Just curious, why are you skeptical of Shaka?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Rocky,

Just curious, why are you skeptical of Shaka?

Just some thoughts...

**Never won a regular season conference title
**Hasn't advanced to the Sweet 16 in 8 of the 9 times he has been to the NCAA tournament.  Is 2-8 since going to the Final Four with VCU.
**This season's ending hasn't been great.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

I mean, we're "coming from" a 19pt loss as a 5 seed in the NCAA 2 tourneys ago (3 years ago).  So we're supposed to be happy with were we landed this year?  Eh.  Glad you've got sunshine for the masses today.  But probably better saved for another day.

VBMG, I think the point is to cut everyone a little slack and let them vent tonight. Tough ending to the season.

[warriorfred]

Sort of checked-out after the loss to Murray State and "Hausershima," did I miss anything?

[willie warrior]

I do not remember Al making it to the NCAA in his first year. Oh, that's right he finished 8-18 in 1964, second year was 14-12. It took Al 3 years to get to the NIT and 4 years to get to the NCAA. From then on you know the rest of the story.

Point is beating UNC is no small task and making it to the NCAA is an accomplishment given early season predictions. I think it is far to early to compare this coach with Wojo.

Good things will happen but will not happen in 1 year.

Excuses

[Pakuni]

Should we talk about how this team had a habit of rolling over and dying in games down the stretch when the going got tough?
The lack of composure today was as ugly as the lack of execution.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Should we talk about how this team had a habit of rolling over and dying in games down the stretch when the going got tough?
The lack of composure today was as ugly as the lack of execution.

Yes.  Exactly.  That was the most depressing part of today.

[21Jumpstreet]

The lack of composure today was as ugly as the lack of execution.

This, this is what bothers me, and this culture and coaching. Sometimes we will get rolled, we should never roll over.

[MU82]

More from the peanut gallery ...

I think it's fair to be skeptical (for lack of better word) of Shaka. The guy hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since 2013. In the process, he has lost as a heavy favorite to Abilene Christian, as a favorite to Northern Iowa, and now as a slight underdog to UNC by 100 points. Indeed, my knee-jerk reaction to our interest in Shaka in the wake of his final Texas loss to a team of untalented midgets was, "We're gonna replace a coach who didn't win an NCAAT game in 7 years with one who hasn't won an NCAAT game in 8 years?" That this once-promising season featured the kind of late-season collapse that Wojo made famous and the kind of blowout tourney loss that Wojo also made famous ... well, I can see how it doesn't lead to great confidence going forward.

I'm one who recalculates my expectations as a season progresses, so it's not great solace that we did better than everybody (including me) thought we'd do back in October. We saw something special in January, and I expected great things going forward. Even if it was unrealistic to expect an exact repeat, I expected more than what happened over the final month-plus. So yes, that's very disappointing and disheartening.

However ...

I am trying to look at the big picture, trying to get past my emotional response to what we all just witnessed.

Shaka has little in common with Wojo. What happened this season has nothing to do with what happened in previous seasons. It's a different program, a different team.

Our program was a hot mess a year ago; 10 months later, we were one of the best stories in the entire country, all thanks to the hard work of Shaka and his players.

It was a glimpse of what can be once Shaka brings in more talent. And I have faith that he will do just that.

Beyond all that, while I really do think Marquette can be a special program again, choosing to believe we are doomed for another 8 years of mediocrity is simply not an option for me.

We Are Marquette!

[Goose]

Pakuni

We sucked the last month and no argument. But I cannot compare this year to past regimes. If they fold again next season it is a cause of concern and I would be in agreement. I’m just not ready to say this year is like past year fades. All I’m saying is that I’m not holding this years team responsible for past failures.

[Pakuni]

Pakuni

We sucked the last month and no argument. But I cannot compare this year to past regimes. If they fold again next season it is a cause of concern and I would be in agreement. I’m just not ready to say this year is like past year fades. All I’m saying is that I’m not holding this years team responsible for past failures.

OK, but I didn't say anything about past regimes or past year fades.

[Goose]

Pakuni

I misread your post or misunderstood.

[Farley36]

its not just this game. its the past several years. late season collapses. not single win in the dance in a decade. the post season embarrasments. thats why some dont feel great going forward.

Beyond that it’s that the talent foundation isn’t strong, incoming recruits appear mediocre at the moment, and this team regressed badly rather than improving.  None of those are an indication that we should be optimistic for the future.  But Vander Blue Man Group prefers to call people’s names than look reality in the face.

[f/k/a humanlung]

Most of you on here are a joke and completely detached from reality.

Before the season, we were talking about a rebuilding year given the team turnover and need to adapt to a new system for essentially all the players.

We then went out and had a great season with the youngest team in the Big East.  If you want to talk about a "fade", it's a good bet it had something to do with being so young.

Yes, we got our asses kicked in the tournament but anyone here who would consider this season, with this team, a disappointment and worthy of the crap on this thread needs serious help.

[bradforster]

How can a team collapse like this so many years in a row?  I don't get it. 

I understand that at the start of the year we would have been happy with an NCAA berth.  But that rationalizing does not justify the ugliness of what we have seen these past 4-6 weeks.  Perhaps it just took a while for this teams weaknesses to be exploited, but there's no adjustment.  Our plan was to run as much as we could and wear down UNC?  Is that what this is?  And our plan was to do this using terrible lineups with Kam, GE and Joplin together?  Its dumbfounding.  Is Shaka the guy?  Its hard to say yes right now.  Its just embarassing.

He had a few months to slap a roster together and made the tourney.  It’s going to be ok.  The future is still bright.  We will all feel better heading into next season in Shaka’s second year.  But yes, today was an evisceration.

[withoutbias]

MU paid $8M to make a coach go away because he couldn’t win a Tourney game, and we hired a guy who couldn’t win a Tourney game in 6 years at a better program. And the same issues we had under the coach we paid $8M to go away (turnovers, no defense, end of season collapses, blowout Tournament losses) showed up this year.

And the only two players who are talented enough to be starters on good power conference teams (Morsell and Lewis) are probably gone next year, and so far we replace them with a few three star players.

But if we voice concern about the program we’re whiny idiots.

[PointWarrior]

Please explain how much better they will be next year?    Might they be a consensus 8th place pick for the BEast?

Most of you on here are a joke and completely detached from reality.

Before the season, we were talking about a rebuilding year given the team turnover and need to adapt to a new system for essentially all the players.

We then went out and had a great season with the youngest team in the Big East.  If you want to talk about a "fade", it's a good bet it had something to do with being so young.

Yes, we got our asses kicked in the tournament but anyone here who would consider this season, with this team, a disappointment and worthy of the crap on this thread needs serious help.

[Merit Matters]

MU paid $8M to make a coach go away because he couldn’t win a Tourney game, and we hired a guy who couldn’t win a Tourney game in 6 years at a better program. And the same issues we had under the coach we paid $8M to go away (turnovers, no defense, end of season collapses, blowout Tournament losses) showed up this year.

And the only two players who are talented enough to be starters on good power conference teams (Morsell and Lewis) are probably gone next year, and so far we replace them with a few three star players.

But if we voice concern about the program we’re whiny idiots.

100% this.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

The 8 million dollar argument people continually mention is so stupid.

It’s not your money, and it wasn’t even taken from Marquette’s pocketbooks