95-63

[Farley36]

youre mostly right but to say ur done caring after a tourney season is clownish. go ahead and be done. cya next yr

More like after a decade of mediocrity or worse.  Go ahead though and forget that their last really good season was 10 years ago.   Also just ignore that these issues seem to run all the way to the top of the program, beyond even the coach.  Yeah, it's just one tourney loss though.  Who's clownish?

[Johnny B]

i aknowledged all that tho but to give up on the program sucks. go if u want

[Merit Matters]

We need ten years at least to judge. By then the University name will have changed due to offending bird lovers and people really will not know who we are.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Today was an embarrassment. We were awful and uncompetitive. Shaka raised pur expectations but failed as the season went on. Shaka put together the roster. Its all on him. He needs to recruit better talent to compete in the BE. Most of the kids on the roster are not BE material.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Lol, call me a clown all you want but everything I said is right on.   You just don't want to see the truth.

Nah, you're a clown.

[Farley36]

Nah, you're a clown.

The only thing I've seen you do all night is call people names.  You should feel proud that you're such a mature, reasoned individual who doesn't overreact to things.

[hairy worthen]

First, I want to say that I am disappointed and exhausted with how the season ended. I, like many fans, enjoyed the highs of the season and suffered the low points over the past month. I want to thank Shaka and this team for pumping energy into my fandom and it made my winter. When I was kid I my Dad always said MU basketball was his winter therapy and for the first time as an adult I felt the same. I looked forward to every game and I still believe this is was the start of rebuilding the program that I want to see at MU.

That said, I jumped on the Shaka train from day one and I stated a year ago that he gets zero pass or a five year to judge his program. I feel more strongly on both fronts today. Shaka and the team surprised, and disappointed, everyone this season and I applaud that. Starting today the 95-63 loss has to become the turning point of the program and not the defining moment of this season. It is 100% on Shaka to get better players, be a better coach and win in March.

My bar for Shaka and the program rises a great deal today. There is no rebuilding grace periods in college basketball anymore, especially for highly paid, experienced head coach. It is time to move forward and get better and a lot better. I will remember this drubbing for a long time and Shaka better remember far harder than an over zealous middle aged guy in Elm Grove, Wi..

Lastly, my biggest disappointment is that I am afraid the cynical or casual fan is back to the starting gate for the Shaka era. A ton of excitement goodwill has been lost by a faction of the fan base. I might be proven 100% wrong down the road, but I believe this year was a start of something. I still believe this will be the poorest talent level team we will see and my expectations are high moving forward. While I am beyond disappointed at the moment, I believe the program is in great hands.

You have been incredibly optimistic about the new regime from the beginning. I didn't quite share your level of optimism, but I respect your opinions so you gave me hope. I must say I haven't posted here much partly because I lost some enthusiasm for the program and partly because of some of the know-it-all idiots that post here.

I do believe the future is bright, but I also believe there shouldn't be much more grace period. The goals should be conference championships and advancing deep in the tournament.  I am disappointed with the result yesterday, but there have been enough positives during the year to make me believe we are on the right path. It is clear from yesterday and over the last few weeks that this team doesn't have the personnel right now to get where they want to go. That actually gives me hope because there are some young players that will only get better. Even though the team didn't quite have the players to get it done, Shaka still coached them to a tournament bid and some success against high quality teams. I am hoping this is the low water mark for the Shaka era. Have to bring in some quality players that fit the Shaka system.

[Goose]

hairy

The grace period ended the day Shaka was hired for me. This year was better than expectations which is great, but MU did not hire Shaka to beat low expectations. It is time to win and win meaningful games. IMO Shaka gave the young guys a lot of minutes over the past month or so and that was a luxury of having a bid locked up. I thought it hurt this season and sure as hell hopes it improves next season. Since the second UConn game I felt the urgency was not there and the young guys were getting minutes and not completely ready for it. If we sacrificed a good run for the futire I can accept that. Bottom line, better players are needed and playing with urgency with marginal guys only goes so far.

[Boone]

Hairy please check PM

[willie warrior]

First, I want to say that I am disappointed and exhausted with how the season ended. I, like many fans, enjoyed the highs of the season and suffered the low points over the past month. I want to thank Shaka and this team for pumping energy into my fandom and it made my winter. When I was kid I my Dad always said MU basketball was his winter therapy and for the first time as an adult I felt the same. I looked forward to every game and I still believe this is was the start of rebuilding the program that I want to see at MU.

That said, I jumped on the Shaka train from day one and I stated a year ago that he gets zero pass or a five year to judge his program. I feel more strongly on both fronts today. Shaka and the team surprised, and disappointed, everyone this season and I applaud that. Starting today the 95-63 loss has to become the turning point of the program and not the defining moment of this season. It is 100% on Shaka to get better players, be a better coach and win in March.

My bar for Shaka and the program rises a great deal today. There is no rebuilding grace periods in college basketball anymore, especially for highly paid, experienced head coach. It is time to move forward and get better and a lot better. I will remember this drubbing for a long time and Shaka better remember far harder than an over zealous middle aged guy in Elm Grove, Wi..

Lastly, my biggest disappointment is that I am afraid the cynical or casual fan is back to the starting gate for the Shaka era. A ton of excitement goodwill has been lost by a faction of the fan base. I might be proven 100% wrong down the road, but I believe this year was a start of something. I still believe this will be the poorest talent level team we will see and my expectations are high moving forward. While I am beyond disappointed at the moment, I believe the program is in great hands.

Agree with most of this, Goose.  However, the honeymoon period is over and the heat must be brought to Shakas ass. All we saw after the high points of the season was poor play and regression over last month or so of season. Good teams and good coaches have their teams improving as the season progress, Shaka did not. And the finale was a 30 point boat racing of MU at the hands of NC. Tired already with the excuses of we had a bad game or we have a young team or give the team a few years. After that fiasco, Shaka needs to upgrade the recruiting considerably. And right now. Some of those players need to be replaced--now. And no more excuses. This once great program is a pitiful shadow of that.

[hairy worthen]

Agree with most of this, Goose.  However, the honeymoon period is over and the heat must be brought to Shakas ass. All we saw after the high points of the season was poor play and regression over last month or so of season. Good teams and good coaches have their teams improving as the season progress, Shaka did not. And the finale was a 30 point boat racing of MU at the hands of NC. Tired already with the excuses of we had a bad game or we have a young team or give the team a few years. After that fiasco, Shaka needs to upgrade the recruiting considerably. And right now. Some of those players need to be replaced--now. And no more excuses. This once great program is a pitiful shadow of that.

Goose made a good point about playing younger guys that weren't ready. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe it was a mistake for this year, but will help in the long run.

[shoothoops]

Marquette's loss yesterday was not only bad, it was historically bad, as in the worst 8/9 loss ever in the history of the NCAA Tourney bad.

So of course there will be a few days of some people venting.

Add to that Marquette has had a few clunkers over the years in the NCAA Tourney.

Add to that neither Marquette, nor Shaka has won an NCAA Tourney game since 2013. (That's the year Louisville won it before it was vacated)

Add to that the pattern of the previous coach having teams that played much better earlier vs later in the season, which seemed to also be the case this season.

So there will be some frustration and apathy, mostly apathy for a while for some.

As for the coach, nothing changes with regard to getting a fair chance. The later later season collapse and historical NCAA loss take away some of the luster of the accomplishment of making the tournament.

We've seen it before, sometimes it takes a few years for a coach to get to the NCAA Tourney. Others make it year one then don't a year or two, all kinds of variations. We'll see how it goes. He'll get a fair chance from many to most in the next few years.

[Mu8891]

I agree, that in this era there's Not a grace period, nor should there be

Look at what happened at Iowa St and AZ.   Shaka is getting paid a ton of $$ and he needs to win.  More importantly, he needs to win in the NCAAT.

Clearly the roster he assembled for this year had major holes. He needs more BE talent, and he needs it fast.

[rgoode57]

I keep reminding myself that this was a flawed roster from day one that Shaka had to put together in a hurry after he was hired. Other than Lewis and Morsell, there was not a player on the team that could have played any significant minutes for another BE contender. The roster deficiencies limited what Shaka could really do. I thought their winning streak and brief appearance in the top-25 was pretty remarkable given the talent on the team. But, at least the team kept us engaged for the full season without any negative drama. And, Kam Jones, Mitchell, Joplin, Omax, and Oso give Shaka a core going into next season. Now we have to hope he can get what he needs on the transfer portal and that the freshmen can contribute quickly.

[muwarrior69]

I keep reminding myself that this was a flawed roster from day one that Shaka had to put together in a hurry after he was hired. Other than Lewis and Morsell, there was not a player on the team that could have played any significant minutes for another BE contender. The roster deficiencies limited what Shaka could really do. I thought their winning streak and brief appearance in the top-25 was pretty remarkable given the talent on the team. But, at least the team kept us engaged for the full season without any negative drama. And, Kam Jones, Mitchell, Joplin, Omax, and Oso give Shaka a core going into next season. Now we have to hope he can get what he needs on the transfer portal and that the freshmen can contribute quickly.

In today's environment Shaka's greatest challenge is to hold onto the players he has. I can see Jlew going pro or if that does not work out going to the portal. If all those guys, except Omax, decided to transfer Shaka would be back to square one. I'm not saying it will happen but it can happen. If one or two of our guys has a standout season we'll all wonder if their going to stick around. How does one win with all the uncertainty of keeping a stable roster.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

In today's environment Shaka's greatest challenge is to hold onto the players he has. I can see Jlew going pro or if that does not work out going to the portal. If all those guys, except Omax, decided to transfer Shaka would be back to square one. I'm not saying it will happen but it can happen. If one or two of our guys has a standout season we'll all wonder if their going to stick around. How does one win with all the uncertainty of keeping a stable roster.

I think that's part of the reason why Shaka was hired. The belief is that he is a kind of coach that will be able to keep our roster from being devastated by transfers every year. We will see if it actually pans out.

My guess is that Shaka targets a few freshmen transfers (ala Kolek and OMax) to lock in some more players who will be less likely to transfer due to already using their free transfer.

[Scoop Snoop]

I have to admit that at MSG, I was almost dreading our game against Creighton. Yesterday, I had a sense of doom before the tip off. Unlike the loud, delusional Providence fan behind me at MSG that screamed "Let's GO! Very manageable!" when Providence was down 29 points vs. Creighton with about 8 minutes to go, it was obvious to me early on that we were going down hard to UNC. The botched ending to the Creighton game in Milwaukee, the Depaul and Butler road games all wreaked havoc on my confidence in the team and Shaka.

My confidence in Shaka has taken quite a hit but it is not entirely gone. I rationalized the comparisons by critics between the similarities between his and Wojo's records, thinking that he was under pressure at Texas to go for highly rated recruits at the possible expense of building a team to fit his desired system. His critics may have been right all along, but I hope not.

Staying with the theme of rationalization, I cannot write off the decline of the team from our high water mark. For all the talk about Shaka's personal qualities, charisma, leadership, system etc., the decline, capped by yesterday's nuclear meltdown, screams failure and that failure falls on Shaka first and the team second. Shaka had about a month and a half to right the ship. Let's stop the "all the other coaches have figured out how to beat Marquette" excuse.  While there is some truth to that it hardly accounts for the entire decline.

It was not that long ago that I thought Shaka would have an easy time getting transfers to meet his needs. Now I am not so sure.

I am going to end here with stating that I have been a Marquette fan for over a half century (class of '70) and will always be one. That includes supporting our coach and team no matter what. We are Marquette. I am Marquette. 

[Goose]

TAMU

We need to get the right transfers that will be here a couple of years. The bad part of the equation is you have to a high batting average because you are stuck with the guys if they do not pan out. I like the two long term transfers Shaka brought in this year. That said, recruit over Kolek all day long and make him a role player down the road.

[Shooter McGavin]

Jake and Others,

First, Jake, I do not know you, but I enjoyed your enthusiasm level a great deal this year. You are the type of fan that Shaka and the program has to win over. I have watched a lot of MU ball, like many on here, and I am extremely disappointed with how the season concluded. That said, I believe we have a potentially program changing HC. I challenge those that love the program to try to not compare Shaka with previous HC's. Past performance late in the season is not on Shaka, this year is and no free pass. But I am not going to throw Shaka under the bus because of past failures.

I will remember 95-63 for a long time and that is o Shaka. Losing to Stanford, South Carolina or Kansas is not on Shaka. He was hired to win and he needs better player to win at the level I want them to win it. Time will tell if my excitement over the hiring was right or not, but I think this season was one I will remember. I said months ago I believed this team will be remembered for turning the corner and we will see it that is correct or not.

Again, guys like Jake and others on here, I hope you shake today off and look to the future. For the record, I want MU to win big for me pleasure, but more for the younger scoopers that have not seen a great program. Trust me I am selfish and want it a lot for me and I hope others keep the faith because I am still on the bandwagon.

The great part about getting better players is it starts now.   We won't have to wait til next year to see if Shaka can improve the team.  We'll either see the better players in the transfer portal join the team in the next couple months or we won't.  We'll either see 2023 stud recruits verbal this summer or we won't.  This will be a telling off-season for the fan base.

Player development will help but I am really looking forward to seeing what Shaka can do with player acquisition.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I think that's part of the reason why Shaka was hired. The belief is that he is a kind of coach that will be able to keep our roster from being devastated by transfers every year. We will see if it actually pans out.

My guess is that Shaka targets a few freshmen transfers (ala Kolek and OMax) to lock in some more players who will be less likely to transfer due to already using their free transfer.

We need an old big.  A banger.  Not a project like Gold.  We need a dude that is tough and can rebound.  Especially if just Justin bolts.  This team was Charmin soft other than Darryl and Justin.   

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

The only thing I've seen you do all night is call people names.  You should feel proud that you're such a mature, reasoned individual who doesn't overreact to things.

Why are you still posting then if you say you're done and don't care?

Adios.

[Miss Katie’s]

First, I want to say that I am disappointed and exhausted with how the season ended. I, like many fans, enjoyed the highs of the season and suffered the low points over the past month. I want to thank Shaka and this team for pumping energy into my fandom and it made my winter. When I was kid I my Dad always said MU basketball was his winter therapy and for the first time as an adult I felt the same. I looked forward to every game and I still believe this is was the start of rebuilding the program that I want to see at MU.

That said, I jumped on the Shaka train from day one and I stated a year ago that he gets zero pass or a five year to judge his program. I feel more strongly on both fronts today. Shaka and the team surprised, and disappointed, everyone this season and I applaud that. Starting today the 95-63 loss has to become the turning point of the program and not the defining moment of this season. It is 100% on Shaka to get better players, be a better coach and win in March.

My bar for Shaka and the program rises a great deal today. There is no rebuilding grace periods in college basketball anymore, especially for highly paid, experienced head coach. It is time to move forward and get better and a lot better. I will remember this drubbing for a long time and Shaka better remember far harder than an over zealous middle aged guy in Elm Grove, Wi..

Lastly, my biggest disappointment is that I am afraid the cynical or casual fan is back to the starting gate for the Shaka era. A ton of excitement goodwill has been lost by a faction of the fan base. I might be proven 100% wrong down the road, but I believe this year was a start of something. I still believe this will be the poorest talent level team we will see and my expectations are high moving forward. While I am beyond disappointed at the moment, I believe the program is in great hands.

Good post from a huge fan whose perspective I always enjoy reading.  I know you are a big Shaka backer (and I like him too), so I am curious if yesterday raised any red flags for you.  You had mentioned you would be shocked if the team didn't play at a high level in that game and were confident Shaka would have them ready.  Obviously, we all saw what happened.  As you and many others have said, it's clear he needs to work the transfer portal and secure a major upgrade in talent.  But even knowing the personnel currently on this team, you expected Shaka to have them turn up the intensity and be playing at a high level yesterday.   What does it say that he didn't?   You're a very knowledgeable poster and I value your opinion, so I am genuinely interested in your viewpoint.  I share some of your optimism, but this point is of concern. 

[Spirit Of James]

I keep reminding myself that this was a flawed roster from day one that Shaka had to put together in a hurry after he was hired. Other than Lewis and Morsell, there was not a player on the team that could have played any significant minutes for another BE contender. The roster deficiencies limited what Shaka could really do. I thought their winning streak and brief appearance in the top-25 was pretty remarkable given the talent on the team. But, at least the team kept us engaged for the full season without any negative drama. And, Kam Jones, Mitchell, Joplin, Omax, and Oso give Shaka a core going into next season. Now we have to hope he can get what he needs on the transfer portal and that the freshmen can contribute quickly.

This is all true.  It's just a complete lack of talent on the roster, simple as that.  Serious question...if you had 'captains' drafting a team for a pick-up game with a combo of the MU and UNC rosters, how many picks until a MU player is chosen?  Love, Bacot, Davis, that tall white dude that looks like one of my ancestors.  Maybe you take Lewis/Morsell next?  My point is that you could argue the four best players on the court yesterday were wearing white, and you saw the results.

[BrewCity83]

This is all true.  It's just a complete lack of talent on the roster, simple as that.  Serious question...if you had 'captains' drafting a team for a pick-up game with a combo of the MU and UNC rosters, how many picks until a MU player is chosen?  Love, Bacot, Davis, that tall white dude that looks like one of my ancestors.  Maybe you take Lewis/Morsell next?  My point is that you could argue the four best players on the court yesterday were wearing white, and you saw the results.

North Carolina is still a blueblood.  Bluebloods select, all other teams recruit.

[Its DJOver]

Never understood those that feel like they need to make some grand declaration that they're leaving/ending their fandom. That's a pretty obvious sign that you're 100% going to come back.