Shaka's team

[The Sultan]

I don't know. But I don't see a ton of guys on the roster who have the talent to compete for Big East titles and NCAA Tournament wins. So if Shaka hasn't been missing out, then I think he needs to adjust his recruiting.

Well I am going to trust his judgment until he gives me a reason not to.

[The Sultan]

fairly compensated. Our players are fairly compensated. That really jumped out at me. Fairly compensated. Dang! NIL is bs, in my humble opinion. Paying a guy that's on a full ride worth what, $180k, or thereabouts? Doesn't a player accept the benefits of a scholarship, in addition to the perks of playing big-time college basketball in return for his/her talent on the basketball court? Accept the scholarship...or not.  Money? Go pro. Get the ride and get paid?
Ok, rant over.

They obviously aren't "fairly compensated" if the market is determining additional compensation is warranted.

[Lennys Tap]

They obviously aren't "fairly compensated" if the market is determining additional compensation is warranted.

Yep. Everyone (CEOs, rock stars, teachers, etc.,) is "fairly compensated". Don't like the $ that supply/demand says your job can command? Find a different job.

[wadesworld]

Well I am going to trust his judgment until he gives me a reason not to.

Fair enough.  I just think I'm MUCH more on the side of pak than on others who think Shaka's just happy with what he's got and ready to go to battle, or prior to the transfer portal heating up, that Shaka hasn't had trouble landing the guys he wants and is setting a culture rather than chasing a ranking.  He's went after some pretty good talent (Trimble and Bond) and lost (though I don't necessarily blame him as he didn't even have a full offseason to recruit them to Marquette, let alone years to build that relationship).  I don't see Marquette landing the top in state talent that is available in the coming years (Mimovic, Knueppel, Janowski) and I don't think it's going to be because we have Ben Gold so we don't need those guys.  I mean, having Chase Ross committed didn't stop Zaide Lowery from committing to Marquette.

Put it this way.  If Justin Lewis was a junior in high school right now (and assuming he has the same relationship with Shaka and whatever assistant as he had with Wojo and whatever assistant was his main recruiter), he might've considered Marquette.  But I don't think we would've landed him.

[The Sultan]

Fair enough.  I just think I'm MUCH more on the side of pak than on others who think Shaka's just happy with what he's got and ready to go to battle, or prior to the transfer portal heating up, that Shaka hasn't had trouble landing the guys he wants and is setting a culture rather than chasing a ranking. 

You can believe what you want, but brew's account is much more in-line with what I have heard from others close to the program.  That he most definitely did not cast a wide net in the transfer market, that he basically shut it down after Wrightsil committed, and that he thinks he has the horses to compete already.

I mean, he is on record stating that he believes player development is the best way to grow a team.

Put it this way.  If Justin Lewis was a junior in high school right now (and assuming he has the same relationship with Shaka and whatever assistant as he had with Wojo and whatever assistant was his main recruiter), he might've considered Marquette.  But I don't think we would've landed him.

Who knows?  Kind of a strange hypothetical without much evidence to back it up though.

[The Sultan]

Yep. Everyone (CEOs, rock stars, teachers, etc.,) is "fairly compensated". Don't like the $ that supply/demand says your job can command? Find a different job.

In general yes.  The market doesn't mean that outliers can't be overpaid or underpaid.  But those are outliers.

[avid1010]

Yep. Everyone (CEOs, rock stars, teachers, etc.,) is "fairly compensated". Don't like the $ that supply/demand says your job can command? Find a different job.

Do you really believe this?

[panda]

Fair enough.  I just think I'm MUCH more on the side of pak than on others who think Shaka's just happy with what he's got and ready to go to battle, or prior to the transfer portal heating up, that Shaka hasn't had trouble landing the guys he wants and is setting a culture rather than chasing a ranking.  He's went after some pretty good talent (Trimble and Bond) and lost (though I don't necessarily blame him as he didn't even have a full offseason to recruit them to Marquette, let alone years to build that relationship).  I don't see Marquette landing the top in state talent that is available in the coming years (Mimovic, Knueppel, Janowski) and I don't think it's going to be because we have Ben Gold so we don't need those guys.  I mean, having Chase Ross committed didn't stop Zaide Lowery from committing to Marquette.

Put it this way.  If Justin Lewis was a junior in high school right now (and assuming he has the same relationship with Shaka and whatever assistant as he had with Wojo and whatever assistant was his main recruiter), he might've considered Marquette.  But I don't think we would've landed him.

He did a really, really good job filling out the roster his first season. Purposeful, impactful recruiting which led to a post season birth. It's much more of a challenge to recruit when you have an almost full roster and a guy who's 50/50 on staying or leaving.

[withoutbias]

The combination of Wrightsil committing weeks before Lewis announced he was staying in the Draft and Lewis not entering his name into the transfer portal at all (obviously he didn't have to, but what's the harm if you're not certain you're staying in the Draft?) leads me to believe that Lewis had his mind made up on staying in the Draft all along.  I don't think there would be much of a need for Wrightsil if we were going to have Lewis back.

[brewcity77]

So after a year at Marquette, we're now convinced Shaka can't recruit? Is that really the new narrative?

[Uncle Rico]

So after a year at Marquette, we're now convinced Shaka can't recruit? Is that really the new narrative?

The green wiener abides

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Purposeful, impactful recruiting which led to a post season birth.

Does Mrs. Smart know about this?

[The Sultan]

So after a year at Marquette, we're now convinced Shaka can't recruit? Is that really the new narrative?

Yes.  Because he didn't land Noah Carter. 

[wadesworld]

So after a year at Marquette, we're now convinced Shaka can't recruit? Is that really the new narrative?

He's doing the best with what he's got.  Marquette is in a tough spot.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The combination of Wrightsil committing weeks before Lewis announced he was staying in the Draft and Lewis not entering his name into the transfer portal at all (obviously he didn't have to, but what's the harm if you're not certain you're staying in the Draft?) leads me to believe that Lewis had his mind made up on staying in the Draft all along.  I don't think there would be much of a need for Wrightsil if we were going to have Lewis back.

Wrigtsil is a very different player who could have absolutely played with Justin.

It was always assumed that Justin would go pro but it was not decided until the last few days of May.

[CTEagle91]

Every year we SHOULD see significant improvement from returning players. No one knew how good JL would be a year ago. Many of us were at least mildly disappointed that Kuath and Morsell were not a little better, so bemoaning how much we have lost is silly.  Rather than criticize Shaka in advance why net wait and see? I think we will be a good team with lots of emerging talent in Shaka's system. Have faith! Go MU!

[NolongerWarriors]

Roster looks great, doesn't it?

[Pakuni]

Yes.  Because he didn't land Noah Carter. 

Said absolutely no one.

[Goose]

There is one thing I am certain about Shaka, he knows how to recruit. Now, he has not recruited HS or transfers I anticipated that he would, but I think his track record on recruited has shown he knows a helluva lot more than I do.

As for NIL, I will say it again, MU will be very competitive in NIL moving forward. I have zero concern about NIL making recruiting to MU being a problem. If it is/was going to be a problem MU pissed away a lot of money bringing in Shaka.

[panda]

He's doing the best with what he's got.  Marquette is in a tough spot.

Why ?

[swoopem]

You can believe what you want, but brew's account is much more in-line with what I have heard from others close to the program. 

You don't know anyone close to the program

[brewcity77]

fairly compensated. Our players are fairly compensated. That really jumped out at me. Fairly compensated. Dang! NIL is bs, in my humble opinion. Paying a guy that's on a full ride worth what, $180k, or thereabouts? Doesn't a player accept the benefits of a scholarship, in addition to the perks of playing big-time college basketball in return for his/her talent on the basketball court? Accept the scholarship...or not.  Money? Go pro. Get the ride and get paid?

Yes. Fairly compensated. Because players have never been fairly compensated for the value they bring to the University in terms of donations and exposure. And because other programs will be compensating their players, so why should ours not be entitled to compensation in line with other programs?

Question. Put yourself in the shoes of said rich guy. What's he get out of paying a MU player? How's it help his/her biz? Or maybe it doesn't...rather, it's more so dolling out $50k, $100k for a few MU wins as an altruistic fan/alum?

For years, one donor sent a seven-figure check every spring to the Blue & Gold fund. What did he get out of that? Last year, one donor agreed to pay Wojo's $6,000,000 buyout. What did he get out of that? I don't have to put myself in the shoes of any rich guy to know that rich guys are already doling out money significantly greater than those numbers already on a regular basis. That's why we have the basketball budget we do. Why, or how it helps, or whatever other questions you want to pose are completely irrelevant. They have already pumped millions into Marquette Athletics, why would they not continue to do so when they already do not have a tangible self-interested benefit?

[The Sultan]

You don't know anyone close to the program

I mean, I do. But I don't get recruiting info from him.

But I was talking about posters on message boards with reputations for having good info.

[Tha Hound]

Now that Lewis is staying in the NBA Draft and Marquette's supposed top transfer targets have opted to go elsewhere, Shaka has his team for the 2022-23 season.

And it is HIS team. Even though Oso, Stevie and Kam were Wojo recruits, they were re-recruited by Shaka and stayed because they wanted to play for him. Combined, they played 38 minutes for Wojo. They are Shaka's guys, as are all the others on our roster.

The system has been in place for a full season plus what will be a full offseason. And most of the players have been in the system for that entire time. "We're young" or "It's a new system" cannot be excuses if Marquette doesn't do at least as well as last season's team did. By October, Shaka will have had a year and a half to "build culture."

The roster not being talented enough obviously can't be an excuse, either. It's the head coach's job to bring in talent. Either Shaka decided not to pursue better recruits and transfers or he was unable to land better players (or maybe some of both).

I am expecting us to do at least as well as we did last season, and I'll be disappointed if we make the NCAAs but have another first-round flame-out. I don't think it's unrealistic to expect that level of success, and I don't know why any Marquette fan would be happy with anything less.

I sure as heck don't want to hear about 2023-24 or 2024-25 or some other future season being the one that Shaka's really shooting for.

I'm a Marquetter for life, so I'm not threatening to stop being a fan or anything like that if the team fails to meet my expectations. But I will be disappointed, and I'll begin to question if Shaka's the right man for the job.

Hopefully, any such concerns will be moot because Shaka's team will kick butt in 2022-23 and the program will just keep getting better in the years that follow.

We Are Marquette!

I'm not sold on Shaka after last year, but I will say he exceeded my expectations. But if he leads us to a higher seed and tournament victory(s) with this roster I would be fully on board - that would be a great coaching job.

[MU82]

So after a year at Marquette, we're now convinced Shaka can't recruit? Is that really the new narrative?

Like you, I definitely believe Shaka can recruit. He recruited very well for Texas, and he recruited well to VCU given that it wasn't a major. He has a great personality that athletes like, he has been a winner, he has developed pros, he has great facilities and fans to sell. Has he recruited well so far for Marquette? We'll see!

The thing is, whether he misses on recruits/transfers or chooses to stop signing guys because he's happy with what he's got is immaterial to me when I form my expectations.

I expect us to progress as a program. I expected it when Wojo was the coach, I expected it when Buzz was the coach, I expected it when Crean was the coach, etc.

For the short-term, I see no reason not to expect at least as good a season in 2022-23 as we had in 2021-22; in the longer-term, I see no reason to think our very highly regarded coach can't at least deliver Buzz-level success to our alma mater.

We Are Marquette!

I'm not sold on Shaka after last year, but I will say he exceeded my expectations. But if he leads us to a higher seed and tournament victory(s) with this roster I would be fully on board - that would be a great coaching job.

The roster is Shaka's roster. It is the way it is either because he likes it and didn't want to make major upgrades or because he couldn't improve it. Either way, it is his job to win with it. If he doesn't win with it, "there wasn't enough talent" is not a very good excuse.