Coach Smart/Maestro

[Silkk the Shaka]

I did not see even one bad shot last night. This shows how good the team can be, if it does not take bad shots. Game reminded me of Providence beat down last year, which turned into a huge momentum run for MU.

Agreed, then that fizzled hard in Feb/March. Would love to see this young team sustain the momentum through year end!

There's a lot to build on. If the D can bring that intensity every night we should be in nearly every game from here on out, then it's a matter of if they can keep their composure & remember to move the ball on nights when shots aren't falling early.

[JakeBarnes]

Agreed, then that fizzled hard in Feb/March. Would love to see this young team sustain the momentum through year end!

There's a lot to build on. If the D can bring that intensity every night we should be in nearly every game from here on out, then it's a matter of if they can keep their composure & remember to move the ball on nights when shots aren't falling early.

I think the best part of last night is the ball had energy. Even if it was a miss more often than not, on the next possession the ball moved again. A few hiccups that Shaka can point to about the ball getting sticky to contrast (and led to a few easy buckets for Baylor)--but felt like they "got it" a lot more last night.

The fizzle out in the spring of last year had a lot to do with the ball getting sticky and the team playing for the individual and not the team. That could be said about the two losses this season as well.

[Silkk the Shaka]

I think the best part of last night is the ball had energy. Even if it was a miss more often than not, on the next possession the ball moved again. A few hiccups that Shaka can point to about the ball getting sticky to contrast (and led to a few easy buckets for Baylor)--but felt like they "got it" a lot more last night.

The fizzle out in the spring of last year had a lot to do with the ball getting sticky and the team playing for the individual and not the team. That could be said about the two losses this season as well.

Agreed, gotta make sure they all remember how they have collective success

[Newsdreams]

And juice

Sorry no ron, maybe NMD

[Goose]

Jake

There were several possessions when I was saying shoot the ball and 2-3 passes later there was another wide open shot. The team is understanding ball movement and I wish we could have the number of hockey assists last night with the extra pass.

I do not create the hockey assist count and get Rocky upset, but I sure love the extra passes and kudos to the guys on making it happen. We had far more wide open shots than contested shots and that is a trend. Baylor shot well, but worked hard for their shots.

Speaking of Rocky, I think he noted that the jury was out on recruiting and Shaka missed the boat on utilizing the transfer portal and I strongly disagree. Three freshman played big roles, future NBA’er Omax and Kolek delivered the goods. A system was put in place last year, it is maturing this year and I’ll bet on Shaka’s assessment of talent any day of the week.

These guys are held accountable, given a lot of freedom to perform and I love it. We are far from the promised land, but getting closer every day in the Shaka era.

[willie warrior]

It will be a masterful achievement if he can beat an offensive powerhouse like Baylor and a grind 'em Wisky in the same week.
Let's bring it.

Should be a no brainer to beat Wisky.

[PGsHeroes32]

Jake

There were several possessions when I was saying shoot the ball and 2-3 passes later there was another wide open shot. The team is understanding ball movement and I wish we could have the number of hockey assists last night with the extra pass.

I do not create the hockey assist count and get Rocky upset, but I sure love the extra passes and kudos to the guys on making it happen. We had far more wide open shots than contested shots and that is a trend. Baylor shot well, but worked hard for their shots.

Speaking of Rocky, I think he noted that the jury was out on recruiting and Shaka missed the boat on utilizing the transfer portal and I strongly disagree. Three freshman played big roles, future NBA’er Omax and Kolek delivered the goods. A system was put in place last year, it is maturing this year and I’ll bet on Shaka’s assessment of talent any day of the week.

These guys are held accountable, given a lot of freedom to perform and I love it. We are far from the promised land, but getting closer every day in the Shaka era.
[/quote

I love Shaka's roster building strategy with continuity and the type of player he looks for. At some point maybe mix in an extra big since with how much I like our current guards plus the incoming recruits/Ellis we are a bit log jammed. But overall love it.

Living in Minny I watch the Gophers a lot and experience wise Shaka vs Johnson this early isnt the fairest comp. But still..

BJ has done a great job already with his high school recruiting. But hes been brutal using the portal, like embarrassingly bad. And his in game coaching makes Pitino look like a master strategist.

He needs time. But I love year in and year out/game in and game out knowing what im going to get with a SHaka MU team. We may be great, we may suck. But I know the identity. I know the style. I know what we are trying to do game to game.

Gophers I literally have no a single clue what offense or game plan they are trying to even incorporate for a season plus. And I watch most every game.

[Uncle Rico]

Jake

There were several possessions when I was saying shoot the ball and 2-3 passes later there was another wide open shot. The team is understanding ball movement and I wish we could have the number of hockey assists last night with the extra pass.

I do not create the hockey assist count and get Rocky upset, but I sure love the extra passes and kudos to the guys on making it happen. We had far more wide open shots than contested shots and that is a trend. Baylor shot well, but worked hard for their shots.

Speaking of Rocky, I think he noted that the jury was out on recruiting and Shaka missed the boat on utilizing the transfer portal and I strongly disagree. Three freshman played big roles, future NBA’er Omax and Kolek delivered the goods. A system was put in place last year, it is maturing this year and I’ll bet on Shaka’s assessment of talent any day of the week.

These guys are held accountable, given a lot of freedom to perform and I love it. We are far from the promised land, but getting closer every day in the Shaka era.

Program, culture, retention.

It’s all cliched but it’s also true.  Shaka and Marquette are a perfect pair.  They’ll be ups and downs this year, but the pieces are there and the puzzle is almost complete

[pbiflyer]

I did not see even one bad shot last night. This shows how good the team can be, if it does not take bad shots. Game reminded me of Providence beat down last year, which turned into a huge momentum run for MU.

It's funny, I was actually screaming at Tyler to shoot a couple times when he passed instead.

[Goose]

pbiflyer

I think we are going to see more and more extra passes because it is fun basketball. If you are willing to bust your ass on D, a lot of freedom on the other end of the court.

Rico

Shaka and Marquette are a perfect pair. I think his backing away from the job the first time will prove to be a great thing. He is a better coach and may have a found a home.

[Scoop Snoop]

pbiflyer

I think we are going to see more and more extra passes because it is fun basketball. If you are willing to bust your ass on D, a lot of freedom on the other end of the court.

Rico

Shaka and Marquette are a perfect pair. I think his backing away from the job the first time will prove to be a great thing. He is a better coach and may have a found a home.

First bolded: I saw Kolek as well as others decide to pass the ball rather than take the shot a number of times. To me, it seemed like really good, split-second decision making when the chances of a defender either blocking the shot or messing it up were too high. Kolek has had far too many shots jammed into his face trying to force it up under the basket rather than passing the ball. I get pbflyer's "screaming at Tyler to shoot" but I think it was wise decision making by TK.

Second bolded: Spot on, Goose!

[Newsdreams]

Should be a no brainer to beat Wisky.

Willie, greeney

[MuggsyB]

I don't know if it is by design or by necessity, but there has been one thing that has been consistent about Shaka's approach in the two years he has been at MU that has really impressed me.     
 
None of the freshmen ever look afraid.   

Excellent point Tower. 

Sure, they may get beat, or blow an assignment, or do some other bonehead freshman thing. But they go on the court and play without fear.

[MU82]

Speaking of Rocky, I think he noted that the jury was out on recruiting and Shaka missed the boat on utilizing the transfer portal and I strongly disagree.

I’m sure you’ll correct me if I’m wrong, Goose, but I thought you said recently that you were surprised and a little disappointed that Shaka didn’t bring in a transfer big.

Overall, though, I do agree that the way Shaka is building his program is great.

[Goose]

82

Yes, I was surprised that the portal was not used to bring in a big guy for this season. I also said that getting Kur, Morsell, Kolek and Omax from the portal would make the portal grade quite high.

So, yes I was surprised he did not land a big free agent this past offseason, but would not agree that he has missed the boat on utilizing the portal the past two years. Actually, I am surprised anyone would question the success of the portal thus far because quite possibly the two most important players are second year portal guys and starters on the team.

[rocket surgeon]

i'd be interested if someone were to know what portal bigs who could fit shaka system were available this past year or two.  even if there were a few, one couldn't blame him for "missing out" on them and i'll tell you why i believe this-there are so many attractive programs out there to choose from, from a players perspective, especially with this NIL thingy. even though shaka probably came to MU with a pretty good reputation, it may have gotten "stung" a little post texas.  given that scenario, he may have missed out on some potentials.
   however, with some of our most recent successes, the cat may be out the bag or getting there anyway.  the baylor win was a pretty good national eye opener.  wisco this saturday is huge for all of the obvious.  what i'm trying to get to is shaka's brand is now on more of a national display.  my hopes are that those potential bigs who would be a good fit and maybe passed or we missed out on are now starting to form a line at the door.  also, there are those who might be on the fence regarding leaving their respective teams looking at MU now a better option. 

  what's so cool is the renewed vigor shaka has brought to the team.  i told a few of my friends that following the baylor win, i got one of the best nights sleep post MU game in many years.  i want to temper some of my enthusiasm as we have barely more than a season to under our belt, but i may even be able to sleep better now following a loss knowing we still have shaka ball gonna fix that.  speaking of sleep-hey goose!   3:48 am post?? you on china time?  or baby duty? regardless, i really appreciate your posts have been consistent since shaka came into the picture.  time for some red meat  eyna?

[Goose]

Rocket

Was doing some work with our China team and could not fall back asleep.

I said it last year, but once Shaka gets some real success getting players will become easy. It is a fun system of basketball and everyone is involved. I could recruit for that system and that shows how easy it will get for Shaka.

If an athletic kid is willing to pay pay hard D, he rewarded with almost unlimited freedom on the other side of the court. It is a nba style and kids will love it.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

i'd be interested if someone were to know what portal bigs who could fit shaka system were available this past year or two.

They reached out to a few.  For instance Mouhamed Gueye from Washington State entered the portal, entered his name in the draft, but then pulled out of both and returned to WSU.

even if there were a few, one couldn't blame him for "missing out" on them and i'll tell you why i believe this-there are so many attractive programs out there to choose from, from a players perspective, especially with this NIL thingy. even though shaka probably came to MU with a pretty good reputation, it may have gotten "stung" a little post texas.  given that scenario, he may have missed out on some potentials.

I completely agree with regards to NIL. NIL will benefit college basketball, and yes it will benefit programs like Marquette.

I don't think Shaka's tenure at Texas has much to do with it. Relationships are important. That's probably why a guy like Gueye went back to where he had a relationship with the coach, despite having offers from the likes of Marquette and UCLA.

[MU82]

82

Yes, I was surprised that the portal was not used to bring in a big guy for this season. I also said that getting Kur, Morsell, Kolek and Omax from the portal would make the portal grade quite high.

So, yes I was surprised he did not land a big free agent this past offseason, but would not agree that he has missed the boat on utilizing the portal the past two years. Actually, I am surprised anyone would question the success of the portal thus far because quite possibly the two most important players are second year portal guys and starters on the team.

I agree that Shaka hasn't missed the boat on utilizing the portal the past two years for all the reasons you stated. Those who say otherwise simply ignore facts.

However, it's OK to express a little disappointment (as you and I have) that our coach couldn't land a big who could have taken a little pressure off Oso this season, committed some hard fouls against the BEast bigs we'll have to face, and improved our overall depth. As I said earlier, even a Jayce Johnson type would have been fine for 8-12 mpg.

Unfortunately, what's happened here is that any criticism, no matter how small, is considered by some to be a vicious attack on Shaka -- and, even more ridiculously, some kind of expression of love for his predecessor.

I am thrilled with the job Shaka's doing and I'm as high on this team as just about anybody here. AND I wish he had been able to bring in one more big. It's not freakin' mutually exclusive.

[bilsu]

The three amigos were really good as freshmen for Crean. I am starting to wonder how good Jones, Ross and Gold would be, if they got the playing time the three amigos got as freshmen. I am not saying they are as good, but I do not think they are that far behind. I am very pleased with this recruiting class. As far as the transfer portal for this season (maybe due to injury?) did not add anything to this team. However, I think Shaka said he did not want to bring in a transfer that would hurt the development of his current players.

[bilsu]

They reached out to a few.  For instance Mouhamed Gueye from Washington State entered the portal, entered his name in the draft, but then pulled out of both and returned to WSU.


I completely agree with regards to NIL. NIL will benefit college basketball, and yes it will benefit programs like Marquette.

I don't think Shaka's tenure at Texas has much to do with it. Relationships are important. That's probably why a guy like Gueye went back to where he had a relationship with the coach, despite having offers from the likes of Marquette and UCLA.

I think the NIL benefits MU players. I do not think it benefits as a whole non-football schools like MU.

[Goose]

82

I do not think it is vicious attack, just uneducated statement. I have no idea why we did not land a big guy and wish we had, especially with the play of the returning players. My guess is he had a very small pool of guys that he thought would this team and either missed on them or decided against going after them. IMO, every player that has come to MU in Shaka era is a basketball player and all have upside to improve and that is not something to ignore. Based off that, I will give him a lot of rope on who he adds to the roster. That being said, time to start winning and raise the bar.

[Goose]

bilsu

I have said from day one that I believe MU will benefit from the NIL era and I believe it more today. MU needs to support a very small number of guys and that should be a very easy task. If Shaka starts to win the money will come flowing in. This is a basketball school with a long history, and it has shown money is not an issue in running the program.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Seriously, what valuable able bodied center is going to transfer to become a 10-15 minute back up? I guess Theo would be one.

Wrightsil transfered in as Lewis departed.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Seriously, what valuable able bodied center is going to transfer to become a 10-15 minute back up? I guess Theo would be one.

Wrightsil transfered in as Lewis departed.

Exactly.  Warren Washington would have been the ideal backup, but he's playing nearly 22 mpg at Arizona State.

Since neither he nor Oso shoot threes, they can't play together without sacrificing floor spacing on offense.   Washington would end up playing fewer minutes at MU than he is playing at ASU.