For context...

[jesmu84]

Herm's just being Herm.

He's back??

With yet another name?? I assume he's still trying to put behind him that he likes getting young women intentionally drunk for the purpose of having unprotected sex with them

[MU82]

Pitino asked 9-9-9 for program-building tips.

[Newsdreams]

While Gold and Ross have experience, they've been who they are: average players that aren't poised to make a big jump in production. If Shaka believes they can be competitive without adding some talent, maybe (hopefully) he knows something we don't.

As head coach he knows a lot we don't have any knowledge regarding players.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

If we don't bring in an impact transfer, I have a hard time seeing us in the top half of the BE next year. Ross and Gold are nice players, but not enough to keep us at the level we were at this year. Everyone else is pretty unproven. I'm most optimistic about Zaide as he made some nice strides this year and Parham also has potential. Owens, Norman and Hamilton could all turn out okay but currently make too many mistakes on both ends to stay on the floor for very long.

I like Owens future. Really hope we get to see it play out. A lot to learn but so tantalizing

[willie warrior]

Disagree. Speed Kills. They have that. Shaka has said Sean is still the fastest player he's seen. He's healthy and looks great. He will be 20 months removed from surgery next November. And we will always have Freshman. Not exactly sure what that means. We will not be lead by Freshman, but will have them, yes.

Not so sure about some frosh not being a leader. If not, who will? Not Ben,who will continue to lose minutes as he has reached his ceiling. Maybe Ross or one of the sophs.

[willie warrior]

6 of St. John's best players came from the portal. Hurley does the same thing. Unless we want to consider transfers, it will be a struggle. Last night St. John's transfer center had 33 points. Ben Gold had zero. Might have to adjust Shaka's approach to building a roster if we want to win consistently at the highest level.

How dare you say that. Shaka does not do such things.

[MU82]

OK, joyless willie, we get it. You think Marquette should fire Shaka after this disaster of a season because he won't build the team the way an anonymous interwebs guy who didn't go to MU wants him to.

Who should we hire next?

[Newsdreams]

OK, joyless willie, we get it. You think Marquette should fire Shaka after this disaster of a season because he won't build the team the way an anonymous interwebs guy who didn't go to MU wants him to.

Who should we hire next?

As long as it is a traditional, Willard will be happy

[willie warrior]

If we don't bring in an impact transfer, I have a hard time seeing us in the top half of the BE next year. Ross and Gold are nice players, but not enough to keep us at the level we were at this year. Everyone else is pretty unproven. I'm most optimistic about Zaide as he made some nice strides this year and Parham also has potential. Owens, Norman and Hamilton could all turn out okay but currently make too many mistakes on both ends to stay on the floor for very long.

Agree with this. And the level we were at this year was 5th place in BEast

[The Sultan]

Agree with this. And the level we were at this year was 5th place in BEast

We were 4th.

[wadesworld]

What's Willie going to do now that he found out we were the second highest seeded BE team? MU falling back, getting passed up. Creighton continues to get better every year. Etc.

[Viper]

Stop and think about the difference between playing a team like St John's, versus playing a team like Wisconsin.  Wisconsin of course will get a high seed, probably a 3 or 4, but that would be a 4 seed I would love to see us play.

St John's is an absolute load physically, athletically - they've got length, strength and skill.

Wisconsin?  Nowhere near as physical or challenging to defend.

End of the day, if the refs allow a physical game, St. John's will go a LONG way in the NCAA.

you a Badger fan? All in for Gard? Why mention RED? Come on, do you not agree, Elon...BETTER DEAD, THAN RED?

[Viper]

We were 4th.

we were 4th? But wasn't MU the 5th seed in the BE tournament?

[The Sultan]

we were 4th? But wasn't MU the 5th seed in the BE tournament?

We tied for fourth but were the fifth seed due to tiebreakers. Those tiebreakers do not affect conference standings.

https://www.bigeast.com/standings.aspx?standings=1113

[MU82]

We also were one of the four teams standing in the Big East semifinals, having beaten Xavier head-to-head.

But that's not negative enough, so never mind.

[Newsdreams]

We also were one of the four teams standing in the Big East semifinals, having beaten Xavier head-to-head.

But that's not negative enough, so never mind.

Didn't cover

[willie warrior]

What's Willie going to do now that he found out we were the second highest seeded BE team? MU falling back, getting passed up. Creighton continues to get better every year. Etc.

Happy we are in. Seeding not that important. If you can't fathom that this is MUs weakest team since year 1, well sorry for you. And you probably believe we are a FF team next year. I don't see that. Very low expectations next year.

[willie warrior]

What's Willie going to do now that he found out we were the second highest seeded BE team? MU falling back, getting passed up. Creighton continues to get better every year. Etc.

BTW, guess you missed that both Creighton and UConn finished higher in BEast than MU. How does that fit into your smart ass logic?

[willie warrior]

What's Willie going to do now that he found out we were the second highest seeded BE team? MU falling back, getting passed up. Creighton continues to get better every year. Etc.

BTW, guess you missed that both Creighton and UConn finished higher in BEast than MU. How does that fit into your smart ass logic?

[tower912]

Beating 4 tournament teams in the ooc boosted MU'S resume.

[The Sultan]

BTW, guess you missed that both Creighton and UConn finished higher in BEast than MU. How does that fit into your smart ass logic?

Marquette was better non-conference than both of them. Conference standings are irrelevant when it comes to tournament seeding.

[tower912]

UConn played poorly in Hawaii.  MU beat Wiscy, Purdue, Maryland, and Georgia.  Maryland on the road, Georgia at a neutral site.  These things are given weight by the committee.

[Big Papi]

Next year looks a lot like Shaka's first year at MU.  A lot of uncertainty.  On paper, it does look like it could be a down year and possibly a significant down year.  If the roster remains the same, we are going to need some surprises and a huge jump in development from the roster overall.

There is no Kam, Oso or Kolek that you can hang your hat on and say they are going to be our star player. 

The hope is Ross turns into one and Gold becomes consistent. 

We will need an X factor to make next year a good year.  I see Zaide, Owens and Parham as those potential X factors.  The ones that make that huge jump in development from one year to the next.  Can a Zaide 2025-26 make the development jump that RJ Luis did for St. Johns this past year?  One can hope.

[MU82]

Next year looks a lot like Shaka's first year at MU.  A lot of uncertainty.  On paper, it does look like it could be a down year and possibly a significant down year.  If the roster remains the same, we are going to need some surprises and a huge jump in development from the roster overall.

There is no Kam, Oso or Kolek that you can hang your hat on and say they are going to be our star player. 

The hope is Ross turns into one and Gold becomes consistent. 

We will need an X factor to make next year a good year.  I see Zaide, Owens and Parham as those potential X factors.  The ones that make that huge jump in development from one year to the next.  Can a Zaide 2025-26 make the development jump that RJ Luis did for St. Johns this past year?  One can hope.

I understand the trepidation, but that's also part of the fun for me.

So far in the Shaka Era, we fortunate fans have gotten to witness significant improvement by numerous players - above and beyond what most of us logically expected. He already has helped develop four NBA draft picks (counting Kam).

Will Chase become the next Marquette star? Will 1 or 2 (or all 3) of Zaide, Royce and D.O. take the kind of major leap from Year 1 to Year 2 under Shaka that TK, OMax and Oso did? Will Sean Jones return 100% healthy and continue making big plays similar to those he did before he got hurt? Will 1 (or more) of the freshmen play so well that he'll force Shaka to play him?

I'm looking forward to seeing it. Or at least I will be looking forward to it after this season ends ... hopefully not for a couple/few weeks!

[StillAWarrior]

I understand the trepidation, but that's also part of the fun for me.

So far in the Shaka Era, we fortunate fans have gotten to witness significant improvement by numerous players - above and beyond what most of us logically expected. He already has helped develop four NBA draft picks (counting Kam).

Will Chase become the next Marquette star? Will 1 or 2 (or all 3) of Zaide, Royce and D.O. take the kind of major leap from Year 1 to Year 2 under Shaka that TK, OMax and Oso did? Will Sean Jones return 100% healthy and continue making big plays similar to those he did before he got hurt? Will 1 (or more) of the freshmen play so well that he'll force Shaka to play him?

I'm looking forward to seeing it. Or at least I will be looking forward to it after this season ends ... hopefully not for a couple/few weeks!

This team has consistently exceeded my expectations since Shaka arrived. I hope they do it again next year. Shaka, his staff, and the players have more than earned the benefit of the doubt. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.