Grace Period is over

[MU_CHI]

I'm not going to get crazy like the rest. But marquettes flaws were shown in early January.

Since that time, there have been zero fixes for the exposed flaws. And I do mean zero. Nothing was ever fixed.

Fact.

[Billy Hoyle]

I'm surprised your take. 97 wins or whatever gets us what? Is ncaa tourney 2nd weekend too much to ask for? Seriously, for a program like Marquette...first weekend outs, losing to lower seeds. Turn over the roster annually if need be. Second weekend one time since that E8 with Buzz. Damn.

I don't agree with turning over the roster entirely but bringing in some reinforcements at a position of need would be nice. How great would a Jemaya Neal look running the point in an MU uniform?

[Small Orange Soda]

I'm not going to get crazy like the rest. But marquettes flaws were shown in early January.

Since that time, there have been zero fixes for the exposed flaws. And I do mean zero. Nothing was ever fixed.

Yup. Shaka's grace period isn't over for me. Happy with how he's done as a Wojo criticizer for a long while.

Nevada Smith's is though.

The guy doesn't recruit, and has been classified as the offensive coordinator, essentially. This offense simply wasn't good enough.

Outside of Kam and Jop, nobody consistently drove to the basket with the intention to score. More importantly, nobody cut to the basket with the intention to receive a pass. Pick 'n Roll was done with. Gold only did Pick and Pop, so somebody who can should've been added. The offense was a lot of, 'okay, I don't see a chance to score. Let's pass it back to someone who can maybe find a way?' Passes weren't given to guys who were put in better positions to score. How many times did Ross drive to within a few feet of the basket only to kick it out to someone who clanked a three? It was so frustrating watching other teams manufacture better shots due to ball movement when we didn't do the same.

And sure, that's the point of the offense...but obviously that didn't work. When the difference between the number of three attempts you take and the percentage you make is a gap of 200, then the offense isn't working and needs to be adjusted. Just being a crummy three point shooting team isn't an excuse.

[willie warrior]

4 nba players on this team over the last 3 seasons.

1 sweet 16 to show for it.

Yes Marquette won the big east two years ago but looking back after the 3 season are complete I'm completely disappointed.

Both years we were a two the 1 seed lost before we even played them and both years losing to a team seeded well below us.

Hopefully Shaka goes to the portal or it's going to be a rough future here.

Rick Pitino: "You can complain or adapt."

[NCMUFan]

Rick Pitino: "You can complain or adapt."

Shaka isn't complaining.  He has put in place a system he wants to see if it works.
I believe his system give us an advantage in the early half of the season when other teams have a bunch of new players and don't know each other or the coaches' methods.
As this advantage disappears over other teams as the season matures, it appears MU had regressed.

The portal has changed the dynamics of team building.  Shaka is also on the learning curve.  Why not try a different approach versus blindly doing what every other team is doing.  That's what innovators do.  Sometimes they hit a home run, sometimes no improvement.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Anyone who thinks Shaka did a good job this year is brain dead and has blind loyalty. He has no backbone as a coach.

Next year will be much of the same. Some good early wins, level out to top 40ish with a 1st or 2nd round loss.

Maybe, if the non-con schedule is way easier.

[MUDPT]

Shaka has no one to blame but himself for this. Offense never adjusted throughout the season. Every single player regressed.

Anyways, no killers on this team. Kam continuously passing on opportunities to take the 6-10 guy 1-1 was the end of it.  So disappointing.

Every single player regressed?

[MattyWarrior]

Shaka is good not great, he can make good adjustments against lesser foes but not equals, the last couple years we needed rebounding bigs with girth and toughness!

[ATL MU Warrior]

Shaka is good not great, he can make good adjustments against lesser foes but not equals, the last couple years we needed rebounding bigs with girth and toughness!

Girthy bangers?  Careful, you're going to get Willie excited

[MU_CHI]

Every single player regressed?

I think you can easily make the argument all 5 starters regressed during the season. Stevie, Chase, Ben no doubt. And those are the role players required to win in March

[willie warrior]

Shaka isn't complaining.  He has put in place a system he wants to see if it works.
I believe his system give us an advantage in the early half of the season when other teams have a bunch of new players and don't know each other or the coaches' methods.
As this advantage disappears over other teams as the season matures, it appears MU had regressed.

The portal has changed the dynamics of team building.  Shaka is also on the learning curve.  Why not try a different approach versus blindly doing what every other team is doing.  That's what innovators do.  Sometimes they hit a home run, sometimes no improvement.

Of course he is not complaining. You miss the point. Adapt. Which he has not done. He needs consistent 3 point scorers and bangers. He does not have those. Which translates to middle to lower tier of BEast.

[willie warrior]

Girthy bangers?  Careful, you're going to get Willie excited

I am already excited by the roster next year. We should all be.

[AlienWarrior]

Smart knew we had a weakness down low and did nothing in the off season to change that. Maybe there was no one available or they didn't want to come to Marquette. But from what I hear on this board and from the media and from Shaka, transfers were not an option. That is a major flaw IMO

[PointWarrior]

And if you don't believe in what we're doing. Watch this:

https://youtu.be/HQIqCtBEr6M?si=oD4A9J-pEq_F3Ola

It's about finding the right roster that buys into the culture. This team had some gaps. But they were closer to cutting down nets than then the CBI. There are so many coaches in America that would have been 3-18  with this squad vs 18-3. It's about finding the right roster for the culture. Shaka is threading a tight needle but I believe in him.

If Shaka turned a 3-18 team into an 18-3 team - we should run him off for roster construction. 

[AlienWarrior]

Culture? Transfers want to win and win right away and  willing to win IS culture

[79Warrior]

He's been here four years, been in the tournament four times, and won a conference regular season and a BET. And people think he should be gone because he doesn't build the team the way dipsh*t fans want it built?

It's mind-numbingly dumb.

For sure. Embarrassing some of the comments.

[Johnny B]

Anyone who thinks Shaka did a good job this year is brain dead and has blind loyalty. He has no backbone as a coach.

Next year will be much of the same. Some good early wins, level out to top 40ish with a 1st or 2nd round loss.

So you're saying we go dancing 5 years in a row cause id be pretty happy with that. Looking at the current roster for next year im thinking they will just slightly miss the tournament

[MUBurrow]

Shaka isn't complaining.  He has put in place a system he wants to see if it works.
I believe his system give us an advantage in the early half of the season when other teams have a bunch of new players and don't know each other or the coaches' methods.
As this advantage disappears over other teams as the season matures, it appears MU had regressed.

The portal has changed the dynamics of team building.  Shaka is also on the learning curve.  Why not try a different approach versus blindly doing what every other team is doing.  That's what innovators do.  Sometimes they hit a home run, sometimes no improvement.

This x100. All the handwringing about Shaka's purported stubbornness and "will he adapt" is very Helen Lovejoy. To jump to that with the limited data we have is ridiculous.  Shaka was basically able to run it back in 2023 with the same roster and depend on the conference 6th man of the year sliding into a starting spot at his natural position. 

This past year was the only real year that you can say there was a philosophical decision to eschew the portal, and there's a reason it generated national coverage.  It was absolutely worth a shot, and until January, we were all ready to crown it as genius.  What was Shaka supposed to do, hit the portal in February?  Give pressers and say "turns out the guys we have on the roster aren't good enough and I should have swapped out player x with player y who now plays on another team."? 

My guess is that Shaka will only use the portal conservatively.  Undoubtedly that will make a lot of "real fans" here mad because they think anything less than the purge every offseason as heresy, and think each season should be a totally fresh slate.  But I think he has a really good understanding of how to build a program at a school like MU, and that Shaka and MU are a great fit for how to navigate the NIL era.

[tower912]

Great points.  Right now, any portal activity begins with departures.   Secondly, Shaka has sniffed around the portal and hasn't found anyone that he thought would help the team that didn't require a bag drop.   Unless there are wholesale departures, I simply don't see that many big name portal entrants choosing MU.

[PointWarrior]

Great points.  Right now, any portal activity begins with departures.   Secondly, Shaka has sniffed around the portal and hasn't found anyone that he thought would help the team that didn't require a bag drop.   Unless there are wholesale departures, I simply don't see that many big name portal entrants choosing MU.

The QoS is firmly against bag drops, even if that is how other teams are winning.

[tower912]

I am not against them.  They are a tool and a choice.  And I cited examples of  where they absolutely did not pay off.   I don't believe that Self having his worst two season after getting g Dickinson and Woodson being out at IU after getting Ballo are coincidences.
  Pitino is making it work this season at SJU.

   Bag drops are a tool.   Not a guarantee of success.   Of course, neither is NOT doing a bag drop.  Just like Buzz using his JUCO connections was a tool.   Any choice is a gamble.   Relationships, growth, development is another tool, another gamble.

[willie warrior]

This x100. All the handwringing about Shaka's purported stubbornness and "will he adapt" is very Helen Lovejoy. To jump to that with the limited data we have is ridiculous.  Shaka was basically able to run it back in 2023 with the same roster and depend on the conference 6th man of the year sliding into a starting spot at his natural position. 

This past year was the only real year that you can say there was a philosophical decision to eschew the portal, and there's a reason it generated national coverage.  It was absolutely worth a shot, and until January, we were all ready to crown it as genius.  What was Shaka supposed to do, hit the portal in February?  Give pressers and say "turns out the guys we have on the roster aren't good enough and I should have swapped out player x with player y who now plays on another team."? 

My guess is that Shaka will only use the portal conservatively.  Undoubtedly that will make a lot of "real fans" here mad because they think anything less than the purge every offseason as heresy, and think each season should be a totally fresh slate.  But I think he has a really good understanding of how to build a program at a school like MU, and that Shaka and MU are a great fit for how to navigate the NIL era.

Let us know when he starts using the portal "conservatively"

[MuggsyB]

I am not against them.  They are a tool and a choice.  And I cited examples of  where they absolutely did not pay off.   I don't believe that Self having his worst two season after getting g Dickinson and Woodson being out at IU after getting Ballo are coincidences.
  Pitino is making it work this season at SJU.

   Bag drops are a tool.   Not a guarantee of success.   Of course, neither is NOT doing a bag drop.  Just like Buzz using his JUCO connections was a tool.   Any choice is a gamble.   Relationships, growth, development is another tool, another gamble.

Correct.  It's about identifying players that fit your roster.  Willard did that at Maryland and Whisky got ridiculously lucky with Tonje. 

[MUBurrow]

Let us know when he starts using the portal "conservatively"

Honest question - do you believe there will be zero portal additions in the next two years?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Therefore Shaka should not even try.  Gard seems to do ok in the portal.

Didn't you say coaches are judged on tournament success?

Shaka has 3 NCAAT wins including a S16 in the past 3 seasons.

Gard has 3 NCAAT wins including 0 S16s in the past 8 seasons (7 tournaments).

So is Gard doing okay in the portal?