Psyched about the future of Marquette hoops

[Jay Bee]

If BChoopster wasn't locked up in a mental ward, I'd want ze as our coach tbh.

[Shooter McGavin]

Shaka keeps Tre on the roster, plays Ben out of position.  Guy doesn't know what he's doing.  In over his head here.

Out of necessity?

[Shooter McGavin]

You have one impressive ego my friend.

Ha! Could be said about 4 to 5 posters in this thread,

[MU82]

Ha! Could be said about 4 to 5 posters in this thread,

Only 4 or 5?

[MuMark]

Shaka talks about lots of stuff........

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/marquette/2025/10/01/marquette-golden-eagles-2025-26-season-preview-shaka-smart/86418333007/

[Class71]

Let's see how MU does in the second half of the season.

[MU82]

Didn't receive a single vote in the AP preseason poll.

https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll

Quoting a wise man: F@ck 'em!

[mileskishnish72]

After further review...

I guess it was easier to be psyched when there weren't any games.

[MU82]

Congrats on getting to be down about the program's future.

[PointWarrior]

Threads that don't end well for 100, Alex...

[JakeBarnes]

It's like people here have never faced adversity before. Lots of existential hand wringing going on.

 I blame the proliferation of participation trophies such as the FIFA Peace Prize.

[1SE]

It's like people here have never faced adversity before. Lots of existential hand wringing going on.

 I blame the proliferation of participation trophies such as the FIFA Peace Prize.

Or EGB awards in overtime Q4 victories?

[MU82]

Or EGB awards in overtime Q4 victories?

You should write Shaka a letter.

[BCHoopster]

If BChoopster wasn't locked up in a mental ward, I'd want ze as our coach tbh.

I just got out of the mental ward and still see like I said for years Ben is a stiff, recruited by nobody, and is as soft as Charmin.  Yes he has improved in certain areas, but offensively Shaka has failed him on the development stage, so inconsistent.

[jfp61]

I just got out of the mental ward and still see like I said for years Ben is a stiff, recruited by nobody, and is as soft as Charmin.  Yes he has improved in certain areas, but offensively Shaka has failed him on the development stage, so inconsistent.

Stiff, not really, he is fine mobility wise. Recruited by nobody, not entirely true, Kyle Smith is a good coach, Georgia Tech and Utah are meh.  Soft, yes, but if he is in the correct system it would be completely fine.

I agree with that offensively Shaka has failed him on the development. That is entirely true.

Lastly, he is still, somehow, clearly the second best player on this team.

[GoldenEagles03]

I feel like Ben is a pretty good player. Averaging almost 10 points per contest. Averaging over 7 rebounds.

That's a solid contributor. The problem is that he plays alongside a 5 at any given time that gives absolutely 0. So we expect him to do more because we know the center spot isn't going to give anything. I'll take 10 and 7 all day from our 4. We just need a better front court. Could use a total overhaul up front.

[JTJ3]

Ben is a really solid player, just not the star this team unfortunately needs.  We need to go back to him playing the 5 more.  He really grew a ton last year as a rim protector on defense, and now we're making him guard on the perimeter instead.

[willie warrior]

Stiff, not really, he is fine mobility wise. Recruited by nobody, not entirely true, Kyle Smith is a good coach, Georgia Tech and Utah are meh.  Soft, yes, but if he is in the correct system it would be completely fine.

I agree with that offensively Shaka has failed him on the development. That is entirely true.

Lastly, he is still, somehow, clearly the second best player on this team.

Wrongo. He is not the second best player, and it definitely is not clearly

[MU82]

I feel like Ben is a pretty good player. Averaging almost 10 points per contest. Averaging over 7 rebounds.

That's a solid contributor. The problem is that he plays alongside a 5 at any given time that gives absolutely 0. So we expect him to do more because we know the center spot isn't going to give anything. I'll take 10 and 7 all day from our 4. We just need a better front court. Could use a total overhaul up front.

Gold is best as a stretch 5, not a 4. If surrounded by better players, as he was last season and also when he was Oso's backup, he played his role decently.

As you stated, his production this season is fine - it just seems inadequate to some because we don't get enough on offense or defense from others.

We need Parham to improve on the flashes he showed last season and in the last couple of games. And we need better play from the backups at both 5 and 4. Shaka has not recruited well enough.

[Pakuni]

I feel like Ben is a pretty good player. Averaging almost 10 points per contest. Averaging over 7 rebounds.

That's a solid contributor. The problem is that he plays alongside a 5 at any given time that gives absolutely 0. So we expect him to do more because we know the center spot isn't going to give anything. I'll take 10 and 7 all day from our 4. We just need a better front court. Could use a total overhaul up front.

Against non-cupcakes, he's averaging 8.8 and 6.6 while shooting 50% from two and 33% from three.
These aren't bad numbers, just very mid. Ben's not the problem with this team, but he's not making it much better either.