What would make you show Shaka the door in March?

[Elonsmusk]

If UNC parts ways with Hubert Davis after the season ends in disappointment yet again, or Ohio State decided Jake Diebler isn't the guy ... they're bat-phoning the coach who was ushered out of Austin after repeated tourney flops, hates the portal, doesn't want to deal with agents and just lost 20 games at Marquette?
You're not a serious person.

I'm also the "not serious person" who knew 10 games into his time at MU that Wojo wouldn't succeed.  Also, predicted Buzz would have great success at MU at this point of his first season on the job.  I also sounded the alarm that Buzz was growing disgruntled at MU prior to his last season - largely due to Larry Williams/Pilarz.

So MU couldn't live with Buzz's quirks/some off court issues so ran him off - our best coach since Al.  Tried to replace him with choir boy in Wojo who failed.  Shaka's running a clean program with high character guys, whom he's one big with in his first 4 seasons....and guys like you think he's easily replaced?

You're the one living in fantasyland. 

[Elonsmusk]

The follow ups are irrelevant when talking about an individual season's success. It comical that you shat all over 10 & 5 yet call 9 & 7 "extremely good". I get it, you're all in on Shaka that's awesome for you, but take the blinders off and realize it's an "extremely good run" not "4 extremely good seasons" given what you've established as your expectations of MUBB from the previous regime.

Also you've consistently hated on Wojo flopping for what he inherited (7 RSCI top 100 guys) why do you not hate on a guy for flopping worse with 7 (active) top 100 guys that he actually recruited?

LOL.  TF does "the follow ups are irrelevant when talking about an individuals success" mean?

I'm honestly shocked you are so dense that you can't understand why Shaka would have a much different leash than Wojo.  Aren't you surprised that nobody wanted Wojo after he was let go by MU? 

As for Shaka's current Top 7 consensus Top 100 recruits - who are those that are RSCI Top 100 and what class year are they in?

[MU82]

You don't know that he won't use the portal after this season.  You have NO idea, yet remain convinced he won't.

I do not remain convinced of that at all. I believe Shaka's a smart guy, so I like to think he will use all the resources he has available to him, including the transfer portal, whether he is at Marquette or elsewhere. I was just pointing out how unattractive he would be to any other P5 school if he stubbornly stuck to his current philosophy. Do you disagree with that?

The players have failed Shaka this season.  Not the other way around.  He poured into all of them, and they've rewarded him with terrible at the rim shooting, terrible 3 point shooting, and seemingly developed some kind of internal chemistry issues.

Shaka evaluated and recruited every player on this roster for months or even years. He brought them in, he coached them up, and he was in charge of their development. He built the roster, theoretically to run the system that he wanted to run. He also is the program's Head Chemist; if there are chemistry issues, he bears some responsibility there, too.

I am among the Scoopers who has given significant credit to Shaka for the development of Kolek, Oso, Kam, Stevie, etc. So when he told us repeatedly that many of this year's players had improved significantly, I believed him. Obviously, I shouldn't have.

To suggest he bears little to no responsibility for this season's mess is just dopey. The CEO of any company is directly responsible for its success or failure. Frankly, Ners, I am surprised you don't agree with that.

BTW, I'm often lumped in with you and other "Shaka slurpers" by the Scoopers who are really on his case.

[GoldenEagles03]

Nobody said it would take that level of a job. The rumor posted on discord was Pitt.

Shaka would be a good fit at several schools still. He could say he's willing to change, but also still be ideal for a school with less investment, that needs to abide by a more Shaka-esque approach.

The issue at play today, is not that Shaka is terrible with X's and O's. It's that he leveraged everything on an unorthodox approach that could set us back 3 years, when that never had to be the case. He chose this.

And I know people will respond by saying, why not here? I'd simply say, he'd rather have job security, rather than have to interview on 2 consecutive losing seasons, after being fired.

It's always been about dominating the PR for Shaka. That's not going to change.

This seems like quite the exaggeration on Shaka. Leaving Marquette for Pitt in 2025 to "save face" in the event his seat becomes warm seems like a weird made up scenario.

And that's coming from someone that thinks Marquette should fire Shaka if he doesn't agree to use the portal after this season is done.

[ghostofcorms77]

This seems like quite the exaggeration on Shaka. Leaving Marquette for Pitt in 2025 to "save face" in the event his seat becomes warm seems like a weird made up scenario.

And that's coming from someone that thinks Marquette should fire Shaka if he doesn't agree to use the portal after this season is done.

If Shaka wanted Pitt, and Pitt wanted Shaka. Marquette would be rid of paying the buyout. I'm not saying he's going to leave for Pitt. I'm simply stating, what a very reliable pundit put on a board.

Everyone gets a fresh start. Shaka can reinvent the wheel again. And Marquette can use that funding to go pry someone away.

[Pakuni]

Nobody said it would take that level of a job. The rumor posted on discord was Pitt.

Maybe you missed the post I was replying to. Elon believes Shaka would be a top candidate for "all" P4 openings.
If Jon Scheyer quits tomorrow, Duke is calling Shaka. If Bill Self retires at the end of the yeat, Shaka is hearing from Lawrence. 
So sayeth Elon.

[Galway Eagle]

LOL.  TF does "the follow ups are irrelevant when talking about an individuals success" mean?

If you say a season like 2022 is great then 2023 is irrelevant. Aka the follow ups aren't relevant when talking about a season. 2012 didn't make 2011 a great season, 2003 didn't make 2002 a great season, 1994 didn't make 1993 a great season. So 2022 was not "good season" just because of 2023 & 2024 nor was 2025 a "good season" because of the two years prior.

I'm honestly shocked you are so dense that you can't understand why Shaka would have a much different leash than Wojo.  Aren't you surprised that nobody wanted Wojo after he was let go by MU? 

While I appreciate the high expectations, I'm not sure dense is the right term here. I've said Shakas earned some leeway due to the two great seasons and also earned heat due to this bottom falling out. I'm not surprised that nobody wanted Wojo, he was a C coach. What I'm surprised at is for someone like yourself, who has immense expectations for MUBB you'd lump two very average at best seasons in as "great" while having been so critical of two equally average seasons not so long ago.

As for Shaka's current Top 7 consensus Top 100 recruits - who are those that are RSCI Top 100 and what class year are they in?

Admittedly, I got my 247 top 100 vs rsci mixed up. My bad for this point.

[muwarrior69]

I do not remain convinced of that at all. I believe Shaka's a smart guy, so I like to think he will use all the resources he has available to him, including the transfer portal, whether he is at Marquette or elsewhere. I was just pointing out how unattractive he would be to any other P5 school if he stubbornly stuck to his current philosophy. Do you disagree with that?

Shaka evaluated and recruited every player on this roster for months or even years. He brought them in, he coached them up, and he was in charge of their development. He built the roster, theoretically to run the system that he wanted to run. He also is the program's Head Chemist; if there are chemistry issues, he bears some responsibility there, too.

I am among the Scoopers who has given significant credit to Shaka for the development of Kolek, Oso, Kam, Stevie, etc. So when he told us repeatedly that many of this year's players had improved significantly, I believed him. Obviously, I shouldn't have.

To suggest he bears little to no responsibility for this season's mess is just dopey. The CEO of any company is directly responsible for its success or failure. Frankly, Ners, I am surprised you don't agree with that.

BTW, I'm often lumped in with you and other "Shaka slurpers" by the Scoopers who are really on his case.

So was he misleading or did he actually believe his guys improved?

[wadesworld]

Maybe you missed the post I was replying to. Elon believes Shaka would be a top candidate for "all" P4 openings.
If Jon Scheyer quits tomorrow, Duke is calling Shaka. If Bill Self retires at the end of the yeat, Shaka is hearing from Lawrence. 
So sayeth Elon.

Shaka would be very attractive for most programs. It's pretty well known that Kentucky at least "made the call" as did Michigan.

[GoldenEagles03]

If Shaka wanted Pitt, and Pitt wanted Shaka. Marquette would be rid of paying the buyout. I'm not saying he's going to leave for Pitt. I'm simply stating, what a very reliable pundit put on a board.

Everyone gets a fresh start. Shaka can reinvent the wheel again. And Marquette can use that funding to go pry someone away.

I guess I just don't buy it. You're not winning at Pitt more than you are at Marquette and Marquette is fine with the way Shaka is operating. At least all indications seem to be that way. The occasional reset year will happen, but I'd imagine Marquette is pretty pleased with the results Shaka has gotten. Big East Titles, NCAA Tournaments with the occasional second weekend or deeper run is right in Marquette's wheelhouse historically.

[WhiteTrash]

Shaka would be very attractive for most programs. It's pretty well known that Kentucky at least "made the call" as did Michigan.

I think this is 100% correct.

Also, I would 100% guarantee UK and Michigan would never, ever, touch a coach coming off a losing season, much less a 20+ loss season.

I hope a high major program like MU will be pleased to have Shaka next year, assuming he is ready to coach, but most P5 programs wouldn't touch him unless they were looking to turn around a bottom feeder with Hail Mary hire. -but, this could all change in 18 months and he could be the belle of the ball again-

[jesmu84]

If Shaka wanted Pitt, and Pitt wanted Shaka. Marquette would be rid of paying the buyout. I'm not saying he's going to leave for Pitt. I'm simply stating, what a very reliable pundit put on a board.

Everyone gets a fresh start. Shaka can reinvent the wheel again. And Marquette can use that funding to go pry someone away.

You've had a shocking amount to say lately about shaka and board members and buyouts.

Created account in May 2023 to only post about Jimmy Butler/MU beef. No posts before that. No posts since that topic.

But lots know with apparently lots of insider knowledge with booster connections.

[Elonsmusk]

Maybe you missed the post I was replying to. Elon believes Shaka would be a top candidate for "all" P4 openings.
If Jon Scheyer quits tomorrow, Duke is calling Shaka. If Bill Self retires at the end of the yeat, Shaka is hearing from Lawrence. 
So sayeth Elon.

You're right.  Duke would call Wojo first.  And yea, if Self retired and word got out that Shaka was looking to move on from MU - I feel it would be much greater than 50/50 chance as to if he'd get an interview.  And the same would apply to Ohio State and UNC.  He'd be in the running - and he would crush it at UNC.

That aside, as Wades posted - Kentucky and Michigan sniffed around on Shaka. How nice he showed some loyalty and didn't dump MU for two programs that are MASSIVELY better than MU.

And what coach do you think would want to come to MU after a guy who came into the MU program, which hadn't won an NCAA game in 10 years, took over a team that ranked 83rd prior to his arrival, and produced what Shaka produced Years 1-4?

[Pakuni]

Shaka would be very attractive for most programs. It's pretty well known that Kentucky at least "made the call" as did Michigan.

It's not 2023 any more. If Shaka were a stock, he'd be more Pfizer than Nvidia.
Recency bias weighs heavily in coaching searches, and a coach coming off a 18- to 20-loss season in the Big East isn't going to be a hot name on the P4 carousel. And that's not even considering Shaka's stance on transfers and agents. You think Kentucky is hiring a guy who says "I don't talk to agents"?

What's Juwan Howard up to these days?

[Elonsmusk]

If you say a season like 2022 is great then 2023 is irrelevant. Aka the follow ups aren't relevant when talking about a season. 2012 didn't make 2011 a great season, 2003 didn't make 2002 a great season, 1994 didn't make 1993 a great season. So 2022 was not "good season" just because of 2023 & 2024 nor was 2025 a "good season" because of the two years prior.

While I appreciate the high expectations, I'm not sure dense is the right term here. I've said Shakas earned some leeway due to the two great seasons and also earned heat due to this bottom falling out. I'm not surprised that nobody wanted Wojo, he was a C coach. What I'm surprised at is for someone like yourself, who has immense expectations for MUBB you'd lump two very average at best seasons in as "great" while having been so critical of two equally average seasons not so long ago.


Admittedly, I got my 247 top 100 vs rsci mixed up. My bad for this point.

I guess context doesn't matter?  2022 - Year 1 on the job, taking over a team that finished 83rd under Wojo, in which 3 players stayed at MU upon his arrival, and he put together a squad that got a 9 seed only to draw National Runnerup, UNC as a 9 seed?  I'd say that was a great year.  2023 was a great season.  As was 2024.  Last year was a good to very good year by Marquette program history/standards.

Regarding Wojo - I was most critical of him Years 1 and 2.  I didn't criticize his 5/10 seeds.  Criticized how badly we got blasted in those 1st Round Games.

I do have high hopes and standards for the MU program, but I'm not unrealistic or a homer to understand Marquette isn't a blue blood, and now in this day and age of Power 4 conferences throwing million(s) at transfers, we go from a 20sih program to 40ish in my OPINION.

[JTJ3]

You've had a shocking amount to say lately about shaka and board members and buyouts.

Created account in May 2023 to only post about Jimmy Butler/MU beef. No posts before that. No posts since that topic.

But lots know with apparently lots of insider knowledge with booster connections.

There are other MU boards too.  Some of us post on those more than here.

[jesmu84]

There are other MU boards too.  Some of us post on those more than here.

Like what?

Are you familiar with ghost?

[Pakuni]

You're right.  Duke would call Wojo first. 

I see we've reached the pathetic goalpost shifting stage of the discussion.

And what coach do you think would want to come to MU after a guy who came into the MU program, which hadn't won an NCAA game in 10 years, took over a team that ranked 83rd prior to his arrival, and produced what Shaka produced Years 1-4?

Gotta call TJ and see if he wants to come home. Next call might go to Chris Gerlufsen.
Anyhow, it's nice that you think coaches actually care about this stuff. They don't. Did LSU running Ed Orgeron out of town two years after he had the arguably the greatest season in history prevent them from hiring two big-name coaches since? Did Chris Beard pass on Texas because Shaka was nudged out of town?
Coaches care about the salary, the resources and the opportunity for success, not whether fans or the administration were nice enough to the previous guy. And none of them are worried about how they'll be treated if they fail.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Shaka would be very attractive for most programs. It's pretty well known that Kentucky at least "made the call" as did Michigan.

May have been true at one time, probably not anymore.

[Small Orange Soda]

You're right.  Duke would call Wojo first.  And yea, if Self retired and word got out that Shaka was looking to move on from MU - I feel it would be much greater than 50/50 chance as to if he'd get an interview.  And the same would apply to Ohio State and UNC.  He'd be in the running - and he would crush it at UNC.

That aside, as Wades posted - Kentucky and Michigan sniffed around on Shaka. How nice he showed some loyalty and didn't dump MU for two programs that are MASSIVELY better than MU.

And what coach do you think would want to come to MU after a guy who came into the MU program, which hadn't won an NCAA game in 10 years, took over a team that ranked 83rd prior to his arrival, and produced what Shaka produced Years 1-4?

Those fanbases would burn their practice facilities down if they hired a guy coming off a single digit win season.

[Newsdreams]

hate having to continue discussing the Marquette financial situation. It's on good authority, from several credible national pundits, that Marquette has "great NIL". I followed up last week, just to confirm, and it was reiterated.Thats not even factoring the initial investment into the program, which ranks very well nationally.

There's a reason Shaka left Texas. He was given ultimatums, and couldn't run the program the way he wanted to. That was their boosters, protecting their investment with NIL coming down the line. It was proactive. But, the bottom line is he hates control.

Marquette, not on the same wealth scale as Texas, still pumps a ton of money into this program. That's not to say they will fire him this offseason. But those with significant vested interest in this program, will implement control, to protect their investment.

Shaka is a great orator. But beyond the surface and the moral compass he portrays, he does not want to be controlled.

So, regardless of whether we fire him, he leaves, etc... this relationship with never be as harmonious as once before.

So give the NIL figures... or stop the BS

[Pakuni]

So give the NIL figures... or stop the BS

Paint Touches did a decent job of it around this time a year ago.
MU isn't poor or lacking in resources.

https://painttouches.com/2024/12/30/how-much-do-marquette-players-make-in-nil/

[Newsdreams]

Paint Touches did a decent job of it around this time a year ago.
MU isn't poor or lacking in resources.

https://painttouches.com/2024/12/30/how-much-do-marquette-players-make-in-nil/

Yes, I know I'm talking about his claims of incredible NIL and remember this is the NIL collective a MU fund that is shared. But he is referencing some huge amounts of NIL which would come from independent boosters yet no amount is put forward so I call BS.

[Elonsmusk]

I see we've reached the pathetic goalpost shifting stage of the discussion.


Gotta call TJ and see if he wants to come home. Next call might go to Chris Gerlufsen.
Anyhow, it's nice that you think coaches actually care about this stuff. They don't. Did LSU running Ed Orgeron out of town two years after he had the arguably the greatest season in history prevent them from hiring two big-name coaches since? Did Chris Beard pass on Texas because Shaka was nudged out of town?
Coaches care about the salary, the resources and the opportunity for success, not whether fans or the administration were nice enough to the previous guy. And none of them are worried about how they'll be treated if they fail.

Shift the goal posts?  Laughable as you invented a scenario of John Scheyer quitting Duke to try to find an example of where Shaka wouldn't be at the top of the list for a call.  Also, nice to throw out another blueblood (KU) who just got $300M donated to their athletic department.

Question:  Do you think the LSU football program and MU basketball program are in the same hierarchy of prestige as coaching destinations within their sport?

Why would TJ Otzelberger leave Iowa State?  And you think Chris F'in Gerlufsen is a more attractive coaching candidate than Shaka??  Thanks for confirming you are clueless.