Losing the Fight

[Newsdreams]

Sounds like something Chico's would say.

Chico's is the Sybil of Scoop

[wadesworld]

Genuinely all he does on this board.

Doesn't take much to get you. Just about everyone does.

[dgies9156]

Not to break anyone's bubble, but here's the likely reality at Marquette as we speak.

1) Shaka Smart is everything Marquette wants in a head coach. He's low-key, caring about his players, focused on good citizens and involved in both the university and greater Milwaukee communities. Plus, he's won in his first four years.The FiServ has been full and Marquette has been, until this year, consistently near the the Top 3 in the Big East. From a personal standpoint, Shaka is "cool" and the "anthesis-Al" and certainly the "anthesis-Kevin O'Neill!"

2) For those of you who want Shaka gone: from where will the money for Shaka's buyout  come? I'm sure the buyout is huge! If a rich donor steps up and does a Coach Wojo v2.0, what's that going to do to program-related contributory resources necessary to maintain a Top 20 program? Under these circumstances, who other than a speculative hire looking to build a name will come to Marquette?

3) For those of you puking at RGV (me included), could the need for RGV be more than just Shaka being stubborn? Could the university be going "cheap" on the basketball program again? While I think we have the resources to do whatever we want with basketball, I also believe Marquette's leadership is telling AD Broeker what it expects in contribution to the general fund from basketball net profits. That vision is likely based on historical rather than current or predictive trends. Managing for a contribution margin may mean Marquette can't pay "big-time" recruits and our portal capability is limited.

4) What's unknown is the importance President Kimo Ah Yun places on basketball. We benefitted from Father Wild's and the late President Lovell's passion for our Warriors. I'm yet to be convinced President Yun shares the passion for it, but I could be wrong.

Of these issues, Item 3 is the one most feared, for many reasons. The biggest is defining basketball's role in the greater university. Is it strictly a cash cow, or is it being used to raise the university's profile. If it's a cash cow and the bean counters get at it, we'll be Depaul faster than anyone can say, "Blue Demons North!" 

Ultimately, Shaka will be given the opportunity to right the ship. Whether that's two, three or four years is a function of the financial impact losing has on basketball net contribution and possibly, what it does to Marquette's ability to capture potential student interest.