Shaka interview with Rothstein

[Nukem2]

You're putting far too much weight on how much Hamilton was responsible for how awful the season was.

Though, he did play a major part in how the season started?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

If you think last season was one of the 3 worst of MUBB history,  you don't know much MUBB history. Top 3 worst of the 2000S, sure.

[MU82]

You can hype every player Shaka got right, but it doesn't change the reality: being totally wrong about 18 helped sink last year into a top‑3 worst season in MUBB history. That miss Shaka had dragged the program into lower lows we haven't touched in decades. Hopefully Shaka learns from his mistakes from last year.

Oh, you're right. 18 cost us at least 19 games; that's on Shaka, who should be fired immediately. He's failed at Marquette since Day 1.

[muwarrior69]

If you think last season was one of the 3 worst of MUBB history,  you don't know much MUBB history. Top 3 worst of the 2000S, sure.

It's the 20 losses that really hurt. The only other season we had that many was in 1963 IIRC. It's not just one player but the last 2 recruiting classes did not pan out as Shaka would have hoped. That is why we had the season we had.

[willie warrior]

The potential is there.

Do you believe that last season is the new normal or an aberration? 

I think it was a learning opportunity.

Yes. But the jury is out on whether Shaka learned any thing.

[The Sultan]

Yes. But the jury is out on whether Shaka learned any thing.

I guess we will have to see, but him bringing in two transfers means he learned something.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Yes. But the jury is out on whether Shaka learned any thing.

Willie has me on ignore so he won't see this but the comment above is exceedingly dumb for even him. 

[The Sultan]

Willie has me on ignore so he won't see this but the comment above is exceedingly dumb for even him. 

I wonder if his wife has let him out of the basement all summer?

[MUbiz]

Oh, you're right. 18 cost us at least 19 games; that's on Shaka, who should be fired immediately. He's failed at Marquette since Day 1.

I never said 18 cost us 19 games — that's something you added on your own. Don't put words in my mouth. If you want to debate Shaka or the season, fine, but stick to what I actually said.

[The Sultan]

I never said 18 cost us 19 games — that's something you added on your own. Don't put words in my mouth. If you want to debate Shaka or the season, fine, but stick to what I actually said.

He does that sh*t all the time. It's dishonest nonsense.

[MU82]

It's sarcasm, Officer.

Like this:

I wonder if his wife has let him out of the basement all summer?

[The Sultan]

It's sarcasm, Officer.

Like this:

Oh.

Mine is actually funny though. You're just dishonest.

[MU82]

Oh.

Mine is actually funny though. You're just dishonest.

Wrong x2.

But at least this post of yours wasn't you being passive aggressive.

[The Sultan]

Wrong x2.

But at least this post of yours wasn't you being passive aggressive.

Oh no. The opinion of a simple minded retired "journalist" runs counter to mine! Whatever shall I do?

[MU82]

I never said 18 cost us 19 games — that's something you added on your own. Don't put words in my mouth. If you want to debate Shaka or the season, fine, but stick to what I actually said.

Fair.

You can hype every player Shaka got right, but it doesn't change the reality: being totally wrong about 18 helped sink last year into a top‑3 worst season in MUBB history. That miss Shaka had dragged the program into lower lows we haven't touched in decades. Hopefully Shaka learns from his mistakes from last year.

I agree that Shaka overestimating what we'd get out of Hamilton wasn't good for the team. But I think you're overstating how much it hurt the team. A far bigger problem IMHO was that he overestimated what the contributions of Ross, Gold, Lowery and Jones would be. He expected them to be high-level Big East starters and team leaders, and unfortunately he was wrong.

Given what he has said publicly and how he has responded by using the portal, it would appear he had learned at least some lessons.

The obsession that some Scoopers have with Hamilton has gotten exhausting, and that triggered my sarcastic response. But I do not know if you are obsessed that way, so I should have responded more directly.

[MU82]

Oh no. The opinion of a simple minded retired "journalist" runs counter to mine! Whatever shall I do?

 

[muwarrior69]

Fair.

I agree that Shaka overestimating what we'd get out of Hamilton wasn't good for the team. But I think you're overstating how much it hurt the team. A far bigger problem IMHO was that he overestimated what the contributions of Ross, Gold, Lowery and Jones would be. He expected them to be high-level Big East starters and team leaders, and unfortunately he was wrong.

Given what he has said publicly and how he has responded by using the portal, it would appear he had learned at least some lessons.

The obsession that some Scoopers have with Hamilton has gotten exhausting, and that triggered my sarcastic response. But I do not know if you are obsessed that way, so I should have responded more directly.

In all fairness to Shaka he is working within a budget. The real question is can the Big East Universities spend 10-15 million every year just for NIL/Revenue sharing. Rick Jr has stated they're at 14 million. Rothstein in his projection for the Big East stated that each school will have to spend at least 15 million to be competitive. How fast these costs will continue to rise I have no idea. In reality there is no real cap as Kentucky forming an LLC can bypass the cap.  Maybe this will all sort itself out in the coming years, but at present if you don't have a billionaire sugar daddy as a donor your school is at a disadvantage.

[Tha Hound]

Fair.

I agree that Shaka overestimating what we'd get out of Hamilton wasn't good for the team. But I think you're overstating how much it hurt the team. A far bigger problem IMHO was that he overestimated what the contributions of Ross, Gold, Lowery and Jones would be. He expected them to be high-level Big East starters and team leaders, and unfortunately he was wrong.

Given what he has said publicly and how he has responded by using the portal, it would appear he had learned at least some lessons.

The obsession that some Scoopers have with Hamilton has gotten exhausting, and that triggered my sarcastic response. But I do not know if you are obsessed that way, so I should have responded more directly.

I certainly wouldn't say Hamilton was the only reason we were bad last year. But an honest assessment would show Shaka thought Hamilton was capable of not only playing big minutes, but starting. He averaged ~20mpg over the course of the first 12 games, during which he was an unmitigated disaster. So by the time we had to pivot, we were already 5-7 with our season effectively over and the only other plausible C on the team was Ben Gold, a barely above average center even when not banged up.

We weren't a tournament team even if Hamilton somehow turned out to be a good player, but the stark misevaluation of him was a major influence on our season.

Pray for Fru's health.

[MU82]

I certainly wouldn't say Hamilton was the only reason we were bad last year. But an honest assessment would show Shaka thought Hamilton was capable of not only playing big minutes, but starting. He averaged ~20mpg over the course of the first 12 games, during which he was an unmitigated disaster. So by the time we had to pivot, we were already 5-7 with our season effectively over and the only other plausible C on the team was Ben Gold, a barely above average center even when not banged up.

We weren't a tournament team even if Hamilton somehow turned out to be a good player, but the stark misevaluation of him was a major influence on our season.

Pray for Fru's health.

Yes. And I'm pretty sure that literally every Scooper has made that honest assessment by now. Best news of all is that Shaka also made that honest assessment - which is why Hamilton was taken out of the starting lineup, and which is why he averaged only 9 mpg over the final 19 games, and which is why Shaka used a huge chunk of the money available to the program to bring in one of the best centers on the market for the upcoming season.

Everyone (including Shaka) knows that the misevaluation of 18 was an unmitigated disaster. It's only been stated as such 89,447 times on Scoop. The horse has been dead for months and months, yet it's still getting beaten repeatedly.

So now, every time Shaka expresses anything optimistic about any player, the reaction is going to be, "Yeah, just like Hamilton"? Doesn't it get exhausting?

[Jay Bee]

Everyone (including Shaka) knows that the misevaluation of 18 was an unmitigated disaster. It's only been stated as such 89,447 times on Scoop. The horse has been dead for months and months, yet it's still getting beaten repeatedly.

But the travesties continue. It's why we don't have Sheek and we all are worried about our backup C outlook.

[WhiteTrash]

I certainly wouldn't say Hamilton was the only reason we were bad last year. But an honest assessment would show Shaka thought Hamilton was capable of not only playing big minutes, but starting. He averaged ~20mpg over the course of the first 12 games, during which he was an unmitigated disaster. So by the time we had to pivot, we were already 5-7 with our season effectively over and the only other plausible C on the team was Ben Gold, a barely above average center even when not banged up.

We weren't a tournament team even if Hamilton somehow turned out to be a good player, but the stark misevaluation of him was a major influence on our season.

Pray for Fru's health.

I agree with this.

Also, one good thing about keeping Hamilton, is it allows Shaka to demonstrate his loyalty and commitment to recruits.

Also, one bad thing about keeping Hamilton, is it allows other coaches to demonstrate Shaka's loyalty and commitment to recruits.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

But the travesties continue. It's why we don't have Sheek and we all are worried about our backup C outlook.

[MU82]

But the travesties continue. It's why we don't have Sheek and we all are worried about our backup C outlook.

Nice! You should include this after every post:

[Small Orange Soda]

Fans aren't going to move on until the team does. I don't see much chatter about Tre Norman.

[The Sultan]

Fans aren't going to move on until the team does. I don't see much chatter about Tre Norman.

That's not really the point.