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Shaka Smart - What's Your Reaction?

What is your reaction if Shaka Smart is hired?

  • Total voters
    131
  • Poll closed .
PaddyWF

PaddyWF

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Well?
 
Last edited:
Meh - if he can’t do it at Texas how is it going to happen here? Bloom is off the rose i’m afraid.
 
Shaka without Havoc isn't very exciting and that's what Texas got. He recruited well at Texas, but failed to put together anything more than a mediocre team with the slower paced styles he tried there. I just fear he could be a very expensive roll of the dice.

Of course, Shaka may look like a homerun in hindsight when we learn who Manning's replacement actually is.
 
I went with “Nice”. There is the concern that he peaked at VCU and I think at this point I’d reserve my “YES!” vote for Matta. If we use the last two hires to inform our predictions of who gets the gig, Shaka would be a huge hire.
 
Frosty said:
I went with “Nice”. There is the concern that he peaked at VCU and I think at this point I’d reserve my “YES!” vote for Matta. If we use the last two hires to inform our predictions of who gets the gig, Shaka would be a huge hire.
Click to expand...

I would be interested to see Shaka with something to prove after not being widely successful at Texas rather than Thad dipping his toes back into coaching because he is bored.
 
especially if he can get Jamie Skeen to transfer
 
will hatch fuck it up like he did the last time?
 
I’d be ok with it if we weren’t able to get a few names I would put ahead of him. Certainly wouldn’t be the excitement it would’ve been had we got him from VCU, but I still think he could turn out to be an excellent coach. I imagine he’s learned some things from his experience at Texas.
 
For those of you who are not excited about Shaka, who would you rather have? I don’t think Tony Bennett or Mark Few are available.

Shaka would be a massive get for us. I’d take him in a heartbeat.
 
I voted meh, but I'm in between meh and nice. He's a great guy and would represent the school well. But I echo Chinaski's sentiments. I mean, I'm not footing the bill, but you're going to have to pay through the nose to get him, so you're not getting much bang for your buck. I'd still put him behind Marshall, a healthy Matta and Oats.
 
Bob Niedbala said:
For those of you who are not excited about Shaka, who would you rather have? I don’t think Tony Bennett or Mark Few are available.

Shaka would be a massive get for us. I’d take him in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

If Thad Matta is physically, and more important, mentally ready and willing to get back into coaching, he's my first choice. If he is ready and capable, he would be excellent.

He has P6 experience that is good. He knows what it takes to get a P6 team into the NCAA's because he's done that. He should be motivated to show his previous school that it really was pain that kept him from doing his job well.
 
Since i can't edit the above.

That said, Smart is my next choice. I think he would be highly motivated to show that the problem was Texas, not him.
 
Agree on the Matta comments above. He’d be fantastic if he’s mentally and physically healthy.

But let’s not start acting like we’re too good for Shaka Smart. Or that Shaka’s not good enough to coach at Wake.
 
Smart’s relative failure (KP ranks of 39, 70, 36, 27) is puzzling and concerning, given the level of talent he recruited to Texas. I suspect it’s the latter that may have been part of the problem. That said, while the overall performance has been disappointing it hasn’t been a dumpster fire, and his tenure at VCU is so good that it seems hard to believe he couldn’t get his mojo back, especially with a change of scenery.

At VCU, to me the reason he was such a hot name had little to do with the final four appearance. I generally discount postseason performance due to small sample size, single-elimination but even beyond that, the final four team was a senior laden team made up of guys Anthony Grant brought in, and was only ranked 53rd in KP. Smarts greater accomplishment was elevating the VCU program after those guys all left.

KP rankings
‘08 68
‘09 54
‘10 56 (Shaka first year)
‘11 53 (final four season)
‘12 46
‘13 18
‘14 25
‘15 30

His final team had only one senior, so even at the end it was sustainable success. But even when his teams lost key pieces you think might set them back, they continued to have strong teams. Of course, question is why none of that translated to Texas.
 
Bob Niedbala said:
For those of you who are not excited about Shaka, who would you rather have? I don’t think Tony Bennett or Mark Few are available.

Shaka would be a massive get for us. I’d take him in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

Several folks. Matta and Oats would be two off the top of my head I'd rather have.

This is not 2014 when Smart would've been a big get. In 2019 he's a re-tread of an underwhelming Power 6 coach. If we end up here, I'll support it. But the folks who are 100% all in on Shaka, please tell me what in the last 4 years tells you he'd do any better @ Wake than this mediocrity we've witnessed at Texas? I love the contention..."he'll learn something from his experience at Texas"....ummm, why doesn't he learn something now from his prior experiences at Texas? Why is his 4th season worse than prior ones? Why is he getting blown out at home in the last game of the season...a must win? Matta is a proven Power 6 winner and Oats has at least the chance to be better than an already proven to be mediocre Power 6 guy.
 
Deaconblue said:
Since i can't edit the above.

That said, Smart is my next choice. I think he would be highly motivated to show that the problem was Texas, not him.
Click to expand...

Look, I like Shaka - he's a great guy. But how was Texas the problem? I mean, I'll grant that at 1st, the players he inherited didn't exactly fit what he wanted to do. And I will add that UT and its fans certainly have unrealistic expectations of how great a basketball school it is vis-a-vis it's hoops history. That said, it's a great school, and it's in freakin' Austin. If by your 4th year, you're still mediocre, that's on you, not UT.
 
IAppreciateIt said:
Smart’s relative failure (KP ranks of 39, 70, 36, 27) is puzzling and concerning, given the level of talent he recruited to Texas. I suspect it’s the latter that may have been part of the problem. That said, while the overall performance has been disappointing it hasn’t been a dumpster fire, and his tenure at VCU is so good that it seems hard to believe he couldn’t get his mojo back, especially with a change of scenery.

At VCU, to me the reason he was such a hot name had little to do with the final four appearance. I generally discount postseason performance due to small sample size, single-elimination but even beyond that, the final four team was a senior laden team made up of guys Anthony Grant brought in, and was only ranked 53rd in KP. Smarts greater accomplishment was elevating the VCU program after those guys all left.

KP rankings
‘08 68
‘09 54
‘10 56 (Shaka first year)
‘11 53 (final four season)
‘12 46
‘13 18
‘14 25
‘15 30

His final team had only one senior, so even at the end it was sustainable success. But even when his teams lost key pieces you think might set them back, they continued to have strong teams. Of course, question is why none of that translated to Texas.
Click to expand...

Or maybe the question is with all these positive stats, why he NEVER finishes first? Literally the guy has NEVER finished in 1st. KenPom is all well and good, but what matters most are actual results. Based on the KenPom data here you'd figure he'd win the league regular season at least once. But no. Tells me that the guy puts together talented teams with cumulative statistics that look solid, but can't translate that to enough actual wins. I don't know about you, but I'm not looking to win the KenPom race...I'd rather win the ACC race. Call me crazy.
 
IAppreciateIt said:
Smart’s relative failure (KP ranks of 39, 70, 36, 27) is puzzling and concerning, given the level of talent he recruited to Texas. I suspect it’s the latter that may have been part of the problem. That said, while the overall performance has been disappointing it hasn’t been a dumpster fire, and his tenure at VCU is so good that it seems hard to believe he couldn’t get his mojo back, especially with a change of scenery.

At VCU, to me the reason he was such a hot name had little to do with the final four appearance. I generally discount postseason performance due to small sample size, single-elimination but even beyond that, the final four team was a senior laden team made up of guys Anthony Grant brought in, and was only ranked 53rd in KP. Smarts greater accomplishment was elevating the VCU program after those guys all left.

KP rankings
‘08 68
‘09 54
‘10 56 (Shaka first year)
‘11 53 (final four season)
‘12 46
‘13 18
‘14 25
‘15 30

His final team had only one senior, so even at the end it was sustainable success. But even when his teams lost key pieces you think might set them back, they continued to have strong teams. Of course, question is why none of that translated to Texas.
Click to expand...

Two reasons come to mind. His system of pressure defense really needs good guards. He hasn't had that at Texas yet. Multiple reasons apply in different years.

Mo Bamba. I think he tried to adjust to what Mo Bamba was capable of doing. He had to "showcase" the skills of his first five star recruit. That was a learning experience that got Shaka away from what his teams have done in the past. Let's hope it wad a lesson well learned.
 
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