Marquette Hiring Shaka Smart

[ZenConn]

Wow, and after his best season in Texas.

I guess they wanted to let him go, and he didn't want the hassle of that microscope.

I don't think it was the athletic department per se. Probably extreme pressure from the boosters. They practically run the show in a lot of the football schools.

 

[husky429]

Wow, if Shaka can get back to form at Marquette this could be REALLY huge for the conference.

 

[SportsFan88]

What a duck***G COUP!!!! How did they pull this off? Amazing hire for them

 

[rollskies]

I don't think it was the athletic department per se. Probably extreme pressure from the boosters. They practically run the show in a lot of the football schools.

Honestly i’m confused as to why Texas fans hated him as much as they did.

I’m not gonna act like he did a great job there but I think he was a decent coach and they won the big 12, always had good commits too. He was no world beater, but the big 12 is a hard conference to do well in.

the tournament record is obviously horrible, ill give him that

 

[superjohn]

Homerun hire for Marquette. For whatever reasons, despite all the money the Texas job has pretty much sucked for everyone. Shaka can really coach, Texas just wasn't a fit and he's heading back home.

Marquette thought Shaka was leaving VCU back in the day for Marquette, timing feels right now.

 

[navery12]

Do you know any names? I haven’t seen anything about that yet, but makes perfect sense. Crazy stuff.

I haven't seen any names mentioned. In terms of relevance to what UConn needs/realistic targets who'd have interest all I see is Marcus Santos-Silva. Recruited him as a transfer last year before he chose Texas Tech

 

[rollskies]

BTW, Chris Beard is a Texas alum and it's been rumored to be his dream job forever. If I were a Tech fan, I would be scared out of my mind right now lol

Honestly it’s funny that whoever he negotiated his contract with was scared of him going to Texas (i’m joking)

 

[6xChamps]

Honestly i’m confused as to why Texas fans hated him as much as they did.

I’m not gonna act like he did a great job there but I think he was a decent coach and they won the big 12, always had good commits too. He was no world beater, but the big 12 is a hard conference to do well in.

the tournament record is obviously horrible, ill give him that

Yea he hasn't won a NCAA tourney game, that's the big thing. If Hurley goes 6 years without winning an NCAA game I'm sure fans on here will be frustrated with him as well.

 

[rollskies]

Yea he hasn't won a NCAA tourney game, that's the big thing. If Hurley goes 6 years without winning an NCAA game I'm sure fans on here will be frustrated with him as well.

Understood. Either way, I think he’s a great hire for Marquette.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I feel like Shaka Smart has been on the hot seat since 2013

 

[Jbirdp5]

Definitely great for the profile and visibility of the league. I think porter might have been a better hire but this is certainly good news for the big East.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Marquette is the perfect job for Shaka. Texas never made sense for him - a huge football booster-fueled place where he'll be #2 no matter what he does.

He's always seemed like he thrives better in the "little guy" environment. While Marquette is certainly not a "little guy," Texas is the posterchild of NOT being the little guy.

 

[UC1995]

Honestly i’m confused as to why Texas fans hated him as much as they did.

I’m not gonna act like he did a great job there but I think he was a decent coach and they won the big 12, always had good commits too. He was no world beater, but the big 12 is a hard conference to do well in.

the tournament record is obviously horrible, ill give him that

Between the nonsense down there both with boosters and the lunatics complaining about their racists school song I am not surprised.

 

[auror]

Honestly i’m confused as to why Texas fans hated him as much as they did.

I’m not gonna act like he did a great job there but I think he was a decent coach and they won the big 12, always had good commits too. He was no world beater, but the big 12 is a hard conference to do well in.

the tournament record is obviously horrible, ill give him that

They had a combined 15 top 100 recruits in the '16, '17, '18, '19 years. At least 3 each year. 3 first round NBA picks. 0 NCAA tournament wins. Something has to give.

 

[UChusky916]

Great for the Big East and Marquette.

That's some big name coaches in the conference with Wright, Hurley, Ewing, and now Smart.

 

[8893]

Tag Team needs to cut another commercial for this.

 

[metsfan2323]

Boneyard Logic:

Shaka Smart - no tournament wins in 6 seasons at Texas but a GREAT hire for Marquette.

Dan Hurley - no tournament wins in 3 seasons at UCONN (pitchforks and torches, just a good small school coach)

 

[UConnJim]

For whatever reason, Shaka did not get it done at Texas. It wasn't due to recruiting or lack of talent as his recruiting classes were rated highly. His 7 recruiting classes were all top 18 with the exception of 2020 when he had 1 recruit who was rated the #9 ranked player. He averaged 3 top 125 recruits per year in his 7 recruiting classes, but he had a losing overall record in the Big 12. He did win the Big 12 tournament this year, which was the first for Texas in the Big 12 (going back to 1996/1997 seasons).

 

[Madmannsucks]

Hope he can afford a haircut ......

 

[Rocktheworld]

The answer is no lol

I was gonna say, to the people who are all “can’t believe he left Texas”:

I haven’t been getting the impression that anyone has a ton of fun coaching at Texas lately for BB or FB. Expectations are crazy. They’re like Michigan as far as overratedness as a program, but with an alumni base that is, as a whole, a standard deviation lower in IQ

 

[superjohn]

Boneyard Logic:

Shaka Smart - no tournament wins in 6 seasons at Texas but a GREAT hire for Marquette.

Dan Hurley - no tournament wins in 3 seasons at UCONN (pitchforks and torches, just a good small school coach)

No tournament wins in 5 seasons for Shaka at Texas, no tournament wins in 2 seasons for Hurley at UConn.

Anyone with a pitchfork out for Hurley is a troll or an idiot, probably both.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Wow, and after his best season in Texas. I guess they wanted to let him go, and he didn't want the hassle of that microscope.

Win zero tournament games, squarely on the hot seat, blow out of the Dance again, and FFS, lose to little, in-state, nothing Abilene Christian. Texas sized egos + face-saving escape to home state Marquette. Done!

 

[metsfan2323]

No tournament wins in 5 seasons for Shaka at Texas, no tournament wins in 2 seasons for Hurley at UConn.

Anyone with a pitchfork out for Hurley is a troll or an idiot, probably both.

I agree, I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy. Shaka is a great hire for Marquette and Hurley is doing a good job at UCONN.

 

[Deepster]

He was 52-56 in the Big 12 and at or below .500 in conference 4 of his 6 years there.

I have him on my team as one of those guys you think are better than they really are because they have a cool name. Captain of that team is Tony Romo.

 

[Lefty2one]

It's probably better than Marquette could do otherwise but as many have pointed out, Smart hasn't been good at Texas. Not sure he'll work any wonders at Marquette but he's certainly worth a shot.