Big East COY

[1sahorn]

= Shaka Smart. Congrats, Coach. Wish you could have done it here, but NHF. Wish you well anytime you're not coaching against the Horns.

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

I hold no ill will towards Shaka. I just wonder what the hell was happening here that prevented him from having the success he had both before AND after his time in Austin.

 

[Horn6721]

SN
Excellent question.
Could it have been connected to the Eyes b.s.?

 

[mb227]

I hold no ill will towards Shaka. I just wonder what the hell was happening here that prevented him from having the success he had both before AND after his time in Austin.

Could there have been entitlement issues and players not willing to actually WORK for success?

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

Could there have been entitlement issues and players not willing to actually WORK for success?

Why would a coach fail to properly address those types of motivation problems only while in Austin? I suppose it is possible (though I think highly unlikely) that Shaka recruited players he couldn't motivate only while he was here.

I don't think Shaka's anomalous results were due to anything originating within him, or within things directly under his control. I think something was rotten in the UT athletic department, or upper admin, and it tainted whatever he was trying to do here. I could be completely full of **** on this, but that's my gut feel.

 

[mb227]

Why would a coach fail to properly address those types of motivation problems only while in Austin? I suppose it is possible (though I think highly unlikely) that Shaka recruited players he couldn't motivate only while he was here.

I don't think Shaka's anomalous results were due to anything originating within him, or within things directly under his control. I think something was rotten in the UT athletic department, or upper admin, and it tainted whatever he was trying to do here. I could be completely full of **** on this, but that's my gut feel.

My point was that some players in the past decade seem content to be on The 40 Acres and don't put in the effort needed for a team to succeed.

Add in the climate that was allowed to fester, and it is a recipe for mediocrity.

Meanwhile, at smaller schools, someone like Smart was more apt to get players who COMMIT to a team concept and aren't as likely to be one and dones...

A coach can be committed, but if the players don't buy in, it is all for naught.

 

[guy4321]

Could be Shaka was promoted to his level of incompetence. It's a common business phrase called the Peter principle. Since Marquette and VCU are not the same as UT, seems like it might fit.

 

[caryhorn]

Why would a coach fail to properly address those types of motivation problems only while in Austin? I suppose it is possible (though I think highly unlikely) that Shaka recruited players he couldn't motivate only while he was here

I don't think Shaka's anomalous results were due to anything originating within him, or within things directly under his control. I think something was rotten in the UT athletic department, or upper admin, and it tainted whatever he was trying to do here. I could be completely full of **** on this, but that's my gut feel.

I think Shaka’s failure here rests on his shoulders.
His teams here weren’t disciplined,didn’t move without the ball, didn’t make the extra pass and didn’t defend well for the full forty minutes.
He did not make effective in game adjustments. Maybe his one and done players were not coachable. But that would be on him for not getting kids that fit his system.
No one was pulling for him more than me. I wish he could have made it here.

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

I was fully invested in the Peter Principle belief about Shaka, but then he did this.

Maybe if Marquette tanks after this year, I will revisit it and reclaim the Peter Principle explanation, with a random dead cat bounce thrown in to confound the results.

 

[mb227]

I think Shaka’s failure here rests on his shoulders.
[snip] Maybe his one and done players were not coachable. But that would be on him for not getting kids that fit his system.

Just as I am sure coaches tell recruits and their family what they want to hear, I am guessing players tell the recruiters the same thing...I doubt many of the one and done players tell the recruiter that they don't care about school since they won't be around after the first season...

Of course, never having been a recruited athlete, I could be off-base here...feel free to correct me.

 

[caryhorn]

Just as I am sure coaches tell recruits and their family what they want to hear, I am guessing players tell the recruiters the same thing...I doubt many of the one and done players tell the recruiter that they don't care about school since they won't be around after the first season...

Of course, never having been a recruited athlete, I could be off-base here...feel free to correct me.

I cannot answer as I don’t have a clue to what Shaka told players or what players said to him.
I would think coaches consider multiple factors when recruiting. How kids play of course, what their HS coaches say, their parents, etc.

Every coach ultimately is judged on one thing: the product on the court—who’s got more points when the final buzzer sounds.