There are rumors, but since it's a FBI deal, there's a lack of information. But I guarantee you there are a lot of programs across the country that are nervous.
Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Shaka is a damn good coach)
- Thread starter Ketchum
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There are rumors, but since it's a FBI deal, there's a lack of information. But I guarantee you there are a lot of programs across the country that are nervous.
So....do you agree Dustin? Is Shaka a "damn good coach"? Is he worthy of Big 12 coach of the year votes this season?
If Shaka is a damn good coach, Rick Barnes must have been a god here to consistently make the tournament.
Yeah, but Shaka hasn't shown any semblance of a coherent offensive system. It has nothing to do with losing Andrew Jones, there is no coherent offensive identity. Nothing remotely coherent on offense.
Comparing Shaka Smart to Mack Brown is really an insult to Brown. Up to Mack's first conference title, he had a 81% winning percentage at Texas compared to 51% for Shaka. One of them had proven they could coach in a big boy conference and the other still has not. The 4-7 record against power 5 schools at VCU is very telling...not just in the record, but the fact that in six seasons they played less than two games per year against Power 5 schools. If you're giving him credit for being a really good coach at VCU, you're really ignoring the same strength of schedule and quality wins argument that you used to make your point in the OP.
Yep. Shaka had one lucky tournament run. That’s it. Without that he isn’t considered an above average coach and is still at VCU.
Great post. The offensive issues are very real as is the lack of the havoc style of play that made him so successful at VCU. We all hope that Shaka succeeds, but offensively it's been an utter disaster and he doesn't seem like he has any idea of how to fix it.
Most on this board aren't paid $3,000,000 per year. Also, injuries/illness aside, most on this board don't have as much control over the hand they're dealt as a college coach.
How many years did it take for Mack Brown to win a conference title?
Play in a major bowl game?
It was highly rated last year as well. Allen and Bamba have a lot to do with that, don't you think? Roach as well. Again, next year should tell a lot. Shaka isn't going to have a lottery pick playing center, which is a rarity these days.
But no question, the D is better than the O. Same thing we said about Barnes. But I think Barnes D was much more a team effort than that of one or two players. Shakas teams play with intensity on D on an intermittent basis. Barnes teams played that way most all the time.
Both can be true. I respect and like Smart as well, but he is not a great coach (or at least has not been at Texas).
Thanks to your post I think I like Shaka again. Great job on stating your points and supporting them with facts. Two more wins and we are in the NCAA tourney and anything can happen with this team.....
“Four of the top seven are freshman.” Really, well let’s take another look you conveniently omitted, three of the top five, and the three getting the most minutes, are JUNIORS. Jeesh.
I think he's better than a lot of Texas fans think, and to act like he wasn't one of the top hires when he came to Texas is rewriting history based on his results at Texas. During his first year, many Texas fans on here posted they thought he'd reach Final Fours soon.
There are aspects I think he's good at (defense, individual player development, recruiting, long-term vision and program construction, connecting with people and players) and areas I think he needs to get much better in (offense, implementing more schematic influence > player freedom, generating consistent results).
I think he's a good coach that hasn't done, overall, a good job at Texas generating results so far for many reasons. Perhaps he will in the future. Perhaps he won't. The collection of three and four-year talent that will be on future rosters is good.
I don't know about votes because Chris Beard probably runs away with that, a guy that's 2-3 vs. Smart and should have been 1-4, but if Smart finished .500 in the league I bet he'd get a vote because .500 probably puts a team 5th, maybe in a tie for 4th in this league. Only OU and Iowa State are within 100 spots of Texas (337th out of 351) in team experience (youth).
I do think some Texas fans, for reasons I don't understand, have dismissed Jones being away from the program as something that shouldn't have significantly influenced the season. At one point, Notre Dame lost seven straight games after losing its best offensive player during that whole stretch, and its point guard for four of those games after being 13-3, and 3-0 in the ACC. Life on the hardwood in good leagues isn't easy when you subtract an offensive talent like Jones.
If Jones is healthy, Texas is probably something like 19-8 and we're not even having this discussion.
Against the team ranked 337th out of 351 in points allowed per game at 82 points per game. Context matters, correct? They rank dead last in points per game in the Big 12 conference, as they have the last two seasons. The offense is a downright disaster at Texas under Shaka Smart...saying anything other than that is just not being honest.
That was the CBI not the NIT.
Also Shaka coached in the Colonial Athletic Association his first 3 years not the A10. VCU started A10 play in the 2012-2013 season.
This comment made me stop down before I read any farther, so if it was said somewhere in the following pages, I apologize in advance.
“This level” is the only level that matters around here. At “this level,” the coaches and players are better than at mid-majors. So, I guess, if you want to say that he and Charlie are damn good mid-major coaches, that’s fine. But I don’t care if Shaka or Charlie is a damn good coach at any level other than “this level.”
Count me in that group. Having said that, I can't help but scratch my head at times because of what I see as coaching failures rather than mistakes made by players. Easy recent example was taking Jericho Sims out of a game after two and half minutes when he had made two easy dunks and the other team obviously didn't have an answer.
Too often I saw players not ready to catch the ball, much less make a pass that a teammate could catch in rhythm. And I saw players who didn't have a clue about how to block out after a missed shot. And at times I saw a team that had no energy or focus when they had every incentive to be totally focused.
Admittedly I am not on floor in the game, or on the sideline trying to coach in a noisy arena, but I see what I see and I throw my hands up as if to say "...what the heck is going on here?"
I like to win, but if my team loses I at least want to be able to say we lost to the better team today, or that was a (great) lucky shot at the end, etc. But I want to be competitive in losses and at times the Horns aren't mentally in the game. And that's on Shaka unless you can convince me otherwise.
And yes, losing Andrew Jones was huge just like losing Cam Ridley.
Ketch - great column.
Has Shaka's tenure been somewhat disappointing, yes?
BUT, if this fan base will give Shaka 2 more years watch out.
True, but I didn't claim my points were irrefutable and I'm at least conceding that there are legitimate arguments to be made about the job Shaka's been doing.
On a side note, some of the examples being thrown around in this thread (e.g. Shaka's run at VCU and Charlie Strong making in a BCS bowl) have really impressed on me that a good coach and a successful coach are NOT always the same thing. Example - Barry Switzer won a Super Bowl with the Cowboys, which made him a successful NFL coach but not necessarily a good one.
