Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Shaka is a damn good coach)

[SarkAfterDark]

He did last year.

"Stealing" is an insultingly ugly way to describe any coach's performance, but I don't remember you ever describing Smart's performance with such a pejorative term up until now. Do you honestly think you hold both Herman and Smart to the same standards?

 

[Guy Smiley]

@Ketchum, you've lost me in this marathon of a thread. Your article is about why you think Shaka is a damned good coach, but your replies in the thread are all about how you repeatedly point out how pathetic of a job he has done here.

 

[Ketchum]

It's an ugly way to describe any coach's performance, but I don't remember you ever describing Smart's performance in such a pejorative way up until now. Do you honestly think you hold both Herman and Smart to the same standards?

I actually apologized for those choice of words on the site the next day, given the literal sense that so many take them in as opposed to it being a popular expression.

 

[gamer_989]

Also, how do 2 players look worse, conditioning wise, towards the end of a basketball season? Davis and O have packed some pounds on during the season. They look bad.

 

[SarkAfterDark]

I actually apologized for those choice of words on the site the next day, given the literal sense that so many take them in as opposed to it being a popular expression.

Fair enough, and to the larger second question?

 

[Ketchum]

Fair enough, and to the larger second question?

Yes, I do.

Please, list an example of me being unfair to either.

 

[Ketchum]

Also, how do 2 players look worse, conditioning wise, towards the end of a basketball season? Davis and O have packed some pounds on during the season. They look bad.

Depression?

 

[HorntoWin]

Geoff, I share your positive sentiments about Shaka...except for one. Shaka should not be called a great coach, not yet.

Yes, Shaka’s record at mid-major VCU was great. So was Charlie Strong’s record at Louisville with 2 BCS Bowl victories and a 23-3 record his last 2 seasons. Would you call Charlie a great coach?

Shaka is clearly an excellent recruiter in terms of getting top talent to come to Texas. There’s still a question of whether he’s shrewd enough to recruit the RIGHT talent, I.e., the right blend of 3-4 year guys with 1 and done players. Also, can he recruit great shooters? His track record in that critical area has been lousy at UT.

Last, there’s justifiable concern about whether Shaka can coach half court O and O centered around 1 and done big men. The past 2 seasons (without a great PG like Isaiah) Texas has undeniably been a confusing, incoherent mess on O. Isn’t that alone sufficient to argue that Shaka Smart is not yet a great coach?

UT should absolutely hold on to Shaka, for probably 2 more seasons at a minimum. Your point about the growing scandal in college basketball and UT’s insistence on having a high integrity, high character head basketball coach (who clearly knows basketball and is an excellent recruiter) is reason enough to hang on to Shaka, even if Texas fails to make the Tournament. The Andrew Jones matter is certainly another reason Shaka should NOT be fired.

I think the odds are Shaka will eventually succeed at Texas and may eventually deserve the adjective “great” in front of his name. Why? The combination of his character, love of basketball, work ethic, recruiting skill AND TEXAS is a formidable combination.

 

[Orangebrew]

I can’t believe this is still going on...

Ketch got some serious amount of eyeballs to the site during offseason. Congrats on keeping things fresh and invigorating OB whether people agree or they don’t.

I tend to agree. Pretty shrewd. The political bias keeps seeping through but pretty strategic on Ketch’s part. MIA after terrible performance losses followed by righteous arrogance after a win. We just have to suffer two or three more of these from Ketch and we’re in the tourney.

 

[Ketchum]

I tend to agree. Pretty shrewd. The political bias keeps seeping through but pretty strategic on Ketch’s part. MIA after terrible performance losses followed by righteous arrogance after a win. We just have to suffer two or three more of these from Ketch and we’re in the tourney.

I was MIA one time... on a day a couple of days removed from a bad loss when I didn't want to meet the OB mob head on without having time to carefully craft my thoughts.

I did that this weekend.

The only political bias that is evident is thosethat keep referencing politics, which I was told a few weeks ago was no one.

 

[Carp888]

Wow, in on page 21 and so is Ketch.

 

[Ketchum]

Wow, in on page 21 and so is Ketch.

I'm a pro.

 

[SarkAfterDark]

Yes, I do.

Please, list an example of me being unfair to either.

I don't know that I'd use the word 'unfair', both have earned criticism. But, to my ears anyway, Smart seems to get the benefit of the doubt while Herman doesn't.

 

[Carp888]

I'm a pro.

Have you slept?

 

[Ketchum]

I don't know that I'd use the word 'unfair', both have earned criticism. But, to my ears anyway, Smart seems to get the benefit of the doubt while Herman doesn't.

I've stated for the record that I don't really give either of them the benefit of the doubt. It hasn't been earned.

It's been ignored, but I admit in the column this has a real chance of not working out for Shaka.

 

[Ketchum]

Have you slept?

I got 6 hours.

 

[Orangebrew]

I was MIA one time... on a day a couple of days removed from a bad loss when I didn't want to meet the OB mob head on without having time to carefully craft my thoughts.

I did that this weekend.

The only political bias that is evident is thosethat keep referencing politics, which I was told a few weeks ago was no one.

Good stuff. Gonna go enjoy Presidents’ Day now, both the holiday and the President.

 

[Ketchum]

Good stuff. Gonna go enjoy Presidents’ Day now, both the holiday and the President.

golfing, huh?

 

[krzy4ut]

You have a weird habit of labeling your opinion as the truth. You picked a bunch of stats that paint a positive picture. There are plenty that can be picked that paint a very negative picture.

When you take a highly subjective and largely meaningless statement like “is someone a good coach”, you can offer any number of facts on either side. Good compared to what? Our last coach? Reasonable expectations? An objective and results-based analysis? Performance relative to the talent on the roster? Performance relative to preseason expectations?

Your incredibly condescending and frankly bizarre habit of making definitive statements and then acting indignant when anyone disagrees is tiresome. I’m out.

Boom goes the dynamite!

 

[Orangebrew]

golfing, huh?

Good one but no, just counting my money.

 

[Ketchum]

Good one but no, just counting my money.

have fun!

 

[SnakeEarl]

His recruiting was average?

complete the sentence....for texas. Easy to recruit at texas. He did not excel at recruiting. for texas standards he was average. Among the top handful of state universities on the planet and he is in florida looking for linebackers. If he recruited so well, why would a damn good coach get embarrassed 50 percent of the time? Either he is a good coach and didn't recruit well or hes not a damn good coach and recruited on par with Alabama (which we know is not true). in the land of damn good coaches, there's no in between. Interestingly you didn't dispute any of the rest.

 

[Tx Tailgator]

Not necessarily disagreeing with you on Shaka but It's interesting to me that you'll go out of your way to cut Shaka some slack but had no problem saying last year that Karen Aston had failed at her job here.

Maybe you could provide the nuanced layers that I'm missing?

 

[bebobob]

You guys act like this place is Kentucky. It's not. Outside of a six-year stretch in the last decade, it's just been an ok college basketball program throughout its history.

But, it's not even OK now. 11-22 after a raise and contract extension?? And you're praising Smart? Not your money being squandered, huh?

Why would the guys who approve his paycheck fire him now when they didn't have the moxie to remove Mackdaddy when he was 5-7 after winning a national title?

 

[Ketchum]

complete the sentence....for texas. Easy to recruit at texas. He did not excel at recruiting. for texas standards he was average. Among the top handful of state universities on the planet and he is in florida looking for linebackers. If he recruited so well, why would a damn good coach get embarrassed 50 percent of the time? Either he is a good coach and didn't recruit well or hes not a damn good coach and recruited on par with Alabama (which we know is not true). in the land of damn good coaches, there's no in between. Interestingly you didn't dispute any of the rest.

He landed two 5-10 classes in his first two years. I mean... ok.

 

[Ketchum]

But, it's not even OK now. 11-22 after a raise and contract extension?? And you're praising Smart? Not your money being squandered, huh?

Why would the guys who approve his paycheck fire him now when they didn't have the moxie to remove Mackdaddy when he was 5-7 after winning a national title?

It'snot good enough right now. No one is debating that.

 

[Ketchum]

Not necessarily disagreeing with you on Shaka but It's interesting to me that you'll go out of your way to cut Shaka some slack but had no problem saying last year that Karen Aston had failed at her job here.

Maybe you could provide the nuanced layers that I'm missing?

Use a direct quote on the Aston remark if you could.

What I remember writing about Aston last year was that it was the first time in her stint at Texas that the program didn't take a step forward, which represented a disappointment.

 

[HornPitt]

Example?

I would contend that's a narrow way to judge his job performance, given the circumstances he's been dealing with.

Actually, that's what I contended in the article with a host of supporting detail.

this is actually a pretty good example of what we are talking about. For Shaka you say "that's a narrow way to judge his job performance, given the circumstances" For CTH you say something to the effect of ........judge him only W and L's (the football circumstances were much more stacked against Herman). There is a difference even if it's nuanced

 

[SarkAfterDark]

I've stated for the record that I don't really give either of them the benefit of the doubt. It hasn't been earned.

It's been ignored, but I admit in the column this has a real chance of not working out for Shaka.

You did.

And we could further parse your statements for another 20 pages, but that would be about as productive as analyzing every word of a coach's PC.

Few of us see our own bias or favoritism, yet we all think someone else's is as plain as day. My perception may be completely wrong, your objectivity may be canted a little in Shaka's favor, or reality may be somewhere in the middle. Wherever the truth lies, let's both hope this next year it's not even up for discussion!

 

[WFHorn85]

golfing, huh?

 

[Tx Tailgator]

Use a direct quote on the Aston remark if you could.

What I remember writing about Aston last year was that it was the first time in her stint at Texas that the program didn't take a step forward, which represented a disappointment.

Sorry, not going to do a search, but my recollection is that you said that since we have the highest expectations at Texas and since she had not yet achieved at the highest level of expectations, that so far she had failed at her job here.

 

[Ketchum]

this is actually a pretty good example of what we are talking about. For Shaka you say "that's a narrow way to judge his job performance, given the circumstances" For CTH you say something to the effect of ........judge him only W and L's (the football circumstances were much more stacked against Herman). There is a difference even if it's nuanced

That literally is nothing I hase ever said about Herman.

 

[Ketchum]

Sorry, not going to do a search, but my recollection is that you said that since we have the highest expectations at Texas and since she had not yet achieved at the highest level of expectations, that so far she had failed at her job here.

Nope.Never said that.

 

[Ketchum]

You did.

And we could further parse your statements for another 20 pages, but that would be about as productive as analyzing every word of a coach's PC.

Few of us see our own bias or favoritism, yet we all think someone else's is as plain as day. My perception may be completely wrong, your objectivity may be canted a little in Shaka's favor, or reality may be somewhere in the middle. Wherever the truth lies, let's both hope this next year it's not even up for discussion!

I see my own bias. I've admitted that I personally like Shaka. That hasn't kept me from calling him a failure 2+ years in.

 

[coopdog]

I got you figured out Ketch: