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

[atxrebel32]

Why should Texas be a perennial Top 10-15 program? It has never been that.

It was from about 2002-2010 when we were constantly in the sweet 16 and top 2-3 in the conference. Not sure Shaka gets us to the level Rick had with Aldridge, Durant, etc

 

[Ketchum]

Huh? He has a top 5 draft pick.

who is a freshman. Like three of the other top 7 guys in the rotation.

 

[Ketchum]

It was from about 2002-2010 when we were constantly in the sweet 16 and top 2-3 in the conference. Not sure Shaka gets us to the level Rick had with Aldridge, Durant, etc

Four times Texas basketball has finished ranked in the top 10 in the last 15 years.

 

[EastTexasLonghorn]

Those aren't all the facts.

You forgot these facts.

Instead of focusing on what he hasn't done with this team, let's focus on what he has done, which is take one of youngest teams in the country (four in the top seven of the current rotation are freshmen) and put it on the door-step of the NCAA Tournament, despite playing in the toughest conference in the country.

A conference so tough that if the team shows up on any given night and plays like a team full of wide-eyed freshmen, an ass-kicking will commence, no matter the opponent.

Oh, and did I mention that along the way he'd lost his best scorer for the rest of the season because of a battle with cancer?

Texas now has six wins against RPI Group 1 teams, which is among the highest marks in the entire country.

Of its 11 losses this season, seven were to teams that went into this week ranked inside the AP Top 25 - No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 9 Gonzaga, No. 12 Duke, No. 13 Kansas, No. 20 West Virginia and No. 22 Michigan.

Three of those loses went into overtime. Two of the three that finished in regulation were lost by six and two points, respectively.

Do you think Mike Krzyzewski walked off the floor in November and thought, "If only that really young team that dominated my team for much of the game had a good coach?"

Do you think that likely Big 12 Coach of the Year Mike Beard thought to himself, "Yeah, that team was down Andrew Jones and pushed us on our home floor as much as anyone has all year ... if they only had a good coach."

Do you think Lon Krugar is thinking to himself this weekend, "How did we lose twice to a team with shitty coaching?"

 

[o5prey]

when was his team seeded as a favorite to make the sweet 16?

Ok my bad - in both 2013 and 2014 they were the 5 seed / so not favored but at slight underdogs against the 4 seed.

But in 2013 they got blown out by #Michigan (4 seed) / game not even close (78-53)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_NCAA_Division_I_Men's_Basketball_Tournament

2014 - also the 5 Seed they got beat in the opening round against Stephen F Austin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_NCAA_Division_I_Men's_Basketball_Tournament

2015 - 7 Seed - Opening Round Loss
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_NCAA_Division_I_Men's_Basketball_Tournament

Does it change the point that they were a 5 seed twice and not a 4 seed?

 

[scary jarbro]

@Ketchum can you please explain what Shaka Smart did at VCU that made him a better coach than other VCU coaches in the last 20 years? Please explain what other former VCU coaches have done in subsequent jobs and why Shaka Smart is different. He is .500 at TX in 3 seasons. Please tell us, why you are elevating him over other former VCU coach failures?

 

[Ketchum]

I agree. The decision to let them photoshop my face for the magazine was short-sighted.

 

[JCR7]

Freshman are the top players in the country every year. That makes zero sense. Why recruit top talent then, if you could use the excuse they are freshmen?

 

[Ketchum]

Ok my bad - in both 2013 and 2014 they were the 5 seed / so not favored but at slight underdogs against the 4 seed.

But in 2013 they got blown out by #Michigan (4 seed) / game not even close (78-53)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_NCAA_Division_I_Men's_Basketball_Tournament

2014 - also the 5 Seed they got beat in the opening round against Stephen F Austin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_NCAA_Division_I_Men's_Basketball_Tournament

2015 - 7 Seed - Opening Round Loss
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_NCAA_Division_I_Men's_Basketball_Tournament

Does it change the point that they were a 5 seed twice and not a 4 seed?

slightly.

Basically, it happened one time. Best-case scenario for your point.

 

[65HornInTacoma]

I Love it when Ketch posts dogshit, accuses others of ignoring the truth while he becomes the #1 poster in the thread purely by defending his dogshit post.

That is truly something to behold.

 

[WFHorn85]

Good grief. The circumstances are so different that you're basically comparing fruit to veggies.

3rd year in their coaching tenure at Texas, right around .500 overall record, one postseason appearance with zero wins, great recruiting successes. Ya, nowhere near the same

Strong:
16-21 record (43% win percentage)
1 postseason appearance - zero wins

Smart:
47-45 record (51% win percentage)
1 postseason appearance - zero wins

 

[edmondhorn2]

I quite often don’t agree with you, but you did make some compelling points about Shaka. I’m not a huge basketball fan, however the few games I have watched seemed to lack a cohesion to our offense. WTH is wrong with offenses and this school-basketball, football and baseball!

 

[o5prey]

What happened 1 time? A disappointing tournament showing? I'm talking about the fact that out of 7 appearances / 1 Amazing tournament run happened... / otherwise not much

Getting completely blown out as a 5 seed against a 4 seed is absolutely a disappointing showing.

 

[Ketchum]

Freshman are the top players in the country every year. That makes zero sense. Why recruit top talent then, if you could use the excuse they are freshmen?

It's not having one freshman that is the big deal, it's having four among your top seven players... in a year when you lose your best scorer.

 

[Ketchum]

What happened 1 time? A disappointing tournament showing? I'm talking about the fact that out of 7 appearances / 1 Amazing tournament run happened... / otherwise not much

Losing a game it was "favored" to win.

 

[El Mahico]

He had an awful season.

If this season had followed his first, the attitude about the type of job he's doing would be quite different.

Last season is his scarlet letter.

He'll have had zero ncaa wins and only one appearance in 3 years. There's nothing damn good about that. The back and forth between wins and losses is nauseating. Hes severely underperformed during his time at Texas in 3 years. Even if UT's expectations weren't on the same level as a Kansas or UCLA. Hes been terrible at Texas. Not sure how anyone can view it differently.

 

[JCR7]

We may be 9 seed at best. A 9 seed with a top 5 draft pick. GTFO.

Good news... no sanctions. High character. Great work ethic.

We suck. Again. Bamba gone. Same spot next year.

 

[Ketchum]

I Love it when Ketch posts dogshit, accuses others of ignoring the truth while he becomes the #1 poster in the thread purely by defending his dogshit post.

That is truly something to behold.

 

[Ketchum]

We may be 9 seed at best. A 9 seed with a top 5 draft pick. GTFO.

Good news... no sanctions. High character. Great work ethic.

We suck. Again. Bamba gone. Same spot next year.

Actually, the team has a chance to have some experience and development. Adds some nice pieces as well.

 

[snoop9928]

3rd year in their coaching tenure at Texas, right around .500 overall record, one postseason appearance with zero wins, great recruiting successes. Ya, nowhere near the same

Strong:
16-21 record (43% win percentage)
1 postseason appearance - zero wins

Smart:
47-45 record (51% win percentage)
1 postseason appearance - zero wins

You forgot 2 honorable mentions for coach of the year

 

[Pudge66]

You know I didn't say Collin Johnson was going to be first-team All-Big 12?

Maybe I'm not the one that needs a rubber nose right now.

Collin Johnson has shown nothing to deserve that mention, but that is not what led to the clown comment. It is your overall schtick. At least you hired Suchomel and McComas.

 

[o5prey]

@Ketchum

If you read my original post / you'll remember that I'm not saying he's a bad coach or even that I'm not hopeful he'll get things turned around.

What I am saying is that you are very conveniently ignoring a lot of data in the things you are asserting as Facts

 

[Ketchum]

He'll have had zero ncaa wins and only one appearance in 3 years. There's nothing damn good about that. The back and forth between wins and losses is nauseating. Hes severely underperformed during his time at Texas in 3 years. Even if UT's expectations weren't on the same level as a Kansas or UCLA. Hes been terrible at Texas even with our low expectations. Not sure how anyone can view it differently.

He hasn't done a damn good job here in the totality of his three seasons, which I detailed in the article.

He's still a damn good coach.

 

[Ketchum]

Collin Johnson has shown nothing to deserve that mention, but that is not what led to the clown comment. It is your overall schtick. At least you hired Suchomel and McComas.

I think listing him speaks to what else there is to choose from on that offense.

Did that occur to you?

That by listing him, it was emphasizing a point.

 

[WFHorn85]

who is a freshman. Like three of the other top 7 guys in the rotation.

Surely you realize this is college basketball right? I mean Bamba was the #2 overall recruit in the country last year and a lock for one-and-done. Essentially, Texas has a top 12 paid coach who has had a top 5-6 recruiting class each of his first two seasons and is struggling to make the tournament. So, with that in mind, you don't think Texas should be a top-15 program? Really? How low of a bar do you have for Texas basketball?

 

[atxrebel32]

Four times Texas basketball has finished ranked in the top 10 in the last 15 years.

I mean they haven’t finished in the top 10 since Augustin’s team in the elite 8. Back in 2008. So we must have finished in the top 10 four times in between 2002-2008. You think Shaka can get this program back to that level?

 

[Ketchum]

@Ketchum

If you read my original post / you'll remember that I'm not saying he's a bad coach or even that I'm not hopeful he'll get things turned around.

What I am saying is that you are very conveniently ignoring a lot of data in the things you are asserting as Facts

Not really. I addressed his failure up until now very specifically.

 

[Ketchum]

Surely you realize this is college basketball right? I mean Bamba was the #2 overall recruit in the country last year and a lock for one-and-done. Essentially, Texas has a top 12 paid coach who has had a top 5-6 recruiting class each of his first two seasons and is struggling to make the tournament. So, with that in mind, you don't think Texas should be a top-15 program? Really? How low of a bar do you have for Texas basketball?

What would ths team;'s record be with a healthy Andrew Jones?

 

[65HornInTacoma]

Yep. Thats the original post alright. Its damn near unanimous.

 

[streettopeschel]

Lets not pretend Ketchum’s support of Smart is purely basketball related.

 

[Ketchum]

I mean they haven’t finished in the top 10 since Augustin’s team in the elite 8. Back in 2008. So we must have finished in the top 10 four times in between 2002-2008. You think Shaka can get this program back to that level?

It'll be hard. Basically, that stretch is an anomaly in the discussion of the story of the program.

I know this... no Texas team has ever had a better run than the one Shaka had and no coach ever did a better job in the Tournament than he did in 2011.

 

[atxrebel32]

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for a Sweet 16 appearance every other year. Based on Shaka’s 3 year sample size I don’t think that’s achievable with him.

 

[o5prey]

slightly.

Basically, it happened one time. Best-case scenario for your point.

Not really. I addressed his failure up until now very specifically.

Ha exactly - You put as FACT those seasons at VCU as great successes...all of them not just the Final Four Run Season.

The two years he was a 5 seed and had shitty tournament appearances....Yes getting blown out by a 4 seed is a shitty appearance for a 5 seed (who are you kidding) - makes those two years at least in the grey area / not Facts of a great season.

That you can't acknowledge that / shades you into the exact category of the responses you are belittling

 

[Ketchum]

Yep. Thats the original post alright. Its damn near unanimous.

Just among the emotional folk. Lot of the same people every week.

 

[Ketchum]

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for a Sweet 16 appearance every other year. Based on Shaka’s 3 year sample size I don’t think that’s achievable with him.

I agree.