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

[El Mahico]

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.

Based on what? A damn good coach does a lot more that he just did in 3 seasons. Rick barnes got fired for doing a better job. Shaka has been an awfully bad hire thus far if you consider yourself a program that has decent expectations. He has been at best a lower tier 12 level coach

Can he turn it around? Sure, i guess. But calling his a damn good coach right now is confusing.

 

[Ketchum]

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

what am I not acknowledging? That every year at VCU wasn't awesome in the tournament?

Do you need me to confirm that for you?

Clearly, they weren't successful in the tournament every year. It happens.

 

[WFHorn85]

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

Not sure...they lost 22 games last season when he was healthy and the worst season in Texas history was blamed on Shaka not having a PG. Outside of Jones, they've had overall really good health this year. As unfortunate as the Jones situation is, injuries/transfers/attrition happen all over the country every year and that's part of building a program. The fact that Shaka continues to lack guards who can shoot at Texas is confusing. Not being able to make the NCAA tournament despite being a top paid coach and great recruiting classes does not indicate a "damn good coach". I'd argue that it strongly indicates the opposite. You'd have been better off saying that Shaka is a great recruiter who hasn't shown the ability to coach in a big boy conference yet.

 

[McHorn]

I wasted 15 seconds of my life reading the first part if that.

Can you add mods to ignore?

 

[Ketchum]

Based on what? A damn good coach does a lot more that he just did in 3 seasons. Rick barnes got fired for doing a better job. Shaka has been an awfully bad hire thus far if you consider yourself a program that has decent expectations. He has been at best a lower tier 12 level coach

Based on what?

*sigh*

********


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?"

 

[Ketchum]

Not sure...they lost 22 games last season when he was healthy and the worst season in Texas history was blamed on Shaka not having a PG. Outside of Jones, they've had overall really good health this year. As unfortunate as the Jones situation is, injuries/transfers/attrition happen all over the country every year and that's part of building a program. The fact that Shaka continues to lack guards who can shoot at Texas is confusing. Not being able to make the NCAA tournament despite being a top paid coach and great recruiting classes does not indicate a "damn good coach". I'd argue that it strongly indicates the opposite. You'd have been better off saying that Shaka is a great recruiter who hasn't shown the ability to coach in a big boy conference yet.

answer the question. You answer could be quite revealing.

 

[jessed50]

0 conference championships

Since his miracle final four run he has won 2 games in 5 NCAA tournament appearances.

His 3rd year at UT and is somehow still in rebuilding mode.

His 3rd year at UT and still has no program identity.

Completely whiffed on talent evals on Jacob Young and Banks. Little to no improvement on Davis, and still unable to get any game to game consistency from Roach.

Also can you please reference actual examples of game planning/in game adjustments that actually lead you to believe he is a good coach? When you watch this team play, what says to you they are well coached? If you were watching this team play with a middle school basketball player, what are you pointing out that this team does well?

 

[VHorn]

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

This. I make the motion there be 2 “10 Thoughts” moving forward; one “Inside the 40” and the other in the “Corral”.

 

[WFHorn85]

what am I not acknowledging? That every year at VCU wasn't awesome in the tournament?

Do you need me to confirm that for you?

Clearly, they weren't successful in the tournament every year. It happens.

It's beginning to look like Shaka's final four run as an 11-seed is the equivalent of Charlie having Teddy Bridgewater at Louisville. He's got a ton of mileage out of a tournament run in which his team went 12-6 in conference play.

 

[rohde8195]

Shaka is not a damn good coach every stat says so. The damn agenda is ****ing old! Remove your political love it doesn’t belong in sports. He has beaten a Ok team that has lost 10 straight and is falling apart. Everyone else they have faced outside of TCU has looked like trash.

 

[Ketchum]

0 conference championships

Since his miracle final four run he has won 2 games in 5 NCAA tournament appearances.

His 3rd year at UT and is somehow still in rebuilding mode.

His 3rd year at UT and still has no program identity.

Completely whiffed on talent evals on Jacob Young and Banks. Little to no improvement on Davis, and still unable to get any game to game consistency from Roach.

Also can you please reference actual examples of game planning/in game adjustments that actually lead you to believe he is a good coach? When you watch this team play, what says to you they are well coached? If you were watching this team play with a middle school basketball player, what are you pointing out that this team does well?

He's getting a ton out of the group of players he has, one of the youngest teams in the nation.

I would contend Davis is making strides this season.

Specific game-planning? Seriously?

The Tech win stands out as a clear example.

 

[Ketchum]

It's beginning to look like Shaka's final four run as an 11-seed is the equivalent of Charlie having Teddy Bridgewater at Louisville. He's got a ton of mileage out of a tournament run in which his team went 12-6 in conference play.

Charlie is a damn good coach, too. He's just not great.

I don;t know if Shaka is great.

Stated as much in the article.

 

[rohde8195]

This is embarrassing honestly. Looch level type stuff. Be better

 

[Ketchum]

Shaka is not a damn good coach every stat says so.

Every stat, huh?

 

[o5prey]

what am I not acknowledging? That every year at VCU wasn't awesome in the tournament?

Do you need me to confirm that for you?

Clearly, they weren't successful in the tournament every year. It happens.

No - They were successful in the tournament exactly 1 out of 7 times.... That's an important note....

The 1 time was an amazing time....but in context - taking into account the strength of schedule for the regular season wins / those FACTS that you put up - the tournament results / all of them not just the 1 year you keep quoting need to be weighed in the evaluation.

The struggles on offense / both at VCU and here / need to be in the evaluation.

You're the one who is acting that anyone that falls short of Damn Good Coach (not just good coach) Damn Good Coach - is taking crazy pills / not good at basketball analysis.

BTW the person that said Great Coach that you chastised earlier in this thread....Damn Good and Great are almost on the same line of the scale, but then you act like you didn't say Great - goodness my how they put words in your mouth.

What I don't like - in this thread and others...is how you act like only your conclusions can be valid. That's horse excrement and you should know it. Repeat to yourself - you are not the God of Basketball Coach Evaluation.

 

[Mi Rey]

Not saying that the FBI shouldn't investigate college kids getting paid and assistant coaches peddling influence, but it seems a bit of a misplaced priority in light of the failure to pursue tips in the Parkland school shooting tragedy.

 

[ken_man]

I type this pretty infrequently, but........ LOL.

I can't believe that you actually believe what you posted in topic #1 of this column.

I do appreciate your willingness to quadruple down on a ridiculous take, however. Stephen A. and Skip would be proud.

 

[TexasForever83]

Charlie is a damn good coach, too. He's just not great.

I don;t know if Shaka is great.

Stated as much in the article.

I give up. We must have gigantically different definitions of what a damn good coach is.

 

[El Mahico]

Based on what?

*sigh*

********


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?"

So damn good means the bad losses dont matter and we should focus on close losses and give him a scapegoat. Hes been the same coach every year at texas.

Ou sucks this year. You're giving shaka kudos for beating a shitty ou team twice and close losses to decent teams yet ignoring the bad losses with the young team excuses again.

3 years worth of data. Basically a .500 coach during that time. One ncaa appearance. No wins. Failing to meet expectations for 3 years. Hopefully he can change that next year.

 

[UTRULZ]

He owns the roster...so if we are young and inexperienced, that’s on Shaka. Teams reload every year or two in college basketball and good coaches win 20 games and make the tourney. He was able to do that VCU, however, the B12 is causing him pain.

If you asked anyone if they thought Shaka would be .500 or worse after 3 seasons at UT they would have said hell no. He’s underperformed and don’t expect to see much improvement in year 4 as Bamba is gone, so another poor season awaits.

 

[rohde8195]

We’ve had two top ten national players and that “great coach” couldn’t win jack with either. It’s so bad that Allen is looking like a damn steal for the NETS..... I wanted Barnes fired just as much as the next guy and celebrated the hiring of Shaka but had you told me where we stand today as far as records and stats I would’ve rather hired Avery johnson

 

[Ketchum]

No - They were successful in the tournament exactly 1 out of 7 times.... That's an important note....

The 1 time was an amazing time....but in context - taking into account the strength of schedule for the regular season wins / those FACTS that you put up - the tournament results / all of them not just the 1 year you keep quoting need to be weighed in the evaluation.

The struggles on offense / both at VCU and here / need to be in the evaluation.

You're the one who is acting that anyone that falls short of Damn Good Coach (not just good coach) Damn Good Coach - is taking crazy pills / not good at basketball analysis.

BTW the person that said Great Coach that you chastised earlier in this thread....Damn Good and Great are almost on the same line of the scale, but then you act like you didn't say Great - goodness my how they put words in your mouth.

What I don't like - in this thread and others...is how you act like only your conclusions can be valid. That's horse excrement and you should know it. Repeat to yourself - you are not the God of Basketball Coach Evaluation.

How many more games would this team have won this year with a healthy Andrew Jones?

Riddle me that.

 

[Let em Hang]

No, he's actually done a very good job this year, so much so that he deserves to be a candidate for Big 12 coach of the year. I wouldn't say he deserves to win the award, but he's a worthy candidate.

Not sure why you felt the need to post this. But I would you wager you a steak dinner he does not receive a single vote. Other than his own if he is allowed to. And if that happens how would you rate your credibility?

 

[Ketchum]

We’ve had two top ten national players and that “great coach” couldn’t win jack with either. It’s so bad that Allen is looking like a damn steal for the NETS..... I wanted Barnes fired just as much as the next guy and celebrated the hiring of Shaka but had you told me where we stand today as far as records and stats I would’ve rather hired Avery johnson

Allen developed at a very fast rate under Smart. Best part of last season and he deserves credit for that. It's the only thing from last year he can hang his hat on.

 

[o5prey]

I'm out @Ketchum calling Charlie Strong a damn good coach LOL - I now know where our differences on this topic lie.

Shaka > Charlie - Agreed as Fact...

 

[65HornInTacoma]

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

Like I said. Youre the #1 poster in the thread. ;-)

 

[Ketchum]

Not sure why you felt the need to post this. But I would you wager you a steak dinner he does not receive a single vote. Other than his own if he is allowed to. And if that happens how would you rate your credibility?

Beard is going to run away with it. Probably unanimous.

 

[HookEm02]

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.

Who cares? 68 teams make the NCAA tournament every year and we’re about to miss it for the 2nd in a year row with a top 5 pick on the team

 

[rohde8195]

No - They were successful in the tournament exactly 1 out of 7 times.... That's an important note....

The 1 time was an amazing time....but in context - taking into account the strength of schedule for the regular season wins / those FACTS that you put up - the tournament results / all of them not just the 1 year you keep quoting need to be weighed in the evaluation.

The struggles on offense / both at VCU and here / need to be in the evaluation.

You're the one who is acting that anyone that falls short of Damn Good Coach (not just good coach) Damn Good Coach - is taking crazy pills / not good at basketball analysis.

BTW the person that said Great Coach that you chastised earlier in this thread....Damn Good and Great are almost on the same line of the scale, but then you act like you didn't say Great - goodness my how they put words in your mouth.

What I don't like - in this thread and others...is how you act like only your conclusions can be valid. That's horse excrement and you should know it. Repeat to yourself - you are not the God of Basketball Coach Evaluation.

How many more games would this team have won this year with a healthy Andrew Jones?

Riddle me that.

I’m not sure it would’ve mattered. TCU has managed a player that was more important just fine. This whole Andrew Jones ordeal is horrible but the definition of an excuse. You have a TOP 5 draft pick on the team... well unless like last year his stock is hurt due to coaching.

 

[Bay Horn]

@Ketchum Agree with you on the Phantom Thread. I wasw kind of lukewarm going in -- not sure what all the fuss was about. What a fantastic set of performances.

 

[Ketchum]

I'm out @Ketchum calling Charlie Strong a damn good coach LOL - I now know where our differences on this topic lie.

Shaka > Charlie - Agreed as Fact...

It can be debated whether Charlie is a damn good "head" coach. I'll at least say he';s a good head coach, just not at this level.

That might also be true of Shaka.

 

[Ketchum]

I’m not sure it would’ve mattered. TCU has managed a player that was more important just fine. This whole Andrew Jones ordeal is horrible but the definition of an excuse. You have a TOP 5 draft pick on the team... well unless like last year his stock is hurt due to coaching.

answer the question. It does matter in this discussion.

 

[satterwm]

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 actually admitted that Shaka had not been a success at Texas so far.
A good coach, but without success. Whatever the hell that means. I'm impressed he could even make that theme the centerpoint of an article.

 

[Ketchum]

He actually admitted that Shaka had not been a success at Texas so far.
A good coach, but without success. Whatever the hell that means. I'm impressed he could even make that theme the centerpoint of an article.

I can be impressive. Thank you.

 

[WFHorn85]

answer the question. You answer could be quite revealing.

Hypotheticals seem ridiculous to me. What if TCU makes the layup to win the first OT game, what if Matt Coleman doesn't hit a floater in the last seconds and Texas loses to 15-12 Tennessee State. We can play that game all day long. I mean, does Shaka hang on to his job losing to Tennessee State and missing the tournament a year after losing to Texas' sister school?