Shaka Smart interviewing Luke Yaklich for opening
Wow, Smart is the new AD and Yak is at the top of the list. I check out for 20 minutes and all this happens?!
I've been off for a few hours and I come back to this shit. Shaka Smart is starting to piss me off.
Hire Shaka, keep Yaklich, and let's all move on. Sound good?
Or does this mean Yak gone, insert-name-here in?
Possibly or could it be Yaklich got word from Warde that he's not even going to be interviewed and is looking elsewhere?
Haven't been following every snippet on coaching search, so I could be way off on this take.
SS supposedly has a $12.9 million buyout, not happening.
Log off. Uninstall your browser. Delete system 32.
Wait, what?
Is this some kind of power play from Shaka? Hire me or I take your guy? Or just preparing to have Yak on staff whether it's at Texas or Michigan? This is getting weird; near Shakespearean.
I think Michigan has 100% something to do with this. This honestly is probably a better indicator that something is happening between Shaka and Michigan than it is the other way around
Yes, there are discussions and now Shaka is making a brilliant power play. The viability of his competitors for the Michigan job probably depends on keeping Yak (*cough* Howard *cough*) so he's taking an axe to that crutch on which the other candidates might be standing.
Also, of course he's interviewing Yak. The guy is a rising star. If another college coach did the Jim Harbaugh thing and just looked at good defenses and saw, wait, a John Beilein coached team is top 5 defense? How? Oh, the DC that made Illinois State the 16th best D in the country has been there for two years - by far the best two years of defense in John Beilein's career. Give him to me, please.
I'm not implying that it's a power play. I'm implying that Shaka may be interviewing Yak as a result both wanting him at Texas, and seeing that if he was hired at Michigan, he'd like to explore if it was a good fit, if that makes sense.
Game of Horns?
Okay, cool...hook 'em
Why would taking a job under Smart be better than under a HC Michigan hires? Unless he thinks he’d be Texas’s choice in a year or two if Smart is fired or goes elsewhere...
Oh who is this who’s left for Erie shore?
Our Coach of great accomplishment for sure?
While we once thought near summer was a bore
We now will search through all the left over.
Weth’r Billy, Shaka, Yak, or Christo’ Prohm
Has shown the poise and grit to lead our team
and save us from this dive to march doldrum
this all is much too yet to ne’er be seen.
I hope this all ends well and good by fall
For that is the most important of sport
As long as I have my Michigan ball
Who cares about that scum bag Dan Gilbert
To hell with Notre Dame, and Columbus
And also Sparty No they’re such a lush.
Michigan fans can do better than Haiku
Also logged in for the first time in 2 years to post this. Neg away.
I feel like Smart coming to Michigan is better for all parties involved... Yak gets to stay in Michigan with a team he knows and Smart comes to a better program with a better team, more resources, and a pay raise
I don't think we have more resources at Michigan considering Shaka has clearly been allowed to throw money at recruits at Texas where as I don't think he will be allowed to do that here
This is a valid point. There was definitely bitching and moaning about Mo Bamba when he didn't come here so the "only clean guys" crowd should have some reservations. On the other hand, it could be that Texas is no more directly involved than Michigan but there are more boosters/hangers-on throwing cash around in Austin. In that event, his supposed recruiting prowess may not show up in Ann Arbor.
Mo Bamba’s consideration of Michigan was always more tied to Moe Wagner going to the draft and opening that starting spot.
Thanks for the input on that. I remember people complaining "bag" and something with Bamba's brother. Definitely not suggesting I know whether/to what extent Shaka/Texas get into the recruiting black market. But if that explains his success and it turned out he can't pull the Jimmys and Joes as hypothetical HC at Michigan, I'm not loving the hire based on Xs and Os. So it's worth considering how he managed to pull these 5 stars.
Mo's brother -- half-brother I think, actually, but no matter -- was trying to work a deal. The rumor was that it was with Kentucky.
Anyway, a benefactor had offered to pay for Mo and classmates' college if they graduated from HS. The offer was made when they were all in the fourth grade. The guy had been involved with Mo and his family ever since.
When the half-brother came forward, the family said they'd informed the NCAA about the relationship before recruiting began, and the NCAA cleared it.
uhhh, brah, Texas has more resources and could pay more if they wanted but why would they up the price on a lemon? As for the program, that's all HC dependent and M doesn't have one.
This is just Smart trying to cash in on a pay raise and longer contract while he can still sucker some program into doing it.
Texas. Lol
Shaka is really trying to make me hate him huh?
I already don't want him as head coach and now he is pulling some mobster move holding Michigan basketball by the balls basically making us offer him or he will take Yaklich from us
I keep thinking it cant get worse and it keeps getting worse. I enjoy good Michigan basketball and I don't want it to go away
Shaka + Yaklich + Cornell Mann + an offensive guru = Good hire by Michigan
It's really not worse. Most new head coaches would probably bring their own staff. If anything, it's silver lining that if we do get Smart, we would likely keep Yak.
Yeah, Shaka + Yak is definitely preferred to just about anything else that's been thrown around, like Porter Moser or Ed Cooley.
We do know Shaka is a good recruiter (which we think is likely but not a given about Howard). His willingness to interview Yak shows a willingness to delegate.
This wouldn't be the worst thing, but man, Shaka has not been good. He doesn't really seem to have an identity for his program at Texas. Hopefully, he's learned from that.
Real talk tho, Shaka Smart is only 42 years old.
He's plenty young and can still learn and become the coach everyone thought he was when he first started making waves at VCU.
Make it end
Caught some wind that this might be coming and was told specifically that Shaka is looking for a defensive specialist. Yaklich fits.
— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) May 16, 2019
Also, let this be evidence that U-M is not (as of now) in pursuit of Shaka Smart. I don't believe there's been any contact between the two sides. https://t.co/oG17U8Dfjf
wtf
Also, isn't Smart supposed to be a defensive guru himself? That's what made him famous at VCU
This literally goes against everything guys like Webb and Balas have said.
Webb is plugged into football, but not basketball. I trust Quinn WAY more than Webb or Balas. Quinn has multiple sources (Chris Hunter) that are way more legit.
Yaklich is out. Things are not in good shape. Ed Cooley the favorite.
Quinn's take is not accurate as per sam.
He says he is "CERTAIN" of the pursuit of Shaka.
Really, I read it the same way Quinn does. We'll see.
If true, that might be even more strange than the Shaka power play theory I postulated above. Although maybe Occam's razor is in Quinn's corner. I guess I'm making an assumption there's a connection rather than just looking at it as Shaka realizing our coaching vacancy is a good opportunity to poach Yak.
The only reason to leave Texas is because of pressure to leave.
If he doesn't have pressure, there's no way he'd leave. Michigan overall is a better program, but Texas's athletic department is rolling in ungodly amounts of money, and their boosters are definitely willing to pay for kids. Texas came up several times in the FBI case and Texas said they would pay for a house for Brian Bowen Sr. And they definitely paid for Mo Bamba.
It's just a better situation for Shaka.
Also, VCU definitely cheats. Shaka and Texas have been linked to cheating, Will Wade, and Jeff Capel. They never were caught at VCU, but something tells me it's a program that allows it to happen. Same with Xavier.
What's also interesting about this is that it's the official end to "havoc" if it wasn't made official already.
Smart built the VCU program on a trapping, up tempo, turnover forcing defense. That was his thing! He was a defensive specialist!
Shaka Smart is now just a recruiter and delegator. And whoa I just realized that would be like Harbaugh hiring Gattis and abandoning his calling card on his side of the ball.
Smart by Smart (pun intended) but amazing change in style.
Well that would be a kick in the balls
Too much experience! It’ll never work!!
luke! don't do it! its a trap!!
You don't buy me out. I buy you out!
Sideline , center , reverse ! You just beat shaka’s press
The electric slide beats Shaka's press on occasion......
Beilein has put Michigan basketball in permanent BPONE for the foreseeable future.
He was going to leave sooner than later. This is starting to be on Warde. Top 50 recruits decommiting. Rising star assistants getting poached. This was preventable.
He should have immediately promoted Yaklich and gotten behind him as though he was the coach in waiting all along. Should have just to the world that he doesn't even care about Billy Donovan or anyone else because the next great coach is on our staff.
But he left mid-May...and not early April. Of course the Cavs job wasn't open and I'm not insinuating any ill will towards Beilein (nor sticking up for Warde for that matter) but the timing really is all sorts of shit for Michigan's side.
No, it's not. Yaklich is available. No one better was available a month ago.
Uhhhh Nate Oats was, who 100% would have taken this job.
Of course it's all hindsight, but to act like this wasn't a blindside move that fucked us over hard is giving Beilein way too much credit.
Beilein fucked us. It's okay to admit it.
I think going with a year long interim of Washington/Yaklich is the best bet this season and to do a year long search. I don't think they'll do it, but I personally think that's the best option instead of committing to a 2nd option long term