CC: Shaka Smart
Its been an interesting road for Shaka who rose to prominence via regular tournament births at VCU. Many board members will remember his havoc defense in 2013 not being a match for a Michigan squad loaded with NBA talent.
While at VCU Shaka led the team to:
- A final four in 2011
- 5 tournament appearances in 6 years (missed it only in his first year at VCU)
- Two appearances in the round of 32 including the 2013 loss to Michigan
- 6+ 26 Win seasons (yes, its the A-10, but the A-10 was rock solid back then)
Then He Moved to Texas where things didn't go as planned. This is the knock on him, that he struggled with the Longhorns
While at Texas:
- Tournament births 3 out of 6 years, would have been four if not for Covid
- Two third place finishes in the Big 12
- No wins in the tournament though
Then He Left for Marquette Which Was Clearly the Right Move:
- Has locked in his third straight tournament appearance
- Won the Big East last year with a 17-3 mark
- Is No. 10 in the country and plays UConn today
Cultural Fit:
- According to Wikipedia has been described "as a relationship builder and his ability to build team camaraderie"
- Fun Fact: His wife is a professor at Marquette and can therefore fit in with Michigan's education-first narrative
Bottom Line:
- Is not the number one candidate out there (Jay Wright anyone?), but certainly has enough accolades to be considered for this role
- I would put him in a similar bucket to Fred Hoiberg, T.J. Otzelberger
- To the best of my knowledge does not have background issues such as Nate Oates, Will Wade, etc.
Make N.O. say NO
Make J.B. say NO
Make M.F. say NO
1568
Cheers
Who is MF?
What is 1568?
Oats just said ‘yes’ to a large extension at Alabama.
1568 absolutely has to be the number of days that ohio has been sucking our tail pipe since their last win over michigan.
Ah, yes - 1568 glorious days and counting! Thanks XM and collective MgoWisdom!
Not sure who M.F. the coach is however it does mean something else...
1568 is the number of days since o$u has beaten Michigan in football.
Go Blue!
haven't all of us known a few MF'ers in our day? could be any one of many MF'ers
Yes, exactly what I was thinking...almost started making a list.
come to think of it, i might be on that list, at least for some people.
March 16th, 2024 at 10:47 AM ^
I'm sure I'm on a few of those lists. As a former consultant I know I pushed some perceived boundaries.
Mark Few
the list of MFers? Mark Many
March 16th, 2024 at 11:14 AM ^
I was going to say Marshall Faulk but I guess this makes more sense.
March 16th, 2024 at 11:03 AM ^
MF = Milton Friedman. We need someone who understands the economics of the new NIL era.
(With him as coach, maybe we could get Keith Jackson to call some basketball games.)
March 16th, 2024 at 12:26 PM ^
MF is Mark Few
If you're not sharing "insider" information from Schembechler Hall, could you drop the initials-only shtick?
March 16th, 2024 at 12:20 PM ^
It's so tiring.
Nate Oats just signed a contract making him one of the highest paid coaches in the country, at a school with virtually no restrictions. Pretty sure making him say NO, won't be too hard.
John Beilein is 71, and left the game because of growing frustration with the way the game was trending, which has only become more amplified. He's arguably the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, but he is the completely wrong fit for college basketball today.
Mark Few is 61, grew up in Oregon, has been at Gonzaga since 1999, and the only job he EVER considered other than Gonzaga, was his alma mater, Oregon.
Sorry Jermain but this has to be the most uncreative list possible. There are lots of good candidates out there. Dusty May, TJ Oltzelberger, Mick Cronin, Shaka Smart I'd all make say NO prior to the 3 you mentioned.
Along these same lines, I would say the pipe-dream coach that Michigan should at least ask is Jay Wright (JW?). If we're talking long shots whom Michigan should confirm are not actual options, just to be 100% sure, that would be the guy.
March 16th, 2024 at 10:54 AM ^
If you can't beat him, hire him? He'd be a good one to right (no pun intended) the ship before he re-retires and we hire someone else to take over in a few years, but I don't see him as a long-term solution. And he's already 62. May not want to step back into the coaching game.
I can't envision Mark Few leaving Gonzaga after 20 plus years. Seems like he's a lifer there.
There's 0% chance other power conference programs haven't had the same idea about Few.
March 16th, 2024 at 10:45 AM ^
I don’t think Nick Offerman, Justin Bieber or Morgan Freeman are all that interested in coaching Michigan basketball.
March 16th, 2024 at 10:49 AM ^
I'll say no for John Beilein because a guy who fled college basketball 6 years ago because he didn't like the direction the sport was going is surely not going to be any better trying to deal with it now.
March 16th, 2024 at 11:50 AM ^
The initials game is back! Ok. I think I solved it:
JB = Can’t be Joe Biden or Jeb Bush, as that would violate the no politics rule in here. Has to be Jonathan Banks, who will coach entirely in the character of Mike Ehrmantraut.
MF = While I hope it is Morgan Freeman, which would take film watching narration to the next level, I think it is Mick Fleetwood, who is very tall.
NO has to be Nellie Oleson, that bitchy daughter of the store owners in Little House on the Prairie. Not a fan. She’s petty AF.
Yeah. EAD
Does he still do the "Havoc" press thing? Seemed kind of gimmicky to me.
He hasn’t ran havoc since VCU.
I don't believe you're the first to suggest him, but other posts about Smart are probably buried under a mountain of feces. You did provide good information.
March 16th, 2024 at 11:15 AM ^
I understand that beggars can't be choosers, but IMO, I disagree about the good information aspect the post. Completely writing off Smart's massive faceplant at Texas as things "not going as planned" is the same as writing off Howard's failures here with the same phrase.
March 16th, 2024 at 12:22 PM ^
Yeah could've been more descriptive about the Texas years. My bar is really low these days. I was just happy it wasn't a look at me clown post.
Bring back coach B
I thought he should've gotten the job the first time around.
We missed Harbaugh the first time around as well.
Go get Smart. Great fit for Michigan. For more like a modern Beilein than people realize (in terms of culture).
Other than making something out of VCU I can’t say that I have ever been particularly impressed with Smart’s results.
Ah yes, let’s hire the guy who is still riding his teams’ one good tournament appearance that happened 13 years ago.
Lets hire the guy who failed miserably at his last P5 school.
Let hire the coach that has won exactly one tournament game in 12 years.
lets hire the coach that has won 80% fewer tournament games than Juwan Howard during the same time period. Let’s hire the coach that has half as many Elite Eight appearances than Juwan Howard despite being a head coach for 10 more years.
Let’s hope that after locking in his third straight tournament appearance at Marquette he’ll finally make it out of the first round of the tournament for the first time since 2011
I didn’t say to hire him. I said he should be considered. Also many of the data points you threw out are incorrect. But you do you.
Sorry - the last bullet should’ve read “first weekend of the tournament since 2011,” not first round. My apologies Mr Smart
you don't need to be snarky just because you were wrong
March 16th, 2024 at 11:17 AM ^
If you're saying he should be "considered" you are, indeed, arguing that he should be hired.
March 16th, 2024 at 10:17 AM ^
Dude, failing miserably is 8-24 and 3-17 in your fifth year at Michigan not what Shaka did at Texas. And if you’re using the argument of living off of one good year then Juwan falls into the same category - one good year in 20/21
While I understand many of your points, objectively speaking, Shaka has a better coaching resume and he’s winning in the Big East, arguably a more competitive league.
March 16th, 2024 at 11:06 AM ^
I’m not advocating for re-hiring Juwan! Yes, Juwan failed miserably but I’d also argue not winning one tournament game and missing the tourney twice in five seasons at Texas (excl COVID year) is nearly as bad.
March 16th, 2024 at 10:40 AM ^
Well, it doesn't sound so good when you put it that way.
I couldn’t help but read this post with the same tone Will Wade had in his after-UL-Lafayette-NIT interview. It was truly a perfect pairing, and I’m legitimately less interested in Smart now.
I don't see why he would leave Marquette. Didn't appear comfortable at a bigger program.
Jay Wright is "only" 62...he should be revived by his sabbatical interlude. Back up the brinks truck and sign him to a five year deal...from which he can ride off into the sunset.
March 16th, 2024 at 10:41 AM ^
That would clearly be the grand slam home run hire, seems unrealistic but I'm not objecting to making the effort.
March 16th, 2024 at 11:18 AM ^
He has stated unequivocally that he is retired. That isn’t happening.
Are you his agent?
Wow, he sure has sired a lot of children during these tournaments.
Love these posts. Just ammunition for your disappointment. Name one coach Warde has hired that was a great hire. Name one. Moore was elevated by Harbaugh and Warde had to do nothing to hire him.
I am not holding my breath. Warde could just elevate Martello. Worked for him in football.