jSPN Awards: Interim COY--Bruce Weber Narrowly Defeats Shaka Smart



  • Bruce Weber has been jSPN’s perennial runaway Interim Coach of the Year in the Big 12 since Bruce replaced Frank Martin and began driving talent away in droves from Manhattan.

    There has never been a close vote for Interim COY since Bruce arrived.

    But this season, jSPN stringers were deeply divided between Bruce Weber and Shaka Smart.

    Those supporting Bruce for Interim COY mention all his accomplishments. He had the appearance of interim from the start. He carefully never does well enough to be thought of as a permanent hire. His helmet hair coiffeur is an icon of his interim-ness. He has proven that interim-ness can be a career. Despite recruiting as poorly as ever his team does not suck.

    Those backing Shaka Smart cite his astonishing transformation of what was a near certain long term destination job into an interim position within only three mediocre seasons. Smart has use his legendary havoc system to etch a .502 overall and .420 conference record. This sort of mediocrity, of course, impressed the jSPN stringers, but what really drove him to unmistakable interim status is his squandering of footer and shot blocker extraordinaire Mohmmad Bamba, who would likely be leading other coaches to conference titles.

    jSPN stringers finally gave the Interim COY award to Weber, because of his consistency in running off talent and not recruiting as players as good as he runs off.

    (Note: All fiction. No malice.)



  • Shaka’s record this year : 17-13. Rick Barnes record this year : 22-7. Texas has a top 5 recruit …Tenn has a bunch of top 150 recruits. I’d have to go with Smart Shaka over Liberace in a close one.



  • @KUSTEVE And UTenn is tied for first in the SEC. It would be nice to see Barnes break through.



  • @mayjay No KU to overcome for Barnes…



  • dylans said:

    @mayjay No KU to overcome…

    BUT BUT BUT Calipari is the best coach ever.



  • @BShark Now my fam is wondering why I’m laughing. (Home with sick kid today)



  • @dylans He actually had Texas as co-champs with us twice during the Streak.