When Shaka plays Huggy, will anyone be able to throw the ball inbounds?
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Great title, but remember, the best presses permit the ball to be inbounded … to the preferred spots.
I agree with @Blown – Marshall would have been the better choice.
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A lot of this comes down to what Nike wants to have happen at Texas. If they want to nail down the last power conference for Nike, then this could get ugly for KU in a hurry. If they view Texas as their Big 12 program to stack, Shaka will be at least as successful as Sean Miller, Coach K, Calipari and Izzo in their respective power conferences.
It just takes one class to put him on the map and a second one to put him in the 8 and a third one to put in in the Final Four for a ring.
But if they don’t care about the Big 12, then Shaka will have to do a slower build.
Either way, the program is ready for a good new coach and Shaka is way worse news for Fred, who has just lost his recruiter, than to Self, or Kruger.
One thing I have always liked about Smart is that his teams are in fabulous condition. I think if he gets some players and gets them in XTReme Condition, that that will push the rest of the B12 teams to get in better cardio vascular condition and that, more than any other single thing, will push the Big 12 back into good showings in the Madness.
Smart is wiry like a whippet.
Self is a rott lab mix.
Fred is an airedale.
Kruger is a schnauser.
Tubby is a bulldog.
Huggins is all rott.
Trent is a Doberman.
Bruce is a poodle.
We need a fast dog in this pound.
Someone to speed things up.
Shaka could do that.
But if Nike decides it wants to sell more shoes to 30 Million Texans and nail down the fifth power conference for Nike, then look for dump trucks to start backing up to the UT athletic housing very soon.
It makes sense to me that unless Nike and adidas tone down the conflict, Nike has to try put Texas in the driver’s seat of the B12.
Thirty million Texans.
Lots of eyes.
Lots of feet.
Solid draw for the Final Four.
Stack’em!
Stack’em High!!
(Ally hypothetically speaking of course.)
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P.S.: Regarding Greg Marshall, I just had a feeling that in a selection year, when a Bush needs some unity in the base to get selected, the boys at the Texas branch of the petroleo club would think twice about stubbing a thumb in the eye of the Kansas branch over a sissyball coach.
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" If Marshall can turn down the kind of money he reportedly was offered to stay here… well, this must not be such a bad place after all.
This is a proud moment for Wichita. He loves us. He really loves us."
Wichita wins again with Gregg Marshall’s decision
I can’t believe I read that. Lutz really said that about Wichita… the place where he lives. What a low sense of community pride. Gheez…
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@drgnslayr - I apologize ahead of time to any Wichita-ites. Wichitonians…Whatever the nomenclature is.
I once told a buddy of mine who was getting ready to move to Wichita - " Wichita is not where you move TO - it’s where you move FROM ". (He now lives in Flower Mound, Tx)
I know, I know, it’s a great place, great state, blah blah blah. But is it really a destination for a D-1 coach? I guess we’ll see.
I’m a little weirded out by the fact that, since he’s the new golden boy of all of the coaching world (puke) , why didn’t Texas want him? Not even pick up the phone to call from what I understand. Somethin ain’t right.
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Marshall openly flirted with Bama pregame to the media which messed with his teams pysche all to get a bigger paycheck. And those fools love him for it.
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@jaybate-1.0 WTH !! NO Bullenbieser Mastiff Mix ?! Did the megawatt thought process suddenly blow a buss ? You know I’m just kidding JB-but Shaka’s personal really has me thinking more Jack Russell…
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That’s exactly what I felt. He threw his team under a bus in order to boost his contract. That really turned me off about him.
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@drgnslayr Under the “short” bus, as someone so eloquently stated a few days ago!
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@nuleafjhawk That’s the same one he rode back & forth to school as a young child…he played with the dust in the window…
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I would love to get all the Longhorn supporters together and watch them squirm. They just want a good basketball team but their inability to read will bring them to a strange reality soon.
I would love to see the faces of all those rednecks, oilmen and ranchers when they find out the details of their new hiring… Texas Longhorn Head Coach Shaka Smart!
Shaka? That’s not a good Christian name, like John or Paul… Where does it come from? Shaka was given that name in respect and admiration for the famous Zulu warrior, Shaka kaSenzangakhona.
Shaka Dingani Smart attended Kenyon College, a LIBERAL ARTS school.
Smart has been married to Maya Payne, a professional writer and an alumna of both Harvard University and Northwestern University, since 2006. Their child, Zora Sanae Smart, was born on September 25, 2011.
He is a supporter of President Barack Obama, for whom he campaigned in Florida in 2008 and Virginia in 2012.
WoW! I got to hand it to Texas for going for cultural diversity! Shaka represents great diversity. I just wonder if all those supporters realize how diverse they have now become!
Welcome to the Big 12, Shaka! Our entire conference can use more diversity!
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@drgnslayr Slayer, Shaka the warrior was a bad dude. I still remember the TV mini-series years ago Shaka Zulu. His enema treatments for captured enemies still make me cringe today.
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@drgnslayr always liked Shaka (ok, Chaka) Khan…
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Are you bored at work again?
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@drgnslayr Lol - actually it’s been busier than I thought it would be today.
But I have my priorities straight - my KU brethren and …sistern ?
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@nuleafjhawk As I stated above, most Longhorn Network folks reported that Marshall just didn’t have the charisma that UT needs and for the commitments required to the Longhorn Network and being the guy out there raising money for the new facility. They talked to people in Wichita who didn’t mince words.
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I think that had everything to do with it. Gregg and his wife could easily rub people wrong down there and other places, too. Sometimes their words and actions just don’t fit with a prestigious program like Texas.
I’ve heard this before… but the first priority in Texas when hiring a coach is that their behavior will always be respectful of the reputation of the university. Most schools mention this somewhere but Texas puts this at the top of their requirements. There is a reason why Rick Barnes got that job and held it for so long… because he is well-respected everywhere in America. Not just in Texas, everywhere.
Shaka should be a good match for Texas. He minces his words carefully and his actions are always responsible. Texas did the right thing… by a mile!
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@drgnslayr I can now breathe a big sigh of relief. I could have NEVER EVER watched another UT game if Marshall had been chosen.
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@RockChalkinTexas they could have asked me or nuleaf about Marshall’s charisma, or lack there of.
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Shaka’s History: I don’t have the time to look into how he actually ended the conference in every season. But…He’s living on a four game win streak from 2011.
Year /League Finish/Record/NCAA Tourney
2014-2015 4th 23-10 Lost in Second Round
2013-2014 26-9 Lost in Second Round
2011-2012 29-7 Lost in Third Round
2010-2011 28-12 Lost in Final Four
2009-2010 5th 27-9 CBI Champions
And to think those Journalists at KUSPORTS are listing him as a better coach than Lon Kruger, Huggy, & Tubby who has a national championship. Granted, there are arguments to be made against Tubby.
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@Blown Consistently getting to the tournament and advancing in it has been a huge step forward for VCU over the Capel and Grant eras. What Shaka has accomplished at VCU has been tremendous, and it is a sad, sad day for VCU basketball fans.
I would say he’s better than Tubby. And in terms of recent success, I could see making an argument for being better than Kruger and possibly surpassing Huggy, esp if you presume that he will now get higher-ranked talent and that said talent will equate to greater success.
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Press Conference set for 4:30 today CDT at the Erwin Center. He has issued a statement saying something like there is a tremendous amount of talent to be tapped in Texas.
Behind white luggage carrier: Shaka in beige suit, Texas AD Steve Patterson. They’ll get to Georgetown, TX appx 2 CT
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@RockChalkinTexas I SO want to make a cheerleader comment, but I ain’t gonna.
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@nuleafjhawk No need to. You just tap danced around it.
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@RockChalkinTexas hehe - i know…
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@nuleafjhawk Maybe I have a future in politics.
Or Coaching.
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@nuleafjhawk do it cause I don’t get it!
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@RockChalkinTexas any news from the Texas players? Staying?
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@Crimsonorblue22 Only one so far I have heard is I. Taylor tweeted last night a welcome Coach Smart. People here are thinking he would be staying based on those 3 words???
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@nuleafjhawk Talking to yourself puts you in the same league as “The Donald”.
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@RockChalkinTexas I’d be OK with a few BILLION dollars. And yes, I’d buy new hair.
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@nuleafjhawk Don’t think its real money though. He’s a paper tiger. He won’t ever run because he would have to release financials and his gig would be up.
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@approxinfinity I don’t disagree it was a huge step forward for VCU. But I’m simply saying 1. He will be middle of the pack in the big 12 2. Marshall was clearly a better choice.
Tubby has a chamoionship.
Huggy has over 800 wins.
We can follow up on this conversation in 10 years and know for sure because time will tell.
For the BIG 12 sake I hope the hire works and I hope also that Travis Ford finds a new home.
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Will be interesting the see Cameron Ridley play the “havoc” style that Smart implements. Would sure like to have Ridley’s big body at Kansas.
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I wonder if he will stay. He barely could play 20 minutes a game in Barnes system. Shaka has never had a space eater like him. Could become even more of a non-factor there.
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@wrwlumpy Great quote to post in the locker room for the first Texas - Kansas game.
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@wrwlumpy Wow. He’s fueling the fire already. You could almost call that a low blow.
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$18 million GUARANTEED for 6 years! Listened to him and he presented himself well and said he was bringing his own staff in. He met with the players before the presser and knows he is going to be limited in running havoc system with what he has now but will look to recruit what he needs to run. No one asked him about the other coaches in the conf. He did throw out he has never been to Austin and had been to SA, Dallas and Houston. Yes he did say his havoc style worked in SA a couple years ago and got a hearty laugh from the crowd. Brings excitement AND his mother who he said would be at every game.
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