Welcome to The Holy Land of Hoops

Xudash wrote:If that fat little pig of an ugly dog relieves itself on our landscaping again, I would say that someone should take a skillet to its face, but that clearly has been done already.

Stop putting X marks the spot locations on campus, and our plucky, heroic dogs won't sh** and pi** on your dirty campus.

This league is better when the top tier is challenging Nova. Its so good to see challengers up there. Villanova will always be Villanova as long a Jay Wright is there. So when other teams beat them its instant legitimacy for the program and the league.

Keep up the good work Big East!! Ofcourse, I still want Nova to do well. I just don't want them to be the Kansas of the Big East either

GG, Nova. Make no mistake, Villanova remains the top dog of the conference, until someone officially knocks them off. Sweeping them this year is an incredible feat (highlighted by the fact that only Butler and Creighton have done so since the league reformed). However, beating them a third time in the BET seems like a tall mountain to climb. Would much rather face Providence again a third time, or UConn.

They remain well-coached, disciplined and very talented. Nova will be fine to close out the season.

Many Marquette officals was worried about attendance for this game, as MU had a 9pm local start. (Had to be the first time ever) MU made it a student event. 3,000 students were in full force. Most of the old folks did show up. Fiserv Forum was loud! Hope this is things to come for Marquette, like it was with Crean & Buzz as coach.

Shaka is the real deal. I was very happy that he was coming to the Big East. BIG TIME hire for Marquette. Great for the Big East but I just hope that doesn't mean Marquette is going to sweep Nova every year! In all seriousness, the new Big East has been great, but our overall performance in March hasn't been anything to brag about. If a guy like Shaka turns Marquette into a contender who is dancing every year (or close to it) and making runs in March, that is gonna be big for the league, and I think he can do it.

Both times we played Marquette this year, they just had more energy and were ready to go. We deserved to lose both games. Congrats to Marquette fans on the win and what looks to be a very bright future.

ChestRockwell85 wrote:Shaka is the real deal. I was very happy that he was coming to the Big East. BIG TIME hire for Marquette. Great for the Big East but I just hope that doesn't mean Marquette is going to sweep Nova every year! In all seriousness, the new Big East has been great, but our overall performance in March hasn't been anything to brag about. If a guy like Shaka turns Marquette into a contender who is dancing every year (or close to it) and making runs in March, that is gonna be big for the league, and I think he can do it.

Both times we played Marquette this year, they just had more energy and were ready to go. We deserved to lose both games. Congrats to Marquette fans on the win and what looks to be a very bright future.

Like I've said- the style that Marquette is playing feels a lot more like how they used to play at VCU than what he was playing at Texas. That's a dangerous thing for other teams as this style is one that in a tournament setting you'd hate to have only 48 hours to prepare. This year he's forcing a lot more live ball turnovers than he ever did at Texas- 57.51%. At VCU it was always between 55-61%. At Texas it was between only 40-50%.

Shaka's career growth is a great lesson for many future coaches. He created and established a sustained culture of high-level success at a mid-major school in VCU. He elevated their program with a brand of basketball (HAVOC) that was fun, exciting and synonymous with VCU. He pressured, attacked and rattled opposing teams, and eventually became one of the most sought-after coaches of the decade (probably behind only Brad Stevens, in terms of mid-major programs). Even though he was offered Marquette in 2014, among many others leading up to that, he chose on Texas as his big-time job - a region he had zero experience recruiting, had no connection to the state and was truly a polar opposite of his established and successful predecessor (Rick Barnes).

At Texas, Shaka could not have moved further away from HAVOC. He transitioned his recruiting style into a more one-and-done model (acquiring Bamba, Allen, Hayes, Brown, all of whom who quickly moved on to the NBA), and focused more of his scheme into a half-court model utilizing the post position (and to the latter, to tremendous success, given the number of NBA post players he has sent to the NBA). He never made a NCAAT run, underachieved given the program expectations, and never truly connected with the school, the alumni or fan base. The only losing season in Shaka's career was his second year at Texas, a year that highlighted his attempts to coach at a big-time school (and that moved away from what made him successful at VCU).

In Shaka's first year at Marquette, it was clearly through his recruiting that he was returning to the style of player he recruited at VCU: high-motor, athletic and long athletes that fit his full-court pressure style, and that could develop into attacking the rim and shoot the 3. Most importantly, he brought in players that were projected to stay for multiple years - further highlighting that he aims to create a true program (and not a new team every year that he was essentially creating/establishing at Texas). The pieces that he brought in (either the freshmen or the transfers) wonderfully complement each other in style and in play, and (most impressively to me) he has utilized and developed Wojo's players (Lewis, Osa, Elliott) as key contributors on this year's team. It is evident that everyone embraces their role and, on any given night, can be a key player to helping them be successful and win.

On a Wednesday night game in Milwaukee at 9:00 PM local, the Fiserv was packed with students and fans. He has revitalized MUBB and made it exciting and enjoyable once again. In the vein of a Buzz, Crean, O'Neill, Hank and Al, he has created a team that can compete deep into March. He will certainly get well-deserved recognition for BE COY and for NCOY honors. The transition he has overseen in one season is truly historic, and this Marquette fan will continue to try and enjoy the ride (regardless of how far the team goes). The team has overperformed and overachieved all season, and this group believes it can beat anyone on any given night. Very fun times indeed.

GoldenWarrior11 wrote:Shaka's career growth is a great lesson for many future coaches. He created and established a sustained culture of high-level success at a mid-major school in VCU. He elevated their program with a brand of basketball (HAVOC) that was fun, exciting and synonymous with VCU. He pressured, attacked and rattled opposing teams, and eventually became one of the most sought-after coaches of the decade (probably behind only Brad Stevens, in terms of mid-major programs). Even though he was offered Marquette in 2014, among many others leading up to that, he chose on Texas as his big-time job - a region he had zero experience recruiting, had no connection to the state and was truly a polar opposite of his established and successful predecessor (Rick Barnes).

At Texas, Shaka could not have moved further away from HAVOC. He transitioned his recruiting style into a more one-and-done model (acquiring Bamba, Allen, Hayes, Brown, all of whom who quickly moved on to the NBA), and focused more of his scheme into a half-court model utilizing the post position (and to the latter, to tremendous success, given the number of NBA post players he has sent to the NBA). He never made a NCAAT run, underachieved given the program expectations, and never truly connected with the school, the alumni or fan base. The only losing season in Shaka's career was his second year at Texas, a year that highlighted his attempts to coach at a big-time school (and that moved away from what made him successful at VCU).

In Shaka's first year at Marquette, it was clearly through his recruiting that he was returning to the style of player he recruited at VCU: high-motor, athletic and long athletes that fit his full-court pressure style, and that could develop into attacking the rim and shoot the 3. Most importantly, he brought in players that were projected to stay for multiple years - further highlighting that he aims to create a true program (and not a new team every year that he was essentially creating/establishing at Texas). The pieces that he brought in (either the freshmen or the transfers) wonderfully complement each other in style and in play, and (most impressively to me) he has utilized and developed Wojo's players (Lewis, Osa, Elliott) as key contributors on this year's team. It is evident that everyone embraces their role and, on any given night, can be a key player to helping them be successful and win.

On a Wednesday night game in Milwaukee at 9:00 PM local, the Fiserv was packed with students and fans. He has revitalized MUBB and made it exciting and enjoyable once again. In the vein of a Buzz, Crean, O'Neill, Hank and Al, he has created a team that can compete deep into March. He will certainly get well-deserved recognition for BE COY and for NCOY honors. The transition he has overseen in one season is truly historic, and this Marquette fan will continue to try and enjoy the ride (regardless of how far the team goes). The team has overperformed and overachieved all season, and this group believes it can beat anyone on any given night. Very fun times indeed.

I can feel your excitement just from reading this. I'm glad things are going well @ Marquette. Its one of those programs that I admire. Large and proud fan base. You guys deserve success. Hopefully Marquette can continue this trend. Who knows... maybe surprise a few in the NCAAs. But one thing is a given - Shaka is well ahead of schedule in the re-build!

butlerguy03 wrote:

Xudash wrote:If that fat little pig of an ugly dog relieves itself on our landscaping again, I would say that someone should take a skillet to its face, but that clearly has been done already.

Stop putting X marks the spot locations on campus, and our plucky, heroic dogs won't sh** and pi** on your dirty campus.

Ah, there is the real Butler Way: a weak comeback, coupled with 2 technical fouls during the game.

Plucky and heroic? Dirty campus? You poor thing.

Butler's technicals are different! They're infused with class! You just don't understand.