It sounds like UT is leaning toward Smart right now but it is too early to tell. Both seem like great candidates and great hires. That being said, researching both today was interesting. Marshall's past 4 years Wichita State 2011-12 27-6 NCAA Round of 64 (5 seed and lost to 12 seed Shaka Smart and VCU) 2012-13 30-9 NCAA Final Four (9 seed and lost to 1 seed and national champion Louisville) 2013-14 35-1 NCAA Round of 32 (2 seed and lost to 8 seed and national runner up Kentucky) 2014-15 30-5 NCAA Sweet 16 (7 seed and lost to 3 seed and elite 8 team Notre Dame. Also beat Kansas) 7 NCAA Tournament wins. Smart's past 4 years Virginia Commonwealth University 2011-12 29-7 NCAA Round of 32 (12 seed and lost to 4 seed and sweet 16 team Indiana. Upset 5 seed Gregg Marshall and Wichita State) 2012-13 27-9 NCAA Round of 32 (5 seed and lost to 4 seed and national runner up Michigan) 2013-14 26-9 NCAA Round of 64 (5 seed and lost to 12 seed and round of 32 team Stephen F. Austin) 2014-15 26-10 NCAA Round of 64 (7 seed and lost to 10 seed and round of 32 team Ohio State) 2 NCAA Tournament wins. I am a little bit of distressed that Barnes and Smart have the exact same number of tournament wins over the past 3 seasons and Barnes's win was more recent. That being said, either seems like a great hire. On one hand, Marshall has been more successful over the past 4 seasons. On the other hand, Smart beat Marshall head to head in the tournament as a lower seed within the past 4 years. I hope Patterson makes the right call whether it is one of these two men, a different college coach or an nba guy (I stuck to these two as they are the consensus favorites right now).
Distressed? I'll take Shaka. I like the idea of him recruiting Dallas and Houston especially with the type of offense / defense he runs. And remember, Shaka lost a key player during the season or could have made a good run in the tournament.
Isn't Shaka noted for the full court defense (Like Huggie Bear) and little else? No, I would prefer Marshall. They run offenses
Not sure why you think VCU does not run an offense. Pretty sure they score as much if not more than Wichita State. If Shaka is hired, it's going to be nice having a team that presses and forces steals and turnovers. His teams have led in those categories for several years. And yes, his teams play uptempo with a heavy motion offense. With the type of players he is going to be able to recruit to Texas, the future will look very good for Texas. I think Shaka is going to be able to recruit against Baylor and A&M in Dallas, Houston, Killeen areas.
Smart's HAVOC system is hard for a lot of players to adjust to and could pose a minor problem for recruiting. That said, I agree that his system and coaching style all the way around is an improvement and will be a welcome change. I agree with HornDad. He'll do well in the urban recruiting space.
OK, I yield to your argument. You apparently know what you are talking about. I will take recruiting in our back yard instead of Detroit.
Don't get me wrong, Marshall would be a good hire. If we get Marshall, we are getting a different type of coach who is doing well. Nothing wrong with that. I just prefer Shaka for a long run at Texas. I like his energy and just think he will connect to some of the players in the Dallas / Houston area who are going to other schools. Just read this about him on SB He's also become an impressive recruiter in recent years, landing VCU three freshmen in the ESPN top 100 in the class of 2014 and two more in the class of 2015. http://www.sbnation.com/college-bas...shaka-smart-discuss-head-coach-job-per-report
Yes, it would be an adjustment for some of the current players. Not sure how Taylor would do since defense has not been a priority.
Smart's record is no better than Barnes. The point of changing is to improve. Whoever comes in can have a losing record next year, as the team "adjusts to the new system." Wasn't that the excuse for Strong, along with the bare cupboard, including a likely high first round NFL choice. Then, the vultures can resume their carcass chase.
Then who do you expect to be hired? Self, Coach K, Izzo, Williams, etc are not coming. You can make the case that Shaka has done more with less.
I'd be happy with either and do not have much to add other than laying out the last four years of both, BUT I would assume that poster may want to hire this fellow by the name of Greg Marshall. There seem to be at least two pretty good and obvious candidates right now that Texas fans could decide they want.
I guess I feel like we've been there and done that with the full-court press strategy, although Smart may be much better at it than Penders. I just feel like once people figure out how to break your press, you become very vulnerable, and I've never seen teams who depend on that have a lot of success in the long run. Really hope they don't go in that direction.
His name will look better on the T-Shirts when they are printed up: "Strong Football - Smart Basketball" That will look better than: "Strong Football - Marshall Basketball"
We all know which way Patterson will lean between Marshall and Smart...the most cost-effective option. Smart would come cheaper, that's if we can lure either away. A slightly less accomplished coach (Smart) and likely a little lesser final product won't matter when the cost is lower. If the second choice is still pretty good and less expensive, our NBA General Manager will opt for the savings.
Coach Marshal looks a bit stronger. If he can recruit such stellar classes to Wichita St, I don't think he would have a problem recruiting anywhere. He might be scary good here. Either will definitely energize the sport here.
Marshall is the hire. I don't understand why Smart would even be considered unless Marshall has turned us down. Avery Johnson is a joke, he would be worse than Col. Klink.
Lville does it year in and year out against arguably the best teams/coaches in the game. It can work if implemented effectively. The biggest factor in determining if it will work or not, is going going to be player buy in. If the kids believe in it, they will execute. Shaka would be able to get the kids to Rally behind the system IMO and recruit the kids from Texas who already play that type of HS system
I've talked about how Barnes and Smart ran the same half court offense which is a continuity pick & roll offense. But there is no question Smarts overall style of play is more exciting. And the recruits from the state of Texas will be lining up to play for Smart and that style of play, recruits love to play that kind of style. I like Marshall too, but he and his style of play just seems boring. A young 37 year old with energy and an exciting brand of basketball, why wouldn't you love that? To me it's a no brainer.
I remember the same being said of Coach G when she was lured away from Duke to Texas. Funny thing is Duke continued to win without her and Texas was average with her.
Hmmm, if Barnes ran a continual pick and roll offense, Taylor never learned it. His inability to pass the ball at the end of games backfired over and over again.