This is the worst coached team wearing Burnt Orange in any sport I have ever seen

Discussion in 'Men’s Basketball' started by SabreHorn, Mar 16, 2018.

  1. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    I have been blessed to watch a lot of Texas athletic teams, but I have never seen a worse coached team in any sport than what Shaka Smart has rolled out. I have sat through every football blowout of the last fifty years, and never left early, but if Smart is back, I cannot see any reason to waste my time or money.

    Is it lack of talent? Maybe if we were playing Kansas, UNC, and UVA every week. If the administration allows Smart to come back, and he coaches for free for ten years, he would still owe The University money. Yet another **** show compliments of Billie Powers.

    I feel sorry for the kids, because they were made promises, but I'm sure never being coached was one of those promises.
     
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  2. Htown77

    Htown77 5,000+ Posts

    Firing Rick Barnes for Shaka Smart is epically worse than firing Mack Brown for Charlie Strong... and firing Mack Brown for Charlie Strong was dumb.

    If you fire a proven winner, more often than not you end up with a loser. We got luckily twice: Barnes after Penders and Garrido after Gus.

    However, we have gotten Kaiser Bob after Abe Lemons, Charlie Strong after Mack Brown and Shaka Smart after Rick Barnes. Things can go south fast if you dont have a slam dunk hire lined up.

    It is a lesson i hope Texas fans learn, but I know they will ignore it or forget.

    If you have a loser on the other hand, you are better cutting bait ASAP.

    Lastly, on Price after Garrido, the jury is still out. I will say that fire was by far the most defensible as we were not winning and Augie was in his 70s.
     
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  3. mars

    mars 100+ Posts

    Shaka makes Penders look like John Wooden. Unbelievable how bad he is. We’d be better if we had those players and no coach at all. If we fired Barnes for lack of success (in the later years), there is NO justification for keeping Shaka. We are worse off than when he came. Soon enough the recruits will stop coming. Unreal. He was my number one choice and I was thrilled when we got him. I was wrong. We were wrong. With the money we pay, our history etc, we deserve better. He didn’t need to build a program from scratch, just maintain or improve. He failed. End of story.

    He has a .500 record for Chrissakes!!!
     
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  4. Walking Boss

    Walking Boss 2,500+ Posts

    Powers was and is an egotistical *** and he was as a law school professor. As Sabrehorn has said many times Powers should be sued for his incompetence and breach of fiduciary duty to the University on both hires. The outcome with Smart was predictable. His performance at VCU plummeted every year after his first year with an experienced team he inherited. Barnes probably needed a change of scenery and the few times i’ve watched Tenn this year reminded me of Barnes early teams at Texas. The lesson is if you get rid of a proven winner, you better bring in another proven winner on the same level. Powers only had one criteria and it wasn’t ability.
     
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  5. SAMMCHornfan

    SAMMCHornfan 250+ Posts

    OK, so I will give him a pass for now. I mean, he did lose arguably his two best players from last year and this year. One to being an idiot (Mack) and the other to Cancer. I wouldn't mind seeing what this team would have been like if they both would have been playing for the Horns this year.
     
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  6. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    I'll give him losing players and such, but that damn stagnant, pathetic offense he runs drives me to pull my hair out!

    And I'm bald! Bald!
     
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  7. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Samm,

    Would having those players back improved his lack of ability to coach, his ability to develop and implement a game plan, his ability to make adjustments during the game? I submit that he had perhaps the best player he has ever coached, and couldn't develop him. Those players may have helped cover up his incompetence, but I'm not sure that Chamberlin, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Michael Jordan, Dr J, in their prime could accomplish that - they could have taken the team away from him, but that's all.

    Incompetence should not be tolerated, and it should certainly not be rewarded to the tune of $3 million a year.

    "Your first loss is your least loss".

    :hookem2:
     
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  8. Horn87

    Horn87 1,000+ Posts

    I am almost to the point of getting off this Shaka train at the next stop...
     
  9. mars

    mars 100+ Posts

    Almost???? He has lost as many games as he’s won. Literally!!!
     
  10. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    87,

    I hate to be the barer of bad tidings, but the "Shaka train" was derailed, if it ever was on track.
     
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  11. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Mars,

    I'm sure Billie Powers would tell you, "Well, it isn't like we gave $6 million a year".
     
  12. SAMMCHornfan

    SAMMCHornfan 250+ Posts

    I just don't remember a season where a team has had so many woulda, shoulda, coulda games. 8 OT games??? Really? How many of this team's losses were actually winnable games? I don't remember too many blowouts. I guess we can blame most of it on the coach, but some of it goes on the players too. Most of all, shooting free throws! That is what worries me about Simms for next year. He was pretty awful and he will be counted on a lot next year. With that said, Shaka will definitely be back next year. They could quite possibly have the same kind of season next year. If so, he could quite possibly be gone. Myself, I will pump the brakes on my enthusiasm for next years team. Could be pretty good, but who knows?
     
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  13. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

  14. Htown77

    Htown77 5,000+ Posts

    @West Virginia... @TCU....

    I totally agree injuries and bad things happen. I totally agree that a coach that wins can earn some leeway when those things happen. The problem we have here is Shaka in three years has not done anything to earn leeway. Even under the various circumstances, he does not seem to overachieve.

    2015-16 20-13
    Lost in Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals
    Lost in first round of NCAA Tournament as a 6 seed to an 11 seed.
    2016-17 11-22
    Lost in Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals
    Worst season in 20 years. Did not win a single true road game.
    2017-18 19-15
    Lost in Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals
    Lost in first round of NCAA Tournament as a 10 seed to a 7 seed.*

    *I have to say though, with our size and talent advantage, we should have been able to beat Nevada. We got out-coached. Nevada made adjustments... we did not even have a game plan.

    As some posters have alluded to, we seem to underachieve with whatever we have. There does not seem to be any coaching. We are just trying to out talent people.

    When you fire the best coach in school history and pay the new guy more than him, you are expecting the new guy to perform at a higher level. 50-50 after three seasons is not performance at a higher level. In fact, it is performance at a level worse than Penders.

    I am realistic. I know Shaka will return next year. I do not think he should, but I know he will. He has to achieve something next year.

    Chris Beard has already won a tournament game and is competing for the Big 12 Title year 2 at Tech.
    Jaime Dixon won the NIT and has TCU at 21 wins and in there tournament year 2 at TCU.

    Shaka in year 3 has not really done anything. He is 6-13 against in-state Big 12 opponents (TCU, Baylor, and Tech). Simply put, he is not overachieving or achieving at all, and he seems to be falling behind instate competition. He is going to have to do something big next year to justify a fifth year.
     
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  15. Htown77

    Htown77 5,000+ Posts

    I will also note, the other problem with excuses for Shaka is something else posters pointed at above. Smart was trending downward at VCU when we hired him. At least Charlie Strong was trending upward at Louisville. The craziest thing about the Smart hire was, the coached we fired had won an NCAA Tournament game more recently than Smart had when we hired him.

    So, for me at least, it is also hard to give Smart the benefit of the doubt in face of bad breaks when the downward trend began at his last job.
     
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  16. LonghornMD

    LonghornMD 100+ Posts

    No one making $3mil per year gets a "pass" for putting out a putrid product. Maybe due to injuries you can't roll out your optimal presentation, but you still need to put something credible on the court. Added, it's not as if the rest of the team is chop liver. You still have 2 McDonalds All Americans, for Christ's sake! And it's not as if other teams aren't dealing with injuries as well. Shaka is paid to adapt, overcome, persevere, and find a way to win. That's what good coaches/leaders do. If Shaka can't do that, he doesn't need to be in an elite position. He can go back to coaching In bum-f*** Virginia, or there are plenty of high school positions. If an injury to 1 player (even your best player) means that your remaining team cannot compete and be successful on a regular basis, then that's a failure on the coach. Shaka doesn't get a pass for what he rolled out there this year. Or for the terrible "coaching" job he did.
     
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  17. LonghornMD

    LonghornMD 100+ Posts

    And he shouldn't get a pass for last year when we had no true point guard..... that's on him for being an unprepared idiot.
     
  18. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    MD,

    For anyone wanting to give Smart a pass for not having all his players, I would refer them to the finest coaching job I've ever seen - Lou Holtz in the 1978 Orange Bowl. After Holtz dismissed his "stars", Vegas refused to post a line or take bets. Great coaches, even good ones, adjust and adapt, not play spectator from the most expensive seat in the building.

    :hookem2:
     
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  19. LonghornMD

    LonghornMD 100+ Posts

    The expectations of a college fan base are as absurd as the money that these college coaches make. But that's the game. You take the money, you better crap golden eggs (or something that resembles a precious metal). If you can't, you got to get off the gravy train. And you absolutely cannot lay a turd. Shaka has been laying turds since he got here.

    When these coaches go back to making a reasonable salary for what they are doing (coaching a sport), then the Excuse Department will start taking submissions.
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2018
  20. mars

    mars 100+ Posts

    No one could reasonably argue that he’s a great coach. The problem is that he’s not even an adequate one. There should be no excuses after 3 years. I agree that he hasn’t accomplished anything and should have no leeway. We are trending down and I wouldn’t be surprised to see several unexpected departures. We were coached awfully before losing AJ1. Delaying the inevitable here. Earn your money Delconte. We can’t screw around with our already apathetic fan base and generally disinterested fans. We have to build a new arena. Oh I got it! Let’s raise ticket prices.
     
  21. ViperHorn

    ViperHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Same issue baseball had in 2017 with the one run games.
     
  22. mb227

    mb227 de Plorable

    The UMBC coach might be willing to greet you...he heard the stories of how Texas likes to go for coaches that add chapters to March Madness.
     
  23. Walking Boss

    Walking Boss 2,500+ Posts

    Sports truisms:

    Winners find a way to win, losers find a way to lose. Losers make excuses and well they’ll do there best. Sean Connery said it best in the rock: Losers always whine about their best, winners go home and €#^} the prom queen.
     
  24. Run Pincher

    Run Pincher 2,500+ Posts

    Maybe Tony Bennett is worse. ;) Honestly though, I think Charlie was worse. He made some of the dumbest decisions I've ever seen in sports.

    That game was sickening to watch, but no more so than a couple of the FB games last year with TH leading the team.
     
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  25. X Misn Tx

    X Misn Tx 2,500+ Posts

    Smart and Strong were such similar hires. Younger up and coming coaches who seem to be GREAT guys who should be able to recruit well here...who proceed to under perform in the actual core of their responsibilities.

    Could we hire an "offensive coordinator" assistant coach?
     
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  26. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Only if Smart either (1) pays for it out of his ridiculous salary, or (2) asks Billie Powers to help pay for the new position.
     
  27. Omniscient.one

    Omniscient.one 500+ Posts

    Barnes was not a good coach. At all. Couldn’t even draw up a simple inbound play. According to my memory literally 99% of contested inbound plays ended in a 5 second, steal, or close call. It was smart to get rid of him. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
     
  28. moondog_LFZ

    moondog_LFZ 5,000+ Posts

    The worst coached team I've seen in burnt orange was the last time OU wiped their *** with our football team. (63-21)
    It was the next to last season for Mack and the first time the words "Mack has to go" ever came out of my mouth.
     
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  29. Htown77

    Htown77 5,000+ Posts

    That’s not true. It happened once against Arizona. Usually he had good inbounds plays. Below is one off the top of my head. If you have watched Tennessee at all this year, the inbounds plays (and plays in general) are better than what we have now.


    ^ Texas fans have a bad habit with barnes with remembering the exception (the arizona inbounds) as the rule. Also, we have been worse at inbounding under smart. See the end of regulation against Nevada.

    That team went 9-4, beat a top 15 team in the Alamo Bowl and finished the season ranked in the top 20.

    The worst coached Texas teams I have seen were Charlie Strong losing to BYU 7-41, Iowa State 0-24 and Kansas.
     
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    Last edited: Mar 23, 2018
  30. easy

    easy 2,500+ Posts

    Some guys are set to transfer
     

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