And that is certainly not something you can blame the assistants for. If a new coach is hired and doesn’t want them, they need to find new jobs. No point in wasting time trying to network for your career’s sake.
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That makes sense. Even the connection to Michigan might have led their knowing each other.
Not really sure Mahoney would be the first place I’d look for an assistant right now. Nothing against him, just seems like there are other directions I’d go first.
I agree that Smart’s time at UT has been underwhelming, but to be fair he has had some bad injury/illness luck. I mean, one of his players got leukemia and had to go through chemo.
He needs to revamp his offense though. Is he willing to do that? That’s the big question for me. He has de-emphasized full-court pressure at UT, which suggests that he’s willing to adapt.
I was just spitballing a name. It makes sense just on face value. Didn’t think it was likely myself but it’d be an interesting angle.
FWIW his offense took a pretty drastic rise from the previous two years and was only 5 spots lower than Michigan on Kenpom (29th). Not sure if he did anything differently or just had better players, but it’s something to note.
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He didn’t have his point guard either. Jones had leukemia. Could you imagine how Michigan would’ve been any of these years if we didn’t have Burke, Walton or Simpson? I think Shaka did decent all things considered.
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I agree. It is a tough existence for the assistants. All I was saying is that time is of the essence. I do believe Texas would hire Yak. How long will they wait for him? If we don’t make a run at Yak quickly, he might be gone. Speculation but probably how it will play out
Does Howard bring anyone over from Miami with him, would we think? Shame to break up a really solid group of assistants, but Juwan really should bring in his own guys or approve of those that would stay in place.
i doubt that this is what he would say. but for sure he has some idea about his staff and he will discuss with Warde, and I am sure that he is somewhat familiar with who the current staff are and did his due diligence on them. I absolutely hate the idea of hiring a HC with a string attached on them. Whatever the HC is, they need have resource to hire assistant that will fit his plan the best. I hope Yak will be retained but Juwan needs someone who can coach his guards the foremost, and this is what I want to know.
whoever transformed Duncan Robinson, I would like to have him on board.
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Warde had a meeting with Yak on Friday, I’ve heard. That would have been a good opportunity to let him know of the timeline for this hire. Also to make a pitch for him and the other assistants to stay on until it’s over.
Edit - I should say to stay at least until it’s over. He could promise raises if they’re retained, some guaranteed money if they’re not.
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If Shaka himself is still a candidate of M job, as Webb insist, should Yak at least wait until the new HC is announced.
If Shaka does not believe he is a serious candidate, what is the best way to secure Yak? Put an exploding offer that expires quickly on the table. Yak will have a tough decision. Some are saying that Shaka is still in the running here. That will slow down the train a bit. If Warde is smart, he keeps Shaka warm as long as possible.
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I keep trying to talk myself into Shaka Smart and strangely I’m making headway. I think some of it is knowing that if his Texas teams are worst case scenario, meh. It feels like we’re at a pivotal crossroads right now and I fear a slip to complete irrelevance. Oh, and Yak.
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It’s frustrating to think that when Ohio State let go of Matta, which IIRC was also after the coaching carousel had come to a stop at the time, they were able to make a clear home run hire in Holtmann.
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I don’t think Shaka would do that. From my POV worst case scenario with him is a program that usually makes the tourney but that is it. I think the floor with him as a coach is higher than the other candidates imo.
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I am sure that Saddi can coach guard too.
Would people here rather have Shaka and Yak or Howard and an entirely new assistant staff