Michigan Basketball: Pros and cons of top head coach candidates
Shaka Smart
Pros: The best thing about Shaka Smart is his recruiting ability and if you look through his recruiting classes at Texas, which include three top-10 groups, it’s hard not to think about that possibility at Michigan. The Wolverines have a great brand right now and have more resources to succeed in basketball than Texas. In short, Smart would kill it recruiting.
He’s also young and would be a good name to get. He would generate excitement and after interviewing Luke Yaklich for an assistant job at Texas this week, maybe he could convince him to stay if he was the Wolverines head man. Overall, seven tournament appearances and a Final Four, plus his recruiting record are tantalizing.
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Cons: The fact that Smart has recruited so well at Texas is sort of a double-edged sword because his teams haven’t won as much as they should have. Texas is 0-2 in the NCAA tournament and even though he has gotten NBA talent, he hasn’t really learned how to mold it into a winner.
The Longhorns did win the NIT championship, which is something. Beilein did that too right before he came to Michigan, so the lack of postseason success since the Final Four run at VCU might not matter. One thing that could, like Jordan, is a buyout. All in all, though, it at least seems plausible.