Championship Blue

Shaka Smart sat down with Homer for a deep dive into how Marquette is navigating the new world of college basketball while trying to maintain the culture that has fueled the program’s recent success. Shaka explained why the Golden Eagles shifted from avoiding transfers to bringing in Sananda Fru and Nolan Minasali, while also sharing what excites him most about incoming freshmen Ethan Johnston and Alex Egbuanu. The Marquette coach praised Nigel James Jr.’s resilience and leadership growth after an impressive freshman season, and explained why Adrian Stevens and Royce Parham could become future All-Big East players. Shaka also gave listeners an honest look at the pressures of roster building in the NIL and transfer portal era, comparing modern recruiting to “speed dating” as coaches scramble to evaluate players and fit. The conversation closed with an emotional reflection on how deeply losses still affect him and why his competitive fire entering next season has “never been stronger.”

ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas joins the Homer Hour, gives an update on the court case for giving former players NIL back pay, on allowing schools to pay athletes $20.5 million per school, are college athletes currently being signed to contracts, will roster sizes be reduced now, should fans be worried about the new rules regarding paying players, will this be a long-term structure, was the SEC this past year the best conference in the history of basketball, how do we know which teams are going to be good going forward, will women's team's get half of the $20.5 million with Title IX, how does the third party NIL space work with the new rules, will the salaries of players be made public and who from the rookie NBA class should fans look out for?

Ben Brust and Alex Strouf host a specialty edition of ESPN Wisconsin College GameNight with less than 5 weeks until Selection Sunday. Ben is officially a fan of Marquette.. kind of. Colin Russo, UW grad and host at ESPN West Palm, joins to discuss the two teams and create chaos. Which team will go further in the tournament: Wisconsin or Marquette? Wednesday night bets.

ESPN Wisconsin's Alex Strouf is joined by Marquette HC Shaka Smart to discuss the upcoming season. How did Shaka Smart and his staff retain every player in the offseason? How does Marquette plan to keep up with UConn after back-to-back National championships?

Homer is LIVE from Central Mall for the Marquette Athletics Back to School Block Party, he is joined by Women's Basketball Coach Cara Consuegra, women's basketball players Skylar Forbes & Olivia Porter, men's basketball head coach Shaka Smart along with players Tre Norman and Zaide Lowery.

Marquette head basketball coach Shaka Smart joins the Homer Hour, his thoughts on the upcoming season, his position on NIL and what the future holds for it, should fans be worried about NIL, does he think the NCAA Tournament will expand, the continuation of 94.5 ESPN as the flagship of Marquette basketball, what has his mind and attention right now, on having a big basketball coaching staff, what will he miss most about Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro, has he watched them play in the summer league, does he think this year's squad will be good right away or should fans give them time to gel and how has he changed during his time at Marquette?

Former Marquette head coach Mike Deane joins the Homer Hour, on why he picked Yale to upset Auburn, on senior laden teams leaving mid-majors to go get NIL money at the high major schools. what would he do to fix the NIL system, gives his Final Four picks and what does he like best about Marquette in the Sweet 16.

Bryan Dee and Alex Strouf dive into all things Marquette, Wisconsin, and NCAA Tournament.

Former Marquette head coach Mike Deane discuss his Siena coached team upset win over Stanford in 1989, on how teams should defend the 3-point shot in college to help them win games, on defending the high-ball screen, is there any team he watches now who practices what he teaches and one team he like in the NCAA Tournament.

Marquette head coach Shaka Smart joins the Homer Hour, how can he keep his team motivated starting the season with such a high-ranking, on his team being picked to finish 9th in the Big East last season, on the pressure his team faces this season, on the growth of Tyler Kolek as a player and the book that he is currently reading.