Printable View
Actually I am not a naysayer here and you are supporting what I am saying. I am very sorry that we are not winning. And if you think that makes me a naysayer to believe that things could have been done differently and we would be better off than we are now- I'm OK with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian96
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cal&Ken
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cal&Ken
Then please help me to understand your previous two posts. I took them to mean that you believed the following:Quote:
Originally Posted by Cal&Ken
1. Rupp was wrong to take a chance on the transfers.
2. We are no better than we were last year.
3. People's predictions about the season were wrong.
I disagree with all 3 statements.
Okay, I'm kind of tired of you accusing folks of bullcrap (and bullshit elsewhere) without backing anything up. So far you've offered nothing but straw man arguments and bold accusations without any supporting evidence.Quote:
Originally Posted by theprofessor
Find posts where ANYONE, but ESPECIALLY the people you are accusing of "revisionist bullcrap" made predictions that are so dead wrong that they merit straight up flaming.
Then, please provide a record for each game that you have attended or at least watched in its entirety on TV or online and provide your evaluation of where this team is now compared to last year.
You are often contrarian, which is fine, there is plenty of room for that on message boards, and you usually do a good job of backing it up with your own analysis. But on this topic you are crossing over into good ol' fashioned flaming, a la barkinloud et al.
Really. Yes, we have many professors at Tech that are from foreign countries, and it is very difficult if not impossible to understand what many of them are saying. I have heard this complaint time and time again from students. I have even experienced it myself when just talking to some of them. God forbid that I would have to take a course of theirs. Also, I avoid foreign doctors for the same reason. I can't readily communicate with them. At some point my life may depend on my ability to communicate clearly and accurately with my doctor. Not willing to take that chance. Perhaps you are.Quote:
Originally Posted by Juice752
I am certain that you are sincere in your attitude about foreigners, but I wonder how you would feel if one had taken your job because he/she would do it much cheaper than you were doing it. That is what the foreign professors are all about. Budget, budget, budget. Trust me.
brian,Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian96
i do not have time to go digging up every post in which people have said we were going to win the wac, go to the sweet 16, rebuild this program to where it was when malone was here, rupp's doing it "the right way," etc.
but outside of a few realistic posters on this board, people had no idea the season would go like this. even when jc and white were dismissed from the team, there was still a ton of unrealistic optimism.
before the season, after watching practice, i came on here and gave my concerns. i said we were a 15-win team at best. from my recollection, that prediction was the lowest predicted number of wins from anyone. everyone was saying we finish in the top three in the wac and compete for the conference title. i wasn't convinced then, and i'm surely not convinced now.
it is my opinion, from following this team the best that i can since i'm not in ruston, that this season has been a dismal failure when you take it in the context of what we had to deal with last season in preparation for this season. dismal failure. now, could that change? yes. this team could win every single game from here on out and go dancing. i hope that happens. i truly do. it's just not likely at all.
For what it's worth, I agree with sharky, but for, probably, different reasons. Although, I do have to admit, I am pretty isolationist in my foreign policy stance. I won't go into much more because I don't want this thread to turn political. Also, I do see the sense in recruiting foreigners if we can't get comparable "home" talent to sign with us.
Okay, I had a little time to waste so I went back to see who all predicted us doing exceptional this year because, like professor, I thought I remember alot of unreasonable predictions. I picked a couple of the most likely threads, and so far, the only people I saw that made those type of predictions were people who have remained eerily quiet thusfar. I didn't go into too many threads because after awhile they tended to get off topic and turned into pissing contests and name calling. Imagine that. Anyway, I did find it interesting that at one point Dwayne and sharky were willing to give Rupp a chance but, apparently, have a short leash on chances.
I don't want this to turn into a political thread either but my simple response is do the job and better and you won't be in danger. It is capitalism. Get used to it.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
Quote:
Originally Posted by Juice752
Spoken like a person who is still in college. I think we need to let this direction of the thread die before it gets moved.
Brian. Thanks for those observations.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian96
I have some good friends, whose opinions I value greatly, that have repeatedly told me what a great guy "The Professor" is. Those opinions have caused me to repeatedly second guess my opinion of the professors' posts.
I have come to the conclusion that this Bret dude may be a great guy but that the screen personna of the professor is aptly named. He reminds me of several real professors that I had through the years.
In my opionion the poster named the professor is a consistently negative, arrogant, condescending prick who believes the only opinion that matters is his own and that he we would rather be right in his predictions than for a TECH team to overcome adversity and therefore prove an opinion of the professor wrong.
But then again I acknowledge that I could be wrong.
I personally would rather hear from Bret sometime.
The early returns are in and I think the Dawgs played their best game of the season against a much improved Idaho team.
I second that motion.Quote:
Originally Posted by playdablues
Exactly. And there was a distinctive drop-off in the glorious predictions when we lost both of our PGs. And DfM said from the start that we would be doing well to finish with mid-teen wins. "Hindsight bias" is a staple of any sports discussion, and it is definitely in play here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtydawg
Boxer, HoDo, and other mroe basketball-savvy posters never put us in the Sweet 16, and I don't remember Juice going there either. All of us expected a decent run in the conference with a shot at the conference title, and thanks to the WAC being relatively down this year (at least at the tippy-top), that is still realistic.
Over the last three games, we made a little bit of improvement each game. If that trend generally continues, we have much to look forward to down the stretch.
We hired Rupp to re-build the program, and to me the clearest sign of that is an overall trend of improvement. This is only the second year, so it's pretty easy to graph a line with just two points, but we have already increased our wins on the year by 1/3 over last year.
Yes, we do appear on the right track so far.
Okay I am sorry if I repeat anything stated earlier.
One, Coop was a cancer. Against Utah State he yelled at a coach. Against Nevada he did not participate in the huddles instead sitting on the outside like a reserve or not with the team at all on a couple occasions. He rarely hustled.
Two, this years team is better than last years team. As long as that trend continues I am satisfied by Rupp's performance. Everyone wants a miracle but turning around a program takes time.
Three, Rupp made some horrible decisions bringing in cancers from other teams. Two of the big three are gone, but I believe Rolle is the real deal. Olu is really a post player trying to be a wing. He can play the post and develope an outside game over the next couple years.
Four, anybody who thinks last years team was better than this years team is crazy or has not watched them. Yes we played our hearts out last year but we were the little enging that couldn't. We were so over matched talent wise it was unbelievable. The one guy who could really play, Latham, was a dud in the classroom. (I know I had a class with him.)
I really believe the program is headed in the right direction. We will always need a few Juco players to supplement our highschool recruits. I think two a year which would make four on the team at a time is reasonable. If we triple our win total from last year and maybe win a couple games in the WAC tourney it will be a successful season.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DawgUSN
I don't think anybody has stated that last year's team was better than this years team. That's the problem. They've stated that this year's team isn't doing any better than last year's team with the more talented players relatively speaking. I'm not around enough to watch the team play, so I can't say. The only thing I know is the personality of several of the posters on this board, and we have some very optomistic posters that I know tend to get a bit excited. We also have some others to counter that optomism. I use them all to set my expectations as well as what limited knowledge I have of sports and the dynamics of team to determine how I think we'll be for the following year. As I said earlier, I didn't expect much from this year's team, but not for the reason I gave as that was a joke. I didn't expect much because it was basically a brand new team, and I was expecting conflict.
As far as JUCO players, I wonder how many consistently top 25 programs supplement with JUCO players yearly. I ask because I truly don't know.
I was wondering that myself. I just took a quick look at Louisville, Kansas, and Kentucky. Louisville didn't seem to have many JUCO's going back a couple of years, but Kansas and Kentucky seemed to take a guy or two to plug holes. Now, Kentucky hasn't been a top 25 team lately, but they are playing pretty well this year. Of course, that's just 3 schools, but I don't think it's rare to plug holes with JUCOs, even for some of the top programs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtydawg
That said, it didn't look like a yearly thing, but more like every other year.
Expectations from last year to this year have been high. I've consistently said wait until January and we'll see what the 2008-09 team will do. Have they gelled yet? Saturday showed me some possibilities. We'll see.
Actually - I think that's the best game they played as a team since we beat Utah St in Paul's last year...Quote:
Originally Posted by playdablues
I think what he is picking up on that he represented as last year's team being better are statements that we shouldn't have jettisoned Lathan, Tims, and Washington to bring in jucos or whatever. The new faces on the roster since cutting those are Guyton (a juco who is a better shooter than any of the other 3), Jackson (a FR who is shaping up to be a solid player), Brandon Gibson (a FR who has shown some promise, but still has a lot of developing to do), and Berhe (a FR who came in late and it is hard to say yet how he will shape up). Guyton and Jackson are definite upgrades; Gibson and Berhe could go either way at this point (although Berhe was brought in late, and is irrelevant in the comparison to the guys Rupp cut).Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtydawg
The main point, though, is that it is not vague or up in the air. This year's team is ABSOLUTELY better than last year's team. The only category left in which last year's team might have been better was "heart," and this year's team caught up with them Saturday and played with as much fire as I saw out of last year's team.
What is annoying about this thread is that folks are taking the unrealistic predictions (Sweet 16, etc.) of a couple of posters who are not even participating in this discussion, making them normative, and using them to "prove" why Rupp screwed up in bringing in transfers and how we have nothing to show for it. The FACT is that this team is BETTER than last year's team and has a LEGITIMATE shot at playing for the WAC title. No one who is participating in this current discussion predicted more than that, though back when we though we would have all 3 transfers and a decent 2-deep at PG we certainly predicted we would be doing it in higher style than we are.
Jackson is a juco.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian96
What's been strange is that people lodge their complaints against those of us who ARE engaged in the conversations as if we made completely outlandish predictions. I think we'll be a player in the conference race and contend for the tournament championship. I still think those are realistic possibilities.
The roster of the Idaho Vandals consisted almost entirely of jucos. The coach at Idaho is as hooked on jucos as a heroin addict is hooked on drugs. That is the problem with injecting jucos into the lineup. Two years and they are gone, leaving massive holes that must be filled immediately to maintain competitiveness. Thus the need for more seemingly never ending jucos. Perhaps we can call it "the juco fix" because it is appears to be very comparable to the heroin fix.
Rupp was starting from ground-zero and could have taken the time to build a sound program without transfers with baggage and jucos. We would have patiently given him that opportunity. This was exhibited by the attendance at last years games even though victory seemed impossible each game. When I look around the TAC this season, it appears to me that the attendance has fallen. I know that the ticket office has the facts, but I am to lazy to check it out. Maybe some of you know the numbers.
Three players that were being counted on this season are no more. These players did not serve themselves well, did not serve their coach well, and did not serve their universtiy well. The will pay a price for their character flaws.
Still the bottom line is that Kerry Rupp chose them from all the other choices that he had at his disposal. In many lines of work, if a supervisor failed as bad as Rupp has in selecting personnel, the supervisor would also be standing on the outside lookin in. Let us just hope that Rupp has learned much from his mistakes about this matter and also that the players involved have too.l
The Dawgs are only going to get better. Everything is NOT going to be perfect because we are rebuilding. We have some great guys from last year and some great guys that are new to the team. We had some problem guys too, and they are GONE. Give Coach Rupp a break. No coach could come in here and rebuild our program overnight. I firmly believe Coach Rupp will get our program to a level fans will appreciate.
That is quite the exaggeration, there. On the same token, several of the players that Rupp brought in who are still playing are vastly superior to any on the roster that he cut for performance reasons. That blade cuts both ways.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
I don't see evidence that Rupp has failed in his selection of personnel. I do, however, see evidence that he seems to have higher standards for his players than many other coaches, as he has cut players that in the past would have remained on the roster. Whether or not it is a good idea to cut players for the kinds of offenses he is cutting them for remains to be seen. It's not like the guys he has cut have had what we would typically consider "major" problems for athletes; he just seems to be less interested in hauling dead weight.
Oh, and attendance seems to be up slightly from last year, and pretty much consistent with what we've come to expect out of north Louisiana. If we start winning consistently, you may see an increase of up to 50% more than we currently run. Go the the NCAAs a couple of times in a row and we may double current attendance.
The coach at Idaho is a protege of the conference's best--Stew from Utah State. Utah State has thrived by signing a few jucos every season over the past 10 years. Nevada also dips into the jucos quite often as does New Mexico State. Bottom line, I don't think you really know what you're talking about...Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
Watched them practice this PM for about an hour plus. Team seemed to be much more homogenous.
I think that the chemistry will be there. I believe that we are going to win more games and be a factor in the conference....
If the Idaho coach is a protege of the conference's best, then perhaps he failed to pay attention to what his mentor does. I checked the roster for the 2008-2009 version of the Utah State Aggies and found that there appears to be NINE HIGH SCHOOLERS AND FIVE JUCOS. I saw no transfers on the roster. On the other hand, Idaho lists TWO HIGH SCHOOLERS, AND THIRTEEN JUCO/TRANSFERS. Among that mix Idaho has 5 seniors, 7 juniors, 3 sophmores and 0 freshmen. He is going to need some quick fixes. He is hooked on "the juco/transfer fix".Quote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
If you can, please be a bit more specific about what it is that I don't know what I am talking about. We are all ignorant, just about different things. I am open to learning more from you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rabiddawg
MAGNUM ROLLE- TRANSFER......... He and KG could be the only ones who can save our season.
It's a process. My point is that we would do well to emulate the most successful programs in our conference. When it comes to sustained success, the two programs that stand out are: Utah State and Nevada. Both of those coaches make use of jucos.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
I think you are prematurely harsh in your criticism of Idaho's coach, and Rupp--for that matter. I'll repeat, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN STUPID FOR RUPP TO HAVE NOT BROUGHT IN COOPER AND ROLLE!! Neither of those guys had notable discipline problems at their previous schools. In fact, both of their coaches had good things to say about them.
Now, it's easy to say you knew Cooper would be a bust in hindsight, but you really didn't. Rupp kicked his leading rebounder and second leading scorer off the team because he wasn't "committed" enough. I can respect that!
I will not defend the bringing in of White. They should've known better.
Rolle is a fantastic signee! Guyton is a great addition! Jackson is a very good role player! There were a couple of other high school players who committed but couldn't get eligible.
Unfortunately, alot of the local talent tends to really struggle with the academic requirements. But, Rupp and his staff scout and recruit a heck of alot more than you might think.
My thing is, what would you have done? If you're so sure that Rupp is doing things the wrong way as if you know the right way, tell me, how would you have built this team?
And this is THE DIRTY LITTLE SECRET in all sports that no one wants to address or touch with a 10 ft pole - it just happens to "seem" more prominent in basketball since there are fewer players...Quote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
Unfortunately it is not easily addressed and until the schools, community leaders and families are willing to step up and take some form of responsibility it is going to continue to be an issue -
I can't speak for sharky, but I would have done it the right way.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
Why I oughta... :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtydawg
Why do you think that the high schoolers that go to the jucos do so? By far the majority do so because they failed to make their grades or failed to score high enough on the ACT or SAT. Do you really believe that a kid that struggled through four years of high school is going to miracuoulsy become a good student after two years at a juco. Most jucos continue to be academic liabilities that require close supervision and tutoring just to keep them academically quaiified until their athletic eligbility expires.Quote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
As for what I would have done--that is impossible to answer because I do not know what other choices Rupp had at his disposal. But I think that we can agree that he did make some bad choices.
As for congratulating Rupp on his stern discipline, he had no choice but to dismiss White and Clarke. In the course of human events, some things are self evident. Theft is not only a disciipline problem, IT IS A CRIME. Had they not received special treatment, perhaps because they were Tech athletes, they would be indicted by now.
In a previous post we took a look at the makeup of the Idaho Vandal squad--NINE HIGH SCHOOLERS AND FIVE JUCO/TRANSFERS. The Nevada Wolfpack has TEN HIGH SCHOOLERS AND TWO JUCO/TRANSFERS. Both of the programs that you sited as examples of how to do it right appear to be doing exactly what the majority of Tech fans would have patiently waited for Rupp to do. Build a solid program with quality high schoolers (both academically and athletically) and sprinkle in a very minimum number of jucos to fill in the critical voids. He chose not to and so far (the key words in this sentence are SO FAR) it hasn't worked. Will it? I don't know, but I am sorely disappointed in what has transpired thus far this year. I don't hold him responsible for last season.
If you have followed Nevada closely over the past 5 years, you would realize they didn't get to this point overnight.
What quality high schoolers do you know about that Rupp should've signed? Are you sure they're all American?
Finally, how do you think the rest of the season will play out? It seems like you've already considered it a failed experiment. What's your prognostication? I've put mine out there.
Those who can, coach. Those who can't, post.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
We've graduated alot of junior college transfers since I've been following Tech. Also, players like Gerrod Henderson and Paul Millsap weren't exactly scholars. I work with inner city student-athletes. There are a complexity of factors that contribute to academic shortcomings--few of which relate to brain power.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
Listen, I wouldn't even waste our time talking about this had you not personally offended several of OUR players! We have some kids from other countries on our team and they are GOOD kids.
If you live in Louisiana, you need to shut your trap about who gets scholarships to go to college. ANY GOOD STUDENT IN THE STATE CAN GET AN ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP!
You're certainly entitled to your opinions. But, I thought that direct assault was uncalled for.
If you don't know what other choices Rupp had, then how in the hell can you criticize him for the choices he's made? They may have been his only options.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
It is very easy to criticize him for the choices that he made. The basis for my criticism speaks volumes for itself. He has dismissed three players this season for serious behavior problems. He chose them. When doing so, he made decisions that proved to be bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtydawg
All three were transfers, remember. Their previous coaches most probably had problems with them too. They just didn't advertise the fact.
Yeah, but you are criticizing him for decisions he made when you, admittedly, don't know what other options he had. Furthermore, if the other coaches did have problems with them but didn't make them known, how can you fault Rupp for his ignorance on those behavior problems? Now, he doesn't get a pass on the kid he knew had problems, but if he had no idea Cooper was the cancer he is, how can he be faulted for making room for what was to be an upgrade over what we had?Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
It'd be like if you date a girl that cheated on her previous boyfriends, and you didn't know about it and married her anyway then she cheats on you and I fault you for marrying her in the first place.
Ouch.... GREAT analogy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtydawg
I tell you what... I'm not happy that we are having to kick people off the team, but I'm so happy that we're not letting these guys represent our University like they represent their hood. Coach Rupp has got some KaHooNa's and I personally support his decisions and hope that we keep scaring off those kinds of recruits in the future and we can have a team that we can be proud of ON, and OFF the court.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
All three were transfers???? Negative ghost rider, Clark was Juco.
In any case, we all make poor choices in life. The difference being, men own up to them, take responsibility for them, correct them and move on.
You are right. I do not know what other choices Rupp had and neither do you. You choose to support his decisions based on the same lack of information that you chastise me for criticizing him. There appears to be a disconnect in your logic somewhere. Perhaps you go through life basing things on how you feel instead of how you think. Seldom proves to be profitiable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtydawg
As for your analogy about dating and marriage and lack of information in between, I feel that I am unqualified to address the matter. I have been married to but one woman for 42 years. I got it right the first time and have no experience whatsoever about getting it wrong. Please accept my apology regarding my inability to relate to your example.
...but when it comes to a coach trying to a build a team from the ground up, I will give him the benefit of the doubt before I throw him under the bus. He was handed Ground Zero and it will take some time to get us back to a good team. I am very disappointed that Cooper did not work out, but I cannot fault him for taking a chance. Hate to say it, but 6 foot 10 and 6 foot 11 guys just dont fall on your door step at a smaller D1 bball school, especially when you had been as bad as we were the year before. He rolled the dice on Cooper and lost, but I cant fault him for playing the game that way.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
sharky, do you actually WATCH the basketball games? (serious question)
Coach Rupp could have KaHooNa's made out of marshmellows and he still would have had to terminate Clark and White. Their behavior problem was so severe that there was no way that he could have done otherwise. So much for the KaHooNa's in the first instance.Quote:
Originally Posted by DocMarvin362
He had Cooper all last year and at practice every day last season and then this season until he finally got enough. When did Cooper's behavoir problems began to surface. I do not have a clue except that he left the bench during a game at the Alaska tournament. My guess is that he was a problem much before that. But in the end Rupp did what he had to do.
My goal is not to have a coach that scares away problem athletes, but to have a coach that never seeks them in the first place. Rupp still has the opportunity to be that coach. "An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure." You probably heard that from your parents.
You sound like you live in the world of sugar plum ferries. Seriously, we are Louisiana Tech, not North Carolina. If a skilled player is availalbe that has baggage, we will take him every time nearly. We just dont have much choice in the matter. As I said earlier, 6 10's and 6 11s are hard to come by.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
Yes. I go to every game that I possibly can. I live in Ruston. Rather easy to do unless I have another more pressing engagement and if my health premits.Quote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
I have attended both Dwags and Techster games for years.
May I ask why you ask?
Because you never really talk about what happens ON THE COURT. Most of your posts have to do with speculative matters and are mere conjecture.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
The W's and L's attest to what has happened on the court. Always have and always will.Quote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
Please point out the speculative matters and the mere conjecture. I am at a loss.
There are bad apples in nearly every program, did Rupp gamble - yes. And he and our progarm have been set back for it. Did he think that Cooper would be one of those bad apples, I don't think so. Some kids just don't get it, Cooper has more that behavior problems.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
Although the boat is taking on some water, I think Rupp will navigate us to our preferred port of call.
Quote:
Originally Posted by olddog75
Not sure I would agree with that. I would say that the progress is not progressing fast enough.
You stated this better ...we are set back a bit as compared to where we hoped to be at this time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool Hand Clyde
Just a cursory reading of your previous posts should clear things up.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
You speculate that Rupp had better options than Rolle, Cooper and White. You seem to imply that he should never take jucos. You moralize on how some hardworking, decent American family is denied a scholarship because of our international players. Alot of your postulations regarding--the way it oughta be--is conjecture.
Most coaches will tell you that it's more than about winning and losing--it's how you play the game.
What do you think our final record will be?
I never said I supported his decisions. In fact, if you'll go back as far as when he took over, I complained about his taking transfers and what possible baggage they might bring. The difference between you and me is that because I don't know what other choices he had, I'm not so willing to be down on him. Am I skeptical about his recruiting decisions? Yes. However, I'm not one to start bashing a coach in year 2 of his tenure.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
But there is one thing that we both know that had an effect on what choices he had and that is, as skilldawg pointed out, he didn't get hired until the end of recruiting season, so he was already behind schedule as far as being able to recruit athletes of the caliber he got in the transfers. Logically, that tells me he didn't have many other choices.
As far as my analogy. I don't know why you took it so personal. I wasn't insinuating that you had dated and married a girl who was a cheater. Although the fact that you took it that way helps to make it apparent why you have such a hard time understanding the obvious points others are making.
Now you are asking me to speculate. I thought that was what you were scolding me about. I don't have a clue what our final record will be. I hope that we can win the conference, win the conference tournament and represent Tech well in the NCAA. This hope hasn't changed since the first game of the season.[/quote]Quote:
Originally Posted by boxerdog
[/quote]Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
No, i'm merely asking you to back up your clearly stated speculation that Rupp isn't a good coach by giving a more concrete prediction.
I think Utah State will win the conference. I also believe we can finish in the top 3 in the conference and win the conference tournament.
Our country has benefited from the productivity of many second generation immigrants. In fact, the father of the President of the United States is from another country. I could give countless examples of positive contributors to our economy who were born overseas.
I truly regret saying you should, "shut your trap." It was disrespectful and I had no business posting that. I think you're a smart guy. I would prefer that you be more open to entertaining both sides of an argument, but that's my problem.
I hope to meet you at a game some day and shake hands.
I immediately recognized that your dating/marriage analogy was purely hypothetical and not directed at me. However, my response was a real life experience. I intended it to be tongue in cheek, but apparently it sailed over your head. Sorry.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtydawg
With regard to Kenny Cooper, perhaps several other coaches could have salvaged him. We may never know. Then again he may be another Ryan Perriloux and be beyond hope. Perhaps Kerry Rupp and Les Miles should get together and compare notes on how to deal with attitude problems.
I don't think you can compare Perriloux and Cooper. As far as I know, Cooper hasn't had any legal problems. Before he left OK State, Sutton said that Coop was well-liked by his teammates and was to be a pivotal part of the playing rotation. Coop just said that he was "homesick". Again, Rupp stated that Cooper lacked in the "commitment" aspect of being on the team. I do not understand why you can't respect him for that--it was nothing like the situation in Baton Rouge.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
That's what those little faces on the side of box you're posting in are for. Emoticons. I sometimes forget them myself and am misunderstood as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
NO! He didn't HAVE to do anything. He very easily count have put his fingers in his ears, pretended like it never happen and hope that the WINS would pile up quicker than the trouble that he would create.Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky
Being a supervisor, I had similar choses that I had to make as well. Some things occured with my shift and another shift. The other supervisor put his fingers in his ears and pretended that he didn't see or hear a thing. I CHOSE to do the responsible thing and wrote up the incident which ended the employment of on of the individuals. Some of the subordinates new the other guy was wrong and were glad that he was fired, but others just thought that I was an asshole on a power trip.
Coach Rupp CHOSE to do the right thing in this situation, even when some people thought that he was just pulling triggers and on a power trip.
Sorry for personalizing this, but it's a very similar situation.Quote:
He had Cooper all last year and at practice every day last season and then this season until he finally got enough. When did Cooper's behavoir problems began to surface. I do not have a clue except that he left the bench during a game at the Alaska tournament. My guess is that he was a problem much before that. But in the end Rupp did what he had to do.
This other guy was a decent worker for me. He would occasionally show up a few minutes late, but when he got there he worked for me and made sure to get things done. I didn't really know that there was a problem until I started looking at the statistics on my days off. He would go from doing 45-55 cases a night (that I was there) to 15-20 on the nights that I wasn't there. The other two workers were constantly in the 60's. At first when I would ask them what was going on, they told me that he was handling some other work and maybe he was taking a while, but he wasn't slacking off. Come to find out a few weeks later, that slacking off was ALL that he was doing. Sitting on the phone all night long, going to lunch for over an hour, and kicking his feet up and taking naps. I "knew" that something was going on, but I couldn't prove it.
I had a few talks with him but nothing else seemed to help. The same pattern went on for 3 months. Finally another situation happened, and I was able to have PROOF that he was not taking care of business and we terminated him. (in government, that almost takes an act of Barack Osama :icon_wink:)
In a perfect theoretical world, this would be nice, but this is real life.Quote:
My goal is not to have a coach that scares away problem athletes, but to have a coach that never seeks them in the first place. Rupp still has the opportunity to be that coach. "An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure." You probably heard that from your parents.
The funny thing about my situation, is that this guy really came across good in his interview, seemed very passionate about the law enforcement profession and even volunteered as a Caddo Deputy Constable. His previous job vowed that he was a good worker that always did the right thing. EVERYTHING that I had to go on was good with this guy.
It took KaHooNa's to cut someone loose that I had been working on and training for 5 months and to admit to my boss and the Asst Chief that I made a mistake, then it would have been for me to ignore that final thing and just let him make it to 6 months and become certified.
I'm DAMN proud that we have a coach that doesn't stick his fingers in his ears and ignore the things that are going on under him and I'm DAMN proud that he was man enough to pull the trigger and get rid of the problems. If he gets fooled again by a guy that "looks perfect" for the job, but ends up not doing the things that he suppose to, then I hope that he CONTINUES to keep doing the right thing and he corrects the behavior or cuts the kid loose.
...well, here's wishing Kenny Cooper the best; maybe he can learn from this situation and get better from it, wherever he ends up in life. As much as I'd like to see the Bulldogs win, we need to do it the right way - so kudos to Coach Rupp for making what I'm sure was a really difficult decision.
That being said...
this basketball season is getting old, and I hope we can finish strong and be better prepared for next year, because in my mind it's time to start showing the fruits of the labor.