Is it wrong????

[skilldawg]

White did a great job this year. Going to the Elite 8 after losing the athletic 7 footer was impressive.

They ended up having to play like his Tech teams did; trying to win with undersized athleticism.

It is no shame to lose to Frank Martin's team. South Carolina is winning with a historic championship formula of lock down, physical half court defense. Of all the teams I saw this weekend, South Carolina is the one that I would most like for TECH to emulate.

We will likely never field a roster of top 100 recruits, but we can get great athletes, put muscle on them and pressure an opponent all over the court.

[theprofessor]

Those are the facts, like them or not. White was the favorite in every game in this tourney. He was gifted a clear path to the Final Four with other teams knocking out the 1, 2, and 3 seeds for him. He got to play the 1st and 2nd round games as home games just an hour and a half down the road, and then he got to play 7 and 8 seeds in the S16 and E8. It couldn't have gotten any easier for him. The fact is that White has lost the game that would've sent him to the Final Four each of the last four seasons. He lost every conference tourney, including 3 years as the 1 seed at Tech. Sorry he left you heartbroken again. I said he is a great coach (maybe you missed that). He just loses the biggest games every year.

A) I'm not broken-hearted. I didn't watch a single second of a Florida basketball game this season. I'm appreciative of what Mike White did during his time at Tech, but I'm not donning Gator colors and rooting for him now that he's gone. I do believe his success helps Tech because we will always be linked, whether we like it or not, just as even today Army gets mentioned as where Coach K got his start. It's a good thing for Tech to receive that publicity.

B) I don't buy into that clear path stuff. You play the team that comes next, no matter the seed. Almost every team that makes it to the NCAA tourney can play. There's a reason they made it. Any win in the tournament is a good win. They may have lost to a 7 seed, but South Carolina is no chump. Sindarius Thornwell is the SEC Player of the Year, and the Gamecocks play with a toughness that has been instilled by Frank Martin. Ask Duke if South Carolina is a slouch. I wouldn't be surprised if the Gamecocks won the next two games and hoisted the trophy.

C) Every coach but one loses his biggest game of the year every single year. Are you making the same argument of John Calipari today? What about Bill Self? What about Coach K? There are great coaches who have never made it to the Final Four. Sean Miller and Archie Miller have never made it. I'm sure that will change one day. It took Mark Few 17 years at one of the top programs in the country before he finally made it to the Final Four.

[Dawg06]

A) I'm not broken-hearted. I didn't watch a single second of a Florida basketball game this season. I'm appreciative of what Mike White did during his time at Tech, but I'm not donning Gator colors and rooting for him now that he's gone. I do believe his success helps Tech because we will always be linked, whether we like it or not, just as even today Army gets mentioned as where Coach K got his start. It's a good thing for Tech to receive that publicity.

B) I don't buy into that clear path stuff. You play the team that comes next, no matter the seed. Almost every team that makes it to the NCAA tourney can play. There's a reason they made it. Any win in the tournament is a good win. They may have lost to a 7 seed, but South Carolina is no chump. Sindarius Thornwell is the SEC Player of the Year, and the Gamecocks play with a toughness that has been instilled by Frank Martin. Ask Duke if South Carolina is a slouch. I wouldn't be surprised if the Gamecocks won the next two games and hoisted the trophy.

C) Every coach but one loses his biggest game of the year every single year. Are you making the same argument of John Calipari today? What about Bill Self? What about Coach K? There are great coaches who have never made it to the Final Four. Sean Miller and Archie Miller have never made it. I'm sure that will change one day. It took Mark Few 17 years at one of the top programs in the country before he finally made it to the Final Four.

My "allergic" comment was said in jest. Some took it way too seriously and made some poor assumptions. I said Mike White is a great coach twice already. We all know the great job he did here.

But the one knock on him is he doesn't win when it counts. At Tech conference tourneys were his kryptonite, which he had to win to make the Dance. He overachieved in his first season losing in the conference championship game. That was followed by getting upset as the 1 seed in 3 consecutive years by the 9 seed in 1st game, 2 seed in championship game, and then 4 seed in semifinals. His first year at UF he lost when he should've in the quarters, and then this year as the 2 seed he got upset by the 7 seed in his first game. Then at UF as the 2 seed in the NIT he got upset by the 4 seed with MSG on the line again, and then this year he got upset again by the 7 seed with the Final Four on the line. I think that pattern of White getting upset when it really counts is an established pattern and a valid criticism of a great coach.

[Dawg06]

A) I'm not broken-hearted. I didn't watch a single second of a Florida basketball game this season. I'm appreciative of what Mike White did during his time at Tech, but I'm not donning Gator colors and rooting for him now that he's gone. I do believe his success helps Tech because we will always be linked, whether we like it or not, just as even today Army gets mentioned as where Coach K got his start. It's a good thing for Tech to receive that publicity.

B) I don't buy into that clear path stuff. You play the team that comes next, no matter the seed. Almost every team that makes it to the NCAA tourney can play. There's a reason they made it. Any win in the tournament is a good win. They may have lost to a 7 seed, but South Carolina is no chump. Sindarius Thornwell is the SEC Player of the Year, and the Gamecocks play with a toughness that has been instilled by Frank Martin. Ask Duke if South Carolina is a slouch. I wouldn't be surprised if the Gamecocks won the next two games and hoisted the trophy.

C) Every coach but one loses his biggest game of the year every single year. Are you making the same argument of John Calipari today? What about Bill Self? What about Coach K? There are great coaches who have never made it to the Final Four. Sean Miller and Archie Miller have never made it. I'm sure that will change one day. It took Mark Few 17 years at one of the top programs in the country before he finally made it to the Final Four.

And the reason I spoke up in the first place in this thread saying "I'm not rooting for him" is because of the puzzling double standard many of our fans hold for our former coaches. I don't think you would ever see a thread like this created for Dooley or Dykes because it seems like most of our fans hold a grudge against them for some reason or another. But then we have a former basketball coach who tried to gut our roster upon his exit by taking a quarter of it with him to Florida, and many of our fans are still rooting for him. I don't get it.

[nadB]

............. who tried to gut our roster upon his exit by taking a quarter of it with him to Florida, and many of our fans are still rooting for him. I don't get it.

That's not true......................................... Leon was not exactly a quarter of our roster; in fact, I'd say he was never even on our roster given he never enrolled in school.

[dawg80]

And the reason I spoke up in the first place in this thread saying "I'm not rooting for him" is because of the puzzling double standard many of our fans hold for our former coaches. I don't think you would ever see a thread like this created for Dooley or Dykes because it seems like most of our fans hold a grudge against them for some reason or another. But then we have a former basketball coach who tried to gut our roster upon his exit by taking a quarter of it with him to Florida, and many of our fans are still rooting for him. I don't get it.

Personally, I harbor no animosity toward Dooley. Others on this board do, but I don't.

Dykes? Ummmm..... I suppose the way he left, and what appears to be "phoning in" our last couple of games (Utah State and San Jose State), I am not happy with him. Some have challenged the notion of Dykes not coaching his best for the USU game. Maybe those folks know something. Mostly I don't really have a strong opinion about Dykes, pro or con.

Now pigtails? Hah! she lost again. FOUR straight years missing the Final Four!

[Dawg06]

That's not true......................................... Leon was not exactly a quarter of our roster; in fact, I'd say he was never even on our roster given he never enrolled in school.

Leon + Stapleton + Jean = 3 of 12 scholarship players

Yes, White tried to gut our roster by trying to take a quarter of it with him to Florida.

[HogDawg]

Right. I'm sure the $ 2MM a year in salary (probably going up after this season??) wasn't a factor in MW's leaving......................

What do you mean, "small teams" ?? Ever taken a look at the enrollment at schools like Villanova, Gonzaga, Butler, St. Mary's (CA), etc. etc. etc. ??

Instead of using the phrase "small teams", maybe he should have said "teams not consistently ranked in the Top 100". Interestingly, none of the 4 small enrollment schools you mentioned play FBS football like we do. So one could argue that they likely put all their resources behind mens basketball.

[nadB]

Leon + Stapleton + Jean = 3 of 12 scholarship players

Yes, White tried to gut our roster by trying to take a quarter of it with him to Florida.

Nah, you have it backward. It was more like the players trying to follow the coach who recruited them.

I imagine just about all of them would have gone to FL if mw would have taken them.

He obviously wanted Leon, who never enrolled at Tech. He probably would have taken Stapleton.

[Dawg06]

Nah, you have it backward. It was more like the players trying to follow the coach who recruited them.

I imagine just about all of them would have gone to FL if mw would have taken them.

He obviously wanted Leon, who never enrolled at Tech. He probably would have taken Stapleton.

Right. That's why Mike White offered Jean and Stapleton's family threw a fit and got a lawyer when McClelland blocked his transfer to UF.

[nadB]

Right. That's why Mike White offered Jean ........

?? I call BS on that. At least, not while White was at FL.

[sportdawg]

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/on-...ease/28096703/

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/spo...tech/29405525/

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story...nees/27651911/

Before Mike White left for Florida, Tech had signed three players — Derric Jean, Justin Leon and Jermaine Ruttley.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/on-...rida/28712253/

https://latech.rivals.com/news/jean-...etting-release

Jean released a top 8 last Thursday and it included Florida Gulf Coast, Wofford, Saint Mary's, Tech, Murray State, Hawaii, Iona and Florida.

[revf]

Instead of using the phrase "small teams", maybe he should have said "teams not consistently ranked in the Top 100". Interestingly, none of the 4 small enrollment schools you mentioned play FBS football like we do. So one could argue that they likely put all their resources behind mens basketball.

Thanks for clearing that up HD. Yes. What I was meaning to say is that it is next to impossible for a school like Tech to consistently win in MBB like those teams mentioned. Not only do we support Football as our number 1 program (which we should), but maintaining our other programs as well. The Butlers of the world don't worry about supporting a huge football team, so they can concentrate solely on Men's Basketball. That's where most of their resources go each year, so they are able to consistently recruit, hire good coaches, pay for good home games, and keep their RPI up.

In some ways they are better off than us because they are so focused on what they want to do. I think schools like Tech are spread so thin with our resources that all of our programs suffer. My fear is that it is only going to get worse as the P5 continue to push away from the rest of us.

[nadB]

Jean released a top 8 last Thursday and it included Florida Gulf Coast, Wofford, Saint Mary's, Tech, Murray State, Hawaii, Iona and Florida.

Are you sure that top 8 wasn't wasn't a "wish list", rather than legit offers ??

[boxerdog]

If Florida had offered Jean, pretty sure Jean would be at Florida.