ISU: Where the second you are down, we say "sweep the leg"
I'm pretty upset right now, because something sinister appears to be happening at my alma mater. Over the course of the last two days a number of disturbing things have happened to our beloved basketball team.
First, this scheduling thing. It certainly sounds fishy from the angle of this company that ISU hired to schedule games. But for ISU, who paid a the company to get it games there certainly appears to be nothing wrong with that. I firmly believe that ISU runs a clean program and that any improprietary actively occurred solely on the part of this D1 Scheduling company.
Second, Stinson and Blaylock decide that they are NBA caliber players and leave. I enjoy watching Stinson and Blaylock play. They play athletic and hardnosed basketball with passion and joy, and they are great to watch. That said, I doubt they have great futures in the NBA, they are certainly not 1st round draft picks and neither has what Hubie Brown would call "tremendous upside potential." What are they thinking?
Third. This morning I was awakened to the news that ISU is going to fire Coach Wayne Morgan and his whole staff. For what? The reasons haven't been made entierely clear yet. Initial word indicates the reason to be that ISU Men's Basketball is expected to be the flagship atheletic program for ISU and that the team isn't performing to expectations. If that is the real reason then I say fiddlesticks! I've heard the comparison that the only coach who had a better first three years at ISU was Tim Floyd. What do they expect? The tournament every year? Even the great Eustachy couldn't get back to the tourney the year after the Hampton fiasco. And the much beloved Orr? How many times did his squads make the tourney? I don't know the answer but it certainly wasn't every year.
The truth is that in sports ISU is a middle of the road school in a power conference, they have some good years and they have some bad years. Would I like if they were a power team, year in year out, yes. The teams of 2000 and 2001 were great and it was and awesome feeling knowing that they were going to win nearly every game. But that doesn't happen every year. Morgan's teams certainly had problems with consistently playing hard from the get-go game-in game-out; last year it took a miraculous win streak to make the NCAA's. What I do believe is that Morgan had acquired a stable of players that would work well in his system was really only missing a serviceable big man to make this years ISU team a contender in the Big 12. Another year to deepen his bench and develop a big man would have produced wonders. Why does Morgan have to go? McCarney is still here, still thriving in mediocrity, unable to win the games that would put ISU over the hump, yet Morgan is the one who pays, what a shame.
So what happens now? Do we have a basketball player exodus? As it stands the only significant player we will have left is Rashon Clark. Does he stick around? I doubt it, and I wouldn't blame him one bit after what has happened here. Who do we get to coach at ISU after the way they have dismissed Eustachy and Morgan? When they hired Morgan it was because they couldn't get anyone to come in a take the helm after the way the fired Eustachy, Morgan was pretty far down the list of candidates, and yet he stayed and did the job and provided a fun and exciting basketball team to watch, win or lose. And now, seemingly out of nowhere they fire Morgan, what kind of message does that send to anyone who would come in? Seems to me it's a bit like Tony Soprano asking you to come for a ride in the country with him, Sil, and Paulie. I wouldn't want to be in the backseat of that car.
So Jamie Pollard, ISU adminsitration et al, how exactly do you expect Daniel to win the All Valley Karate Tournament if you have exterminated Mr. Miagi?
First, this scheduling thing. It certainly sounds fishy from the angle of this company that ISU hired to schedule games. But for ISU, who paid a the company to get it games there certainly appears to be nothing wrong with that. I firmly believe that ISU runs a clean program and that any improprietary actively occurred solely on the part of this D1 Scheduling company.
Second, Stinson and Blaylock decide that they are NBA caliber players and leave. I enjoy watching Stinson and Blaylock play. They play athletic and hardnosed basketball with passion and joy, and they are great to watch. That said, I doubt they have great futures in the NBA, they are certainly not 1st round draft picks and neither has what Hubie Brown would call "tremendous upside potential." What are they thinking?
Third. This morning I was awakened to the news that ISU is going to fire Coach Wayne Morgan and his whole staff. For what? The reasons haven't been made entierely clear yet. Initial word indicates the reason to be that ISU Men's Basketball is expected to be the flagship atheletic program for ISU and that the team isn't performing to expectations. If that is the real reason then I say fiddlesticks! I've heard the comparison that the only coach who had a better first three years at ISU was Tim Floyd. What do they expect? The tournament every year? Even the great Eustachy couldn't get back to the tourney the year after the Hampton fiasco. And the much beloved Orr? How many times did his squads make the tourney? I don't know the answer but it certainly wasn't every year.
The truth is that in sports ISU is a middle of the road school in a power conference, they have some good years and they have some bad years. Would I like if they were a power team, year in year out, yes. The teams of 2000 and 2001 were great and it was and awesome feeling knowing that they were going to win nearly every game. But that doesn't happen every year. Morgan's teams certainly had problems with consistently playing hard from the get-go game-in game-out; last year it took a miraculous win streak to make the NCAA's. What I do believe is that Morgan had acquired a stable of players that would work well in his system was really only missing a serviceable big man to make this years ISU team a contender in the Big 12. Another year to deepen his bench and develop a big man would have produced wonders. Why does Morgan have to go? McCarney is still here, still thriving in mediocrity, unable to win the games that would put ISU over the hump, yet Morgan is the one who pays, what a shame.
So what happens now? Do we have a basketball player exodus? As it stands the only significant player we will have left is Rashon Clark. Does he stick around? I doubt it, and I wouldn't blame him one bit after what has happened here. Who do we get to coach at ISU after the way they have dismissed Eustachy and Morgan? When they hired Morgan it was because they couldn't get anyone to come in a take the helm after the way the fired Eustachy, Morgan was pretty far down the list of candidates, and yet he stayed and did the job and provided a fun and exciting basketball team to watch, win or lose. And now, seemingly out of nowhere they fire Morgan, what kind of message does that send to anyone who would come in? Seems to me it's a bit like Tony Soprano asking you to come for a ride in the country with him, Sil, and Paulie. I wouldn't want to be in the backseat of that car.
So Jamie Pollard, ISU adminsitration et al, how exactly do you expect Daniel to win the All Valley Karate Tournament if you have exterminated Mr. Miagi?
posted by Chris at 8:40 AM
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