Stephen can talk all he wants about having fun, but from reading what his father said he did not really want to be here from the beginning.

"It was such a tough year last year, obviously, with the back surgeries," Chuck Albrecht said. "But he got to sit back and really evaluate the program there.
"It was something he was thinking about for a while, but he didn't want to have to sit out another whole year and decided to try and stick it out. He started off the year and was able to fit in with the offense, but as the year progressed, it seemed like they were moving away from him a little bit."

The only reason he stayed on was because he did not want to have to sit out another year before playing. And when things started going bad for him he bailed out. I think the fun went out of it when the other teams began to defend him. He had a free hand the first few games until he was scouted. Ask yourself why would the offense move away from a guy who has just scored 20 points in two straight games and is leading the team in scoring? If the offense started to move away from him it was because he could not get open looks like he was getting earlier. The other team made an effort to not let that happen. Then when he did get open he missed his shots. He cannot create his own shot. He couldn’t handle the physical play. As I had said earlier in the thread Stephen seemed to have trouble running into people, stumbling, and falling down or getting pushed around a lot. Being overmatched physically, frustration was setting in. His heart was not in it. But then his heart was not in it from the beginning. Albrecht had plenty of time to bail before the season started. Instead he waits until the going gets rough.

No way is Coach Cross to blame for that.


It seems obvious to me that the animosity on here toward Gene Cross stems mostly from those still carrying a cross for Stan Joplin. It has less to do with coaching than with personal loyalties. It is easy to find things to complain about when you are looking for them. I admit that the turnover rate among players including those that Cross recruited is high, but I have heard of nothing inappropriate that Coach Cross has done that would lead me to suspect that he was mistreating or misleading players and/or fans in any way…except what I hear from the fans of Stan which I read on this and a couple of other boards. I guess if you stir the pot long enough the soup will thicken, but it will taste like crap.

I, too, on more than one occasion have winced as I watch the team and get the feeling that the players appear to be confused while running the offense in particular. But I would like to believe there is a method to Cross’s madness. Obviously, he has a system he believes in and he is determined to make it work come hell or high water. The problem is at times with someone like Albrecht that Cross is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. As Albrecht’s father said, his son is not up to the physical slasher type of play expected of him in his role in the offense. He wants to catch and shoot the ball, avoid the physical play. Unfortunately he has difficulty creating his own shot. It’s disappointing, of course, to lose a player like that, but hopefully everyone involved, including the coaches, will learn from their mistakes, move on, and find success.

I see no villains here.

Coach Cross and his assistants have experience at some high profile programs. Bob Sundvold has head coaching experience and was a top assistant to Norm Stewart at Missouri when they were winning the Big 12 on a regular basis. Brian Loyd was an assistant in the PAC 10 for six years. Nate Tuori is a hold-over from Stan Joplin’s staff. Cross came in here from a highly successful ND program. I have to believe these guys know what they are doing. I could be wrong, but I would like to give them time to prove it one way or another.

Incidentally, Albrecht reminds me of J.J. Reddick when he first entered the NBA. Skinny catch-and-shoot college star out of Duke who could not hack it in the pros. He got pushed around a lot, was too slow, could not create his own shot, could not play defense, and generally got no respect. Seemed like everybody but his mother gave up on him while he sat on the bench, rarely got into a game, and got beat up for two solid years while he learned to play defense and create his own shot. He even hoped at times that he would be traded because he thought it would be easier to find playing time with another team. But it didn’t happen. And he is better off for it. He came into his own last year in the playoffs against the Boston Celtics, and now he is a hard-nosed NBA player doing quite well in the rotation for the Orlando Magic. Perseverance is the hard part of success.