I'm with mjs on this one. I love Doc but he rode Matt so hard it was like be was trying to win the Kentucky Derby. Matt was a good shooter. Solo was conference player of the year. They both had their good points, they both had their bad points. I also happen to believe Steve is a crap coach. I also agree with LRTrojan that part if it is backlash because Doc would talk about Matt in 30 different posts every day back when he was playing. It's natural to have a backlash to that. No one forgets the shot Matt hit before Solo, Doc, because you won't let us.

So, mjs is right. Matt was not the second coming if Christ like Doc would have you believe, but neither is Chris, as everyone here but me believes.

And that's the end if my rambling rant

I just loved to see a kid who fell off a turnip truck keep playing better than all those "scholarship" players we recruited and then got rid of after one or two years. A kid who stuck it out and should have been rewarded with a scholarship a year before he was, but still stuck it out and was a valuable cog in our only tournament team in 20 years and ended up #11 in all time three pointers made in the SBC. And if you want something else to be proud of, no ASU player is ranked ahead of him in that category. So whether or not he made a shot to win the tournament is somewhat irrelevant in my mind. His story is even better than "Rudy" since he really was a player. Maybe not the "second coming" but a fun player to watch.

(03-25-2013 04:17 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  I just loved to see a kid who fell off a turnip truck keep playing better than all those "scholarship" players we recruited and then got rid of after one or two years. A kid who stuck it out and should have been rewarded with a scholarship a year before he was, but still stuck it out and was a valuable cog in our only tournament team in 20 years and ended up #11 in all time three pointers made in the SBC. And if you want something else to be proud of, no ASU player is ranked ahead of him in that category. So whether or not he made a shot to win the tournament is somewhat irrelevant in my mind. His story is even better than "Rudy" since he really was a player. Maybe not the "second coming" but a fun player to watch.

I know me, inside, and Yncopirt loved Matt to start with. Yes, much of our reaction (at least mine) was a backlash against those who touted him as an All-American and believed Solo and Steve were conspiring to prevent him from reaching that level.

(03-25-2013 03:59 PM)mjs Wrote:  Alex's shot was the definition of a "lucky" shot. A clutch player will hit an open shot, in a game deciding situation, more often than not. I'm not talking about a half-court shot, but a shot well within their normal range. No one would consider Kobe, Lebron's, or Jordan's game winning shots as "lucky" because more often than not they make them.

Evidently Solo wasn't the clutch player you think he was since he was the leader of a losing team. Evidently didn't hit too many clutch shots that year. And you're right, Kobe and those guys probably made them more times than they miss them. But I have seen Kobe, Lebron and Jordan play, and Solo ain't no Kobe, Lebron or Jordan.

I never touted Matt as an "All American". Just enjoyed watching him play and thought he should have had more playing time than he did. But that's all history and we're just rehashing old stuff. I'm more interested in the future than the past now. I just want to see our present kids perform at a high level. And maybe they will the next few years. I do believe we'll have a couple of players on the roster next season who weren't there this year. I'll be surprised if we don't.

(03-25-2013 05:51 PM)outsideualr Wrote:  I never touted Matt as an "All American". Just enjoyed watching him play and thought he should have had more playing time than he did. But that's all history and we're just rehashing old stuff. I'm more interested in the future than the past now. I just want to see our present kids perform at a high level. And maybe they will the next few years. I do believe we'll have a couple of players on the roster next season who weren't there this year. I'll be surprised if we don't.

I won't be very happy if we once again run players off. However, come the opening tip of the season I'll be rooting for whoever is on our roster. Hopefully, I will know most, or all the players, in a UALR uniform.

(03-25-2013 10:45 PM)mjs Wrote:  I won't be very happy if we once again run players off. However, come the opening tip of the season I'll be rooting for whoever is on our roster. Hopefully, I will know most, or all the players, in a UALR uniform.

You won't have to buy a program. 12 or 14 home games, and that's $12 or $14 bucks you can spend at the concession stand.

I believe you'll have to learn a few new ones. And another thing you can be pretty sure of here. You night have to learn the names of some new assistant coaches, but you'll never have to learn the name of a new head coach. And maybe that's good. Continuity can be a good thing. Don Maestri was at Troy for 31 years. Can you believe it. 31 years as a head coach at the same D1 school. You talk about a lifetime contract. I was really impressed with his press conference announcing his retirement. He said all the right things. I hope he does well in retirement.