*Warning – this is a LONG post, and frankly some of you aren’t going to like it)
I am truly amazed and saddened by the repeated rhetoric of many posters on this board. Instead of intelligent and occasional spirited debate, we have digressed into name-calling, spiteful posts, and in some cases, bullying posters whose opinion we disagree with. This is especially true when talking about our head hoops coach.
Let’s get a few things out of the way:
- NONE of us are happy with the current direction of the program
- NONE of us are satisfied with the roster management
- NONE of us accept the lack of Conference & Tourney success
- NONE of us see the constant churn of recruits and find it acceptable
- NONE of us find player development apparent
- NONE of us understand the inconsistent substitution patterns
- NONE of us agree with the rhetoric “everyone is good”
But here’s what some of us forget:
- RC said he had a “list in his back pocket”…but every name on that list turned him down
- The program Josh took over was ultimately stripped of our Final Four tourney run
- We were under the cloud of NCAA investigation and possible sanctions
- While I love our guys, we had players caught slapping girlfriends at the nightclub, driving Escalades, need I go on? (I did like the Pierre slap of the UAB fan though….that was good, but I digress…)
- It was RC who – in an act of desperation – offered an assistant coach (who wasn’t the #1 assistant, BTW) with NO Head Coaching experience, and put him in charge of a Major D-1 program with these expectations
Just to put that last bullet in perspective; of all the “name” teams currently looking for a head coach (Texas, Alabama, YouTee, etc.) which one of them are campaigning for a lead assistant? NONE OF THEM. And again, Josh wasn’t even the lead assistant under Cal.
When he was hired, he was a breath of fresh air; the honest “gosh-darn” kid who drank milk instead of wine or beer, who didn’t cuss his kids out, who believed in discipline. He was hired based on the promise of what he *could* be, not based on the track record of what he had accomplished.
Josh has lost some good assistants who had valuable experience and – most importantly – his trust. And now, it appears
(I’m not in practices or I’m not an “insider”) that Josh doesn’t trust his current assistants in various aspects. Remember when he gave kudo’s to his staff for the defensive game plan we had against the Derrick Favors squad? In what should have been a blow-out, we hung in there until the final minutes.
The “PROSECUTORS” among you continue to not only berate Josh, but anyone who is mildly supportive of him or the program. You continue to hold his salary against him when you ain’t paying a dime of it, whereas decision-makers within the university structure felt the need for continuity. I DO understand wanting to get Value for the cost, but to continue to hold an Anvil above his head?
Either way, you are
NOT helping anything by your on-going rants and continued sniping, turning EVERY dang post about ANYTHING into a referendum about Josh.
Newsflash:
WE GET IT, WE KNOW YOUR OPINIONS. You have become the antithesis of TC; whose spamming of “promises and good news” have been replaced with your spamming of “Josh must go, he’s no good, etc. etc. etc.”
HERE’S WHERE WE ARE NOW:
- Josh needs to move one of his assistants (I prefer to move Kirby over Aki, but that’s IMO), and FINALLY get an assistant whose strength isn’t recruiting, but X’s and O’s. AND LISTEN TO HIM/HER. Frankly, I’m not against a female assistant, but if he were to hire one now it would appear to be a gimmick.
- Josh needs to change the persona and “everyone is good.” If we lose a game that we shouldn't, say that. Say what he's going to change. It's okay to be complimentary, but currently it sounds like an excuse when we lose. Continue to hold his players accountable, but not every little thing needs to result in public humiliation.
- He needs to decide an identity for this team, and stick to it. Run-N-Gun, Press, Fast-Pace, Grit-N-Grind, whatever. Just pick one and
STICK to it.
- He should continue being the great human being that he is; call on the sick, raise money for those in need, and be an ambassador for the program.
I usually agree with GP, but I do disagree with him on this:
This Situation Is Salvageable. With the returning players on board, the influx of talent, and the four bullets listed above, Memphis can absolutely make a strong S16-run.
Of course, SOME of you still won’t be happy, but that’s another story altogether.
Those who bothered to read the whole post, thanks! I appreciate you giving me this opportunity to say this.