[ATrain]

A Virginian siding with Grant





Dox...consider youself disowned

[paradox]

Gotta take a stand for what's right!

[jmdickens]

I have a great deal of respect for many of the former assistants, especially Martin. When you say that they moved on to "better jobs," you may be correct in that they moved up in terms of position, however, each of them took a major step down in terms of competition level. Therefore, you can justifiably say that the former staff was not a true D1 staff, but rather a makeshift staff that was put together in the early part of the Hankinson-Dunton transition.

Clearly, RD has assembled a top notch D-1 staff: Sherard is big time. He's coached in both the ACC and the Big East. Jones has experience either coaching or playing at every level of competition, inluding the NBA. And finally, Okon, who has tremendous recruiting potential on the international level, may be on the verge of landing a big-time Nigerian center.

The former assistants, like them or not, undoubtedly pale in comparison.

It's time to move on.

I am glad you have great respect for these coaches......however, these coaches made Dunton appear as a good coach.
Martin, could have easily replaced Dunton...
Alexis experience in the ACC and Big East as an assistant far outweigh Dunton's position as a head coach in the Big South.
Jones, a very nice guy...talked to him once over the phone about Paul Guede
Okon's recruiting is still questionable.....remember our last 7'0 Nigerian was pretty awful....

It just appears according to you OX that it is easier to keep the head guy and replace everyone around him.....

Mine is, replace the head mistake and get a whole new assembly..


You're right, it is about time we moved on from this current mistake as a coach.

[PAmedic]

[paradox]

Dickens:

Well, at least we can agree on a few things.

However, Dunton is still the man, looks like he's gonna around for a while, and I guess you're just gonna have to find some way to deal with it.

[Purple Haize]

OX - You actually make a semi decent case. However, you are leaving out one minor and one KEY objective.
Your argument could be bolsetered/hindered, depending on point of view, if you were to say that RD's first crop of assistants were better suited to be head coaches, thus taking head coaches jobs. However, since they had BOTH been prior assistants, with Martin a year here, that might be sorta hard to sell.
And of course, and I don't know if you were around for those "early" days, you have the most incredible quote from RD that shoots a hole completely through your point. That would be the statements he said to ANYONE who would listen that j. He said, and I paraphrase, that this was the BEST Division I staff in the country. And he was told that by coaches like Coach K, Lute Olsen, etc, but he already knew that b/c that is why he hired them. So apparently HE thought they were DI caliber coaches. For my money, and this is nothing against the current staff, I thought that WAS a very good staff. Maybe not the best staff in DI but VERY solid.

[SuperJon]

I

can't

believe

Dunton

bashing

slash

loving

has

come

all

of

the

way

to

The

Courtyard.

If

I

was

still

moderator

I'd

delete

this

just

because

it

doesn't

fall

into

the

forum

guidelines.

[Purple Haize]

Way too much free time there SJ LOL

[SuperJon]

It's called Humanities.

[thepostman]

man how i hated humanities

[nickrichard]

Can someone PLEASE explain why there is an American Idol Poll at the top of this thread?

[Sly Fox]

Because it ties in so nicely with the Civil War generals discussion. Comprende?

[nickrichard]

Ah, se hablo espanol!

Let me be the first then...

[Fumblerooskies]

Nick...
...embrace this diversity in this discourse. Add your own topic, who do you prefer? Princess Jasmine or Ariel the mermaid?

[paradox]

Haize:


I'm not familiar with the quote. Where was it stated and who published it?

Secondly, even if the quote is credible, the current staff is a legit D-1 staff, and the individuals on the former staff came to LU with small Christian college credentials but no real D-1 experience.

I'm sure that the former assistants really knew their X's and O's as well as their Bible verses, however, if you want to com-pete on the D-1 level, you have to recruit legitimate D-1 palyers. I don't think that there can any doubt that this current staff is doing just that.

[Purple Haize]

OX - If you attended any Flames Club lunch in the early days, heard any broadcast from RD and I believe it made it into the N and A once or twice. He was really pumping up his staff. Also, they were not all from little Christian schools. I believe BD was from a JUCO in WYoming that produced a lot of talent (See the NCAA tournament Squad) CM and RD went back years so you had that connection. SL was a D1 player with some experience as well, so they were well suited to the task at hand.
Remember I said I had NOTHING against this staff. I am sure they are quality. I am just sticking up for the previous staff based on experience AND RD"s own words. Now if he has the same speech writers at John Kerry " I was FOR this coaching staff before I was against it" than I would cut some slack!!

[JDUB]

speaking of american idol, carrie underwood got a grammy last night

[Libertine]

speaking of american idol, carrie underwood got a grammy last night

No offense, JDub but:

Whoop-de-doo! A Grammy! I have six of them in my basement. Well, five, actually. My dog ate one.

[paradox]

Haize:

Fair enough, it sounds like RD may have made some overstatements regarding his former staff. I'm sure he's not the only coach in the world guilty of hyperboyle regarding players or assistants.

In the final analysis, is LU going to be better for the changes made? Again, nothing against the former coaches, but Sherard alone trumps them all.

[Brokeback Flamer]

Perhaps I should clarify my comments. I will NOT say the USG was a better general or tactician than REL. Not even close. Had REL been the North's general the civil war would have been over in about 3 weeks. (1 if they had the internal combustion engine). Grant looked at what he had and what he was up against and came up with his strategy: Bleed the south out. He knew the North could take more casualties than could the South. Make REL battle head to head (instead of REL's strategy of "hit em where they ain't). Grant knew he could lose 3 or 4 soldiers for everyone one of Lees. Plus he had better supply lines and better access to materials. THAT was his strategy (not also Shermans march to the sea for more proof) Complete and total warfare. It worked and to the victor goes the spoils (and a lousy two terms as president, but I digress)

[Fumblerooskies]

Great call, Brokeback...
...after the battle of the Wilderness, when the northern casualties were horrifying to the yankee press and population, they wanted Grant gone. I think Lincoln's response was something to the effect of...
..."No way. Grant FIGHTS."

All the yankee generals to that point would not take the battle to Lee. Oh to have had Stonewall not shot at Chancellorsville...
...we would have ended the war right then and there.

[Libertine]

This thread makes no sense.

[jmdickens]

In the final analysis, is LU going to be better for the changes made? Again, nothing against the former coaches, but Sherard alone trumps them all.

well, if you go to the last two seasons, this staff hasn't been better.....just using what you said OX

[paradox]

dickens:

It cleary is better. You'll never be able to appreciate that because you are still vested in that personal vendetta against a certain coach and because of a certain player who had to move on.

Sherard, Jones, Okon, Brewington, Bannister, Mclean, Jenkins, Winters, the kid from Hargrave, the Nigerians, ect.---are huge upgrades over all of the "what's his name" type guys that were here before.

Your vindictiveness has blinded you from these realities.

[Purple Haize]

But OX that logic cuts both ways. Perhaps it is YOUR rose colored glasses with the way things currently are that blind you to the good that was. We had great players and great staff's before. Some would say better staff's than we have now. (As stated I am partial to the RD, NAZ, SCAR contingent and the BD, CM and SL a solid second) but yet that does not mean they all think this is a bad staff.
We have been promised FOR YEARS, starting with "Hey, we are going to get this Chris Webber kid" and continuing until now, great recruiting classes, so that, IMHO is really a non starter. Add to that the "great" recruiting classes we have had the last couple of years that are now deemed "not D1 players" it could tend to make some people skeptical.
It might be a good idea to try to look at things in a larger context. While I am not as optomistic of us being a "powerhouse" as JMDICK is (and I did like the cat scratching post comment) I would like to see us "respectable". Whether it is this current group or another.