March 23, 2017
THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
Finally, breaking news on a Tuesday!! It seems like recently all the big news has been happening Thursday through Saturday, right after the newsletter is sent out.
Before I get to LSU’s new head basketball coach, let me say a few things about the Coach Jones era. Beginning with full disclosure, as I was a manager for the LSU basketball team for Coach Brown’s last two seasons and worked with Coach Jones as a result. I have a great memory of beating him in a shooting contest after practice in the UNC-Greensboro gym.
That being said, I don’t have much inside information as to what happened this year and I wouldn’t share it if I did. Instead, I will speak as a fan. The product on the floor for the past two years was completely different from the first three years. I thought Coach Jones’ first three teams hustled and competed more than this year and last year’s teams.
It was a terrible sign when last year’s team chose to end the season early, and an even worse sign this year when Eddlestone received significant playing time. Nothing against the young man, he gave it all he had and that is why he was allowed to play as much as he did. Shame on the other players that did not give the same effort. Shame on Craig Victor for not being around to provide veteran leadership and an inside presence.
Since Coach Jones was fired, many in the media and many fans have lamented the status of LSU basketball. There was speculation that nobody of quality would want to be the head basketball coach at LSU. That is simply not the case.
Kentucky, Arkansas, and Florida are the only SEC teams to have reached more Final Fours than LSU. The Tigers have three basketball legends on the NBA all-time team named in 1996 (Shaq, Pete, and Petit). LSU has the second most SEC championships (11) behind Kentucky (47), and ahead of Alabama and Tennessee (8). Since 2000, the state of Louisiana has produced NBA players such as: Glen Davis, Garrett Temple, Brandon Bass, Jarell Martin, Langston Galloway, Marcus Thornton, Paul Millsap, Greg Monroe, and Elfrid Payton to name a few. Therefore, LSU basketball has a rich history and the state is currently producing talent. Those are selling points to players and coaches.
All of these points lead me to the hiring of Will Wade, who I knew next to nothing about 24 hours ago. Since then, I have tried to learn as much as I can, and I am ready to look at some of the substance of the hiring.
First, Coach Wade does not have a lengthy resume, which doesn’t bother me. Neither did Rick Pitino when he was 31 years old and the head coach at Providence. What does catch my attention is that I was a fan of the last two coaches that led VCU basketball. I would have been very happy if LSU had hired Anthony Grant or Shaka Smart. It is noteworthy that neither coach had success in their next head coaching jobs, though it is too early to make a conclusion on Smart at Texas.
Nevertheless, I think it is only fair to give VCU credit for being a great place to have success. If you have a few moments, check out their fairly new 25 million dollar practice facility on YouTube. Stunning. VCU is obviously committed to having a great basketball program and is located in the middle of a fertile recruiting ground. These points don’t mean that Coach Wade won’t be successful at LSU, though.
Obviously, recruiting if the lifeblood of any college sport, and basketball is certainly not an exception. It is very clear that Coach Wade is a very hard worker and that is the first component to being an excellent recruiter. The other components are having an eye for talent and recruiting players that fit a style. LSU football is the perfect example for how talent can be wasted when the system and the abilities of the athlete don’t mesh (spread quarterback and pro system).
Just as obvious, coaching college basketball in the SEC is an exhausting job. The person must be detailed, organized, and able to appeal to fans and boosters. Coach Wade’s reputation checks all those boxes.
As for his basketball philosophy, I think his style of play is a good fit for LSU which I think is important. The best players in the state of Louisiana are typically very athletic, are used to applying pressure on defense, and running the floor on offense. I think the transition to college basketball is always easier if the player is familiar with the style of play. Especially, since most high quality power 5 conference basketball players only attend college for 1-3 years.
Finally, many of you all have probably heard that he is an “analytics guy.” Most college and pro coaches are analytics people to some degree now. I am more impressed with his attention to sports and personal psychology. In one article, Coach Wade emphasized the importance of knowing what is happening in the lives of his players and helping them handle their circumstances. The article went on to say how is able to relate to the players and that is vital.
In conclusion, it has been a tough 365 days for LSU basketball. Hopefully, Tiger fans are ready to hit the reset button, keep an open mind, and LSU basketball will see better days soon. I am optimistic.
HEY REF
Veteran HS Official
What’s that old saying that goes something like “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Well seems the NFL will be doing some tweaking in an attempt to shorten the amount of time their average games take to complete. I just have to ask “WHY”? You’ve got product cities, states and individuals will sell their collective souls to be a part of. So why tamper with perfection?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced at a press conference yesterday, March 22, a plan by which the league is considering to speed up play by eliminating the number and times networks will be allowed to “cut away” from a game to transmit commercials. One of the biggest changes his office is considering would be the elimination of cutting away from the game after a touchdown and the upcoming kickoff.
Many fans have complained this time honored tradition of networks getting an extra two or three commercials aired between the times a team scores then kickoffs and again stopping play for the offense to get on the field as too redundant and should be eliminated. Along with that change and the train of thought here would be since networks aren’t cutting to the studio to run a couple of commercials then a play clock would run after the extra point. I know many of you will be shocked when I say that I agree with the fans on this issue. Just remember where you were when you read that.
Another possible change to the way games are officiated is to not have the refs go to the sideline to review a play from behind a closed curtain. The idea here is to have a “tablet” brought onto the field for the refs to watch a replay and to make their decision from the middle of the playing field. I’m not sure about this at all since we all know the viewable space on tablets is much smaller than a 40 inch “Hi-Def” screen an official would be looking at versus an open air screen that would be affected by sunlight, clouds and of course the dreaded reception they’d receive on those tiny screens. So, I can’t see that change happening. Plus add the confusion to who would keep the tablets available for the crews and which supplier would get the contract in supplying the devises to the league and nothing good can come of that change.
One of the changes the league is also considering would be to have a set time to start the clock when a runner goes out of bounds. No more trying to save time by hitting the sidelines unless there’s two minutes or less in either half. So in a way the NFL is trying to do what most companies are doing now. Have you noticed there are very few 1 pound bags of coffee? Most are now 12 oz. but the price is the same. Another example we should all be aware of is the 4 lb. bag of sugar instead of the traditional 5 ponder. So in other words what the NFL wants to do in its guise of speeding up the games is to offer its fans less yet cost more.
Let me explain this concept with an example I know all too well. One year I was coaching “D” league basketball and as a reward for my team’s hard work I took them to see the Harlem Globetrotters. My kids were very sharp and the action on the court hadn’t passed the first few minutes when they turned to me and said “coach, they aren’t stopping the clock”. And we all know that the Globetrotters are strictly an entertainment venture so a clock is not needed. But my players felt they were jipped out of a real and true game type of experience.
Well on the way back home I explained the concept to them that the so called game we just witnessed was one of an exhibition and not a competition. The NFL is moving in this direction by changing rules simply to hasten the time a team spends on the field. But I’m about to drop a mini bomb on those thinking the way Commissioner Goodell and those owners who want these changes this simple question: “If you omit the number of times a paying customer gets to advertise his product then what will you do to stop the loss of monies that this would cause league wide”?
There’s only one thing that would keep the amount of money in the “kitty” each week and that of course would be to hike the cost a business has to spend in order to balance the books. There are basically three ways a company can show a profit; one is the cost of the materials needed to make the product then we have the cost of labor involved and the last thing is
PROFIT!
A business will make moves to save money on materials and won’t hesitate to cut the cost of its labor force but what it will not do is cut into the profit pie. So, Mr. Commissioner are you prepared to take the loss of business raising your rates for commercial time will no doubt cause? You can’t have it both ways, you either raise rates since you have less airtime to sell or you “eat” the loss in profits. So what will it be? He’ll choose to raise rates because every business wants to advertise with the NFL.
So, in the long run those choosing to do business with the NFL will have to raise the cost of their products to make up the extra cost that NFL team owners will surely pass on to us consumers. Now we must make the decision; do we pay the higher costs simply because we see it on an NFL telecast or do we pick a similar product at a lower cost? For argument’s sake I’ll say we buy the lower cost product. It’s inevitable!
Till next week…