liberalism, indiana basketball and greg oden
Notre Dame is playing about as well as I expected. As I write this, there's 12 minutes left in the game and the Irish are down by 20. Oh well, maybe things will be better next year.
I root for most of Indiana's teams when they play, with the exception of Purdue. If Purdue played the Saddam Hussein Traveling All-Stars, in any sport, I would be waving pom-poms for the Islamofascists! I root for all of the other Hoosier teams, though, and am particularly partial to Ball State (my alma mater), Butler basketball (one of the classiest programs in America), Notre Dame football (you either love them or hate them, and I love them) and Indiana University basketball. Last night, IU played Ohio State (they lost), and that's what I want to talk about today. Warning: Very Controversial Opinions Ahead! May cause liberal hypertension!
The Ohio State basketball team features two of the best freshmen players in the country--Greg Oden and Mike Conley. These two young men were high school teammates (Lawrence North H.S. in Indy) and went to OSU as a package deal. Oden is a 7 ft., 285 pound center who has been compared to Bill Russell and Patrick Ewing. As a senior in high school, he was already one of the top 5 big men in the country--high school, college or pro. He could have started, at the age of 17, for most of the teams in the NBA. He's that good! Conley is a point guard and, although he doesn't get as much publicity as Oden, is in fact one of the best point guards in the NCAA. He will play in the NBA someday. He's a great player. Both Oden and Conley are great kids as well. They work hard in the classroom and they are young men of character and integrity. I wish they played for the Pacers!
As Oden and Conley progressed through high school, they were recruited by every college in the nation, including IU. The Indiana basketball coach at this time was Mike Davis, who took Bob Knight's place after "The General" got canned for slapping one too many students. Davis held the distinction of being the first black head basketball coach in the history of Indiana University. He was named interim head coach in September of 2000 after Knight got fired. IU finished the 2000-01 season with 21 wins (that's good) and a 1st round tournament loss to Kent State (that's bad). At that point, IU had a decision to make. Do they make Davis the official head coach, even though he had zero experience as a head coach at any level of basketball? Or do they thank him for stepping up to the plate in a difficult situation and keeping the program from unraveling, and then go out and hire a head coach with experience. The local media weighed in with their opinion, as the drive-by media is so prone to do. The Indianapolis Star stated in an editorial that going out and finding another coach would be tantamount to racism, and that IU was morally obligated to keep Davis simply because he was black. Interesting logic, eh? IU agreed (no real surprise there) and announced on March 21, 2001 that Mike Davis would be retained as the official head basketball coach.
As that was happening, the Butler (Indianapolis) head basketball coach, Thad Matta, was finishing up a 24-8 season, and then left Butler for big bucks at Xavier. IU could have had Matta (he wanted the IU job), but IU chose to keep Davis.
Mike Davis coached the IU Hoosiers to another 20-win season in 2001-02, and IU made it all the way to the NCAA final game before they finally lost. It was a great season, no doubt about it. IU rewarded Davis, a man with a grand total of 2 years head coaching experience, with a 5-year contract extension. I remember thinking, "Let's not get too excited here guys. What's wrong with watching him coach for another season before we open up the vault for him?" Oh, and by the way, Thad Matta went 26-6 in his first season at Xavier.
2002-03 saw another 20-win season at IU for Davis, but all wasn't so rosy. The seniors on the IU team flat out quit on Davis. Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but the seniors on that team all happened to be white. Two of them battled injury problems that year, and Davis considered them to be "wussies." During the second half of the season, Davis' postgame press conferences turned into ritualistic diatribes about what big babies the seniors were, and how he couldn't wait for them to graduate. There was a freshman on that team, however, by the name of Bracey Wright, who Davis was in love with. Wright was black (again, probably just a coincidence) and Davis favored him over the seniors. Bracey had injury problems, too, but Davis allowed him to make his own practice schedule. King Bracey could practice when he felt like it, and sit out when he felt like it. The seniors didn't like it, and they voiced their displeasure with Coach Davis. The Coach didn't appreciate the feedback, so he gave the seniors a very public, verbal "smack-down" after every game the rest of the season. It was a season of very public turmoil, and the Hoosiers lost in the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney. Oh, and by the way, Thad Matta went 26-6 (again) in his second season at Xavier. And he had established a personal relationship with 2 young kids in Indianapolis named Greg Oden and Mike Conley.
2003-04: The IU basketball season where the wheels fell off! There was so much controversy and turmoil that season, I couldn't possibly recap all of it. Davis whined to the media every day about how much he hated IU and hated his players and hated the fans, and his players responded to all of this great leadership by going 14-15. Thad Matta went 26-11 at Xavier. Oden and Conley were sophomores at Lawrence North, and being recruited by every college in America.
All of the above is a very lengthy (sorry!) recap of Hoosier basketball history, just so that you understand what happened next. The IU basketball program was in disarray. Mike Davis was publically showing all of the maturity of a spoiled 3-year old, and an odd pattern was developing on his teams. The white players weren't getting any playing time. Davis benched them. Only the black players got significant playing time. Personally, I don't care if Davis was only playing kids who were purple with green polka dots, so long as they played hard. That was the problem, though. The IU basketball team had become a lazy basketball team, and it was very obvious during games. Nobody hustled, nobody worked, and nobody cared. During time-outs, it became normal for players to walk away from Coach Davis while he was trying to "coach" them. They would just turn their backs on him and ignore him! And the lineups never changed! And the fans were in a blind rage.
Public speculation about Davis' job security was out of control. Nobody knew how long he would be at IU. He became real fond of telling every reporter who would listen how much he hated IU, so most people realized he wouldn't be coaching there much longer. The big problem this created was that it was impossible to recruit really good players to a college where the coaching situation was in such chaos. IU had a choice to make. Should they pull the plug on the Mike Davis era and go in a different direction? Speculation was that Thad Matta was interested in the IU job, and all of the insiders knew that matta had established a relationship with Conley and Oden. How simple would that have been, to just fire Davis, bring in a head coach with proven success and ties to two of the best high school players in the nation? Well, obviously too simple for IU.
IU President Adam Herbert, the first black president in IU's history, announced that he had complete faith in Mike Davis, and that Coach Mike would be back for the 2004-05 season. Thad Matta was hired by Ohio State, and Oden and Conley verbally committed to Ohio State. Matta went 20-12 at Ohio State in his first season there. Davis flamed out and had another horrible season, but Pres. Herbert brought him back for 2005-06. The 05-06 seaon turned out to be the worst season of the Davis era, and he finally resigned/was fired at the end of that season.
Last night, Oden and Conley led Thad Matta's OSU Buckeyes to victory over IU. As a principled conservative and an IU basketball fan, I have to ask myself the following questions:
1. It was obvious as far back as 2003 that Mike Davis was not the right man for the job, but he wasn't fired because IU didn't want bad publicity over the firing of a black coach. How ignorant is that, to keep a man in a job he is not qualified for just because of the color of his skin?
2. If IU had done the right thing, and fired Davis in 2004, they could have had Matta, and both Oden and Conley would have signed with IU. How great would that have been?
3. There were obvious racial problems on the IU basketball team between coach and players. I don't care whose fault it was. What do you suppose would have happened if the coach had been white, and black players weren't getting playing time? I'll tell you what would have happened--Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would have scheduled press conferences, parades and pulpit speeches each and every day until the white coach had been fired. That's a fact.
4. Why do people get so bent over color? Why can't we just take Dr. King's words to heart, and judge others not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character? By that criteria, Davis would have been canned a lot earlier, and been replaced by a coach with character. My two top choices were Ron Hunter of IUPUI or Matta. Both are good and decent men, one black and the other white, and either one would have been successful at IU.
The bottom line? Ignorant liberal/affirmative action kind of thinking infected the minds of the decision-makers at IU. Innocent people were hurt (just ask Davis' wife and kids), lives were changed, and a proud, respectable basketball program was almost destroyed. And that's a shame!
I root for most of Indiana's teams when they play, with the exception of Purdue. If Purdue played the Saddam Hussein Traveling All-Stars, in any sport, I would be waving pom-poms for the Islamofascists! I root for all of the other Hoosier teams, though, and am particularly partial to Ball State (my alma mater), Butler basketball (one of the classiest programs in America), Notre Dame football (you either love them or hate them, and I love them) and Indiana University basketball. Last night, IU played Ohio State (they lost), and that's what I want to talk about today. Warning: Very Controversial Opinions Ahead! May cause liberal hypertension!
The Ohio State basketball team features two of the best freshmen players in the country--Greg Oden and Mike Conley. These two young men were high school teammates (Lawrence North H.S. in Indy) and went to OSU as a package deal. Oden is a 7 ft., 285 pound center who has been compared to Bill Russell and Patrick Ewing. As a senior in high school, he was already one of the top 5 big men in the country--high school, college or pro. He could have started, at the age of 17, for most of the teams in the NBA. He's that good! Conley is a point guard and, although he doesn't get as much publicity as Oden, is in fact one of the best point guards in the NCAA. He will play in the NBA someday. He's a great player. Both Oden and Conley are great kids as well. They work hard in the classroom and they are young men of character and integrity. I wish they played for the Pacers!
As Oden and Conley progressed through high school, they were recruited by every college in the nation, including IU. The Indiana basketball coach at this time was Mike Davis, who took Bob Knight's place after "The General" got canned for slapping one too many students. Davis held the distinction of being the first black head basketball coach in the history of Indiana University. He was named interim head coach in September of 2000 after Knight got fired. IU finished the 2000-01 season with 21 wins (that's good) and a 1st round tournament loss to Kent State (that's bad). At that point, IU had a decision to make. Do they make Davis the official head coach, even though he had zero experience as a head coach at any level of basketball? Or do they thank him for stepping up to the plate in a difficult situation and keeping the program from unraveling, and then go out and hire a head coach with experience. The local media weighed in with their opinion, as the drive-by media is so prone to do. The Indianapolis Star stated in an editorial that going out and finding another coach would be tantamount to racism, and that IU was morally obligated to keep Davis simply because he was black. Interesting logic, eh? IU agreed (no real surprise there) and announced on March 21, 2001 that Mike Davis would be retained as the official head basketball coach.
As that was happening, the Butler (Indianapolis) head basketball coach, Thad Matta, was finishing up a 24-8 season, and then left Butler for big bucks at Xavier. IU could have had Matta (he wanted the IU job), but IU chose to keep Davis.
Mike Davis coached the IU Hoosiers to another 20-win season in 2001-02, and IU made it all the way to the NCAA final game before they finally lost. It was a great season, no doubt about it. IU rewarded Davis, a man with a grand total of 2 years head coaching experience, with a 5-year contract extension. I remember thinking, "Let's not get too excited here guys. What's wrong with watching him coach for another season before we open up the vault for him?" Oh, and by the way, Thad Matta went 26-6 in his first season at Xavier.
2002-03 saw another 20-win season at IU for Davis, but all wasn't so rosy. The seniors on the IU team flat out quit on Davis. Perhaps it's just a coincidence, but the seniors on that team all happened to be white. Two of them battled injury problems that year, and Davis considered them to be "wussies." During the second half of the season, Davis' postgame press conferences turned into ritualistic diatribes about what big babies the seniors were, and how he couldn't wait for them to graduate. There was a freshman on that team, however, by the name of Bracey Wright, who Davis was in love with. Wright was black (again, probably just a coincidence) and Davis favored him over the seniors. Bracey had injury problems, too, but Davis allowed him to make his own practice schedule. King Bracey could practice when he felt like it, and sit out when he felt like it. The seniors didn't like it, and they voiced their displeasure with Coach Davis. The Coach didn't appreciate the feedback, so he gave the seniors a very public, verbal "smack-down" after every game the rest of the season. It was a season of very public turmoil, and the Hoosiers lost in the 2nd round of the NCAA tourney. Oh, and by the way, Thad Matta went 26-6 (again) in his second season at Xavier. And he had established a personal relationship with 2 young kids in Indianapolis named Greg Oden and Mike Conley.
2003-04: The IU basketball season where the wheels fell off! There was so much controversy and turmoil that season, I couldn't possibly recap all of it. Davis whined to the media every day about how much he hated IU and hated his players and hated the fans, and his players responded to all of this great leadership by going 14-15. Thad Matta went 26-11 at Xavier. Oden and Conley were sophomores at Lawrence North, and being recruited by every college in America.
All of the above is a very lengthy (sorry!) recap of Hoosier basketball history, just so that you understand what happened next. The IU basketball program was in disarray. Mike Davis was publically showing all of the maturity of a spoiled 3-year old, and an odd pattern was developing on his teams. The white players weren't getting any playing time. Davis benched them. Only the black players got significant playing time. Personally, I don't care if Davis was only playing kids who were purple with green polka dots, so long as they played hard. That was the problem, though. The IU basketball team had become a lazy basketball team, and it was very obvious during games. Nobody hustled, nobody worked, and nobody cared. During time-outs, it became normal for players to walk away from Coach Davis while he was trying to "coach" them. They would just turn their backs on him and ignore him! And the lineups never changed! And the fans were in a blind rage.
Public speculation about Davis' job security was out of control. Nobody knew how long he would be at IU. He became real fond of telling every reporter who would listen how much he hated IU, so most people realized he wouldn't be coaching there much longer. The big problem this created was that it was impossible to recruit really good players to a college where the coaching situation was in such chaos. IU had a choice to make. Should they pull the plug on the Mike Davis era and go in a different direction? Speculation was that Thad Matta was interested in the IU job, and all of the insiders knew that matta had established a relationship with Conley and Oden. How simple would that have been, to just fire Davis, bring in a head coach with proven success and ties to two of the best high school players in the nation? Well, obviously too simple for IU.
IU President Adam Herbert, the first black president in IU's history, announced that he had complete faith in Mike Davis, and that Coach Mike would be back for the 2004-05 season. Thad Matta was hired by Ohio State, and Oden and Conley verbally committed to Ohio State. Matta went 20-12 at Ohio State in his first season there. Davis flamed out and had another horrible season, but Pres. Herbert brought him back for 2005-06. The 05-06 seaon turned out to be the worst season of the Davis era, and he finally resigned/was fired at the end of that season.
Last night, Oden and Conley led Thad Matta's OSU Buckeyes to victory over IU. As a principled conservative and an IU basketball fan, I have to ask myself the following questions:
1. It was obvious as far back as 2003 that Mike Davis was not the right man for the job, but he wasn't fired because IU didn't want bad publicity over the firing of a black coach. How ignorant is that, to keep a man in a job he is not qualified for just because of the color of his skin?
2. If IU had done the right thing, and fired Davis in 2004, they could have had Matta, and both Oden and Conley would have signed with IU. How great would that have been?
3. There were obvious racial problems on the IU basketball team between coach and players. I don't care whose fault it was. What do you suppose would have happened if the coach had been white, and black players weren't getting playing time? I'll tell you what would have happened--Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson would have scheduled press conferences, parades and pulpit speeches each and every day until the white coach had been fired. That's a fact.
4. Why do people get so bent over color? Why can't we just take Dr. King's words to heart, and judge others not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character? By that criteria, Davis would have been canned a lot earlier, and been replaced by a coach with character. My two top choices were Ron Hunter of IUPUI or Matta. Both are good and decent men, one black and the other white, and either one would have been successful at IU.
The bottom line? Ignorant liberal/affirmative action kind of thinking infected the minds of the decision-makers at IU. Innocent people were hurt (just ask Davis' wife and kids), lives were changed, and a proud, respectable basketball program was almost destroyed. And that's a shame!
posted by hondo at 11:45 PM
2 Comments:
Content of character?
So you either conclude that Mike Davis lacked character or that winning games equates to character. If Mike had been supported and successful you would regard him as a man of character.
When whites stop playing "race cards" or denegrating black people, racism will go away. White hold 99% of the power and positions. The the scripture says, "To whom much is given, much shall be required."
You should not invoke the name of Dr. King.
Anonymous, the level of your ignorance is truly astonishing! Nowhere in my post did I say that winning games equals character. I did say that playing the best players (regardless of color), coaching your players to hustle, and demanding self discipline are all parts of the character of a coach. So is self discipline on the part of a coach. The coach who whines after each and every game about how much he hates his job and how much he hates his team is showing a lack of character.
You have unintentionally revealed one of the basic flaws in the character of the modern liberal. You are completely unable to look past the politics of race and make judgements based on the content of a person's character. You are infected with a tragic disease--the cancer of liberalism. That cancer has completely destroyed your common sense, your wisdom, and, apparently, your reading comprehension skills.
Post a Comment
<< Home