(1) For the last time, I'm not "ripping" Lavin. I'm simply pointing out that the facts don't add up. If Lavin is cancer free and had standard prostate surgery without major complications, it is inexplicable why he is out this long. I have no idea what's going on, but I think that those who care about the program should be concerned instead of drinking the coolaid. Incidentally, there is a difference between calling out a coach who chooses to be in the public light and make millions of dollars and a student athelete. Ufortunately, sometimes the line is blurred.
(2) So what -- Stith's player profile says he wants to play in the NBA. I'm sure every college basketball player harbors the same dream. Doesn't mean a thing. Unless you have some inside info (if you do, you probably shouldn't be speading it on a message oard), you have no idea why he quit the team. I don't doubt that he will try to play somewhere else next year. That doesn't mean that he's a quitter or a bad person. Who knows what the circumstances are with the team. All I know is that in 9 months, three playsrs have quit, three were declared ineligible and we have one recruit signed up for next year. Who's to blame -- I don't know. Maybe it's all on Stith and Lindsey and Polee's Dad and Gather's brother and Sampson's Kansas-loving coach and Lavin's doctors and Norm Roberts and Mike Jarvis and Elija Ingram and the stripper from Pittsburgh.
Have a Great Day -- In Lavin We Trust[/quote]
I understand the frustration and maybe I have a different outlook than others in that I thought it would be 2-3 years before we could field a competitive team having flipped the whole roster. So I applaud what the coaching staff has done and I am not surprised by anything that has happened except Stith. Not sure how to read that at all; it really doesn't make sense other than he can't play for academic or personal reasons. Having said that, I'll ask you the same question I have asked other posters who judge Lavin's absence. What motivation could he possibly have for not coaching if he is physically able? He just decided he didn't want to coach so he got the doctor's to write him an excuse? It just seems unfeasible to me that that is what is going on. As a non-medical person it does seem unusual to me but it seems more bizarre to think he could coach and he is just being that unethical - to his staff, to his players, to the fans, to the school. And how would he ever be able to recruit once it came out that that is what happened? And after working in the media for however many years he knows eventually it would come out. Now he took a gamble on some of the players he recruited last year, both in terms of academics and maturity but IMO those gambles were worth it given the amount of players he needed and the short time frame he had to recruit. The gambles did not work out, but I did not and do not see the point in recruiting players who undoubtedly could not compete at this level, just wasting scholarships on warm bodies. Fans can complain but I have been watching basketball for 50 years and I don't know if I have ever enjoyed a year as much as this one because these kids are pretty much putting it all out there in uncharted waters and if they hang in together I think they will have serious basketball success while going through an experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
