The new emails are here!

Another round of emails, covering everything from the Sonics to Bill Self.

John weighs in on OSU’s search: “I won’t say Mike Holder isn’t smart, but he certainly made Pickens U’s  bid for a  replacement basketball coach more difficult. While speculation about Bill Self or any other coach would have occurred in any event, Holder should have made every effort to play it down, not even admitting to a list of possibilities – he didn’t. The problem is that he made overtures to Self. Now, a new coach, whomever, will know he’s second choice, less desirable so to speak…not good for the ego.” 

Here’s the problem with that, John. In the coaching fraternity, everyone knows everything. So if Holder had gone stone-cold silent, all the coaches would have known about it and the public would not have known, so he’d have the same problem and more  —  his fan base wondering why he didn’t go harder after Self. 

Pat, too, is puzzled by the search: “Obviously, going after Bill Self was the right thing to do and it appears Holder went about it in professional manner and gave it a good try. But most of us OSU fans were not really surprised we couldn’t get him. You had written that you didn’t think OSU could land Self and I don’t think most in the national media were surprised we didn’t get him, either. If his quotes in Andrea’s story this morning are to be believed, it seems Holder was the only one that was surprised. Is it really plausible that he doesn’t even have a B list of candidates?  I understand having to wait for Self to become available, but in the intervening 10 days or so since Sean was let go, you would think Holder, Dave Martin and the rest of the staff would be doing some background work and compiling a list of back-ups. If not, it appears a lot of time was wasted with the coaching carousel turning as it is. I agree I think Holder is going to go for a big splash with this hire. As for the list in your blog, all would probably be solid coaches, but there are a few I can’t personally get excited about. I keep seeing Tubby Smith’s name come up. You hear great things about him and he’s obviously a solid coach. But he’s just kind of one of the old guard guys that have been around and I think we need a fresher breath of air. Same thing for Lon Kruger. And maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always felt Tim Floyd is a little overrated. Calipari is a good coach and can recruit, but something about his personality to me just makes him a strange fit for OSU. Any of the other guys on your list would probably be fine. Jamie Dixon was my second choice well before you guys picked him as the winner on your bracket.” 

I am certain Holder has a list and a Plan B. Some things he goes public with, some things not. 

Larry, a Texas Tech fan, took exception to my line about Bobby Knight being hired at OSU. “I appreciate that he’s Satan in the flesh, but does anybody really believe Bob Knight would go to all the trouble of installing his son at Tech only to take a job at another Big 12 South school, where he would only succeed in direct opposition to his own son’s career interests?  If he got the itch to coach again, don’t you suppose he could get a job, and a pretty good one, outside of our conference? Surely you’re just amusing yourselves, or maybe just hard up for something to blather about. And as to him being consulted on the subject of the job opening, well, he does know a thing or two, even if he is Beelzebub.” 

Actually, I was hoping to flush out one of the three Tech basketball fans on Planet Earth.
Mission accomplished. 

Mel chimed in on Roy Williams supporting KU in the title game: “To you and all the other press coverers of Roy Williams’ gesture of KU appreciation, you seem never to catch on to how clever Roy Williams is — that is what you should be crediting him for!  The man clearly knows how to get press coverage and up his constant exposure for better recruiting!  Have you never watched how this man always takes his glasses off for timeouts and news conferences?  He is totally about upping his image and his edge in the battle of recruiting — impressing parents and recruits. And I cannot stand to hear reporters accommodate his tears. Please — the guy is a master con artist and nothing more.” 

Mel, you really need to get over this. Williams is five years gone and KU has an NCAA title. Enough is enough. 

Brad wrote, “It was nice to see a championship without Joakim Noah jumping around like a moron.”No kidding.Now, some football. Woody took exception to me saying that early picks in the first round of the NFL draft are a curse. “Next time you see Jerry Jones, ask him if he thinks
Troy Aikman was a curse. Maybe if Jerry wasn’t such a ego maniac, he would have gotten out of the way and let Jimmy Johnson make the call on draft picks. It took him a decade to overcome that mistake by hiring Parcells, so give him credit for that. A curse?  If you’re afraid to pull the trigger on a player, you can always find somebody who will give you more to trade down for your high draft pick. The only curse is on your fans, because they have to live with your inability to pick the right guys to make a winning team.”