BASKETBALL fwiw
- Thread starter SpaceRaider
- Start date
Good for him. Buffalo has a really good team and program. Amazing catch for the Bulls. I called their upset over Arizona last year, with my bracket and huge money line bet to prove it.
Still upset we lost Antwain and I don't agree with the termination because there clearly wasn't hard evidence that he was doing anything wrong, because if there was, he wouldn't be signing with anyone else, especially the Buffalo Bulls.
We really need to land that Junior kid from Canada......My faith would be completely restored if that kid signs with us
Still upset we lost Antwain and I don't agree with the termination because there clearly wasn't hard evidence that he was doing anything wrong, because if there was, he wouldn't be signing with anyone else, especially the Buffalo Bulls.
We really need to land that Junior kid from Canada......My faith would be completely restored if that kid signs with us
IIRC, the official communication from Coach indicated both players violated both athletic & university policies. To think he ran off arguably our best returning player over some minor transgressions or based on rumor or innuendo is downright laughable and truly not worthy of discussion.
I don’t personally know Coach and since I live out-of-state will likely never meet him but I am as optimistic about the long-term potential of our men’s basketball program as I have been in a long time. We may struggle this coming year, and that’s fine. Go back and look at Kermit’s first 8-10 years, we weren’t all that then neither. Heck, according to Chip’s FB post, the guy & his family just closed on a house 2 weeks ago.
When I was working in corporate America, we used to talk about people who had “it”. CNM has whatever “it” is. People need to chill and give he and his staff time to build their program & culture. We’ll be fine longer-term. And i’ll be the first to come back here in 3-4 years if that’s not the case.
I don’t personally know Coach and since I live out-of-state will likely never meet him but I am as optimistic about the long-term potential of our men’s basketball program as I have been in a long time. We may struggle this coming year, and that’s fine. Go back and look at Kermit’s first 8-10 years, we weren’t all that then neither. Heck, according to Chip’s FB post, the guy & his family just closed on a house 2 weeks ago.
When I was working in corporate America, we used to talk about people who had “it”. CNM has whatever “it” is. People need to chill and give he and his staff time to build their program & culture. We’ll be fine longer-term. And i’ll be the first to come back here in 3-4 years if that’s not the case.
Why is Buffalo signing him then? If it was so bad and he was convicted of something wouldn't a program like Buffalo say hell no?
Doesn't make any sense.......
I guess in today’s 24/7 news cycle some people expect everything, regardless of the severity of the transgressions, to be public knowledge. Pretty sure all or most universities have policies students and employees must adhere to. Most companies of any size have a Code of Conduct. My former employers was pretty detailed. There were numerous things I could have done which could have got me fired or retired early. That would not have resulted in anything civil or criminal against me.
I don’t know what these kids did to lose their scholarship, and quite frankly, it’s none of my business. I truly hope they learn from their mistakes and wish them nothing but the best. Could have been a multitude of mistakes that obviously violated BOTH athletic & university policy, whatever that is.
And, for people will short memories, I invite you to Google “JaCorey Williams arrest” and see what all pops up. Couple of things he was never charged with, but the initial arrest which caused HC Mike Anderson to kick he and 2 others off the team I think potentially is a felony.
Not sure what the final result was but Kermit took a chance on him, when he had every right to steer clear. Especially Kermit being the hard a— he appeared to be. Thought I recall reading that both CM & Dr McPhee had to approve his admittance to MT.
So, schools & coaches give 2nd & 3rd chances to kids all the time. And it worked out for everyone.
Lastly, lived outside Philly as a young kid for 3 years and have been afflicted with being a Phillies & 76’ers fan ever since. If you download an app called The Athletic, you can read a few of their articles for free. Last week they had a great article about former MT pitcher Zac Curtis. He now pitches for Philly, though he got sent back down last Sunday. By all accounts he should have been in prison, or worse. He moved from Florida to TN to live with some grandparents and turned his life around. Now married with a child and another on the way. Well worth 10 minutes of your time.
Moral of the story is, all of us make dumb mistakes. It’s what you learn from those mistakes than charts your next steps. For Zac Curtis, it’s paid off. For Johnson & Thomas, I hope they learned some valuable lessons and find success wherever their lives take them.
I don’t know what these kids did to lose their scholarship, and quite frankly, it’s none of my business. I truly hope they learn from their mistakes and wish them nothing but the best. Could have been a multitude of mistakes that obviously violated BOTH athletic & university policy, whatever that is.
And, for people will short memories, I invite you to Google “JaCorey Williams arrest” and see what all pops up. Couple of things he was never charged with, but the initial arrest which caused HC Mike Anderson to kick he and 2 others off the team I think potentially is a felony.
Not sure what the final result was but Kermit took a chance on him, when he had every right to steer clear. Especially Kermit being the hard a— he appeared to be. Thought I recall reading that both CM & Dr McPhee had to approve his admittance to MT.
So, schools & coaches give 2nd & 3rd chances to kids all the time. And it worked out for everyone.
Lastly, lived outside Philly as a young kid for 3 years and have been afflicted with being a Phillies & 76’ers fan ever since. If you download an app called The Athletic, you can read a few of their articles for free. Last week they had a great article about former MT pitcher Zac Curtis. He now pitches for Philly, though he got sent back down last Sunday. By all accounts he should have been in prison, or worse. He moved from Florida to TN to live with some grandparents and turned his life around. Now married with a child and another on the way. Well worth 10 minutes of your time.
Moral of the story is, all of us make dumb mistakes. It’s what you learn from those mistakes than charts your next steps. For Zac Curtis, it’s paid off. For Johnson & Thomas, I hope they learned some valuable lessons and find success wherever their lives take them.
Players get busted committing crimes all the time and transfer/play. Zach Mettenberger was convicted of sexual battery & dismissed by UGA prior to going to LSU. Cam Newton pled out of felony burglary at Florida. There’s a guy a Mississippi State that beat the crap out of a woman caught on film & missed 1 game.
The more talented a player, the more likely he gets a “second chance”.
That does not mean he should stay here. I hope we hold our athletes to a higher standard than criminal conviction.
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This is a very dangerous precedent to set. I have personally been convicted in the court of public opinion but then had my days in court and guess what? Charges were eventually dismissed.
You have to be careful about hearsay. I was actually arrested, charged, put on the front page of a newspaper. The whole nine yards. Someone at my mother's work told her I should burn in hell for my crimes.
Charges dismissed. I didn't do anything wrong but was truly in the wrong place at the wrong and had to fight to prove that. I would have lost my career forever if these charges would have stuck. Johnson wasn't even charged or arrested.....this is all based on hearsay.....
So forgive me for wanting to give Johnson, and everyone else including YOU, the benefit of the doubt when people want to bring serious, life-altering accusations. I do not trust the police (though I fully understand and respect the job they do, they're not always right or fully understand situations they may stumble upon), I do not trust public opinion, and I especially don't trust hearsay.
It baffles me that all of a sudden, after being here for years under Kermit, that Johnson suddenly became some brazen criminal committing some unforgivable crimes, yet was never even arrested or charged. Truly baffling.
Regardless of what anyone here believes, CNM acted on hearsay and that's a fact or else Johnson would have been charged and arrested and wouldn't be signing with Buffalo.
The timing stinks, what's done is done, and Johnson is gone to Buffalo. I'd just like to caution people against always siding against the accused because false accusations, and their subsequent punishment, are a very real thing.
You are combining 2 different things. There is criminal law, with the innocent until proven guilty you are talking about.
Then there are team rules. CNM said they were being dismissed for violation of team rules, not criminal issues.
Do you know they did not break team rules in addition to the rumors? Do you know what they did or did not admit to CNM? Do you know what facts regarding team rule violations CNM had? Do you know if the decision may have involved Massaro or the school?
Just because a person is not convicting of a criminal act does not mean they have not broken team rules that warrant dismissal. We may never really know the exact team rules they broke in addition to the rumor mill. I could lose my job for saying something that is not criminal, but breaks agency policy. And just because a person has been dismissed or has even been convicted of criminal activity, does not mean another school won't sign them.
I agree with Space, sometimes a clean break is good for everyone.
None of us know what Johnson did. However, there are things that we do know:
1. Johnson was a good player.
2. Coaches (anywhere) don't kick good players off their team without a good reason.
1. Johnson was a good player.
2. Coaches (anywhere) don't kick good players off their team without a good reason.
The rumors were it was weapons related, and I'm assuming of a criminal nature otherwise he'd still be on the team. I'd be willing to place a large wager that the "violation of team rules" accusation also broke state and/or federal laws, which was the basis for my reply. Johnson was not found guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. Hard to imagine what "team rule" he could have violated to get him swiftly kicked off the team that couldn't have been criminal in nature.
Fair points, and I agree.
But realize CNM has NO attachment to Johnson and likely didn't afford him much leeway. New coaches everywhere love to come in and crack the whip. Remember Stock and that WR when he arrived? Bobby something....can't remember his name, he was one of the best players on the team and I'm sure Stock wanted to make an example out of him. Actually kicked him off the team but later allowed him back. Coaches do this crap all the time when they come in because they just signed a 4-5 year contract and are more worried about establishing their culture than the first upcoming season......
I'm just worried CNM doesn't care about the 2018-2019 season because he knows no reasonable person is going to strongly judge him for its results. It appears to me like he's put all his eggs in the basket for the 19-20 season and beyond. He's replacing a very successful coach, not rebuilding some basement dwelling program so I'd like to hope that we have a good chance to compete for CUSA title..... I want continued success and I want it this year and you should too. We've been great every year for almost a decade and there's no reason to be bad now.
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blueboro007: IIRC not the first time you have intimated that you had some "inside" information relating to the program. Not doubting your knowledge but I really try to keep up; reading anything I can find related to MT men's BkB, listening to every interview I can find including pre- and post-game, AllSportsTalk, and the weekly (in season) interviews on WNSR and I have yet to hear or read anything from Davis implying that Dixon would leave or that Thomas should transfer.
Without giving personal information would you mind giving a brief explanation of how you have this inside knowledge of the program.
Without giving personal information would you mind giving a brief explanation of how you have this inside knowledge of the program.
I have those things from multiple sources prior to the departures and before CNM was named......
The topic of players leaving is discussed in depth in Lightning’s Lounge. A few tidbits of info regarding players leaving, recruiting and insight into the coaching searches you don’t see on the free board.
Correct. My contact heard it directly from the "horses mouth" so to speak before CKD left.
