(This has been edited to reflect the confidentiality that I was asked to keep)


-->Dear Mr. Harper:
 
Once again, I must express my gratitude and thanks to you for taking so much time out of your schedule last week to listen to my ideas and let me vent. I appreciated what you told me about your long term vision for this program (and have kept the things you told me in confidence exactly that, "confidential")........REDACTED......!

The losing streak is now up to 6 games, and there is a very real possibility of the Dukes, despite that great start and all the free publicity from the turnpike incident (which many of us hoped would turn into a magical NCAA bubble or NIT story), will finish below .500 again!  This is utterly inconceivable to many of the long suffering alumni as this season continues to fly apart at the seams.  In 4 of those games the Dukes had decent leads in the second half, and in three of them, the lead was 12 points, and the lead evaporated and the game went into the loss column.  At some point the harsh gaze has to fall on Jim Ferry!  Better coaching should have pulled out at least 2 of those games and we would be singing a different tune.  This can't be all on talent, except for the Dayton game. SBU and DU are almost identical in terms of the quality of their recruits and their offensive and defensive stats and what makes up the difference?  Coaching.  Jim Ferry,.........REDACTED...., has proven to be a failure in his use of his bench and his in-game coaching.  A "next level" coach should have been able to pull out one or two of those games.  Yet, here we are!
 
Myself and the other long suffering alums feel like Bill Murray hitting the alarm clock AGAIN this season, as our hope and joy at the (admittedly easy) non-conference schedule and record, plus all that wonderful press about the turnpike incident has turned into yet another Duquesne "lost season."  In fact, we probably won't even get the slight joy from not playing in the play-in game at the A-10 tourney.  (God, talk about how our goals for the season have fallen) The evidence is clear for most of us that Ferry can't coach at this level.
 
As I said, I don't envy you the task you have undertaken.  if the collapse continues, and the Dukes end up under .500 again, I fear you are going to see crowds in the 200s at Palumbo next year.  
 
Once again, thanks for talking to me and listening to me. I really do hope Ferry becomes the coach we expect him to be, because I am on the record. This is my last Stalin-esque Five Year Plan I am going through.  If Ferry fails, I am done! For good!
 
Good Luck
"Tejas Duke"

Last edited by Tejas_Duke (3/10/2016 3:24 pm)