In fairness:
1. No one cares now.
2. We can't beat anyone in any conference anyway.

Mulder, thank you for your reply. Your points are understood and well-taken.

IMHO, the point of the reporting is: the condition of the program. Where it is, how it got here, where it appears to be going.

If the Dukes had finished .500 this year and were playing hard-nosed basketball, the stories would have been about the progress that Ferry made despite what we all acknowledge is less than stellar support at a "corporate" level. If the Dukes had won 18 games, Ferry would have been a rock star in the media. Ferry was brought here with high expectations and there has been significant expectation-building from certain posters about the players he brought in, particularly Robinson, Watkins (gone), White (gone), and Stevens (gone). I had very high hopes for this season. I really believed that if things fell into place the right way, there was no reason we couldn't win 18-19 games. We that the 332nd easiest non-conference schedule in the country, we knew there were a couple strong A10 teams but we also knew programs such as St. Louis were going to start sliding backwards.

The job Ferry did coaching the team -- the first with all of his players -- was IMHO horrible. He had four returning starters, he had a player who led the country in 3-point shooting, he had recruits that everyone believed could step in and contribute right away, and he had returning players with experience. So he makes his best shooter a point guard, yanks his best and most experienced forward out of the starting lineup, learns his team can't defend one-on-one, continues to watch horrid FT shooting, expresses his comfort with the one-pass-and-launch-a-three offense, and the next thing you know we've dug a hole out of which we can not climb.

What do we expect reporters to write about?

I thought both articles were right on the money. Dejan in particular commented on the damage that is done to the university's brand when the program is backsliding, and indeed it is. This week alone I've read three articles about other universities had had bad seasons. In each case, Duquesne University was used as a benchmark for hitting the bottom.

I don't think the problem is lazy reporting. I think the program itself is the problem. Fix the program, and the conversation in the media will change.

ElDuque wrote:

Mulder, thank you for your reply. Your points are understood and well-taken.

IMHO, the point of the reporting is: the condition of the program. Where it is, how it got here, where it appears to be going.

If the Dukes had finished .500 this year and were playing hard-nosed basketball, the stories would have been about the progress that Ferry made despite what we all acknowledge is less than stellar support at a "corporate" level. If the Dukes had won 18 games, Ferry would have been a rock star in the media. Ferry was brought here with high expectations and there has been significant expectation-building from certain posters about the players he brought in, particularly Robinson, Watkins (gone), White (gone), and Stevens (gone). I had very high hopes for this season. I really believed that if things fell into place the right way, there was no reason we couldn't win 18-19 games. We that the 332nd easiest non-conference schedule in the country, we knew there were a couple strong A10 teams but we also knew programs such as St. Louis were going to start sliding backwards.

The job Ferry did coaching the team -- the first with all of his players -- was IMHO horrible. He had four returning starters, he had a player who led the country in 3-point shooting, he had recruits that everyone believed could step in and contribute right away, and he had returning players with experience. So he makes his best shooter a point guard, yanks his best and most experienced forward out of the starting lineup, learns his team can't defend one-on-one, continues to watch horrid FT shooting, expresses his comfort with the one-pass-and-launch-a-three offense, and the next thing you know we've dug a hole out of which we can not climb.

What do we expect reporters to write about?

I thought both articles were right on the money. Dejan in particular commented on the damage that is done to the university's brand when the program is backsliding, and indeed it is. This week alone I've read three articles about other universities had had bad seasons. In each case, Duquesne University was used as a benchmark for hitting the bottom.

I don't think the problem is lazy reporting. I think the program itself is the problem. Fix the program, and the conversation in the media will change.

Who was hyping up Jordan Stevens and Travaughn White?  These are band-aid players at best. 

WEB if they where band aid players and the cupboard was as empty as you have stated why where they signed in the first place. Why waste scholarships, especially in White's case because you already had 1 undersized guard, on band aids. Also why did Stevens get the minutes he did. I'm sorry your statement is contradictory to what occurred. Let me also say that one of the real attacks on Ron was the turnover of players and coaches. Seems to me the door is revolving pretty quickly again on the player side.

WEB wrote:

Mulder wrote:

ElDuque wrote:

Mulder, with all due respect, how do you blame the inability of Ferry's players to play defense, shoot FTs, exhibit any kind of fundamentals, etc. on anyone but Ferry and his staff?

I think people keep believing the propaganda that the University aims to have a top four program in the A10, and that we're striving to achieve some "next level" of performance.

It's BS.

Our mission is to field a program, period. For that reason, you'll never see me talk about firing anyone. I think you can field a program just fine with the AD, coach, assistants, etc. that you have now.

But let's not blame sportswriters for looking at an obvious fact -- we can't win ON THE COURT -- and expect some Pulitzer winning effort out of them. Anyone can watch this team any time and walk away with the same impression: We're not good.

Period.

ED - my point is only on the newspapers/media and not on the other stuff you mention.  You may see these things  as a part of their reporting - I see that as unrelated to what they are doing because they claim to comment on the program overall and not on specifics with the coaching or style.  My contention is if you are going to do that then come up with some hard quotes, evidence, support whatever.  I'm sure that it's there and I don't doubt that their points are valid.  But it does no good to say "Ron made the tournament and oh by the way Duquesne still isn't there" without coming up with something solid.  And if it's not worth your time to come up with something more than just your opinion then you are just cherry picking an easy target to criticize - hell, I can do that. 

I don't like the drone comment either.  That's like the Bullsh** about "Ron haters" "drink the kool aid" etc.  I can have an honest opinion about something without being called an Amodio shill (I am far from that believe me) or hater or drone or whatever. 

Dejan K. and Rossi are decent reporters - so if it's something worth writing about then let's get things out in the open, let's back it up with substance.  I see articles like this as "Gee I need something to comment on or I don't get paid so what can I find that's easy'".   It's not blaming them - it's criticizing their work or lack thereof.

Rob Rossi has no idea what he is talking about.  I've never seen him, Dejan or Alan Robinson comment or write an article on the "MEGA" recruiting class Ron had signed or had the kids committed, or whatever.  Rossi thinks it matters that Ron made it to the dance as an assistant.  Make it as a head coach and then write that article.  He thinks firing Ron was such a bad idea...well where is the article calling for Duquesne to fire Amodio for firing Ron?

Dejan has an agenda against Duquesne just like he did with the Pirates.  The Pirates made him look like a complete fool.  I can recall that article he wrote 2-3 years ago that entitled something like "Pirates clueless on how to win".  Oh how that couldn't be further from the truth now. 

He cherry-picked the game against Davidson(the best team in the league and top offensive team) to write that article.  Critics have called him out about the University Org. chart not having Amodio report to Hogan, but if you read his article, it clearly suggests Hogan is the one still in charge of athletics.  Point that out to him and you hear crickets.  Is the University lying or is Dejan clueless?  He thinks he can kick Duquesne because he is a blogger who made it without finishing at Duquesne. 

Sure, because he could have gone to the Bobby Mo game, NJIT, Maryland Eastern Shore,  St. Francis, etc., and come away with a completely different impression. We were one loss from a 20-loss season, but that really doesn't tell the whole story.

Am I the only one who gets tired of seeing his alma mater get kicked around by critics who don't think we can play at this level? I know you guys are on social media and see the same stuff I do. My point is that we need to stop blaming sportswriters, administrators, former coaches, and the man in the moon. Neither Dejan Kovacevic nor Bob Rossi is a hack. They are both very good professional journalists. The problem with Duquesne basketball is very simple: the on-court product needs to be fixed. I disagree that Jim Ferry's two visits to the NCAA Tournament are either evidence that he can succeed here, or a reason for hope. That was at a much junior level, conference-wise, and so far he has demonstrated a lack of understanding of what it will take to achieve the same thing here: Defense, stronger guard play, and productivity from the front court. All he's proven so far is that you can't keep throwing the same thing on the court, and doing the same thing, and expect a miracle.
 

WEB wrote:

ElDuque wrote:

Mulder, thank you for your reply. Your points are understood and well-taken.

IMHO, the point of the reporting is: the condition of the program. Where it is, how it got here, where it appears to be going.

If the Dukes had finished .500 this year and were playing hard-nosed basketball, the stories would have been about the progress that Ferry made despite what we all acknowledge is less than stellar support at a "corporate" level. If the Dukes had won 18 games, Ferry would have been a rock star in the media. Ferry was brought here with high expectations and there has been significant expectation-building from certain posters about the players he brought in, particularly Robinson, Watkins (gone), White (gone), and Stevens (gone). I had very high hopes for this season. I really believed that if things fell into place the right way, there was no reason we couldn't win 18-19 games. We that the 332nd easiest non-conference schedule in the country, we knew there were a couple strong A10 teams but we also knew programs such as St. Louis were going to start sliding backwards.

The job Ferry did coaching the team -- the first with all of his players -- was IMHO horrible. He had four returning starters, he had a player who led the country in 3-point shooting, he had recruits that everyone believed could step in and contribute right away, and he had returning players with experience. So he makes his best shooter a point guard, yanks his best and most experienced forward out of the starting lineup, learns his team can't defend one-on-one, continues to watch horrid FT shooting, expresses his comfort with the one-pass-and-launch-a-three offense, and the next thing you know we've dug a hole out of which we can not climb.

What do we expect reporters to write about?

I thought both articles were right on the money. Dejan in particular commented on the damage that is done to the university's brand when the program is backsliding, and indeed it is. This week alone I've read three articles about other universities had had bad seasons. In each case, Duquesne University was used as a benchmark for hitting the bottom.

I don't think the problem is lazy reporting. I think the program itself is the problem. Fix the program, and the conversation in the media will change.

Who was hyping up Jordan Stevens and Travaughn White?  These are band-aid players at best. 

Did anyone notice during the Kansas and Wichita St. game when they showed one of newspapers All State High School teams and White was one of the 5?

El Duque not sure why someone would get so personally upset with what you said in this thread that it would would warrant an apology, You are the voice of rason, keep telling it like it is. 

Last edited by CLK (4/03/2015 10:54 am)