Hello Everybody
I just wanted to share a few thoughts on the desire of many Wake Forest fans to see Jeff [Redacted] fired.
As you know, [Redacted] was at Colorado for 3 seasons before suddenly leaving us for the greener pastures of the ACC.
His record at CU (Big 12 conference) was as follows:
2007–08 Colorado 12–20 3–13 12th
2008–09 Colorado 9–22 1–15 12th
2009–10 Colorado 15–16 6–10 8th
His record at Wake (ACC conference) is as follows:
2010–11 Wake Forest 8–24 1–15 12th
2011–12 Wake Forest 13–18 4–12 T-12th
2012–13 Wake Forest 13–18 6-12 10th
The first three years at each school are pretty similar. Furthermore, [Redacted] "cleaned house" at Colorado the same way he did at Wake. He ran off at least half the team and replaced them with his own recruits. He has done pretty much the same thing at Wake Forest.
The year after [Redacted] left Colorado, the team's record in the Big 12 was as follows:
2010–11 Colorado 24–14 8–8 T–5th NIT Semifinals
Granted, we had a new coach in Tad Boyle. But the entire team consisted of [Redacted] recruits. Furthermore, two of the kids he brought in after "cleaning house" ended up playing in the NBA. One of them, Alec Burks, was a lottery pick after just his sophomore season. The other was Cory Higgins, a 4-year starter for us. Neither one of these kids was "highly regarded" out of high school.
Watching [Redacted] and the Wake program from afar, it seems to me that he is following a very similar "rebuilding" plan at Wake. He has recruited well, and it's only natural that a young team will struggle on the road as it grows and matures. The fact that [Redacted] beat two Top-25 teams in his third season tells me he's pretty close now to turning the corner in Year 4. I mean, he brought in something like 7 freshman last year, did he not? Wake must be one of the youngest teams in the country!
I'm telling you guys, you need to give [Redacted] one more year. The man knows how to evaluate talent, he knows the game. He was not well-liked at CU because he ran the Princeton offense that he brought from Air Force (BORING!). He also has a vanilla personality and comes off very poorly on television. [Redacted] is definitely not a "people person." But the man can coach.
At Colorado we don't miss [Redacted] much and are obviously thrilled with the job Tad Boyle is doing, but we cannot ignore the fact that [Redacted] laid the foundation for Boyle's success.
As a neutral observer with no skin in the game, I think [Redacted] will have Wake at .500 in conference next season and the team will play in the NIT. The Deacons will challenge for the ACC title the following season and once again become an annual participant in the NCAA tournament. You guys need to take a deep breath and let [Redacted] coach the team.
He will get the job done if you simply let him.
Yours Truly,
A Colorado Buffalo Fan