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Dino to Louisville

Has a coach’s first game ever been a more perfect harbinger than bz and fucking stetson?
 
Man I’d love to review that game thread. 100% had posts by peeps saying stuff like Offense is moving a lot better, once we get the system down we’ll be good, Stetson may actually be okay this year.
 
Man I’d love to review that game thread. 100% had posts by peeps saying stuff like Offense is moving a lot better, once we get the system down we’ll be good, Stetson may actually be okay this year.

Sounds like the threads for GA Southern and Liberty this year.
 
People talk about the curse of the nut punch. I think it's just karma for fucking Dino over the way that we did. I remember thinking at the time that firing Dino was a good move, because I am a fucking moron. I'm sure I'm not alone.

I tend to agree with you. Hiring [redacted] was the worst move of them all given our position as a program in 2010 (2 straight NCAAs, a #1 ranking in 2009), but I still wish Wellman had let Dino fall on his face before firing him. It still boggles my mind Ron hired [redacted] even to this day.
 
I tend to agree with you. Hiring [redacted] was the worst move of them all given our position as a program in 2010 (2 straight NCAAs, a #1 ranking in 2009), but I still wish Wellman had let Dino fall on his face before firing him. It still boggles my mind Ron hired [redacted] even to this day.

Welmans's first mistake was not giving Dino the interim lable to start with. But, Dino should not have been fired when he was without a guaranteed replacement in the wings. Firing Dino after an NCAA tourney win without a plan to replace him already in place was fucking stupid. Should have let Dino struggle the next season and then made the move.
 
I tend to agree with you. Hiring [redacted] was the worst move of them all given our position as a program in 2010 (2 straight NCAAs, a #1 ranking in 2009), but I still wish Wellman had let Dino fall on his face before firing him. It still boggles my mind Ron hired [redacted] even to this day.

Yep, I wonder what Wellman was actually thinking when he fired Dino?

1. Dude is hated by everyone on campus except for the young things he's boinking so he got to go
2. I will fire him and get a real coach, lots of folks will be interested (stupid thinking if this was it)
3. I will get somebody I don't have to pay much if I fire him, just don't know who yet
4. I am going to fire him and hire a surprise choice and excellent tactician who will clean up Dino's mess. (Jeff [Redacted] and if this was his thought process he should be fired, and then hung)
5. I have no idea what I'm doing but Hatch will not question me and I'll just make up something.
 
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Interesting that Dino ended up in Louisville given the rumored personal transgressions contributing to his firing at Wake combined with Louisville's known recruiting issues placing them in the NCAA crosshairs....

I emphasize the term "rumored" because nothing definitive regarding the true reason(s) for his firing has ever seen public eyes or been independently verified.

I wish the man no ill will and hope he successfully rehabilitates his career (except once or twice a year....)
 
Yep, I wonder what Wellman was actually thinking when he fired Dino?

1. Dude is hated by everyone on campus except for the young things he's boinking so he got to go
2. I will fire him and get a real coach, lots of folks will be interested (stupid thinking if this was it)
3. I will get somebody I don't have to pay much if I fire him, just don't know who yet
4. I am going to fire him and hire a surprise choice and excellent tactician who will clean up Dino's mess. (Jeff [Redacted] and if this was his thought process he should be fired, and then hung)
5. I have no idea what I'm doing but Hatch will not question me and I'll just make up something.

My point was, if he fired Dino, he should have had a replacement lined up. More than just Brad Stevens, if that rumor is indeed true. It's a big drop from Stevens to [redacted]. In 2010, we were still a great program that should have attracted someone more than [redacted], especially is VTech can attract someone like Buzz Williams with little to no basketball history/tradition.
 
Yep, I wonder what Wellman was actually thinking when he fired Dino?

1. Dude is hated by everyone on campus except for the young things he's boinking so he got to go
2. I will fire him and get a real coach, lots of folks will be interested (stupid thinking if this was it)
3. I will get somebody I don't have to pay much if I fire him, just don't know who yet
4. I am going to fire him and hire a surprise choice and excellent tactician who will clean up Dino's mess. (Jeff [name redacted] and if this was his thought process he should be fired, and then hung)
5. I have no idea what I'm doing but Hatch will not question me and I'll just make up something.

Based on the timing of how it all went down, there are two possible choices:

6. I think that Jeff [name redacted] guy is awesome. I'll fire Dino and hire him.
7. Jeff [name redacted] has pictures of me molesting animals. I must hire him to make those photos go away.
 
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We had to change the "culture" of the program, and by that Ron meant he wanted the culture to look like shit; which includes losing a lot of games, making the student section go from full to empty, and pissing off every Wake basketball fan along the way. The "culture" was actually also used as a literal term, as in the program should literally become a culture of bacteria found in fecal matter. Hence it was a double entendre in which Ron wanted to make the culture include losing in the shittiest ways possible and also create literal shit on the court similar to that found in a fecal culture.
 
We had to change the "culture" of the program, and by that Ron meant he wanted the culture to look like shit; which includes losing a lot of games, making the student section go from full to empty, and pissing off every Wake basketball fan along the way. The "culture" was actually also used as a literal term, as in the program should literally become a culture of bacteria found in fecal matter. Hence it was a double entendre in which Ron wanted to make the culture include losing in the shittiest ways possible and also create literal shit on the court similar to that found in a fecal culture.

I think Ron just didn't like Wake recruiting players that left before they graduated (CP3, JJ, Teague, Aminu, etc) and wanted to model us after a mid-major. The problem is, Wake plays in a power conference and it's hard to compete using that model in the ACC. Dino and Skip were both right when they said we need NBA talent to be a strong program. Until Wellman is gone, our basketball program won't improve. I'm sure he uses the above criteria for any coach he hires.
 
Good mid-majors have players who leave before graduating, too. Coaches don't know who is going to leave and who isn't. All they can do is guess and risk missing out on good talent. Recruit the best players possible and get them to play as long as possible.
 
I think Ron just didn't like Wake recruiting players that left before they graduated (CP3, JJ, Teague, Aminu, etc) and wanted to model us after a mid-major. The problem is, Wake plays in a power conference and it's hard to compete using that model in the ACC. Dino and Skip were both right when they said we need NBA talent to be a strong program. Until Wellman is gone, our basketball program won't improve. I'm sure he uses the above criteria for any coach he hires.

One part of the "culture" issue that has been little discussed is the academic side. The perception of Wake as a top academic school is extremely important to those in Reynolda. When anything even slightly threatens that perception, it has to change.

Basketball players are expected to be students first. Basketball is what they do to get the scholarship to attend the University. Comments that came from players about "pre-NBA" as the major didn't sit well. That was perceived as disrespectful to the academic side. It isn't about athletes leaving Wake before graduation to accept lucrative contracts to play professional sports. Its about how a student-athlete, while officially a student at Wake, needs to not disrespect the academic side of being a student athlete. Something like "I'm just a freshman/sophomore, I'm still looking at some different ones." would play a lot better in the "culture" realm.

One thing many learn early on is "don't embarrass the boss." A high profile athlete seen and heard publicly as not supportive of the student part of student athlete is perceived as embarrassing the institution that is providing the opportunity for the student to further his basketball ambitions.
 
No way Blue is under 60. What's the percentage of players that have graduated from Wake since Bz came along? Maybe 60%?
 
I think Ron just didn't like Wake recruiting players that left before they graduated (CP3, JJ, Teague, Aminu, etc) and wanted to model us after a mid-major. The problem is, Wake plays in a power conference and it's hard to compete using that model in the ACC. Dino and Skip were both right when they said we need NBA talent to be a strong program. Until Wellman is gone, our basketball program won't improve. I'm sure he uses the above criteria for any coach he hires.

Even if this was Wellman's position (which would be idiotic), there is no sign that the current program operates under such restrictions. WF went all-out to sign Giles (and he was the most obvious one and done player in that class). Hoard may be a one and done, and WF has offered other players that were very likely one and dones. Do not doubt that among the reasons Wellman considered before terminating Dino was "the character" of the players that WF was recruiting (particularly related to the publicity that WF received as the result of the band girl's appearance on the Today Show), but not sure if WF ever wanted to eliminate itself from players that might look enter the NBA early. Every ACC school offers "a development platform" for future professional athletes. No school can be competitive at basketball or football (or soccer or baseball for that matter) at this level if it intentionally excludes itself from being a training ground for earning a living in that sport.
 
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