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WSJ Article - "[Redacted]'s Last Stand"

Shorty said:
Those two wins over NCST and Miami probably saved Buzz's ass. Lose those two and we win only four conference games for the second year in a row. That should help some of you who are wrestling with the so-called Emotional Dilemma.
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You may be right, but who was going to fire him?
 
pourdeac said:
Some odd specifics in there like the ACC tourny record thing, but isn't the general take about right? The team is no doubt the best in Bz's tenure and played well in the easy part of the schedule but is getting ready to play the tough part of the schedule. If the team doesn't perform, it will probably not be enough. All of the problems were cited...even Bz's standoffish behavior. The way you guys are acting I was expecting an article blindly praising the guy and I don't see that.

The new piece of info is what I suspected all along. The AD/administration thinks the team will perform this year due to what they believe is a great X and Os coach. This is the year it has to come together. They hired the guy with the intent and belief that he would elevate our play. They were willing to give him a long leash during the transition to "his" players which is what an AD should do. But if he doesn't perform this year with his kids, changes will probably be made. We just don't know what their minimum expectation is.
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So to put this in a nutshell, if the team doesn't play well, the coach might be fired?

Way to step out on a limb with your prognostication.
 
DeaconSig said:
So to put this in a nutshell, if the team doesn't play well, the coach might be fired?

Way to step out on a limb with your prognostication.
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In fairness, if that came to pass it would be a change of course for current management.
 
Also fails to recognize that Dave Odom led Wake to both regular season and ACC tournament titles. Childress with the tournament scoring record anyone?
 
DeaconSig said:
So to put this in a nutshell, if the team doesn't play well, the coach might be fired?

Way to step out on a limb with your prognostication.
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Well it's different than the standard one on here isn't it? Most people on here seem to think he'll be retained regardless of what happens because of history.
 
And so it is, on the last day of the year, that Wellman has so effectively trolled the fanbase that our expectations are lowered to the point where if we don't improve on the 6-12 conference record from last year, the coach should rightfully be on the hot seat. Wow. Impressive conclusions that if we can't improve on a 0.333 winning percentage in conference (which by the way, is in fact an improvement over the past two years.. ack...) then we should consider this a "last stand." Ignoring all the article deficiencies and granting pourdeac that this is "his best team" I am left wondering how in the hell I justify telling my wife and kids I need a few hours to myself on any given day to fire up ESPN3 on the laptop or iPad and grind out some Wake hoops...
 
"...his reputation as an x and o mastermind..." I've heard this before. Where did he get this reputation? I can only base it on what I've seen in 3+ years and this statement would be ludicrous. Apparently it has been ludicrous in his NBA career and at his last college stop.
 
WPDeac said:
And so it is, on the last day of the year, that Wellman has so effectively trolled the fanbase that our expectations are lowered to the point where if we don't improve on the 6-12 conference record from last year, the coach should rightfully be on the hot seat. Wow. Impressive conclusions that if we can't improve on a 0.333 winning percentage in conference (which by the way, is in fact an improvement over the past two years.. ack...) then we should consider this a "last stand." Ignoring all the article deficiencies and granting pourdeac that this is "his best team" I am left wondering how in the hell I justify telling my wife and kids I need a few hours to myself on any given day to fire up ESPN3 on the laptop or iPad and grind out some Wake hoops...
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Yup. Until we finish better than we did with Dino (second round NCAA tournament) then we haven't improved at anything.
 
Asinine article complete with another photo of the dorky bzzdaster.
 
Of course, none of this erases the sting of the past few seasons. The “billboard crowd” represents a faction of faithful followers who won’t take success for an answer. Not only do they want [Redacted] canned; they also want the man responsible for his hiring, Wake Athletic Director Ron Wellman, fired as well. On Twitter and on the website FireBz.com, the phrases #firewellman and #Buzzout continue to reign supreme. Despite the grumblings, Wellman continues his unabashed support of [Redacted]. He points to the realities of coaching a young team, asking fans to stay patient as the players grow and develop.



Just went to the W/S Journal site and the story has been pulled...I had to search Bz by name to locate this POS!

Wellman is F.....G PATHETIC!!! Who ever wrote this article must be drunk on the AD's Kool-Aid!
 
Deaconblue said:
Also fails to recognize that Dave Odom led Wake to both regular season and ACC tournament titles. Childress with the tournament scoring record anyone?
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"both" - more accurate is 'two' ACC Tourney titles. "Bones" had two also.
 
Perhaps everyone is aware but this article first appeared in the magazine, Winston-Salem, last week. I know this because it's still sitting on my coffee table.
One would have thought that the Journal would have acknowledged as such. Dunno.


tbird said:
Of course, none of this erases the sting of the past few seasons. The “billboard crowd” represents a faction of faithful followers who won’t take success for an answer. Not only do they want [Redacted] canned; they also want the man responsible for his hiring, Wake Athletic Director Ron Wellman, fired as well. On Twitter and on the website FireBz.com, the phrases #firewellman and #Buzzout continue to reign supreme. Despite the grumblings, Wellman continues his unabashed support of [Redacted]. He points to the realities of coaching a young team, asking fans to stay patient as the players grow and develop.



Just went to the W/S Journal site and the story has been pulled...I had to search Bz by name to locate this POS!

Wellman is F.....G PATHETIC!!! Who ever wrote this article must be drunk on the AD's Kool-Aid!
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deacz said:
Wow. This should stir up some opinions. I believe it is pure AD-spun garbage.

FYI - Dan Collins did NOT write this. Apparently Jeff Laughlin is Ron Wellman's pen name.

http://www.journalnow.com/article_999346b2-7174-11e3-b44e-001a4bcf6878.html


Some gems:

"[T]he Deacons have been surprisingly solid thus far."

"The 'billboard crowd' represents a faction of faithful followers who won’t take success for an answer."

"Meanwhile, [Redacted] has alternated between a curmudgeon and a lighthearted, caring teacher of young men."


And "The Good" bullet-points are just tremendous. I think Braces helped "Jeff Laughlin" write them:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Buzz on [Redacted]

The Good

◾[Redacted] has cleaned up a Wake team that had a rash of off-the-court issues during his first season. The team’s character and classroom discipline is now unquestionably strong.
◾The team’s ACC regular season record has improved every year under [Redacted], from 1-15 (2011) to 4-12 (2012) to 6-12 (2013). Last season also featured upset wins against No. 18 NC State and No. 2 Miami.
◾This year’s team has more talent and depth than any of [Redacted]’s previous squads. Their record was a respectable 8-2 when we went to press.

The Bad

◾In his first three seasons, [Redacted]’s record against ACC teams is downright ugly (11-42). This includes a 1-24 mark in conference road games.
◾The Deacs have yet to earn an NCAA Tournament berth under [Redacted] after regular appearances during the Dino Gaudio and Skip Prosser regimes.
◾Apathy and anger have overtaken a portion of the Wake fanbase, with fan-funded websites, newspaper ads, and billboard displays all calling for [Redacted]’s job (and causing the national media to take note).
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of course we probably will not ever know about things that did or might have happened with the team during the tenure of the current coach. we heard about every little thing that could have come out culturewise with dino blaming him for things that were not even attributable to him or his time while coaching at wake forest. but there were may have been many things swept under the rug just to keep up this culture aspect. these are eighteen to twenty two year old college kids we are talking about.
 
Meh.

None if this matters. We will finish middle to bottom of the ACC, lose in the first round of the ACC tournament, not play in the postseason and Buzz will resign.
 
[Redacted] resigns in March. There will be no "firing".

I think this was likely part of a gentlemens agreement [Redacted] and Ron came to after last season. Ron agreed to give [Redacted] one more year to make the postseason. If not, [Redacted] would resign and Wake would owe him nothing for year 5 on his original deal.

It is a win-win for both of them. Ron either proved everyone wrong with [Redacted] coming through with a winning season or he got him off the books with a complete fresh start financially to find a new coach. [Redacted] collects 1.2 million that he likely wouldn't have made with a buyout and gets one final shot in his career to be a head coach. The only ones that lose are the fans for one more meaningless, hopeless season.

[Redacted] will be given a hero's departure by the AD in a disgusting display of gratitude for a job "well done" and will cite either 1) NBA and/or 2) family as the reason for leaving.

It makes me unbelievably excited to think that in about 65 days the [Redacted] nightmare will likely finally be over.
 
"As those players left, [Redacted] had his own choices: Play the remaining guys out of loyalty to the school and their decision to stay, or recruit his own guys and run from there. Last season, the culmination of players deciding to leave—some were asked to leave—and his faith in incoming freshmen made the decision clear. [Redacted] decided his team would play, not Gaudio’s, and gave significant minutes to six first-year players. As you might expect, the results were up and down."

What does this paragraph even mean? He seems to be implying that [Redacted] benched Dino's remaining players in favor of his own. There is just no basis in fact or even in AD spin to write this paragraph.
 
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