As cupcake after cupcake turn into meaningless W's, I have the following observations as we enter our fourth year of the [Redacted] era:
I believe we are truly fortunate to have a first class assistant coaching staff. Our assistants, in combination with our ACC affiliation and very attractive basketball facilities should easily allow us to successfully compete against many lower level teams, most of which have no players we would even consider offering a scholarship to. The big problem, that has been a plague for four years now, is that our head coach has zero ability to take things to a higher level. In fact, he has proven time and time again, he his more than capable of reducing things to a lower level.
Typically, it is the head coach who can work with the assistants, the players,the administration, the fanbase, and the media to elevate the program. Jeff [Redacted] is incapable of such, and has proven he does just the opposite. To move pass medicority, you must have a head coach who can coach, who is respected by his players and gives them the best chance to win through strategy, motivation, etc. A good head coach can mobilize the fan base, and effectively work with the media. A good coach is a major asset to fund-raislng. A good head coach can effectively recruit. Jeff [Redacted] does none of this. I continue to be truly astounded that a number of blind loyalists continue to support the Wellman/[Redacted] team. Can they truly believe Jeff [Redacted] represents the things that epitomize successful college coaches?
Ron Wellman's arrogance and willingness to run his legacy into the ground is despicable. The blind indifference shown by our University President and the Board of Trustees has made our program the laughing stock of college basketball. It is indeed very sad that conference affiliation money and television money have grown to greatly outweigh the relevance of our long-time, loyal fanbase. In addition to losing the support and confidence of so many fans and alumnae, we are seeing class after class of undergraduates pass through our University with no interest or loyalty to our athletic program. This disenfranchisement will cost Wake Forest huge revenue in years and decades to come.
After 40+ years of support I have evolved into a growing group that has finally come to the realization that continuing to support the crap that is being forced down our throat is a waste of time, energy, and money. I do not feel as if I am doing anybody any favor to continue to support an athetic director who has so blatantly undermined the foundation of our basketball program. Also, as we all know, it is just not basketball. The story told by the Director's Cup rankings speaks volumes as to the depths Ron Wellman has almost single-handedly destroyed decades of atheletic credibiliy and respect.
Much of this is not Jeff [Redacted]'s fault. He is who he is and he is who he was. Colorado fans and administrators were incredibly shocked when Ron Wellman came in and removed the basketball noose around their neck. Now entering year four after [Redacted], their arena is sold out for the season and basketball has never been more popular. They took the opportunity to fully, diligently search for a good new coach and they found one. I can assure you the success now being experienced at Colorado is absolutely in spite of Jeff [Redacted], not because of any culture crap that he may try to claim.
Ron Wellman made the mistake in hiring an incompetent friend to lead our program and he has compounded that mistake many times over by continuing to insult the masses in foolishly making the case he made the right hire. Bzdlelik was a bad hire - a terrible hire, and the fact he is still our head coach is a stinging indictment of Ron Wellman's competency and priortities.
I believe we are truly fortunate to have a first class assistant coaching staff. Our assistants, in combination with our ACC affiliation and very attractive basketball facilities should easily allow us to successfully compete against many lower level teams, most of which have no players we would even consider offering a scholarship to. The big problem, that has been a plague for four years now, is that our head coach has zero ability to take things to a higher level. In fact, he has proven time and time again, he his more than capable of reducing things to a lower level.
Typically, it is the head coach who can work with the assistants, the players,the administration, the fanbase, and the media to elevate the program. Jeff [Redacted] is incapable of such, and has proven he does just the opposite. To move pass medicority, you must have a head coach who can coach, who is respected by his players and gives them the best chance to win through strategy, motivation, etc. A good head coach can mobilize the fan base, and effectively work with the media. A good coach is a major asset to fund-raislng. A good head coach can effectively recruit. Jeff [Redacted] does none of this. I continue to be truly astounded that a number of blind loyalists continue to support the Wellman/[Redacted] team. Can they truly believe Jeff [Redacted] represents the things that epitomize successful college coaches?
Ron Wellman's arrogance and willingness to run his legacy into the ground is despicable. The blind indifference shown by our University President and the Board of Trustees has made our program the laughing stock of college basketball. It is indeed very sad that conference affiliation money and television money have grown to greatly outweigh the relevance of our long-time, loyal fanbase. In addition to losing the support and confidence of so many fans and alumnae, we are seeing class after class of undergraduates pass through our University with no interest or loyalty to our athletic program. This disenfranchisement will cost Wake Forest huge revenue in years and decades to come.
After 40+ years of support I have evolved into a growing group that has finally come to the realization that continuing to support the crap that is being forced down our throat is a waste of time, energy, and money. I do not feel as if I am doing anybody any favor to continue to support an athetic director who has so blatantly undermined the foundation of our basketball program. Also, as we all know, it is just not basketball. The story told by the Director's Cup rankings speaks volumes as to the depths Ron Wellman has almost single-handedly destroyed decades of atheletic credibiliy and respect.
Much of this is not Jeff [Redacted]'s fault. He is who he is and he is who he was. Colorado fans and administrators were incredibly shocked when Ron Wellman came in and removed the basketball noose around their neck. Now entering year four after [Redacted], their arena is sold out for the season and basketball has never been more popular. They took the opportunity to fully, diligently search for a good new coach and they found one. I can assure you the success now being experienced at Colorado is absolutely in spite of Jeff [Redacted], not because of any culture crap that he may try to claim.
Ron Wellman made the mistake in hiring an incompetent friend to lead our program and he has compounded that mistake many times over by continuing to insult the masses in foolishly making the case he made the right hire. Bzdlelik was a bad hire - a terrible hire, and the fact he is still our head coach is a stinging indictment of Ron Wellman's competency and priortities.
