Why did everyone hate Marty Fletcher?

[California Cajun]

_
The problem with Marty is that we might pick off a team every now and then that we were not picked to beat, but then would undo that by losing to two or three teams we had no business losing to! You can't improve a program by doing that year after year!

Oh, and add to that... Marty was an as_ as a person! _

I think what you said in your first point happened to every coach since Shipley, and your second point confirms my point, that it was harder for you to overlook Fletcher's shortcomings than others because you had a personal dislike for him.

Remember, Shipley and Fletcher are the only coaches in UL history to ever win any NCAA Division I Tournament games, and they both went two deep in the tournament.

[CajunRed]

_ I think what you said in your first point happened to every coach since Shipley, and your second point confirms my point, that it was harder for you to overlook Fletcher's shortcomings than others because you had a personal dislike for him.

Remember, Shipley and Fletcher are the only coaches in UL history to ever win any NCAA Division I Tournament games, and they both went two deep in the tournament. _

No... you missed the important thing, which was the upper portion of my comments. I like UL athletics enough that if Marty had been successful in the areas that I pointed out, I could hate the man, which I didn't, and I could still want him as a coach because he is bringing us that success.

I only pointed out that he was an as_. I never said I hated him. You assumed that.

I'm done taling in circles about this. Anyone who was here for Marty and considers the part I said about "winning those you should"... added to "winning a few now and then that you shouldn't" would probably agree that the comments are right on.

[Cajuns71]

I'm with slow Dog on this one, having followed the Bulldogs-Cajuns for that long too--Shipley and Pascal were the best--My wife and I were just talking about the Pascal days---we were one of the nationn's best independent teams at the time--that's a long time ago for a school with our past basketball history.

[Cajunsmike]

Cajunsmike is about the most knowledgeable basketball fan I know, so when he expresses an opinion I seldom disagree with it. He's also level headed and respectful of other opinions within reason. But I disagree on this subject.

The Fletcher years interest me because I'm a transplant. I attribute the whole thing to a culture clash, and neither he nor the community could make it work. There are places where people like him are liked. When he came I had marginal interest in basketball, and what happened during his watch pretty much killed it. It's interesting to read some these posts reliving some peak experiences we don't see any more, like sellout crowds and national TV. He finished 30 games over .500. If memory serves me correctly, he built Denver into a contender, but was fired and the next coach got the credit.

If there is a change at the end of the season, it's really important to get somebody who can not only evaluate talent and coach, but function in the community.

Cali, I don't disagree that Marty had trouble fitting into the culture here. However, had we beaten UNO more regularly, we would have been in post season play several times. Often times it was the first game of the conference season which hurt confidence for the next few games. Those years that were 20 and 9 might have been 23 and 6 with UNO wins. Fans will accept anyone with that kind of record.