Rogers or Lee??

[CajunZ1]

_ It is time to get rid of the old relics in the athletic department. David Walker agreed to stay on through Dr. A's retirement even though he wanted to retire earlier. It is now time for Farmer to take over and people like Walker and LeBas to retire. They are just too tied to the old regime's ways of doing things. We need new blood, new leadership, and a changing of the guard in athletics. _

I tend to agree

[California Cajun]

_ You are correct, but the problem is not in going the HS route itself, but in being able to COACH up the HS talent.


At this point, I could care less what UL does. Keep them both, fire them both, it really doesn't matter. Until we get the RCAF going, we will continue to be what we are and that is a mediocre mid major in a bad conference. I am tired of banging my head against a wall that does not appear to be showing signs of cracking any time soon. _

This would be the happiest Athletic Department in America if it thought it could wait to replace these coaches until they could afford to get two they considered ideal for this situation.

Question is, will the fans help sustain the Athletic Department with the same coaches one more year in exchange for a better coach, or will they refuse to support UL if they don't make a change?

[Cajunsmike]

_ This would be the happiest Athletic Department in America if it thought it could wait to replace these coaches until they could afford to get two they considered ideal for this situation.

Question is, will the fans help sustain the Athletic Department with the same coaches one more year in exchange for a better coach, or will they refuse to support UL if they don't make a change? _

I believe the answer to your question can be found in the attendance at the conference tournament game last week. Only 1200 showed up. That means many folks who had season tickets did not but tickets for this event.

[CajunProud]

_ This would be the happiest Athletic Department in America if it thought it could wait to replace these coaches until they could afford to get two they considered ideal for this situation.

Question is, will the fans help sustain the Athletic Department with the same coaches one more year in exchange for a better coach, or will they refuse to support UL if they don't make a change? _

Then I think they are very happy, because I don't think any changes will be made this year. Maybe Dr. Savoie does care and maybe he doesn't. I don't really know, but what I do know is that financially, the money isn't there to do what the fans want. We may as well keep Lee on for another year to finish out his contract. If we are willing to put up at least $300k a year, you are only "swappin spit" as they say. The program has already been run into the ground. What's one more year.

I'm really beginning to think that the only people who care about the athletic department are the ones who frequent this board. While there are quite a few of us, not nearly enough to really make a difference. Like I said before, I could care less. I'll still go to games, buy Cajuns gear and season tickets, but i've just come to accept what we are and that is a mediocre (at best) mid major that will make a run in a couple of sports every decade or so, but will not commit to get to the next level. I am emotionally drained after 30 years (like my 401(k)).

[CajunZ1]

I'm really beginning to think that the only people who care about the athletic department are the ones who frequent this board. While there are quite a few of us, not nearly enough to really make a difference. Like I said before, I could care less. I'll still go to games, buy Cajuns gear and season tickets, but i've just come to accept what we are and that is a mediocre (at best) mid major that will make a run in a couple of sports every decade or so, but will not commit to get to the next level. I am emotionally drained after 30 years.

I can't say I blame you...

[zephyr]

_ A program is a plan or system. If you declare you are going to go the High School route you don't abandon it the year after you declare it to be your new program.

You can't swing back and forth link a pendulum and call it a "program"

The old program was JuCo and UL had success with it. The new program was supposed to be the HS route it killed the JuCo program. It lasted a year the new JuCo program killed the HS program.

You can’t survive with a pendulum of 1 year programs. _

They didn't abandon the HS route. Coach Lee tried to address immediate needs in the "program" or "system" with people he thought could contribute right away. I heard nobody complaining at the beginning of the season with these moves. Like somebody said earlier, you're either the hero or the goat with that call bringing in so many new guys not having previously recruited them. People are making him into the goat but I felt like he went after immediate needs and I don't see anything wrong with that. Sometimes it will work out and other times not. The nucleus of this team are its youth that were all recruited out of high school and all of these guys underachieved this year. I will not put the guilt or blame on any one thing or person for this season's failures as I think it was a mix of quite a few things. Do I think Lee is the man for us? No. But I won't throw him under the bus on some decisions because everybody was applauding them early

[awadelewis]

OK... glass half full time for you: Suppose that Coach Lee gets that last year of the contract. What do we have? Four out five of the starters from the end of the season are back for next season (this assumes that Gary's injuries means he isn't able to play next season). Barr started to show at the end of the season why he was recruited into the program plus we have a pretty highly respected kid coming into the program who should help in the post. We have a decent set of bench players w/ McCoy, Dison, Bloom, Wallace and Johnson plus we shouldn't have the discipline problems like we had this year. Add to this a coaching staff that knows their job's on the line and players who want to wash away the memory of the past season and you can see the potential of a very good season.

[zephyr]

_ OK... glass half full time for you: Suppose that Coach Lee gets that last year of the contract. What do we have? Four out five of the starters from the end of the season are back for next season (this assumes that Gary's injuries means he isn't able to play next season). Barr started to show at the end of the season why he was recruited into the program plus we have a pretty highly respected kid coming into the program who should help in the post. We have a decent set of bench players w/ McCoy, Dison, Bloom, Wallace and Johnson plus we shouldn't have the discipline problems like we had this year. Add to this a coaching staff that knows their job's on the line and players who want to wash away the memory of the past season and you can see the potential of a very good season. _

Agreed! However, what we still may not have is chemistry and team leadership which is really what this team lacked this year. Coach Lee tried to instill a level of discipline but many of the players reacted negatively to his style. I think you are right in most aspects of your post. Barr definitely showed flashes and I think that McCoy did as well. This offense looked its best with him running the point and driving and dishing or shooting the short range jumper. Gary will not be playing next year if at all again which is a huge loss and its a shame. We need Bureau, Gradnigo, Tyren Johnson or somebody like that to lead this team next year. I believe coach Lee should go but I also think that worse case, if he was retained, this team could possibly turn it around next year since he's done it before with what he did in 04.

[Turbine]

_ They didn't abandon the HS route. Coach Lee tried to address immediate needs in the "program" or "system" with people he thought could contribute right away.

Then don't come out and say you are going to build the program through the HS ranks if you are only going to do it for one year.

After the 06-07 season Lee knew that last years team (07-08) would be young and could have used some upper classmen, but he said he was going to build through the HS ranks.

With those players being a year older going into (08-09) the HS route would have been easier than the year before but instead he went for immediate needs. That is not a plan, that is not a program, that is a whim.

I don't have a problem with filling immediate needs if you are balanced and IF that is your program. But to vacillate back and forth is not a program it is a crapshoot.

jmo

[reddot]

_ I will not put the guilt or blame on any one thing or person for this season's failures as I think it was a mix of quite a few things. Do I think Lee is the man for us? No. But I won't throw him under the bus on some decisions because everybody was applauding them early _

If you have a mix of quite a few things going wrong there is usually a bus waiting with your name on it.