Using Elijah Millsap to keep players at UL

[Hammer58]

_ Yep tony, i have a good job, i cant go make 35k a year and survive, i dont want to coach high school, i coach the best high school kids in the summer, boys and girls... I just wanna coach at UL, one day it will happen... Good to hear from you again... _

Hate to break it to you but in just about any business you have to start at the bottom. While what you make in the patch may be more than what a HS coaching job pays, you didn't just jump in as the CEO of the company you are with did you? You had to start at the bottom there and work up. It is the same in coaching. And the trade off for the low pay is you gain experience and build your reputation; again the same in business. I just think you are being unrealistic in dismissing those opportunities if coaching is your ultimate goal.

[CajunT]

_ I see your point. I just dont believe, that coaching high school ball is gonna make me more qualified to coach in college. I just dont believe that. I know some terribble high school coaches that have been coaching for a number of years. Just cause they have experience in years of coaching, does not make them qualified to coach in college... I also know several AAU coaches that have recieved college jobs...

I know what I know about the game. I believe my knowledge and personality would do wonders for my program. UL's program. I also believe I can bring in top notch altheltes from all over the country. I have big connects in California and in New York... So I believe with that, my knowledge of the game, my in game playing experience, and my willingness to JUST WIN BABY, is the greatest fromula to succeed here in Lafayette, LA.

Say what you want, that im cocky and arrogant and this or that... I know since I was 7 years old, I have always been a winner, and winning is what I know... So in years to come when I do become the coach, I will probably have to tell you, " I told you so ".

I’ve known many of kids that were winners in sports, but losers in life. Being part of winning teams or winning in every sport you participate in doesn’t make you a winner in my book. There are too many coaches in high schools and collegiate sports that want to win at any coast. They don’t care about the example they set for their athletes on or off the courts and fields. And they don’t really care if their athletes are positive influences in the community or get degrees; they are only concerned about winning at any cost.

Coaches like Tony Robichaux, Stefni and Mike Lotief have recruited good athletes of character and have winning programs. While they are not perfect, their programs have consistently won while graduating student athletes and having a positive influence on the youth in our community. Most of their athletes will leave this university without every being named All-Conference, All-American or All-Louisiana, but they will leave with degrees and the character to be positive influences in the communities they choose to live in.

[CajunT]

_ The majority of kids that play baseball and softball, or totally different. Their are some well rounded basektball players out there, that come from great homes and great upbringing. The majority of good and bettter than good players come from poor neighborhoods and poor upbringing, which exposes these kids to more stuff in the early parts of life, then me and you will be exposed to in a life time... Most bball and softball players or white, and come form middle or upperclass families, which in most cases puch their kids to do the best and graduate. Most basketball D1 athletes come from different envirornments and most of the time have no one pushing them or giving them good guidance. They are on their own... With softball they have great players that or and will be all conference. If they were not that good, the team wouldnt be that good. You must have good coaching, but you definitely better have good players. Its up to the coaches to push them in sports as well as the classroom... _

I understand the social and economic factors involved in recruiting young minority athletes. Don't make the assumption I came from a wealthy family because I speak about character. I grew up on the Northside of Lafayette, my parents couldn't afford to send me to a private school like STM; I attended Northside High and have seen as much or more then you have in your first 25 years of life. Half of my white and minority friends came from broken homes, but most of them went on in life and raised families.

Many of the top programs in the country recruit kids from the inner city, but you won't hear Coach K. at Duke or Coach Williams at UNC making excuses for any athlete on scholarship. They demand the best from all their athletes and hold them accountable. You can recruit quality athletes from the inner city, I talk to football recruits all the time from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport. They are kids of character despite the environment they live in daily.

You can recruit quality athletes of character from tough backgrounds and win without providng a crutch for failure. Those standards should not be negotiable period.

[CajunT]

_ MOST OF THEM, not all of them...My parents couldnt afford to pay for my school at STM either... What assumption of u did i make about wealthy family, im talking about good basketball players, the best ones, most of the time come from bad poor areas..

Im glad to know you grew up on the northside of lafayette, real tough area there huh... Come on man, im from Opelousas... You cant even compare lafayette or opelousas to inner chicago, new york , new orleans...

ANd kids that go to Duke are in classrooms of 15 and have hands on help from the teachers, so the duke point is not valid, UL is for from DUKE...

UNC and DUKE dont have to make and excuse for players not making grades because they can just go to the next all american to fill the void, again we are talking about the state of UL... _

"Im glad to know you grew up on the northside of lafayette, real tough area there huh... Come on man, im from Opelousas... You cant even compare lafayette or opelousas to inner chicago, new york , new orleans..."

Comparing Lafayette to Opelousas, is like comparing Port Barre to Baton Rouge. But that is funny! There is a much larger picture here that you do not grasp; providing a crutch for any group of young men, regardless of class opens the door for failure.

[Cajunpride101]

Milsap posted a double double yesterday against #25 Cincinnati. UAB is 9-1 and Milsap had a nice headline here in Columbus, OH. I have to say that is gut-wrenching to read.

[KACajun]

_ Milsap posted a double double yesterday against #25 Cincinnati. UAB is 9-1 and Milsap had a nice headline here in Columbus, OH. I have to say that is gut-wrenching to read. _

this is a fun thread to go back and read...looks like boyd was correct on his assessment of milsaps.