Open letter taken out in Omaha paper.

[NUpolo8]

http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/928%5C1213270.pdf

-Wow.

I may be not using all of my available recall skills, but I'm struggling to remember a time when the athletic department was put on blast like this.

Obviously, the entire Men's basketball program is a wreck. At least someone with serious weight on the booster side is calling for systemic changes within the athletic department.

 

[Comish]

Wow is right. Hawks makes some salient points, but his flaw (imho) is his underlying assertion that "We know Doc can coach". He is entitled to his opinion and the rest of us are entitled to ours. I wondered if he checked the stats on Doc in close games. I wonder if his recruiting is poor because a lot of kids don't want to play in the slow down offense. I wonder if he knows Doc has been known to have entire practices without even getting out a basketball as he worked on defense. (how did that great D work last night?). If this is the same Hawks family that has generously donated big bucks to the athletic department.........then the entire private plane issue shouldn't be an issue and they can work that out.

Finally, he seems to undersell the new arena and practice facilities. How does that investment impact what he records as "committment" ?? Since his records are not current year, I suggest those two projects reflect a HUGE commitment.

 

[NUpolo8]

Hell, I didn't know he had practices without basketballs. Things make a lot more sense now.

But ultimately, he has a good point, we aren't competent in any aspect of basketball, including in the athletic department. Of course that's not saying flinging money around solves everything. Northwestern is the top spender, and they've never been to a tourney game. Ever. (although they do have a great look at it this year).

I'm just more stunned that the Nebraska athletic department is publicly being called out. The natives are restless, every coach and sport ought to take serious notice.

 

[T_O_Bull]

As anyone who reads the threads dealing with BB I am in no way a SADler fan. I agree with some of the comments Hawks makes but I still think that Doc can't couch his way out of a wet paper sack. It also seems that most everyone thinks he's a good guy. Maybe instead of firing him we move him into the Athletic Dept. as an assistant AD for the BB program. Then spend some bucks hire a couch that teaches an up tempo game ans lets get this train back on the right track. Lincoln may not be a garden spot this time of year but is it any worse than climate at Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Kansas, or Syracuse? Given the right tools to a new couch and letting him get us on the map.

T_O_B

G>B>R

 

[PaulCrewe]

Neal reiterated points that many Nebraskans have known for a long time. The biggest thing this move did was make him look pretty douchy.

He screwed up his numbers in the comparisons of spending. I'm pretty sure there are some revenue numbers in there instead of actual expenses. See here at this link

http://businessofcollegesports.com/2011/12/21/big-ten-financials-10-11/big-ten-10-11/

The part about getting Doc a private jet, well that is funny actually. Doc having a jet is not going to change the guys that come here. Hell Doc has even said he doesn't need a private jet. If this is such a big deal in the eyes of donars like Neal, how about chipping in to get one instead of shelling out dough for a "my buddy is a really good guy" love piece.

The SOS schedule arguement is over blown. He puts the B1G on some pedastal. The Big XII had 50x the athletes on the basketball court. Doc could match coaching skills with guys there that more or less relied on that said talent. The COACHING in the B1G however, is 50x better than the Big XII and boy is it showing. Doc has had a couple of chances to change his philosophy to match his personel and didn't. Think the "Smallest Team in Division 1" year, and this year for a lot of extent. Small, guard oriented teams that he continues to force feed a nalf court game on. Not a strength of a team like that. Plays right into the hands of most teams. Again, Neal didn't do himself any favors typing the whole Doc can coach, and a private jet would improve recruiting. And yes injuries are part of the game, BUT JBD is NOT in the same universe to compare with Peyton Manning.

Again, he stated what so many have known.

 

[Gumbercules]

This letter worries me because Hawks is giving credit to Doc when none is deserved. He's got money, if he wants Doc to stay, that could be just the incentive Tom needs to keep him.

 

[Comish]

As anyone who reads the threads dealing with BB I am in no way a SADler fan. I agree with some of the comments Hawks makes but I still think that Doc can't couch his way out of a wet paper sack. It also seems that most everyone thinks he's a good guy. Maybe instead of firing him we move him into the Athletic Dept. as an assistant AD for the BB program. Then spend some bucks hire a couch that teaches an up tempo game ans lets get this train back on the right track. Lincoln may not be a garden spot this time of year but is it any worse than climate at Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Kansas, or Syracuse? Given the right tools to a new couch and letting him get us on the map.

T_O_B

G>B>R

eh..........I suggested that in the thread "Dead Doc Walking' and was drawn into a multi-post bruhaha about whether that was ever done. So, I'll not coment further here, but appreciate your like-minded sentiments.

 

[Hercules]

This letter worries me because Hawks is giving credit to Doc when none is deserved. He's got money, if he wants Doc to stay, that could be just the incentive Tom needs to keep him.

I don't think that's true - I admire Doc as a coach just for the sheer effort he's gotten from his players down the stretch this year. When a season spirals out of control like this one has and you throw in some key injuries, and bad press everywhere with whispers that the coach is on the way out, it's ridiculously hard to get players to buy in and play with effort, but I think our guys have done that. Even against Michigan State yesterday when they were outmanned in every way imaginable, they were scratching and clawing.

Wins aren't everything. I like how Doc manages his program and I like how he gets his players to buy in and give 100%, and I think Hawks has a great point in that Nebraska isn't as committed as it should be to its college basketball program. Everyone on this board knows deep down that even if we hire someone new with a flashy resume, that guy's going to have the same exact chance at failing as Sadler and every other basketball coach we've ever had, unless the culture changes in this state and in the athletic department.

 

[NUance]

THIS is the ad I've been hearing so much about? If the guy who took out that ad is so concerned about basketball expenditures he should have donated the money that ad cost to the bb program instead. The ad was not very convincing--at least the first part about expenditures anyway. So what if we were dead last in bb expenditures? The new facilities will bump us up into the middle of the pack in that statistic. I did like his suggestion about hiring a recruiter to pull in talent. That's what we need more than anything. Talent on the floor.

That said, I'm one of the few people on this board (in the whole universe?) who is not crazy about the idea of firing Doc. It's not like we're a basketball mecca and we will be able to attract some high profile coach who'll raise the program out of the dirt. We won't likely be able to get anyone better than Doc. It would just be the same story as it was before, when we fired Barry Collier, Danny Nee, and pretty much every basketball coach who ever held the job in Lincoln. Instead of canning the guy we should work on fixing the problems. We got the better facilities part covered. Now we just need some players.

Edit: Somebody pointed out that Barry Collier was not fired. Sure enough.

​

 

[Nexus]

[snip] ....

Finally, he seems to undersell the new arena and practice facilities. How does that investment impact what he records as "committment" ?? Since his records are not current year, I suggest those two projects reflect a HUGE commitment.

Hawks acknowledged the facilities upgrade and arena as a good start but says it's not enough. Shatel & McKewon over the past couple of weeks have echoed Hawks' sentiment in this too.

Shatel article (Feb. 18th):

Whatever he does, it's time for NU to be "all in" with basketball. Hmm. Sound familiar?
I've written that since the late 1990s. Pay attention to hoops. Care about basketball. My colleague Lee Barfknecht and I have pounded that theme home so much we're blue in the keyboard.

What does that mean? It's investing time and money, showing urgency, raising standards. Having an athletic official higher than the associate media relations director show up for a home game against Michigan State.

Look, a new downtown arena is a terrific start. A practice facility known in hoops circles as the best in the country is an eye-opening gesture.

These expensive toys are priceless tools for recruiting. But they're hollow gestures unless you have a coach who knows how to use them.

Hire whoever you want. Big name, small name, no name. Know this: Winning major college basketball will cost you money, and you have to be able to recruit.

It's time for Nebraska to hire a recruiter. And have that coach hire a recruiter. And then, well, recruit.

Winning at the major college level is all about players. Nebraska didn't learn that lesson after firing Danny Nee, who went to five NCAA tourneys and recruited NBA players, in 2000.

LINK

McKewon article (Feb. 11th):

I hear a lot about a new arena. I’ve seen the practice facility and its giant stone basketball floating on water in the foyer. I’m supposed to regard it as the Liberty Bell, I guess. This is Nebraska’s sun chair, where it signs a declaration of independence from ponderous mediocrity.
Without clear vision – not some blurry “well, we built it” mindset – the Hendricks Center risks being a gilded lily. The new arena, too.

Does NU expect kids to just emerge in Lincoln at the scent of these buildings? Is that the idea?

That’s not real commitment. That’s all guns, no butter. Not a lick of nation-building. That’s the guy who buys his girl a $10,000 engagement ring and says, “There. See? I love ya.” That makes for a two-month marriage.

....

A new arena isn’t worth the bounce you think it is. Creighton hasn’t won a single NCAA Tournament game because of the Qwest/C-Link. Since the place opened, CU’s been to more NIT/CIT/CBI shindigs than Big Dances. Attendance is through the roof, the games are an event, the sports bars down in NoDo sure love it. It’s good for the city. It’s had no bearing on the program’s success ... [snip]

....

What’d Quin Snyder do in newly-opened Mizzou Arena? Lose nine home games in two years and get fired. Texas Tech’s United Spirit Arena may have helped lure Bob Knight there in 2001, but it didn’t transform the Red Raiders’ basketball program. Will Matthew Knight Arena boost Oregon to a Final Four? Not with that basketball court – and probably not anyway. Maryland opened the Comcast Center in 2002 – the year after the Terrapins won the national title – and haven’t done better than a Sweet Sixteen since. Penn State opened the Bryce Jordan Center in 1995 – and have been to exactly three NCAA Tournaments in 15 years.

....

A structure isn’t a culture, folks. These kids – the good basketball players – have been in about 235 arenas in their life. They’ve seen every kind of gym. They’ve played outdoors, in parks, streets, driveways, basements, sidewalks, elementary schools, you name it. They’ve played in places with ceiling rot and moldy cinder-block walls, frankly. Basketball is not football – and even there, the facility bounce is overrated.

Commitment isn’t really measured in stuff you build or things you buy. You’ll be told that, sometimes, by the people who build the stuff and buy the things, but that’s often for their own self-assurance. Nah. Commitment is culture. It’s vision. Vibe. Passion. Time spent.

LINK

 

[Omaha-Husker]

I am not completely buying it.

Look at the numbers it isn't like Ohio St.(a top ten team) is running laps around Nebraska's funding for the sport.

You can't tell me the difference between only scoring 34 in a game and being a probable 2 seed in March Madness is $400K...

This is obviously one of the issues with the program, but it is one of many. Not the only issue as Mr. Hawks seems to think.

 

[knapplc]

Mr. Hawks should have just joined HuskerBoard and posted that. Wouldn't have cost him a dime, and it would have the same impact on the Athletic Department.

If, instead of writing checks to the Weird Harold he stopped writing checks to the Athletic Department Fund, that would have an impact. But this... not so much.

I think he feels quite passionately about the University, and that's great. But when that passion leads you to say/do something like this, it's not so great. It's too much. Seems like:

 

[PaulCrewe]

As I said in the above post. DBHOF material there. If you are gonna put stats in a big bitchfest, make sure they are correct. Maybe he should have used Wiki like a "popular" poster here.

 

[Comish]

THIS is the ad I've been hearing so much about? If the guy who took out that ad is so concerned about basketball expenditures he should have donated the money that ad cost to the bb program instead. The ad was not very convincing--at least the first part about expenditures anyway. So what if we were dead last in bb expenditures? The new facilities will bump us up into the middle of the pack in that statistic. I did like his suggestion about hiring a recruiter to pull in talent. That's what we need more than anything. Talent on the floor.

That said, I'm one of the few people on this board (in the whole universe?) who is not crazy about the idea of firing Doc. It's not like we're a basketball mecca and we will be able to attract some high profile coach who'll raise the program out of the dirt. We won't likely be able to get anyone better than Doc. It would just be the same story as it was before, when we fired Barry Collier, Danny Nee, and pretty much every basketball coach who ever held the job in Lincoln. Instead of canning the guy we should work on fixing the problems. We got the better facilities part covered. Now we just need some players.

I'll give you credit for offering some salient rationale on defending Doc, but I disagree on the first Bolded above about getting anyone better, because I think it directly correlates to the second Bolded...i.e. We need better players. I think we can breath some life into a stagnant program with new coaching blood ESPECIALLY if said new blood is willing to play a more entertaining style. I would suggest STYLE of play is a huge factor in recruiting and a more athletic and running team would be more likely to attract a different style (and BETTER) player. Plus, the ancillary benefit of such a style would have a positive impact on fannies in the seats. Like it or not, big time sports are as much about entertainment as anything else, especially if you have zero tradition. I'd venture to guess that if Doc was getting beat 98 - 90 rather than 50 - 44, there would be less grumbling.

(I won't even hazard a comment on 34)

 

[strigori]

Regardless of the fact that NU spends so little money and attention on basketball, things have become so toxic for Doc keeping him around is not good for either party at this point.

To move forward and get a coaching staff in here who is worth anything, TO is going to have to make some big promisies about future spending, and attention.