No One Man Should Have All That Power
Ok fine, the title of this one is from a Kanye West song. But when you're talking about a college basketball coach, who better to steal from than Kanye? (Yes, all of the little hints dropped there were on purpose)
I wasn't going to write my Fire Ben Howland column until I read Bill Dwyre's nausea inducing love letter to Coach Howland. Is Howland ghostwriting for Dwyre? In case you missed it, Dwyre's piece centered around the theory that we should all congratulate Ben Howland for doing the right thing and benching Reeves Nelson for conduct detrimental to the team. Guys doing the right thing like Howland need to be celebrated as vociferously as we condemn Paterno. Um, what?!
Yes, the problem with college sports is that the coaches aren't exerting enough influence over their players. The players and their egos have run amok and that's the problem that needs curing. Good for Ben Howland and his multi-million dollar contract standing up to Reeves Nelson, at best a six-figure player in Europe in a couple of years.
No, I wasn't going to write my Fire Ben Howland until I read all of that. I figured it was just being spoiled after the guy took the Bruins to three straight Final Fours from 2006-2008. Bill Dwyre, congratulations, you took me over the edge that even being there live to witness the Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State losses couldn't accomplish.
So, now that I'm over the edge, yes, Ben Howland should be fired. Now. I was at the Middle Tennessee State game and it was the first time I had watched, in person, a team that had clearly given up on its team. The Bruins weren't rebounding. Fine. They looked stagnant on offense. Seen that before. But defensively? 71% given up to MTSU? The Bruins defenders rotated on defense maybe a half dozen times. The effort was less than zero. I thought about it and was trying to come up with, why now? And then I thought about Reeves Nelson. Sorry Mr. Dwyre, but Ben Howland wasn't trying to teach a lesson, he was trying to show everybody who's boss. He was trying to reinforce what everybody already knows. When it comes to college basketball, there isn't one athlete more famous or indispensable than his coach. In fact, is there an athlete in college basketball or football more famous than his coach outside of Andrew Luck? Quick, name Duke's starting five. I'll wait. And that's what Howland knows. That's what Howland was trying to reinforce. I'm the man here. You fall in line or you're out of here. Here's where the miscalculation was: Howland thought the rest of the team would respond by playing harder. But when your players already hate you, exerting your power over one of them is only going to make them hate you more, not less. And, this team has clearly shown that they're done buying into Howland.
Since Farmar and Afflalo left, I've watched several players play depressed and with horrible body language. Howland micromanages his offense to the detriment of everybody involved. He is a terrific defensive coach but there is not one player able to shine in his offense. Is there anyway a John Wall would play for Howland? No way. Jrue Holiday found that out a little too late. Holiday is a good guy. Watching him play for Howland was beyond disconcerting. It was clear to all in the know how good Holiday was and how much he hated Howland and his constant criticism and power trip explosions. And Jrue isn't the only one. Drew Gordon looks pretty solid playing for New Mexico. Chace Stanback is doing it for UNLV. Why couldn't they do it for UCLA? Howland. Howland's abrasiveness and ego won't let guys play. Was Russell Westbrook a clear NBA All-Star while at UCLA? No.
I'm excited for a coach to come in and take the leash off of our guys. How bad is it to play for Howland? Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee decided to jump ship knowing they wouldn't be close to lottery picks and that they'd be getting drafted into a lockout. That's how bad it is to play for Howland. You can't take one step on offense without fear of being chastised and benched. Sorry Mr. Dwyre, I give Howland no credit for continuing on his power trip. The guy has to go, and now. How many more times do we have to watch our Bruins look like depressed robots out there? Hopefully none.
WEEK 11 PICKS
Denver +6.5 vs. New York Jets
Buffalo +2 at Miami
Cincinnati +7 at Baltimore
Jacksonville even at Cleveland
Oakland -1 at Minnesota
Detroit -7 vs. Carolina
Green Bay -14 vs. Tampa Bay
Dallas -7.5 at Washington
San Francisco -9.5 vs. Arizona
St. Louis -1.5 vs. Seattle
Tennessee +6 at Atlanta
Chicago -3.5 vs. San Diego
New York Giants -5 vs. Philadelphia
New England -15 vs. Kansas City
Last Week: 11-5
Season: 70-69-7
I wasn't going to write my Fire Ben Howland column until I read Bill Dwyre's nausea inducing love letter to Coach Howland. Is Howland ghostwriting for Dwyre? In case you missed it, Dwyre's piece centered around the theory that we should all congratulate Ben Howland for doing the right thing and benching Reeves Nelson for conduct detrimental to the team. Guys doing the right thing like Howland need to be celebrated as vociferously as we condemn Paterno. Um, what?!
Yes, the problem with college sports is that the coaches aren't exerting enough influence over their players. The players and their egos have run amok and that's the problem that needs curing. Good for Ben Howland and his multi-million dollar contract standing up to Reeves Nelson, at best a six-figure player in Europe in a couple of years.
No, I wasn't going to write my Fire Ben Howland until I read all of that. I figured it was just being spoiled after the guy took the Bruins to three straight Final Fours from 2006-2008. Bill Dwyre, congratulations, you took me over the edge that even being there live to witness the Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee State losses couldn't accomplish.
So, now that I'm over the edge, yes, Ben Howland should be fired. Now. I was at the Middle Tennessee State game and it was the first time I had watched, in person, a team that had clearly given up on its team. The Bruins weren't rebounding. Fine. They looked stagnant on offense. Seen that before. But defensively? 71% given up to MTSU? The Bruins defenders rotated on defense maybe a half dozen times. The effort was less than zero. I thought about it and was trying to come up with, why now? And then I thought about Reeves Nelson. Sorry Mr. Dwyre, but Ben Howland wasn't trying to teach a lesson, he was trying to show everybody who's boss. He was trying to reinforce what everybody already knows. When it comes to college basketball, there isn't one athlete more famous or indispensable than his coach. In fact, is there an athlete in college basketball or football more famous than his coach outside of Andrew Luck? Quick, name Duke's starting five. I'll wait. And that's what Howland knows. That's what Howland was trying to reinforce. I'm the man here. You fall in line or you're out of here. Here's where the miscalculation was: Howland thought the rest of the team would respond by playing harder. But when your players already hate you, exerting your power over one of them is only going to make them hate you more, not less. And, this team has clearly shown that they're done buying into Howland.
Since Farmar and Afflalo left, I've watched several players play depressed and with horrible body language. Howland micromanages his offense to the detriment of everybody involved. He is a terrific defensive coach but there is not one player able to shine in his offense. Is there anyway a John Wall would play for Howland? No way. Jrue Holiday found that out a little too late. Holiday is a good guy. Watching him play for Howland was beyond disconcerting. It was clear to all in the know how good Holiday was and how much he hated Howland and his constant criticism and power trip explosions. And Jrue isn't the only one. Drew Gordon looks pretty solid playing for New Mexico. Chace Stanback is doing it for UNLV. Why couldn't they do it for UCLA? Howland. Howland's abrasiveness and ego won't let guys play. Was Russell Westbrook a clear NBA All-Star while at UCLA? No.
I'm excited for a coach to come in and take the leash off of our guys. How bad is it to play for Howland? Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee decided to jump ship knowing they wouldn't be close to lottery picks and that they'd be getting drafted into a lockout. That's how bad it is to play for Howland. You can't take one step on offense without fear of being chastised and benched. Sorry Mr. Dwyre, I give Howland no credit for continuing on his power trip. The guy has to go, and now. How many more times do we have to watch our Bruins look like depressed robots out there? Hopefully none.
WEEK 11 PICKS
Denver +6.5 vs. New York Jets
Buffalo +2 at Miami
Cincinnati +7 at Baltimore
Jacksonville even at Cleveland
Oakland -1 at Minnesota
Detroit -7 vs. Carolina
Green Bay -14 vs. Tampa Bay
Dallas -7.5 at Washington
San Francisco -9.5 vs. Arizona
St. Louis -1.5 vs. Seattle
Tennessee +6 at Atlanta
Chicago -3.5 vs. San Diego
New York Giants -5 vs. Philadelphia
New England -15 vs. Kansas City
Last Week: 11-5
Season: 70-69-7
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