Gene Stephenson interview on Sports Sunday

[1979Shocker]

Grant Meech has the interview.

[InWuWeTrust]

Do you know if the TV station posts the interview online?

[1979Shocker]

Do you know if the TV station posts the interview online?

I don't know. I would think they would.

Oh, and he was just inducted into the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame this weekend.

http://ksn.com/2014/05/18/ex-wsu-coach-gene-stephenson-among-wichita-hof-inductees/

[SB Shock]

http://i61.tinypic.com/20r0lsm.gif

[Veritas]

Miss you coach as the one and only leader of WSU baseball!
Interesting to hear that no members of the media had reached out to him for an interview. Wth???

Would like to see an expose done on why he was fired.
Personality conflict with ad?
Lack of monetary support?
Back issues kept fHCGS from recruiting?
Loyalty issues from fHCGS in not replacing JT?
Wins started to lag as did attendance. But why???

Unless HCTB wins the CWS, this whole change will be looked back upon as an absolute shame.

Thank you Gene! Hope to see you at the Gene Stephenson Baseball Complex very soon. Until then... Hope you get back in. D1 coaching and set the overall wins record.

[Play Angry]

I have noticed the Ornery Jayhawk spends most all of his energy on three things:

1) ADES trolling;

2) Gene Stephenson trolling;

3) KSU bashing


Coupled with the Ornery Jayhawk's half-hearted defenses of WSU on the Phog, while often conceding KU's supposed superiority, it has made for a tiresome act. The Ornery Jayhawk has undergone a meteoric crash from once-respected poster to chronic troll.

Summon the pooper scooper.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Miss you coach as the one and only leader of WSU baseball!
Interesting to hear that no members of the media had reached out to him for an interview. Wth???

Would like to see an expose done on why he was fired.
Personality conflict with ad?
Lack of monetary support?
Back issues kept fHCGS from recruiting?
Loyalty issues from fHCGS in not replacing JT?
Wins started to lag as did attendance. But why???

Unless HCTB wins the CWS, this whole change will be looked back upon as an absolute shame.

Thank you Gene! Hope to see you at the Gene Stephenson Baseball Complex very soon. Until then... Hope you get back in. D1 coaching and set the overall wins record.

[newshock1234]

I have noticed the Ornery Jayhawk spends most all of his energy on three things:

1) ADES trolling;

2) Gene Stephenson trolling;

3) KSU bashing


Coupled with the Ornery Jayhawk's half-hearted defenses of WSU on the Phog, while often conceding KU's supposed superiority, it has made for a tiresome act. The Ornery Jayhawk has undergone a meteoric crash from once-respected poster to chronic troll.

Summon the pooper scooper.

no joke I wish that beaker would go back to his own board

[1972Shocker]

Miss you coach as the one and only leader of WSU baseball!

The nice thing is there is nothing to prevent you from buddying around with Gene. He has plenty of time on his hands and I'm sure he would love to have you buy him a few rounds on a regular basis.

Unless HCTB wins the CWS, this whole change will be looked back upon as an absolute shame.

What a load of BS. I hope we make it back to the CWS under HCTB, something Gene didn't do in his last 17 years. However, this statement does pretty much eliminate any credibility you may have had remaining on Shockernet. Should we fire Gregg Marshall for failing to win a CWS. Should we fire Lambo. Coach Rainbolt. Coach Jones. etc, etc, etc.

I am glad to see you willing to give HCTB more time though. Since Gene went 24 years without winning a CWS since 1989 I am assuming you believe HCTB deserves the same opportunity.

Hope to see you at the Gene Stephenson Baseball Complex very soon.

That I have no problem with whatsoever, although I really wonder if Gene will ever come back. Maybe you can ask him sometime.

Hope you get back in. D1 coaching and set the overall wins record.

I have no problem with that either although the only record that really counts in my book is the number of D-1 wins. Not sure where Gene stands in that regard. Maybe he already holds that record. I think he has about 300 wins over D-II and NAIA schools.

[WuShock16]

I have no problem with that either although the only record that really counts in my book is the number of D-1 wins. Not sure where Gene stands in that regard. Maybe he already holds that record. I think he has about 300 wins over D-II and NAIA schools.

To Gene's defense on this one, wins over the lower-level schools still count, just like the season-opening win over Emporia State for MBB still counts as a win for 3G. That said, as of late March when Augie Garrido passed another guy for the NCAA wins lead, Gene was about 60 behind Augie. That number is only going to get bigger, and if Gene doesn't coach again in the next year or two, it might start to get almost impossible to catch. Gene also has Mike Martin at Florida State breathing down his neck. I don't see Gene falling out of the Top 5 anytime soon (if ever), as Stanford's coach was the only other active coach above 1400 at the time of this list I saw. With teams not playing as many games (56 regular season plus whatever postseason), it would take a coach averaging 50 wins for 30+ years to start sniffing Top 5 status.

[1972Shocker]

To Gene's defense on this one, wins over the lower-level schools still count,

I understand they are counted. The question is do they mean anything. Strip those games out and let's see where everyone stands in meaningful games.

Like I said maybe Gene is already the career leader.

[Cdizzle]

Then maybe we should only count road wins, instead. Not sure the folks at Texas or FSU would like that so much.

[Veritas]

I have noticed the Ornery Jayhawk spends most all of his energy on three things:

1) ADES trolling;

2) Gene Stephenson trolling;

3) KSU bashing


Coupled with the Ornery Jayhawk's half-hearted defenses of WSU on the Phog, while often conceding KU's supposed superiority, it has made for a tiresome act. The Ornery Jayhawk has undergone a meteoric crash from once-respected poster to chronic troll.

Summon the pooper scooper.

I'm assuming you are referring to me so it warrants a response.
1. Just because I'm not a big fan of ADES for various reasons, doesn't mean I have to drink the ADES koolaid. His treament of fHCGS is a textbook case study on how not to terminate an employee.

2. Gene Stephenson will go down as one of the premier college baseball coaches in the country. He truly is a legend. What he has done at WSU is truly inimitable both from a school perspective and from a college baseball perspective. To argue otherwise is simply dimwitted. Additionally, not living in Wichita and perhaps not as connected as some, I was dismayed at the lack of respect provided him during his termination; especially from the Athletic Deparatment. Whether you like him or not, he is deserving of the AD's respect. I am at a loss why an expose hasn't been written on what happened. Clearly the lack of support started to mount due to a decrease of wins. But what drove that (health issues, lack of passion, game has changed, lack of AD support, etc...) What happened?

3. KSU??? Screw KSU. KSU considers WSU in two different ways A. (not very highly or deserving), or B. (not at all) Being both a KU and WSU grad, I have witnessed the WSU bashing, or disrespect from KSU (and KU for that matter) and when contrasted to WSU, have delivered one message--- WSU has done more with less, while KSU has done less with more.

Lastly.... re the PHOG. I don't expect you to do a compare/contrast, but guarantee you that I defend WSU without fail on the PHOG, and my defense of KU on Shockernet is very tempered. Being a Wichitan and growing up a Shocker fan, I've had to put up with more crap from JoCo KU fans than probably most of you. Shox are in my blood.

By the way... You did leave out JoCo as #4

Since this is a baseball board, until I see Gene properly treated and recognized for his contributions to WSU and the baseball program, I will continue to discredit ADES. WSU wouldn't have had a baseball program of this caliber (if at all) if fHCGS had not been the coach. Until then PA, go back to sucking the ADES pacifier.

[OregonShocker]

I'm assuming you are referring to me so it warrants a response.
1. Just because I'm not a big fan of ADES for various reasons, doesn't mean I have to drink the ADES koolaid. His treament of fHCGS is a textbook case study on how not to terminate an employee.

2. Gene Stephenson will go down as one of the premier college baseball coaches in the country. He truly is a legend. What he has done at WSU is truly inimitable both from a school perspective and from a college baseball perspective. To argue otherwise is simply dimwitted. Additionally, not living in Wichita and perhaps not as connected as some, I was dismayed at the lack of respect provided him during his termination; especially from the Athletic Deparatment. Whether you like him or not, he is deserving of the AD's respect. I am at a loss why an expose hasn't been written on what happened. Clearly the lack of support started to mount due to a decrease of wins. But what drove that (health issues, lack of passion, game has changed, lack of AD support, etc...) What happened?

I would have agreed with you on these points in the early to mid 90's. However since then, too much has happened to tarnish fHCGS to allow him to run the program. Undoubtedly he is a coaching legend, but like most legends, there comes a time when they cannot be allowed to run the athletic department at their whim and they don't like it. Not that his descretions were on the same level, but looking at "legends" like JoePa, or Bobby Knight should allow one to see that there still has to be control over legends. From what I understand, ADES gave Gene plenty of chance to set his own course; it appears he took the path named, "Don't tell me what to do and when to do it!" ANY AD would then be faced with a choice: turn the keys over to the legend, or take control back. Not an easy decision. FWIW, in MY opinion, fHCGS was unwilling to change his ways, even when it had been shown that they no longer worked. This is the plight of MANY a legend: the inability to recognize when what was successful before is no longer successful. (Hank Iba's basketball style wouldn't fly today.) The TRUE legends recognize change, and either adapt or bow out with their legacy exaulted. fHCGS did neither, placing him in a category similar to athletes who play beyond their prime and end up fading away in a uniform no one recognizes as being correct. Sad it had to end this way, but it had to end.

[DUShock]