Open Letter from Garrett Stutz....

[abdullah_sharif]

Straight class.

[abdullah_sharif]

No mention of the one mistake-get pulled rule. Are we sure that he’s a former 3G player?

Don’t screw off in practice or showboat... i attended more than a few practices when garrett was in uniform and coach rode his ass until there wasn’t much left but i could tell that there was mutual respect and garrett became better for it. Never saw him get down on himself or make a fool.

[B&Gpassion]

Thank you Garrett, for both the words and the example.

[ShockTalk]

Heard another saying on the radio this afternoon that fits well here I think.

A hammer shatters glass but it forges steel (especially when a proper amount of heat is provided). Most Shocker fans would acknowledge the 3G would qualify has a hammer and is a guy who is known to bring the heat. If the raw material he is working with is glass it will no doubt shatter. Early on in his career many Shocker fans thought Garrett was glass dubbing him FiFi (we don't need to get into whether that was deserved or not). What many (maybe most) of us did not detect was the high carbon content inside 3G applied the heat and kept hammering away and it paid off with nice piece of forged steel who was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year as a senior. The last 8 years only prove that if you have high quality raw material and a skilled smith you can turn out a high quality piece of work that will hold up extremely well over the long haul.

Are you sure this is Garrett and not Paul regarding Player of the Year and the early tag of Fifi? Garrett did make 1st Team MVC his Sr year I believe.

[1972Shocker]

Are you sure this is Garrett and not Paul regarding Player of the Year and the early tag of Fifi? Garrett did make 1st Team MVC his Sr year I believe.

I think you right that Garrett on the POY point. But IIRC Garrett eanred the tag Fifi. But Paul may have as well. Fifi and Fifi v2.0.

[Shockm]

I think you right that Garrett on the POY point. But IIRC Garrett eanred the tag Fifi. But Paul may have as well. Fifi and Fifi v2.0.

I only remember one main person using that name extensively, and that person thought Casey Crawford was a “stud”. lol

[ShockTalk]

I think you right that Garrett on the POY point. But IIRC Garrett eanred the tag Fifi. But Paul may have as well. Fifi and Fifi v2.0.

Big men like Garrett and Paul (and even EO) is what lead so many of us to take the opinion that big men, in general, take longer to develop than other positions. Morris and Nurger were also much the same in their development. This is why I'm a little surprised that so many are/were hard on MU and IPBC their 1st 2 years. They may never make the late career growth others have, only time will tell.

[Aargh]

Can anyone get this to ES? He could probably use it at his next school.

[Aargh]

Making mistakes is inevitable in learning anything more complex than tic-tac-to, and beginners in that make mistakes.

Making mistakes is a good thing because that's the only way to learn how to improve. Mistakes are learning opportunities. People can only learn from their mistakes if they are aware of them and admit that they've made a mistake.

Some people are reluctant to accept that they have made a mistake. Those people have to have it made incredibly clear to them that they are making mistakes. That could result in some major ass-chewing in practices or benching during a game. Other people are more receptive to admitting they have made a mistake. Those people are more likely to be told about their mistake during the next dead ball, rather than being benched during the next dead ball.

A lot of the Stutz letter could be summarized with "You need to check your ego at the door. If you don't do that it will only cause you grief". First-year players have to adjust from being "the guy" to being "the guy fighting for a roster spot". Players who can accept that they make mistakes are more likely to survive that transition.

[1979Shocker]

Any chance of getting the letter posted in any other form possibly? No subscription here.

Right-click the link and open using InPrivate (Edge or Internet Explorer) or Incognito (Chrome).

[N Crestway]

Garret Stutz was a true student-athlete....not surprising that he would write an article like this. He had a bright future beyond basketball the day he graduated. I think we all would place Jaime Echenique in the same category.

[WuDrWu]

Big men like Garrett and Paul (and even EO) is what lead so many of us to take the opinion that big men, in general, take longer to develop than other positions. Morris and Nurger were also much the same in their development. This is why I'm a little surprised that so many are/were hard on MU and IPBC their 1st 2 years. They may never make the late career growth others have, only time will tell.

Excellent point.

I'm guessing most, if not almost all, on here would say Shaq is better than Garrett in their career at WSU. Garrett dominated at times his junior season, and was all but unstoppable the last half of his senior year.

Had he be given the chance to develop during a red shirt season, as Shaq had, then those returns would have been sophomore and junior results. His senior year would have been monster like.

No knock on Shaq at all, just food for thought.

And doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Garrett is still one of the finest student athletes to ever grace the campus.

[Topshock]

Excellent point.

I'm guessing most, if not almost all, on here would say Shaq is better than Garrett in their career at WSU. Garrett dominated at times his junior season, and was all but unstoppable the last half of his senior year.

Had he be given the chance to develop during a red shirt season, as Shaq had, then those returns would have been sophomore and junior results. His senior year would have been monster like.

No knock on Shaq at all, just food for thought.

And doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Garrett is still one of the finest student athletes to ever grace the campus.

To be fair, Shaq had a dominant Senior season playing a higher level on competition than Garrett ever faced.