Coach Gregg Marshall Investigation

[pie n eye]

I thought the interview was good. It was good to hear Baker describe his whole time at WSU including the F4 and Perfect season. He said he is from the "snowflake" era and some kids can handle hard coaching and other can't.

He thought Marshall could have survived if he admitted his mistakes and apologized. But when Marshall released his second statement, Marshall violated his own rules



That seemed to push Baker over to talk to the investigators. He said he saw everything, except the punch. Marshall had come unhinged after Shaq foul and it became very uncomfortable at practice. Marshall followed Shaq to the locker room where the alleged punch occurred. He said other seen it (I think he said 2 or 3).

So the reporting that said 8 people confirmed it doesn’t seem accurate based on this interview.

[Stickboy46]

Maybe, but when you have that much on the line, my guess is his lawyers instructed him to go on record with the denial. Right or wrong. He likely can't go on record now with anything due to the NDA. He could however, call some of the guys with a mea culpa if he so desires. That is not really his style though. Bad deal all the way around.

I'd struggle with any valid legal reason to say something vs saying nothing at all.

I'm not a lawyer though.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

Other cool tidbits:

RB said his one potential regret is giving up the ball to Carl Hall inside rather than taking the three himself. He said Carl and him play pool every Thursday in Wichita and Carl has told him the same thing.

Best NBA moment was watching Giannis jump completely over Tim Hardaway Jr. for an alley oop.

[Kung Wu]

Excellent interview with Ron Baker. Dang, I loved watching that kid man.

He said the incident happened when Marshall sent off Morris and then followed him into the tunnel. He said that when the team came in after practice Shaq told them that he got hit. But ... then Ron went on to say other players "saw it". I don't understand how other players "saw it"? Maybe other players weren't practicing and were in the locker room/tunnel where it happened?

What I am trying to understand is: Is this a matter of Shaq/Marshall 'he said/he said', and the witnesses are really witnesses to Shaq getting kicked out and only what Shaq said happened? Or did the witnesses actually see the alleged "punch"?

[pie n eye]

Other cool tidbits:

RB said his one potential regret is giving up the ball to Carl Hall inside rather than taking the three himself. He said Carl and him play pool every Thursday in Wichita and Carl has told him the same thing.

Best NBA moment was watching Giannis jump completely over Tim Hardaway Jr. for an alley oop.

Proof I’m getting old: I remembered him passing to EO inside who was then fouled, not Carl. Maybe it was both.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

I'd struggle with any valid legal reason to say something vs saying nothing at all.

I'm not a lawyer though.

On the record vs. off the record would be my guess. Different lawyers will have different views on it but there is something to be said for having a public statement when you are seeking or negotiating a settlement.

[Stickboy46]

Excellent interview with Ron Baker. Dang, I loved watching that kid man.

He said the incident happened when Marshall sent off Morris and then followed him into the tunnel. He said that when the team came in after practice Shaq told them that he got hit. But ... then Ron went on to say other players "saw it". I don't understand how other players "saw it"? Maybe other players weren't practicing and were in the locker room/tunnel where it happened?

What I am trying to understand is: Is this a matter of Shaq/Marshall 'he said/he said', and the witnesses are really witnesses to Shaq getting kicked out and only what Shaq said happened? Or did the witnesses actually see the alleged "punch"?

Yea .. i wasn't real sure on that with the way he said it. My guess is a couple players followed coach out when he went after Shaq, but Ron stayed back. Just a guess .. and at this point .. doesn't matter. Whatever happened, both parties agreed there was enough evidence against their side to give up ~7.5 million dollars.

[C0|dB|00ded]

This may be the most BS post in the history of SN.

If a player is denied access to his dying grandmother, who raised that player, that coach is never going to get any level of effort out of that player.

That's not "tough love". That's "I own you". Many of us on SN have wondered why we never saw the potential that Kyles seemed to have. Perhaps we're getting the answer to that question now.

I don't know who on here have had an exchange with Gregg Marshall, but the best way to describe him is intense. For some that would be intimidating. I don't get intimidated easily so I'll go with intense. If you're a 20 yr. old kid playing under Gregg Marshall, you are going to feel like you are owned. The way he berates players is going to have a psychological effect. It would be normal to feel like he is going to kick your ass at any second. Very, very intense.

Now I'm not saying it's wrong, and the players are warned of what is to come during the recruiting process; I'm just saying that Kyles is probably being honest from his perspective. I have no doubt that he felt like he couldn't leave campus to visit his grandma or there would be hell to pay when he returned - particularly when you consider the fact that he was already in the doghouse. He probably figured it would move him to the very end of the bench for a very long time. I also don't know the context of our season when this was all happening. We could have been shorthanded, there could have been important games upcoming... He might have had all sorts of pressure on him.

He should just keep quiet, but that isn't going to happen because when the big dog is down, all his enemies are going to pile on.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

I don't know who on here have had an exchange with Gregg Marshall, but the best way to describe him is intense. For some that would be intimidating. I don't get intimidated easily so I'll go with intense. If you're a 20 yr. old kid playing under Gregg Marshall, you are going to feel like you are owned. The way he berates players is going to have a psychological effect. It would be normal to feel like he is going to kick your ass at any second. Very, very intense.

Now I'm not saying it's wrong, and the players are warned of what is to come during the recruiting process; I'm just saying that Kyles is probably being honest from his perspective. I have no doubt that he felt like he couldn't leave campus to visit his grandma or there would be hell to pay when he returned - particularly when you consider the fact that he was already in the doghouse. He probably figured it would move him to the very end of the bench for a very long time. I also don't know the context of our season when this was all happening. We could have been shorthanded, there could have been important games upcoming... He might have had all sorts of pressure on him.

He should just keep quiet, but that isn't going to happen because when the big dog is down, all his enemies are going to pile on.

Yep. Especially when the "journalists" are circling and offering free publicity to those who are on their way out of the game. It's a way for them to stay relevant.

I find it telling that when WSU was recruiting Sterling Chapman, his Dad mentioned one of the first calls he made was to RB's Dad. By all indications, RB's Dad gave Marshall the thumbs up as Sterling was all aboard the HCGM train. Some are mentally tough and can take it and understand he is trying to make them better basketball players and men. Some can't take it and are soft and those are the kids that HCGM will single out.

[C0|dB|00ded]

I'd struggle with any valid legal reason to say something vs saying nothing at all.

I'm not a lawyer though.

His lawyers' jobs were to protect his financial interests. They told him what to say in order to have the highest probability outcome of getting a settlement and then they drafted the letter. He didn't do a single thing besides give them the final approval.

Other than keeping his job fully intact, Gregg made out well. To admit wrongdoing brings a "fire for cause" front and center.

Gregg Marshall is a lot of things, but he is not dishonorable. I'm sure he would have LOVED to tell his side of the story. But telling that story could have cost him $8M.

[pinstripers]

I'm not sure why Kyles should have kept quiet

[mattdalt]

Yep. Especially when the "journalists" are circling and offering free publicity to those who are on their way out of the game. It's a way for them to stay relevant.

I find it telling that when WSU was recruiting Sterling Chapman, his Dad mentioned one of the first calls he made was to RB's Dad. By all indications, RB's Dad gave Marshall the thumbs up as Sterling was all aboard the HCGM train. Some are mentally tough and can take it and understand he is trying to make them better basketball players and men. Some can't take it and are soft and those are the kids that HCGM will single out.

Some people can handle abuse, some can’t, but no one should have too

[ShockerFever]

This whole damn thing has a happy medium somewhere. There's more granularity than just black or white.

Marshall was not a saint. If he would have treated players with more respect and compassion, he'd still be sitting in his office and parking in his designated parking spot. A lot of this falls on Marshall, and depending on how you want to look at it maybe all of it.

Players bringing this crap up years after the fact is a massive case of lame-ass butt-hurt-ness. If Marshall had anger issues that needed to be handled, they should have been nipped in the bud by folks upstream from him in the leadership structure. That falls on the dipshit AD we have at current who appears to be more of a highly-paid placeholder or mascot of sorts than a leader of men. His attack on the messenger rather than the message some years back was just a small peak behind the scenes I think.

WSU MBB is going NOWHERE as long a Boatright is at the helm. It got to where it was because of Shaus. It got into the AAC because of Marshall. If you love WSU, you need to get on your knees and pray that the new university president puts two and two together on this whole clusterfark and sends him back to Alabama. Roll tide on down the interstate brother.

Per usual, 1000% spot on.

[C0|dB|00ded]

I'm not sure why he should have kept quiet

Call an attorney and describe the details of the case and he will explain it to you.

What happens in a courtroom/arbitration is many times completely counter to what would be considered "normal, honorable behavior".

You don't trust anyone (maybe not even your own attorney fully) and you don't admit to anything. It is up to the plaintiff, judge or jury to figure out what it is you did.

Opening your mouth at any time, unless you are your own witness at a criminal trial, and all other hands have been played and your ass is likely going to jail, is akin to shooting yourself square in the foot.

Gregg (and his attorneys) did very well all things considered.

Plus, we don't know if Gregg was really kinda wanting to retire. If he was, this was a dream scenario for him and would explain his happy demeanor when people have approached him after this went down.

He's getting paid millions for years and he doesn't have to go to work anymore. He doesn't even have to shave.

If there's one thing you CANNOT argue about this man, it is his work ethic. He busts his ass and pours his soul out for the win. You can't do that forever. The second a guy like Marshall loses that fire, he loses his edge and has to leave. Otherwise, he'll get embarrassed.

[pinstripers]

His lawyers' jobs were to protect his financial interests. They told him what to say in order to have the highest probability outcome of getting a settlement and then they drafted the letter. He didn't do a single thing besides give them the final approval.

Other than keeping his job fully intact, Gregg made out well. To admit wrongdoing brings a "fire for cause" front and center.

Gregg Marshall is a lot of things, but he is not dishonorable. I'm sure he would have LOVED to tell his side of the story. But telling that story could have cost him $8M.

becoming increasingly clearer that he is