Dana's new job - Opening for Matt?

[shocker22]

First, I have no idea about posts in the eagle. I am stating a direct observation. If saying somneone does not impress you is throwing then under the bus then fine. I held back quite a bit from what I would like to say. And I do not agree that he was a good ambassador for WSU, however it sounds like we saw him in different settings.

This is a discussion board and I think we are better off in the graduate assistant position now than we were before, due to my observations. If you don't agree then that is your opinon, but it does not make me some "troll" or anything else.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

its just your observation only seems like a personal one.

It had nothing to do with his coaching abilities. or lack there off.

[wsu789]

22, you're certainly entitled to your opinion. I always find it interesting when similar opinions about players, coaches, etc. surface, or often dramatically change, only after they depart. If you look back at posts from two years ago, Turgeon was the second coming of John Wooden; today he is often depicted as the second coming of Benedict Arnold (pardon the mixed metaphor.) You are far, far, far from the only person that has taken that approach, and I'm probably guilty of it myself. It's just human nature I suppose.

[shockfan89]

789 and others - I see your point but I would think it to be rather classless to say something bad about someone's personal behavior while they are still at WSU. After they are no longer with WSU then to me it is more acceptable...

I agree with some of what you said about MT, but some of us weren't as fooled by him as others. :-) Not trying to be a hater or take anything away from the man, just saying some people may have given him a little too much credit.

As far as shocker22's comments, i think it was a personal observation and I will tell you he is not alone in his observations. Different people have different opinions of the same individual. No big surprise there.

[shockar25]

First, I have no idea about posts in the eagle. I am stating a direct observation. If saying somneone does not impress you is throwing then under the bus then fine. I held back quite a bit from what I would like to say. And I do not agree that he was a good ambassador for WSU, however it sounds like we saw him in different settings.

This is a discussion board and I think we are better off in the graduate assistant position now than we were before, due to my observations. If you don't agree then that is your opinon, but it does not make me some "troll" or anything else.

No matter what, he won't hold a candle to Matt. Matt is such a part of Shocker history, and to have him on staff is a huge boost. Plus, the players all know him and respect him. Definately an upgrade.

I'm thrilled that Matt is 'back' on the sidelines and still part of the program, and for what it's worth, I wish Dana all the luck in the world (never met him myself).

[shockmonster]

89 may say that people were fooled by Mark Turgeon but I look at the facts in an unemotional way. They improved their win totals every year. They went to postseason play for multiple years in a row. While it wasn't the record of Coach K, Coach Wooden, or other reputable coaches, he, every assistant coach, and all players that played for him deserve some of the credit for the consistency of the program and what they accomplished. These are unemotional facts that will last for years to come. You may want to tarnish these facts with the final year that he coached here and that he left the program in poorer shape than he had it several years before, but facts are facts.

[SubGod22]

How can you tarnish those facts with the fact that the team tanked under his watch so quickly after the success? That's still a fact just not a nice one. Turgeon gets and deserves a lot of credit for what he did, but he rightfully deserves most the criticism he gets as well for how the team performed, the recruiting blunders and the taking of a recruit with him when he left. Those are all facts as well that did tarnish his legacy here as they probably should to some extent. Also, much of the criticism about Turgeon as far as coaching goes was voiced while he was here as well, even during the more successful times. He did a lot of good and some bad and always had things that irritated a bunch of fans.

[shocker22]

its just your observation only seems like a personal one.

It had nothing to do with his coaching abilities. or lack there off.

You are right, it has nothing to do with his coaching abilities, I have no idea what kind of teacher he is. However he did represent our program and I did not like the way he handled himself in more than one situation.

[rjl]

22, you're certainly entitled to your opinion. I always find it interesting when similar opinions about players, coaches, etc. surface, or often dramatically change, only after they depart. If you look back at posts from two years ago, Turgeon was the second coming of John Wooden; today he is often depicted as the second coming of Benedict Arnold (pardon the mixed metaphor.) You are far, far, far from the only person that has taken that approach, and I'm probably guilty of it myself. It's just human nature I suppose.

I don't think shocker22 has the 'jilted lover' thing going on at all. I think he was just showing some class and WSU loyalty by not "outing" a player, coach, or representative of the university's behavior while that person is still employed by the university.

And, for what it's worth, I've heard a few stories about Dana's behavior this summer that didn't leave me too happy to have him associated with my alma. Maybe he knew he was leaving and didn't care? Maybe he was like that all along? I'm not sure. But I'm happy to have Matt in his position now.

[RampageWSU]

I've been asked to make a point clear:

"By NCAA rule, Matt cannot coach, per se. He could still work out with them (Dana did practice with them at some point last year due to lack of numbers). The people on ShockerNet are talking about Matt being an improvement over Dana, Matt working with the guards and whatnot. No, what Matt's performance will actually be judged by is whether the summer camps run smoothly, whether training table gets set up, making sure the managers are doing what they need to do...things like that. He really won't have anything to do with things like how Toure Murray develops as a player."

Basically, Matt can workout with the guards...but do no actual coaching as a GA.

[SubGod22]

You're definitely correct, but as he works out with them I'm sure there will be some pointers/advice spread around. The players will still get some of his wisdom and understanding even though he won't actually be coaching.