Yep, he still needs to be fired
I have to say that I disagree with Texas on this big-time. How anyone in their right mind can sit there and seriously say that Dennis Felton is the man who will lead Georgia to better days is beyond me.
He's struggled to adjust to the level of play in the SEC. He's struggled to recruit competively. He's struggled to bring in players who are able to meet his admirably but rigid standards. He's struggled to field a consistent winner. He's struggled to manage the flow of the games (as painfully evident by his inability to call a timeout during an Ole Miss run that doomed the Bulldogs this past weekend).
And citing the challenge of finding a qualified coach as a reason to keep your average one is a pathetic argument, and one that schools across the country have somehow embraced in that silly goal of assembling a competitive program.
Felton may or may not remain next season, but keeping him on board and then expecting the team to be able to crank out 20 wins down the road is more than wishful thinking.
He's struggled to adjust to the level of play in the SEC. He's struggled to recruit competively. He's struggled to bring in players who are able to meet his admirably but rigid standards. He's struggled to field a consistent winner. He's struggled to manage the flow of the games (as painfully evident by his inability to call a timeout during an Ole Miss run that doomed the Bulldogs this past weekend).
And citing the challenge of finding a qualified coach as a reason to keep your average one is a pathetic argument, and one that schools across the country have somehow embraced in that silly goal of assembling a competitive program.
Felton may or may not remain next season, but keeping him on board and then expecting the team to be able to crank out 20 wins down the road is more than wishful thinking.
posted by Jmac at 8:43 AM
4 Comments:
Felton had success at WKU. Was that a mirage? Luck? Saying "this is the big time" isn't really all that convincing to me. Because, (1) in college basketball, the difference between the 'top' conferences and the 'mid' conferences is not that great, and quality within each conference swings wildly from one year to another, as it has in the SEC this year (which sucks compared to last year); and (2) Felton's Hilltopper squads surprised a number of good teams from big conferences anyway. They didn't just dominate a mid conference, they won against other teams.
Now, what have you done for me lately and all that. I get that. But we have to come to grips that we are Georgia, that Harrick really did set us back, and that it just takes time. And, since we're Georgia anyway (see above), what the heck is our big hurry?
Felton's standards for behavior are admirable you say, yet you want him gone b/c his kids don't live up to them? Well, good luck with that...I'm not sure how good a coach is really supposed to be at knowing who the angels are and recruiting them. When you have someone who can do it, like Richt appears to be able to do, then that's worth a huge salary. But it ain't easy, and if that's all that is holding Felton back than we should trust that time and probability will swing things together one of these days. Eventually he'll luck into a better group of kids (teamwork ethic wise).
Calling timeouts to 'break the momentum' of the other team is 'Guns of August' thinking. Sometimes it's a good idea, some times it's not. Color commentators on tv always talk like you should do it, but I don't think that's true. Of course, if your gamble doesn't work, then you're a bad coach, retroactively. That's always how the analysis goes.
Finally, it IS a good argument to stay with what you've got if you have no clear opportunity to trade up. Just bringing in "fresh blood" is the conventional wisdom that has developed in sports, but here too I'm not sure it's really based on wisdom.
Not that great a difference between mid-majors and major conferences? Yikes. Tell that to Bruce Weber who has driven my Illini program into the ground in just four short years.
And yes, I do love space.
- J.
I just love how so many people have forgotten that Georgia was on its way to the NCAAs last season until Mercer obliterated his knee against South Carolina. That doesn't happen and Georgia goes to the tourney and we're not having this conversation at all.
That said, when are Mike Mercer and Takais Brown going to be held accountable for not taking care of the reasonable and unmysterious responsibility of going to study hall? I mean those two are the difference in this season.
I covered Felton for two seasons. The guy is the right guy for Georgia. He's got a good class coming in. I like what I've seen of Swanzy. Albert Jackson is getting better, and we've got a good shooter in Woodbury for another year. Plus, there's a good class coming in, according to the recruiting services. No one, besides maybe Pearl, gets his players to play as hard as Felton does. When you give the guy some continuity of talent, I think Georgia is really going to turn the corner and compete. Felton needs to stay.
What do you have to say now, JMac????
I find it hilarious that the two coaches called out in this thread (Weber and Felton) have both taken their teams to the brink of the Big Dance!
Illini89
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