Grandpa
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Post by Grandpa on Apr 9, 2009 20:19:35 GMT -5
Interesting write-up on Vernon - here's one excerpt: "I think it's very, very unfair for Vernon going into next year that he's this dominant (big man)," Donovan said. "No he's not. He's a good player who transferred from Georgetown and he didn't play a lot there. Good player, has got a long, long way to go to be (dominant)."
It's unclear why Macklin, a former McDonald's and Parade All-American, fell out of favor at Georgetown. There were some rumblings about Macklin's inability to pick up Georgetown coach John Thompson's intricate Princeton offense. Macklin said that Florida's up-tempo offense presented a better fit for his skills.
Macklin acknowledged it has been difficult to practice all season without playing. Last January, Donovan singled out Macklin following a win against Ole Miss in which the Gators were outrebounded by 24. Donovan said if Macklin was doing a better job pushing UF's big men in practice, the rebounding disparity wouldn't have been so great.www.gatorsports.com/article/20090409/articles/904099922&tc=yahoo
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Apr 9, 2009 21:30:36 GMT -5
Macklin acknowledged it has been difficult to practice all season without playing. Last January, Donovan singled out Macklin following a win against Ole Miss in which the Gators were outrebounded by 24. Donovan said if Macklin was doing a better job pushing UF's big men in practice, the rebounding disparity wouldn't have been so great. [/i] [/quote] Ahhhh, that's the Billy Donovan I know and hate. Way to throw your practice player under the bus. What a mensch! Did you also forbid Macklin from wearing anything colored orange and blue? Did you make him wear a dress in practice in hopes he'd play more like Noah?
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hoyaboya
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Post by hoyaboya on Apr 9, 2009 22:03:20 GMT -5
Billy Donovan has two national titles. If JT III had those, I think we'd give him a pass on just about anything he says.
Maybe Macklin's a dog after all...
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Filo
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Post by Filo on Apr 9, 2009 22:24:11 GMT -5
Can't say I have ever seen a practice player thrown under the bus like that before. Surprised we didn't hear about that before (well I didn't, at least). I don't care how many titles Donovan has, that was lame and just plain bizarre. And JTIII would never do it.
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hoyaboya
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Post by hoyaboya on Apr 9, 2009 22:29:27 GMT -5
This "practice player" was considered a top five player in the nation at one point. Maybe Donovan was expecting a lot more than what he was getting. Maybe he was lighting a fire under Macklin's butt.
Regardless, 2 national titles gives somebody a lot of leeway in what they say in my book. JT III just underachieved in a huge way this past season. He's also gone out of his way to make DaJuan the scapegoat. Let's not act like JT III is some sort of saint who can do no wrong. He's run kids off, he's made players that have left look bad. He's been very successful, he had one extremely disappointing season, fine. Donovan has two national titles. Can say anything he wants and I'd be happy if I was a Gators fan.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on Apr 9, 2009 22:57:59 GMT -5
This "practice player" was considered a top five player in the nation at one point. Maybe Donovan was expecting a lot more than what he was getting. Maybe he was lighting a fire under Macklin's butt. Regardless, 2 national titles gives somebody a lot of leeway in what they say in my book. JT III just underachieved in a huge way this past season. He's also gone out of his way to make DaJuan the scapegoat. Let's not act like JT III is some sort of saint who can do no wrong. He's run kids off, he's made players that have left look bad. He's been very successful, he had one extremely disappointing season, fine. Donovan has two national titles. Can say anything he wants and I'd be happy if I was a Gators fan. Show me one public statement made by JT III "scapegoating" anyone, let alone Dajuan Summers.
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royski
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Post by royski on Apr 9, 2009 23:06:07 GMT -5
I'm personally STUNNED that this article wasn't posted by Hifi.
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hoyaboya
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Post by hoyaboya on Apr 9, 2009 23:16:05 GMT -5
Read between the lines on the Andy Katz article. Not exactly difficult to see what JT III had to say about Summers.
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Post by daytonahoya31 on Apr 10, 2009 1:09:45 GMT -5
you're plain wrong, hoyaboya
JTII has never made ONE statement, subtle or not trying to throw anyone under the bus on any one of his teams. Prove me wrong. Prove anyone wrong. Come up with a statement. Otherwise, you need to slow your roll.
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hoyatables
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Post by hoyatables on Apr 10, 2009 6:18:14 GMT -5
hoyaboya = troll?
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SirSaxa
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Post by SirSaxa on Apr 10, 2009 7:11:02 GMT -5
Interesting write-up on Vernon - here's one excerpt: "I think it's very, very unfair for Vernon going into next year that he's this dominant (big man)," Donovan said. "No he's not. He's a good player who transferred from Georgetown and he didn't play a lot there. Good player, has got a long, long way to go to be (dominant)."This one looks like an attempt to minimize expectations -- essentially to HELP Macklin's transition next season. Macklin acknowledged it has been difficult to practice all season without playing. Last January, Donovan singled out Macklin following a win against Ole Miss in which the Gators were outrebounded by 24. Donovan said if Macklin was doing a better job pushing UF's big men in practice, the rebounding disparity wouldn't have been so great. [/i][/quote] Since this quote followed a WIN, I read this as a motivator to fire up Macklin and get him working harder in practice. True, it is not JT3's style, but it is not "throwing Macklin under the bus" either, because it was after a WIN. The real test will be next season when we see how well Macklin has adapted to UF. Can he deliver? Will he play up to previous expectations? Will Dononvan's coaching methods prove effective? We shall see.
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NCHoya
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Post by NCHoya on Apr 10, 2009 8:04:19 GMT -5
I see this as justification for why Macklin was not successful here. Donovan hints that he will not be "dominant" and still needs to motivate him by publicly outing him in the media. Does not sound like your typical MCD AA to me. That tells me all I need to know about Macklin, I am confortable now that he likely would not have made a significant difference for the team this season.
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HoyaSox04
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Post by HoyaSox04 on Apr 10, 2009 8:39:28 GMT -5
This "practice player" was considered a top five player in the nation at one point. Maybe Donovan was expecting a lot more than what he was getting. Maybe he was lighting a fire under Macklin's butt. Regardless, 2 national titles gives somebody a lot of leeway in what they say in my book. JT III just underachieved in a huge way this past season. He's also gone out of his way to make DaJuan the scapegoat. Let's not act like JT III is some sort of saint who can do no wrong. He's run kids off, he's made players that have left look bad. He's been very successful, he had one extremely disappointing season, fine. Donovan has two national titles. Can say anything he wants and I'd be happy if I was a Gators fan. Hoyaboya = Omega? I think there are a lot of reasons why Vernon transferred, both on-court and off. Much like the reasons behind Dajuan leaving. But you cant ever show me a single instance where JT3 has been anything but gracious towards people leaving the program, even if its hurt the team in the long run. I'm sorry, but that's a fact, regardless of whatever you feel like insinuating from a public statement.
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JimmyHoya
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Post by JimmyHoya on Apr 10, 2009 8:45:35 GMT -5
Read between the lines on the Andy Katz article. Not exactly difficult to see what JT III had to say about Summers. Yes, because reading between the lines of an ESPN.com blog post is akin to publicly saying "we would have been better this season/at rebounding if Macklin/Summers/practice player X had pushed people harder in the gym."--that's ridiculous. The unprovoked scapegoating of Macklin is way different than acknowledging post-season someone/some people didn't live up to your expectations and their deficiencies created serious problems for your basketball teams. One is a bitter reaction mid-season, the other is an implied reflection on what occurred during the season.
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seaweed
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Post by seaweed on Apr 10, 2009 9:08:37 GMT -5
This is Georgetown - you don't get extra latitude for winning titles, because that is your job description. You don't throw students under the bus because they are students, and we take our roles as mentors and leaders a bit more seriously than that. Hoyaboya, edited we hope that you will realize the difference between a class act like JTIII and how he treats the kids (even when they break commitments they made to him and the school) and a guy like Billy D, who treats students like commodities and is a product of the win-at-all-cost culture that you seem to be OK with. This is Georgetown, and that means we win with class, character and integrity, not the Donovan way, even if sticking to our high standards means occasionally not winning as much as we would like.
If you don't get that, no doubt there is a place in Gainseville for you too.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on Apr 10, 2009 9:23:14 GMT -5
Please also keep in mind that if this had been the first instance of Billy Donovan doing something like this -- publicly calling out/embarrassing/humiliating (choose your verb) -- one or more of his players, I would probably not say anything.
But it's not the first time, and it won't be the last time.
And please further keep in mind the "publicly" part. I am not trying to say that players need to be coddled. Coaches should be on their ass if they are not performing, either academically or athletically. But there is no need to say it into a microphone....unless you are pondscum like Billy Donovan.
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Buckets
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Post by Buckets on Apr 10, 2009 9:26:36 GMT -5
I was searching for the exact quote and was unable to find it, since calling out a practice player seemed like the quote might have been a little bit misconstrued to say the least. All I could find was www.gatorsports.com/article/20090409/articles/904099922&tc=yahoo: I'm sure the Macklin reference was part of wherever the rest of that press conference went. So, to say he "singled out" Macklin seems like a slight exaggeration at best.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Apr 10, 2009 9:39:32 GMT -5
National Titles are no justification for throwing someone under the bus publicly.
It doesn't mean that Vernon won't be better for it, or that Billy Donovan is a bad person. Just not the way I'd prefer my coach does it.
I've never seen Thompson throw anyone under the bus. He's kept silent on some stuff that has made him look bad at times.
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hoyabinx
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Post by hoyabinx on Apr 10, 2009 10:11:16 GMT -5
Did he really blame a rebounding disparity on a kid that wasn't even playing in the game? Wow.
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Post by strummer8526 on Apr 10, 2009 11:25:21 GMT -5
Macklin took our Final Four ring, provided virtually nothing in two years, and then hightailed it off the Hilltop. I'm quite alright with his position under the bus. It seems absurd to blame someone who wasn't playing in the game, but hey...you leave a coach like JTIII, you might not get the same classy treatment that you get here.
And whoever said that III disparaged Dajuan, you're out of your mind. III has never said a negative word about a single player in public. Reading between the lines, I saw a coach that was doing all he could not to say, "This is what he was planning to do anyway, and it's fine with us that he goes." I don't know a better way for III to withhold those sentiments than the way he did with his remarks.
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