DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Sept 13, 2014 17:19:50 GMT -5
Thanks Chris - I was sad to have not been able to make it.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Sept 13, 2014 17:38:53 GMT -5
Thanks, Chris.
The only somewhat negative thing (perhaps just a small pet peeve) I may come away from all of this is that I am now convinced that for one reason or another JT prefers to refer to his most successful NBA guys rather than give shout outs to some of the arguably more important players to the program whose pro careers weren't as stellar. I'm guessing if, say, Reggie Williams's career was as successful as Reggie Miller's, JT would chat him up more. I wasn't watching Hoya hoops during Reggie's days but I've become aware how critical he, Sleepy, Duren, Wingate, etc. were to the program's success. Perhaps JT talked them up during the evening portion. But to read that the four guys that spoke at the podium were the four most NBA successful Hoya alum gives me doubts.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Sept 13, 2014 18:35:28 GMT -5
You realize that JTJr likely did not pick the speakers for the dinner (if he did at all) and that it was most likely done by the Athletic and Advancement people running the event, right? One of the speakers is also on the school's Board of Directors so perhaps that had some influence. In addition, the reporters covering the event were far more likely to report on players such as you mention because their readership will recognize them. I wasn't at the dinner either but it's clear that most of the guys you mention were there.
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HoyaChris
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Post by HoyaChris on Sept 13, 2014 18:55:39 GMT -5
Thanks, Chris. The only somewhat negative thing (perhaps just a small pet peeve) I may come away from all of this is that I am now convinced that for one reason or another JT prefers to refer to his most successful NBA guys rather than give shout outs to some of the arguably more important players to the program whose pro careers weren't as stellar. I'm guessing if, say, Reggie Williams's career was as successful as Reggie Miller's, JT would chat him up more. I wasn't watching Hoya hoops during Reggie's days but I've become aware how critical he, Sleepy, Duren, Wingate, etc. were to the program's success. Perhaps JT talked them up during the evening portion. But to read that the four guys that spoke at the podium were the four most NBA successful Hoya alum gives me doubts. MCI - I may have unwittingly reinforced your view with my selection of comments about the event, but if you had witnessed John's whole speech you would think otherwise. John spent 10 minutes talking about one of the managers and more time talking about Lori Michael and Mary Fenlon than any of the players. Moreover there was a long video featuring John and Lonnie Duren. Now John Duren is a Hoya great, but Lonnie got about two minutes a game. He is, however, doing great community work in Southeast DC today. A.I. got a lot of attention, but I think that is mostly because the whole community was stunned to see him.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Sept 13, 2014 18:58:24 GMT -5
This seems a good place to post this...
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Sept 13, 2014 19:01:23 GMT -5
Sure, Dan, but you do know JT's speech in the afternoon wasn't conjured in thin air by those Athletic and Advancement people but by JT himself and yet he still only mentioned the Big Four NBA superstars when referring to his players, right? And I know all the other guys were at the event. My point was it would be nice for Big John to actually acknowledge them in his addresses/speeches. The whole "off-the-ball" part of his speech when he only mentioned Zo, Pat, Dikembe and then called out Iverson for being "on-the-ball" sounded almost like name dropping. Like I wrote earlier....maybe he made mention of the other guys during the evening ceremonies. Otherwise JT comes across as a father who only mentions his children who became doctors and lawyers while keeping mum on those made a nice but less admired careers as teachers or bus drivers. That doesn't make him a bad guy nor does it mean he loves those children with less prestigious careers any less. Just may mean he gets caught up with the success of the most prominent children.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Sept 13, 2014 19:02:56 GMT -5
Thanks, Chris. The only somewhat negative thing (perhaps just a small pet peeve) I may come away from all of this is that I am now convinced that for one reason or another JT prefers to refer to his most successful NBA guys rather than give shout outs to some of the arguably more important players to the program whose pro careers weren't as stellar. I'm guessing if, say, Reggie Williams's career was as successful as Reggie Miller's, JT would chat him up more. I wasn't watching Hoya hoops during Reggie's days but I've become aware how critical he, Sleepy, Duren, Wingate, etc. were to the program's success. Perhaps JT talked them up during the evening portion. But to read that the four guys that spoke at the podium were the four most NBA successful Hoya alum gives me doubts. MCI - I may have unwittingly reinforced your view with my selection of comments about the event, but if you had witnessed John's whole speech you would think otherwise. John spent 10 minutes talking about one of the managers and more time talking about Lori Michael and Mary Fenlon than any of the players. Moreover there was a long video featuring John and Lonnie Duren. Now John Duren is a Hoya great, but Lonnie got about two minutes a game. He is, however, doing great community work in Southeast DC today. A.I. got a lot of attention, but I think that is mostly because the whole community was stunned to see him. Thanks for that clarification, Chris. It's good to hear.
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hoyajmw
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Post by hoyajmw on Sept 13, 2014 19:03:28 GMT -5
Not as basketball-centric a comment, but it should be noted that Tiffany Thompson (JT jr's daughter) gave a very moving/witty speech paying tribute to her dad . There also was an incredibly well done video tribute by the grandchildren to their "Poppy.". I don't think I'm alone in thinking they were the most poignant parts of the evening. Unless it was JTIII's speech in which he paid tribute to Lori Michael and asked that the medical training facility in the Center be named in her honor. . She gave a short speech late in he evening, appearing very frail, thanking JT jr for his incredible friendship especially over the last several years around her surgery and saying she now lives in the top floor of the Thompson house.
Somehow the occasional x's and o's complaints I have seemed very very very silly....
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Sept 13, 2014 19:09:22 GMT -5
Not as basketball-centric a comment, but it should be noted that Tiffany Thompson (JT jr's daughter) gave a very moving/witty speech paying tribute to her dad . There also was an incredibly well done video tribute by the grandchildren to their "Poppy.". I don't think I'm alone in thinking they were the most poignant parts of the evening. Unless it was JTIII's speech in which he paid tribute to Lori Michael and asked that the medical training facility in the Center be named in her honor. . She gave a short speech late in he evening, appearing very frail, thanking JT jr for his incredible friendship especially over the last several years around her surgery and saying she now lives in the top floor of the Thompson house. Somehow the occasional x's and o's complaints I have seemed very very very silly.... That's an extremely moving thing to hear. JT has really been in Ms. Michael's corner during her recent health issues. My prayers are with her. And, yeah, they better name that medical wing after her.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Sept 13, 2014 19:09:50 GMT -5
Sure, Dan, but you do know JT's speech in the afternoon wasn't conjured in thin air by those Athletic and Advancement people but by JT himself and yet he still only mentioned the Big Four NBA superstars when referring to his players, right? And I know all the other guys were at the event. My point was it would be nice for Big John to actually acknowledge them in his addresses/speeches. The whole "off-the-ball" part of his speech when he only mentioned Zo, Pat, Dikembe and then called out Iverson for being "on-the-ball" sounded almost like name dropping. Like I wrote earlier....maybe he made mention of the other guys during the evening ceremonies. Otherwise JT comes across as a father who only mentions his children who became doctors and lawyers while keeping mum on those made a nice but less admired careers as teachers or bus drivers. That doesn't make him a bad guy nor does it mean he loves those children with less prestigious careers any less. Just may mean he gets caught up with the success of the most prominent children. I guess if you want to overreact and stretch things you might come up with this. I've seen him at events with his inner circle of former players. They are just the people you are complaining didn't get mentioned in a ten minute speech given off the cuff with the guys mentioned being in the front row right in front of him.
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HoyaChris
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Post by HoyaChris on Sept 13, 2014 19:11:27 GMT -5
Actually, the manager story was a great one. Coach saw him working as a manage for American and recruited him to transfer to GU.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Sept 13, 2014 19:12:42 GMT -5
This seems a good place to post this... Thanks for the link, Dan.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Sept 13, 2014 19:16:43 GMT -5
Sure, Dan, but you do know JT's speech in the afternoon wasn't conjured in thin air by those Athletic and Advancement people but by JT himself and yet he still only mentioned the Big Four NBA superstars when referring to his players, right? And I know all the other guys were at the event. My point was it would be nice for Big John to actually acknowledge them in his addresses/speeches. The whole "off-the-ball" part of his speech when he only mentioned Zo, Pat, Dikembe and then called out Iverson for being "on-the-ball" sounded almost like name dropping. Like I wrote earlier....maybe he made mention of the other guys during the evening ceremonies. Otherwise JT comes across as a father who only mentions his children who became doctors and lawyers while keeping mum on those made a nice but less admired careers as teachers or bus drivers. That doesn't make him a bad guy nor does it mean he loves those children with less prestigious careers any less. Just may mean he gets caught up with the success of the most prominent children. I guess if you want to overreact and stretch things you might come up with this. I've seen him at events with his inner circle of former players. They are just the people you are complaining didn't get mentioned in a ten minute speech given off the cuff with the guys mentioned being in the front row right in front of him. It's not overreacting or stretching. It was my observation of speeches that I've seen JT give. I apologize for not being able to witness all of his testimonials that you obviously have. Stop acting as if I called him the devil. Heck, I even mentioned it was just a pet peeve of mine which demonstrates that I realize it was merely a small quibble on my part.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Sept 13, 2014 19:17:46 GMT -5
My pleasure - I was browsing youtube (unsuccessfully) in search of a version of the groundbreaking where you could cue it up to JTJr's speech rather than having to wade through the whole thing so my Pop could watch it.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Sept 13, 2014 19:19:10 GMT -5
I guess if you want to overreact and stretch things you might come up with this. I've seen him at events with his inner circle of former players. They are just the people you are complaining didn't get mentioned in a ten minute speech given off the cuff with the guys mentioned being in the front row right in front of him. It's not overreacting or stretching. It was my observation of speeches that I've seen JT give. I apologize for not being able to witness all of his testimonials that you obviously have. Stop acting as if I called him the devil. Heck, I even mentioned it was just a pet peeve of mine which demonstrates that I realize it was merely a small quibble on my part. Now you're overreacting to my posts. Not acting as if you "called him the devil." (Really?) I was trying to give you some examples that would counter your interpretation.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Sept 13, 2014 19:31:09 GMT -5
It's hard to imagine NOT seeing Tiffany Thompson at any away game.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Sept 13, 2014 19:54:52 GMT -5
It's not overreacting or stretching. It was my observation of speeches that I've seen JT give. I apologize for not being able to witness all of his testimonials that you obviously have. Stop acting as if I called him the devil. Heck, I even mentioned it was just a pet peeve of mine which demonstrates that I realize it was merely a small quibble on my part. Now you're overreacting to my posts. Not acting as if you "called him the devil." (Really?) I was trying to give you some examples that would counter your interpretation. You're right. I went overboard. My apologies.
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HoyaChris
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Post by HoyaChris on Sept 13, 2014 20:32:31 GMT -5
I missed a former player who spoke last night. Michael Jackson, now a VP with Nike, led off the former players.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Sept 13, 2014 21:18:24 GMT -5
Now you're overreacting to my posts. Not acting as if you "called him the devil." (Really?) I was trying to give you some examples that would counter your interpretation. You're right. I went overboard. My apologies. No worries.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Sept 14, 2014 0:52:17 GMT -5
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