(02-22-2009 12:25 PM)DollarBill Wrote:  

(02-22-2009 11:44 AM)mjs Wrote:  

(02-22-2009 11:27 AM)DollarBill Wrote:  

(02-22-2009 11:06 AM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(02-22-2009 10:47 AM)mjs Wrote:  

(02-22-2009 08:45 AM)Ynocpirt Wrote:  [How would it hurt them team letting him stay? He's the team's leading scorer and we have few real offensive threats without him. We are certainly a better team with him. If we let him back do you think other players will start walking off the court?- I can confidently say that won't happen.

So the question is, should he be kicked off the team for what he did? He didn't get arrested, he didn't do illicit drugs, he didn't cheat on an exam, he didn't beat up his girlfriend. He acted in an immature manner in the heat of the moment. So I guess my vote would be "no".

Don't you believe in the "one rotten apple" idea of one bad attitude .on a team being contagious, like sitting and grumbling about a coach's decisions . . . or the idea that team discipline can deteriorate badly if other players believe favoritism is being shown to one player? If those phenomena are unlikely, then, sure, let him stay. Like Dr. J likes to say, . . ."just a thought."

I believe in the "one rotten apple" idea. I have no idea if that is the issue here. It apparently was with Nick Zachary and probably was with Zach Wright. So if it is in this case, he will probably be gone because it didn't prevent Steve from getting rid of our most talented players in the past.

With regard to "favoritism", that is only the case if he keeps Stevee and wouldn't have kept another player who did the same thing. Based on Steve's history I have absolutely no concern that this will be an issue. He has suspended two key players for multiple games this season and thrown our best players off the team before. The only thing that might make this decision a little bit more difficult for Steve is that Stevee's mom sits at midcourt for everygame and I'm sure Steve knows her. That's one reason I have mixed feelings about signing local kids (see Houston Nutt and the Springdale 5).

Should that make a difference? Is is okay to kick a player off whose mother lives 500 or 1000 miles away and can't make most of the games, but it's alright to keep a player whose mother happens to live in Little Rock? Whatever is done, the punishment should shouldn't be different because one player is a local kid. If you do that, the word will get out that the coach has different rules for local guys. The pattern
may already be cut, since Mike Smith is a Jacksonville kid. I talked to Nick Zachery at a game after he was cut loose, and he didn't have one negative thing to say about the situation or the coaches.

I'm not saying Stevie should be kicked off the team, but I still believe that if a kid quits on you one time, he may very well do it again sometime later.

Back in the old days playing HS football, it was generally understood that there was a certain type individual who would benefit from an "in your face" A-- chewing. And, some kids could not accept harsh criticism, and the coaches recogonized the difference. I don't personally know Stevie Moore or Steve Shields. Based on what I do know at this point, I would suspend the player the rest of the regular season. Allow him to return for the Tournament if he wants to. Then, a serious discussion would take place re: next season. In this case I believe team mates should have some input. Afterall, the player has not committed a felony.

Seems like as reasonable a solution as any I've heard. But, of course, that would mean he wouldn't have stepped on the court for well over two weeks by the time the tourney starts.

Seems to me, a this point, we are thinking not as much about BB as the future of a young man for whom BB has been his life. Suspension for rest of season would allow emotions to calm down. Another thought. How many times do we tolerate a player 3 years then decide he is not acceptable for his Sr. Year?
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Zach Wright comes immediately to mind. Don't know why DeAndre and Kiki left but it didn't appear that ability was the issue.