RE: William and Mary made the wrong decision to fire Tony
Tribe2011,
I think you are right that he wanted to win all 18 conference games and sweep the tourney. But, all the CAA teams want that every year. The bottom line is 2020 had all the cards lined up. Everyone but Paul coming back and the tourney in a very Tribe friendly location. The timing was all wrong, unless there is one or two big donors willing to foot the bill and pick his or her coach. As far the comment that W&M showed Coach Shaver loyalty, that is true in the past. The people that showed that loyalty are all gone. I am not saying any of this is a surprise in many parts of athletics today. It is a big surprise here. I am enjoying watching Belmont and their coach get a glimpse of the tournament and a lot of feel good press for him and their school. He has won over 800 games, but was 0-7 in the NCAA until last night.
The more this plays out, the more I think it all stems from one bad half at the tourney at Delaware. I think UVA may be really glad in a few weeks that they didn't react to a loss to Coach Odom the way we apparently did on March 10th(a day that will live in Tribe infamy forever).
Still not too late to get some amazing positive articles and press by hitting a real reset button, reflection, time machine etc.. I would be happier for Jonathan Holmes if that happened than anyone. He gets no buyout, no grace, and no love in any of this right now.
For those who support the decision, time is your friend. A lot of people will simply go away from Tribe Athletics and find something else to do and be supportive of. In 4-5 years(maybe a little sooner) when the Tribe has finally reached the tourney, the end will have justified the means. Maybe we will have a big time college basketball program. But, maybe we will be JMU's basketball program. They brought in Lefty who was looking to rehabilitate and coach again after the Maryland Bias fiasco and they won for awhile. Absent the 2013 Matt Brady title, they have been a dumpster fire for more than 20 years.
I just hoped for 1 more year. 1 more time like we had in Baltimore in 2014 and 2015 where we had the talent and significant fan support. You can blame Shaver that we didn't win either of those finals. But, you didn't then. At the time, we were all part of something really, really fun. We proudly wore our Tribe gear and cheered Daniel until we couldn't talk. It was worth whatever risk for one more chance in our backyard with Tony, Jonathan, Julian, Austin, Nathan, JP, Matt, Luke, Chase, LJ, Cam, Jihar, Mehkel, Thornton, and Andy. It still is. Do you want another record for One Tribe One Day? Make the announcement to reunite the band for one more run. Ultimately, it might be more memorable than a 2013 first four win(which currently is the last CAA NCAA tournament victory).
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