Bobby G and More

Just a few items I would like to share. Remember these are my thoughts ONLY!

Why would a high level D1 college basketball coach ever call out a player in the national press? Well that is what Bobby Gonzalez did with Brandon Walters at the Seton Hall Press Day. Why does he embarrass this kid, his family, and those close to him? It was brutal to say the least!

Let's examine a few reasons why.

The first reason might be to motivate him to work harder and improve. It might be a way to get this kid to compete harder and become more of a factor at Seton hall University. I honestly think there are better ways to do this.

Second reason might be Coach G is trying to encourage the young man to transfer. This would be the way of opening the door for him to explore his options. He might look at this young man as a person who is so comfortable that he would just ride the bench at SHU and never really care about his playing time. So Gonzo says this to get others in his ear to encourage him to leave. Remember my thoughts are always go where you are loved and not where you are just wanted. Honestly I think this would be a true Scum bag Move on SHU and the SHU administration who Gonzo represents whether he realizes it or not. It is the type of thing that is done regularly at those cheating schools where they run kids off, and those who stay end up with 25 real college credits after playing basketball for 4 years. Private email me for a list of such schools. This type of behavior is one of the reasons I always push for kids to attend college local at SHU, RU, SJU, and all the mid majors. But when you start doing this type of stuff it becomes BAD! Again I am not sure this is the case, but if it is I hope all the folks at Lincoln HS, Brooklyn, and NYC are watching. I would not want a kid I am affiliated to attend a school where the coach bad mouths a kid in the press or runs them off.

Third reason could be he talks so fast he does not have an opportunity to think about what he is actually about to say. Or should I say analyze what he is about to say because it is impossible not to think before speaking. This is such a Rick Pitino move. I doubt DC will ever recover from the way Rick talked about him in the press and in private. Yet it is so easy for kids to think it will not happen to them. Which is so untrue because it could. Similar in an exaggerated way to a person trying drugs saying it will not have the same affect on them as it does on others. People in AAU, Travel Team, and HS Circles in this area still push kids to schools who get away with using and hurting kids. In Chicago, the local coaches shut DePaul down for about 6 years after they felt kids were not treated right and area coaches were disrespected. Would he had done this to a St. Anthony's player? ummmmmmmm!

Gonzo owes this kid, SHU, the kids parents, and many others an apology for his remarks. Others might not think it was a big deal. I do and remember what I said in the beginning: My thoughts, my blog. I have defended Bobby on here and I have raved about SHU's Team to the point I have been attacked on various message boards. But as I always say. I only call it as I see it.

Jim Couch Games Update

The Jim Couch games was a great day with at least 300 kids participating in a free clinic that saw Nate Archibald (NBA Legend), Milton Lee (Workout Guru to NBA Stars), and Sean Couch (Ex Columbia Star and Indiana Pacer Draft Choice) put kids through great ball handling and shooting drills. Just watching them work made ma again wonder why Nate Archibald in not the Head Coach of an NBA team? He is a legend and a GREAT BASKETBALL MIND with the ability to communicate with players. I even think he might now be Dr. Archibald after getting his PhD recently.

The day also had 3 games including a great game between 9th graders from NYC against 9th graders from New Jersey. When I looked at the rosters and watched warm-ups, I thought it would be a 20 point loss for the NJ team. Little did I know that this team was TOUGH. With most of the kids from Bergen County, with a few from Newark Eastside, and others from Warren County, they just played to well as a TEAM to be denied the win. Donald Osborne the new head coach of the Dwight Morrow (Englewood) Girls team did a great job. Guy should be a head coach of a men's team. I really hate the fact he has taken a girls job because it will be hard for him to get back to the boys side. I even asked him to reconsider his choice but he laughed and told me he just wanted to coach. Well Bergen Catholic offered him the assistant job there but he refused to consider it for some reason we will not share here. I think it would have been a great move for him.

Other games were good as well but the real star was Jim Couch who has done so much for kids without ever turning any kid down, or charging any kid to play. He just finds the good in every single kid whether they are great players are very bad players. They always find room for any kid who wants to play.

Lastly It was nice to get an award for the Jim Couch Foundation for my 20 plus years of running the free workouts that thousands of kids attended including a few millionaire basketball and baseball stars.