Can we ever take the Pantagraph seriously again?

[tornado]

I suspect not, as they print a letter supposedly from an ISU fan suggesting
that Illinois State go after Dawkins as their next head coach.
Now, had they meant Johnny Dawkins, the fine assistant coach at Duke, I guess nobody
would have been too surprised, except that Johnny Dawkins probably would not leave the assistant
spot at Duke for the head spot at ISU.

But the guy that the column is actually talking about is DARRYL DAWKINS !!
Yes, Darryl Dawkins, who never went to college, never played college ball, has never coached college ball, and who has very limited coaching experience of any kind, probably even les than Jim Les did, but at least Jim Les was a fine college player and knows the game and all its intricacies quite well.

If you want a laugh....here it is for your enjoyment...
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/03/18/opinion/letters/124341.txt

Maybe Danny Cooksey can give us a litle insight whether this guy is a contributoir over at Redbirdfan.com.

 

[BUBraves2006]

Re: Can we ever take the Pantagraph seriously again?

I suspect not, as they print a letter supposedly from an ISU fan suggesting
that Illinois State go after Dawkins as their next head coach.
Now, had they meant Johnny Dawkins, the fine assistant coach at Duke, I guess nobody
would have been too surprised, except that Johnny Dawkins probably would not leave the assistant
spot at Duke for the head spot at ISU.

But the guy that the column is actually talking about is DARRYL DAWKINS !!
Yes, Darryl Dawkins, who never went to college, never played college ball, has never coached college ball, and who has very limited coaching experience of any kind, probably even les than Jim Les did, but at least Jim Les was a fine college player and knows the game and all its intricacies quite well.

If you want a laugh....here it is for your enjoyment...
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/03/18/opinion/letters/124341.txt

Maybe Danny Cooksey can give us a litle insight whether this guy is a contributoir over at Redbirdfan.com.

I definitely got a laugh! :lol: But ...

It was a letter to the editor, albeit a foolish one, but that's it. This isn't like one of the staff writers for the newspaper wrote this one. Having worked at newspapers, I know that many letters to the editor receive laughs from the newspaper staff. I really doubt that by the Pantagraph printing this thing that people would actually think that this is a serious take on it.

I just don't see how printing something like that damages a newspaper's credibility.

 

[Da Coach]

Dawkins was one of the first players to jump from high school to the NBA. He carries a famous name that could be used in recruiting good players to the program. Dawkins also played with Doug Collins when they were both on the 76ers and has been a mainstay in the media wherever he has gone....
As well as being a mainstay in the media, Dawkins led ValleyDawg teams led the USBL in attendance for three years while he was head coach and that could transfer over to ISU basketball very well

This begs for a response-
Darryl Dawkins might be a good coach for ISU, but I don't think anyone should waste any time worrying about it. It is not going to happen.

I suspect ISU, like all 336 Division I schools require their coach have a degree. Darryl Dawkins never spent a day in college.
But he does have the qualifications of having "played with Doug Collins" and being a "mainstay in the media wherever he has gone".

Oh, the Valleydawgs? The were so successful that after the only championship they won in 2004, they went downhill, became an embarrassment, moved to Albany, and went bankrupt and folded in 2006. Their final season, 2006, with Dawkins running the team, they were 2-27, for one of the worst winning percentages in the history of professional sports, .069!
http://www.usbl.com/stat-central.php

And I can't find any mention on the internet what Darryl has been doing for the last year. Apparently, he has been unemployed. If he was worth hiring as a coach, don't you think some team out of the thousands of pro, semi-pro, and amateur teams in the world would have given him a call? Then again, anyone who had a winning percentage of .069 in their last season isn't going to be standing by the phone waiting for job offers.

And the attendance? Yes, the ValleyDawgs lead the USBL in attendance way back in 2001 when they drew a whopping 2500 per game (is that the kind of attendance the ISU fans strive for?). They played their home games in a high school gymnasium and the attendance was boosted by a bunch of gimmicks, free giveaways, and promotions and went downhill fast after that. Even in the year they won the championship (2004), they could barely draw flies.--
http://www.answers.com/topic/william-allen-h-s-gymnasium

The year they lead the USBL in attendance, 2001, here is one of the gimmicks they tried to boost attendance--
They signed bad-boy NFL receiver Randy Moss to play for them when Dawkins was coach.--
http://www.minorleaguenews.com/basketball/aa/usbl/valleydawgs/articles2001/060501.html

 

[DannyCooksey]

Re: Can we ever take the Pantagraph seriously again?

I suspect not, as they print a letter supposedly from an ISU fan suggesting
that Illinois State go after Dawkins as their next head coach.
Now, had they meant Johnny Dawkins, the fine assistant coach at Duke, I guess nobody
would have been too surprised, except that Johnny Dawkins probably would not leave the assistant
spot at Duke for the head spot at ISU.

But the guy that the column is actually talking about is DARRYL DAWKINS !!
Yes, Darryl Dawkins, who never went to college, never played college ball, has never coached college ball, and who has very limited coaching experience of any kind, probably even les than Jim Les did, but at least Jim Les was a fine college player and knows the game and all its intricacies quite well.

If you want a laugh....here it is for your enjoyment...
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/03/18/opinion/letters/124341.txt

Maybe Danny Cooksey can give us a litle insight whether this guy is a contributoir over at Redbirdfan.com.

Sorry guys. I ahve no f'in clue what this is about. I couldn't even laugh it was so stupid. No idea who wrote it.

 

[Howellmania]

I don't see what is so ridiculous about the thought of Dawkins being the next coach at ISU. He obviously knows the game of basketball, having played in the NBA, and he might be the spark of life ISU needs. I went to the ISU-Bradley game in Normal this year and at times I could hear the Bradley fans louder than the ISU fans. Maybe a few years of gimmicks and give-a-ways would help, I say, what could it hurt?

 

[Da Coach]

I don't see what is so ridiculous about the thought of Dawkins being the next coach at ISU

Then I say, go for it, ISU!

But did you read my post above? He does not even come close to meeting the minimum qualifications to apply for the job. He not only doesn't have a college degree, he has never been to college.
And his record does not appear to qualifys him any more than the thousands of others who have played pro basketball or coached at any level?
Note that his record his last year was 2-27, for crying out loud! He was a big part of the reasons that drove his team into bankruptcy, and it folded.
And if promotions are what they want, then hire a promoter. But if they want a successful basketball program, they need to hire a qualified, experienced man with the ability to coach and recruit.

 

[tornado]

One promotion they could do is to have Dawkins do a slam dunk demonstration,
and shatter the backboard. They would, of course, have to do this promotion after the game. :roll:

 

[Scouter]

One promotion they could do is to have Dawkins do a slam dunk demonstration,
and shatter the backboard. They would, of course, have to do this promotion after the game. :roll:

That's the only way they can get people to watch an entire 20-point blowout.