6/1 PJS on Merfeld

[daPAWW1]

PJS Article

PJS Article

Referenced verbage by PJS was at least in poor judgement and definitely not in good taste - whomever it was directed at. I would like to think that enough is enough but unfortunately I believe the PJS has opened themselves up for a good wacking from the University of Evansville!

In my mind this 'mars' what should have been a positive addition to the BU BB coaching fraternity!

Welcome to Peoria - Merf!

 

[Da Coach]

By the way, Calvin, Grant, Keita, Stewart, and Traore dit Nignan were all seniors. So 5 of the 7 I listed will be gone next season.

Really? I hadn't realized that :lol: (is there a sarcastic smiley?).

Bryant was just recently taken off the roster on the Drake website....doesn't really change the fact that he was on the team last season.

I count at least 2 African Americans in the 2007 recruiting class (Parker and Faines). But that still leaves fewer next year?--

You're right, but I don't see where that has any relevance whatsoever to the discussion. FWIW, there will be 7 African-American players on Drake's team next season, barring any unforeseen roster changes....and Drake fans are still holding out hope for a roster change or two.

I am impressed if you remember seeing Traore dit Nignan play, as a lot of Drake fans don't....I'm being 100% serious here. He scored 1 point in his entire career and only played in a handful of games.

You are right DU, I never meant my words to be any kind of statement about Drake. Obviously, nobody has ever suggested there is a racial bias at Drake. But rather, my comparison was to try to show that if someone thinks there is racism at Evansville, it is hard to substantiate it by the numbers of minorities who have played for them. I'll bet I could find half the Division 1 schools or more that have significantly fewer minorities than Evansville. So if there is some basis to make such a statement publically that UE is racist, there needs to be more evidence than just some unnamed sources.

 

[DUBulldog]

You are right DU, I never meant my words to be any kind of statement about Drake. Obviously, nobody has ever suggested there is a racial bias at Drake. But rather, my comparison was to try to show that if someone thinks there is racism at Evansville, it is hard to substantiate it by the numbers of minorities who have played for them. I'll bet I could find half the Division 1 schools or more that have significantly fewer minorities than Evansville. So if there is some basis to make such a statement publically that UE is racist, there needs to be more evidence than just some unnamed sources.

I agree with you there, DC....not sure where the PJS writer came up with that statement. Teams like Utah and BYU commonly have virtually all-white teams, but it has more to do with those not being attractive places for African-American athletes than it does with any kind of policies of the school.

At the end of Crews' tenure, there were years with only 1-2 black players on the UE team, and there might have even been 1 year with none. I think that Crews' system appealed to players who had played in similar systems....and those players were more likely to be rural (white) players.

As I read the article, I took the statement to be directed toward UE, and not toward Merfeld. I think Merfeld's background as the head coach at a traditionally black college (Hampton) should make any such statements about Merfeld look ridiculous.

 

[BUBraves06]

I don't think it was right for KW to take a shot at Evansville, whether it was meant towards Steve Merfeld or not. To me it's a cheap shot to say that "MVC" insiders think there may be racial problems at UE. I mean I consider KW an MVC insider in that he covers BU and the league, what's his point? It does nothing to enhance the column and was wrong on his part.

 

[tornado]

I agree, the column was about Merfeld and it is clear KW was trying to link Merfeld to racism, and apparently hoping it would stick.
But he would certainly have a very hard time trying to show Merfeld was racist all along, as his teams at Hampton were very predominately Black teams.

 

[Chico]

When it comes to KW, you have to consider the source. I think it was directed at Coach Merfeld because I don't think he would have stayed at EU for 5 years if the admin told him who he could recruit. KW still hasn't got over the fact Bradley hired Jim Les instead of Wayne McClain. It's hard for him to give Bradley or Coach Les credit for anything. At first his article looked positive, but he couldn't hold himself back. Welcome to Peoria and Bradley coach Merfeld.