🏀 KuBuckets Archive

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/28441970/roy-williams-calls-unc-team-least-gifted-ever-coached ↗

Seems like a no no to call your team "not gifted".

approxinfinity said:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/28441970/roy-williams-calls-unc-team-least-gifted-ever-coached ↗

Seems like a no no to call your team "not gifted".

If ever there was a year for Roy to tell and teach his team to play dog defense and rebound I think that this be it.

Roy has gone Bruce. Oh no.

BShark said:

Roy has gone Bruce. Oh no.

I hear you.... "But it's not my fault..!"

Begs the question, will Cole Anthony return to that mess? Does he really have anything left to prove now that the season is headed in the tankers?

In today's age where we already saw Wiseman bail out I wonder if he follows. Note I do think Cole is cut from a different cloth then moneyman.

I don't see the point in Cole returning. They are likely going to miss the tournament. He should just rehab and get ready for the draft.

@approxinfinity Maybe he heard too many excuses like "I couldn't [get to a spot, catch the pass, get through a pick, get back fast enough on defense, block out the rebounder, catch my breath, etc etc etc]" and so decided to use the public comment to challenge an "I can't" attitude.

"I can't" are two words no parent, teacher, mentor or coach ever wants to hear, or allow to fester.

mayjay said:

@approxinfinity Maybe he heard too many excuses like "I couldn't [get to a spot, catch the pass, get through a pick, get back fast enough on defense, block out the rebounder, catch my breath, etc etc etc]" and so decided to use the public comment to challenge an "I can't" attitude.

"I can't" are two words no parent, teacher, mentor or coach ever wants to hear, or allow to fester.

I'm not following the logic. Telling the kids they are not talented enough to succeed is the biggest "You can't" he could drop on them. You're born with talent, or you're not. I guess if he's "leaning in" to their "I can't" mentality, maybe? But I think he believes his words. They're the least talented team he's coached. And I think that's a cruel thing to say.

Self's most cruel comment was:
“It’s the worst team Kansas has ever put on the floor since Dr. Naismith was here. I think he had some bad teams when he lost to Topeka YMCA in his first couple years.”

And even that has the silver lining that a bad team can be constructed of talented individuals.

Telling the public that the kids you coach [who undoubtedly have NBA aspirations] aren't talented is savage, and certainly makes me want to mock his dagum gollyjee bullcrap. When times get rough, Roy goes full Weber. I think you nailed it @BShark

I love Roy .. but this was a cop-out comment.

How about, "This is clearly my worst coaching job. I need to work harder." Or whatever.

Self has been a blamer, though. He'd blame execution, but never himself (or at least very rarely). I'd address it after our March exits. This seemed to happen each exit.

I think everyone gets too wound up about what people are saying. People say stupid crap - that's what we do. Whether it's intentional stupid crap designed to motivate or humiliate, or if it's unintentional stupid crap that just spews out as word vomit. It doesn't matter. Words make very little difference.

Unless it's "Hey, let's fire up the nuke's".

nuleafjhawk said:

Words make very little difference.

Strongly disagree.

@benshawks08 See what I mean? That means nothing to me.

Punch me in the face - that will get my attention!

You can never take back words.

@nuleafjhawk Yeah but see to some people it might. Ain't all about you!

@benshawks08 IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT ME ???

Actually, I know that words matter. They matter a lot.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue"
Proverbs 18:21 NKJV***

I still believe that often "we" put too much emphasis on the actual words that are spoken. For instance, since this thread is referring to Roy - when Roy uttered the (in)famous "I don't give a SH*T about North Carolina" statement, what if the NC fans, alumni, Administration all said "WHOA. We can never tolerate having a coach who would make that kind of derogatory remark against our beloved institution. Forget this dadgummed blasphemer and go find a real coach. Like Bill Self."

They knew that they were just words. Meaningless. Said in the heat of the moment. They didn't take him literally.

There. That's my words for the day.

@nuleafjhawk It's obvious someone with your wit understands the power of words! Just as a former English teacher I have strong feelings on the subject! They certainly matter to me!

@benshawks08 Ah, the English teacher shines a whole new light on things. And it makes me cringe because I don't do so well with the whole grammar and punctuation thing sometimes.

My apologies !!

nuleafjhawk said:

@benshawks08 Ah, the English teacher shines a whole new light on things. And it makes me cringe because I don't do so well with the whole grammar and punctuation thing sometimes.

My apologies !!

me neither lol. - -I hated that class , that class hated me lol. - -Maybe cause of all the purdy girls

@approxinfinity My point was he might be lampooning their own comments to him as a means of getting blue blood recruits to prove their talent.

I turned in a theme once to my 10th grade Engl teacher and, frustrated by some issues I had, said it wasn't very good. She took it and threw it in her waste basket. I was looking aghast at her, and she said if it wasn't worth my time it certainly wasn't worth hers. I grabbed it out and said my comment wasn't meant to be so broad. She knew she had made her point, and the whole blasted class was pretty alert to it, too.

I hated her. Until I started listening and she ended up being my favorite teacher in 20 years of formal education.

We don't know the context, and everything I am positing here is mere speculation, but I think anyone thinking this is just Roy trashing his team without knowing how words affect them isn't giving him much credit for his savvy. He ain't no Bruce. I suspect it he knows precisely how to motivate them, and I suspect they will work hard to prove they are damned talented. I would not be at all surprised if they do very well this season.

@mayjay I can appreciate that. But I also think @FarmerJayhawk 's comment about their rotation not having players who were top 100 recruits shows that the scouts might agree objectively with Roy's assessment.

@approxinfinity That is true. There have also been lots of players who have worked their butts off to prove talent rankings wrong. And I think scouts' opinions are subjective, not objective!