I saw Roy Williams on Pardon the Interruption last week, and he blathered on about David Padgett, who chose Kansas over NC so he could be with Williams. He professed great pain and sorrow for David Padgett, and the unfair situation Padgett had been placed in because of Williams leaving. Reminded the viewers about the letter of intent, where it clearly stated that the player was signing with the school, not the coach. Yet, still, he was greatly distressed for Padgett and the other recruits who weren't going to be getting the great Roy Williams for a coach.

Yadda, yadda, yadda.

It's all about the coach.

Paul, thanks for link to my site!

As far as the KU recruits go, maybe this situation will actually give college recruits a little more bargaining power when they sign their letters of intent. Maybe they will now be able to insist on a back-out clause that doesn't penalize them if the head coach leaves before or during their freshman year [right now, I think players that commit and then change schools have to sit out a year]. I'm sure this would mean some sort of NCAA rule change, but the Williams case might be high profile enough to bring the change about. [I could start yakking about whether or not college athletes should be paid like employees, but that's another topic for another day.]

Paul is right: college sports is a business. Maybe the players need better representation so they don't get screwed. KU recruits signed a contract under a set of conditions that have changed. It's like a bait and switch, so the recruits shouldn't be penalized for wanting out.

I don't consider Williams a traitor for leaving KU to go to UNC. Everyone has the right to pursue a career of his/her choosing. I just think Williams is showing his true character when he says, "besides, players sign with the school, not the coach." That's bullshit because the recruiting process is highly personal. Coaches visit recruits at their homes, they lobby the kids' parents, they tell them how they'll take good care of their kids for them, they tell them about the "family" in their program, etc. So each player chooses a school based on the school *and* the coach. They're inseparable.

Williams should have the balls to admit that. But instead, he hides behind the technicalities of contractual language.

*That* should show you what kind of person he is, not whether or not he changes jobs.

I am going to have to defend Roy Williams in that he did acknowledge that players select schools because of the coach. He said this in regard to David Padgett, whom Williams infered selected Kansas over UNC because Williams was the coach. And some people thought that Williams was angling to have the NCAA allow Padgett to attend UNC without penalty, if he so desired.

Williams also noted that players' letters of intent remind players quite clearly that they are technically signing with the university and not with the coach. And all the Kansas recruits were warned about Williams possibly leaving for UNC by opposing coaches recruiting the same kids. It's how football coaches recruit against Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden ("You know he's not going to stay around much longer, right?") and it only made sense that other schools would warn that Williams could bolt to UNC as soon as it was clear that Matt Dougherty wasn't getting the job done, which was very early in his tenure there.

The bottom line was that no one got blindsided, and no one is to blame. Williams left for a better gig. Kansas hired a guy who left for a better gig. Incoming recruits at both schools got hurt a little bit, but they knew the risks, and they get to play big-time college sports and get a free education.

This happens all the time. So guess how many tears I am crying.

"I am going to have to defend Roy Williams in that he did acknowledge that players select schools because of the coach."

Okay, thanks for the clarification. I'm glad he acknowledged that, because otherwise he was really starting to sound like a hypocrite -- he claims to care about all his players, so it's good to see that he's acknowledging that his job change impacts them.

I still think, though, that the NCAA requirement of losing a year of eligibility for changing schools protects the schools only. I know it's there to prevent kids from committing to a school and then backing out [and playing for another school] without a good reason. And one of life's lessons is that we have to abide by the agreements we sign. But I do think that when something significant changes, such as the head coach, athletes should have a small, penalty-free window to crawl out of. If the coach can leave the school to chase greener pastures, why not the athletes?

The NCAA does a very good job of protecting the business of sports for the schools. But it doesn't do such a good job at balancing the business interests of its athletes. A guy who has NBA aspirations cares very much who his college coach is. It's like enrolling in a business school, getting a scholarship, and finding out the school isn't as good as you thought it was. So you can change schools and apply for another scholarship, but you don't have to sit out a year to do it.

Paul, talk about creepy, you and my Mom share the same birthday.

Bob Knight left for less money at a much less prestigous school, and I think he's rumored to be a pretty good coach too.

Texas Tech coach Bob Knight was fired from his higher-paying, more visible post at Indiana. I was referring to voluntarly transfers.

Bobbie Bowden will die at FSU. Don't be messing with my 'Noles, dude.

That guy has a smile even a dentist would love.

Yea, we only look at the pictures. Your blog is like Playboy, the articles are interesting but...

Not to nitpick, but the Jayhawks are not purple it is the Wildcats of Kansas State that are purple. The Gayhawks are Blue and Red.

I like how K-State makes fun of Kansas by calling them the "Gayhawks", seeing as kansas state is HORRIBLE at basketball and not that good at football either. And i like how a school whose color's are purple can call anyone gay.

Gayhawks? You people talk like that?

Do a Google search for gay + beating + death, read a few articles and then come back to me with an argument of why I shouldn't think you're an insignificant dolt for attributing a negative connotation to homosexuality.

Oh, unless K-State calls Kansas the Gayhawks because they're cool.

That asshole Ben Howland left Pittsburgh for a lot less money and a shitty arena. But his parents live in Southern California, and he wanted to get back to his roots. Too bad his contract was through 2009 and UCLA has to buy him out of that. The pay cut is huge though, Pitt guaranteed $1.1 million, which is unheard of for college, and he is going to take a lot less.

(1) K-State fans call Jayhawks "gayhawks" because they are simpletons from the sticks. K-State is in a town called "Manahattan, Kansas," that lovingly refers to itself as "the little apple." We city-folk excuse the backwardness of the country-folk all the time.

(2) Roy is a traitor because he made a promise to never leave KU. He asked the University and the City of Lawrence countless times to support the team and remain loyal above all. He preached loyalty. He promised before cameras of television and the faces of his loyal supporters that he would retire from KU. We went to bat for Roy. We have him his first head-coaching job ever. Roy was practically a god to us, before we realize that Roy had only one thing on his mind: Roy. He acts only in the interest of Roy. And although he duped us Kansans for 15 years, we've finally seen his true colors.

Bill Self didn't wrestle over wether he'd grow old as an Illini, and though they might of expected him to grow old as an Illini, he never gave the charlatan's promise that he'd stay forever.

That's why we're so bitter at Roy. Not because he left-- but because he slithered around under the guise of a Southern gentleman.

Welcome back to Kansas, Mr. Self. Thanks for not making us any promises that you'll never keep.

Wow. You probably lost a lot of faithfuls today. Count me amongst them.

NO!!!!!!! Players should NOT be allowed to back out of commitments when coaches leave. Imagine the chaos that ensues when the dominoes start falling. A college loses its entire recrutiing class because the coach left? Is that fair to the school!?!?!? Players always have the option to leave, but they lose that year as a penalty. You make a commitment as a player with full knowledge of the penalties for backing out. I know it's unfair when a player commits to that coach and the coach leaves... but kids need to learn... LIFE AIN'T FAIR!

First your team beats the tar out of us two weeks ago and now you have the nerve to say that we wear purple and are "fucking hypocrites."
That's just low.

I second gjoe's argument. Rock Chalk.

(BTW, Paul and my dad have the same birthday)

If you follow the pattern of argument, I said that "some Jayhawk supporters" who "branded [Williams] a traitor" are "fucking hypocrites." And then I credited "the majority of Kansas fans" for being "sophisticated enough to know that college sports is first and foremost a business." So, I'm not brandishing all Kansas fans, clearly.

As for the anonymous man/woman who wrote that I "probably lost a lot of faithfuls today," good riddance. I don't care for anonymous people, and I never will. A page view is a page view, but I want to hear from humans who can debate openly and honestly about things that interest them, whether it be sex, sports, news, whatever.

G. Joe, if Williams indeed played the loyalty card -- I guess that's the way to put it - -then shame on him. I can't gather that from here, but Self's move looks a lot like Williams' move -- switching schools, leaving recruits -- but I don't see any protests outside Phog Allen Fieldhouse. And I'm not even saying this is a big deal -- this is business as usual. But the people who made a big deal out of Williams ought to make a big deal about Self.

Ben Howland left Pittsburgh for a better opportunity at UCLA. A base salary isn't everything. He traded up, knowing that it's easier to succeed at UCLA than Pittsburgh. Fame and money go hand in hand eventually. At UCLA, a good coach has a better chance to succeed and cash in on the higher-profile market, media opportunities, licensing deals, etc. And, of course, fame, which leads to money long-term.

I love this topic... and that Tom Crean, the coach of my alma mater, Marquette, stopped the coaching carousel for awhile anyway when he refused to consider taking Self's job at Illinois.
Marquette had to give him a big pay raise, to $1.1 million a year, but the free exposure he gets for the university by having a winning team is almost priceless. And, he graduates a high percentage of the players.
Al McGuire would be happy today.

On the Jordan front, I have a friend who is a vendor at Washington Wizards' games. He made $400 a night the past two seasons, up from $150 or so a night prior to his Airness joining D.C.'s team. He called me last night and said, "We would do anything to have him come back for one more season." In Milwaukee, where I live, the parking lots near the Bradley Center historically about double their prices when Jordan is in town.

I think that before you call someone a traitor for leaving a school, you need to consider the ties and the prestige of the school they are going to, plus any previous situations at their old coaching position. Roy Williams left for arguably the most prestigous post in college basketball (and it is only between UNC and UCLA, so either way its at the very top). Sure, Kansas was good to Williams, if not great. But there were rumored animosities between Roy and the A.D., and the short amount of time it took Kansas officials to call him a traitor shows the strength of that relationship. Lastly, Williams never played at Kansas, he didnt learn to coach there either. That happened at UNC, under Dean Smith. Smith asked him to come back once before, and Williams said no. When Dean Smith asks you to come back twice to the highest post in all the land, you don't say no again. Put yourself in Williams shoes, all you people so quick to judge the man, and think what you would do.

"Smith asked him to come back once before, and Williams said no. When Dean Smith asks you to come back twice to the highest post in all the land, you don't say no again. Put yourself in Williams shoes, all you people so quick to judge the man, and think what you would do."

Well, if I didn't really want the job at UNC, I wouldn't take it, even if GOD, er, I mean Dean Smith asked me to.

So the question is, Can we judge Williams by his actions if he didn't really want the job and took it out of loyalty to his old college coach?

I don't know if he really wanted the job or not. Only Williams himself knows that. But I certainly don't think he'd be a better man if he'd taken a job he didn't want because his old college coach put a guilt trip on him.

I don't think he would be a worse man either. Loyalty to those who gave you a shot is not a bad thing.

Well, I think he'd be less of a man if he let his "mentor" control his career 15 and 25 years after the fact. Loyalty is noble only to a certain point; after that you start to look like a patsy.

In the course of our lives, lots of people help us and we help others. That's what decent people do when we can, and frankly, that's part of a "coach and mentor's" job.

I sure don't want someone coming after me 15 years from now calling in an IOU because they opened a professional door for me. Do you?

At what point does Roy Williams get to say that he was the head coach at KU because he deserved to be -- not because Smith helped him get the job, but because he spent 15 years proving he was a very good head coach?

Of course, nobody really knows for sure if Dean Smith strong-armed Williams. But if he did, it says a lot about his character, doesn't it?

So my point is this: they're only basketball coaches. They're not special people. Let's stop crying about Williams being a traitor and bowing to Smith as a mythical basketball god who deserves homage. It just college basketball, not real life.

I'll put an end to this...

Syracuse rocks! We're the National Champions!!! Jim Boeheim is the best coach in college basketball... and he's not going anywhere!! :-)

I can see this story stirred up some emotion.
Boo fucking hoo. The fact is that we are now a mobile society. You have to look out for #1 or you get #2 all over your face. The university's interests go only as far as winning does and they discard coaches pretty regularly; like MLB managers. It is not the coach but the program. The schools have been there a lot longer than any coach and it is their decisions, not any one coach's that makes or breaks a program. Of course, there are anomolies. But by and large a coach has to look out for himSelf (implication intended) lest he be discarded like so many before him. Life is a free-agent market place and I humbly submit that each of us is about a 30% raise away from our next job.

Thank you and good night. I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your barkeep and waitresses who work so hard to get you fucked-up and fed.

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