Tuesday March 23, 2010

The Big Picture

The Big Picture
The past three and a half days I have heard some of the comments about Coach Purnell and the disappointment in the loss to Missouri in the NCAA tournament. I read the comments by some from yesterday’s blog and have had several callers on my radio show the past two days on the topic.

And to be fair, I did write about some concerns about the effort in the final three games and the future of the program in terms of personnel. However, I think some have gone way overboard with the criticism.

Purnell has done a terrific job here and I hope he is here for a very long time. He will become the all-time winningest coach in school history in two years and I look forward to that day.

Sometimes we get too emotional and too irrational about our coaches. I have also been guilty of that but never when it comes to Purnell.

Let’s remember Clemson has had 95 senior classes in basketball and this past senior class won more games than any in the history of the program.

I am disappointed in the way the season ended but we must look at the entire body of work when evaluating a coaching staff and this staff’s body of work is very impressive.

So what are we complaining about? We did not make win an NCAA tournament game for the third straight year? That is our biggest complaint?

I don’t think this irrational complaint is limited to Clemson basketball though. I think that is the nature of sports fans. We are never satisfied and we always want more out of our teams.

For example, if a team in college football went winless a few years in a row and fired their coach the fans would want the new guy to just win a few games. They would claim that they are tired of going winless and just a few wins would be satisfactory.

Let that same new coach win three games in his first year and he would be popular among the fan base. Let him win three games three years in a row and some would eventually ask why he can’t get them to the next level.

If a coach takes over a program that wins four or five a year and turns into a 7-5 program the fan base would be satisfied….temporarily. If that same coach won seven games three years in a row then they ask why he cannot get them to the next level.

South Carolina football has a losing record in its school history and Steve Spurrier has won 35 games in five years, which is a school record for a five year span. However there are tons of Gamecock fans that want to know when is he going to win nine or ten a year.

Clemson fired Timmy Bowden for the same seven and eight win plateau of his program and we all asked why could he not win a title. Dabo won the division in his first year and the fans said he did something in his first year that Bowden could not do in nine years. However, let Dabo lose in the ACC title game three straight years and the same fans would ask when was he going to win the ACC?

If Dabo won the ACC three straight years but lost in a BCS game then some would ask when is he going to get us over the hump?

It is our nature as fans. Jim Tressel got heat this year from some fans and sports writers who cover the Ohio State program. This is the guy that won the national championship, several Big Ten titles, several Rose Bowls and never loses to his arch rival. But some fans claimed his offense was boring and he was not utilizing their quarterback correctly.

Frank Beamer has won 99 games over the last ten years in Blacksburg, VA. He has 62 wins over the last six years. He at least 10 wins in eight of the last ten years at Virginia Tech but some fans are not happy. Beamer had to stop taking phone calls on his weekly radio show because of the negativity surrounding his offense.

The point is that no program is immune to it and no matter where you start, eventually it will happen to every coach. Ask Paterno. Ask Bowden. Roy Williams has two national titles at North Carolina and ask him how he was criticized this season. It is our nature as fans to want more and there is nothing wrong with wanting more. I just wish we were more rational in understanding why we don’t always get what we want as fans.

The key is in the comprehension. I don’t think we need to lower our expectations. Heck, I was the guy that thought we have settled for less than we deserved in football. I used Alabama as an example of not settling and always raising the bar. But we do need to understand that there is a difference between Alabama football and Clemson football just like there is a difference in Clemson football and Clemson basketball.

I have said many times here that I love Jack Leggett and want him to stay at Clemson for ten more years but I am harder on him than I am Purnell because of the level of what he took over. Clemson baseball is a top ten program in terms of history, tradition, support and facilities. Clemson basketball is not even close to that level so Purnell gets a pass.

As a New York Yankee fan I remember winning four World Series titles in five years from 1996-2000. I also remember wanting to fire Joe Torre because we went several years without a title, so I am guilty here as well.

Sure, I was extremely disappointed in the effort the last three games and there is no excuse for that. That was my point yesterday. I also do have concerns about the recruiting. But I also look at the big picture and love what I see with what Purnell has done here.

Remember I was the one that was concerned about baseball recruiting two or three years ago but I said that I trusted Leggett to get things turned around. I have the same confidence that Purnell will continue what he has built here even though he is now battling the monster of expectations that his success has created.

The Brad Hughes All-State Insurance Agency

Prayer List
We have started a prayer list on the blog. Here are the guidelines:
*If you are offended by prayer or prayer lists then I apologize in advance. The blog is free and the prayer list will be on the bottom of the page so you don’t have to read it.
*If you would like to add someone to the list please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com
*If you want the reason for the prayer to be added to the name please specify in your e-mails.
*Please let me know when it is appropriate to take the person off of the prayer list

Those who need our prayers include:
Finn Brookover, Larry in Naples, FL, RTG-Pawsitive Tiger, Mary-Louise Pawlowski (John's daughter), Jo Ann Bachman, Frank Taylor, Kenneth Bryant, Pruitt Martin, Got igers and his family, David Rowland, Leonard, Gillespie and his family, Jim S, Christine Hepfer, Daniel Rosborough, Amy Murphey, Jack Huffman, Nancy Winkler, Dr. Nancy Strom Morgan, John Reeve, Eileen Woodrum, Ethel Southard, Vinnie Brock, Kaitlyn L, Eric Boessneck, John Bowers, Jimmy Ness, Susan Miller, Joyce Harley, Steve Proveaux, John Petrey, Chalmers Carr, Drayton Melton, Jeffrey Greene, the Hutto family, Sherl Drawdy, Caleb Kennedy, Teresa O'Connor, Matt Jacobs, Mike Kingsmore,Perrin Seigler, Carole White Begley, Candee Massee, Lindsey Jordan, Sam Catoe, Tyler Felch, Steve Cato, the Nicolopulos family, Cason Palmer, Candace Fallaw, Scott Jackson, "the Jacksonville, FL guys", Kim Sims, the Coyle familty, Ryleigh Tedder, Steve Lee.