[teejers1]

1.  Dawkins was never going to be shown the door at the end of this season, even if Stanford was denied an NIT bid.  So that whole subject matter was spinning wheels, except to the extent many fans thought that change was inevitable and wanted to get that opinion noted for the record.  I was one of them.  I was wrong (or at least improperly jumped the gun).

2.  What this NIT run really does, imo, is give hope to the fan base.  The players were already on board with Dawkins - only the fans questioned him (at least that's my take generally).  And really, after the way the team played en route to the NIT crown, only those with a personal anti-Dawkins agenda (and I don't know if there is anyone in this camp) would refuse to budge away from the "it'll never work" position.  The defense the team played last night; the way the ball moved offensively; the blocks, the rebounds, the hustle, etc. made it sure look like things finally "clicked" for this squad.  Now, will that transfer to next season early (as opposed to sinking in way late)?  No one knows for sure, but with a strong core group of players coming back, optimism on that front is justified.

3.  So once again, congratulations to the players and Dawkins and his staff for closing the season exceptionally well.  That was fun.  That warrants hope for the future.  And that is all good. 

[teejers1]

1.  Dawkins was never going to be shown the door at the end of this season, even if Stanford was denied an NIT bid.  So that whole subject matter was spinning wheels, except to the extent many fans thought that change was inevitable and wanted to get that opinion noted for the record.  I was one of them.  I was wrong (or at least improperly jumped the gun).

2.  What this NIT run really does, imo, is give hope to the fan base.  The players were already on board with Dawkins - only the fans questioned him (at least that's my take generally).  And really, after the way the team played en route to the NIT crown, only those with a personal anti-Dawkins agenda (and I don't know if there is anyone in this camp) would refuse to budge away from the "it'll never work" position.  The defense the team played last night; the way the ball moved offensively; the blocks, the rebounds, the hustle, etc. made it sure look like things finally "clicked" for this squad.  Now, will that transfer to next season early (as opposed to sinking in way late)?  No one knows for sure, but with a strong core group of players coming back, optimism on that front is justified.

3.  So once again, congratulations to the players and Dawkins and his staff for closing the season exceptionally well.  That was fun.  That warrants hope for the future.  And that is all good.