(02-05-2021, 02:47 PM)Papa John Wrote: Oh, right, basically what winflop said is my understanding. Although there were varying viewpoints on the CardBoard re: Dawkins, given that he did lead the team to a sweet sixteen 16 appearance. But, IIRC, you'd have to talk to lsjumb76 if you want to relitigate the Dawkins case. Having said that, my memory--again it was a long time ago--was that most folks on the Board were not at all pleased with Trent Johnson and surprised/disappointed with Bowlsby's lack of awareness/preparation.
I lay this entire fiasco at the feet of Bumbling Bob. He assumed that Trent would re-sign after the season and was completely unprepared if he didn't. You ***ALWAYS*** have a Plan B for every head coach, especially your top programs. The big mistake was made a year earlier. Trent's contract should have been extended after the previous season.
I was plenty happy with Trent. 3 of his 4 teams went to the NCAAs and one team made the Sweet 16. In light of the decade-plus since, he's by far the best of the three coaches since Monty - not factoring in his dismal record since he left the Farm.
Last word on Dawkins - the Sweet 16 was ONE GOOD WEEK. Both before and after that week the team looked like it didn't belong in the tournament.