OMG! B McKnight suspended

[Zip Watcher]

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

So what's your excuse?

[akronzips71]

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

exactly, you were right about a win being all we'll remember

Which is a hell of a lot better than remembering a loss....

[UADavid]

So I can't blindly back the coach who suspended another starter last week (and we LOST that game) without knowing the details.

But you can blindly slam the coach without knowing the details?Perhaps that's proof that old age doesn't overcome a lack of perspective or priorities.Go Zips!

I am not slamming the coach. I am saying that two suspensions of starters in a week shows lack of control.

Wrong. At what point do you attribute these suspensions to the actions of the players? It shows he does control the team and the program has the proper perspective for it's student athletes.

[Dave in Green]

So I can't blindly back the coach who suspended another starter last week (and we LOST that game) without knowing the details.

But you can blindly slam the coach without knowing the details?Perhaps that's proof that old age doesn't overcome a lack of perspective or priorities.Go Zips!

I am not slamming the coach. I am saying that two suspensions of starters in a week shows lack of control.

Wrong. At what point do you attribute these suspensions to the actions of the players? It shows he does control the team and the program has the proper perspective for it's student athletes.

+1We don't know why B. McKnight was suspended. But we do know that college kids sometimes do silly things. If they happen to be on the basketball team, the coach needs to provide an appropriate lesson. The other players obviously rallied around the coach.Let's not play down the importance of losing B. McKnight from the lineup. Only 5 D1 players in the country take a larger percentage of their teams' field goal attempts than B. McKnight. Think about it. The Zips regularly use 11 players per game, and B. McKnight takes more than 1 of every 3 Zips field goal attempts (34.2% to be precise). That represents a monumental change in the team's offensive plan when he doesn't take the floor.That explains why the Zips appeared to be so lost at times tonight on offense, and it also makes tonight's win all the sweeter.

[Z.I.P.]

Now, I have no clue as to what caused Brett to be suspended. However, I do know his father personally.I would not care to be Brett right now. If any of you think coach Dambrot is hard on Brett, you haveanother thought coming. Phil McKnight is a no nonsense upstanding man. He will right his son. Count on it.

I'm not sure I get my Wadsworthian friend's point on this one. Brett McKnight is what -- 21 years old? What's his old man going to do -- take him out back of the woodshed?

[Z.I.P.]

Well I don't know who's to blame McKnight or KD, but whoever it was just cost us another loss to yet another awful MAC team....thank you very much! ...Big East Here we come!!!!!!!!!!

Well...I think we know how THAT one turned out. Congratulations to KD and his players. I DO get the impression that Keith may be using suspensions in part as a motivational device. At least it worked that way on Anthony Hitchens. Let's see how Brett Mac shows on his return to action.

[vmd9]

Well I don't know who's to blame McKnight or KD, but whoever it was just cost us another loss to yet another awful MAC team....thank you very much! ...Big East Here we come!!!!!!!!!!

Well...I think we know how THAT one turned out. Congratulations to KD and his players. I DO get the impression that Keith may be using suspensions in part as a motivational device. At least it worked that way on Anthony Hitchens. Let's see how Brett Mac shows on his return to action.

Yes I was wrong we didn't lose, but it was an awful performance. Congrats Zeke on a great finish, and I think his performance shows that he deserves more playing time. I just hope this was the last suspension for the Zips this season and that B Mac is back for the next game better than ever...

[RootforRoo44]

So I can't blindly back the coach who suspended another starter last week (and we LOST that game) without knowing the details.

But you can blindly slam the coach without knowing the details?Perhaps that's proof that old age doesn't overcome a lack of perspective or priorities.Go Zips!

I am not slamming the coach. I am saying that two suspensions of starters in a week shows lack of control.

I can agree there....but that's about it.

[GP1]

The coach has to be able to maintain control without resorting to sanctions. That is his job. The fact that he has now suspended two starters speak volumes to his lack of control of the team.

The last time I checked, KD's job title was "Head Basketball Coach", not "Head Babysitter". McKnight is an adult and needs to behave like an adult without another adullt watching and guiding his every move.This is completely the fault of the player.

[zvillezip]

Young men and women make bad decisions. I made quite a few decisions in college which, looking back 20 years ago, probably weren't the best things to do. I am sure that if I were on a college athletics team and the coach found out about some of the things I did that I might suffer some sort of punishment, and deserved it. I was not a bad person, just young, a little adventurous, and wanting to experience life as a young man. Let's not waste our time slamming the coach or the player. Let's praise the TEAM for winning without a key member of the team in a tough place on the road. B McKnight will be back. Hopefully he learned his lesson.

[xu9697]

I'm an idiot for posting this. I should just do what I normally do and not comment and get out of a bad thread. But wow..this is just a lot of bad posting in this thread!!! Can we just kill it and move on?

[Dr Z]

It's hard to comment unless we know all the details. I hope this somehow becomes a positive for the team.

[skip-zip]

It's hard to comment unless we know all the details. I hope this somehow becomes a positive for the team.

I'm with you on that. And let's hope it's good for the team in the end.I'll say one thing about some of the comments. Fans will sometimes tend to criticize the coach in situations like this for not having control of his players. And others will want nobody to get suspended because it can affect Ws and Ls. And that's their opinion.But, does anyone else see that fans may have been more inclined to point fingers at the coach with a "lack of control" accusation when it was JD instead of KD? And, was it because one was winning, and one was not?

[scottditzen]

Yawn...wake me up when we get to the Q.

[zen]

I am not slamming the coach. I am saying that two suspensions of starters in a week shows lack of control.

Okay, let me get this straight.You have a problem with "lack of control"?Yet..... you appear to be griping about suspensions, which is an indication that policy is being enforced, or at least that anarchy is not going to prevail.Right? First off, let me just say that, philosophically speaking, and sociologically as well, control is an illusion.However, in the sense of maintaining discipline, a suspension is not only an indication that something went wrong, it is also inherently an indication that something is being done to correct it. Since players are human beings and not robots on remote control, no coach is "in control" so to speak. Now, to be fair, I think that what you are suggesting is that KD is being heavy handed, and the suspensions are unwarranted?

[Dave in Green]

Lots of apples and oranges in any comparison between recent situations in UA football and basketball. Lots and lots.I don't think it was ever officially announced, but there seemed to be a consensus that Hitchens skipped one class. That's not a good thing for a scholarship athlete, but he was appropriately punished for the minor transgression by being made to sit out one game.It's pure speculation on B. McKnight at this point. But if he comes back into the regular lineup after a 1-game suspension, I think we can all assume that whatever he did was roughly the same level of minor transgression as cutting a class. In the overall scheme of things, these are roughly on the level of minor traffic violations. They certainly are nowhere near the level of felonies.It's enough to raise eyebrows a little, but no reason to overreact.

[RootforRoo44]

Lots of apples and oranges in any comparison between recent situations in UA football and basketball. Lots and lots.I don't think it was ever officially announced, but there seemed to be a consensus that Hitchens skipped one class. That's not a good thing for a scholarship athlete, but he was appropriately punished for the minor transgression by being made to sit out one game.It's pure speculation on B. McKnight at this point. But if he comes back into the regular lineup after a 1-game suspension, I think we can all assume that whatever he did was roughly the same level of minor transgression as cutting a class. In the overall scheme of things, these are roughly on the level of minor traffic violations. They certainly are nowhere near the level of felonies.It's enough to raise eyebrows a little, but no reason to overreact.

How did he skip class when they've been on the road for a week?

[johnnyzip84]

Lots of apples and oranges in any comparison between recent situations in UA football and basketball. Lots and lots.I don't think it was ever officially announced, but there seemed to be a consensus that Hitchens skipped one class. That's not a good thing for a scholarship athlete, but he was appropriately punished for the minor transgression by being made to sit out one game.It's pure speculation on B. McKnight at this point. But if he comes back into the regular lineup after a 1-game suspension, I think we can all assume that whatever he did was roughly the same level of minor transgression as cutting a class. In the overall scheme of things, these are roughly on the level of minor traffic violations. They certainly are nowhere near the level of felonies.It's enough to raise eyebrows a little, but no reason to overreact.

How did he skip class when they've been on the road for a week?

[akronzips71]

I am not slamming the coach. I am saying that two suspensions of starters in a week shows lack of control.

Okay, let me get this straight.You have a problem with "lack of control"?Yet..... you appear to be griping about suspensions, which is an indication that policy is being enforced, or at least that anarchy is not going to prevail.Right? First off, let me just say that, philosophically speaking, and sociologically as well, control is an illusion.However, in the sense of maintaining discipline, a suspension is not only an indication that something went wrong, it is also inherently an indication that something is being done to correct it. Since players are human beings and not robots on remote control, no coach is "in control" so to speak. Now, to be fair, I think that what you are suggesting is that KD is being heavy handed, and the suspensions are unwarranted?

No, what I am saying is this:These are full scholarship athletes on a Div I team. The coach's job is to motivate them to be good players AND good students AND good citizens. Even the THREAT of suspension means something is wrong. That should be a last resort. Now, a player can stray now and then. Lets face it, Babe Ruth, the greatest ballplayer and probably the greatest pro athlete of all time would have been suspended by KD before he ever got into a game, and RIGHTFULLY SO! He was a bum off the field.But after Humpty was suspended last week, the message should have gotten out. That is did not is partly, if not totally, the coaches fault. I could be the coach and suspend players, that takes no special talent. It is maintaining team and personal discipline WITHOUT imposing sanctions that takes special talent.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I am not slamming the coach. I am saying that two suspensions of starters in a week shows lack of control.

Okay, let me get this straight.You have a problem with "lack of control"?Yet..... you appear to be griping about suspensions, which is an indication that policy is being enforced, or at least that anarchy is not going to prevail.Right? First off, let me just say that, philosophically speaking, and sociologically as well, control is an illusion.However, in the sense of maintaining discipline, a suspension is not only an indication that something went wrong, it is also inherently an indication that something is being done to correct it. Since players are human beings and not robots on remote control, no coach is "in control" so to speak. Now, to be fair, I think that what you are suggesting is that KD is being heavy handed, and the suspensions are unwarranted?

No, what I am saying is this:These are full scholarship athletes on a Div I team. The coach's job is to motivate them to be good players AND good students AND good citizens. Even the THREAT of suspension means something is wrong. That should be a last resort. Now, a player can stray now and then. Lets face it, Babe Ruth, the greatest ballplayer and probably the greatest pro athlete of all time would have been suspended by KD before he ever got into a game, and RIGHTFULLY SO! He was a bum off the field.But after Humpty was suspended last week, the message should have gotten out. That is did not is partly, if not totally, the coaches fault. I could be the coach and suspend players, that takes no special talent. It is maintaining team and personal discipline WITHOUT imposing sanctions that takes special talent.

I would say every group of players is different. And every group is motivated by a different type of discipline.Dambrot has rarely ever suspended a player. I recall Travis getting a 1/2 game suspension for Nevada Game #1. That's all that comes to mind.Do you think that the Travis episode was the only transgression that's happened over the past 5+ years? Obviously the coaching staff has used alternate methods of disciplining players over the course of the last several years. You just don't hear about it.I give Coach credit for having the guts to yank his #1 offensive threat, and -arguably- his #1 guard to send a message that BS won't be tolerated. It cost us one conference loss...and almost TWO conference losses. Don't think Coach didn't realize the potential to go 0-2 by benching these guys, and potentially cost us a very valuable high MAC tourney seed.

[Jalapeño Zippy]

I am not slamming the coach. I am saying that two suspensions of starters in a week shows lack of control.

Okay, let me get this straight.You have a problem with "lack of control"?Yet..... you appear to be griping about suspensions, which is an indication that policy is being enforced, or at least that anarchy is not going to prevail.Right? First off, let me just say that, philosophically speaking, and sociologically as well, control is an illusion.However, in the sense of maintaining discipline, a suspension is not only an indication that something went wrong, it is also inherently an indication that something is being done to correct it. Since players are human beings and not robots on remote control, no coach is "in control" so to speak. Now, to be fair, I think that what you are suggesting is that KD is being heavy handed, and the suspensions are unwarranted?

No, what I am saying is this:These are full scholarship athletes on a Div I team. The coach's job is to motivate them to be good players AND good students AND good citizens. Even the THREAT of suspension means something is wrong. That should be a last resort. Now, a player can stray now and then. Lets face it, Babe Ruth, the greatest ballplayer and probably the greatest pro athlete of all time would have been suspended by KD before he ever got into a game, and RIGHTFULLY SO! He was a bum off the field.But after Humpty was suspended last week, the message should have gotten out. That is did not is partly, if not totally, the coaches fault. I could be the coach and suspend players, that takes no special talent. It is maintaining team and personal discipline WITHOUT imposing sanctions that takes special talent.

Can you give any thoughts on how to discipline without suspending, because apparently KD is a complete moron and has no idea.

[akronzips71]

I am not slamming the coach. I am saying that two suspensions of starters in a week shows lack of control.

Okay, let me get this straight.You have a problem with "lack of control"?Yet..... you appear to be griping about suspensions, which is an indication that policy is being enforced, or at least that anarchy is not going to prevail.Right? First off, let me just say that, philosophically speaking, and sociologically as well, control is an illusion.However, in the sense of maintaining discipline, a suspension is not only an indication that something went wrong, it is also inherently an indication that something is being done to correct it. Since players are human beings and not robots on remote control, no coach is "in control" so to speak. Now, to be fair, I think that what you are suggesting is that KD is being heavy handed, and the suspensions are unwarranted?

No, what I am saying is this:These are full scholarship athletes on a Div I team. The coach's job is to motivate them to be good players AND good students AND good citizens. Even the THREAT of suspension means something is wrong. That should be a last resort. Now, a player can stray now and then. Lets face it, Babe Ruth, the greatest ballplayer and probably the greatest pro athlete of all time would have been suspended by KD before he ever got into a game, and RIGHTFULLY SO! He was a bum off the field.But after Humpty was suspended last week, the message should have gotten out. That is did not is partly, if not totally, the coaches fault. I could be the coach and suspend players, that takes no special talent. It is maintaining team and personal discipline WITHOUT imposing sanctions that takes special talent.

Can you give any thoughts on how to discipline without suspending, because apparently KD is a complete moron and has no idea.

I think KD is a GREAT coach who has taken us much further than I ever imagined.But when TWO starting players have to be suspended within a week, there is a problem. It may be a problem with his leadership, as opposed to his coaching.Whatever they did, it shows a lack of respect for the coach and the program. The coach is supposed to inspire that respect. So there is a problem.As to JD, I don't know what happened with Jaq, but I really like that freshman that stepped in. I think he has a future (hopefully with us).

[Dave in Green]

I think KD is a GREAT coach who has taken us much further than I ever imagined.But when TWO starting players have to be suspended within a week, there is a problem. It may be a problem with his leadership, as opposed to his coaching.Whatever they did, it shows a lack of respect for the coach and the program. The coach is supposed to inspire that respect. So there is a problem.As to JD, I don't know what happened with Jaq, but I really like that freshman that stepped in. I think he has a future (hopefully with us).

I really appreciate the fact that you are a passionate Zips fan who really cares.As CK has already pointed out, KD does not have a history of having to suspend players for a game, certainly nothing like the stories we read of rampant problems with some other coaches at some other schools. It's well known that KD recruits high character players from good family environments, so he obviously puts a high premium on player behavior and attitude. KD is a proven leader of young men as well as a good coach. That's why the 1-game benching of Hitchens came as a surprise -- because there was no history of similar occurrences under KD's watch, and because we believe that Hitchens is not a troublemaker.The B. McKnight benching is currently a total mystery. No one has yet reported on this forum even a guess of what the problem was. From everything we know about the McKnight family, it's a good, loving family of strong character -- the kind of family who we fans can all admire.Knowing what we do about the Zips' history under KD's leadership, as well as the good qualities of the McKnight family, most of us are willing to give them all the benefit of the doubt that this was a minor issue that should not be blown up out of proportion on pure speculation.Continually focusing on the worst possible outcome brings back memories of a certain SNL character:Yahoo Video Link

[Lee Adams]

At the end of the season, all that counts is the final standings. No one is going to remember that we could have should have would have won with humpty/brett/whoever gets suspended next.

I could not disagree more.The key principle is INTEGRITY.The players, the coaches, the fans, the community are all affected by personal integrity or the lack of it.It has taken a while for Jody Kest to weather personnel problems on her team. She has done aremarkable job. Now she has the respect of the community and her players. No one is countingold basketball game loses.Now, I have no clue as to what caused Brett to be suspended. However, I do know his father personally.I would not care to be Brett right now. If any of you think coach Dambrot is hard on Brett, you haveanother thought coming. Phil McKnight is a no nonsense upstanding man. He will right his son. Count on it.

the argument that somebodies father is going to have a huge impact on a college student might be called into question...personalities and behaviors are normaly in place long before people reach the age of college athletes...

[GP1]

But after Humpty was suspended last week, the message should have gotten out. That is did not is partly, if not totally, the coaches fault. I could be the coach and suspend players, that takes no special talent. It is maintaining team and personal discipline WITHOUT imposing sanctions that takes special talent.

I have several customers near Beaufort, SC. Surely most of you know there is a Marine basic training base there called Parris Island. I'm sure we all also understand the discipline in the Marines is probably a little more tough than a college basketball team. I hear stories the young Marines sometimes get into a little trouble around the area at night. I pass this off as young adults being young adults and good people making bad choices. I would bet many groups of young enlisted Marines have been lectured about their behavior in Beaufort prior to going to Beaufort and they still got in trouble.Would those of you who believe the program appears to be out of control at the same time say the Marines are losing control of their young enlisted?Why is it so hard for some to admit that maybe this was just a good kid making a bad decision at a time when another teammate happened to make a bad decision as well? Averages say this is going to happen. Averages don't tell us when they are going to happen, just that over a period of time a certain number of these cases will happen. KD just happened to have two close to one another. If you look at the average, he is doing well.Carry on...