I can only assume that Joel Petersen is one of a rare breed of people found at TCU: a diehard basketball fan. Why else would he take the time to write an article in the Skiff? But as another diehard TCU basketball fan, I would like to respond to his March 23 commentary (“Men’s basketball needs change”).Petersen is not the only disappointed person. There are around 20 guys who spend plenty of time across Stadium Drive who agree with him. But while they are busy busting their butts representing TCU, a lot of people on and off campus have come up with a quick-fix. And it is to fire the coach?
Did I miss something? Last time I checked, Coach Dougherty’s team is one year removed from coming oh-so-close to winning their third straight NIT road game at Maryland and heading to Manhattan for the semis.
Oh, but that was due to some other coach’s players.
I’ll admit that I’ve only been a Horned Frog for two years. But last time I checked, the 2004-2005 team featured only two major players inherited by Dougherty.
It also featured a roster that had four seniors among the seven players who, according to gofrogs.com, totaled at least 19.5 minutes per game. One underclassman, Chudi Chinweze, played in eight games. Four seniors scored 37.2 points per game.
What’s so great about that?
That’s 37.2 points per game for a team that averaged 70.4 points – and that includes Chinweze’s 11.2 points and 21.4 minutes. We are not North Carolina. We do not lose four important players, reload and steam forward.
Imagine a world where Gary Patterson was fired after 2004. Baseball has started slow; let’s fire Coach Schlossnagle.
Petersen sums up a lot of arguments I have heard. One is that Dougherty was brought in to install the Kansas-like attack now found at UNC. If you compared the young UNC offense of this year to last year’s seasoned machine, you know that inexperience can wreak havoc on schemes.
Some people discuss Dougherty’s inability to recruit prep stars and high-quality transfers. If Nile Murray and Judson Stubbs do not define high-quality transfer, I don’t know what does.
As for prep stars, Brent Hackett out of Southwest scored 73 and 52 points in back-to-back games and put up 45 against state champion Dunbar. Blake Adams was ranked in the top five in the state. I could go on about guys like Neiman Owens, Allen Taylor, and Dallas Hunter, but that would be redundant.
What about the quick-fix small school coaches everyone loves? Petersen endorses a few. Jessie Evan’s San Francisco team went 11-17. Matt Doherty, a name coach, did a great job; Florida Atlantic went 15-13 against schools only the geography professors know of. Lonn Reisman’s Tarleton State teams have won a few conference titles – in NAIA and Division II – and not much else. Ronnie Arrow’s A&M Corpus Christi squad was solid from the field. The team also had a talented center shooting over 60 percent and an independent schedule. Monte Towe’s New Orleans team went 10-19.
Folks, there is no quick-fix out there worthy of what TCU has to offer. There only real solution can be found across Stadium Drive.
TCU has young players that were great in area high schools and will be great in college. TCU has had and will have transfer players who make an impact.
TCU has a great coach who cares about his players and his university. This is one reason the Horned Frogs never threw in the towel this year when they had every right to do so.
Because Danny Morrison was at every game, he knows this team faced injuries and adversity all year. He also knows that its players still came to play every night and that the future is yet to be written.
Criticize them for its shortcomings now if you wish, but come out to section I in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum – that’s a part of the student section – next November and help people like Joel and myself give our men and women the homecourt advantage that will help them write a better future.
Ryne Kahan, sophomore
