Gregg Doyel: Don’t judge John Wall
Guy | May 07, 2009 | Comments 3
Are you guys kidding me??? If this kid was looking at Kansas, Tennessee, Memphis, or any other school besides Kensucky you would be on his backside quicker than you hillbillies can say moonshine! Yet, since he is “considering” Kentucky you give him a reprieve… God, you all are the worst hypocrites in the world. Kentucky sucks!
We had a reader submit this comment on my original post discussing John Wall’s citation for breaking and entering. In that post, I wrote an update saying how I thought this issue was overblown and that it would not amount to anything.
It’s a legitimate gripe to say that UK fans administer a double standard in sloughing this off as nothing more than a poor decision by a young person, but I still think that judging John Wall based on this incident is wrong. Gregg Doyel has an article today in which he says the very same thing in talking about both Wall and Mississippi State signee Renardo Sidney:
First of all, the easy issue. John Wall. This thing is a piece of cake, but not the piece you’ve been eating up. Maybe time will tell that Wall is an immature or even a bad kid, but this bogus “breaking and entering” charge doesn’t tell anything about him. It tells much more about the Raleigh Police Department, which went for easy headlines when it trumped up ludicrous charges against Wall, a 6-foot-4 guard who could very well be the next Derrick Rose.
Seriously. Breaking and entering? When we think of breaking and entering, we instinctively think of something a lot more sinister than being inside an empty house. Yet that’s all Wall is said to be “guilty” of. Hanging out inside an empty house. And not a shady crack den or an abandoned house headed for a date with a bulldozer.
It was a normal house on a normal street. According to police, Wall didn’t force his way into the foreclosed house or take anything while he was there. He was just inside an empty house. Is that wrong? Sure it is. Is it so wrong that it’s criminal? Lord I hope not, or I’m a criminal, too. Growing up in Mississippi, I ventured into a handful of empty houses. Why? Because that’s what kids do. They might even make out with a girlfriend or drink a beer in there. Shocking, I know.
So understand this: The school that signs Wall, whether it’s Kentucky or Duke or whoever else, is doing nothing wrong. Because Wall, in the grand scheme of things, has done nothing wrong. I have two sons, 13 and 11, and if by college the worst thing they’ve done is be spotted leaving an empty house … give me a standing ovation. Because I will have done one hell of a job as a parent.
When Wall chooses a school beside yours, you’ll rip him and the school that takes him. And you know you will. But if he’d ended up on your team you’d have loved him, and your coach for landing him. And you know that as well. So back off the kid, and the school that gets him.
See? Simple.
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Again, you have got to be kidding. Where is the parenting? Where are the standards? If that was your house you were trying to sell, build, etc., would you want anyone any that structure doing anything at all? NO! and for you to sit there and defend a kid or any person for that matter that breaks the law is ridiculous! Again, Kentucky fans over the top. When Brandon Rush went to KU with all his problems, UK fans were all over it. When Tyreke Evans went to Memphis, UK fans were on the band wagon of he is a horrible kid. And these are just a few. Give me a break. Obviously no I am not a Kentucky fan, Kansas fan or Memphis fan for that matter, but you Kentucky fans are worse than ND fans with Fat Man Charlie. John Calipari is a joke. Yes he can recruit, but can he coach… it’s been proven time and time again no. UAB, UTEP, Houston, and Tulsa as early as this last season all should have beaten Memphis when they shouldn’t have even been on the same court with a team as talented as Memphis fielded. For you all to sit here and think Calipari will be your savior is absolutely hilarious. Will he bring in recruits, more than likely, but will he be able to win consistently as he did at Memphis, absolutely not. He was assured at least a 1, 2 or 3 seed year in and year out in CUSA. In the SEC, this will not happen. Bruce Pearl of all people has his number, and I hate UT. 3 out of the last 4 years UT has beaten Memphis. Now Calipari not only has to play Bruce twice a year, but Billy D, Daren Horn, Trent Johnson and once Alabama can rebuild in a year or two, Anthony Grant. All of these men have done more with far less talent that Calipari has done. Yes, John Calipari made it to the Championship game two years ago, but what happened in that game? Oh yeh, out coached by Bill “I’m in Love with my”Self. Your real coach is John Robic and he won’t be much longer with Calipari as many people are starting to realize who is developing the defensive schemes.
Oh and when you UK fans finally get to see the DDM offense against a zone, be prepared to be in awe, of awfulness. It is simply a three man weave at the top of the key running a cutter through either the 2-1-2. 2-3 or match up zone. Come up against a quality defensive team, i.e. Tennessee, Missouri, or UCLA, and see what happens. Memphis simply outmanned and out gunned far inferior teams in CUSA and was healthy enough in the end to make deep runs inthe NCAA due to weak conference play and freedom from major injuries. Is that going to happen in the SEC? Hell no and all of you need a reality check. When the delusion is over, give me a call and tell me, yes you were right… Kentucky sucks
@questionable – nice rant but you lost me at “quality defensive team, i.e. Tennessee”
Well first of all, we appreciate you voicing your thoughts. We would like to be a forum for all perspectives, thank you. Regarding John Wall, I am not dismissing the fact that he did something dumb and illegal. He’s being penalized for it and he should be. However, it’s my opinion that this is NOT a damning offense. For that reason, he should not be judged. If this is the first in a string of misdeeds, I will regret that, but I don’t think it will be. It’s also a fact that we are quick to dismiss this because we are UK fans. We probably would be all over another school for doing this…it’s all about perspective here. If Wall comes to UK, the schools that don’t get him will heckle and complain just like UK fans would if he were at UofL or anywhere else. That’s the nature of fanhood and I think singling out UK fans for this behavior is patently unfair.
As far as John Calipari the coach goes, all I know right now is that the first 37 or so days of his tenure could not have gone any better, so I think excitement on the part of UK fans is merited. As for the DDM, it’s still a relatively new offense and it has growing to do, and admittedly has struggled against zones. A big reason for these struggles, at least in my opinion, is the fact that Memphis never really had great shooters (hello Jodie Meeks). That needs to change at UK. Regarding your ‘quality defensive team’ point, neither UT nor Missouri are very good defensively. Yeah they force turnovers and pressure you, but they are not elite defensive clubs. UCLA is elite, and Memphis destroyed Ben Howland’s team in the national semifinals 78-63 in ’08.