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November 20, 2007

Regarding Mike Mercer's Departure

I support Felton's decision to remove Mercer from the team. Based on the events leading up to his dismissal, I never expected him to play another game for us anyway. So the alternative is have a malcontent stick around the program and bring others down. See Exhibit A: Billy's arrest.

That said, I personally look at this season as a "No Excuses" type of affair. I really don't care how many players get suspended or for what reason. I know why we got where we are, and I know how it happened. I respect the hand Felton was dealt originally.

But these are Felton's recruits. Sixty percent of last year's starters have been suspended and/or dismissed from the team already this year, and we aren't even in December.

Felton isn't going to be pumped about this article. In fact, he says this about negative comments from fans like me...
"I take great offense to anyone who would throw in the towel on our season based on a few players being suspended or dismissed," Felton said. "We have a terrific group of talented players here, as a matter of fact, as talented and as deep as we've had. So I take offense to anybody who would suggest that our season is down or cannot be successful because of this..

"I really like the people that we have in our program and I like the people that are coming into our program," Felton said. "Just like everything else with our program, it's just getting better and better all the time."
Ok...well, if this is your super duper talented team, then make the NCAA tourney with it. Impress us all, and get a huge pay raise. I don't think anyone is pulling against them.

At some point though we do have to make meaningful progress as a program. That progress involves making the NCAA Tourney. Progress isn't measured in NIT banners. This is Year 5. If Felton makes the tourney with this group, then he deserves a large contract extension and pay raise.

If not...it'll be hard decision time. In the meantime, be good or behave. Right not, we're doing neither.

Regardless, I'll be attending 6-8 games just like I have every year for the past 17. It's like banging your head inside a car door at times, but what the hell. It's the Dawgs, and I get to bark. So there's that.

See Also:
-- Mercer deserves no sympathy - ABH

PWD

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I went to the season opener and was impressed with what I saw. Then all this crap with Billy went down and, well, I just don't know what else to say. We barely beat a Grambling team that got hammered by an NAIA school just days before. Our freshman seem promising but we are without a viable option at the 2 guard now. I agree with you in that it's put up or shut up time. Felton will earn my support if we make the tourney this year.

ctrosecrans said...

in his time at uga, it seems felton is much better at dispensing discipline than instilling it

Anonymous said...

Will the sun ever shine on our crops?

murphdawg said...

"in his time at uga, it seems felton is much better at dispensing discipline than instilling it"

...ditto.

 
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