Ski's brutal decision

[The Alabaster Yak]

I agree that it is an odd situation but I think DT is marketing himself while Ski doesn't give a ****. That ruins the comparison. I think Ski should have been on the bench but it doesn't effect my life in any way what so ever so why would I care?

That's a good point, but I just find his reasoning that he made public kind of a load of ****. He wants to let the team learn how to play without him? Ok, but be there on the bench to support them and help mentor them. He wants to prepare for a pro career? I can't see how this helps him get noticed in a positive light by pro teams. He's been playing with sore hips? It's 4 more games, at most, and if he really didn't want to play, just be there on the bench. But, like you said, it doesn't effect me in any way so I really don't care.

 

[blynch32]

Two players leaving the program. One chooses to be on the bench and support his teammates; the other doesn't. FWIW, I have no skin in the game as I'm a fairweather CU basketball fan. I like Ski and he's one of the all time great Buffs. Just thought the differences between Tad's comments on DT and Ski were revealing.

[tweet]578564229520740352[/tweet]

[tweet]578564587886227456[/tweet]

Wow.

 

[dply]

That's a good point, but I just find his reasoning that he made public kind of a load of ****. He wants to let the team learn how to play without him? Ok, but be there on the bench to support them and help mentor them. He wants to prepare for a pro career? I can't see how this helps him get noticed in a positive light by pro teams. He's been playing with sore hips? It's 4 more games, at most, and if he really didn't want to play, just be there on the bench. But, like you said, it doesn't effect me in any way so I really don't care.

I actually do wish that Ski would have played just so i could see him for a few more games. I didn't go the game last night and it wasn't televised so it wouldn't have mattered to me after all.

I think it is funny that the posters on this site that are the most upset that he didn't play are the same ones that don't like him and thought he was one of the main reasons we sucked so bad. Would these posters cared if he sat on the bench? I don't think they would.

Ski made a bad decision in my eyes as well as other poster's eyes to not sit on the bench. But it was his decision and it doesn't really effect the buffs one bit. Tad seems butthurt but this season is his failure. He is the leader and if his senior guard decided he didn't want to be around the team any longer than he had to says more about Tad than Ski IMO.

 

[Quattro]

He's also going pro and has his coaches blessing

Semantics

 

[GoBuffs!!]

any story on what Ski was doing instead?

Not that it makes that big of a difference, but he could have been doing something that could be seen as important

 

[aghcsm]

any story on what Ski was doing instead?

Not that it makes that big of a difference, but he could have been doing something that could be seen as important

I'm guessing studying for a mid-term

 

[Highlander]

Those Tad Boyle clips speak volumes.

 

[DenverBuff77]

Those Tad Boyle clips speak volumes.

Exactly. Makes me wonder if Ski was a cancer on the team this year and affected the team chemistry. I'm speculating(obviously), but the comments Ski made about how he would want to play 30 mins and not sit in the CBI raised an eyebrow here.

 

[Quattro]

Exactly. Makes me wonder if Ski was a cancer on the team this year and affected the team chemistry. I'm speculating(obviously), but the comments Ski made about how he would want to play 30 mins and not sit in the CBI raised an eyebrow here.

Ski straight up said that the tournament is for 2015/2016 and him playing wouldn't have a positive benefit for the team. Pretty simple to understand. The CBI is for next year, we and the team gain nothing with him playing in it.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

Ski straight up said that the tournament is for 2015/2016 and him playing wouldn't have a positive benefit for the team. Pretty simple to understand. The CBI is for next year, we and the team gain nothing with him playing in it.

I don't really care if he plays or not, but he could still be on the bench, supporting his teammates. There's really no excuse to not at least do that.

 

[NYbuffDIEHARD]

My only question on the Dustin Thomas love fest is if things are so great between the two and he is practicing with the team and sitting on the bench and on and on....Why the hell is he transferring? Do we know the real reason?

 

[dply]

My only question on the Dustin Thomas love fest is if things are so great between the two and he is practicing with the team and sitting on the bench and on and on....Why the hell is he transferring? Do we know the real reason?

Exactly, he seems to be quitting on the team more so than Ski.

 

[onealcd]

My only question on the Dustin Thomas love fest is if things are so great between the two and he is practicing with the team and sitting on the bench and on and on....Why the hell is he transferring? Do we know the real reason?

Playing time and wants to be a 3 not a 4.

 

[gone native]

I actually do wish that Ski would have played just so i could see him for a few more games. I didn't go the game last night and it wasn't televised so it wouldn't have mattered to me after all.

I think it is funny that the posters on this site that are the most upset that he didn't play are the same ones that don't like him and thought he was one of the main reasons we sucked so bad. Would these posters cared if he sat on the bench? I don't think they would.

Ski made a bad decision in my eyes as well as other poster's eyes to not sit on the bench. But it was his decision and it doesn't really effect the buffs one bit. Tad seems butthurt but this season is his failure. He is the leader and if his senior guard decided he didn't want to be around the team any longer than he had to says more about Tad than Ski IMO.

If this kind were a regular or recurring theme I could perhaps see your point. But it seems to me that Tad is more loyal to his players than the average coach, and most of his players would run through a brick wall for him.

 

[buffaholic]

Ski straight up said that the tournament is for 2015/2016 and him playing wouldn't have a positive benefit for the team. Pretty simple to understand.

Facts are that he gave no reason to Tad and Tad had no reasons to offer the press - in video above.
Askia only gave these reasons you cite after he looked like a selfish guy to a National audience.
By not showing up for the game as the team captain, it only calls into question the selfishness further.

Askia blew a great opportunity to look great - if he would have worked it out with Tad and jointly announced, rather than have Tad speechless in the video above. He could have said he had to focus on other stuff (or heal, etc), but would show up for the home game(s) to support next year's team! He could have acted like a captain. I would have seen this as a selfless act and applauded it (because the CBI is about next year).

Instead it looks like he just had enough and walked away. And frankly, if that's the case, I'd imagine he has suffered enough. I will never fault Askia for not trying hard enough or wanting it enough. But many will always wonder if his polarizing behavior exhibited here isn't one of the root causes of this team's underachievement as a team.

 

[Quattro]

Your Ski hate is blinding you, again. I did not say it was handled well initially, but his reasoning is sound.

 

[dply]

But it seems to me that Tad is more loyal to his players than the average coach, and most of his players would run through a brick wall for him.

Any reason why you think that? I'm not trying to rip on Tad. I think he is the second best thing to happen to CU sports.

 

[buffaholic]

Your Ski hate is blinding you, again. I did not say it was handled well initially, but his reasoning is sound.

It's very sound. If it was something he brought to Tad up front rather than the media after. You seemingly don't understand that point I guess....

 

[Quattro]

It's very sound. If it was something he brought to Tad up front rather than the media after. You seemingly don't understand that point I guess....

I did say it was handled poorly....

 

[buffaholic]

And I also said his reasoning that he gave after the fact was sound. I was very careful about that in fact.

How about we argue about whether it's cloudy today in Boulder?

 

[gone native]

Any reason why you think that? I'm not trying to rip on Tad. I think he is the second best thing to happen to CU sports.

There have been several comments by Tad himself, and within various threads and blogs, that Tad does not push people out of the program.

His attitude after his worst season at CU is that he wants to push the team he has assembled to excel, rather than to push people out the door. From this article:

Boyle said he will demand more commitment from his players, including keeping them in Boulder all summer, as opposed to letting them go home for several weeks.
"We always talk about the pain of discipline is temporary and the pain of regret is with you the rest of your life," Boyle said. "I'm going to regret this season the rest of my life because we did not play to our potential. We're going to have the pain of discipline invoked into our program, whether that's a weight session, whether it's a 40-minute individual workout, whether it's an hour individual workout."

 

[dply]

There have been several comments by Tad himself, and within various threads and blogs, that Tad does not push people out of the program.

His attitude after his worst season at CU is that he wants to push the team he has assembled to excel, rather than to push people out the door. From this article:

Boyle said he will demand more commitment from his players, including keeping them in Boulder all summer, as opposed to letting them go home for several weeks.
"We always talk about the pain of discipline is temporary and the pain of regret is with you the rest of your life," Boyle said. "I'm going to regret this season the rest of my life because we did not play to our potential. We're going to have the pain of discipline invoked into our program, whether that's a weight session, whether it's a 40-minute individual workout, whether it's an hour individual workout."

Sounds like most coaches after a season ending loss. I don't think Tad is different than the average coach when it comes to player loyalty. I also don't see much blame for the people paid to get the team into the tournament. At least not in that article.

 

[BIGEZ321]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12501950&ex_cid=espnapi_public

ESPN video analysis on the Ski decision.

Boyle and Goodman sound alike.

 

[Buffs@5345']

Sounds like most coaches after a season ending loss. I don't think Tad is different than the average coach when it comes to player loyalty. I also don't see much blame for the people paid to get the team into the tournament. At least not in that article.

I wonder if that will come in the form of not getting the what has to now been, a yearly re-up on his contract? I would be surprised if after his comments at points this season, Tad would take a new deal even if offered. He stated that he and his staff were not earning their paychecks after Arizona. Everything I have seen in TB's tenure tells me that he would be stand up in taking ownership for his own failings and doing what he felt was necessary to correct those. Whether he finds the correct formula and direction, and whether there is anyone among his recent recruits that can carry a team are the things that make watching sports interesting for me year in, year out.

 

[Johnny Juzang]

Is this an argument? Ski did the right thing for himself and the team. Playing in that tournament isn't about this season.

 

[DenverBuff77]

Your Ski hate is blinding you, again. I did not say it was handled well initially, but his reasoning is sound.

I'm not so sure I buy into this "sound reasoning" logic. Anyone can make a good excuse after the fact of the matter(and IMO it's very convenient that that other team we just beat had another senior doing the same thing). Even the ESPN guy on the link above is completely baffled at this turn of events(even going so far to put some blame for this season on Ski's shoulders).

 

[Buffs@5345']

Is this an argument? Ski did the right thing for himself and the team. Playing in that tournament isn't about this season.

Just another step in CU learning pieces of being a basketball school. 10 years ago CU would have been thrilled to play in any postseason tourney, now the program gets to decide if we even bother to accept an invite. Teams that expect to go dancing each year deal with these same decisions every time they don't make it. It is why the ESPNs of the year know that it is a theme they can explore while they fill in the beginning of the week. Moving forward I would hope we don't have many of these seasons to deal with, but decisions on which teams will accept an invite and which players will play or disregard will hopefully become the norm in those seasons, not the exception. It means CU and its players are evolving their expectations.

I am not saying as a fan I wouldn't appreciate it if the team spirit superseded all other factors and CU mopped the floor with everyone else playing - but frankly at this point I expect them to do that with the pieces they do have playing.

I am not happy that Ski isn't playing, just like I wasn't happy that Alec, Dre and Spencer all left early - but it is what it is and all the bitching in the world isn't going to change it.

 

[onealcd]

I'm not so sure I buy into this "sound reasoning" logic. Anyone can make a good excuse after the fact of the matter(and IMO it's very convenient that that other team we just beat had another senior doing the same thing). Even the ESPN guy on the link above is completely baffled at this turn of events(even going so far to put some blame for this season on Ski's shoulders).

The logic was definitely not flawed but the actions after the decision sort of reveals his reasoning was a lie. If he was at practices and games rooting and coaching on the other players it would make sense: he was injured during the season and this tournament is about the young players getting a head start on next year. But clearly something is off here. The other players tried to defend him until he wasn't at the game last night.