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DeLoss Dodds: Winning is overrated, our standard is Mizzou

Discussion in 'Football: NFL, College, High School' started by The Cat, Feb 12, 2013.

  1. The Cat

    The Cat Contributing Member

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    Just a pretty incredible interview with Texas AD DeLoss Dodds in today's Statesman. I think this is most interesting:

    http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/2/12/3980126/texas-missouri-deloss-dodds

    So apparently, folks were misguided in their criticism of UT because we were under the impression that the end goal is to win, and apparently doing that on a consistent basis isn't good for the coaches or kids. I'm sure Nick Saban feels terrible about his performance.

    I know, I know -- this is basically just an attempt to troll Mizzou for leaving for the SEC, since he can't mention A&M without looking ridiculous.

    But even so, in the past 5 years, Mizzou has had:

    1.) A season with a 12-2, top 5 finish in football (with Cotton Bowl win)
    2.) A season with a Big 12 title + Elite Eight in basketball, eight wins in football
    3.) A season with a Big 12 title + 30 wins in basketball, eight wins in football

    Somehow I think Texas might trade its eight wins/Alamo Bowl triumph and abortion of a basketball season (10-13, 2-8) for one of those years. There's also the fact that Mizzou won the Big 12 basketball and baseball championships on its way out the door and beat Texas head-to-head in football, three times in basketball, and three out of four times in baseball.

    I don't know what's sadder: that Mizzou is now the standard Texas uses to justify itself, or that DeLoss's own analogy to promote Texas on a comparative basis isn't even accurate.

    Either way, though, perhaps it doesn't matter -- we were all apparently under a false impression that consistent winning is the goal. :)
     
  2. Fyreball

    Fyreball Contributing Member

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    I hate piling onto UT, especially when it's clear they will have better days ahead of them, but this is embarrassing at best, and downright insulting at worst. If I was a Longhorn fan, and this was the drivel coming out of the mouth of my AD, I'd be LIVID. The fact that he even has the GALL to mention Missouri as a comparison is appalling. If I was a fan who overheard that conversation, I would have to fight the very real urge of slapping the living crap out of him.
     
  3. Baseballa

    Baseballa Member

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    We are.
     
  4. percicles

    percicles Contributing Member

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    I'm already numb. F-ck this old man.
     
  5. br0ken_shad0w

    br0ken_shad0w Member

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    UT is one good hire away from becoming great again so I hope he and Mack Brown stays.
     
  6. DreamRoxCoogFan

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    To be fair, his point about losing isn't completely off. Recent grads/current students have a much higher standard than alums from 10-20 years ago. Winning is the norm for the young ones, but the older grads appreciate it much more.
     
  7. The Cat

    The Cat Contributing Member

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    Are they really that spoiled, though? I'm pretty pessimistic on the state of Mizzou's football program these days, and someone noted this afternoon that in the past 3 years... Gary Pinkel's 23-15 trumps Mack Brown's 22-16.

    Bigger picture, Texas of late has had one national title in football and two NCG appearances. They haven't been in any sort of serious title consideration since 2009. On the basketball side, the one Final Four was in 2003... generally, since then, they've been a massive underachiever come tournament time. They've never won a Big 12 title and no more Final Fours.

    I think some UT fans have an entitlement issue, and they certainly don't have to contend every single year... but I think DeLoss is making excuses here. For a school with the resources and advantages of UT, the post-2009 results of UT under Brown and Barnes are simply unacceptable.
     
  8. leroy

    leroy Contributing Member

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    That's some how the justification he's using for keeping Brown and Barnes. My guess is that Jamail or some other powerful alum is pressuring him to keep things as is for some strange reason. At any other school with the cache of Texas, Brown would have been fired last year and Barnes would be 4 years into his tenure elsewhere. There's no upward trend in either sport. That with the massive failure of the LHN, which most of Austin still doesn't get, I can't fathom how Dodds could say these things publicly. He needs to go.
     
  9. Major

    Major Member

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    4 years ago, Texas Basketball was fantastic. They had been to 3 Elite Eights in 6 years (2003, 2006, 2008) - something that only a handful of other schools could claim. They were regularly recruiting superstars, and were just one player away in several of those seasons. The following couple of years saw them get up to the top 2 or 3 in the country midseason before falling short - they were disappointing in part because they looked so much better than expected in the first place.

    The real basketball problem has really been only the last 2 years or so, where it seems both recruiting and on-court performance has taken a huge fall.
     
  10. The Cat

    The Cat Contributing Member

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    I'd say the problem dates back to the 2010-11 season. That team was absolutely loaded, and the inexplicable slide they had at the end of the season before going out in the second round to Arizona was very concerning. That said, it's certainly gotten much worse since.

    With the recent drop, I can't help but wonder if the LHN is correlated. After I went to Mizzou, it was hard for me to keep the same fandom with Texas football because of the arrogance factor... but I always held a soft spot for UT hoops. I believed in the program, respected Barnes and the fanbase doesn't have the same entitlement issue. But now it's impossible for me to keep interest because over half the games aren't even on TV. Folks talk about the football impact of the LHN, but to me the basketball impact is greater... if I'm a recruit or his family, I'd be pretty skeptical about a school where over half of my games can't even be seen by 95% in Texas, much less the nation.
     
  11. Major

    Major Member

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    I mentioned this a while back in the UT Basketball thread, but I absolutely think it is. I am (or was) a pretty hardcore UT BBall fan - but the fact that I can no longer watch about half the games makes it impossible to be interested and really get to know the team, especially during the first half of the season when everyone is new. I think LHN has destroyed interest in UT basketball, and that's been compounded by the fact that the team sucks.
     
  12. Brando2101

    Brando2101 Contributing Member

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    The mentality that Dodds is talking about is something that has always frustrated me with the people I went to college with. There is NO appreciation for winning. It's just an expectation. That is what happens when you come here and it's 10 win season after 10 win season.

    Then once you come back to earth all hell breaks lose. How could this possibly happen!


    It's funny because I'll hear fans from other school make fun of those UT fans with a, "How can this be, we're texas!" but whenever the subject comes up about up and down years it's those same fans of other teams that say, "There is no excuse for texas not to win with the talent they get every year."


    I think that is just a way for people to bang on another school but they don't realize they are enabling that holier than thou mentality.


    I started following the Rockets when I was 12ish. The pippen year was the first year I actually watched a lot of games on TV. We made the playoffs that year but went 5 years after with nothing and not much to show after that until 09 (IIRC) and we only made it to the 2nd round. Yippie. I followed the Texans since they were the Houston 2012 and everyone knows how awful they were. Astros have been up and down.

    It's all that futility that always made me thankful for such an dominant era in my college experience. Not many teams have 1 national qualifying teams much less another one to follow in the next generation.


    That's why I have no big issues with 1 bad year, 1 ok year and 1 pretty good year. I've been through way worse and I've seen way worse from all the other schools that are now hating on UT.


    Dodds put the winningest program in college football for a decade on the field. I say that a lot because it's a big deal and it is quantifiably better than any other school on this board. No other program in the country was as good as Dodds' team except for OU, Alabama, Florida and probably USC. LSU and Ohio St were right there.

    It's looking like A&M will be in that conversation soon. Maybe UH recovers. Rice is garbage now and forever.


    If you honestly believe that the winninest program in college football for a decade succeeded in spice of its AD and head coach you are a ****ing moron.
     
  13. Fyreball

    Fyreball Contributing Member

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    I agree with everything you said. However, is it acceptable to you for the AD to come out and point to Mizzou as some kind of standard of measurement? Of all the arbitrary and contrived arguments an AD could make for or against UT this season (and recent history), saying, "Yeah, but at least we're not MIZZOU LOLS" is possibly one of the worst things he could have said. It obviously shows that he's 1) petty and sniveling about Mizzou leaving for the SEC 2) well aware of the success A&M is having, and dares not mention them in this conversation and 3) willing to insult the intelligence of his massive fan base by bringing up a school that has about 1/10th of the resources and recruiting that's available to Texas. That's where I would have a problem as a Longhorn fan.....
     
  14. LonghornFan

    LonghornFan Contributing Member

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    I loathe this blow hard. How he's still the AD is beyond me. Dude thinks he's Christ or something.
     
  15. leroy

    leroy Contributing Member

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    I was exaggerating a bit on the downfall of the basketball program...but not that much. Yes, there was tourney success. But it could be argued that there should have been more Final 4 appearances with those teams. I'd argue the 2006-07 team was actually the beginning of the downfall. How does a team with Kevin Durant and DJ Augustine lose in the 2nd round to Southern Cal? 07-08 was a good season, but they haven't gotten past the 2nd round since then.

    The LHN has been absolutely terrible for the team. I have no idea who's on it other than Kabongo. I've seen 1 game on tv this season. I don't seek them out any more because I'm not going to get to watch anyway. IMO, it's only been good for baseball/softball and the lower tier sports. Even with the small potential audience, it's a bigger audience than they were getting in the first place.
     
  16. Major

    Major Member

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    To be fair, I believe that Durant team was the youngest team ever to make the NCAA Tournament or something crazy - I think virtually all the playing time was all freshmen with one sophomore (Abrams). That works if you're Kentucky and have 3 or 4 first round picks that year, but Durant + Augustin + lesser freshmen isn't necessarily as certain a recipe for success. Add a senior version of those other young players (James, Pittman, Abrams) and you have a great team - that was one of those "one player away" teams, in my opinion.

    Totally agreed.
     
  17. Major

    Major Member

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    A senior PJ Tucker on the 2006 team would have been incredible too - an example of someone who left early for no good reason. A Junior Hamilton on last year's team, and J'Covan Brown / Kabango on this year's team would have changed the whole dynamic of these last two years as well. :(
     
  18. ipaman

    ipaman Contributing Member

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    technically he is correct right, i mean they are student athletes who are only at the institution to receive an education.

    in today's NCAA culture (modern day slavery) he is so wrong but that doesn't make him wrong on principle if you know what i mean.
     
  19. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    What about Michigan and the fab 5...come on now...youngest ever......??

    DD
     
  20. Major

    Major Member

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    Yes, I'm not sure the details, but I believe it was the youngest NCAA team ever in terms of minutes played. I think the team started 4 freshman and a sophomore, and the top few backups were freshmen. I'm just guessing, but I assume the Fab 5 team also had upperclassmen that played decent minutes.
     

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