WIU

[Average Joe]

I ran across this article/column written in the Western Courier.
It is basically a hit piece and rips into the present WIU head coach Derek Thomas.
The whole article makes me think two things.
First is that someone at this tiny newspaper/rag, 3-day-a-week campus paper clearly has a vendetta and wants to run the coach off campus.
Second is that he dug deep enough to finally find some marginal player who wasn't D-I material and who didn't get enoufgh playing time at WIU, so he transferred to some obscure college in Palos Heights, but the kid still wants to freely lob some attacks at his ex-coach.

http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2007/04/18/Sports/more-Of.A.Friend.Than.A.Coach-2848978.shtml

Page 2

http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2007/04/18/Sports/more-Of.A.Friend.Than.A.Coach-2848978-page2.shtml

Page 3

http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2007/04/18/Sports/more-Of.A.Friend.Than.A.Coach-2848978-page3.shtml

Of course the writer never bothers to talk with or interview Coach Thomas. What a piece of trash this story is, and the writer as well.

If they ask for a verifying e mail address, use this one
bugmenot@mailinator.com

[IlliBraves]

Eh, who cares? Western is hardly a division I school, and a waste of anyone's tuition dollars. Pretty much all of their athletic teams are a joke.

[onetuffshot]

Post reply

Eh, who cares? Western is hardly a division I school, and a waste of anyone's tuition dollars. Pretty much all of their athletic teams are a joke.

To the contrary---Western is a very fine D1 institution. However, in basketball they have had a long history of not caring very much. Several athletic directors in a row have determined that football is the only way to go. So in football, they have tasted some success at a lower level(D2 or what ever they call it) and have basically ignored basketball. Consequently, the basketball program has been relegated to giving a lot of excuses for not being able to recruit players.
Yet the football program gets all the players they want, all be it many of them are transfers who couldn't make it, or were dropped, by other D1 programs.
I don't know how good a coach Thomas is, but he obviously has not been able to buck the trend at WIU. The Leathernecks were the best small college basketball program in the state in the 50's, with a winning record vs Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Northern Illinois, and several other successful modern day Di1 programs in the midwest.
So in my humble opinion, it is a matter of emphasis. If the powers at be truly want a first class basketball program, they've got to give it the attention($$$) they give the football program.

[georgethedog]

Re: Post reply

Eh, who cares? Western is hardly a division I school, and a waste of anyone's tuition dollars. Pretty much all of their athletic teams are a joke.

To the contrary---Western is a very fine D1 institution. However, in basketball they have had a long history of not caring very much. Several athletic directors in a row have determined that football is the only way to go. So in football, they have tasted some success at a lower level(D2 or what ever they call it) and have basically ignored basketball. Consequently, the basketball program has been relegated to giving a lot of excuses for not being able to recruit players.
Yet the football program gets all the players they want, all be it many of them are transfers who couldn't make it, or were dropped, by other D1 programs.
I don't know how good a coach Thomas is, but he obviously has not been able to buck the trend at WIU. The Leathernecks were the best small college basketball program in the state in the 50's, with a winning record vs Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Northern Illinois, and several other successful modern day Di1 programs in the midwest.
So in my humble opinion, it is a matter of emphasis. If the powers at be truly want a first class basketball program, they've got to give it the attention($$$) they give the football program.

And, remember, they beat BU a few years ago! I was at the game... yuk!

[MacabreMob]

Re: Post reply

Eh, who cares? Western is hardly a division I school, and a waste of anyone's tuition dollars. Pretty much all of their athletic teams are a joke.

To the contrary---Western is a very fine D1 institution. However, in basketball they have had a long history of not caring very much. Several athletic directors in a row have determined that football is the only way to go. So in football, they have tasted some success at a lower level(D2 or what ever they call it) and have basically ignored basketball. Consequently, the basketball program has been relegated to giving a lot of excuses for not being able to recruit players.
Yet the football program gets all the players they want, all be it many of them are transfers who couldn't make it, or were dropped, by other D1 programs.
I don't know how good a coach Thomas is, but he obviously has not been able to buck the trend at WIU. The Leathernecks were the best small college basketball program in the state in the 50's, with a winning record vs Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Northern Illinois, and several other successful modern day Di1 programs in the midwest.
So in my humble opinion, it is a matter of emphasis. If the powers at be truly want a first class basketball program, they've got to give it the attention($$$) they give the football program.

And, remember, they beat BU a few years ago! I was at the game... yuk!

Yea, what was that... 98? I wanted to throw up when we lost that game. But I think we won the next 3 years in a row. -whew-