Prehm: Dunigan May Leave Oregon Basketball Program

Prehm also talked about two players who have graduated elsewhere possibly joining the program. I sure hope so as 9 scholarship players and 3 walk-ons is scary.

Sure hope the staff can get some name signees in the early period.

That is a really classless line. Say what you want about Ernie’s tenure at Oregon, but he took a nothing program, repeat nothing program, and turned it into something and gave us fantastic memories. Under his tenure, it became something that donors were willing to believe in and they accordingly put up 200 million dollars for a state-of-the art arena that he never got to coach in, but that all of us now get to enjoy. When you lay a line on Ernie like that now you are biting the hand that fed you and ripping Oregon’s most successful basketball coach. A coach you no longer have any reason to bag on but rather let live in Oregon glory because you have what you wanted, and he is now gone.

This was not Ernie’s fault, and it is certainly is not Altman’s fault beyond not being able to heal whatever wounds these kids feel. This is a gigantic administrative failure and cluster ^&#$^. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, the timing of Ernie Kent’s firing was absolutely horrendous, and for so many practical reasons it should have been done, if mediocrity followed us into next year, next year.

Yes if you get Tom Izzo or Jamie Dixon the stadium stays full, the kids don’t defect, and the recruits would have been flying in. This program has had modest to good success because and only because of Ernie Kent’s ability to get players to come here and coach a reasonably successful if not fatally flawed scheme. The administration then in turn ousted him thinking that a premier coach would just step right in. It was pathetic and an incredible gamble for a program in a precarious situation. Repeat, it was an administrative failure.

May I suggest that we stop bagging on Kent? You got what you wanted, he’s gone. Now you are going to continue to kick him in his grave? That is classless. A fundamentally better coach is now here. Let’s see if he can bring the talent in the doors like Ernie did, and if he can’t, let’s see if his improved coaching makes up for a talent deficiency. It is time to respect the man that turned Oregon basketball into at least something of a brand. He is and remains the most winning and successful coach in Oregon basketball history.

The good news, Altman could change that and become a bigger winner after these now apparent rebuilding years he is going to have to endure. He still probably has talent on the roster close to on par with what he had at Creighton albeit in a much tougher conference and with some serious holes now.

after reading my post again… I’m sorry. While the first line about the roster management was directed at “you” the rest of the post was not, and it sounds like it is. My apologies.

By the way… I saw a random post about Brian Fish earlier…

I rarely eat fast food, but there is this older fellow at my work who is an absolute Iowa farm boy at heart. He is a real meat and potato guy. All he will eat daily is some variety of the cheapest McDouble, Wendy’s cheeseburger dollar deal, or whatever dollar value menu special with small fries and a small drink the fine establishment offers. Anyway, every blue moon I will go with him to keep him company, and if I do I make it the Wendys on Franklin so I can see the stadium, watch a little espn, and mildly tolerate the food.

The funny thing is, one day I saw a very large man in there with Creighton blue Nikes on and blue jogging pants…. I had the thought that it might be a future assistant coach. The next day I saw that we hired Brian Fish in the Oregonian. I saw the photo in the paper and it was absolutely him. The next time I go there, he is there again. This time he is on his mobile phone talking about a player who “nobody knows where he is” and that he has some “hangers around from down south” that they are worried about since they are so close (Singler?). Anyway, if you ever want to meet Brian Fish, he apparently is in love with Wendys come the lunch hour.