Perhaps the thing that concerns me most about Wes is that it does not appear that he learned a great deal from his experience last season. "Fool me twice, shame on me." That definitely is cause for concern, at least in my feeble mind.
All the negative things having been said, I will say this about Wes. I think he genuinely was glad to be here. Sure Chris Beard was glad to be here because it gave him a chance finally to be a D1 head coach, but he was not particularly glad to be in Little Rock specifically (obviously, since he left). It was an opportunity, and he appreciated it, and made the most of it, and there is nothing wrong with that.
However, Wes is glad to be in Little Rock because it is Little Rock. And since we are buried in one of the most-maligned states in the country, that is saying something. And, I do think Wes would have stayed with us for a good stretch, even if he had been successful. So, to that extent, hats off to him. And if Conque's gamble had worked, we would have had a best of all worlds - a successful coach who genuinely wanted to be here. How often are you going to find that?
Everyone wants to be "the next Gonzaga." Well, I will tell you right now that you will NEVER be Gonzaga - located out in the desert as it is - unless you do like they have done and find a way to get a successful coach to stay. Getting an endless series of win-and-leave coaches is fine, but it is almost impossible to sustain.
Sure, Chasse took a gamble with hiring Wes. But if it had worked, it would have been the biggest home run in Little Rock history.
No comments:
Post a Comment