03-13-2014, 08:15 AM
I think it's a little simplistic to imply pessimists have lost sight of what's important with regards to the four graduating seniors. Let's accept for the sake of argument (though there's not much of one these days), that Dawkins is a poor coach who -- going forward -- will have a similar ratio of non-appearances to tournament appearances as he has in the beginning of his career.
Looked at from this perspective, what's important here? Why should the four graduating seniors have such a great claim to enjoy March Madness that it deprives incoming freshmen of potential tournament appearances -- to say nothing of foregone professional and personal opportunities? There are very few free lunches and everything involves trade-offs; if we need to miss the tournament to lose Dawkins, I feel bad for the graduating seniors -- who seem to be hard-working and fine citizens -- but that's what we need to do.
Of course, it really doesn't need to be this way. Regardless of the ultimate end to this season, Dawkins should be fired, and we shouldn't let a few bounces of the ball distract us from the trajectory of the program.
Looked at from this perspective, what's important here? Why should the four graduating seniors have such a great claim to enjoy March Madness that it deprives incoming freshmen of potential tournament appearances -- to say nothing of foregone professional and personal opportunities? There are very few free lunches and everything involves trade-offs; if we need to miss the tournament to lose Dawkins, I feel bad for the graduating seniors -- who seem to be hard-working and fine citizens -- but that's what we need to do.
Of course, it really doesn't need to be this way. Regardless of the ultimate end to this season, Dawkins should be fired, and we shouldn't let a few bounces of the ball distract us from the trajectory of the program.