Desmond Oliver to ETSU (maybe)

#1
Volfanatic_20

Volfanatic_20

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#1
Put a couple of assistant coach names in the War Room but since that was written have heard some things that lead me to believe Rod Clark from Austin Peay is going to be the hire. Also hearing things tonight that lead me to believe that Rick is going to be in the position of having to make a second hire as it sounds like things could move quickly with Des Oliver and ETSU. Nothing done yet, but I'm hearing a lot of buzz about that situation as Thursday comes to a close.
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-Rob Lewis
 
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#3
#3
wisvol22 said:
Rod Clark has to be an ace recruiter - got connections to EYBL and was an assistant at Sunrise Academy. Only an assistant coach at lower level D1 basketball and high school level for two seasons each, that is a very, very fast rise and he's got to only be 28/29.
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Is that much of a benefit at a program like Austin Peay?
 
#5
#5
golfballs said:
Is that much of a benefit at a program like Austin Peay?
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I'm not sure, but he was credited as the main recruiter for Peay landing their highest ever rated recruit over programs like Houston, UCF, TCU, Seton Hall, and some Sun Belt schools (per rivals on those offers).
 
#6
#6
wisvol22 said:
I'm not sure, but he was credited as the main recruiter for Peay landing their highest ever rated recruit over programs like Houston, UCF, TCU, Seton Hall, and some Sun Belt schools (per rivals on those offers).
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Oh ok. Thanks. Sorry I misread the post
 
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#8
#8
cncchris33 said:
Whether Jason Shay was actually forced out based on his decision to support racial injustice by kneeling with his team, or not, I'm a little surprised that an African-American coach was their primary target and so immediately receptive to the offer.
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Don’t take this personally, I’m not suggesting that you are inferring anything and I think your observation is reasonable. Maybe there are African Americans who also believe in standing for the flag? Maybe he’s one of them? Or maybe there’s more to the story behind Shay’s departure which doesn’t make it such a toxic administration to work under? I don’t think we’ll ever know the full story unless Shay decided to sue the university. So I think the entire situation should probably be taken w a grain of salt. Regardless of his skin color Oliver is a well respected assistant on a successful major program in the same state, so of course he would make a great candidate there. However I don’t think it’s surprising at all given the optics of the situation that they would target an African American coach
 
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#9
#9
golfballs said:
Don’t take this personally, I’m not suggesting that you are inferring anything and I think your observation is reasonable. Maybe there are African Americans who also believe in standing for the flag? Maybe he’s one of them? Or maybe there’s more to the story behind Shay’s departure which doesn’t make it such a toxic administration to work under? I don’t think we’ll ever know the full story unless Shay decided to sue the university. So I think the entire situation should probably be taken w a grain of salt. Regardless of his skin color Oliver is a well respected assistant on a successful major program in the same state, so of course he would make a great candidate there. However I don’t think it’s surprising at all given the optics of the situation that they would target an African American coach
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I think it actually makes a lot of sense and doesn't surprise me at all that they targeted and probably prioritized an AA coach considering the backlash they received after Shay's exit. They are trying to stop the bleeding and think the optics of this will help.
 
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#10
#10
golfballs said:
Don’t take this personally, I’m not suggesting that you are inferring anything and I think your observation is reasonable. Maybe there are African Americans who also believe in standing for the flag? Maybe he’s one of them? Or maybe there’s more to the story behind Shay’s departure which doesn’t make it such a toxic administration to work under? I don’t think we’ll ever know the full story unless Shay decided to sue the university. So I think the entire situation should probably be taken w a grain of salt. Regardless of his skin color Oliver is a well respected assistant on a successful major program in the same state, so of course he would make a great candidate there. However I don’t think it’s surprising at all given the optics of the situation that they would target an African American coach
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Appreciate the cordial response. I did preface my comment by noting I don't know why he resigned...I tried to make that clear.

I think the issue is two-fold; your opinion on the stand/kneel issue, and the issue of supporting your players who clearly believe they are taking a stand (or knee) against racial injustice. I think you can believe that standing is the right move and still support your players, whose experiences are much different that that of Coach Shay's.

Desmond Oliver, being an Arican-American, himself, is obviously going to identify more closely with the majority of players on that roster, and so ETSU targeting him makes some sense in an effort to mend fences with those players. Oliver considering the job as an AA coach just seems odd, however, regardless of his stance on the kneeling issue, because of the alleged perception that the university does not support a coach who supports his players, and that alleged lack of support is so closely tied to the issue of racial injustice.
 
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#11
#11
cncchris33 said:
Appreciate the cordial response. I did preface my comment by noting I don't know why he resigned...I tried to make that clear.

I think the issue is two-fold; your opinion on the stand/kneel issue, and the issue of supporting your players who clearly believe they are taking a stand (or knee) against racial injustice. I think you can believe that standing is the right move and still support your players, whose experiences are much different that that of Coach Shay's.

Desmond Oliver, being an Arican-American, himself, is obviously going to identify more closely with the majority of players on that roster, and so ETSU targeting him makes some sense in an effort to mend fences with those players. Oliver considering the job as an AA coach just seems odd, however, regardless of his stance on the kneeling issue, because of the alleged perception that the university does not support a coach who supports his players, and that alleged lack of support is so closely tied to the issue of racial injustice.
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The fact he would consider it tells me there’s more than to it that what’s alleged. That’s another reason it should be taken w a grain of salt. Oliver will obviously have more insight into that situation as a candidate than any of us would.
 
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#12
#12
golfballs said:
The fact he would consider it tells me there’s more than to it that what’s alleged. That’s another reason it should be taken w a grain of salt. Oliver will obviously have more insight into that situation as a candidate than any of us would.
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Possibly. It's also possible that unless he has reached out directly to Jason Shay, and Shay isn't currently bound by a non-disclosure agreement with the university, that he is getting a version of events that is slanted in the best interest of the university. That will be up to Oliver to decide, I guess.
 
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#13
#13
cncchris33 said:
Possibly. It's also possible that unless he has reached out directly to Jason Shay, and Shay isn't currently bound by a non-disclosure agreement with the university, that he is getting a version of events that is slanted in the best interest of the university. That will be up to Oliver to decide, I guess.
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The only version of events that even exists out there are accusations that he was given an ultimatum, which is slanted in the best interest of Shay. So given an account from the other side is certainly more than anyone else has and certainly more fair for basing a judgment on. The coaching community is also pretty small and it would be surprising to me if he isn’t a little more familiar with the program and admin than fans are.
 
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#14
#14
golfballs said:
The only version of events that even exists out there are accusations that he was given an ultimatum, which is slanted in the best interest of Shay. So given an account from the other side is certainly more than anyone else has and certainly more fair for basing a judgment on. The coaching community is also pretty small and it would be surprising to me if he isn’t a little more familiar with the program and admin than fans are.
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That's true, although I'm not sure it's even fair to call that a "version of events that exists". The players seem to support the theory, but it is entirely based on hearsay as far as I can tell. Shay hasn't really claimed that as truth, publicly, at least that I've seen. Really odd that there isn't anything more concrete out there, yet.
 
#16
#16
Does losing Des hurt chances with BHH?
Yes it would impact his recruitment IMO. Not saying Tennessee would be out or anything but they would need to move to address it
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-Rob Lewis
 
#19
#19
cncchris33 said:
Whether Jason Shay was actually forced out based on his decision to support racial injustice by kneeling with his team, or not, I'm a little surprised that an African-American coach was their primary target and so immediately receptive to the offer.
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I'm just going to throw this out there but they just replaced their WBB coach as well? Want to guess what race the coach is?
 
#20
#20
cncchris33 said:
Appreciate the cordial response. I did preface my comment by noting I don't know why he resigned...I tried to make that clear.

I think the issue is two-fold; your opinion on the stand/kneel issue, and the issue of supporting your players who clearly believe they are taking a stand (or knee) against racial injustice. I think you can believe that standing is the right move and still support your players, whose experiences are much different that that of Coach Shay's.

Desmond Oliver, being an Arican-American, himself, is obviously going to identify more closely with the majority of players on that roster, and so ETSU targeting him makes some sense in an effort to mend fences with those players. Oliver considering the job as an AA coach just seems odd, however, regardless of his stance on the kneeling issue, because of the alleged perception that the university does not support a coach who supports his players, and that alleged lack of support is so closely tied to the issue of racial injustice.
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Imo..... this why protests shouldn’t be allowed when people are representing their university.... This protest in particular.... several white people/boosters/fans are not going to understand why minorities are protesting bc they don’t live it..... at the same time the people doing the protesting is not going to understand why that flag means so much to some people..... The university is in a really difficult spot between the two groups.
 
#21
#21
cncchris33 said:
That's true, although I'm not sure it's even fair to call that a "version of events that exists". The players seem to support the theory, but it is entirely based on hearsay as far as I can tell. Shay hasn't really claimed that as truth, publicly, at least that I've seen. Really odd that there isn't anything more concrete out there, yet.
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I mean, it could also be ETSU releasing information they are going after a black coach when they actually aren’t to say “Look see we tried to hire a black coach!”...not saying that’s happening but it’s a possibility.
 
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#22
#22
We MUST get politics out of entertainment, sports, etc. I agree we don’t know all the details but some common ground must be achieved because this will drive away more and more fans from a sport that can ill-afford to lose that support. MLB had to really work at recreating itself after the strike and juicing accusations so regardless of what your position is ....using your “platform” to push what many perceive as politics will not end well.
 
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