John Delong has penned the best article we have read on the Sendek Situation.
Frankly, I consider it all absurd, because unlike most, I don’t see this issue as being black and white. I see all kinds of shades of gray. I think it’s possible to praise Sendek and be critical of him, to like the program he runs and to cringe at the Princeton-style offense he tries to run.
For those of you who staunchly defend Sendek’s Xs and Os, grab the DVR and take another look at State’s first 12 possessions of the second half on Sunday. And for those of you who say anyone would be better for the program, get out your old VCR tapes of the Les Robinson years.
More than anything, I believe strongly that Sendek has brought this cloud of controversy on himself.
Anyone who ever takes a job coaching basketball on Tobacco Road has to understand first and foremost the lay of the land, then work within that framework as best he can to produce positive results.
Coaching at State is about Xs and Os and recruiting and emphasizing academics and dozens of other issues. It is also about giving the fan base a sense of hope, in good times and bad. It is also about putting your best foot forward at all times so that when there is adversity, the support, the hope, is intact.
It is not about being all things to all people, but it is about cultivating assets, especially when the biggest potential asset is a passionate support system of followers desperately wanting to feel good about the program.
Sendek has failed miserably on that front. It’s the biggest flaw on his resume. If he could project and instill a sense of hope, then a four-game losing streak wouldn’t drag the program down the way this one did. If he could instill a sense of hope, there wouldn’t be this uneasy truce that exists with an element of the fan base even when he’s winning.
