Tom Burleson Won’t Back Down

Alums General NCS Basketball47

There have been rumors on the web that Sendek called Burleson after
his last interview on 1090 to complain. Also rumors have been floated that
he will no longer receive comp tickets to NC State basketball. Today would
have been the perfect outlet for Burleson to back down
from his comments on March 16th. No Dice.

Burleson was on the Triangle Sports Talk 1090, and he won’t back down.
Listen here for the audio.

Couple quotes:
“Princeton offense would be great for the Ivy League”
“Cedric Simmons really needs the fundamental of boxing out and defense”
“I don’t feel our teams are fundamentally strong”

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Alums General NCS Basketball

47 Responses to Tom Burleson Won’t Back Down

  1. Andy 03/30/2006 at 6:22 PM #

    It takes a lot of courage to go on local talk radio and bash and unpopular coach? Interesting definition of courage

  2. charlottefan 03/30/2006 at 7:17 PM #

    How about how “Classy Sendek” told his Hodge class not to sign the LOI’s so he would have more leverage not to get fired.

  3. stOrmin 03/30/2006 at 7:53 PM #

    I have one ticket for Tommy B to any game he wishes to attend.

  4. ushum 03/30/2006 at 8:24 PM #

    keep plugging Tommy…

  5. highstick 03/30/2006 at 8:34 PM #

    Thanks Tommy! They think we’re a lunatic fringe, but I don’t think it’s a fringe anymore. I think the “whole putting green” has had it with Herb. I sure hope some more former players will speak up and maybe someone will listen.

    I’ve heard Carolina called the “wine and cheese” bunch! Sounds like maybe that’s what the Wolfpack Club has become.

  6. lumberpack 03/30/2006 at 11:28 PM #

    Players who sit on the bench during senior day
    Players who become “ill” and find their way into the dog house
    “Hodge goes where I go”

    Just a few “classy” acts.

    The reality is that the Newland Needle has the class and the guts.

  7. Cardiac95 03/31/2006 at 12:01 AM #

    I continue to be amazed that our school’s “leadership” would actually choose for this type of atmosphere to exist in the NC State Community.

    I can’t believe that they would force living legends to have to go public to have their voice heard.

    Its a truly sad state of affairs.

  8. Sammy Kent 03/31/2006 at 12:03 AM #

    Tommy, you are the man. I am darn proud you hail from neighboring Avery County. (I’m from McDowell.) It was one of the happiest days of my young life when my family heard the news that you would attend NC State. You continue to represent the best of all things Wolfpack to this day.

  9. John 03/31/2006 at 12:26 AM #

    I hate to disagre with everyone but this just shows how much Tommy Burleson really knows about today’s basketball.

    The “modified princeton offense” has become a very popular offense in today’s college game. NC State and Princeton arent the only two teams who run this offense. Texas didnt face a team in this year’s NCAA Tournament who ran anything BUT a version of this offense until they ran into LSU. Georgetown is also another school that has done well with the offense both in terms of success and in terms of recruiting. Northwestern uses the offense. Air Force uses the offense. And Southern Cal uses the offense. Tim Floyd (coach of USC) also used the offense when he took Iowa State to new heights.

    In the NBA, Rick Adelman has been running this offense since he arrived in Sacramento and noone complains much about their offense being boring. The New Orleans Hornets also run this offense with Chris Paul. The New Jersey Nets run this offense with Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson. The Washington Wizards also run the offense with Gilbert Arenas.

    What Tommy is missing is that the offense isnt the problem, its the quality of athletes running it. State is having a hard time getting the great players to run this offense and make it a great offense. This is partly Herb’s fault and partly the fact that NC State simply isnt an extremely attractive destination for talent outside the area. Especially when there are juggernauts down the street. If Burleson knows so much about hoops, why isnt he coaching somwhere? To my knowledge he isnt even coaching a rec team anywhere.

    If Burleson is getting complimentary seats for all these games then hell yes he needs to shut up, at least when he is on the radio or in front of a reporter. All this time I thought he was getting those seats because of something he was doing to earn them..ie paying for them or working for the school, etc.. If the University gave great seats to every former alumni, professor, or booster who “did great things” for the university, then we would have no seats for the rest of us. Its not like his presence does anything for the program anyway. Noone under the age of 30 knows who he is or what he did unless they are told and to be honest its embarassing that the best we have to show is a 50+ year old skinny dude for a notable alumni presence at games. At least David Thompson would be recognizable for being on the ACC’s all time team.

  10. gf8ce 03/31/2006 at 4:52 AM #

    ^Wow. Just … wow.

  11. gf8ce 03/31/2006 at 5:26 AM #

    ^^ “Texas didnt face a team in this year’s NCAA Tournament who ran anything BUT a version of this offense until they ran into LSU.”

    Do you even read what you type? I think you just PWNT yourself. You like this offense, but yet you state that Texas basically dismantled this “modified princeton offense” until they lost when faced with a better offense, ie LSU. That made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

    Also, those schools and NBA teams that you listed are mediocre, at best. Those names don’t exactly coincide with big time basketball. Northwestern, Air Force, USC, Iowa St? What?! Nets, Hornets, Wizards? Puhhhlease. Talk to me when your list includes the Kentuckys and the Indianas and the UConns. Oh, and the Lakers and Pistons and Heat to name a few. Your list is a bunch of losers and you use that to argue “for” NC State? With the exception of Gtown, none on your list has won any championships. (Bullets won in 78 but that doesn’t count; it’s not Wizards)

    I also don’t understand your negativity towards Tom Burleson in the midst of all this support for Herb.

  12. class of '74 03/31/2006 at 6:21 AM #

    ^^^John is a troll or the biggest idiot that ever posted anything here.

  13. class of '85 03/31/2006 at 9:11 AM #

    Thanks TB for not being a coward. Thanks for speaking out! Thank goodness others throughout history have not just “been quiet” and “shut up”. TB has the right to speak his opinion just as much as anyone including Sendek and Fowler. At least he knows what he is talking about. You would think some other former players would speak up. Do they have to be eternally greatful and “yes men” to NCSU? Are they on the payroll or something? I am a graduate and I love NCSU, my son will more than likely attend NCSU, but I still think it is time for a change. You can be loyal and still not agree with the present situation as I know most of us are. Why is it wrong to speak out? Last I heard this was a free country!

  14. Wuf62 03/31/2006 at 9:48 AM #

    John – what a doofball. gf8ce pretty much said it all. Tommy Burleson was the “Heart” of the ’74 and’75 teams. Thompson (though I think everyone would agree is the greatest player of all time in the ACC) was with a pretty good cast in ’76, but they went 22-6 and didn’t make the NCAA’s that year. Sloan built a team, and each player had a role. Tommy’s was to defend and control the boards, Monte’s was to set it up and distribute the ball, and David’s was to score and help on the boards. When the ‘Heart” graduated, the “team” wasn’t as good. Talk about the “skinny white guy from the mountains.” Hell, he couldn’t even walk and chew gum at the same time when he arrived on campus. Guess what, John. He got some coaching on how to move and do the job he was brought in to do. Still he averaged over 21 points/game. If Sloan had told him to score and not worry about rebounding, it probably would have been over 30. As for your assinine comment about why he isn’t coaching, how many great players make coaches of any kind or degree? You think he doesn’t know the game and what it takes? Ask Len Elmore. By the way, Len couldn’t coach either.

  15. Mr O 03/31/2006 at 10:42 AM #

    Charlottefan: Josh Powell, Jordan Collins, and Ilian Evtimov all signed LOIs. Only Julius Hodge and Levi Watkins did not sign LOIs on the advice of their HS coaches.

  16. Sammy Kent 03/31/2006 at 10:48 AM #

    quote The “modified princeton offense� has become a very popular offense in today’s college game. quote

    So what? Nobody wins any championships with it, and NO it is NOT the quality of the athletes running the Sendek Weave Variation that keeps it from being successful. It is predicated on one false assumption, and two narrow scoring constraints. The false assumption is that five point forwards are superior to two guards, two forwards, and center. The two narrow scoring constraints are three pointers and backdoor cuts. It has been demonstrated more emphatically by the 2006 Wolfpack team than any other Herb team that the positionless Princeton/Sendek Figure 8 Weave Mixing Bowl offense is unsuitable for consistent championship caliber basketball in the ACC. State’s best games by far this season were the ones where only about 1/3 of the total shots were threes, where we scored at least 1/4 of our points in the paint, and where we had at least ten fast break points. That kind of boxscore doesn’t happen in the Sendek offense. The Sendek offense didn’t hit its stride this year until the Seton Hall game. Prior to that, following our convincing clobberings of GW and BC, Herb noted that our guys weren’t really running the offense right. Well, he sure fixed that, didn’t he?

    The games we struggled the hardest in were the ones where about half the FGA were threes…a deadly symptom of Herbball. Even when we hit 50% of those we struggled mightily to beat Clemson (2OT), Miami (2OT), Maryland (4 pts), Virginia (2 pts), and VaTech (6 pts). When we played the Sendek Weave and DIDN’T hit the threes…Seton Hall, Wake Forest, UNC-CH (home), and so on.

    The Princeton offense is very effective at leveling the playing field…regardless of which team is running it. That’s the problem. It’s fine for a team with inferior athletes or players of less skill. It gives them a way to hold down the tempo and keep the game close. For a team with higher-skilled players and athletes, it is folly and for the same reason–it will hold down the tempo and keep the game close.

  17. Cardiff Giant 03/31/2006 at 12:31 PM #

    “Noone under the age of 30 knows who he is or what he did unless they are told and to be honest its embarassing that the best we have to show is a 50+ year old skinny dude for a notable alumni presence at games. ”

    You, sir, are an idiot.

  18. VaWolf91 03/31/2006 at 4:05 PM #

    “The Princeton offense is very effective at leveling the playing field…regardless of which team is running it.”

    Bingo.

  19. Pakkfan 03/31/2006 at 5:02 PM #

    TB –

    I can’t even begin to tell you how much respect I have for you, and have for your willingness to come forward with your opnion as it was obviously something you did reluctantly.

    Today is March 31, and my family and i just signed on to season Hockey tickets next year.

    I am apalled at the leadership that our Athletic Director is showing, and even more apalled at the apathy our Chancellor seems to have concerning this issue.

    I am one of the lunatic fringe, who cancelled my basketball tickets. See you in Carter Finely.

  20. graywolf 04/01/2006 at 9:11 AM #

    Tommy may get his wish. See:
    arizonastate.scout.com/2/515571.html

  21. David 04/01/2006 at 9:26 AM #

    If the “modified Princeton offense” is such a force in today’s college basketball where is it – I don’t see it in any of the final four teams. Maybe I’m wrong but I would like to see NCSU basketball challenge all comers.

  22. Kingfish 04/01/2006 at 5:32 PM #

    Thank you Tom B! Keep it up! Does Lee know basketball like you do? $$$$ no. We really need all of our former players and coaches to unite after this is all done to show what we are about—winning, tradition, and excellence!

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