With all of the wrangling and posturing about the state of the VU basketball program, it would be interesting to see what all of the keyboard jockeys here would have said about Roy Skinner and CM Newton if the internet was around back then. Many of you would have tried to run Skinner off, as there were many complaints about his coaching. It was said, with some truth to it, that Coach Skinner just rolled the ball out and told his kids to play basketball. His offense was not complicated, with only a few set plays, but he firmly believed in the run 'n gun style and he recruited kids that could run and shoot. This was obviously before the 3-point shot but he placed a premium on kids that could shoot the basketball. His teams were not strong defensively as they just tried to outscore the opponents, with average scores typically in the 80's and 90's, and this was without the shot clock. The complainers felt that he did not "coach" enough and that he lost games that he should win by being "outcoached". His teams in the late '60's were a drop off from the Clyde Lee days and the complaints were getting louder. The reality was that Coach Skinner was a highly competitive person, not afraid to give the referees a piece of his mind if they made a bad call, and was relentless in recruiting players that would fit his idea of how to play college basketball. He was small in stature and fairly quiet, but he was highly respected throughout the SEC as a great basketball coach, but many of you on this board would have been unhappy with his results. The critics quieted down once the VBK class and the F Troop were recruited and basketball was fun again in Memorial.
As far as CM Newton, many would have tried to call for his firing after his first 3-4 years. It was known that when he started at VU that he did not work at recruiting very hard (he even admitted this), as he felt that kids just wanted to come play ball at VU. His first teams were not good at all and the talent was just not up to par for the SEC. Frankly, if it were not for the 3-point shot coming into the game (which CM was instrumental in getting approved as he was head of the NCAA rules committee at the time along with the shot clock being approved), he would likely not have had the success he enjoyed while at VU. He finally began recruiting players that could shoot the "3" and Will Perdue developed into a star (thanks to Ed Martin) and basketball was fun again in Memorial. Prior to this, many fans felt that he was just going through the motions and not putting in the work to make VU competitive, and even though CM was a very likable guy, many wanted him gone and some of you would have been leading the charge.
I am not saying that Stack will enjoy the same success that Skinner or Newton had at VU if given more time (maybe, maybe not), but history shows that VU basketball has rebounded well when things have not looked so bright previously.
As far as CM Newton, many would have tried to call for his firing after his first 3-4 years. It was known that when he started at VU that he did not work at recruiting very hard (he even admitted this), as he felt that kids just wanted to come play ball at VU. His first teams were not good at all and the talent was just not up to par for the SEC. Frankly, if it were not for the 3-point shot coming into the game (which CM was instrumental in getting approved as he was head of the NCAA rules committee at the time along with the shot clock being approved), he would likely not have had the success he enjoyed while at VU. He finally began recruiting players that could shoot the "3" and Will Perdue developed into a star (thanks to Ed Martin) and basketball was fun again in Memorial. Prior to this, many fans felt that he was just going through the motions and not putting in the work to make VU competitive, and even though CM was a very likable guy, many wanted him gone and some of you would have been leading the charge.
I am not saying that Stack will enjoy the same success that Skinner or Newton had at VU if given more time (maybe, maybe not), but history shows that VU basketball has rebounded well when things have not looked so bright previously.
