Donovan a Possible Casualty of SHOEWARS?
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Is everything shoes? Say it ain’t so.
I’m like a yo-yo on this subject. One day I buy the strong assertions, the next day I don’t.
I feel like an undecided voter. Mushy. Without conviction.
Can we bring back Converse?
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(sniff sniff) Whats that smell? Oh… it’s me! I should stick to university dumpsters but veered off into an Italian restaurant can. Day-old scampi, anyone?!
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I agree, some days the infrequent, but accruing, news of the day seems to make the hypothesis appear to fit so well that it feels a little like everything is becoming a nail what with having a hammer.
But I don’t make the news…the news just keeps kind of trickling out and fitting the hypothesis.
We don’t have a lot of data points yet, because, well, apparently mainstream media types just don’t ask many questions about it. Odd. Heck, I would ask every coach to comment on the record about this issue, after what Coach Rick Pitino said. I would think this would be a hot news item to ask every top agent about, too. Do you have any idea why the big time sports broadcasters and reporters don’t write a lot of stories about the agents and agent runners in college basketball? They seem only to write about such issues when they absolutely have to, like when Pitino lays it out on the table for them, or some recruit candidly says he wants to play for a specific shoe brand program.
I keep hoping for news that refutes the hypothesis.
Have you heard of any lately?
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@jaybate-1.0 Uh, no. Just hoping for it. I’d let you know if I thought you were wrong. You know that by now, don’t you?
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HOWLING!!!
God, I hope you don’t get tired of posting here.
Tell your wife we are grateful for the time she shares you with us.
Rock Cheick!
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Thanks … right back at ya. Rock Cheick, indeed!
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@jaybate-1.0 Roy was death on Donovan. Back in the 90s they could supposedly not stand each other. This was because of some run ins that Donovan had with Dean Smith if I remember correctly. The picture painted about Donovan at the time had him as a rather slimy character. Sort of like Cal before Cal was a somebody.
I guess someone’s sainthood depends upon who you talk to.
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@HighEliteMajor I’m all for bringing back converse. Weapons (Dr.J, Magic, and Bird), not the Chuck Taylor"s.
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@KansasComet I recall holding apair of Vernon Vanoy’s Chuck Taylors once. Seemed like a giant beside my beanstalks at size 16 quad E. Damn glad I never had to feed a kid like that !!
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@globaljaybird Wow!
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Hey…the Chuck Taylors were the dream of every kid dreaming of playing basketball for 5 decades and well into the 1970s…
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@JayHawkFanToo my hs bought me a pair of white hi top converse for bb! I’m special! You knew that though!!! Ha I have 3 pr I wear now!
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Thanks for sharing this with us about Roy vs. Donovan. I did not know there was this bad blood.
I wonder if Donovan, who played for Pitino at Providence from 1983-1987, and then assisted Pitino at UK from 89-94, may not have held some animosity about Roy and KU beating Pitino 150 to something in Lawrence.
The question, of course, is where did the bad blood between Donovan and Roy, and Donovan and Dean track from.
Might it track back to recruiting.
Rick Pitino and his former player and assistant Billy Donovan were rebuilding UK from the wreckage of the Eddie Sutton melt down, at about the same time Roy took over KU from Larry Brown.
They had a lot hotly contested recruiting years to butt heads on recruits.
And Dean and Roy were probably suspicious of Rick’s ways, because of how Rick’s assistant coaching career started with a bunch of NCAA infractions and being forced out of his job at University of Hawaii by the NCAA sanctions.
And what if you were Rick and Billy trying to rebuild UK at the time that Dean and Roy and MJ had built this Nike recruiting thing with Nike’s Sonny Vaccaro and his Dapper Dan recruiting juggernaut in which Dean took west of the Mississippi and Roy took east.
Where did that leave Rick and Billy at UK?
Some how Rick and Billy were able to recruit against Nike, Sonny, Dean, and Roy and sign the best talent.
Maybe it all goes back to that time somehow?
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@globaljaybird I remember sitting about 5 rows back under the south basket at AFH for the 68 regional. Vernon played against Elvin Hayes in the first game which we unfortunately lost. He then had to go against Wes Unseld in the second. He more than held his own against two really good centers who went on to great careers in the league. Vernon then played defensive end for the 68 Orange Bowl team.
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Just curious for your take. As this recruiting season is coming to the finish line. It seems UK hasn’t done as well as some projected and fallen way short of season’s past recruiting classes.
Is this Nike saying we are done with you Coach Cal?
You know I’ve become your disciple on the shoe wars. It seems to me that not so much UK but Coach Cal has soured Nike and it’s investments in the UK program. Coach Cal’s lack of respect for not only the opponent, but his attitude of thinking he’s God’s Gift to basketball has to be turning the stomachs of the money makers at Nike. As American consumers hate arrogance. Plus his failure to deliver the coveted championship even though the deck has been clearly stacked in his favor.
Just curious what you think?
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At this point, it appears too soon to say. Just have to keep collecting data and considering variables.
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@JayHawkFanToo You are right and I wore mine with pride everyday as a youngster.
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@Crimsonorblue22 I don’t remember what kind of shoes we wore in High School, but I know lacing up that dang ball and getting it out of the peach basket was a real pain…
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Enjoyed your posts. Must have been something to see those guys play back in '68. I’m having a hard time remembering back that far.
I grew up with Chuck Taylors. I have strange fitting feet and always suffered immensely in those shoes. I became conditioned into thinking that foot pains were just part of the game. Turned out I was right, but the shoes improved just enough to counter some of the increased force I put on them as I became older.
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@drgnslayr Were your Chuck Taylors better than the Montgomery Ward All Stars?
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@jaybate-1.0 - This could be significant to our country’s national security and general well being.
What kind of shoes does President Obama wear?
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I don’t remember MWs All Stars. I just remember the Chuck Taylors being a flat piece of rubber between my souls and the pavement.
Most of my early ball was played on concrete and asphalt, until the local YMCA opened up court time in the summers to help get kids off the streets (and playgrounds). I ended up paying the YMCA back by donating more than a decade of volunteer services before I left abroad.
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What’s interesting is that many schools, if they were reading our posts, would say what are KU fans doing complaining about recruiting? I mean, every year we get our share of top notch guys. If we pick up another guy in the next few weeks, then we’ll have a top 5 recruiting class and be a bonafide contender for the NC, not just the league. I don’t think anyone’s crying for us!
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100 points in one game can’t be wrong.
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Unfortunately, Nike owns Converse of course. Wonder if we could pool our resources and steal it … er, buy it back? Maybe we could tap into @jaybate-1.0’s war chest?
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Its official, Donovan to the NBA
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I have started hearing rumblings of KeVaughn Allen being a flight risk. He would make another good addition if he wanted to ride the pine this entire year? Add in Brown or Mack and that’s a pretty solid class. Wishful thinking.
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@wissoxfan83
We don’t care if ISU wants to trade places with us.
Question: would the dump truck stacks–Duke, UK, LSU and UA change places with us? Will MSU change places with us once Ratso gets two straight stacks?
Will Schlocka Smart want to switch with us after he gets two straight stacks?
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He came to KU.
He got an Adidas-KU jersey.
He balls at The House to keep in shape.
Got to wear adidas!
