Suns stuck in a Valley

I won't rub salt in the wound of Phoenix Suns fans. The fans at U.S. Airways Center already did that with the loud "Let's go Lakers chant" which forced a comment from the TNT broadcast team.

I'm here for a different reason. I've been an unabashed Suns hater for almost five years now, but as a basketball fan, I always stepped away and thought to myself, I love the way the Suns play. As smug as Mike D'Antoni was and the battles the Suns and the Lakers have had in recent years, I still respected how good the Suns were.

That's why I was shocked and appalled at the Suns don't let the door hit you on your way out approch with Mike D'Antoni.

The early polls are in and as I expected D'Antoni is doing a great job with a horrible Knicks team which is off to a 6-5 start.

On the other hand, the Suns are going nowhere fast, starting out 8-5, but mired in the middle of the Western Conference. I've asserted all along that the blame falls on Robert Sarver who continuously traded away draft picks for cash, and after letting D'Antoni go, settled on a cheap coach who wouldn't rock the boat.

And that's what you got Suns fans. Perhaps you wouldn't have won the title with D'Antoni but you would have been a better team than you are with Terry Porter.

Here are some excerpts of the conversation I had with my buddy and big Suns fan Adam Green. He makes some valid points, but for the record he was not one of the fans pushing D'Antoni out.

greenmachineAZ (3:35:26 AM): Suns fans got tired of the no bench, no defense way

greenmachineAZ (3:35:47 AM): people who weren't Suns fans saw a team that won 55 games a year and was fun to watch...with no emotional investment, why wouldn't you like that?

greenmachineAZ (3:36:01 AM): but Suns fans got tired of the same result every year, with no sign of getting better

greenmachineAZ (3:36:16 AM): it's like Shawn Marion...Suns fans knew how bad his shortcomings were/are

greenmachineAZ (3:36:24 AM): and had less issue with him being traded

greenmachineAZ (3:36:37 AM): whereas people who didn't really watch the Suns think he is some great player who you couldn't trade away

romoballa (3:36:50 AM): i just wouldn't give up on a coach who 1. got you to be a good team 2. played a fun style for the fans (isn't that what it's about ultimately entertainment) 3. was liked by the players

greenmachineAZ (3:36:59 AM): right

greenmachineAZ (3:37:09 AM): but if the goal is to win a title, his way has not done it so far

romoballa (3:37:09 AM): and 4. almost won the title has some things gone his way

romoballa (3:38:36 AM): one of the top 5 coaches in the league

And that got me thinking. So here's my order.

romoballa (3:48:54 AM): 1. phil jackson

romoballa (3:48:57 AM): 2. larry brown

romoballa (3:49:04 AM): 3. greg popovich

romoballa (3:49:13 AM): 4. mike dantoni

romoballa (3:49:16 AM): 5. byron scott

And my revised 6-8...Jerry Sloan, Donn Nelson, Rick Adelman

1. When you have 9 NBA championships, it's hard not to be No. 1

2. Larry Brown has turned more bad teams into good teams than anyone other coach in history. The man led the Clippers to the playoffs, coached the Kansas Miracles to an improbable title and led the worst team in history to make the Finals, the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers with guys like Eric Snow and Aaron McKie playing prominent roles.

3. Greg Popovich minus the Ted Kuzinksi beard has the titles, the players respect' and the consistency to be one of the greatest coaches of this era.

4. Mike D'Antoni is fairly new to the NBA compared to the first 3 guys on this list but the early returns show a .610 winning percentage. Also please remember in his first season when he took over the team about a quarter of the way, he went 21-40. The next year, he led the Suns to 62-20 record and a trip to the Conference Finals. And thus far, he's exceeded expectations with the Knicks.

5. Byron Scott is a rising superstar in the coaching profession. He's taken two bad Nets teams to the Finals and has rebuilt a Hornets team into a perennial contender. He runs an offense that has a lot of Princeton principles and also has a tough defensive mentality. In addition, he's one of the most respected guys in the league. I wouldn't be surprised if he returns to coach the Lakers in the future.

Wow!

Aside from "Wow!" what more can you really say. Here it is if if you haven't seen it.

gatosalvajech (2:42:22 AM): theres no words for that

gatosalvajech (2:42:40 AM): i ve never even seen that ...

gatosalvajech (2:42:48 AM): after someone made a crucial mistake

gatosalvajech (2:42:51 AM): you repeat it

gatosalvajech (2:42:56 AM): with less the a second left

gatosalvajech (2:43:01 AM): and momentum into OT

romoballa (2:43:29 AM): if u want to see the dumbest loss in the history of sports
just tune into today's arizona game

gatosalvajech (2:43:35 AM): thats like Jalen Rose calling time out after webber already made that one famous mistake

And that's what it comes down to. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me -- you can't get fooled again.

That's a little George W. Bush for you. It fits with the stupidity of Arizona basketball.

I understand Kyle Fogg's mistake. He's a freshman who just scored his first two points of the game and was too excited to remember that his bucket tied the game. It was in the heat of the moment as the cliche goes.

But Jamelle Horne, the same guy I blasted in my last post about Arizona basketball for gloating in an exhibition game, fouling to lose the game after a timeout?

Wow. Wow. Wow.

The phrase I've never seen that before is overused but it applies in this case. It would be like Jose Canseco having the ball go off his head and over the wall on two consecutive fly balls.

I just want to know what Horne was thinking. What was said in the timeout. How could you not discuss what you do if the shot is missed? Or was Horne really just spacing out?

“I saw the guy with the ball going 94 feet and the last thing I wanted to do was give him an uncontested shot,” Horne said. “And I saw him in front of me so I tried to foul him and the ref called what. … I don’t know what he called it.”

Now that's a very Bush like quote.

What did the referee call? He called an intentional foul. It's what happens when you grab a guy's jersey from behind and hold on to it to stop him from shooting. In the sport of basketball, that's an illegal move. Who has Horne been talking to lately, Donovan McNabb?

On the bright side, if there actually is one since I've had to watch the Sportscenter anchors incredulously describe the sequence of events while shaking their heads in disbelief, maybe this will teach Horne about some humility. I'm starting to sound like a fan of a bad team. I'm somehow trying to grasp onto a positive side of this tragedy.

I'd just like to say that the actions of November 18, 2008 by two of Arizona's basketball players in no way, shape, or form represent the University of Arizona and it's alumni.

The other phrase I've heard a lot recently is "it's gonna be a long season."

1. In terms of how frustrating it will be to watch Arizona play, I agree.

2. In relation to how Arizona is going to fare this season, I disagree. The Pac-10 is really bad aside from UCLA. Oregon already lost to Oakland, Cal State Northridge hung in with Stanford for the majority of the game, and Oregon State had the court rushed on them against Howard.
Plus, after this game, it can't get any worse, right? Right?

See, I'm trying to stay positive.


Of course it had to happen when I moved to the East coast.

There will be no Laker games on tape delay this year. KCAL will now show games played in the Eastern time zone live.

That could have been my biggest television pet peeve. But since I no longer live in LA, I don't even get to enjoy the change.

And finally, even USA today has an article on how ugly the last year or so has been for Arizona basketball.

It's worse than I thought

I'm not so sure it was a good thing I was able to watch Arizona's first exhibition game at work. It was downright scary.

Against a division II team that I a) had never heard of and b) lost 11 games last season, Arizona trailed by one early in the second half. The Wildcats gave up 83 points. On the bright side, Jordan Hill had less than the 9 turnovers he had in the Red/Blue game.

However, the most despicable moment came in the first half. It was a moment that made me cringe. I felt embarrassed to be an Arizona basketball fan.

We all know this is a team that's going to need help to make the NCAA tournament. The majority of these guys aren't blue chip prospects, so it's going to take hard work, dedication, and a scrappy effort to make up for the lack of talent.

It appears that Jamelle Horne is far from comprehending that concept.

Horne was one of the few players who was making shots early. He hit several contested three pointers that would have been bad shots if he didn't make them. After hit hit a third, Horne ran down the court dancing, with his tongue out, his hands in the air, like he had just won the national title. Meanwhile, the guy he was guarding beat him down the court and hit a wide open 3.

Thankfully, Russ Pennell had the wherewithal to sit Horne at the next break. But that play alone put a damper on any positive thinking I had regarding this team.

Maybe this team would rally with all the surrounding conflicts. Maybe this team of under-recruited players would change the stigma of soft Arizona teams. Maybe they still will. Maybe I'm reading too much into a glorified scrimmage.

But maybe I'm right. Maybe the first impression will tell the story. Maybe this team will fall in the face of adversity.

I hope it doesn't happen but judging from the beginning, it's worse than I thought.

Check it out:

Though I don't want to affiliate myself with any kind of Phoenix Suns propaganda, check out Michael Schwartz's new website, valleyofthesuns.com. It will be well-researched and well-written.

What now for Arizona basketball?

Now that the dust has settled, the destruction is apparent.

The Arizona program is in shambles. The top three players in the 2008 recruiting class (Brandon Jennings, Italy; Emmanuel Negedu, Tennessee; and Jeff Withey, announced his transfer last week) are gone. With the de-commitments of the three players who made up the 2009 recruiting class, only the ruins are left. There's no top 10 players coming in to save the day. Once Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill say their goodbyes after this season, this program that rivals anyone on the West side of the Mississippi will be down to hoping and praying that it can hire a man who's capable of restoring pride in Arizona basketball.

The rebuilding process will be harder that I could have imagined. The transition was anything but smooth.

Still, I'm stunned at the "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" approach many fans have adopted. One facebook group which I was asked to join is entitled "Good riddance, you demented old bastard." Several of my friends are members.

For a man who took a program from the gutter to 23 straight NCAA tournament appearances and national championship, it seems a harsh farewell. Sure Olson didn't handle the situation as well as he should have. But does one year of mistakes override 24 years of brilliance. Always a private man in a public man's profession, Olson shot himself in the foot in terms of public relations.

I had gotten to know Lute Olson in my three years of covering the team, and though he was often guarded, he always presented himself with dignity. Though he wasn't always forthcoming, he always cared about protecting his players.

His resume and his years of playing by the rules (no major infractions) should not go forgotten. We live in a what have you done for me lately society, but don't judge the man on his last chapter. Judge him by the entire book.

Now Arizona must move forward. The program will never be the same.

And now for potential replacements (note I don't have any inside information on this, these are just guys I'd like to see and who I think are plausible)

1. Mark Few
2. John Calipari
3. Jamie Dixon

• Few- He turned around a Gonzaga program in a mid major conference and made the Bulldogs a national power. Because Dan Monson began the ascension, Few doesn't get as much credit as Olson, but he's still done a tremendous job and would be a major coup.
• Calipari- According to a friend who used to work at the Best Damn Sports Show period, Calipari said he would leav Memphis for the Arizona job. Certainly, that's hope for Arizona fans. Calipari has a great thing going for him and is just coming off a national championship game appearance. He's a good recruiter, a master PR man, and a terrific coach. He also brings with him some baggage (see Worldwide Wes). Moving to a bigger conference could be the next challenge for Calipari but will Arizona pay him the type of salary he will demand?
• Dixon- Following Ben Howland at Pittsburgh, Dixon has quietly pit the Panthers near the top of the Big East year in and year out. He doesn't have the name power of the other two coaches on this list, but he can bring a defensive philosophy in badly need of one. Dixon is also from the West coast (San Fernando Valley) so a move would not be out of the question.

Every coach who turns down the job will be a step backward. It's important not to rush into a decision. It's important to make a big name hire. This job is not for an assistant or a coach with little experience. This is a big name job and a failure to lure that big name should put Jim Livengood's job in jeapardy. Recruiting at Arizona isn't as easy as Olson made it look. Kids came to play for him and as witnessed by recent recruits migration away from the program, it's not going to get any easier.

Arizona will play basketball this season, but it's nowhere nearly as important as what happens after the season. It will get worse before it gets better.

So get ready to go through some hard times Arizona fans. There's a good chance that the next time you'll be talking trash to ASU fans, you'll be saying, wait till football season.