UEACES80 wrote:I guess if that's the case what is he going to gain by playing at Ole Miss over Drake, other than not being a part of the mess that is Drake basketball, which he didn't seem to have an issue with?
That is a cheap shot at Drake and we wonder why we squabble on here.
Nothing about that is a cheap shot.
They literally had a town hall meeting the other night with the biggest boosters over how shitty the program is.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/ ... /83033256/Frustrated supporters of the Drake men's basketball program gathered Wednesday evening, hoping for assurance from coach Ray Giacoletti that things would turn around.
At one point, Giacoletti stood in front of a crowd of 60-plus and told them, “It’s on me. And if we don’t get it done, it’ll be on the next guy.”
They were all part of a semi-private meeting inside Drake’s Courtside Club. Most were there because they received an invitation from Giacoletti. The Register was in attendance after receiving emails about the meeting from Bulldog boosters.
The meeting's purpose was to discuss the future of a team that finished 7-24 last season and recently lost one of its most promising players, Dominik Olejniczak, who decided to transfer.
Olejniczak’s former teammates sat in the back of the room, while people talked for more than an hour about the Bulldogs’ struggles.
“I’m sure it’s rare,” freshman forward Casey Schlatter said of the situation. “We just came to support coach.
...
The confidence of the Bulldog faithful was shaken, but there were no signs of acrimony. Instead, the event took on a
cathartic tone, with several people tracing their disappointment back to three decades earlier when the program began to slip.Questions ranged from how Drake reacts to the shot clock to using a more up-tempo style of play.
Someone asked if there was a way to help post players better handle entry passes under the basket.
And there were questions about Olejniczak, a 7-foot sophomore-to-be who left Drake in hopes of landing with a more high-profile program. Multiple sources have indicated to the Register that Olejniczak’s departure was prompted by third-party influences outside of the university. Second-leading scorer Kale Abrahamson has also transferred out of the program.
“We all could have run,” Giacoletti said of his coaching staff and players. “At some point, you have to draw a line in the sand and be proud to have 'Drake' across your chest.”
Schlatter echoed that.
“We have guys who want to be here,” he said. “Dom’s got to do what Dom thinks he needs to do, but we’re not going to sit here and sulk on it.
“We’re going to do our job and take care of business here.”
Eventually in the meeting, the donors and boosters began to sound more battle-scarred than bitter.
A woman who identified herself as a former Drake cheerleader looked to Giacoletti and said, “please, please, please win.”
A man across the room said he wished the Bulldogs could at least finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings (presumably because that would keep Drake out of a play-in game at the league tournament in St. Louis).
Giacoletti credited athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb with the building of a new practice facility (which was completed two years ago), and told the crowd his current roster is made up of players who could be successful on the court and in the classroom.
“The last piece is obviously the biggest piece,” Giacoletti said. “And that’s winning.”
Hatfield Clubb and Drake president Earl Martin were also in attendance, as well as women’s basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk.
All three spoke in support of Giacoletti, and all three drew applause.
Hatfield Clubb reaffirmed her belief that Drake would not compromise its academic beliefs and institutional integrity.
She also asked supporters to believe a little bit longer and added that if Giacoletti can’t do it, “Who do you think is going to do it?”