Like I posted earlier, I think all the issues began when the older son played for Downs, not the younger(still in high school). I think a grudge is held because of the older one being cut from the AAU team when the players got older.

 

Unfortunately some parents CAN'T accept the fact that their kid might not be that good.

Unfortunately some parents CAN'T accept the fact that their kid might not be that good.

 

I am not taking a side here Lawnboy but my understanding is more than one parent has an issue, Coach Downs was like Coach Downs on steroids this year, and there is more to the parent side than what has been presented here on BGP. If I knew it all, I would report that side, unfortunately I don't.

 

With all that said, I know Coach Downs and what I value in him so much is he calls it exactly like he sees it, and he sees well.

Don't have a dog in this fight and really have no idea as to what the parent/coach issues might be.

 

There has been some shots taken at the parent and my only comment towards that would be that I have had business dealings with Pam Thamann in her position as an administrator and found her to be extremely professional. From a business perspective my life would be much easier if all of my clients were like her.

 

I realize that my perspective probably has very little to do with the situation being discussed but to paint her with a broad brush as a wack job parent does not seem fair.

I do know that, in a JV game against Conner this season, Boone County's big man hit his head on the floor really hard and then got hit in the head really hard and was unable to run the floor after that. When the JV coach took him out of the game he got on him and yelled at him in a way that was uncalled for. Turns out the kid had a concussion. I do not consider that good coaching.

I have seen Coach Downs coach multiple times. I think his teams always play very hard for him and he seems to make good in game adjustments. I've always thought his teams were well prepared for games. I do think he's over the top when it comes to officials and how he can lay into a kid. The game at Ryle this year he went overboard with the officials at the end of the game when his team was beat. I think all in all he seems to be good for the Boone program. Some coaches just do things differently. We do not have to like it, but if the kids get better and compete at the varsity level he is doing his job as a JV coach.

I understand what you're saying, and every coach has their method. A good coach will have many years of success and be respected by most in the community. And that is a perfect example of Coach Downs.

Bobby Knight, will ride a ref until the saddle falls off..............Good or Bad coach?

 

If we go by your definition of what it takes to be considered a good coach...and by no means am I saying you're wrong...then I have to say that we BOTH have to consider Knight a bad coach wheh looking at the bolded part above about respect in the community. I think Knights respect has erroded for years and was very low even the last few years he was at Indiana.

 

Personally, I think Knight knew the game and understood what the kids had to do and how hard they needed to work to be successful on the court. He won a lot of games and won championships, and if thats what it takes in some peoples mind to be considered a good coach then in some aspects I guess he was. However, in my mind Knight set a LOT of bad examples and was not a good role model in many aspects (which I believe a coach needs to be), so to me he was an epic failure in an important coaching catagory. Knowledgeable coach, winning coach, but not a "good" coach in my opinion.

If we go by your definition of what it takes to be considered a good coach...and by no means am I saying you're wrong...then I have to say that we BOTH have to consider Knight a bad coach wheh looking at the bolded part above about respect in the community. I think Knights respect has erroded for years and was very low even the last few years he was at Indiana.

 

Personally, I think Knight knew the game and understood what the kids had to do and how hard they needed to work to be successful on the court. He won a lot of games and won championships, and if thats what it takes in some peoples mind to be considered a good coach then in some aspects I guess he was. However, in my mind Knight set a LOT of bad examples and was not a good role model in many aspects (which I believe a coach needs to be), so to me he was an epic failure in an important coaching catagory. Knowledgeable coach, winning coach, but not a "good" coach in my opinion.

 

Knight was an awesome coach and certainly not the racist that Adolph Rupp was. Shameful for UK to have their arena named after that fellow!

Knight was an awesome coach and certainly not the racist that Adolph Rupp was. Shameful for UK to have their arena named after that fellow!

 

Surely you are just try to bait all the UK fans with the comment about Rupp......the facts don't support the racist statement at all......do some research and ask the black players that Rupp tried to recruit in the early 60's. Start w/ Butch Beard then move on to all the others.

Take the Bobby Knight/UK/Racial stuff to a new thread.

I had someone else contact me today and allege the following by Coach Downs. This person stated that Coach Downs would say "I could get a "insert bad word here" retard to do better than you." Again, allegedly. This person went on to allege that Coach Downs treated the players exactly like Mike Rice of Rutgers minus the physical abuse. This person described the abuse as "degrading past the limit." Again, that is an allegation and an opinion of a third party that fears his/her child could face repercussions if she/he revealed his/her identity.

I had someone else contact me today and allege the following by Coach Downs. This person stated that Coach Downs would say "I could get a "insert bad word here" retard to do better than you." Again, allegedly. This person went on to allege that Coach Downs treated the players exactly like Mike Rice of Rutgers minus the physical abuse. This person described the abuse as "degrading past the limit." Again, that is an allegation and an opinion of a third party that fears his/her child could face repercussions if she/he revealed his/her identity.

 

Not saying Coach Downs is perfect, but he is certainly an asset for the Boone County hoops program. There are always unhappy parents. Usually have kids that are less than stellar players.

I think the Boone County administration is walking a very fine line here. There has to be clear and overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing for them to take any action against the coaches. Otherwise, the floodgates are open. Do they want to put themselves in the place of having to listen to a complaint every time a kid and/or his parents are upset over playing time? I know there is more being alleged here than just playing time but if I am the Boone County administration, there needs to be clear proof of wrongdoing for me to take action. The complaints of a kid who quits the team are not enough by itself regardless of who the parent is.

I think the Boone County administration is walking a very fine line here. There has to be clear and overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing for them to take any action against the coaches. Otherwise, the floodgates are open. Do they want to put themselves in the place of having to listen to a complaint every time a kid and/or his parents are upset over playing time? I know there is more being alleged here than just playing time but if I am the Boone County administration, there needs to be clear proof of wrongdoing for me to take action. The complaints of a kid who quits the team are not enough by itself regardless of who the parent is.

 

I agree it is a fine line. One of the problems I often see with schools is they need to treat cases like this (when they decide it needs to be investigated) like a criminal investigation. I am not suggesting anything criminal ever took place, what I am saying is schools often are not equipped or experienced enough to conduct a proper and through investigation. For example, if the school system wants to get it right, one thing they need to do is interview each player on the team separately. Additionally, they need to interview all the parents. Furthermore, they would need to review the films of the games to see what video evidence exists. And all the interviews and film review I am suggesting is only a starting point. Once you get involved in the investigation it will lead you in many directions and all you have to do is follow the facts/evidence. However, my fear here is the powers that be may make their decision/judgment based on only a fraction of the available evidence.

This reminds me of what Niemi went through in his last year at Ryle. A certain kid got cut because of his attitude problems. Parents throw a fit, Niemi gets fast tracked into administration, Mullins becomes coach.

I agree it is a fine line. One of the problems I often see with schools is they need to treat cases like this (when they decide it needs to be investigated) like a criminal investigation. I am not suggesting anything criminal ever took place, what I am saying is schools often are not equipped or experienced enough to conduct a proper and through investigation. For example, if the school system wants to get it right, one thing they need to do is interview each player on the team separately. Additionally, they need to interview all the parents. Furthermore, they would need to review the films of the games to see what video evidence exists. And all the interviews and film review I am suggesting is only a starting point. Once you get involved in the investigation it will lead you in many directions and all you have to do is follow the facts/evidence. However, my fear here is the powers that be may make their decision/judgment based on only a fraction of the available evidence.

 

That's ridiculous. The CIA and FBI don't have that kind of manpower. Maybe the administration could spend more time on improving the ACT scores...