Bzdelik Answers a Critic
A buddy emailed me this article Happy Days Wednesday morning, in time to ask Jeff Bzdelik about it at the press conference. I mentioned to Bzdelik there was at least one writer in Colorado who wasn’t a fan, and asked him how he would respond to the quote by Hans Mueh, the director of athletics at Air Force, that Bzdelik didn’t do a lot of personal recruiting there. “He just didn’t,’’ Mueh said. “I don’t know what to make of that. It just is.’‘
“How do I respond to that?’’ Bzdelik replied. “You know what? What was their record the year after? It was about 16, 17, 18 wins. (It was 16-14 overall, 8-8 in the Mountain West). We had a very good prep school class. You look at that – one of the best prep school classes ever. (Mueh) is also the same guy who let (football coach) Fisher DeBerry go, so. I don’t know why he would say that. There were some good players there.’‘
Bzdelik fielded a couple of other questions before coming back to mine.
“I’ve been out of there three or four years,’’ Bzdelik said. “There were a lot of kids that left. We had a heck of a class. We had a guard who left to go to Washington State, Stephen Sauls. And there was another big kid, Phillip Brown. We had highly recruited players. Now had I stayed there, I’m sure they would have stayed.
“You know what? When people get angry because you leave. . . If people are happy when you leave, that’s not a good thing. If they’re angry, I think that’s probably a good thing.’‘
Sauls, having committed to Air Force, played at the Air Force Academy Prepatory in 2007, Bzdelik’s second of two seasons there. But he left Air Force Prep in February of 2007 (well before Bzdelik left for Colorado), saying he had decided not to go to the Academy. Saul parachuted to Washington State, where he played only a half season before sustaining a concussion in practice. He left Washington State at the end of that year with plans to transfer to a school closer to his hometown of Missouri City, Tx. His trail goes cold from there, but if anybody gets the scent, please let me know.
Phillip Brown was a 6-7 power forward from McDonough, Ga., who committed to Air Force in 2007. Brown left the Air Force after his sophomore season of 2008-09 and transferred to Georgia Southwestern State University. Brown played one game as a freshman and two as a sophomore and scored eight points in the two seasons.
For the record, Air Force was 16-14 and 8-8 in 2007-08, 10-21 and 0-16 in 2008-09 and 10-21 and 1-15 in 2009-10.
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By Dan Collins on 04/16/2010 (1:07 pm)
Comments
Twitter Conversation between J Gray and Melo:
Justin Gray:
js got word Jeff Bzdelik from Colorado is going to be leading our Deacs next season I’ve heard nothing but good things. What do u think???
Carmelo Anthony:
“I had a great time with him,” Anthony said Wednesday in Denver at his basketball camp. “Coach Bzdelik is a Pat Riley-type guy. Early on my first year, we bumped heads a little bit, but at the end of the day, I think every coach and player bump heads here and there. We worked what we had out, we’d go to the side. We won a couple of games no one expected us to win, then we won (43) . . . Previous year, we won 17 games. That’s a drastic change. So I think what we did is pretty impressive. Obviously things didn’t work out with him and I guess the front office, but I have a lot of respect for him.”
Aaron on 04/20/2010 (1:57 am)
Mark Pope? Wake Forest University Assistant Basketball Coach?
Qualifications: 6 year NBA RESERVE ... Milwaukee Bucks & Denver Nuggetts ... 2003-04 & 2004-05 playing for Coach Bzdelik with Denver Nuggetts ... 13 total games ... 1 year director of basketball operations at Georgia ... 6’10” foward at Washington for 2 seasons ... 2 seasons at Kentucky playing for Rick Pitino.
DT on 04/19/2010 (6:07 pm)
From ESPN:
ESPNU 100 center sticking with Demon Deacons
Center Carson Desrosiers has decided to honor his letter of intent to Wake Forest after meeting with new head coach Jeff Bzdelik on Saturday, reports the Boston Herald.
“I just spoke with Carson,” Central Catholic head coach Rick Nault said. “The two met earlier in the day, and Carson liked him and is going to go there.”
Tom on 04/18/2010 (10:15 pm)
Sounds Buzzy is better at interviewing than coaching. We’ll see soon enough.
Steve on 04/17/2010 (7:14 am)
This complaint from the Air Force AD seems rather tarnished when you consider that it is from a disgruntled employer. It also seems inconsistent with the praise that Bzdelik has rec’d from CU.
I’d prefer to know what Pat Riley or Carmelo Anthony think of Jeff Bzdelik.
Mike on 04/16/2010 (5:22 pm)
I agree with Matt, Dan.
Bzdelik has said all the right things since arriving but after coming back to college ball, he sure does have a tendency for leaving at the first decent opportunity. I wonder how Wellman thinks he is going to keep Bzdelik from jumping ship the first time someone calls. I don’t mind Bzdelik’s past records at schools but Wellman sure is going to be on the hotseat if and when Bzdelik says “adios” in the next couple of years. I hope I’m not smelling a rat.
Ken Green on 04/16/2010 (4:46 pm)
Kind of wished I had not read your column today Dan. Not impressed with Buzz’s answer, I always find myself wondering if a coach feels the need to reply in a defensive posture. Hope I am wrong.
jcg on 04/16/2010 (4:33 pm)
Bzzz: “This is my dream job.”
Tiger: “You’re the only one.”
DP on 04/16/2010 (4:26 pm)
Wow, Dan - good find on that article. (Please tell your buddy that your blog fans appreciate the scoop!) And it was even better that you asked Coach Bzdelik about it - that took guts. But that is what we expect and always get from you, Dan: honesty, courage, and truth. It sounds like Coach Bzdelik is the basketball equivalent of Arkansas football head coach Bobby Petrino, who has abandoned teams both in the college and pro ranks for greener pastures seemingly every 2-3 years. (At least he has been successful in some of those gigs.) How does an adulterous husband convince his lover to be with him? By telling her that she is “special”, unlike anyone else that he has ever met. I heard a lot of that kind of talk at Bzdelik’s press conference. Hopefully we won’t be the latest notch on his coaching bedpost. This makes Wellman’s coaching “search” seem all the more reprobate. Excuse me, I have to go get some disinfectant.
Matt on 04/16/2010 (3:08 pm)
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