Jeff Linder Statement

[MrTitleist]

Frest off the UW presses:
LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 21, 2023) – Please see below a statement from University of Wyoming head men’s basketball coach Jeff Linder.

“I took over this program the week COVID shut down the country in March 2020 with four returning players and two years later we were dancing our way to the NCAA Tournament. New challenges (Transfer Portal & NIL) have presented themselves in the last twelve months that has changed the landscape of college basketball. The new landscape isn’t changing any time soon and we must embrace change. As we embrace change, I hope that the State of Wyoming and the passionate fans who wear the Brown and Gold will embrace the young men who will stay and RIDE FOR THE BRAND. There will be a lot of new faces next season across college basketball and there will be a lot of new faces playing for the Cowboys in the Arena Auditorium. The returning players and the new faces will play with a passion and pride that will make you proud. “

“My players know that one of the four things that they are held accountable to everyday is what their response is. As a head coach I have never experienced a season like this. I have learned a great deal over the last twelve months and will be better for it. My response will embrace the changes that have impacted the program without sacrificing the standards that have allowed my teams to be successful and what will make us successful as we move forward. As we move forward as a program, I want to wish all the best to the players who have chosen to transfer and are grateful for the time they spent here.”

Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.

Go Pokes!!!

 

[LanderPoke]

Blah blah blah blah blah. We're going to be occupying last place for years to come

 

[McPeachy]

Maybe the BOR and Prez's office needs to evaluate the entire athletic department at this point. Leadership is seriously lacking. Time for a change IMO.

 

[OrediggerPoke]

Maybe the BOR and Prez's office needs to evaluate the entire athletic department at this point. Leadership is seriously lacking. Time for a change IMO.

Burman's statement last week about the state of the basketball program and no reason to believe Ike wouldn't be back looks really bad. Is he that clueless?

 

[LanderPoke]

Maybe the BOR and Prez's office needs to evaluate the entire athletic department at this point. Leadership is seriously lacking. Time for a change IMO.

Burman's statement last week about the state of the basketball program and no reason to believe Ike wouldn't be back looks really bad. Is he that clueless?

It's truly a bad sign for Linder that he couldn't convince a core group of middling players (Ike excluded) to stay. Playing time alone should have sealed it.

 

[Poke in New England]

Maybe the BOR and Prez's office needs to evaluate the entire athletic department at this point. Leadership is seriously lacking. Time for a change IMO.

Completely agree. The fact that identical implosions, right down to the statement from the coach saying basically that we F***** up and will do better next time, were allowed to occur in both football and basketball is totally embarrassing and inexcusable. Im not convinced there is anyone with any sway in the athletic department who isn't totally out of touch and stuck in 2010. I wasn't quite able to get there with the fire Burman crowd but this has done it for me.

 

[307bball]

Maybe the BOR and Prez's office needs to evaluate the entire athletic department at this point. Leadership is seriously lacking. Time for a change IMO.

Completely agree. The fact that identical implosions, right down to the statement from the coach saying basically that we F***** up and will do better next time, were allowed to occur in both football and basketball is totally embarrassing and inexcusable. Im not convinced there is anyone with any sway in the athletic department who isn't totally out of touch and stuck in 2010. I wasn't quite able to get there with the fire Burman crowd but this has done it for me.

I think I might be there too.

I've always sort of assumed that I did not know the full story and gave the administration the benefit of the doubt. At this point....I feel the same way that I feel about losing the players from last years season..."how could it get worse"? Just clean house.

 

[SDPokeFan]

Are players these days really so soft you can't yell at them or make demands of them? Is there more to it than that? I'm appalled all around.

 

[LawPoke]

It's Reynolds.

It's Barnhart.

It's Oden.

It's Dusell.

It's Makaih Williams.

It's Ike.

It's the Cali-three.

Or, hear me out, it's Linder (and the Cali-three).

Imagine going for a home visit and trying to explain why you only have three guys on scholarship (as of today at 11:09 am).

Linder has turned Wyoming basketball into kryptonite. Wow.

 

[LawPoke]

Are players these days really so soft you can't yell at them or make demands of them? Is there more to it than that? I'm appalled all around.

This is a pretty damned good question. But it doesn't really matter. The reality is that the porthole and transfer rule change marked a seismic shift in college athletics. Like it or not, student athletes gained the upper hand in the deal. Coaches either adapt or lose their team.

And I think there is more to this than we know. Clearly something is rotten in the state of Denmark - and a fish usually rots from the head down.

 

[McPeachy]

So, do we all here think we were mistaken, and blinded by the Linder 2021-2022 season? I thought he was a superb hire, not so much now.

 

[LanderPoke]

It's Reynolds.

It's Barnhart.

It's Oden.

It's Dusell.

It's Makaih Williams.

It's Ike.

It's the Cali-three.

Or, hear me out, it's Linder (and the Cali-three).

Imagine going for a home visit and trying to explain why you only have three guys on scholarship (as of today at 11:09 am).

Linder has turned Wyoming basketball into kryptonite. Wow.

Ya... not sure how much each individual party is at fault (wish we had more facts and insight), but how can a coach reboot a program after something like this?? frick.

 

[laxwyo]

Sounded like a lawyer wrote it. I think Ike not coming back probably swayed a lot of guys. They didn’t want to be around for a 7 win season. I’m sure a few left because their feelers were hurt but Ike was key. Having asshole coach and winning > having asshole coach losing.

 

[McPeachy]

I am surprised the lame-duck Wyoming Athletic department didn't try to sell men's basketball tickets (and push season ticket holders) a few weeks ago...

That would be how it typically goes...

 

[Wyovanian]

Are players these days really so soft you can't yell at them or make demands of them? Is there more to it than that? I'm appalled all around.

This is a pretty damned good question. But it doesn't really matter. The reality is that the porthole and transfer rule change marked a seismic shift in college athletics. Like it or not, student athletes gained the upper hand in the deal. Coaches either adapt or lose their team.

And I think there is more to this than we know. Clearly something is rotten in the state of Denmark - and a fish usually rots from the head down.

There's something almost paradoxical in all of this. Burman seems to walk on eggshells with his coaches, afraid of losing them and afraid he can't replace them. The fact is, when you stop holding people accountable, you lose ANY semblance of control.

Then, the transfer portal rolls around and the coaches lose players wholesale, seemingly because they're overly aggressive "hard asses" when it comes to accountability. The fact is, as a leader, you also have to recognize when someone has leverage and learn to work with that.

Seems to me, from the top down, there's been no great example of the art of management and leadership. ALL good managers begin with core values and develop an aspirational vision, then , through the practices of communication, control, planning, organization, staffing, and leadership they DIRECT whatever enterprise they're charged with. As times change (along with leverage) one must adapt and re-balance their approach. "Control" is often more of a result than a practice, especially in this day and age of very shallow workforces and the transfer portal.

Like you said, the fish usually rots from the head down.

 

[307bball]

This is a pretty damned good question. But it doesn't really matter. The reality is that the porthole and transfer rule change marked a seismic shift in college athletics. Like it or not, student athletes gained the upper hand in the deal. Coaches either adapt or lose their team.

And I think there is more to this than we know. Clearly something is rotten in the state of Denmark - and a fish usually rots from the head down.

There's something almost paradoxical in all of this. Burman seems to walk on eggshells with his coaches, afraid of losing them and afraid he can't replace them. The fact is, when you stop holding people accountable, you lose ANY semblance of control.

Then, the transfer portal rolls around and the coaches lose players wholesale, seemingly because they're overly aggressive "hard asses" when it comes to accountability. The fact is, as a leader, you also have to recognize when someone has leverage and learn to work with that.

Seems to me, from the top down, there's been no great example of the art of management and leadership. ALL good managers begin with core values and develop an aspirational vision, then , through the practices of communication, control, planning, organization, staffing, and leadership they DIRECT whatever enterprise they're charged with. As times change (along with leverage) one must adapt and re-balance their approach. "Control" is often more of a result than a practice, especially in this day and age of very shallow workforces and the transfer portal.

Like you said, the fish usually rots from the head down.

Your not wrong but how does that translate to the two high profile sports at UW...men's basketball and football? Linder was still a slam dunk hire .... I know people rag on Bohl but he's very respected and has kept us out of the conference basement. Should Burman be threatening their contracts? What is Burman...or forget Burman...what is the best AD supposed to do? and, more importantly, how much of it should be visible to us fans?

 

[LawPoke]

This is a pretty damned good question. But it doesn't really matter. The reality is that the porthole and transfer rule change marked a seismic shift in college athletics. Like it or not, student athletes gained the upper hand in the deal. Coaches either adapt or lose their team.

And I think there is more to this than we know. Clearly something is rotten in the state of Denmark - and a fish usually rots from the head down.

There's something almost paradoxical in all of this. Burman seems to walk on eggshells with his coaches, afraid of losing them and afraid he can't replace them. The fact is, when you stop holding people accountable, you lose ANY semblance of control.

Then, the transfer portal rolls around and the coaches lose players wholesale, seemingly because they're overly aggressive "hard asses" when it comes to accountability. The fact is, as a leader, you also have to recognize when someone has leverage and learn to work with that.

Seems to me, from the top down, there's been no great example of the art of management and leadership. ALL good managers begin with core values and develop an aspirational vision, then , through the practices of communication, control, planning, organization, staffing, and leadership they DIRECT whatever enterprise they're charged with. As times change (along with leverage) one must adapt and re-balance their approach. "Control" is often more of a result than a practice, especially in this day and age of very shallow workforces and the transfer portal.

Like you said, the fish usually rots from the head down.

This is 1000% true. Throughout my career, when I encounter someone that talks about being demanding, etc., they have usually been trying to justify being a butthole and treating you like dirt. You earn respect and then people want to perform for you. You should never have to demand excellence, and frankly you can't really demand it. You either have the vision and the horses that have bought into it, or you are just pushing a rope up hill, yelling all the way. This is the difference between Shyatt and Schroyer. This is the difference between Brandy and Linder. This is the difference between Christensen and Bohl.

 

[stymeman]

It's going to be a tough sell for most basketball fans in trying to justify season tickets with this team unfortunately. Wish it wasn't the case but it's always hard to justify traveling over the Summit, paying for (cheaper in Laramie) fuel, food somewhere and plunking $$ down for a ticket on a product we hardly know anything about anymore.... Athletics at UW the struggle is real and only getting tougher...Time for a replacement in Burman...what the hell it couldn't hurt much more...or could it??? 2023-24 both football and basketball gonna be interesting for sure

 

[Lost Poke]

Linder Positive: Took a team with almost no success and got them into the NCAA in two seasons.

Linder Negative: That team imploded in the following year.

We can argue about clueless AD's, or tyrannical coaches, or marshmallow soft kids-these-days. In the end you have to decide which of those two items above carry more weight, and balance it with what you can afford to do from a contractual standpoint. And so we will not fire Linder, and I'm not sure it's warranted either.

 

[bladerunnr]

It's Reynolds.

It's Barnhart.

It's Oden.

It's Dusell.

It's Makaih Williams.

It's Ike.

It's the Cali-three.

Or, hear me out, it's Linder (and the Cali-three).

Imagine going for a home visit and trying to explain why you only have three guys on scholarship (as of today at 11:09 am).

Linder has turned Wyoming basketball into kryptonite. Wow.

Absolute horse crap. Linder took over a 9 win team that was nearly 6 years out from it's last relevant season. Let's examine the "pre kryptonite" Wyoming BB program. Heath Schroyer (disaster), Shyatt was good but not great. Once the shot clock went from 45 to 35 seconds, Shyatt's ability to manage the game was effectively over. Edwards was a disaster.
More than likely, nearly all the defectors probably knew that Ike was not returning and chose not return for that reason. To insinuate that it's Linder's personality that made these players leave is pure speculation. If I blame Linder for anything, it's bringing in the 3 California kids. If that was a package deal, that should have been avoided from the get go. Also, recruiting guys like Barnhart, who had been in the program 2 years and looked like the guy at the beach who gets sand kicked in his face. Why he wasn't forced to lift a few weights is beyond me.
Here's the hard truth: If the program is in a down trajectory, then keeping these kids in Laramie is going to be a major problem. I love Wyoming. But the average black kid doesn't get it. If things go south, he isn't sticking around. I remember an interview with Brad Jones (a very good guard for McClain). He was asked about living in a small town like Laramie and his response was "I've lived in towns far smaller than Laramie, but I've never been this cold". If you were to take a poll of all the MWC athletes and have them rank the MWC towns for desirability, Laramie would come in last. Can this be overcome? Sure - by winning. But if we lose, don't be surprised by mass defections.