The Hits Just Keep On Coming...

[bladerunnr]

Hankerson's averaging 4 pts and 1 rebound. He sure came here with a lot of expectations (from this board, anyway). To me, he's a role player at best. He doesn't shoot well enough to play the 2 and he isn't physical enough to play the 3. At best, he's a 10-15 minute a game guy. I don't think he's worth keeping.

 

[WyoExpat]

Hankerson's averaging 4 pts and 1 rebound. He sure came here with a lot of expectations (from this board, anyway). To me, he's a role player at best. He doesn't shoot well enough to play the 2 and he isn't physical enough to play the 3. At best, he's a 10-15 minute a game guy. I don't think he's worth keeping.

A solid 10-15 minutes each game has value. Good teams have both stars and role players. I am also bothered by the casual way that posters on this board are willing to dismiss the value of team members and suggest that they should be removed from the team and lose their scholastic funding. Free agency is not part of college sports the way it is in MLB or the NFL.

I also know that Coach Shyatt has higher standards on some issues than many students on campus could live up to. This is not to defend players who break known rules, however these young men are real people beyond the jerseys they wear. Every one of them chose to attend UW.

I do not remember this many suspensions in years past. Does this reflect the players on the team now or does it reflect the standards that previous coaches held their players to?

 

[kansasCowboy]

Not to mention it was 5 points and 2 reb with almost 2 asst a game. On top of that he was avging over 6 ppg during conf play. That's 6ppg that could of put us up on AFA last night.

 

[NowherePoke]

Hankerson's averaging 4 pts and 1 rebound. He sure came here with a lot of expectations (from this board, anyway). To me, he's a role player at best. He doesn't shoot well enough to play the 2 and he isn't physical enough to play the 3. At best, he's a 10-15 minute a game guy. I don't think he's worth keeping.

A solid 10-15 minutes each game has value. Good teams have both stars and role players. I am also bothered by the casual way that posters on this board are willing to dismiss the value of team members and suggest that they should be removed from the team and lose their scholastic funding. Free agency is not part of college sports the way it is in MLB or the NFL.

I also know that Coach Shyatt has higher standards on some issues than many students on campus could live up to. This is not to defend players who break known rules, however these young men are real people beyond the jerseys they wear. Every one of them chose to attend UW.

I do not remember this many suspensions in years past. Does this reflect the players on the team now or does it reflect the standards that previous coaches held their players to?

Agree on Hankerson. As the season wore on, his value was apparent. He was productive on both sides of the court and well liked by his teammates. He could have stepped in as the starter at the 3 spot next year and been a very solid piece. This is a big loss.

In terms of the suspensions, not sure about Vernon but Hankerson is apparently facing criminal charges so that is pretty much automatic with every coaching staff. Depending on the severity of the charges I still think he could come back but it really depends on what he is facing.

Definitely not fair to speculate, but if it was a simple matter of illicit substance possession, I think that is something that can be worked through.


Having said that about Hankerson, I will defend the commentary regarding renewal of scholarships. They are one-year scholarships with no guarantee of renewal (for now, that could change with NCAA changes) and like most scholarships they are require a level of performance. My academic scholarship was subject to my classroom performance and theirs is subject to both athletic and academic performance (to a certain extent, must stay academically eligible).

Is it really fair to the rest of the team and coaching staff to keep a player on scholarship that cannot contribute to the success of the program?

Obviously it can't be something you do as flippantly as it is discussed on this board and you do have a valid point in that regard, but nearly every coach across the country will have an occasion where he has to sit down and tell a young man that he would have a better opportunity competing at a lower level.