Coach Williams,
I am a Virginia Tech graduate. I grew up watching Virginia Tech football, watching Frank Beamer and Bud Foster mold unheralded recruits and 'tweeners' into grown men. I watched that fiesty team from Southwest Virginia build themselves slowly and methodically towards a known national entity. Frank Beamer had a vision for Virginia Tech, athletically and academically, that carries on to this day. You can feel that presence in each Hokie Stone on campus. Our school is a community built on rock-solid values. We are not only a university, but a family.
Coach Williams - I watched you coach a group of young men into warriors this season. I watched you tonight, on national television as an analyst, represent Virginia Tech and the Men's Basketball program with the utmost class and character. You turned me into a basketball fan this year - not only with the win/loss record - but with the heart your team shows. Your spirit embodies that of Hokie Nation. You represent our University proudly, and the team is a direct reflection of yourself. With you and Coach Fuente both onboard, I have never been more excited about the future of Virginia Tech Athletics.
I am behind you. We are all behind you. You have turned me into a believer.
I am proud to call you a Hokie.
Comments
Nicely written.
Ditto all that.
There was a post on TSL this week from a guy who regularly attends basketball practice. It may alleviate some of those one-foot-out-the-door perceptions about Buzz.
http://chat.virginiatech.sportswar.com/mid/7534891/board/vtbasketball/
Serious question...why is no one talking about Tony Bennett leaving? Buzz makes it to NIT and all of a sudden he's the top candidate.
Seems to me the sky's the limit for Buzz...right here in the ACC...right here in VA.
LOLUVA's much more of a basketball school than we are, and so a job there isn't viewed as a stepping stone.
A couple of things:
- when you get to two #1 seeds and a #2 seed over a three year period, each year with a different key player, you are achieving everything but winning in the tourney. There really isn't any place for him to go and do better.
- there aren't a lot of obvious jobs for him to jump to. Wisky was the most obvious but he didn't seem interested (and Ryan programmed it to go to Gard).
- the blue bloods (Duke, UNC, UK, KU, UCLA) won't hire a coach who is defense first and isn't interested in winning the recruiting belt. The jobs that are clearly better aren't a good fit.
- the NBA isn't interested in Bennett.
I think he will jump in the next few years to a not-clearly-better job. Say.....Indiana or Michigan or Notre Dame. Coaches get bored. But nobody will see it coming. UVA will also see a change at AD in the next couple of years and a change in president in 2 years.
There is also a good chance that Brogdon was a really important player and they slip to a perennial 4-5 seed, not 1-2. Programs ebb and flow and they are probably due an ebb. If you look at their team next year, they are very dependent on Memphis transfer Nichols and freshmen. I really would not be surprised if we are better than they are next year. It only takes a recruiting bust or two to get mediocre quickly.
Would you say Buzz has accomplished more with less, in less time, plus he has the Marquette resume? ...so the other "non-traditional" schools thinking "turn around" are interested in their own Buzz Williams Experience.
UVa-gina fans say no way Coach B is leaving.
Pretty good, but in the next draft of this, just take out the two lines about Buzz leaving. Then it would be perfect.
You know where Buzz' ultimate destination is? VT. And I'll believe that until I see a video of him announcing otherwise.
I don't think we really need to add "until it's over" to every sentence about Buzz Williams, particularly since the two high profile outside jobs that people were talking about got filled.
I love Buzz, I'd like him to stay, and I think what he has done with the team is nothing short of miraculous. But he's not even the most accomplished basketball coach at VT, yet. Think about that for a second. VT has won the NIT - twice. They've been to the elite eight. It hasn't been consistent enough or recent enough, but the history is there. The potential is there.
So let's not beg Buzz to stay with every breath. Let's congratulate him for being a great coach, a terrific leader, and for embracing the ideal of being a Hokie. If he's really a Hokie, and I think he is, he's going to take this team to heights we're only dreaming of.
Thank you. No offense to OP but I don't like seeing these posts. Instead of an open letter pleading Buzz to stay, I'd much rather see an open letter praising Buzz for exceeding expectations and offering optimism for the future. Take out the "Please don't ever leave us" and the letter is perfect IMO.
I'm sorry that my post seems sad and pathetic. I'm not down on my hands and knees begging, pleading, and sobbing for Buzz to stay, but I'm cognizant of the fact that he has no long-standing ties to Blacksburg and is one of the top coaches in the country today, so he will continue to get attention from big name destinations in the future.
I'm incredibly proud of what he has done with the team, and I have never been more optimistic about our basketball program. I hope he stays forever and takes us to new heights, and I'm incredibly proud of the way he represents the school.
It doesn't seem sad and pathetic.
It's just that the couple of lines about Buzz leaving changes the tone from one of appreciation to one of fear.
We become what we obsess about. Let's make that winning, not losing.
Nothing wrong with clearly stating your intent, especially when the prospect of Buzz leaving is being so openly discussed.
I don't see much room for improvement on the OP's letter, other than perhaps mentioning the location of the next Hardee's coupon dead-drop.
How 'bout this for an improvement. Write the letter out, longhand, address an envelope, stamp it and mail it directly to Buzz. Fan mail is always appreciated, and often answered, even by coaches. I speak from experience, having written several times to past coaches, basketball and football, with all but a couple receiving responses and thanks for the sentiments I expressed. I know, it's old school and dates me, but I do that every time I open my mouth. Give it a try, you may end up with a keepsake from a future HOF coach.
With how successful the ACC has been in the tourney this year and what Buzz has stated his goals are, I honestly don't see why he'd want to leave VT. Turning the bottom feeder that we were into ACC Champs and annual NCAA competitors would be the pinnacle of coaching in college basketball
Exactly.
Pinnacle is the right word.