http://www.roanoke.com/hokies/sports/mensbasketball/virginia-tech-beats-...
"My tenure as a coach is coming to a close because ... I spend a lot less time maybe as a coach than I once did and I spend a lot more time trying to help them grow as people."
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Read the whole quote.
It's no less bizarre of a comment even when taken in the full context.
On Saturday, both teams did volunteer work at a Habitat for Humanity donation center. "I didn't anticipate that it would end up being as powerful as it has been," Williams said of the weekend. "Everything that we've done has been either together as the programs or together relative to our families. And I think that that's a memory not just our players will have but the managers, the trainers, our children. I'll always remember it. ... To be able to do community service together and they get to play ... and they shared meals together, maybe that's what life's supposed to be. My tenure as a coach is coming to a close because ... I spend a lot less time maybe as a coach than I once did and I spend a lot more time trying to help them grow as people."
How on earth did the reporter who wrote the article not immediately follow up and ask what he meant?
Let's see.
Oh.
There you go.
When has Mark Berman ever reported something accurately and with insight?
Buzz has hinted at having a shorter than average coaching career for a while now. I don't think his retirement is impending though.
He marches to the beat of his own drum but I'd be surprised if he wasn't coaching for awhile longer. Its tougher than people think to give up.
Oh sweet it's been a few hours since our latest overreaction.
Idk man, I think Fuentos might actually go to Florida
Fuentos and Fuentes will fight over Florida with the loser going to Tennessee. Between them 2 and Fuente that'll be 3 coaches with similar names.
Nah, Kiffin will go to Florida and Fuentles will take the helm at FAU. Get your facts straight, man!
There is always Rich Rod
I hear Rick Pitino is looking for work
Still say he ends up at LU after they hire Art Briles.
Cue HokieFireman in
3
2
1...
Fireman might be dead.
He wasn't talking about Rich and Tech...
They finally got to him, didn't they
He hasn't made a post in over 14 hours. Should we be legitimately concerned?
Is there any good reason to join the Hokie Club?
Not that I've been made aware of in the last half a day or so.
What should we do with our membership?
Quick, someone check to see if TKP hired anyone from Baylor.
Tech guard Justin Bibbs did not play Sunday. He watched the game from the bench in street clothes.
"I'm upset with him," Williams said. "I told him he couldn't play. ... I don't know how long that will last, because I'm disappointed in him."
What am I missing here? I've been out of touch with round ball lately.
My WAG is: Its a scrimmage, so does not count, we have a lot of young guys who need court time, and Bibbs was possibly not mentally preparing for it up to Buzz's standards, or has other senioritis symptoms.
Rumor is, Bibbs is on a NCAA 3-game ban for violation of rules. Buzz might be making him sit till after as increased punishment.
It's all good. I just got out of my Tardis and Buzz retires in a couple of years after winning us back to back to back national titles
Maybe he is running out of awesome sweaters to rock? Some fashion design major get on that stat!
I've got a #hottake that's going to be unpopular: I cringe when Buzz talks like this. It seems disingenuous. I don't like the aw-shucks act that Dabo puts out there, and I don't like the "I'm just here for relationships and helping kids" act that SO MANY basketball coaches put out there.
These guys are elite coaches because they are great competitors, smart with people, and want to win. Please don't put them on a pedestal that they've provided for you.
I couldn't agree more.
He was ultimately hired here to recruit well, win, fill the seats in Cassell, make a run/win in the ACC Tourney, and hopefully go dancing far into March.
I absolutely love what Buzz has done to the team, fan base, and Cassell since his arrival, but it has always seemed more about his personal brand rather than Virginia Tech from his perspective.
I'm a huge Buzz fan but I think that's a very fair criticism.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels that way. Don't get me wrong, I think what he's done for the program, what he's done in the players' lives, and what he's done for the community is great, but let me say this (and this may be really unpopular): I don't trust Buzz. I never have since he's started. I'm glad he's here, but he's one hard card to read. I really hope I eat my words, but I could honestly just see him leaving the program at the end of this year or the year after regardless of our performance/trajectory for only reasons he could understand. My $0.02.
He's got a big personality. We hired him for that.
He's been great for VT basketball and for the VT student athletes. He's a great representative of our university.
Let's not go all "insecure girlfriend" on him.
And he has been doing and working towards exactly that. There are coaches who talk the talk about helping the kids and helping them grow as men and all that but Buzz has shown to walk the walk as well in my eyes at least. I don't have him on a pedestal by an means but I can respect that he values impacting these kids' lives outside of basketball as much, if not more than as a player. As long as he is winning and has success on the court at the same time, then he can be Mother Teresa off the court.
As far as the brand, he is selling his brand of basketball and how he runs a program to these recruits and players. He can sell Virginia Tech on top of that but especially in basketball when you have only a dozen or so players and a couple coaches, the relationships are closer and more important. As a player you are going to play for a coach more than going to play for a school. Buzz has represented the school as well as we could have hoped for when he was hired and I have zero issues with him bringing his brand to sell.
Edit: I think a big part of what Buzz sells about teaching these kids about life translates to success on the court too. Selflessness, hard work, respect, dedication to achieving a goal. These are critical skills to basketball but also to life. His boot camp is about conditioning but also team building. Community service can teach humbleness and put perspective back into the lives of some of the guys who have been told they will be successful since they were in 8th grade because they were good at basketball, which can keep them focused on what it takes to achieve their goals at this level. I believe there are multiple purposes for the things he does and I would rather have a person who does both than only cares about winning.
We had (well, he's still there...in his 52nd season) a basketball coach at my high school when I was there. Although I didn't play for him, I had him for gym class, as my golf coach, and my senior advisor. I also did stats for the basketball team, just so I could be a part of that team and be around him. A bunch of my friends were in the same boat; didn't play, did stats, admired him. To this day when I tell them I talked to "coach" there is absolutely no question at all who I am referencing. In my experience, basketball lends itself for this sort of relationship so much more frequently than other sports...not sure why, just sort of does.
With Buzz's brand; I'm good with it. And the local college's football coach follows him on twitter and has learned a lot about coaching and mentoring from Buzz along the way.
I think the biggest part is the intimacy aspect of having a smaller team. CFB teams have 85 scholarship players and then walk-ons. BB teams you have around a dozen players. They spend a lot of time with the coach (HC and assistants) in a more personal manner.
I had football coaches I didn't like in high school but I still played because I didn't have to interact with them nearly as much as I did the basketball coaches. If they were the basketball coaches, I would not have played basketball for them.
I agree, he's upheld his end of the bargain. He's a great coach and mentor. Look at GT, Louisville and UCLA to see how embarrassing college basketball can be these days. He's not compromising his or VT's integrity.
That said, I think there is a Buzz is about Buzz thing going on here. I like the comparison to Dabo because they both come across as great guys who are about the right things. Do right by the kids and the community. But there is something a little too orchestrated about their persona. I don't think Buzz is a phony, but if you've done interviewing....every once in a while you run into a candidate that is just a little too good at interviewing. They have all the right answers, they are prepared, etc. Just a little too composed at times. I parked next to our CEO one time early in the morning, we were both getting out of our cars and I noticed he had a banana peel on his passanger seat and I chuckled. He asked why I laughed and I said, "It's good to see you be so normal."
I feel that way with Buzz (and Dabo) sometimes. What are you really like?