About ten months ago I wrote to you when your Shockers were about to play in the Final Four. In that letter I urged you to seize the moment and enjoy the ride. I talked about never taking the NCAA tournament for granted because the amount of variables that go into getting to a Final Four are so random, so varied, and so unpredictable. No matter the school on your jersey; no matter how good you are.
During that amazing run, most of Kansas was cheering for you as well as the rest of the country. Kansas State, a school with a proud basketball tradition, hasn’t sniffed a Final Four in decades. Not because they haven’t had good teams and not because they haven’t played tough competition during the season. It’s just HARD to get to a Final Four. Mizzou has never, in their entire D1 history, made it to the Final Four. KU, a top tier blue blood, has felt the pain of whiffing early in the tournament on more than one occasion (as most Sunflower State non-KU fans LOVE to remind us).
That’s why I find it very odd that your coach, Gregg Marshall, speaks the way he does publicly. Let me be clear: I’m talking about your coach, not your group of classy and hard working players. Let me also be clear: I’m not talking about one comment either.
None of the other coaches in the top 50 (unless I’ve missed something) make random unprovoked snide comments towards other programs. In fact, these coaches understand that rankings are really more for fans and maybe Vegas. When KU is ranked high, Coach Bill Self is often quoted as saying “we aren’t quite that good…rankings don’t mean much...we just need to keep working on getting better”. He’s learned after years of playing at the elite level that rankings really DON’T matter when it comes down to the last six games of the season. Getting a high seed in the tournament can be nice but even this isn’t a guarantee that you will win. Teams still have to play the best basketball they’ve played all year. Against other teams who are also playing their best basketball of the year. Players have to stay healthy, hit their shots, and even get a few breaks. In short, it has to be the perfect storm.
So Gregg Marshall wants to take pot shots at other coaches, other programs, and at sports writers? Then bitches that no one will play him? I guarantee Tom Izzo will think twice about ever scheduling him now. Not because Izzo is scared but because he doesn’t HAVE to, because he can schedule non-conference games with schools who have a longer SUSTAINED history of success, and because Marshall is coming across looking unprofessional. Pay attention to that word “sustained”. It means a great deal to programs like KU and KSU when they figure their non-conference schedules ahead of time. It took Gonzaga numerous NCAA runs to gain the type of "respect" Marshall demands after just two years of success. Butler and VCU experienced Cinderella type runs, reminiscent of WSU's last year, but haven't been able to replicate it again.
As for respect? Marshall and his fans say they get no respect but then whine that they are “only” ranked 4th in the country. Frankly, this is probably fair considering the softness of their non-conference schedule and the fact that they are from a very weak mid-major league. Is it their fault the Valley is so weak this year & lost Creighton? No, but it’s a reality. To complain about the weakness of the Valley now is to also complain about WSU’s own failure to provide suitable competition for decades.
Based upon their resume this year (would a one seed be respect enough or would you like for the committee to just crown you National Champions now and be done with it), it’s possible a 16 seed could provide the biggest challenge they’ve seen this season. It’s also possible that they rise up and play lights out during the tourney – anything can happen. A little humility goes a long way, though, and last year the country (and almost every KU and KSU fan I knew) was rooting for them. Now, because of Marshall’s behavior, the constant complaining by fans, and the hostility towards Kansas’ other two Division 1 schools, most of those same well-wishers aren’t quite so impressed or supportive this year. In addition, Marshall is doing his best, it appears, to alienate other fan bases, meaning WSU will have a large bulls eye on their back and a nation of college basketball watchers who simply think he's a big baby.
It’s extremely odd and rare for a coach to publicly take shots at other programs. WSU doesn’t know what it’s like to be THE target, THE guy who everyone wants to knock off. It means teams who are average end up shooting 50% + from three when they play you because they are inspired. It means that in the tournament fans of the teams who just finished playing stay seated to cheer against your team. It means Hickory shows up as the underdog to play the blue blood or, in WSU’s case, the loud mouth….and WSU ain’t Hickory anymore folks.
All because Gregg Marshall can’t keep his mouth shut and focus on his team instead of making juvenile comments about meaningless national rankings & other established programs.
I guess my message to WSU fans is the same this year as it was last year. Enjoy the ride. Savor it. Document it. But if a Final Four doesn’t happen for you again maybe a dose of humility and respect for other teams would be in order. It’s this type of “dose” that has created the culture of respect this KU fan feels for a program like Michigan State and for a coach like Tom Izzo. I feel that same respect for Kansas State. I would like to feel that respect for WSU as well.
Statistically the odds are slim WSU will make it to another Final Four this year. Let me repeat: it’s HARD to get there. But if they don’t, fans have last year to remember and savor.
As for the rest of us, well… at a minimum, maybe your coach will be a bit more eloquent with his words and show cautious respect towards the rest of the country’s teams the next time he has a successful season. We can only hope.
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