Post by 01- PirateDave on Mar 7, 2015 19:37:17 GMT -6
Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard shows class letting Georgetown player with heart condition score | Politi Bits
Kevin Willard
Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard did the right thing on Saturday. If only John Thompson III returned the favorite. (Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo)
Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on March 07, 2015 at 3:20 PM, updated March 07, 2015 at 3:53 PM
Reddit
Steve Politi
Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard shows class letting Georgetown player with heart condition score | Politi Bits
Brandon Marshall trade signals that the Jets (thankfully) want a quick turnaround | Politi
Brian Cashman is right: The Yankees should retire the captaincy after Derek Jeter | Politi Bits
Devils great Martin Brodeur embracing the start of his second career in hockey | Politi
Eddie Jordan lacking answers as losses keep mounting at Rutgers | Politi
All Stories |
Seton Hall has had a rough season, and as a result, we've been rough on head coach Kevin Willard. It's his fifth year, and the Pirates are 30-60 in Big East play after a loss to Georgetown on Saturday. That's not good enough.
But sometimes it's about more than the wins and losses, and that was the case in the opening seconds of the game against the Hoyas. If only rival coach John Thompson III had gotten the memo.
The scenario: Georgetown player Tyler Adams had his college career cut short just four games into his freshman season due to a heart condition. He stayed with the team, assisting at practice and taking road trips, and being an all-around good teammate. This was what he said before his final game, according to the Georgetown media office:
"When my situation came about I didn't want to mourn or be sad and be a burden on the team, my main focus was just keeping a positive energy and helping the guys out," Adams said. "Whether that was wiping the floor or helping Josh (Smith) or Mikael (Hopkins) with their next post moves, the main focus was just helping the team as much as I could.
"I'm not the type of person who gets down on things because I know in life people have it worse than I do so that was the approach I took with it and that's what helped get through the emotions I may have had. Coach Thompson has made me feel like I'm part of the team, I dress for practice, attend every work out and I probably watch more film than the guys who play so I definitely feel like I've been involved and that definitely helped me out emotionally."
That sounds like the type of young person you want to honor. So when Georgetown got cleared to let him start on Senior Day, that's exactly what Willard did. He told his players to let Adams score. Here's the clip:
Now you'd think, after Willard allowed the Hoyas to get two uncontested points to start the game — and allowing Adams to hear a great roar from the crowd one last time — that Thompson would have reciprocated. That he'd tell his defense to stand back and let Seton Hall tie it.
Nope. In fact, Georgetown actually pressed. Willard said after the game that he ran his plan past Thompson before the game and Thompson said he would decline to return the favor, and you have to wonder: Why?
Presumably, somebody will ask the question and I'll update this post with the answer (and with more on the inexcusable Hoyas dunk after Seton Hall had stopped defending in the final minutes).
For now, though, let's focus on Willard's act, because he deserves the praise. Here's what he said at the end of the game (and a big thanks to the fine website southorangejuice.com for the quick transcription):
"I think we have a bigger responsibility in life sometimes than the game of basketball," Willard said. "I told our kids in the locker room 'We're going to lose the tip and we're going to give them a bucket.' We haven't been getting off the great starts, not the greatest way to start but I think it's important to reward good people. Everything I've heard about this young man, what he's had to fight through, has had to battle. In my mind, I think kids should be rewarded if they're good people and to me that was the only decision to make."
Good for Willard. It was a nice lesson for everybody, including the guy sitting on the other bench.
Kevin Willard
Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard did the right thing on Saturday. If only John Thompson III returned the favorite. (Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo)
Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Steve Politi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on March 07, 2015 at 3:20 PM, updated March 07, 2015 at 3:53 PM
Steve Politi
Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard shows class letting Georgetown player with heart condition score | Politi Bits
Brandon Marshall trade signals that the Jets (thankfully) want a quick turnaround | Politi
Brian Cashman is right: The Yankees should retire the captaincy after Derek Jeter | Politi Bits
Devils great Martin Brodeur embracing the start of his second career in hockey | Politi
Eddie Jordan lacking answers as losses keep mounting at Rutgers | Politi
All Stories |
Seton Hall has had a rough season, and as a result, we've been rough on head coach Kevin Willard. It's his fifth year, and the Pirates are 30-60 in Big East play after a loss to Georgetown on Saturday. That's not good enough.
But sometimes it's about more than the wins and losses, and that was the case in the opening seconds of the game against the Hoyas. If only rival coach John Thompson III had gotten the memo.
The scenario: Georgetown player Tyler Adams had his college career cut short just four games into his freshman season due to a heart condition. He stayed with the team, assisting at practice and taking road trips, and being an all-around good teammate. This was what he said before his final game, according to the Georgetown media office:
"When my situation came about I didn't want to mourn or be sad and be a burden on the team, my main focus was just keeping a positive energy and helping the guys out," Adams said. "Whether that was wiping the floor or helping Josh (Smith) or Mikael (Hopkins) with their next post moves, the main focus was just helping the team as much as I could.
"I'm not the type of person who gets down on things because I know in life people have it worse than I do so that was the approach I took with it and that's what helped get through the emotions I may have had. Coach Thompson has made me feel like I'm part of the team, I dress for practice, attend every work out and I probably watch more film than the guys who play so I definitely feel like I've been involved and that definitely helped me out emotionally."
That sounds like the type of young person you want to honor. So when Georgetown got cleared to let him start on Senior Day, that's exactly what Willard did. He told his players to let Adams score. Here's the clip:
Now you'd think, after Willard allowed the Hoyas to get two uncontested points to start the game — and allowing Adams to hear a great roar from the crowd one last time — that Thompson would have reciprocated. That he'd tell his defense to stand back and let Seton Hall tie it.
Nope. In fact, Georgetown actually pressed. Willard said after the game that he ran his plan past Thompson before the game and Thompson said he would decline to return the favor, and you have to wonder: Why?
Presumably, somebody will ask the question and I'll update this post with the answer (and with more on the inexcusable Hoyas dunk after Seton Hall had stopped defending in the final minutes).
For now, though, let's focus on Willard's act, because he deserves the praise. Here's what he said at the end of the game (and a big thanks to the fine website southorangejuice.com for the quick transcription):
"I think we have a bigger responsibility in life sometimes than the game of basketball," Willard said. "I told our kids in the locker room 'We're going to lose the tip and we're going to give them a bucket.' We haven't been getting off the great starts, not the greatest way to start but I think it's important to reward good people. Everything I've heard about this young man, what he's had to fight through, has had to battle. In my mind, I think kids should be rewarded if they're good people and to me that was the only decision to make."
Good for Willard. It was a nice lesson for everybody, including the guy sitting on the other bench.
good luck to all!