12/21/24
March 02, 2002
Nolan Richardson's contract has been bought out: after he claimed he was treated differently due to his race. Seems to me that it's not so much a racial issue as a story about how quickly we forget a coach's record during one sub-par season -- and who can blame Richardson for lashing out?
posted by Bryant to basketball at 03:26 PM - 5 comments
Most of us are probably unaware of the attendant pressure on Richardson due to the poor season. He has a consistent record of blowing his fuse about something. I imagine his comments are true, but this is also a slightly better way to go out than getting fired because of a losing record.
posted by pastepotpete at 09:00 PM on March 02, 2002
I saw Richardsons blowup before the media. It looked like he'd flipped his lid. That, or he has trouble taking criticism. One should have a thicker skin if they wish to coach at the D-1 level. With his track record you'd think Richardson would just shrug off what some sportswriters think. I'm amazed at the short time it took for Richardson to get bought out. Maybe he was looking for a way to retire, and not look like a quitter after a .500 season. There's something very weird going on here.
posted by wingman37 at 10:20 PM on March 02, 2002
My favorite part of Richardson's tirade was how he just discovered Arkansas has a lot of white people and chastised the local media for not having more people of color. Maybe there'd be more of them in Arkansas if Richardson ever graduated a player and prepared him for a non-basketball career.
posted by rcade at 09:43 AM on March 03, 2002
Who cares that Nolan had a zero percent graduation rate? At least none of his players were truely evil and traded a car in or went to the NBA all-star game with gift tickets. Lets all try and keep things in perspective!
posted by srboisvert at 02:13 PM on March 03, 2002
The thing that interests me more about his whole story is his graduation record. Pretty close to 0%. I'm not sure where I stand on this issue, especially after reading an interview with him about it. I don't think that motivating players is entirely a coach's responsibility, but shouldn't he have a little bit to do with it? And what about NCAA academic eligibility requirements? Are they maybe too low?