Coach Pecora on One on One this afternoon

[rambones]

The reality is that we came in last in the A-10 with Chris Gaston and we can come in last without him.  None of us really know what the deal is with Pecora and his relationship with Gaston, but I dont blame Pecora for wanting to install his system and way of doing things on the team.  I have nothing personal against Chris Gaston.  He is a very solid player who had a decent season.  He is unquestionably our best player but he has displayed immaturity at times both on and off the court.  The NBA talk is ridiculous and the fact that he is promoting this publicly makes me wonder where his head is at sometimes.  I would expect a bit more humility especially after the team came in last yet again.

Pecora can't sell out on his principals to cater to Chris because he is our best player.  Once he does that, his credibility with the team is lost and its downhill from there.   My opinion is that any rift between Pecora and Gaston is being overblown but at the end of the day, it is Pecora's ass that is on the line, and absent doing something that publicly emabarrasses the school, he should be able to discipline his players the way he sees fit.

[85]

Really '85? Why

In the know, Im not even in the heard it 4 times remvoed at the Poland Spring water cooler, know............

[John]

I can only draw some limited observations from this discussion.

1. There's obviously some internal dissent within the team. Some of that is obviously between Gaston and the Coach. It would be regrettable if this turned into some alpha dog showdown like the unfortunate head-butting between DW and that guard who transferred to Southern Cal.  I'm not sure what Pecora thought he was accomplishing by tongue-lashing his star like that on the radio, though. Bad move, IMO, keep it in the family if you possibly can.

2. I don't know if Gaston wants to declare for the draft, so long as he doesn't select an agent, he can come back. I suspect (a) he'd like to figure out what the standard is for the NBA draft, and (b) he'd probably come back to school a bit chastened by how much improvement is necessary.

3. That One-on-One segment was a failure. It would be better if they could get Pecora back for a show dedicated exclusively to answering public inquiries and questions. What's to be afraid of? The record bites, but it's improved 2 years in a row, there's no major scandals we know of, NCAA rules prohibit him from talking about recruits. The Barclay-versus-Isod question shouldn't be too hard to parry.

[85]

 The NBA talk is ridiculous and the fact that he is promoting this publicly makes me wonder where his head is at sometimes.  I would expect a bit more humility especially after the team came in last yet again.

Its "ridiculous" for a very good college player to talk about the NBA?   Why on earth is that "ridiculous?"  

Was it "ridiculous" for Peter Harnish, a 2nd round pick to consider leaving Fordham after his junior year?  Is it ridiculous that Keith Kreider is discussing signing with the Rangers organization before he compeltes his junior year at BC?   No. This is normal, expected discussion and aspiration.

The public comments on twitter were completely benign, completely.  As to Facebook, I did not see those alleged comments because the setting for CG is private. So in essence, a "friend"  of his vis-a-vis a Facebook friend, decided to post about it and/or enlighten the WFUV announcers about it?  You can't attack Gaston if you do not even have any idea what he said, and to boot, it was apaprently said in a private forum!

Tell me what the said that was "ridiculous"  do you even know?  Since you are now attacking this young man and attacking what is in his head, please enlighten us on what specifically Gaston said that causes you to feel this way.  

 


 

[B2Bomber]

I can only draw some limited observations from this discussion.

1. There's obviously some internal dissent within the team. Some of that is obviously between Gaston and the Coach. It would be regrettable if this turned into some alpha dog showdown like the unfortunate head-butting between DW and that guard who transferred to Southern Cal.  I'm not sure what Pecora thought he was accomplishing by tongue-lashing his star like that on the radio, though. Bad move, IMO, keep it in the family if you possibly can.

2. I don't know if Gaston wants to declare for the draft, so long as he doesn't select an agent, he can come back. I suspect (a) he'd like to figure out what the standard is for the NBA draft, and (b) he'd probably come back to school a bit chastened by how much improvement is necessary.

3. That One-on-One segment was a failure. It would be better if they could get Pecora back for a show dedicated exclusively to answering public inquiries and questions. What's to be afraid of? The record bites, but it's improved 2 years in a row, there's no major scandals we know of, NCAA rules prohibit him from talking about recruits. The Barclay-versus-Isod question shouldn't be too hard to parry.

I am with you on most everything you say, John.....and then some.  But I am not sure I agree with the Pecora making a bad move....it remains to be seen how it plays out.....but in the context of his exasperation with Gaston's behavior and trying everything else, and the season being done, and Gaston publicly (facebook isnt private....except for private messages....putting it on your page is in the cyberspace and it is NOT public, even if limited to "friends.") saying he may explore opportunities in the NBA....I have to stand behind Pecora on this.    He was telling Gaston who is in charge and if Gaston takes this publicly (again, Facebook is public..not private, regardless of "friends"), Pecora can up the ante and give him a slap down.   

(And as I stated before, Gaston is our best player and I understand his frustration with "the system" and the play of his fellow Rams.)

I am really going to be watching Pecora and see who he recruits for the april signing period.   That may tell us a lot.   

[85]

I am with you on most everything you say, John.....and then some.  But I am not sure I agree with the Pecora making a bad move....it remains to be seen how it plays out.....but in the context of his exasperation with Gaston's behavior and trying everything else, and the season being done, and Gaston publicly (facebook isnt private....except for private messages....

You are 100% wrong on that issue. Go to that page now and see what you find on the wall. You can absolutely change your setting so that your wall postings are not visible. They are not visible now nor were they on Saturday. 

Again, this is one of the most ludicrous attacks on a player I have ever seen. people here and on WFUV are cahllenging what was posted on Facebook yet, nobody has actually quoted or posted it so let's see it. How can anyone attack this player about his postings without even quoting them?

[ace93]

The public comments on twitter were completely benign, completely.  As to Facebook, I did nto see those alleged comments because the setting for CG is private. So in essence, a friend of his vis-a-vis a Facebook friend, decided to post about it and/or enlighten the WFUV announcers about it?  You can't attack Gaston if you do not even have any idea what he said,a nd to boot, it was apaprently said in a private forum!

The Facebook comment was posted here.  Yes, a "friend" betrayed him I guess, but people friend so many people that it's really not a friend in the true sense of the word.  I suspect the WFUV announcers are actually on his friends list for Facebook and/or know others who are.

The way it was relayed here, I think was poor form on Chris's part.  Saying that he received notification.  Did the poster relay that incorrectly, I don't know, but phrased that way it is misleading as if the NBA was seeking him out.  Pecora tried clarifying that and did, saying that Chris was going to go through an evaluation process through a private party, I believe, to get an idea if there is even any point in entering the draft.  I think Pecora could have left it at that, but he chose to use that to point to what he believes is immaturity on Chris's part in making it sound like the NBA was seeking him or that it meant that he was NBA material.

I don't think it is ridiculous at all for him to have it as his goal to go to the NBA.  Shoot high, if you miss you are still probably in a good place.  I think it is a mistake to post about it on Twitter or Facebook b/c it comes off the wrong way, almost as if he's bragging when I think he should show more humility.

All that said, I think this process will do him well.  He'll see what he has to work on and hopefully improve on what I believe is already a very solid base and a good work ethic.  At the same time, I think that instead of bothering with this NBA stuff right now, he should look into going to whatever big man camp Andrew Nicholson went to b/c it seemed to have helped him out a lot.  Nicholson struggled a bit early in the season, but he definitely came on and is showing a very versatile game.  I know they are different players, but Nicholson last season was not that much better than Gaston this season.

[85]

Ok, well I couldnt find it, just a short paraphrase of it by '09.   The twitter comment was public and very succinct and indicated that it was just paperwork and he was testing the waters....people can go and look at that quote and make their own determination but I fail to see anything at all wrong with that........its a dis-service and wholly unfair to a player for a friend of his to paraphrase such a hot button issue.....look at the coach's reaction......having not seen the comments other than a paraphrase from '09, I think its crazy for the coach or WFUV or anyone to attack or criticize the player unless they at least read the exact comment or quote, geez, produce something.........

[ace93]

Ok, well I couldnt find it, just a short paraphrase of it by '09.   The twitter comment was public and very succinct and indicated that it was just paperwork and he was testing the waters....people can go and look at that quote and make their own determination but I fail to see anything at all wrong with that........its a dis-service and wholly unfair to a player for a friend of his to paraphrase such a hot button issue.....look at the coach's reaction......having not seen the comments other than a paraphrase from '09, I think its crazy for the coach or WFUV or anyone to attack or criticize the player unless they at least read the exact comment or quote, geez, produce something.........

I think the WFUV guys were basing their question on more than the paraphrase by 09.  They probably saw it first hand.  People friend too many people on Facebook, but that's a topic for some other forum.  For all I know, WFUV did read the exact quote and 09 posted the exact quote.  I can't say b/c I am not on Facebook, much less a friend of Gaston.

[85]

ACE, again, people here are attacking Chris Gaston for his alleged comments on Facebook yet, they are unable to elaborate as to precisely what those comments were. That in and of itself is ridiculous.

[Rich93]

I think the WFUV guys were basing their question on more than the paraphrase by 09.  They probably saw it first hand.  People friend too many people on Facebook, but that's a topic for some other forum.  For all I know, WFUV did read the exact quote and 09 posted the exact quote.  I can't say b/c I am not on Facebook, much less a friend of Gaston.

Pecora also commented that he got a call about it prior to the interview.  Anything you post on facebook is public, period end of story.  You can limit it to your friends but there is no limiting them telling others what you said. Gaston probably has a ton of "friends" as you mention above and I am sure that the staff has people who friend the players because they want to know what the players, who are the face of the University, are saying.  I seem to recall 85 not being happy about some twitter stuff that was ultimately removed because Gaston had on Fordham gear in background picture.  

Also, the idea that this should not have been brought up in the interview with Pecora is total nonsense.  As a fan, I think the most important question that could be asked was if our best player is going to leave for the NBA.  It did not come out of the blue, he was posting about it on his facebook page and on twitter.  Benign or not, if a team's best player is publicly commenting on testing the draft waters, it is incumbent on an interviewer to ask the coach about it durign an interview.  The question was legitimate and should have been asked.  How Pecora decided to answer it is up for debate.  

[ace93]

ACE, again, people here are attacking Chris Gaston for his alleged comments on Facebook yet, they are unable to elaborate as to precisely what those comments were. That in and of itself is ridiculous.

Agreed.

[Battering Ram]

You opened the door my friend justifying  coach Pec's verbage on CG as what "darn good" coaches do. I didn't miss your point, you Pec apologist, I just pointed out that Pec is mediocre at best.

I didn't justify Pecora's verbiage [sic].  That's why I used the phrase "many coaches" and said that of those coaches were good coaches "too".  I didn't make it exclusive to good coaches but you either purposefully took it out of context or you just have a tough time reading.

[ace93]

Edits on In-The-Know's post and Battering Ram's posts to fix the broken quotes.

[85]

Pecora also commented that he got a call about it prior to the interview.  Anything you post on facebook is public, period end of story.  You can limit it to your friends but there is no limiting them telling others what you said. Gaston probably has a ton of "friends" as you mention above and I am sure that the staff has people who friend the players because they want to know what the players, who are the face of the University, are saying.  I seem to recall 85 not being happy about some twitter stuff that was ultimately removed because Gaston had on Fordham gear in background picture.  

Why dont you tell us exactly what was said on this very "public"  Facebook so that people can properly respond without guessing. Do you know what was stated there?  I have not seen it quoted, have you?

As to the logo, yes, the logo was subsequently removed.  As was any mention of FU.  There were some very ribald comments on there and in the face of the Don Bosco situation, they were probably worse. However, they were not related to basketball.  I guess its ok as long as its not FU basketball related.....not much you can do there...........if there is nothing relating it to Fordham, well , then people can say whatever they want to say..... I thought it made sense to remove any Fordham related logos and he did......again that twitter is not set to private and you can click on it right now....

Dont you think its fair that if posters are going to attack a player for his postings on Facebook that they quote those postings?  I also did not hear any direct quotes from the Facebook page from the WFUV announcers.
 

[PA Ram]

ACE, again, people here are attacking Chris Gaston for his alleged comments on Facebook yet, they are unable to elaborate as to precisely what those comments were. That in and of itself is ridiculous.

Who attacked Chris?  Peter Martin's comment in the other thread was the most damning IMO.  May have missed something bad that was written, though, so it's a serious question.

[85]

scroll up.......

[FU85]

buzz,
     Im not gonna lie, I actually liked graso and thought he did a good job recruiting (Jio\Gaston) but you cannot blame him for that mess that occurred. DW should have been let go at the end of the preceding season and Grasso got left with all the mess that was dumped on him after five games. If you want to say that Franks record is the worst of all time then I will agree with you 100%.

[Rich93]

Why dont you tell us exactly what was said on this very "public"  Facebook so that people can properly respond without guessing. Do you know what was stated there?  I have not seen it quoted, have you?

As to the logo, yes, the logo was subsequently removed.  As was any mention of FU.  There were some very ribald comments on there and in the face of the Don Bosco situation, they were probably worse. However, they were not related to basketball.  I guess its ok as long as its not FU basketball related.....not much you can do there...........if there is nothing relating it to Fordham, well , then people can say whatever they want to say..... I thought it made sense to remove any Fordham related logos and he did......
 

I have no idea what was written on facebook, because I do not friend players or coaches on Facebook.  I am also not friends with anyone who Gaston is also friends with but that does not matter because all it takes is one and it is evident that least 1 person called Pecora and 09 knows.   In the end Pecora was told about it, asked about it and commented on it.  if Gaston does not want people commenting on him going to the NBA then he should not post about in public, twitter or otherwise.  I personally do not care if he does or does not, but Pecora did and I have no idea what the behind the scenes conversations were that led to his taking Gaston to task for it, and neither do you.

Here is a simple question, do you think Gaston is any where near an NBA player?  If he is not, then why is it not fair game to say so when he is publicly saying he is going to test the NBA waters?  If he did it quietly none of this would be an issue.  But he chose to go public with it and now people are going to comment.  That is why things are put on twitter and facebook so everyone knows what you are doing and they can comment.  

[85]

Commenting on a player's abilities and whether or not you think he is NBA caliber is unequivocally part and parcel to any sports discussion. No question about that.

Commenting as to a player being delusional, immature, has dying dreams or not knowing where his head is at has nothing at all to do with basketball.  Posters commenting about what a player posted on his FB page yet not even knowing or being able to quote what was posted, is idiotic. 

If an interviewer on the season end recap wants to turn the session into the Gaston FB discussion, then he should have read the quote(s). 

[Rich93]

Commenting on a player's abilities and whether or not you think he is NBA caliber is unequivocally part and parcel to any sports discussion. No question about that.

Commenting as to a player being delusional, immature, or not knowing where his head is at has nothing at all to do with basketball.  Posters commenting about what a player posted on his FB page yet not even knowing or being able to quote what was posted, is idiotic. 

I do not think a coach commenting on the maturity of his star player if he has had tried to make a point all year long the the player refuses to get is idiotic.  He is not some guy on a keyboard, he is the coach of the team.  He has a much better frame of reference than we do.  I am willing to give Pecora the benefit of the doubt on this, it seems to me he thinks the point was not getting through any other way.  Coaches do this all the time, good tough players get the message and turn it into a positive.  I think Gaston is a good tough player and will take it and use it in the way that is was meant.   Agreed the use of the word delusional was unnecessary but I really have not seen anything else that went beyond saying, he is not an NBA player.  That conversation was the product of his public statements.

By the way you keep sidestepping the question:  Do you think he is an NBA player?   

[85]

I was referring to the posters here talking about his head, his maturity, his apparent misguided dreams.  Not the coach.

Yes I think he is an NBA player.  I think he is similar to Renaldo Balkman. How about you?

[Rich93]

I was referring to the posters here talking about his head, his maturity, his apparent misguided dreams.  Not the coach.

Yes I think he is an NBA player.  I think he is similar to Renaldo Balkman. How about you?

I do not think he is close. 

[85]

I do not think he is better than Maurice Curtis....although the window with Mo was very short.......but I do think he will be a 2nd round pick and make a roster.......... Mo was stronger...... 

Side note, did Mo ever play professionally anywhere ?   He seemed like he left and dropped off the face of the earth....

[Buzz]

buzz,
     Im not gonna lie, I actually liked graso and thought he did a good job recruiting (Jio\Gaston) but you cannot blame him for that mess that occurred. DW should have been let go at the end of the preceding season and Grasso got left with all the mess that was dumped on him after five games. If you want to say that Franks record is the worst of all time then I will agree with you 100%.

Fair enough, but my post was in response to "in-the-know". I think it's pretty apparent that "in-the-know" (if it's not '85) is in the Grasso-camp, which has had a clear agenda on this board in the past, or is in fact Grasso. If "in-the-know" is '85 then, I'm way off.

[85]

I have enough trouble being one person.........

[ace93]

Fair enough, however I think it's pretty apparent that "in-the-know" (if it's not '85) is in the Grasso-camp, or is in fact Grasso. If "in-the-know" is '85 then, I'm way off.

85 and ITK post from different IP's and have posts whose times are sometimes in close proximity.  He could be posting from home and then logging on to a work computer, but I don't think 85 would go to those lengths. 

[rambones]

I dont think anything I said can be construed as "attacking" Chris Gaston.  I do think it is "ridiculous" for him to be talking about the NBA knowing his comments would become public.   If my memory serves me correctly, this is not the first time there has been some backlash for his posts/tweets so he has been down this road before and should know better.  It is a distraction, serves no team purpose and at this point in his development, a bit delusional. That is my opinion and I would suspect what Pecora is telling him.  If my opinion crushes Chris' dreams then he has no shot to begin with.  He is a big boy, not a child and I am not attacking his personal character.  I hope he proves me wrong and becomes an All Star, but the reality is that he was a second team conference player on a last place team.  I think any objective observer would say he has a ton of work to do before he could be viewed as a legit NBA prospect.  

In my opinion, his focus should be on improving and building towards next year's season and worry about the NBA after next season.  

[Buzz]

Yes, you caught me 

My bad here. I guess I got thrown off by this.

[85]

I was just joking with him.........I'm lucky I can log on to one puter at a time and I still have a flip phone........