There are a few players that stand to lose a lot by the firing of Stallings. First and foremost is Luther. Luther is a Pittsburgher. It's a crap shoot that if he decided to stay, he would get the same roll out the red carpet treatment that he got under Stallings. Also, with his injury and the familiarity that the current staff has with it, he would lose that to a different trainer if a new coach brings in his own. That's the skinny of it.
More to the semantics; Luther has been very comfortable, almost too comfortable in his environment. There's something to say good for a home towner that stays to play in his hometown but there's something to say for the overstating of his performance because he's one of our own. How does that play into the perception amongst his teammates? Preferable treatment from coaches, comfortable that he is close to his support system should he get injured, able to have his mom bring him a home cooked meal or soup when he's sick, his minimal bonding with teammates because during his off time he goes out with his local friends instead of his teammates, etc?..., all play into an opinion with his teammates. I've heard a lot of this from my daughter and her group of friends.
IMO players didn't seem to treat him like he was the "best" player during game time. Of course they knew that when they were interviewed they had to refer to Luther as their "best" player. To be in the good graces of the coaches, it was almost a necessity that teammates overstate Luthers absence. Instead of players being able to (especially freshmen) form their own opinions, I can see manipulation. Suppress your feelings of how good you think he really is.
Possibly the coaches felt the pressure from the local media, the community and the presence of local support (whether donors, season ticket holders or just friends of the Luther family) and conveniently attached their wagon to him. Would a new coach come in and say since he is the local boy, the most senior player, the mainstay, we need to build the new team around him? Most likely not! So the writing would be on the wall that he would have to transfer out.
So when I look at his statement and his taking a shot at the AD, I see that very comfortable player. Comfort created by the coaching staff and circumstances on one hand and comfort created by his own decisions on the other. Understandably he's mad but as someone who has had the luxury of having to face little to no adversity (comparably) it's time for him to "man up" and see the failure of his coaches. I suspect It would be good for his growth and maturity as a 22 or 23 year old youngman.
All considered, one could say that his out spoken statement might be more self serving than anything.
IMO I have a very hard time thinking that he spoke for every single player on that team like he starts out by saying.
More to the semantics; Luther has been very comfortable, almost too comfortable in his environment. There's something to say good for a home towner that stays to play in his hometown but there's something to say for the overstating of his performance because he's one of our own. How does that play into the perception amongst his teammates? Preferable treatment from coaches, comfortable that he is close to his support system should he get injured, able to have his mom bring him a home cooked meal or soup when he's sick, his minimal bonding with teammates because during his off time he goes out with his local friends instead of his teammates, etc?..., all play into an opinion with his teammates. I've heard a lot of this from my daughter and her group of friends.
IMO players didn't seem to treat him like he was the "best" player during game time. Of course they knew that when they were interviewed they had to refer to Luther as their "best" player. To be in the good graces of the coaches, it was almost a necessity that teammates overstate Luthers absence. Instead of players being able to (especially freshmen) form their own opinions, I can see manipulation. Suppress your feelings of how good you think he really is.
Possibly the coaches felt the pressure from the local media, the community and the presence of local support (whether donors, season ticket holders or just friends of the Luther family) and conveniently attached their wagon to him. Would a new coach come in and say since he is the local boy, the most senior player, the mainstay, we need to build the new team around him? Most likely not! So the writing would be on the wall that he would have to transfer out.
So when I look at his statement and his taking a shot at the AD, I see that very comfortable player. Comfort created by the coaching staff and circumstances on one hand and comfort created by his own decisions on the other. Understandably he's mad but as someone who has had the luxury of having to face little to no adversity (comparably) it's time for him to "man up" and see the failure of his coaches. I suspect It would be good for his growth and maturity as a 22 or 23 year old youngman.
All considered, one could say that his out spoken statement might be more self serving than anything.
IMO I have a very hard time thinking that he spoke for every single player on that team like he starts out by saying.
