Magic Beat Writer Dick Scanlon(Lakeland Ledger) w/ his opinion of Coaching situation

[ball junkie 277]

quote:

Published Sunday, May 6, 2007

 

 

Magical Mystery Reversal: Orlando Coach has No Guarantee of Job

By Dick Scanlon

dick.scanlon@theledger.com

 

 

Contrary to what they said less than a month ago, the Orlando Magic are considering a coaching change.

 

Brian Hill and his staff are twisting in the wind right now after some remarks made by club president Bob Vander Weide a few days after the Magic's playoff elimination.

 

Vander Weide told the Orlando Sentinel that Hill's status is under review, and that he would like to see some changes in the Magic's ``style of play.'' In response to a question about recent statements indicating a commitment to Hill, Vander Weide said: ``Sometimes there are no guarantees in life.''

 

Unless he can spin his way out of what that comment suggests, Vander Weide might as well fire Hill right now because he has seriously undermined his ability to coach.

 

When Hill was hired two years ago, no one was more vehement in his long-term commitment to Hill than Vander Weide.

 

There had been too many changes in too short a period of time, he said, and the organization needed some stability.

 

This was going to be the coach for the next four years (the length of Hill's contract), for better or for worse.

 

Obviously something has changed, and unless Vander Weide and general manager Otis Smith were just blowing smoke in mid-April, the change has come very recently.

 

The playoff sweep at the hands of the Detroit Pistons? Come on! Nobody was too surprised by that. Besides, Smith had said Hill's future was not tied to the Magic's playoff fortunes.

 

There is a widespread assumption that the players do not like Hill, and certainly there are players who don't.

 

But there is no evidence of a player revolt.

 

To have a revolt, you need a leader, and one of the many problems with the Magic's roster is that they don't have one.

 

The only player whose opinion really matters to the organization is Dwight Howard, and at this stage of his career the young center is not presumptuous enough to stage a coup to get the coach fired.

 

In other words, Howard is no Penny Hardaway.

 

There was a bogus story going around NBA gossip circles that Howard was livid when Hill insisted he make it back for the first practice after the All-Star break. Anyone who knows Howard also knows he would not be offended by something like that. In other words, he is no Penny Hardaway. At least not yet.

 

You can make a case for or against Hill, just as you can for most NBA coaches.

 

He was hired to instill a sense of order and to provide the team with the defensive identity it had lacked. He has succeeded on those fronts despite having only one guard (Keyon Dooling) who plays a lick of defense.

 

Hill has also succeeded in getting the Magic into the playoffs, as minimal as that accomplishment was this season.

 

The case against him, amplified by get-a-life web sites and radio talk shows, is that the Magic should have done better than 40-42 in a season in which the Eastern Conference was unusually weak and injury-riddled.

 

It's hard to disagree with that, and it's routine for the coach to take the blame when a team fails to play up to expectations.

 

So after Vander Weide's unfortunate remarks, the Magic organization is faced with the choice of spinning out of them, or spinning its wheels with a fifth different head coach in 4 1/2 years.

 

 

This guy's a real straight shooter. He's been the Magic beat writer for us folks in Polk County since the team's incepion in 1988-89.

 

As you can see he defends Brian Hill at times and crticizes him also.

 

Thought you guys would be interested in his column.

 

I actually taught school with his wife my first 5 years of my teaching career. They are both quality people.

 

I might add, he is in the Magic lockeroom after each game so I would take his comments on some players and incidents that supposedly happened this year as pretty reliable.

 

 

http://www.lakelandledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...05060503/1113/SPORTS

[ball junkie 277]

quote:

Published Sunday, May 6, 2007

 

 

Magical Mystery Reversal: Orlando Coach has No Guarantee of Job

By Dick Scanlon

dick.scanlon@theledger.com

 

 

Contrary to what they said less than a month ago, the Orlando Magic are considering a coaching change.

 

Brian Hill and his staff are twisting in the wind right now after some remarks made by club president Bob Vander Weide a few days after the Magic's playoff elimination.

 

Vander Weide told the Orlando Sentinel that Hill's status is under review, and that he would like to see some changes in the Magic's ``style of play.'' In response to a question about recent statements indicating a commitment to Hill, Vander Weide said: ``Sometimes there are no guarantees in life.''

 

Unless he can spin his way out of what that comment suggests, Vander Weide might as well fire Hill right now because he has seriously undermined his ability to coach.

 

When Hill was hired two years ago, no one was more vehement in his long-term commitment to Hill than Vander Weide.

 

There had been too many changes in too short a period of time, he said, and the organization needed some stability.

 

This was going to be the coach for the next four years (the length of Hill's contract), for better or for worse.

 

Obviously something has changed, and unless Vander Weide and general manager Otis Smith were just blowing smoke in mid-April, the change has come very recently.

 

The playoff sweep at the hands of the Detroit Pistons? Come on! Nobody was too surprised by that. Besides, Smith had said Hill's future was not tied to the Magic's playoff fortunes.

 

There is a widespread assumption that the players do not like Hill, and certainly there are players who don't.

 

But there is no evidence of a player revolt.

 

To have a revolt, you need a leader, and one of the many problems with the Magic's roster is that they don't have one.

 

The only player whose opinion really matters to the organization is Dwight Howard, and at this stage of his career the young center is not presumptuous enough to stage a coup to get the coach fired.

 

In other words, Howard is no Penny Hardaway.

 

There was a bogus story going around NBA gossip circles that Howard was livid when Hill insisted he make it back for the first practice after the All-Star break. Anyone who knows Howard also knows he would not be offended by something like that. In other words, he is no Penny Hardaway. At least not yet.

 

You can make a case for or against Hill, just as you can for most NBA coaches.

 

He was hired to instill a sense of order and to provide the team with the defensive identity it had lacked. He has succeeded on those fronts despite having only one guard (Keyon Dooling) who plays a lick of defense.

 

Hill has also succeeded in getting the Magic into the playoffs, as minimal as that accomplishment was this season.

 

The case against him, amplified by get-a-life web sites and radio talk shows, is that the Magic should have done better than 40-42 in a season in which the Eastern Conference was unusually weak and injury-riddled.

 

It's hard to disagree with that, and it's routine for the coach to take the blame when a team fails to play up to expectations.

 

So after Vander Weide's unfortunate remarks, the Magic organization is faced with the choice of spinning out of them, or spinning its wheels with a fifth different head coach in 4 1/2 years.

 

 

This guy's a real straight shooter. He's been the Magic beat writer for us folks in Polk County since the team's incepion in 1988-89.

 

As you can see he defends Brian Hill at times and crticizes him also.

 

Thought you guys would be interested in his column.

 

I actually taught school with his wife my first 5 years of my teaching career. They are both quality people.

 

I might add, he is in the Magic lockeroom after each game so I would take his comments on some players and incidents that supposedly happened this year as pretty reliable.

 

 

http://www.lakelandledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...05060503/1113/SPORTS

[Hutchence 1]

Thanks for the article Junkie, I don't think I have read anything from him before. Nice to read a writer's opinion instead of just butt kissing.

[MagicFanBen 0]

Very well written and a straight shooter just like you said. The Magic are ****ed if they do and ****ed if they don't. They problem is here because the DeVos family made the coaching decision not the the GM they hired in Weisbrod. Something still makes me wish Weisbrod made his coahcing hire whoever that would have been and we still had him as a GM. His no non-sense approach was refreshing atleast. Much better than the skirt the issue BS we get now from ownership and managment. I bet when the DeVos family rehired Hill, they had no idea it would be the fans that revolted this time and not the players.

[Emory889 353]

Thanks for the article BJ. Anyone named Dick is ok in my book.

[NBAMagic47 0]

good article junkie, finally a writers opinion who seems to be unbiased either way. he makes some good points and observations through out the entire article

quote:

There is a widespread assumption that the players do not like Hill, and certainly there are players who don't.

 

But there is no evidence of a player revolt.

 

To have a revolt, you need a leader, and one of the many problems with the Magic's roster is that they don't have one.

i have been trying to bring this point across since i started posting, its nice to see and read someone else with the same opinion.

quote:

There was a bogus story going around NBA gossip circles that Howard was livid when Hill insisted he make it back for the first practice after the All-Star break. Anyone who knows Howard also knows he would not be offended by something like that. In other words, he is no Penny Hardaway. At least not yet.

i posted a similar statement earlier today. if anybody knows dwight they would know that it is not in dwights character to have any ill feelings toward anyone

quote:

The case against him, amplified by get-a-life web sites and radio talk shows, is that the Magic should have done better than 40-42 in a season in which the Eastern Conference was unusually weak and injury-riddled.

i just like the term get-a-life web sites, if anyone knows me by now they would know how i feel about this. overall good article, thanks for finding and posting it junkie

[weezt0e 0]

Man it pisses me off when people say my website's reason for wanting hill gone is because of the W/L record! F@$$ing get your facts straight! IF you read the site, it says pretty much the OPPOSITE. Its almost all about player development. But no, people just decide that I am upset about our record. Well guess what.. I started the website when we had a WINNING RECORD! I know we are a young team that makes mistakes! I know we are going to lose because of that! I don't care! If there is one thing I have learned from doing this, its that people assume without taking the time to get the facts right.

[MagicFanBen 0]

quote:

Originally posted by NBAMagic47:

good article junkie, finally a writers opinion who seems to be unbiased either way. he makes some good points and observations through out the entire article

quote:

There is a widespread assumption that the players do not like Hill, and certainly there are players who don't.

 

But there is no evidence of a player revolt.

 

To have a revolt, you need a leader, and one of the many problems with the Magic's roster is that they don't have one.

i have been trying to bring this point across since i started posting, its nice to see and read someone else with the same opinion.

quote:

There was a bogus story going around NBA gossip circles that Howard was livid when Hill insisted he make it back for the first practice after the All-Star break. Anyone who knows Howard also knows he would not be offended by something like that. In other words, he is no Penny Hardaway. At least not yet.

i posted a similar statement earlier today. if anybody knows dwight they would know that it is not in dwights character to have any ill feelings toward anyone

quote:

The case against him, amplified by get-a-life web sites and radio talk shows, is that the Magic should have done better than 40-42 in a season in which the Eastern Conference was unusually weak and injury-riddled.

i just like the term get-a-life web sites, if anyone knows me by now they would know how i feel about this. overall good article, thanks for finding and posting it junkie

 

You are trying to legitimize your opinion based on a author of an article that is only commenting on a situation from his point of view. You can not use his comments as evidence of fact when he has no first hand knowledge either way.

[MagicFanBen 0]

quote:

Originally posted by weezt0e:

Man it pisses me off when people say my website's reason for wanting hill gone is because of the W/L record! F@$$ing get your facts straight! IF you read the site, it says pretty much the OPPOSITE. Its almost all about player development. But no, people just decide that I am upset about our record. Well guess what.. I started the website when we had a WINNING RECORD! I know we are a young team that makes mistakes! I know we are going to lose because of that! I don't care! If there is one thing I have learned from doing this, its that people assume without taking the time to get the facts right.

 

Don't get so bent. He called you out as well as others that have blogs and websites. He probably did so because he does not have inside information or even have access to the team. Heck MC & RealGM would be lumped in to that pile as well. And in my book all 3 sites provide fans with interesting things to discuss.

[NBAMagic47 0]

quote:

You are trying to legitimize your opinion based on a author of an article that is only commenting on a situation from his point of view. You can not use his comments as evidence of fact when he has no first hand knowledge either way.

oh, but its ok for someone else to post and comment on an article that agrees with the lynch mob mentality? but when someone brings up the other side of the argument into the equation, all of the sudden its all about not having evidence or being legitimit or blah, blah, blah. oh please, spare me of the double standard

[MagicFanBen 0]

quote:

Originally posted by NBAMagic47:

quote:

You are trying to legitimize your opinion based on a author of an article that is only commenting on a situation from his point of view. You can not use his comments as evidence of fact when he has no first hand knowledge either way.

oh, but its ok for someone else to post and comment on an article that agrees with the lynch mob mentality? but when someone brings up the other side of the argument into the equation, all of the sudden its all about not having evidence or being legitimit or blah, blah, blah. oh please, spare me of the double standard

How do you see a lynch mob's mentality? What you are failing to realize it was BVW himself that opened up the can more by saying there are "somtimes there are no guarantees in life." Had it not been for that comment I bet there would be a lot less speculation.

 

I am sure the majority of Magic fans will make him eat his words if Hill is not fired. Like it or not you are in a very small minority that want Hill to keep his job. If Jeff VanGundy is feeling the heat in Houston, Brian Hill should definitely feel the heat in Orlando. JVG is a much better coach than Hill and I do not like JVG.

[NBAMagic47 0]

quote:

Originally posted by MagicFanBen:

quote:

Originally posted by NBAMagic47:

quote:

You are trying to legitimize your opinion based on a author of an article that is only commenting on a situation from his point of view. You can not use his comments as evidence of fact when he has no first hand knowledge either way.

oh, but its ok for someone else to post and comment on an article that agrees with the lynch mob mentality? but when someone brings up the other side of the argument into the equation, all of the sudden its all about not having evidence or being legitimit or blah, blah, blah. oh please, spare me of the double standard

How do you see a lynch mob's mentality? What you are failing to realize it was BVW himself that opened up the can more by saying there are "somtimes there are no guarantees in life." Had it not been for that comment I bet there would be a lot less speculation.

 

I am sure the majority of Magic fans will make him eat his words if Hill is not fired. Like it or not you are in a very small minority that want Hill to keep his job. If Jeff VanGundy is feeling the heat in Houston, Brian Hill should definitely feel the heat in Orlando. JVG is a much better coach than Hill and I do not like JVG.

 

well it all depends on how you look at it. anyone can put a spin on any statement or situation they want. lets take this statement for example "sometimes there are no guarantees in life" you look at it like his job is not quaranteed next season. he could have meant that in many ways, from being coaches, personell or even the gm. but all of the negative people take it like it is a forgone conclusion that the coach is gone. i would think that they would have fired him already.

quote:

I am sure the majority of Magic fans will make him eat his words if Hill is not

 

no you keep saying the majority, it is only the majority on this forum. there are polls that say other wise.

 

quote:

Like it or not you are in a very small minority that want Hill to keep his job

 

again only on this forum. its not that i want him to keep his job. i just want him to be treated fairly. he did not do as bad a job as all you say. give him the tools to succeed before you kick him to the curb for the second time. especially when the organization admited publicly that they made a mistake the first time.