Farewell, Lappas, and Thanks

[6thManPA]

Over the past few years, whenever players have left the program, threads seem to have popped up wishing them well despite this or that happening while they were here, or despite this or that reason for their leaving.

This thread is for the head coach of the program.
I'm kind of surprised I haven't noticed another one. Have I missed it?

******************************

Thank you, Coach, for all your efforts on behalf of our basketball program.

I believe that you kept, and keep, in your heart and in your head best wishes for the basketball players in your program and for this university.

Good luck wherever you and your family end up next.

Here's to your future.

[Used to be VOR]

Although I agree with most of the sentiment, I somehow doubt that this feeling is widespread. And that this thread has the potential to get ugly fast. This might be one we just lock up.

The past is the past.

[Jacks statman]

I think Coach Lappas gave his all for this program and I wish him, his assistants and their families all the best in their futures.
While he was not loved on this board he seems to have been liked and respected by his players, which reflects positively on him. Should this thread turn negative, that would only reflect badly on the people doing so. Lets move on.
THANKS AGAIN COACH !!!

[LS71]

You got that right VOR...

On a personal level I, too, wish Lappas, his staff and their families well.

However, from a basketball perspective, I can't "thank" him for the worst four years of UMass basketball since the 80's

[deke]

Thanks to you and the staff for bringing us people like Rashaun, Artie, Maxwell, Viggs & Company. We will cheer for them each time they hit the floor.

[CRR_]

CENSORED

[UMass87]

Thanks for insuring that the University's basketball graduation rate as compiled by the NCAA looks like shit (and you assholes responding to this negatively might remind yourselves that the NCAA graduation rate is the only graduation rate the media looks at). Thanks for consistently losing. Thanks for the millions of dollars in lost revenue. Thanks for doing nothing positive for UMass basketball.

[gui98]

Smell you labia. Steve.

[deke]

Thanks for insuring that the University's basketball graduation rate as compiled by the NCAA looks like shit (and you assholes responding to this negatively might remind yourselves that the NCAA graduation rate is the only graduation rate the media looks at).

Not sure what you mean, exactly, but I thought Lappas was doing ok.

How many of his seniors have graduated (not including Anderson, Chadwick, and Brennan Martin who will hopefully get their diplomas this year)? His scholarship seniors have included Marcus Cox, Shannon Crooks, Eric Williams, Jackie Rogers, Micah Brand, Ronnell Blizzard, and Kit Rhymer.

If those guys left without getting a degree I'll be upset, but I thought so far everyone HAD graduated. And I was under the impression that our three seniors this year were on track to do so (AA must've been or else he would've been denied his 5th year).

[UMass87]

Deke- all of the transfers count as kids who didn't graduate by the NCAA calculation of graduation rate. There was a price to pay for pushing all those kids out - even though many here seemed to think they deserved it. For all the pushing out Lappas did he certainly didn't get many wins for it.

[78]

Thanks for insuring that the University's basketball graduation rate as compiled by the NCAA looks like shit (and you assholes responding to this negatively might remind yourselves that the NCAA graduation rate is the only graduation rate the media looks at).

Not sure what you mean, exactly, but I thought Lappas was doing ok.

How many of his seniors have graduated (not including Anderson, Chadwick, and Brennan Martin who will hopefully get their diplomas this year)? His scholarship seniors have included Marcus Cox, Shannon Crooks, Eric Williams, Jackie Rogers, Micah Brand, Ronnell Blizzard, and Kit Rhymer.

If those guys left without getting a degree I'll be upset, but I thought so far everyone HAD graduated. And I was under the impression that our three seniors this year were on track to do so (AA must've been or else he would've been denied his 5th year).

Deke -- the Globe had a story a couple of weeks ago that showed how local unviersities were doing complying with the new NCAA requirements. While not out of compliance, UMass was barely squeaking by as a result of all of the kids who have left since Lappas took over.

[nortonmalc]

Thanks for insuring that the University's basketball graduation rate as compiled by the NCAA looks like shit (and you assholes responding to this negatively might remind yourselves that the NCAA graduation rate is the only graduation rate the media looks at). Thanks for consistently losing. Thanks for the millions of dollars in lost revenue. Thanks for doing nothing positive for UMass basketball.

You're just a bitter person. Let the hatred and venom go. You'll live longer.

[UMass87]

nortonmalc - once again - I'll say it slowly: I don't hate Steve Lappas. I don't know Steve Lappas.

I really detest reading saccharin bullshit "thanks coach" posts to a guy who did an incredibly bad job and in doing such a bad job did harm to the University. The thread is so naively disingenuous it should make people puke.

[NJFan]

I'm going to agree with UMass 87, anyone who's worked in a business before knows you don't throw a going away party for someone who's getting canned. Nobody wishes anything bad on Lappas, just as a boss who fires an employee, couldn't do the job, not like we're rooting for him to get hit by a bus. We, or at least I do, thought he did a bad job and is glad he got fired, do we really need this condesending post, like Lappas is going to read this and feel better about the situation. It's safe to say even his biggest critics don't wish him ill in the future, we're just happy he's gone and time to move on. Of course he worked hard at the job, but this is America, performance counts.