Brian Gregory Wears No Clothes
March 22, 2011 Tom Blackburn 
People always ask me, “Blacky, how does it feel to always be right all the time? How does it feel to consistently scoop the pay sites that claim to have unfettered access to the Dayton program (at least that’s the story they sell to their subscribers)”? It feels great, quite honestly. There is nothing like the feeling of vindication when you are bombarded with emails and called out on message boards claiming you are “just throwing stuff at the wall.” It’s the little things that fuel my bitter heart. Sure, sometimes I feel like I’m Julius Rosenberg. But fuck it, this site is free – a sound way to build a loyal following is to offer something that the other guys don’t (and cock pics, a constant stream of mouth-watering cock pics). So let the haters take their shots, we have truth on our side. And truth beats blind-loyalty every day of the week.
Okay, enough self-aggrandizing, let’s turn to the issue(s) at hand.
Am I disappointed with Juwan Staten’s looming exodus? Immensely, with Staten in place I believed, like most observers, that UD finally had the type of guard that could pressure defenses and consistently create offensive chances for his teammates. We all saw glimpses of those skills this season, as Staten distributed the basketball like a heady senior, leading the A10 (and finishing third nationally among freshmen) with 5.4 assists per game. Mind you, he accomplished this feat on one of the worst shooting teams in the nation. Yes, he struggled with his perimeter game but he didn’t come in with a reputation for hitting outside jumpers.
Of all the expectations that we as fans had coming into this season, Staten’s play was the only facet that lived up to its billing. (The only other thing that lived up to its potential was the performance of the red-headed cheerleader. Does she have an ass that will quit? Hardly. That thing clocks in early and does lunch at its desk. If asses went on strike I’m convinced hers’ would be a scab – that’s how much it refuses to quit. Etc. etc. etc.) He certainly has areas to improve on and I’m certain Juwan would tell you the same thing. But be honest with yourself for a moment: would you entrust you future development as a basketball player in the hands of Brian Van Halen Gregory? Hell no. You’d be better off telling Paula Poundstone not to inspect and photograph your daughter’s vulva while you run quickly to the store.
“I like coach (Brian) Gregory as a person. I respect him. But I just don’t feel like I got any better this year,” Staten said. “I don’t feel like I could reach my full potential if I stayed at Dayton.
“When coach Gregory recruited me, as heavily as he recruited me — it started when I was a freshman in high school till I stepped on campus — I felt there were certain things that defined me as a player, and I don’t feel like he let me do those things. I don’t feel my talent was used as good as it could have been.”
If I’m recruiting against Dayton, I would hand this to a recruit and tell him to post it to his mirror and read it before he goes to bed at night. The most talented recruit Brian Gregory ever convinced to come to Dayton knew after just one season that his development was being stunted by his coaching staff. That speaks volumes.
Give the kid credit; he has a very astute understanding of what his future at the University of Dayton would have been like. All Staten had to do was look at Chris Wright, sitting in the College of Charleston visiting locker room, to grasp where he would be in three years time. The biggest knock on Gregory has been his continual failure to develop talent once it gets on campus. If Juwan Staten needed any convincing of that appraisal, any evidence as to where his collegiate career was headed, it took shape in the form of a 6’8” wingman who actually seemed to regress between his freshmen and senior years.
I don’t place any of the blame on Juwan Staten. Honestly, I don’t. We were fortunate to have someone with his ability and reputation here at a Dayton. For those of you who think we will somehow be better off without him, you are sadly mistaken and completely trying to fool yourself. Staten could have been a transcendent guard in the Atlantic Ten, a player actually worthy of our undying affection and unrelenting hype. Now we will simply have to admire his talent from afar, like the jilted (and subtly racist) lovers the Flyer Faithful will no doubt embody over the coming seasons. No matter how you attempt to muddle the math, the University of Dayton is the big loser in this equation.
The question most people want answered is why? Why would a hometown kid, who verbally committed to the University of Dayton after his sophomore year of high-school, choose to leave after just one season in the program? If I was Juwan, my answer to the question of why I left UD would be unadorned and rather succinct. “Why did I leave UD? Because fuck you, that’s why.” Juwan Staten doesn’t owe anyone an explanation, least of all the loyal fans that will spend the next few weeks ripping him and his father apart. The only thing Juwan Staten should worry about is his happiness, his family’s comfort, and his promising future as a college basketball player. Not what Carl, the shitkicker from Tipp City, thinks about his leaving a program headed further down the drain.
If we must speculate, and we must, it was just an awkward fit from the beginning. Chemistry has a lot to do with the success and contentment of college athletes. Once a game ends, collegiate players don’t have the luxury of driving from the Arena in their ivory Phantoms to go plug their nose in Kim Kardashian’s freshly waxed asshole. It doesn’t work that way. They are constantly surrounded by their teammates and have to coexist on a more intimate level than professional athletes. To put it concisely, pro coaches tend to manage teams like corporations whereas college coaches like to create a collegial, family atmosphere for their players. That’s simply the way it’s always been. Sometimes the things a thirty year-old professional athlete is unaffected by will have an enormous effect on a nineteen year-old. You’d be amazed at the amount of horseshit you’d put up with for a few million dollars, take it away and you’d probably be a tad less amendable.
Although college sports more often than not resembles its’ professional counterpart, it’s not the same world. It’s easy to take a backseat to a rookie player when your bank account has more commas than Peru’s GDP. It’s another when you are an upperclassman and have waited patiently for your shot, only to have a highly-touted freshman come in and reshape the team’s composition. Jealously, contempt and resentment can derail a promising season.
At this moment the “best fans in America” will show who they really are, their true colors. I’ve have never felt as alienated as a Dayton fan than after the immediate, and unfortunately prolonged, venomous response to Trent Meacham’s transfer to the University of Illinois. I had the opportunity to talk to Trent a few years after he left and he expressed how shocked he and his family were regarding the rancorous reaction to his departure. His biggest fans were suddenly his most vocal critics. Now Juwan will go through that unfortunate process, only he doesn’t have the luxury of leaving the city of Dayton. Meacham was able to escape the epicenter of his storm and head back home to Champaign; Staten will have to live among his detractors, right in the middle of the fallout his transfer created.
We now await news regarding the future of Brandon Spearman. Spearman was one of the few players that was close to Staten, and likely has similar concerns with his basketball future under Gregory. From what I’ve been told, Spearman has already filed his transfer papers and is meeting with BG this morning to discuss the matter further. Brian Gregory must once again try to sell the program to Spearman, only this time with a year of experience to counter his dubious promises. Good luck with that, BG.
Spearman’s transfer would complicate the plot the powers that be will relentlessly attempt to establish over the coming weeks. It’s easy to spin Staten’s departure as the act of an immature youth, coaxed by the negative influence of his dastardly father, to an unknowing public. It’s quite a different story when another promising player decides to pack up and move to parts unknown THE VERY NEXT DAY. Even Doogie Harris can’t garnish that shit sandwich (or can he?).
As unsettled as Brian Gregory’s future in the Gem City has become over the past two seasons, nothing will affect his decision-making process regarding his own future more than Staten’s transfer. This was supposed to be a program-altering freshman class, one that would lay the groundwork for a future full of conference titles and unprecedented success. Instead, Gregory must watch his most-prized recruit walk away after just one season under his tutelage, while another highly-regarded first-year player may follow him out the door.
If Gregory was hesitant to listen to job offers last season, he will be all ears in the coming weeks – eager to discuss salary, recruiting budgets and expectations with anyone still willing to meet with him. Last season it appeared as if Gregory was steadfastly waiting for the right job offer to come along. One year later, his interpretation of what defines “the right job” has likely changed considerably. Perhaps he will emulate his former point-guard and leave while he still has a chance at a fresh start. If only we fans were so lucky.
