L Davis’ HS Coach Mouths Off
Sounds like a battle may be brewing over Larry Davis’ potential release from his Letter of Intent…you know, the binding document that the kid signed with NC State University before Seton Hall hired Bobby Gonzalez and the Pirates’ program started making overtures to Davis (against NCAA rules) while he was signed with NC State?
In this article in the Fayetteville Observer titled “Lowe’s hiring doesn’t impress prep coach”, longtime Christ the King head basketball coach, Bob Oliva made some pretty disparaging comments about Sidney Lowe.
Davis announced last week that he would play his college hoops at Seton Hall. In making his decision public, he said all the right things, praising State and the way the school handled his recruitment.
Contacted by telephone Monday, Oliva was not so kind or politically correct. Asked why Davis decided not to stick with N.C. State, Oliva said, “I don’t really know … I can only guess. You want me to guess?
“Well, they (N.C. State) took two months to name a coach, and then, when they did, they named a guy who can’t coach.
“That is about the stupidest thing I ever heard of.‿
With that, Oliva hung up and returned to his Memorial Day activities.
Oliva’s comments are interesting in many ways – some ways directly related to the Larry Davis/NC State situation and some ways not at all.
Davis and NC State
Not knowing what is going on behind the scenese, one can only wonder what NC State’s staff has told Davis regarding his potential release from his letter of intent. Remember, State kindly allowed Davis to re-open his recruiting AFTER he signed his LOI. The program did this in the form of a “conditional release” that was attached to the condition that he wait to meet Sidney Lowe before making any decisions. Obviously, Davis has not lived up that commitment (any more than he lived up to his previous commitment to NC State).
HOPEFULLY the catalyst that sparked Oliva’s comments originates from Davis being told that he will not receive a full LOI release because of his continual inability to adhere to his side of agreements made with NC State.
I’m sure comments like these will help get Larry his release in short order. (sarcasm) These kinds of comments will serve to change the minds of some Wolfpackers who previously supported fully releasing Davis from his LOI, therefore not making him to sit out a season as mandated by the NCAA. One poster on a message board whose mind had changed because of the comments expressed it this way:
For him the “commit” publicly to SH without a release from us was wrong. If he wasnt going to give us the last shot, as promised, he should have let kept it quiet until everything was complete. I have said let him go, but take your own sweet time about it.
Impact of Oliva’s Comments on Other Kids
I have to wonder about the potential reaction to these comments of parents who have children whom are pretty good basketball players.
Great players are always going to be recruited no matter the situation; they can be at Mount Zion, Laurinburg, or wherever. For the most part their talent insulates them and they have no problem getting scholarships to go to college.
BUT, “good and pretty good” players do not have that same luxury. These players NEED high schools and high school coaches with a wide network and deep access to all colleges to help them land valuable scholarships (and basically, change their lives and shape their future). Bob Oliva, undoubtedly has that kind of network. But is that network as strong as it could be?
I would be very concerned as a parent that a high school coach would be so emotionally involved in Davis’ situation and choose to be so confrontational with a national program like NC State. Basically, Oliva just CHOSE to attack and shut out one of the Top 25 historical basketball programs in the country from THE BEST basketball conference in America who is ranked as the #2 best educational value in the country. How is this a good thing for any potential player this guy ever coaches?
If nothing else, this was really stupid on Oliva’s part. Seeing this kind of reaction from Oliva only begs parents and administrators to wonder how many other programs (big or small) in America has he attacked in this manner and ultimately shut out? How many mid-sized programs to which the “pretty good” players need access have ‘upset’ King Bob in the past and therfore reduce the opportunities for his players to obtain scholarships in the future? If I’m a parent, it is a valid concern.
Success in life is difficult enough to achieve on your own. One must be prepared take advantage of opportunities when they are presented. The last thing that young kids need is someone else limiting their opportunities to succeed based on their own selfish agendas.
As a parent, I’d also wonder if Oliva behaves in this manner whenever something doesn’t immediately go his way? Is that the kind of leadership and example-setting that is good for the development of young men Perhaps this kind of behavior and “leadership” from Oliva helps explain why Larry Davis felt compelled to confront a referee and initiated a confrontation in a hallway after a game. that ultimately got Davis barred from high school playoff games. (N&O Link) The confrontation escalated and the referee was punched in the face (allegedly) by a member of Larry Davis’ family.
According to published reports, Larry Davis, a highly recruited guard from Christ the King High in Middle Village, N.Y., yelled at referee Michael Bennett in a hallway following a loss Sunday in the city championship game of the Catholic High School Athletic Association. The New York Daily News and New York Post reported that Davis’ uncle, Warren Davis, then punched Bennett in the face.
The Daily News reported that Davis has been barred by the school from playing in the state Catholic playoff games and would not be allowed back in school until an investigation is completed.
Efforts to reach Davis, Christ the King coach Bob Oliva and CHSAA president Ray Nash were not successful. Bennett did not return messages left at his home.
Davis fouled out of the championship game, which was played at Fordham University. Bennett told The Daily News he was first confronted by Larry Davis and his parents after the game. He said after they left, Warren Davis approached him and punched him in the mouth.
Pretty interesting that Oliva was unavailable for comment in the middle of basketball season in March…but was very easy to find over the Memorical Day Holiday in May.
How does all of this align itself in the assessment of this gentleman’s ability and qualifications to lead young men? I don’t know. All I see is a man that remained silent and hid from the public when things were rough and then chose to limit the life-changing opportunities of dozens (current and future) of kids that are his responsibility simply to mouth off about something that isn’t even an impact to him.
I sure hope that there is more to this guy (and to Christ the King) than the way that he has behaved in public in the last few months.
There may be a battle right now between Bobby Gonzales-Oliva vs NC State right now. In recruiting, the prep coach is courted just as much as the prospect many times. I’m sure Oliva was instrumental in getting Davis to go with Seton Hall. He doesnt want his will thwarted by NC State.
It should be noted though that Christ the King is a top 10 national basketball program. These are the consequences of a poorly conducted coaching search. Lay another brick at the foot of Lee Fowler. At this point though, it is clear that Christ the King players are out of the picture for NC State in the near future. That’s fine. If Gavin Grant excels next year, we wont have to worry about other NYC schools.
I know I have previously been very strong in supporting a full release for Davis wanting to avoid an explosive situation with Davis’ unstable supporting cast, but that seems unavoidable now. I stand with whatever decision Sidney makes. But right now, if it were me, I’d give Larry Davis a full release to every school except Seton Hall. We really dont want his batty family in Raleigh, do we? Gerald Wilkins anyone?
I feel sorry for Larry Davis. The ref situation while not helped by him was not really entirely his fault. The ref in question made some ridiculous statements to Davis’ mother pre-game about Davis getting away with murder on the court. He lost his cool, but it wasnt that bad. Then his family overreacted and made it even worse. Now it looks like his coach is another nut. The best thing for Larry Davis right now is to just get out of town and start fresh. Its a shame, because for his entire prep career he was tauted as a model student and a good kid. His family and his coaches should be ashamed.
Again, whatever Sid decides I here, I back 100%. Its his call, and I trust him. We owe it to Sid to back him on this.
^ Dan….these are FANTASTIC comments. Thanks so much for the insight and the perspective. They are very appreciated.
“Well, they (N.C. State) took two months to name a coach, and then, when they did, they named a guy who can’t coach.”
Jeff – Do you think this refers to the fact that Lowe starts on July 1st?
After reading these comments again, and trying like hell to underservedly give Oliva the benefit of the doubt, there may be an alternate explanation to “cant coach”. It COULD be that “cant” means that he is ineligible per the NCAA rules to coach, not that he lacks the ability to coach. Poor choice of words if that is what he meant. It sounds like he was beyond agitated at having to take the call in the first place.
After further review, I can find no other possible meaning to “That is about the stupidest thing I ever heard of.�
Once again, Dan is mostly right, but I don’t think that there was ever any other option but a full release. Fowler had already made that accomidating concession in another player’s case before any of the new coaching staff were even aware. I have a feeling that Fowler’s same concessions were a blanket policy and given to all the recruits in that same manner, well before anyone else was aware. The battle may really need to be focused between Lee Fowler and NC State University, I think that is where initially went arwy.
After watching NC State University allow the national media make it the burnt of every joke by the talking heads on the networks for months, without one single comment to contrary coming out of Raleigh, why wouldn’t a high school coach think that something just wasn’t right overall. I know as a parent, I would be looking elsewhere in a heartbeat. Especially if someone from NCSU wasn’t in constant contact and reassuring me that there was a plan in place and my son’s best interest would be served. Who was there to do that? Lee Fowler???
Lee Fowler has effectively eliminated the major part of Sendek’s recruiting progress now. Let’s wait and see how much damage he can do to the recruiting network with the Christ the King crowd, and future recruiting in general, before this is all said and done.
It seems that Gonzales did a very good job of recruiting the “posse” surrounding Davis. My first though is “*** no, don’t give a full release but after thingking for a few minutes I thought why take the chance on keeping a player who might be ok but who will always have his “posse” filling his mind with all sorts of thoughts less than positive toward State and Lowe.
Obviously, Oliva has a bug in his pants on the subject (I suspect aided by Gonzales) and even if the best course for Davis is to play elsewhere I seriously doubt that is the consideration causing the outburst. I agree with Dan about giving a full release to anyone other then SH.
I, too, think that Oliva’s comments refer to the current limitations on Sid to act as a NCSU coach. But the comments are a valid indictment of Foulup, who needs to be GONE IMMEDIATELY! The actions of Davis and his family in recent months have, however, left me with the feeling that I would rather he NOT wear the Red-and-White of NCSU, and that he should NOT be given a full release to SH.
Agreed with Old13. Regardless of Davis’ good attributes, our guard situation isn’t as bad as some would like to make it. Atsur and Grant return along with Ferguson (transfer from Pitt). Davis barely made the Top 100 of Scout.com’s list of recruits. I think his marginal ability would have been exposed in this conference and will definitely be exposed in the Big East. Oliva is a moron and like most basketball coaches, is only concerned with himself and NOT his players’ best interests. Enjoy the Hall, Larry. You’ll be in last place before you know it.
“and they named a guy that couldn’t coach”
hmmm lets see, who has been an nba coach and now a college coach, and who is still at the highschool level? sweet comments Oliva!!!
“Well, they (N.C. State) took two months to name a coach, and then, when they did, they named a guy who can’t coach.
“That is about the stupidest thing I ever heard of.�
I interpret these comments by way of the limitations on Lowe’s ability to really take charge of the program. It’s a statement heavily centered on Davis’ recruitment. “That is about the stupidest thing I ever heard of” – meaning they [NCSU] wait a good chunk of time to name a coach and then, when they [NCSU] do, the coach can’t even take control of issues facing the program. If he means this as in “Lowe is a shoddy basketball coach”, he is certainly a spiteful man and left his comments open to interpretation. I’m led to believe he’s talking more about the circumstances surrounding Lowe’s hiring.
Reading between the lines, though, Oliva doesn’t exactly sound like a stand up guy, so I wouldn’t put much past him. I do feel very badly for Davis that he is in the middle of this. I see nothing ethically wrong with him exploring his options, and others pursuing him, once Sendek left. The “termsâ€? did change. I know what the rules say, but everybody doesn’t play by the rules apparently, and quite frankly, that’s a terrible rule to enforce on a young man.
Davis could have easily said “I’m going to NCSU no matter who the coach is” if he was that committed to going to school at NCSU. Instead, we stumbled along the way in naming a guy who was then put in a very dicey situation. I feel like even though Lowe and Davis are inextricably linked in this scenario, they’re probably the two that have the least amount of control over an unfortunate set of circumstances. Funny how that works.
Would it be a wise move personally for Sidney Lowe, Larry Davis, Monte Towe, or any of the others, to tell their brand new boss to let them try to straighten things out on their own from here on out, that he has screwed the whole thing up, that he just needs to back off and get out of the picture? I don’t think so.
It sounds to me like coach oliva and coach gonzalez at SH have a financial relationship, and oliva comes out better if Davis gets his full release.
I have to agree with the fact that we took or will have taken a long time to get a coach in place. If every thing goes well we will have our coach on July 1 deadline. Thanks in part to this extended hiring prcess, Lowe job is now a rebuiding effort.
I’m so sick of this bitching about Fowler’s search. We ended up with Lowe, which is great by me. There were a lot of factors complicating this particular search, the most important being the need to satisfy the fan base with a cool result, be that a return to the family (did you hear the word “family” used re. State ball much before Sendek left?) or the hire of a big name college coach. It took a while but it is working out. Davis is gone. No big deal. Horner, from what I can tell the best of the 3, is staying. Hopefull Werner will stay, though I’m sick of the 6’7″ power forward positionless player type (though I loved Evtimov, he could be a serious liability at times). Werner sounds like a good player.
And Oliva, WTF? He was totally out of line when he said what he did, regardless of the possible interpretations. Lowe will develop new recruiting areas and I’m thankful for it. Can State suck worse than at the end of last year- remember UNC, Wake, Wake, and Texas?
The fallout after Lowe settles in will turn good, I have no doubt. Fowler screwed up and did good. Good for him. Get off his back.
Regardless of which way you interpret Oliva’s comments he comes across as bitter towards NC State. That’s just stupid. It isn’t as if NC State is the first school to undergo a coaching change.
SFN: Sorry for this. Its totally unrelated as its Beilein news, but its pretty funny.
http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news;_ylt=AuNpSRoAVyItrcAYk2nObV3evbYF?slug=ap-westvirginia-beilein-disorderlyconduct&prov=ap&type=lgns
“He refused to move and told the officer he did not have to move because he was West Virginia’s coach”
Ehhhhhhhhhhhh to hell with Larry Davis and Oliva. Too much drama with LD before his collegiate career even starts. I DO NOT WANT LARRY DAVIS AT NCSU. Let him sit for a year. Make him an example for future kids who back out of an LOI. Larry is a man now at the age of 18. He should start acting like one or he will be back in NY playing summer ball in the Rucker League.
Chocie one — Let him sit a year — sounds like any ties to this high school with this coach are gone anyway. That bridge is burned.
Or better choice two — Protest strongly to the NCAA to get Seton Hall punished. If that works, then let the kid go to Seton Hall while SH gets probation for some number of years and no NCAA play. See if SH wants him that bad.
I don’t see any sense in my repeating my thoughts about Folwup.
Whatever Sid decides to do, I agree with 100%. Until the ’08 early signing period is over (December of ’07), I stand behind everything Sid does. I think at that time we will have a good idea of what Sid could do recruiting wise with any early buzz a new hire gets, and we’ll get to see him coach a year from the floor. Next year, I’m not as worried about 20 wins as I am about seeing the team improve through the course of the season.
I’d really like to say the ’07 class, with all the scholarships available, is going to be crucial, but I’m not sure that is fair to Sid given the situation that Lee Fowler created. But he should be able to compete with the vast majority of the collegs for ’08 even though it seems more and more that coaches have to recruit two or three classes down the road these days.
Whatever the meaning was, it was pretty much an asshole comment IMHO.
^Dan
“I’m not as worried about 20 wins as I am about seeing the team improve through the course of the season.”
Is that a fact now Danny Boy?
I used those very same words for years when talking about Herb Sendek.
A little Role reversal in action there maybe?
Remember to please be nice and kind, like I always was, when I was speaking of Coach Herbert Sendek.
To me, it’s obvious that the Oliva meant Lowe would not be able to start until July 1st.
Jeff: I am going to pick on you a little bit in some good natured ribbing.
I don’t see how it is “obvious” that he meant something that he didn’t say…especially when the reporter who had the conversation with him obviously felt as though he meant it in a critical way. Prior to hanging up on the reporter he followed his statement by saying that “it is the stupidest thing that he ever heard”. How does that fit into the picture of what he said.
To me, it is obvious that Martin Luther King Jr meant that he “Had a dream (last night about pixies and faries)” but he just left off the stuff at the end. But, he meant it.
I’m glad LD is not coming to Raleigh. He is certainly not a superstar and seems to have a tremendous amount of baggage. Our guard talent is at a much higher level now and I think his playing time and contribution would have been limited. I think that’s why he is going to SH. He knows he can get more playing time there. I don’t think this had anything to do with Sidney Lowe.
Same goes for Cedric. I am overly confident that Sidney Lowe had a much greater shot at getting Ced to stay versus Sendeck. Sendeck did not even have a hope at getting Ced to stay.
The team makeup is not in any worse shape. I think we have a greater chance of winning next year with Sid and Co. than if we had kept Herb. I think the team makeup would have been the same either way with the exception of LD. And he would not have made a difference.
I am still so excited about seeing a different style of play and belive our current team is very capable of leaning more uptempo. Again, I think we have a greater shot of winning more games next year with Sid than with Herb. So, I don’t see a dropoff because of a coaching change. We may not win the NCAA tournament, but I think we will win more games than we would have otherwise.
Dan – Great post today.
who wants damien wilkens part 2? I don’t. let davis leave and sit out a year and see how that feels.
The more I read of Mr. Davis and his coterie the more I think we’d better better served to allow him to go elsewhere.
Personally, I thought it was pretty unprofessional of Mumau to print a story about this especially using the headline he chose. It was such an incomplete interview that I would think most NC writers wouldn’t have even put this in print considering the ambiguous and incomplete nature of the coach’s comments.
I would like to think that we have people in the NC media looking out for ALL schools in NC including Wake and Duke as opposed to giving credibility to a HS coach in NYC mouthing off about one of our local institutions by putting him in print.
As far as Davis, I say we make him sweat it out and grant him a release at the last minute. With the way Sendek had recruited the last several years, Davis doesn’t seem to be the type of kid that he would have wanted in our program anyways. Maybe Davis going to Seton Hall is better in the long run anyways.