I know how he feels. I've had direct reports that I worked with and had them bust their ass only to have people screw them and me over. You work your heart and soul to improve, to do everything possible within your control to achieve your goals only to have someone rip them from you and no recourse, no accountability. I felt this pretty hard this AM. If I had a son, I'd want him to play for Buzz. Hell, I'd play for him if I wasn't getting old AF and had any lick of talent.
(Courtney here - Adding to this post
Head Coach Buzz Williams
Opening statement…
“When you are completely absorbed in a worthy cause, you give it all of your time, energy and emotion. The sacrifice required prevents you from being aware of anything other than the cause you are devoted to. From Valentine’s Day to Sunday afternoon, everyone in our program, and the families they represent, gave all they had. And in a way that I have never witnessed, personally or professionally, gave their absolute best on a daily basis. And in truth, as the odds continued to grow against us, found ways to get better and embrace the task at hand on that particular day. During that time, we won five of our last six to finish the regular season and won three of our last four games last week while advancing to the championship game of the conference tournament. That ending propelled us to a total of 12 SEC wins for the season. We found out Sunday afternoon that those numbers weren’t good enough to be invited as an at-large team. We were and are completely devastated and heartbroken. ‘Sad’ is the wrong word because it doesn’t completely express the totality of our emotions. Since our return late Sunday night, I have spent all of my waking hours trying to better understand the data on how those 12 SEC-competition-only wins weren’t enough. While knowing that the four teams in our league that won more than that were all a 4-seed or higher. As I began to do research, the first thing I wanted to learn was how members were selected to the committee and how the section of those members even worked. In other words, what committee selected the committee? I wanted to research who was on the committee for this year’s tournament, their career paths, and how they were appointed to their position on the committee, so that once they were appointed, what data is it that they study. When, where, and how often do they meet? And when they meet, what are the topics of discussion, and during it all, what metrics do they look at, and what is most important? I wanted to make sure that I studied it all with the lens that they do so that I could better understand how what we did this season wasn’t enough. I wanted this understanding so I could have an explanation for our players, their parents, and coaches, and be accountable in my relationship to each of them. My phone and TV have been off since we landed late Sunday night, so I’m oblivious to whatever has been said. But similar to how the committee is supposedly sequestered, I wanted to make sure my research was thorough, and I didn’t have the opinions of others’ diluting the information I was gathering. After studying this non-stop for the past two days and looking at it from every vantage point, it defies logic that we are not in the NCAA Tournament. Despite repeated pleas, I have only been given generalities by those above me – not data specific evidence – on why we weren’t invited. Without logical reasoning behind the decision, while knowing I still must explain this to our guys and their families, it has caused me to lose all respect and faith in the system, and those that are in it. What has transpired is wrong. I am so sad for all of the young men in our program, especially those who decided to stay at Texas A&M with their COVID year of eligibility. The process is obviously flawed, and it is apparent that there is way more included that is unseen and unknown in the selection of the 36 at-large teams than what the public is made aware of. Until there is complete transparency and accountability, the system will stay broken, and this will continue to happen. Like many other things I have seen with the NCAA in my career, especially in my tenure here, allowing a personal bias to impact the process should not be allowed. Our players and staff earned the right to play in the greatest tournament in the world, and it disgusts me in a way I can’t articulate that the system, and the adults in it, prohibited that from happening, because several in our program will never have that opportunity again. Despite how disenchanted I have become with all of this I will always stand up for our players and the families they represent. Regardless of the opinion of anyone, that is the least that I can do. Our focus is now on what we can control.”
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