Pitchford

[Norm Peterson]

I must say I'm a bit disappointed in our own FAN calling this guy out.  Yes, he is leaving NU.  I get it, we are sad to see him go.  But to call this guy out for now wanting to pursue his dreams?  I mean c'mon people.  None of you have EVER changed your minds?  Hell, I see it from one post to another.  So are we to judge all of you as well?

 

I for one hope like heck Walt has a great career somewhere whether its basketball or in the business world.  Sure, I could have sour apples towards the guy leaving for the team I love, but none of us know a damn thing about what goes on behind closed doors. 

 

Have any of you ever quit a job and then ended up at another company in the same field because you maybe didn't like the people you were surrounded with at the first job?  If so, shame on you!  How could you "quit" on them and then go work at another place like that! 

 

Lets be a bit classier with our post here. Or, if your life is that miserable that you have to put others down to make yourselves feel better, than go right ahead.

[Fullbacksympathy]

Can he stay?  Serious question.

 

Would it be possible for all parties involved to see that the best thing for him AND the program is that he stays and competes next year?

 

I can't imagine Miles would be so petty.  Obviously this kid won't get drafted.  I just don't get it.  

[Red Rum]

 

I must say I'm a bit disappointed in our own FAN calling this guy out.  Yes, he is leaving NU.  I get it, we are sad to see him go.  But to call this guy out for now wanting to pursue his dreams?  I mean c'mon people.  None of you have EVER changed your minds?  Hell, I see it from one post to another.  So are we to judge all of you as well?

 

I for one hope like heck Walt has a great career somewhere whether its basketball or in the business world.  Sure, I could have sour apples towards the guy leaving for the team I love, but none of us know a damn thing about what goes on behind closed doors. 

 

Have any of you ever quit a job and then ended up at another company in the same field because you maybe didn't like the people you were surrounded with at the first job?  If so, shame on you!  How could you "quit" on them and then go work at another place like that! 

 

Lets be a bit classier with our post here. Or, if your life is that miserable that you have to put others down to make yourselves feel better, than go right ahead.

 

Its the conflicting message he is sending more than anything.  If he would of said this from the very beginning fine, but don't give the hogwash that you want to focus on school and your heart isn't into basketball one day and then complete 360 and say basketball is life the next.  

 

 

I agree. This is probably the reason behind the sudden vitriol towards Walter.

[huskerbaseball13]

Can he stay?  Serious question.

 

Would it be possible for all parties involved to see that the best thing for him AND the program is that he stays and competes next year?

 

I can't imagine Miles would be so petty.  Obviously this kid won't get drafted.  I just don't get it.  

 

Does Miles want him to stay?

[jayschool]

Apparently there's a second announcement coming soon, about the business consortium that is starting the Nebraska Basketball Association, with six franchises (Kearney, Scottsbluff, Columbus, Falls City, South Sioux City and another TBA). Play begins in November 2015. Falls City owners have said they'd be willing to change the name of the arena there from Pritchard to Pitchford Auditorium.

 

THAT NBA draft. Of course, my sources could be wrong.

[Norm Peterson]

atskooc made a point about Walter the other day that really resonated with me.  It would be so easy for him to go to the gym and spend a couple hours a day for a few days and perfect the footwork for a couple of bread-and-butter, go-to low post moves.  Yet, in three seasons here, he hasn't done it.  And I asked why.

 

And atskooc captured it succinctly:  Because he doesn't want to.

 

That's really it.  He doesn't want to do what it would take to be a very good college basketball player -- a DRAFT-WORTHY college basketball player.  His statement now, that he's going to declare for the draft because basketball is his life, flies in the face of what he's actually done.  He hasn't walked that walk.

 

I have personally seen evidence of this "poor me, feeling sorry for myself" attitude, and what others around here have described about him matches up with that observation entirely. 

 

I will NOT apologize for calling him a quitter because, manifestly, that is what he is.  He is NOT draft material and he's done very little to make himself draft material.  So to pretend that he's quitting to enter the draft would be laughable were it not just so sad.

 

I'm pissed because he coulda been somebody.  He coulda been a contender.  He had some ability, he just wasted it.  And now he's throwing away his last season of college ball in order to enter a draft that he'll be ill-suited for.

[Norm Peterson]

And, by the way, all you people like jaimes2000 down-arrowing me for speaking the truth, you need to understand that Walt would have been a lot better off in life if he'd surrounded himself with people who were willing to tell him the kinds of things I'm saying. 

 

It does him no good whatsoever to have people tell him he should just turn pro, that he's too good for Nebraska and that we're using him the wrong way and that he's not being utilized the way he should be, etc.  I mean, I've got to imagine that's what's going on because any human being with a reasonable degree of self-awareness would not do what Walt is doing. 

 

Walt leaving basketball to pursue an MBA?  Fine, I can respect that.

 

Walt leaving Nebrasketball to pursue the NBA?  Don't make me laugh.

[Cousin Mose]

 

 

This poor guy seems pretty lost.

 

Happy 100th post, Mose.

 

Yes, happy happy. 

 

I was hoping to get to 15,000 before you got to 100, but alas I couldn't think of enough worthless things to say.

 

 

Don't give up Norm, you'll hit 15,000 before I hit 150.  

 

Good luck in the offseason!

[hskr4life]

Guys, if you REALLY want to be part of something, if you REALLY love the sport that you play, if a sport is REALLY your life, then you will do anything and everything to be the best you can be in that sport.  I remember growing up loving baseball.  That was my sport. I worked on things to become the best baseball player I could be and thats all I could do.  I would do anything a coached asked of me.

 

 I remember playing on a JR legion team my first year of Legion baseball.  The SRs coach asked me to suit up for a few SR games.  In the middle of one game he asked one of the SR players who doesn't get to play much if he wanted to go in at 1B because they were moving the 1B to pitcher.  The kid replied "not really, all I do is play outfield, I have never played 1B before."  He then looked at me and asked "You ever play 1B before?"  I replied "Nope, but I will sure as hell try my best if you put me in!"  Guess who got to play and guess who didn't.

 

That player ended up quitting baseball because the SR coach played other guys over him, when in reality he didn't take the chance that was given to him.  I made 2-3 errors at 1B that night, but I tried my best and thats all the coach wanted.  He didn't care that I had never played before.  He was willing to work with me and help me along the way.  

 

The point of that story is this... Walter had many options presented to him.  He had it in his mind that he was a certain type of player which is fine.  When asked to try something new he didn't want to.  If basketball was really "life" then he would have done anything and everything to be a great at Nebraska and get to the league.

[FredsSlacks]

either someone is giving him bad advice, or he is out of his mind.

[ajb5856]

I don't get all the Walter hate. Calling him a quitter and all that. It's fairly obvious that Miles told him he wasn't playing here next season. So what else was he supposed to do? He doesn't have the credits lined up to graduate and do the 5th year transfer thing. He wants to continue to play ball, which he can't do here, and while he won't be drafted (obviously) it's the best way to put his name out for any kind of professional career.

[FredsSlacks]

I don't get all the Walter hate. Calling him a quitter and all that. It's fairly obvious that Miles told him he wasn't playing here next season. So what else was he supposed to do? He doesn't have the credits lined up to graduate and do the 5th year transfer thing. He wants to continue to play ball, which he can't do here, and while he won't be drafted (obviously) it's the best way to put his name out for any kind of professional career.

you really think miles told him to leave when hammond is our only player over 6'8 left on the roster?

[Silverbacked1]

I for one am not hating, I am just saying that I have now seen everything and will no longer be surprised with what will happen to Nebrasket Basketball from this point on.

I hope Walt has a very prductive life from here on out. I just wish he would have said this first so it doesn't make him look,so bad.

At least he wasn't Dana doing Whoopie pig!

[atskooc]

 

I don't get all the Walter hate. Calling him a quitter and all that. It's fairly obvious that Miles told him he wasn't playing here next season. So what else was he supposed to do? He doesn't have the credits lined up to graduate and do the 5th year transfer thing. He wants to continue to play ball, which he can't do here, and while he won't be drafted (obviously) it's the best way to put his name out for any kind of professional career.

you really think miles told him to leave when hammond is our only player over 6'8 left on the roster?

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Miles told him something he didn't want to hear.  That could have been any number of things, I guess.

[AuroranHusker]

I think we can officially call Walt "Pitchfork" as in 'put a fork in him, he's done.'

[hhcmatt]

First of all, declaring for the NBA Draft = letting people know I want to be paid to be a professional ball player.

This is very common for guys in the situation Walt finds himself in, which is he's not playing here next year and he's run out of ways to transfer.

 

This poor guy seems pretty lost.

 

That's probably the most succinct summary of what is going on with Walt.

He was on 4? high school teams. He transferred out of Florida.  He simply didn't get enough hours put in to transfer somewhere else for a graduate degree. He obviously hasn't lost the will to play basketball, as denoted by declaring for the draft...he just doesn't want to play basketball here. Don't take it personally...it's not Nebraska so much as this is what he does. 

 

Credit Miles for seeing the wonderlust and making the condition of his enrollment that he not go after that transfer waiver. He had a pretty good sophomore year but those rumbles we heard last year about him weren't coming from nowhere. We were in a long line of schools and coaches that saw the obvious physical potential but couldn't figure out how to find the basketball switch inside of WP and set it to ON.

 

I get the ill will.  

He's a guy blessed with an NBA type body without anywhere near the drive to realize that potential. 

He's a guy who is running again instead of taking a stand.

He shouldn't have given that weird interview two days ago.

He's a guy who shoots 3s and doesn't play inside because that's easier.

 

You might think it would be the best for the both of us if he just played here another year but honestly it doesn't seem like that light would turn on anyway. I'm going to be thankful for the part he played in getting us to the tournament and thankful that we're able to pursue someone else that can be a help next year.

[Norm Peterson]

Just a reminder:   Here is something that was said about Walt on March 22, 2014 following our NCAA tourney loss:

 

Couldn't tell while at the game but it appeared he had words with Kenya Hunter after another defensive lapse and was sat for the rest of the game. He was sulking and almost looked like he wasn't going to join the team huddle. Any further info on this from what anyone saw on TV. His interior D and movement on D was really poor yesterday. Seemed like he let his inability to score affect his effort on defense.

 

And then I distinctly remember (but cannot find) something about a tweet from Walter last season when he was heading off to spring break where he made some comments about how a guy can't score if his teammates won't get him the ball.  And, after that, Miles said something that hinted about reevaluating Walt's position on the team or something.  I can't remember for sure and can't find a thread on it.

 

Am I just dreaming?  Does anyone else remember this?  I thought we discussed it on the board here.

[FredsSlacks]

I guess the reality is that he is a 7pt 4 reb. power forward that specializes in shooting, but only shot 28% from 3 and 48% from the free throw line. I think we will be ok without him.

[HuskerFever]

I guess the reality is that he is a 7pt 4 reb. power forward that specializes in shooting, but only shot 28% from 3 and 48% from the free throw line. I think we will be ok without him.

 

I'm not too concerned with his stats. His attitude this year is what threw in the towel for me.

 

Miles even said in his very first press conference that he wants players who are proud to play for their team. That could be part of the reason why it appears we're cleaning shop after this season.

[AuroranHusker]

 

 

http://www.omaha.com/huskers/nu-s-walter-pitchford-declares-for-nba-draft/article_afaff7fe-d976-11e4-a9f5-3bb01921d0bb.html

[hhcmatt]

Via Leebo
 
 

When Pitchford was evaluated last spring by the NBA undergrad committee, he was listed 93rd among all prospects. There are 19 general managers and player personnel directors on that committee.
A source with knowledge of the evaluations told The World-Herald at the time that Pitchford was labeled a second-round prospect by three of the 19.

 

 

When asked about the 180-degree flip, Pitchford politely declined further comment Thursday afternoon beyond a statement his mother provided to The World-Herald on his behalf:

"I have put my frustration of the past year aside and will do what is in my best interest in life. Basketball is my life. I will be pursuing my lifelong goal of playing professional basketball and will be entering into the 2015 NBA draft."

[Norm Peterson]

...

 

And then I distinctly remember (but cannot find) something about a tweet from Walter last season when he was heading off to spring break where he made some comments about how a guy can't score if his teammates won't get him the ball.  And, after that, Miles said something that hinted about reevaluating Walt's position on the team or something.  I can't remember for sure and can't find a thread on it.

 

Am I just dreaming?  Does anyone else remember this?  I thought we discussed it on the board here.

I wasn't dreaming.  I went back and looked in old PMs.  And, since this was a PM I wrote -- and since I'm not divulging to whom I wrote it -- I'm not violating message board etiquette by posting my part of the conversation that occurred on March 27, 2014, which went thusly ... 

 

The Walt thread has disappeared.  A number of us criticized the decision to leave the thread up when it was purely rumor about a player being unhappy and wanting to leave.  It appears wiser heads may have prevailed and deleted the thread, but the upshot is that someone (can't recall who started the thread) stated that he talked with some student managers who told him that Walt was upset about playing time and his father was "furious" about his minutes or his role or something and so Walt was contemplating quitting and transferring.

 

That was March 2014.  A year later, Walt leaves the team.  And, during the season in between, Walt seemed like he was on autopilot.  Methinks those anonymous student managers a year ago knew what was going on.  Does this help put anything in perspective?

[huskerbaseball13]

I don't get all the Walter hate. Calling him a quitter and all that. It's fairly obvious that Miles told him he wasn't playing here next season. So what else was he supposed to do? He doesn't have the credits lined up to graduate and do the 5th year transfer thing. He wants to continue to play ball, which he can't do here, and while he won't be drafted (obviously) it's the best way to put his name out for any kind of professional career.

you really think miles told him to leave when hammond is our only player over 6'8 left on the roster?

When you play like you're 6'2 I'm not sure your height really matters. And surely if fans knew about WP'S love for the bar scene Miles had to of known also.

[nustudent]

 

I don't get all the Walter hate. Calling him a quitter and all that. It's fairly obvious that Miles told him he wasn't playing here next season. So what else was he supposed to do? He doesn't have the credits lined up to graduate and do the 5th year transfer thing. He wants to continue to play ball, which he can't do here, and while he won't be drafted (obviously) it's the best way to put his name out for any kind of professional career.

you really think miles told him to leave when hammond is our only player over 6'8 left on the roster?

 

Not say he did, not saying he didn't here....but if (hypothetically) Walter wasn't willing to do what was necessary...then yes...Miles is going to tell him to leave....regardless of what our depth looks like,    You saw what bad chemistry can do to a team this year.

[Norm Peterson]

 

 

I don't get all the Walter hate. Calling him a quitter and all that. It's fairly obvious that Miles told him he wasn't playing here next season. So what else was he supposed to do? He doesn't have the credits lined up to graduate and do the 5th year transfer thing. He wants to continue to play ball, which he can't do here, and while he won't be drafted (obviously) it's the best way to put his name out for any kind of professional career.

you really think miles told him to leave when hammond is our only player over 6'8 left on the roster?

 

Not say he did, not saying he didn't here....but if (hypothetically) Walter wasn't willing to do what was necessary...then yes...Miles is going to tell him to leave....regardless of what our depth looks like,    You saw what bad chemistry can do to a team this year.

 

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