carterpatterson
03-04-2007, 09:01 AM
The Vision concluded their home schedule last night, losing to the SeaDawgs 108-104. Lorenzo Lawrence's desperation half court heave missed its mark. We had another 300 fans appear on appreciation night. Everybody had a great time.
Wilmington is a team that has won its division and will be headed to the playoffs. Atlanta has had a rough year. The game was really pretty much decided and the ramifications of the game meant far more to Atlanta than to Wilmington, NC.
During the last 5 minutes of the game, Coach Kevin Whitted decided to start yelling at the scorer's table to "get security, someone's going to get hurt". The man lost all composure over some calls late in the game. I was embarassed for himself, his family, and his organization when he decided to charge at an official after the game. The man has no class and is a discredited to his team and the league. His attitude carried down to his star player, Cedric McGinnis, who decided to spend more time trash talking the Vision bench than playing basketball. After his performance at the Allstar game, is it any wonder why D League teams elect not to call Cedric up? Its not for lack of talent, but lack of maturity.
There were kids crying after the game last night because of this episode. The SeaDawgs won the game. The game had no implications for them. I hope that team owners, Peter Gratale and Mark Janas find a better pair to work with next season. With the amount of talent on their team, I could Coach the SeaDawgs to the playoffs.
I apologize for my "rant". There is so much on my chest after last night I needed to blow a little steam. This is my first year in the league. I am a part owner (10 percent) of the Atlanta Vision. I do not post anonymously. I am so incredibly proud of what Quentin and Akilah Townsend have built. We have visited many schools, day cares, and have really made a positive impact to many people in the community. Our organization is not lavish. We have a business model of efficiency that works. While we pay our players and coaches what I consider a "stipend", in my heart I know that these guys are working for the "opportunity". The ABA is not a career. Our guys practice form 6:30am to 8:00am and then head to their real jobs. I have the utmost respect for them and I hope that the opportunity will pay dividends.
We have a few more road games and then we will begin focusing on next season. Atlanta will be back stronger than ever.
While the ABA has its problems, I promise to do everything I can to make Atlanta part of the solution. That means...1) Play every home game. 2) Provide lots of community service. 3) Keep our promises to the fans, players, coaches, and opposing teams. 4) Run your team for the entertainment of fans with a sound business model. If a team is drawing less than 300 fans a game and is paying its coach $70K and rents a bus for $3000/day on road trips...then that team is probably not going to be around long.
Public threads like this one, help me understand the frustration that many of you have encountered. I am disappointed in many of the decisions made recently by the league office. I believe that there are too many decisions being made without regard to ramifications. Both parties in the dispute have too much at stake. Neither party can run the league without the other. I don't want to pretend nor imply that I know everything about the dispute, but I do know that when its over, they will have to work together. This dispute should have been kept quiet, not public.
Robert Martin and Kevin Hairington are two special players that I believe are being overlooked. I hope that this year helps them move on to promising careers. Coach Bruce Kreutzer....I am extremely proud of what you have accomplished with your players. We may not be going to the playoffs this year, but we will build on what we have accomplished this year and take it to the 2007-2008 season.
Thanks to all!
Carter Patterson
Wilmington is a team that has won its division and will be headed to the playoffs. Atlanta has had a rough year. The game was really pretty much decided and the ramifications of the game meant far more to Atlanta than to Wilmington, NC.
During the last 5 minutes of the game, Coach Kevin Whitted decided to start yelling at the scorer's table to "get security, someone's going to get hurt". The man lost all composure over some calls late in the game. I was embarassed for himself, his family, and his organization when he decided to charge at an official after the game. The man has no class and is a discredited to his team and the league. His attitude carried down to his star player, Cedric McGinnis, who decided to spend more time trash talking the Vision bench than playing basketball. After his performance at the Allstar game, is it any wonder why D League teams elect not to call Cedric up? Its not for lack of talent, but lack of maturity.
There were kids crying after the game last night because of this episode. The SeaDawgs won the game. The game had no implications for them. I hope that team owners, Peter Gratale and Mark Janas find a better pair to work with next season. With the amount of talent on their team, I could Coach the SeaDawgs to the playoffs.
I apologize for my "rant". There is so much on my chest after last night I needed to blow a little steam. This is my first year in the league. I am a part owner (10 percent) of the Atlanta Vision. I do not post anonymously. I am so incredibly proud of what Quentin and Akilah Townsend have built. We have visited many schools, day cares, and have really made a positive impact to many people in the community. Our organization is not lavish. We have a business model of efficiency that works. While we pay our players and coaches what I consider a "stipend", in my heart I know that these guys are working for the "opportunity". The ABA is not a career. Our guys practice form 6:30am to 8:00am and then head to their real jobs. I have the utmost respect for them and I hope that the opportunity will pay dividends.
We have a few more road games and then we will begin focusing on next season. Atlanta will be back stronger than ever.
While the ABA has its problems, I promise to do everything I can to make Atlanta part of the solution. That means...1) Play every home game. 2) Provide lots of community service. 3) Keep our promises to the fans, players, coaches, and opposing teams. 4) Run your team for the entertainment of fans with a sound business model. If a team is drawing less than 300 fans a game and is paying its coach $70K and rents a bus for $3000/day on road trips...then that team is probably not going to be around long.
Public threads like this one, help me understand the frustration that many of you have encountered. I am disappointed in many of the decisions made recently by the league office. I believe that there are too many decisions being made without regard to ramifications. Both parties in the dispute have too much at stake. Neither party can run the league without the other. I don't want to pretend nor imply that I know everything about the dispute, but I do know that when its over, they will have to work together. This dispute should have been kept quiet, not public.
Robert Martin and Kevin Hairington are two special players that I believe are being overlooked. I hope that this year helps them move on to promising careers. Coach Bruce Kreutzer....I am extremely proud of what you have accomplished with your players. We may not be going to the playoffs this year, but we will build on what we have accomplished this year and take it to the 2007-2008 season.
Thanks to all!
Carter Patterson