Article on Cruze

[mocs30]

I think this sums it beautifully: From the Knoxville News Sentinel

 

Who's in control at Bearden? Coach or player?

By MARK BURGESS

burgess@knews.com

February 27, 2003

 

MARYVILLE - Mark Blevins sat in his locker room for 45 minutes after a brutal loss on Tuesday night.

 

His eyes were bleary. He looked drained.

 

The Bearden High School boys basketball coach had just watched his team show incredible heart in a comeback that fell short in overtime at the District 4-AAA Tournament.

 

Kyle Cruze was nowhere to be found in that locker room.

 

The Bulldogs' leading scorer and senior leader surprised everyone by quitting the team at the conclusion of the regular-season finale at Karns last week.

 

It was a mistake.

 

He might not realize it now, but somewhere down the road, he'll figure it out.

 

Cruze went on the radio, talked to a TV station and talked to me about his problems with the way Blevins handles the Bulldogs.

 

He craved more positive feedback. He wanted high school basketball to be more fun.

 

His father, Buddy, wondered why Cruze hadn't been named a captain prior to the 2002-03 season.

 

Maybe there was a reason. Maybe a player who would quit his team and his teammates just days before tournament time doesn't deserve to be a team captain.

 

Cruze is a well-spoken, polite young man who helped the Bulldogs to a 32-6 record and a Final Four appearance in the Class AAA state tournament a year ago.

 

It was his dramatic putback against Maplewood that lifted Bearden to a 59-58 first-round state victory in Murfreesboro.

 

But Cruze's arguments against Blevins don't add up to the bottom line. He quit.

 

One thing my father told me - and I've tried to stress to my 10-year-old son Brandon - is the importance of never quitting. Never give up - especially when things get difficult.

 

In athletics, it's like a golden rule.

 

The Bulldogs, without Cruze, never quit on Tuesday. They fought back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit and forced overtime against a much-more experienced, senior-laden William Blount team.

 

It was fun to watch - with, or without Cruze.

 

Still, you couldn't help but wonder how the distraction of Cruze's departure affected Bearden.

 

Blevins now appears to be a coach under fire.

 

He's a demanding man who works endless hours turning young men into winners.

 

Players have quit before, many for the same reasons Cruze provided. Blevins is tough and he doesn't owe anyone an apology for his intensity.

 

He expects his players to work hard, play hard and practice hard.

 

He's a history buff who studies the tactics of old generals. He's a winner and he tells you what he thinks.

 

One of Buddy Cruze's complaints is Blevins wasn't being supportive enough in Kyle's dream of earning a Division I college scholarship.

 

Blevins was simply being honest.

 

He's a former college coach who isn't going to lie to anyone about a player's talents. That doesn't mean he doesn't fight to get his players scholarships.

 

Look in the Bearden basketball program and there's all the proof you need.

 

Past players who have gone onto college basketball, all with the help of Blevins: Alex Oliver, Winston Robinson, Gerald Hampton, Jonathan Stanley, Jason Barnes, Andrew Metz, Ryan Whitlock, Rusty Strange, Drew Clemmons ...

 

Blevins isn't trying to win popularity contests. He's trying to win basketball games.

 

He's not physically abusive. He's not verbally abusive. He's tough.

 

It's a toughness that translates to the personality of his Bearden teams.

 

Cruze claimed Blevins was too controlling, "a dictator," on the basketball floor.

 

Maybe I'm wrong in these days of "it's-all-about-me" athletes, but isn't a head coach supposed to be in control? You think Bobby Knightor Mike Krzyzewski have team meetings to find out how the player's want to run the team?

 

It doesn't happen.

 

The unfortunate part of all this is Cruze seemed to want to make a statement with the timing of his departure.

 

He wanted to put Blevins under the gun. But what he did was abandon his teammates.

 

Cruze says he has no regrets. Maybe that says it all.

 

The player who said he wanted nothing more than to lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back state-tournament appearances wasn't anywhere to be found in that locker room Tuesday night.

 

His loss.

[deputydog]

Knowing Coach Blevins like I do, I can proudly say that I would be very happy if he were my son's coach. I want a coach to instill pride and discipline into the team and give them a sense of work ethic, because nothing in life will be handed to them, contrary to what some believe. It sounds to me like the player and father are both "opera singers", all about me,me,me. In the long run the team will be better off without them, but you hate to see all the hard work that they have put in during the season to prepare for tournaments go all for naught. Keep up the good work Coach Blevins...

[Blue21SallyAt7]

Mark Burgess should win the Pulitzter Prize after that reality check. Great article.

[dawghoop]

Good for Burgess for following up his first article on Cruze with the second one. The Cruzes decided to play this out in the media. I hope they like ALL of the media attention.

[redandblack63]

This young man quit on his team and his friends. He abandoned ship when his team needed him most. I hope he learns from what I feel was a mistake on his part. I can certainly understand that he may have had some differences with the coach but quitting the team was not the way to solve the problem. You would think his father would have had the wisdom to give him better guidance Sometimes you have to set aside your on needs to do what is best for others. Great article by Burgess.

[Ultimatefan]

Leaders never quit. Once you start quiting it keeps getting easier.

[Mayer23]

Who cares. Leaders Never Quit, whatever.. All these wise sayings just make me wanna throw up. Kyle will do wahtever he wants with the rest of his life and be the best at what he does and the best person in the world regardless of whether he quit high school basketball or not. Quit overanalizing and judging everything a person does and worry about yourself.

[gomab2]

GREAT article by Burgess....... I would give him a good mark if he were on these boards.....

[CoachZ]

The article written was way off line. A high school athlete should never be criticized in the fashion the article was written. The kid stood up for what he believed was right. If anything he didn't back out on his players...he proved a point to the younger one's. If all the chemistry is not in place sometimes it is better to walk away. Now, Blevins can take a look at what he needs to fix. Hopefully players won't be scared to stand up for what they want. All high school players are looking for is encouragement....apparently something not given at Bearden.encouragement

[Blue21SallyAt7]

so you're condoning quiting? you're saying that it is ok to quit if you're not happy w/the way YOU think the coach should run the team? that's not a good way to instill work ethic and the "finish what you started" idea to young kids. you said in a way he was helping young kids? how do you figure that? are we going to go and tell all the young kids that we know that if we think the team should be ran differently than the coach sees fit to run it that you just need to quit and leave the rest of the team, school, and community in the dust??

[KevB1990]

Burgess did what a lot of sports writers wouldn't have done; criticize a high school athlete in his publication. I heard the tail-end of an interview he had with Basilio today and basically, Tony just sounded like he was really upset at Burgess' column on Cruze.

 

I've had my moments when I didn't like what I heard on Basilio's show in the past, but I do think he has a good pulse on many situations in town. But he's been known to be a maverick. He said he had a letter and a card talking about something that the Cruzes alleged or something. Maybe.

 

I think Tony was right to question Burgess for writing about a high school kid, but I also think that Burgess was right for writing the article.

 

Either way, I wouldn't have even acknowledged the fact he quit to give him more publicity. If he wanted publicity, he should have stayed on a led Bearden back to the 'Boro.

 

That would have been a statement.

[yellowdog]

Posted by CoachZ:

... The kid stood up for what he believed was right...

 

Certainly he should stand up for what he believes but the way he did it was all wrong. If he quits the team that is one thing, but to take his case to the press is another -- that should give some inside perspective as to what this kid is all about.

 

If he quits the team he should have done it and not created any problems for the coach, team and school. "No comment" would have been a much better thing to say.