I enjoyed Brandon Wright’s analysis of this year’s basketball season. I guess it is a good thing that the expectations for this basketball team have risen to the point that the NCAA Tournament is the only acceptable end to a season, but what we need to look at is how far this program has come while Coach Greenberg has been here. (No offense to Coach Pascal, because he is a very fine man, but this is a very different time and different circumstances.) The program is light years from where it was when Mr. Greenberg arrived on this campus. The talent pool is significantly better, the competition is significantly better and the expectations have peaked because of those situations.

I am deeply saddened that a student confronted B.B. Waldon in the manner it took place. Students and the average fan have no idea how difficult it is being a student/athlete and attempting to balance all aspects of that role.

My suggestion to that ignorant individual would be to put your money where your mouth is. Go out and show how much you know about the game. B.B. Waldon has had a very difficult four years here. Some of his own doing for sure, but he has been under the microscope since he walked onto this campus. I cannot imagine the pressure on an 18-year-old to walk into a place where he is expected to cure all of the years of basketball woes for this university.

Granted, he has not upped his game for the last couple of years, but we will never know what physical problems have contributed to that.

There were a lot of errors this year and lack of fundamentals, but it is difficult to polish something when there are not enough healthy bodies to practice. I have no patience though with people who say they are not going to support them because of this or that. This is your team, people. Support your own. If watching Reggie Kohn suck it up every game and play at a high level while barely being able to walk did not touch you, there is something wrong with you. I doubt anyone reading this paper has that much courage.

Greg Brittian played through a serious injury, as well. These were kids who played through adversity and tried to hold it together. Did they always succeed? Of course not. Nonetheless, they hung in there.

I am a season ticket holder and will continue to be one. For those of you who did not make it to the Sun Dome this year, you missed a lot of fun. The core of fans that attend are passionate about this program and will continue to support it. There were some great moments and some frustration, but I would not have missed any of it.

Coach Greenberg is an amazing resource for this campus. His attempts at reaching out to the campus community have been amazing and under-appreciated. He is a coach who realizes it is as much his job to train men as it is to train players. Since very few people move on to play in the NBA, that is an enormous part of his job. He is always ready to come and speak to a class, acknowledge those who have worked hard to forge a community here and to make the hard choices to discipline players when necessary. If we lose him because of people who cannot see the forest for the trees, we are the losers there. If you think recruiting great players to USF is an easy thing, you need to open your eyes. We have neither the history nor the clout to match up against the great teams. We will get good players, but, as Brandon pointed out, we will never be Duke.

Have great hope and expectations about this program but couch them in reality. Enjoy what we have and support the guys who are giving so much in their attempts to lift this program. Personally, I have to say thank you to the players and coaches for many enjoyable hours in the Sun Dome.

Diane J. Chase is coordinator of administrative services in the College of Arts and Sciences dean’s office.