Here's Eddie
Griffin's press conference which was published on All-Star Reports, Bob
Gibbons' site. Amusingly, the habit of quoting inane clichés has
"spread" from The Master to his "Associate" Rob Matera, who
talks of "the recruiting trail." In case you somehow "missed
it", Tommy Amaker got Eddie "in the truck."
Needless to say this is causing great gnashing of teeth among UNC fans. The
legendary loyalty forged by Dean Smith extends to his players and
his coaches, but not, apparently, to fans who are screaming, once again, for
Gut's head on a platter. We're not sure who UNC would bring in if Gut
bagged it, but we're pretty sure that Roy Williams, after the Chansky episode
(Arty said there was a tacit deal in place for Roy to replace Gut, which was ridiculed widely and denied by everyone), would think twice, and three times if Gut were forced out by such ill-tempered fans.
We believe the loyalty engendered by Dean to be real and deep, at least among
the immediate family, to use the operative word. However, the fans are acting more like crass rednecks and are an embarrassment to a great program. As it turns out, Eddie Griffin, at 17, isn't ready to be far from home. This is not uncommon among college freshmen. But savaging Guthridge, by all accounts a decent and honorable man, in an online forum by and for UNC fans is kind of pitiful.
As we said recently, the difference between Duke fans and some other ACC fans
is that at Duke the craziness stays in the gym. Dean Smith was rigid about
enforcing standards in the gym, but outside of it, some UNC fans are just
nuts. Anyway, we gave up on Tar Heel Talk a long time ago as a libelous cesspool, but at certain times, like after Weber State's magnificent upset, it is fun to read. This is one of those times - watch
as UNC fans pile on Gut and do their utmost to discredit that which they
claim to love. So much for loyalty.