You can count us among the people who questioned Elton Brown. Here's what
we said after Duke's game with UVa last year:
"There has been a lot made in recent days of Pete Gillen's situation at UVa, with his
woeful March record overall, and his 0-5 ACC Tournament record. Gillen has lamented
this season, saying that some of his guys lacked character, and that losing Keith Jenifer,
etc., cost his team dearly.
"Okay, fine. But character flows from the top down. We caught a key insight
into UVa when Elton Brown got his technical. He was taken out of the game, which was
appropriate, but he stood on the sideline and bitched, and Gillen stood right beside him
and didn't say a word, didn't even acknowledge what was going on.
"We don't know what he was upset about, but we found the scene shocking. He went
from that snit to the bench, where he continued to complain and gesticulate, and we
thought he might burst into tears at any second.
"Don't get us wrong: it's possible he was screwed by the refs; it was possible
that he was entirely in the right. But no one told him to knock it off; no one tried
to focus him on the game; no one suggested that he was behaving badly, which he was.
Moreover, he was complaining to - and thereby distracting - his teammates.
Pete Gillen has put some fun, if erratic teams out, but it's pretty clear now that
discipline is not his strong suit as a coach."
It's probably not us he's listening to, but Brown
has heard his criticisms, and agrees with a lot of them. That's a sign of maturity, and Pete Gillen is no doubt happy to see it.