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Dane Fife not returning to Indiana


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42 minutes ago, KoB2011 said:

If Woodson lost part of the fanbase because he fired an assistant coach then you weren't a fan in the first place. This isn't some moral screw up on Woodson's part even if you disagree with the decision. 

"HoopLoops-The Return!" 

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6 minutes ago, ledies22 said:

I think this is whole thing is blown way out of proportion. all of 15 people know or really even care about this outside of IU fans and people on the various IU boards. 

It didnt work. For one reason or another. Assistant coaches come and they go. I dont know why an assistant coach leaves any other program, and frankly i couldnt care less.... of other teams assistant coaches. 

Good point.  I recall last season Illinois lost an assistant to UK and rumors were that this would be a big problem for Underwood.  Last check Illinois had an ok season and UK lost to a 15 seed in round 1.  

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47 minutes ago, BobSaccamanno said:

Dakich should speak for himself but I don't think he is saying that Woody explicitly launched a smear campaign.

What he is saying is that Peegs (the business) is obsequious to Woody and the program because their business relies on it.  Their business model requires access.  So they need to please Woody and the program.  If that requires them to crank out a hatchet job in a servile way without Woody telling them to do it, so be it.  Their requirement for access supersedes everything else.

And Dakich's business model relies on drama and contention within the fan base. Let's not kid ourselves here. Dan has done nothing to "unite" the fan base. Ultimately, the only thing that is going to do that is winning.

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14 minutes ago, IU_Realist said:

The problem is both most likely have some validity.  I know Fife was complaining about Woodson awhile back ago. He was complaining about Wittman, Todd and Hill.  Too much input.  Assistants being ignored. 
 

I think most likely Fife has some MAGA in him that rubbed people the wrong way. He commented about masks earlier in the season. 
 

if I was IU I would hire Adams or promote Walsh who will make a fantastic assistant some day.  

And from Fife's POV he was right. 

Having off the books assistants who come in and are not a part if the day to day but get heard more than someone who is there everyday is a slap in the face for people who actually care about their job.  "Wittman doesn't want to recruit so he won't be hired...."  Yeah, who wants to do the shitty part of being an assistant coach.  Driving all over the country to kiss some 16 year olds ass because he can pit an orange ball through a hoop.  That has to be the worst part of being an assistant.  So you are doing the shhh shoveling work and when it comes time to do the parts that you enjoy, well go sit at the end of the bench man, I got all my old pals that aren't on the books to do the real coaching here.  Anybody with half an ounce of respect for themselves would not be cool with that.

The masks were stupid as f---.  Like the cheerleaders in the NCAA tournament wearing masks when everyone else in the entire building was not.  Just stupid.

And there was mention that Fife had a disagreement with some of the guys who were playing.  We were all over these boards complaining about that this year.  Younger guys not getting a go and letting older transfer players keep minutes with minimal production.  Frankly, I think Fife was right there too.

Finally, for someone that did not care, Woodson went out of his way to make it clear this was a firing in his press release.  

This is not the end of the world but it is a continuation of a 20+ year shit show almost every offseason because Indiana University is consistently and constantly stepping on their own junk because the people in the administration are incompetent.

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19 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

Even if it is 100% true, saying "Based on what I have personally observed, as well as what I have heard from trusted sources, the coaching change appears to be justified" would have gotten the message out.

The majority of IU fans understand that Rabby has inside information.  Between what Woodson said and what I suggested Rabby should have said above would have made it clear that a divorce was in order.

Divorce details, no matter how sensational,  dont need to be aired publicly.

Yes I was married, and yes the stewardess was on the clock during that flight to London.  But, it wasn't the business of the nosy lady in 37B.  

Hypothetical story, of course.

This is exactly the logic that should be applied here. Dane is beloved and the all time steals leader. We have preached incessantly about bridging the past. In what universe is it consistent with that kind of branding to go the extra mile and let the info as to why he was fired be leaked, or even specify he's being fired at all? Why can't we let him leave silently? Someone who so obviously contributed a lot to the program.

This was not handled well and I will not be surprised if we pay for this one way or another. I wouldnt want to work for a guy who does this because it looks so hypocritical from the outside. It really has very little to do with how justified it was to fire Dane or not.

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Whether you're a sports team, ESPN, the classroom, the office or the Oscars, politics do not belong in most environments,  I have no interest in the politics of athletes, actors, educators, news personalities or sports commentators.  If I want politics, I'll listen to politicians or political commentators.  I don't know why this is so hard for people of influence to understand.

If Dane pushed a political narrative with players, he had to know at least some of them would not like it and that it would create division.  Not a good move when you are trying to promote team unity.

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16 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

Whether you're a sports team, ESPN, the classroom, the office or the Oscars, politics do not belong in most environments,  I have no interest in the politics of athletes, actors, educators, news personalities or sports commentators.  If I want politics, I'll listen to politicians or political commentators.  I don't know why this is so hard for people of influence to understand.

If Dane pushed a political narrative with players, he had to know at least some of them would not like it and that it would create division.  Not a good move when you are trying to promote team unity.

For me there is a big difference in 'talking' politics and 'pushing a narrative'.

I wish my dad were still alive.  He and I could talk politics and not let it become a fight.  I have no one else in my family I can do that with. I gave up years ago.

Which did Dane do, if either?  I dont know.  But, it's entirely possible different people that heard the exact same thing absorbed it differently.

As society tries to be more politically correct, it sometimes sets boundaries that are impossible to stay within.

 

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1 hour ago, jojo123 said:

Fact or fiction? This has done severe damage to Fifes career. Now with all the media hype involved the IU AD will be left cleaning up this mess. The foundation has just about eroded. 

I doubt it hurts to much because known cheaters keep getting jobs so this isn't as bad as that.

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Dane Fife is loved, especially by the people who were at IU during his playing years, because he is and was so accessible. Everybody has a Dane Fife story because he was a man of the people. He was out at Nicks every weekend didn’t act like he was too cool to talk to anybody. 

He’s also hilarious in interviews and has a dry and witty personality. 

I get that some people feel like they have a connection to him. 

That said, the higher ups at IU know this. They knew there was going to be blowback. Put the Rabby post aside and looking at this rationally….true observations:

1. Fife has not gotten any recruits and I have not seen his name tied to any recruits we’re close to. 

2. He had very little interaction with he other coaches or players on the bench. 

3. The thing we love about Dane, his accessibility and bluntness, seems to have gotten him in trouble. (NIL posts)

This was going to be damaging to Dane’s reputation, regardless. Rumors have been flying for weeks. He got fired from his alma mater after one season. Yes, I do think Rabby overstepped, but this wouldn’t have been covered up from future employers whether Rabby made that post or not. It was already out there. 

 

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I sure wish there was a verified “fact” list at the top of the page we could follow because there’s a lot of people talking in “absolutes” on here and I’m fairly certain (don’t give a hoot who the sources are - - - unless they are Woody and Fife themselves - - and there would still be he said he said) nobody knows the whole story. 🍿 

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