Dave Sez

Diff'rent Stokes

I love Terry Holland and I have a soft spot for Ricky Stokes too, but this just isn't right. Ricky Stokes, once the spunky point guard who helped take Virginia to the 1984 Final Four, is now the coach at ECU. Stokes had a rough first year, going 8-20 and has responded by revoking the scholarships of eight players. Eight! Most of those guys were recruited by his predecessor, Bill Herrion, but at least one player was recruited by Stokes.

Now, I understand that a coach's job is to win and to win you need talent. I also understand that I don't know the whole story here. There are hints that many of these players were unhappy and threatening to transfer. But this whole thing stinks. These eight players now must all find another place to play with very short notice. While ECU can cut them loose with no warning, the players can't just transfer somewhere else and play right away. They have to sit out a year even though it wasn't their choice to leave.

That sucks. You're better than that, Ricky Stokes.