fryer10/19/99

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

SoCalHoops Mentioned Again
By OC Register's Steve Fryer--(Oct. 19, 1999)

It seems that more and more often, the "mainstream" media are finding out about SoCalHoops. Some of the press we get seems good (see the related UCSB article) and some of it tends to be on the slightly negative side (as in Steve Fryer's column two weeks ago). But even Mr. Fryer knows when to tone down the criticism and when to point to something laudatory on the message boards, and we were mentioned again in his column last Friday, this time in a slightly less negative tone. But Mr. Fryer still continued to show a large measure of distaste for the anonymous posters on the message boards who take cheap shots at coaches, players and others, and frankly, we tend to agree with him that there are some particularly gutless folks who just refuse to sign their own name to posts. We mostly delete these posts, but sometimes a few get through. Fryer's example this past week was about one poster in particular, a very well known local coach, who just couldn't take it anymore either, who evidently felt he had to respond to some of the negativity involving his own school, players and a volunteer coach who manages the substitutions during the fall leagues when the regular coach cannot be at the games. Here's what Fryer's column said this past Friday in the Orange County Register concerning SoCalHoops and the women's message forum:

The brave souls who post their anonymous insights on the message forums at socalhoops.com went after Brea Olinda girls basketball fall league coach Dave Turnick so nastily that Brea Olinda coach Jeff Sink posted his own response, which was wonderfully written and is still on the women's message forum link. Turnick is a law professor who helps with the Brea fall league team on a voluntary basis (Sink cannot coach Brea during the fall, per CIF rules). "Dave really isn't a basketball coach," Sink said. "He's just somebody we bring in, a guy who can enrich their lives. During a timeout, he'll lecture the kids on stuff like the Pythagorean theorem."

Brea beat Mater Dei in the fall game, triggering some Internet cannon fire (all anonymous, of course) that included some implosion on the part of the Brea following (all anonymous, of course), which felt the Ladycats would have won by more if someone other than Turnick was coaching the team. "It's fall league," Sink said. "Who the heck cares?" Several top players did not play, including 1998-99 Player of the Year Chelsea Trotter of Brea.

We also agree that the reply of Brea Coach Sink to the anonymous posters is worthy of preservation here in the Daily Articles before it scrolls off into oblivion on the message boards, so here's the full text of what Jeff Sink had to say in reply to those who posted anonymous criticism of one of the Brea "volunteers" who coaches the team during the off-season fall league:

At the risk of committing electronic suicide, I felt duty bound by loyality to respond to the numerous comments posted concerning my volunteer fall league coach, David Tunick. I do not read nor post messages on this hoops forum. However a friend called with concerns about the content of some recent messages about David and his coaching. So I am going to respond. I use my own name because to do otherwise is in my opinion duplicitous and cowardly.

First, in my opinion, the goal of fall league, for any given high school program, is contingent upon what the particular program hopes to accomplish during the regular high school season. At Brea we always aim for the playoffs in February and in March. We play many high pressure games in which improvement is expected. Given the length of our season I deemphasize fall and spring leagues. We will have enough pressure come November 13th when the season actually begins. Consquently, believe it or not, we just try to have fun in the fall and in the spring. The Mater Dei game was fun, however I agree with the Mater Dei fans, in reality the game meant nothing. They were without two of their best players and we were missing a fairly good player in Chelsea Trotter. Mater Dei is going to have an excellent team this year and they are well coached. If we play them during the regular season we will hope for the best and play for keeps. But it is fall league now.

As for David Tunick, he is not a basketball guy, but then again according to many, neither am I, but he is a scholar, an author, a noted mathematician and a law professor. He loves the game and the kids and is a remarkably objective and compassionate role model for young people. He coaches for us because our emphasis is not on winning games right now but on improvement, fun and academics. No kidding....

Athletes need positive adults as roles models. David Tunick is one of the best. Thank you all for your concern and your patience, with my long response. And, I am well aware that now I will probably come under attack, so be it, but remember you are going to have to take a number and my wife has number one.

Yours Jeff Sink.