Thank you!!! If necessary, we need a box and one to keep him here.
Augusta State University center Garret Siler used to carry the men's basketball team -- and a few opposing players -- on his 7-foot frame.
If Coach Dip Metress leaves ASU, he needs to leave the same way: with people draped on him.
We had no choice but to lose Siler; his four years of playing time were up. We may have to lose Metress too -- if a bigger school comes along and makes him an offer he can't refuse.
But ASU shouldn't give up without a fight.
This is a man who has turned around the program in five short years -- and turned it into one of the elite Division II basketball teams in the nation. The Jaguars made it to the Final Four for the second straight year this year with a 30-5 record -- after flirting with a national championship before losing in the title game a year ago.
And yet, Coach Metress is in the middle of the pack in the Peach Belt Conference when it comes to compensation, at $69,000 a year. And not that long ago, he was the lowest-paid, according to the state.
If merit means anything, if accomplishment is to be at all rewarded, then Metress should at least be among the highest-paid men's basketball coaches in his conference.
It's tough all over, and our friends at ASU aren't faring any better than any of us these days. But Metress is being courted by other schools -- Georgia Southern among them.
It may be inevitable that we lose him. He may be too good for such a small school. But some people spend their entire careers at small schools. Legends are made of such people.
Rather than accept the inevitability of his departure, we hope ASU puts on a full-court press to keep Metress. Athletic director Clint Bryant says his goal is to get Metress' pay to the top of the pack. He's earned it. Metress could also use a full-time assistant. There may be other ways to keep him.
ASU may lose Metress regardless. But it shouldn't lose because it didn't try to win.
Students also need to see that this is still a free-market society in which accomplishment and ability bring appropriate rewards.
ASU may not win this game. But ASU should be in it to win it.
Comments
Thank you!!! If necessary, we need a box and one to keep him here.
Raise the salary, at what expense? Tuition? The cost of higher education has already risen out of the grasp of many. To continue to raise it to fund Electives such as this is ignorance personified. If it's that important then get Alumni and Corporate sponsors to fund it entirely! ASU has always been about Education, not Sports.
ColdBeerBoiled Peanuts makes a good point. Georgia does not have a 9.3% unemployment rate because its sports teams aren't good enough. It has a 9.3% unemployment rate because its workforce is not highly educated. Why cannot people get their priorities straight?
In such matters, all concerns should come down to supply and demand. Does attendance at the home games warrant a raise? If so, give the man his due. Many people were recently complaining about the U Conn coach receiving 1.6 million in salary. It was later reported that his basketball program netted (pun intended) a profit of 6 million. Is Metress bringing in 6X his salary in gate receipts? I attended two games at ASU this season. There were a lot of empty seats.
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