Q&A: Abdelmassih breaks down DeAndre Kane

[im4cyclones]

Honestly this question is pointless to ask. When there is a decision, ISU will make an announcement. Before then it will be, "No comment." So the only possible response CW can get here is, "no comment." Trying to bait Matt into revealing more would only go to hurt the kid that is losing the scholarship. Once the decision is well thought out and Fred has had a conversation with the player, then an announcement will be made.

So you shouldn't ask a question because they may not know/share the answer?

"Coach, looking at your roster, it appears as if the team is at its scholarship limit. So an obvious question for many Cyclone fans is where does Kane's scholarship come from?"

If the answer is no comment, then it's no comment. You dont have to press further. But you still ask, in my opinion. If they are going to speak about his situation, his scholarship is part of it.

 

[im4cyclones]

I think you're right. A journalist has to walk a fine line between asking difficult questions and maintaining a good working relationship with their sources; I see no reason to second-guess CW's judgment in that regard.

Asking a direct and obvious question (one that came up in the Kane thread almost immediately and has been debated intensely) is a difficult question?

How thin-skinned do you think our coaches are? Can we ever ask them a question? Or do we cower in fear that it may not be a question they want.

It is a fair question. Not mean-spirited. Not surprising. Not a "gotcha."

 

[Spam]

Asking a direct and obvious question (one that came up in the Kane thread almost immediately and has been debated intensely) is a difficult question?

How thin-skinned do you think our coaches are? Can we ever ask them a question? Or do we cower in fear that it may not be a question they want.

It is a fair question. Not mean-spirited. Not surprising. Not a "gotcha."

That question may well have been asked off the record. Maybe CW already knows the answer to the scholarship question. Maybe others on here already know the answer too. It is of course a very obvious question, and I am sure it was considered by CW, and he decided against asking it/publishing it for whatever reason.

 

[Aclone]

Either that, or the point of the interview was discussing the new player, not "Where did the scholly come from?"

 

[clonedude]

Asking a direct and obvious question (one that came up in the Kane thread almost immediately and has been debated intensely) is a difficult question?

How thin-skinned do you think our coaches are? Can we ever ask them a question? Or do we cower in fear that it may not be a question they want.

It is a fair question. Not mean-spirited. Not surprising. Not a "gotcha."

Agree completely.

That's why I phrased my original post the way I did. I first asked if it was off limits or not to ask? And then said, if it's not off limits, then why not ask the question that everyone wants to know the answer to?

I don't see how that question is putting anyone on the spot or in a corner at all. Everyone in the world knows how many schollies we have to offer, and we didn't have one open. It is not a "gotcha" question at all.

And if CW did ask it, and Matt simply told him that he can't answer that question, then fine. But you HAVE to ask it, unless you are too concerned about ticking anyone off if you ask tough questions? And if our coaches are that soft, then what are they doing coaching?

I have no problem if Matt tells CW that he can't go there, but the question has to be asked. Otherwise, what good is the info we get out of these interviews if it is all sugar-coated right down the middle questions that we all already know the answers to?

I understand this is a free site, and that CW wants to kiss butt so that he can keep getting these interviews, but they are kinda pointless if we can't ask important questions IMO.

 

[KFitzy87]

Agree completely.

That's why I phrased my original post the way I did. I first asked if it was off limits or not to ask? And then said, if it's not off limits, then why not ask the question that everyone wants to know the answer to?

I don't see how that question is putting anyone on the spot or in a corner at all. Everyone in the world knows how many schollies we have to offer, and we didn't have one open. It is not a "gotcha" question at all.

And if CW did ask it, and Matt simply told him that he can't answer that question, then fine. But you HAVE to ask it, unless you are too concerned about ticking anyone off if you ask tough questions? And if our coaches are that soft, then what are they doing coaching?

I have no problem if Matt tells CW that he can't go there, but the question has to be asked. Otherwise, what good is the info we get out of these interviews if it is all sugar-coated right down the middle questions that we all already know the answers to?

I understand this is a free site, and that CW wants to kiss butt so that he can keep getting these interviews, but they are kinda pointless if we can't ask important questions IMO.

 

[clonedude]

Ban for what? Asking tough questions? Geeeesh.... we've become soft as a country.

Yeah, we should only be able to ask softball questions to coaches making huge salaries, because that's all they can handle, right? Wow.

I would have never guessed that Kane likes to play uptempo basketball? What college player doesn't? I would have never guessed he likes Fred Hoiberg? Heck, what person in their right mind wouldn't love Fred Hoiberg if they met him in person?

The question that nearly every single Cyclone fan wants to know is how we have room for Kane on our roster when it's full already? It makes a HUGE difference if we are losing someone or not. If the question is out of bounds, then Matt can politely tell CW that it is. No big deal.

 

[KFitzy87]

Ban for what? Asking tough questions? Geeeesh.... we've become soft as a country.

Yeah, we should only be able to ask softball questions to coaches making huge salaries, because that's all they can handle, right? Wow.

I would have never guessed that Kane likes to play uptempo basketball? What college player doesn't? I would have never guessed he likes Fred Hoiberg? Heck, what person in their right mind wouldn't love Fred Hoiberg if they met him in person?

The question that nearly every single Cyclone fan wants to know is how we have room for Kane on our roster when it's full already? It makes a HUGE difference if we are losing someone or not. If the question is out of bounds, then Matt can politely tell CW that it is. No big deal.

How dumb can you be to not realize that Hoiberg/ISU wouldn't want Chris Williams to break the news of somebody leaving the team? Obviously if that happens, they are going to put out their own statement first. Can you think of the last time anyone besides Hoiberg offered the first official statement regarding a player leaving? NO, because it's Fred's job, not CW.

 

[Cy$]

Agree completely.

That's why I phrased my original post the way I did. I first asked if it was off limits or not to ask? And then said, if it's not off limits, then why not ask the question that everyone wants to know the answer to?

I don't see how that question is putting anyone on the spot or in a corner at all. Everyone in the world knows how many schollies we have to offer, and we didn't have one open. It is not a "gotcha" question at all.

And if CW did ask it, and Matt simply told him that he can't answer that question, then fine. But you HAVE to ask it, unless you are too concerned about ticking anyone off if you ask tough questions? And if our coaches are that soft, then what are they doing coaching?

I have no problem if Matt tells CW that he can't go there, but the question has to be asked. Otherwise, what good is the info we get out of these interviews if it is all sugar-coated right down the middle questions that we all already know the answers to?

I understand this is a free site, and that CW wants to kiss butt so that he can keep getting these interviews, but they are kinda pointless if we can't ask important questions IMO.

does chris tell you how to do your job?

 

[clonedude]

How dumb can you be to not realize that Hoiberg/ISU wouldn't want Chris Williams to break the news of somebody leaving the team? Obviously if that happens, they are going to put out their own statement first. Can you think of the last time anyone besides Hoiberg offered the first official statement regarding a player leaving? NO, because it's Fred's job, not CW.

Fine. I agree. But at least ask the question. And who knows, CW probably did ask it. I'm betting he did.

 

[KFitzy87]

Fine. I agree. But at least ask the question. And who knows, CW probably did ask it. I'm betting he did.

Maybe... But then even if he was told the full story, he's not going to write about it until Hoiberg says something. So do you still think it's a lack of responsible journalism for Chris to not put it in this article?

 

[clonedude]

does chris tell you how to do your job?

No, but if I ran this website, I sure wouldn't mind Chris telling me what he likes or dislikes about it. That goes with the territory.

If I ran a website dedicated to following ISU athletics, I'd probably expect my followers to expect me to ask the tough questions everyone wants to know the answer to. CW has access to ISU athletics that none of us has. He makes a living with that access and coverage. He is part of the media. He should be allowed, and expected, to ask the questions everyone wants answers to. Otherwise he risks losing members to other sites that will.

 

[KFitzy87]

No, but if I ran this website, I sure wouldn't mind Chris telling me what he likes or dislikes about it. That goes with the territory.

If I ran a website dedicated to following ISU athletics, I'd probably expect my followers to expect me to ask the tough questions everyone wants to know the answer to. CW has access to ISU athletics that none of us has. He makes a living with that access and coverage. He is part of the media. He should be allowed, and expected, to ask the questions everyone wants answers to. Otherwise he risks losing members to other sites that will.

Are you saying you might leave?

 

[KFitzy87]

No, but if I ran this website, I sure wouldn't mind Chris telling me what he likes or dislikes about it. That goes with the territory.

If I ran a website dedicated to following ISU athletics, I'd probably expect my followers to expect me to ask the tough questions everyone wants to know the answer to. CW has access to ISU athletics that none of us has. He makes a living with that access and coverage. He is part of the media. He should be allowed, and expected, to ask the questions everyone wants answers to. Otherwise he risks losing members to other sites that will.

Would you have been satisfied if at the end of the article, CW wrote:

*I asked Matt about the scholarship situation, and he told me all the details, but I can't write about it until Hoiberg makes his official announcement.

Because you learn nothing either way.

 

[CyCrazy]

No, but if I ran this website, I sure wouldn't mind Chris telling me what he likes or dislikes about it. That goes with the territory.

If I ran a website dedicated to following ISU athletics, I'd probably expect my followers to expect me to ask the tough questions everyone wants to know the answer to. CW has access to ISU athletics that none of us has. He makes a living with that access and coverage. He is part of the media. He should be allowed, and expected, to ask the questions everyone wants answers to. Otherwise he risks losing members to other sites that will.

Are you for real here? Even if he did ask the question and MA said no comment or off the record leave it at that. CW doesn't need to let you know about everything. And I doubt this site would lose members, please go join CR if you wish, no one would mind if you left.

 

[VeloClone]

If I ran this website I wouldn't appreciate all the relationship building and maintaining I had done to get the readers ( including jack offs like you) all the Cyclone stories you can handle being characterized as *** kissing. My thought was that was what warranted the ban hammer gifs.

 

[clonedude]

Are you saying you might leave?

You couldn't be so lucky.

I guess nobody else cares if we are going to lose someone else, huh? It's always the "next guy in" is going to be the best player ever. Just like the backup QB is always the best player on the football team too... until he gets in the game and is no better than the starter.

All I know is that last year's team was a LOT better when Bubu was a part of it. He was one of our best defenders. He doesn't make a lot of stupid mistakes. And he can knock down FT's at the end of games too to lock up the win versus letting it slip away from us. He's not spectacular, but he was important. Fred agrees.

And Naz Long is more of an unknown, but I bet he could easily start and avg double figures in the MAC. These guys are no slouches. Naz was recruited by many schools for a reason.

And so was Kane. So I'm sure he brings his own strengths as well, and I'm glad we got him. But I can't make a final judgement on acquiring him before I know if we are losing anyone or not..... and who that person would be?

 

[Cycsk]

Interesting to hear him address the "suspect past" issue ... then brag about their batting average.

Can we get back to some of what was said in the interview? I really liked how he bragged about their success in situations where guys have some history.

 

[clonedude]

If I ran this website I wouldn't appreciate all the relationship building and maintaining I had done to get the readers ( including jack offs like you) all the Cyclone stories you can handle being characterized as *** kissing. My thought was that was what warranted the ban hammer gifs.

Go ahead and ban me then. If I can't come on here and ask if the guy running the site asked the one question everyone wants to know the answer to, then what's the point behind having a site?

I guess it's not to question anything. Just like society these days. Don't make waves. Don't look outside the lines. Status quo is just fine.

 

[KFitzy87]

You couldn't be so lucky.

I guess nobody else cares if we are going to lose someone else, huh? It's always the "next guy in" is going to be the best player ever. Just like the backup QB is always the best player on the football team too... until he gets in the game and is no better than the starter.

All I know is that last year's team was a LOT better when Bubu was a part of it. He was one of our best defenders. He doesn't make a lot of stupid mistakes. And he can knock down FT's at the end of games too to lock up the win versus letting it slip away from us. He's not spectacular, but he was important. Fred agrees.

And Naz Long is more of an unknown, but I bet he could easily start and avg double figures in the MAC. These guys are no slouches. Naz was recruited by many schools for a reason.

And so was Kane. So I'm sure he brings his own strengths as well, and I'm glad we got him. But I can't make a final judgement on acquiring him before I know if we are losing anyone or not..... and who that person would be?

According to who?