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[QUOTE="richmondcuse03, post: 5417802, member: 984"]
This is where I net out.  I get both sides of the debate. Part that worries me is Fran has a great first year and feels the pressure to keep winning. Does that lead him to lower his standards? Or does it give him overconfidence in his ability to manage these types of kids? He was very focused (rightly so)  on getting the culture right. It’s on him to maintain it, which requires being rigid. By all accounts he was very rigid last year. He’s very strict. He may think he can change some of these kids and maybe he will. Or maybe he won’t. But the first time someone violates the culture he has to be firm in the discipline.

As others have said, he also understands the dynamics these kids grow up better than most coaches. He also understands how close a lot of these kids come from doing something very stupid. I heard him talk about the difference between getting in a fight and arrested is often one person (sometimes a coach or other leader) picking up the phone and telling the kid to leave the situation. These kids often grow up in situations that would make most of us on this board weep.  The circumstances and details matter more than the headlines.

i will say he and his staff do their diligence on kids so if they’ve met with him and done their homework, they feel confident that they can keep the kid focused and turned around. I don’t see them becoming last chance u though. They care too much about the culture. I’ll wait and see what happens because I don’t know enough to judge in either direction.
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