WHAT: Mike Gundy's Press Conference
WHEN: October 17, 2016
WHERE: Oklahoma State University
During a recent press conference Mike Gundy, who holds a 67% winning percentage at the Stillwater university, was asked by a reporter on parity within the BIG 12 in the 2016/17 season.
His response has sparked a national debate on the use of technology (cell phone) and it's affect on the sports production.
See Gundy's response.(fast forward to the 16:12 mark)
Here is our take on the press conference and his response to the question at hand.
Mike, a decorated college athlete at Oklahoma State University, has seen the drastic rise of cell phone usage throughout his time as a player and coach. His era "earned their keep" on the field/court by actually being on the field/court. Where they worked hard, but also learned the game while learning how to compete. During this era, there were NO official trainers to expand a players skill set nor were there as many distractions that today's athletes face today. As a result, player's of yester year contend this helped create a more dedicate and focused athlete. To this point, Coach Gundy is 100% correct. Yes, without a doubt - today's athlete is more gifted (physically), but largely due to a lack of actually learning how to fail in order to succeed as left many players without a vital component for success. It is no secret that players of today do have more resources at their fingertips such as athletic drills, diet tips, etc - but very few (if any) truly understand the past and present of sport in which they play (lack of knowledge).
SAMPLE CONVERSATION with a 35 + football fan with today's football player
"Hey - Revis is OKAY now, but in his prime they would say he was better than Deion"
"Naw, Revis is the truth, but who is Deion?...Wait, he is on Madden - yeah I heard he was good"
Back to Gundy. Essentially he is pointing out that today's athlete sends their time between school, a "trainer", their social media accounts (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter) and less time actually playing the game (Madden or 2k17 DO NOT COUNT). Based upon our conversations with coaches in various sports there are two phrases that always seems to be mentioned, "NO IQ & lack of mental toughness". Obviously there are other factors to both mentions, however both can be directly related to players NOT actually playing, losing yet learning from the sport in which they "LOVE".
Keep in mind, there are only 24 hours in a day yet due to the various social media platforms - phrases such as "eat, sleep and S%$T BASKETBALL" no longer exist.
Take a look at the statistics on the social media usage amongst various demographics:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/the-demographics-of-social-media-users/ (pre SNAP CHAT)
"Instagram continues to be popular with non-whites and young adults: 55% of online adults ages 18 to 29 use Instagram, as do 47% of African Americans and 38% of Hispanics."
https://www.statista.com/statistics/326452/snapchat-age-group-usa/ (post SNAP CHAT)
"During the survey period it was found that 23 percent of Snapchat users in the United States were aged between 13 and 17 years"
http://mediakix.com/2016/09/13-impressive-instagram-demographics-user-statistics-to-see/#gs.null
"55% Of U.S. 18- To 29-Year-Olds Are Instagram Users
Though older generations are embracing and using Instagram, the platform is still largely favored by younger demographics. A recent survey found that 55% of all Instagram users fall within the 18- to 29-year-old range, while 30- to 49-year olds make up roughly 28% of platform's total users. A separate April 2016 study by eMarketer discovered that 59% of U.S. 18- to 24-year-olds use Instagram compared with 62% of the same demographic who use Snapchat and 89% who use Facebook."
So the question remains. Was Gundy wrong in the fact that cell phone (technology distractions) have adversely affected today's athlete?
From where we sit the answer is obvious!
As it relates to his belief that this trend has made parity apart of today's game. He again is dead on! As mentioned there are certain factors such as style of play and an increase in athletic ability has lead to Goliath programs losing to David programs more frequently. Unlike football where spread offenses are created to showcase player's athletic ability, basketball a major reason for such parity is many "blue blood" schools' players leave to pursuit professional careers whereas the "David" programs possess more seasoned players who are physically and mentally more advanced than their younger counterparts.
Yet again, today's media misses Coach Gundy's overall point, instead focusing their attention on sound bits as evident in the recent SportsNation telecast (see attached) where Wiley mentions his hairstyle and labels his conference as pointless. Ironically, Wiley - one of the few ESPN staffers who "got dirty" as an athlete actually agreed with Coach Gundy's point by saying, "These players are not going all to the same school. The talent is more dispersed evenly dispersed than it's ever been before" - ummm, that is PARITY! In addition and please note, according to the latest ESPN rankings, the teams are NOT "set in stone" any more for each year there is a different top 10. (http://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings) at the end of the year. Following Wiley's lead, Granderson brings up some irrelevant 2007 NCAA rule regarding cell phone texting then essentially says it will get worse before it gets better whereas Beadle, who seems to understand the premise of the "message" stops short on the issue at hand.
SIDEBAR: MOST people will watch the SPORTSNATION broadcast and read this blog via their CELL PHONES which adds to Gundy's underlying point.
Yes, players of today have a better grasp on statistics via computer based games but that is NOT helping their ON THE COURT/FIELD IQ. If that were to be true then "stat geeks" will dominate the sport. Sadly, MOST TV / E Media personalities have never played or will never coach on Coach Gundy's level yet they are basing their "knowledge" off of "conversations" with others who have played the sport in question. Please note, we understand their platform is more to entertain than provide actually critical knowledge, but to quote the great Beanie Sigel - "you are not qualified to ask me that question and you are qualified to get the answer".
#theend
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