Loyalty...

I miss the days where people were loyal.  Guys like Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Steve Nash, wouldn't leave their teams for anything.  Now, people just go where ever for money, or whatever reason.

But it's not just happening in the pros.  I've seen it happen to two teams, and it makes no sense to me. Two players that coaches have invested their time with.  Two players that were welcomed into the program and afforded an opportunity that many don't get (you should see how many people show up to some of these tryouts).  The teams spend enough time to be a small family, and to see these guys just say forget family and go play in other places, that compete in some of the same circles no less, is just astonishing.

One player had been in the program for years.  Back then, he was not much.  Just an average kid who wanted to play.  They gave him a shot, worked with him and developed his game some, got him some looks from college coaches.  All of a sudden, he's playing on another team.  Why would you think that is a good idea?   That's nothing short of a slap in the face.  "Hey thanks for making me good and by the way I'm going to play against you now." 

While the second player hadn't been in the program as long (I don't think so anyway) but I saw him over the weekend playing for another team.  I just didn't know what to say to him.  I didn't want to see him doing well.  Inside I hoped he played horribly as karma struck back.  I wanted to confront him and ask why he even bothered playing with that team rather than handle his responsibilities with our program.

I don't know how the other coaches can hold their tongues.   I wanted to just tell both those guys how I felt and that they aren't LeBron.  You don't have someone welcome you in, put their trust in you, back you, and help you grow and then just bail.  It's not cool.  I had the opportunity to chill with a couple of the players that came through the program and have a sense of loyalty.  It's fun to be around  those guys, hear the stories, and how much they remember about the teams and the battles they fought together.  You don't have those kinds of memories and all when you are team-hopping. 

Maybe I'm old school, but I wish loyalty was still important...