Fine at the Dine? Update Walhberg resigns!!!

[ironlions]

There have been some rumblings on the Don's board about potential troubles in Malibu. Could be baseless Internet rumors but interesting to see if anything develops.

See below:

members4.boardhost.com/donscentral/msg/1200469685.html

[LMUpepbander]

I wouldn't be surprised at all. We know all about his recruiting methods, plus him stealing his son away from Moraga was a little weird. Then again, the forced transfers of most of the team were as big a red flag as any. It's sad that I hardly know anyone on that team anymore. Gone are the days of Kingsley Costain and Russell Hicks.

[ironlions]

I don't think he stole his son away....probably just wanted to play for his dad. As for his other tatics, well described and defended on the Peppy board...he hasn't broken any NCAA rules...

This lastest rumors could be about something else or baseless rumors.

During our last coaching vacancy his name was on our list...boy am I glad he didn't end up in Westchester.

Go Lions

[ironlions]

Pepperdine has imposed unspecified sanctions in its men's basketball program after reporting two so-called secondary rules violations to the NCAA, Athletic Director John Watson said through a spokesman.

The NCAA defines secondary violations as isolated or inadvertent violations that "provide only a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage."

Watson said the NCAA had accepted Pepperdine's self-imposed sanctions but neither he nor Coach Vance Walberg returned messages seeking information about the specific violations and penalties.

-- Robyn Norwood

[ironlions]

From ESPN.COM


Pepperdine men's basketball coach Vance Walberg has told his players that he has resigned for personal reasons, multiple sources said Thursday.

An official announcement by the university was expected later in the day. It wasn't immediately known who would replace Walberg.

Pepperdine is 6-12 this season and fell to 0-2 in the West Coast Conference following Monday's 92-57 loss to Gonzaga in Malibu, Calif.

[ironlions]

FROM LA TIMES:

Vance Walberg resigned because of 'family issues,' the athletic director says. He had been under scrutiny by the university for his treatment of players.
By Robyn Norwood, Times Staff Writer
10:50 AM PST, January 17, 2008
Pepperdine Coach Vance Walberg resigned today because of what Athletic Director John Watson called "family issues," although Pepperdine recently questioned basketball players about Walberg's treatment of them and also reported minor NCAA violations in the program.

Watson said Walberg had made "mistakes in judgment" that included derogatory remarks toward players and made a player leave the court and suck his thumb during practice for acting like "a baby" last season.
However, Watson said he did not believe Walberg's actions rose to the level of abuse and said he had not been facing action by the school.

"Vance said he is dealing with family issues, and he simply couldn't deal with both," Watson said. "I can assure you part of his frustration was bringing the team together."

Pepperdine is 6-12 this season. Walberg finished 8-23 in his first season at the school last year.

Watson said he expected to ask assistant Eric Bridgeland to take over the team on a temporary basis.

[lionspride]

ironlions:

Thanks for the play by play of WCC coaching matters. I wonder what that SHAM is thinking now? Wonder if he is going to change his mind AGAIN.

It will be interesting to see who Pepperdine gets to permantently fill Walhberg shoes.

And what about his son?

Many ? in Malibu. Hopefully, this circus will give us an upper hand when we face Pepperdine at the end of the month. We need wins any way we can get them.

[ironlions]

I think SHAM was going to have a hard time getting in to Pew U before any of this happened. We really dodged a bullet with him. From what I have read the asst from Puget Sound is a pretty good coach. That is their only real option really, the other two coaches are a HS coach and a AAU coach brought in to get recruits.

There is some talk that they say Jim Harrick at a game recently. Maybe he will step in...that would be another BAD move.

Go Lions

[golions]

Can't say I'm unhappy to see the Waves program in disarray.

[ironlions]

Karma /Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[kahr-muh] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
¨Cnoun 1. Hinduism, Buddhism. action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation: in Hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman. Compare bhakti (def. 1), jnana.
2. Theosophy. the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation.
3. fate; destiny.
4. the good or bad emanations felt to be generated by someone or something.

[LMUpepbander]

This is just too good. I remember those Pepperdine homers all the time posting justifications for his practices, and how he did nothing wrong. What do you have to say now, Ripples?

And, Jim Harrick?! Going from a disgraced Wahlberg to the man known for his son's Georgia class with exam questions such as "how many points is a 3 pointer worth?"

Mudslides, fires, Wahlberg. Malibu sure must be on someone's bad side.

[smc4]

Good riddance to that creep.

[pdine]

Stay classy ...

[smc4]

Please do not lecture me about class. Coming from a defender of a coach, of a man, who poaches students, humiliates players, and disgraces his employer. He should be ashamed of himself, how a father can treat young men like that chills my blood. Sorry if it is classless and I am offending you and your friends in Pepperdine but the guy was a creep and you should be thankful to be free of him.

[fanblade]

WOW. Thank you ironlions for the updates. I have heard the rumors like everyone else but this is really shocking. I feel really bad for the students there, this has to be crazy for them. It is terrible to read how Walberg treated those players. Getting wiped-out on TV is also a big deal. Donors, supporters, etc flame as good as anyone and that loss had to have been another thorn.

pdine, this is a very bad situation for Pepperdine and the conference. It is unsettling how many coaches we've shoved out the door and the level that some coaches will stoop to in order to win. LMU is very much involved in this chaos too. Is this carousel a good thing. Might take 2-3 years to tell.

Zag factor in WCC
posted: Thursday, January 17, 2008 | Print Entry

Well, that didn't take long. It's not even Feb. 1 and we've already got two openings in the WCC. Do you think there is a Gonzaga effect going on here?

Seriously, Pepperdine's Vance Walberg cited family concerns as to his abrupt resignation Thursday. The departure comes a few days after the Waves were embarrassed by Gonzaga 92-57 on Big Monday in Malibu.

Despite all of the praise heaped on Walberg for his attack-style offense, especially from Memphis' John Calipari, there were clearly a plethora of issues. There has been grumbling for weeks.

I had heard that Walberg could be out a few weeks ago but when contacting Pepperdine athletic director John Watson, he said any of that talk was premature.

Something changed in the last few weeks with Walberg and the L.A. Times did a nice job of reporting the issues in Thursday's editions online. Robyn Norwood and Peter Yoon reported that Walberg used "derogatory remarks toward players and last season made a player leave the court and suck his thumb during practice for acting like a baby.''

Wow.

Calipari, who has befriended Walberg, had thought a few weeks ago that Walberg would be out at the end of the season on his own. He said a few weeks ago that he wouldn't be surprised if Walberg wanted to get back to coaching at the high school or junior college level since he had been so successful at Fresno City College and at Clovis West High, a suburb of Fresno.

Pepperdine's opening comes on the heels of San Francisco's odd force out/leave of absence, whatever spin you want on Jessie Evans (just wait for the lawsuit in the spring, according to those close to Evans). USF brought in Eddie Sutton so he could get his 800th win (he's still searching for 799).

The WCC hired a private consultant to push the league's agenda and flood our e-mail box with story ideas. But this clearly isn't the image the league wants right now.

San Diego ran out Brad Holland. Santa Clara forced out legend Dick Davey. Both occurred after last season.

Granted, the openings at USF and Pepperdine might have occurred anyway in the spring but for two of eight programs in the league to have openings in the middle of the season is odd, if not desperate to keep up with the Zags.

The quest for who takes over at both programs, once proud franchises in the West, will be quite interesting. Do they go after high-profile names, like bringing back former Pepperdine coach Jim Harrick, who won a national championship at UCLA, before being fired for violations and then was sacked at Georgia when that program was embroiled in controversy? Does either program make a play for the most coveted name in the West like Mike Montgomery? Does former NBA coach Eric Musselman land either gig? Does either school try to raid Gonzaga again and go after assistant Leon Rice like USD did in taking Billy Grier? But then if three of the eight schools are coached by Zags is that almost too familiar?

Will USC assistant Gib Arnold, a former Pepperdine assistant finally get a shot? Will someone make a play for ESPN's Steve Lavin, who is from the Bay Area, lives in So Cal and would be a natural at either locale?

Regardless, both schools now have a jump on the hiring process as the two programs must rebuild from the bottom up. The reality is that they can't catch Gonzaga. They need to worry about trying to come close to Saint Mary's first.