Why would Lute care

[rthomas]

Concerning the article listed on the DBR frontpage about Lute trying the squash rumors that he might have Parkinson. I don't understand why he cares. I don't know too much about Parkinson; I know its debilatating but I don't think it causes dementia, is contagious, or something to be ashamed of. He's an older man and visibly shakes on the sidelines. Someone, especially his local radio station DJs in Tuscon, is going to notice and say something about it.

The thing I never liked about Lute was that he always seems to divert attention away from his team's failures.
In 2001, his team lost becasue Duke got all the calls. That rumor has persisted. If someone is starting silly rumors about Lute, then so be it.

[bluebear]

I don't like Lute for the same reasons as you but rumors about health are off limit IMHO...
As for why he cares, I imagine that could have a significant impact on his recruiting, particularly for someone who is already relatively old

[alteran]

I don't like Lute for the same reasons as you but rumors about health are off limit IMHO...
As for why he cares, I imagine that could have a significant impact on his recruiting, particularly for someone who is already relatively old

Bingo.

Every recruit of his will have heard this rumor. They may not believe it, but they will have heard it-- and if his hands shake at all while he holds his coffee, or if he mispronounces a name, or tells them he's sorry he's late because he got a little lost coming from the airport, they're going to wonder.

--alteran

[Classof06]

The key word here is certainly recruiting. If you're an 18 year old kid, you might be skeptical of even playing for a fully functional 72 year old (which I believe Lute is). The age gap is so wide that some recruits might feel they can't connect with that coach. If you begin on introduce health issues, even if they're not true, it will still stay on a recruit's mind. I understand why Lute is mad, but unfortuntely it might be too late; if 100 people see the faulty front page story, only 15 or so will see the tiny retraction two days later...