Daily “I” Exam

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

Today………

I don’t have to have clear sight of the final step. I just have to have enough faith to take the next one.

I will not allow hurry to enter my world.

I don’t have to finish everything. I just have to make steady progress.

I will accept responsibility for my own failures. I refuse to blame.

I will not take actions that require apologies tomorrow.

I will learn from my mistakes.

I will pray.

I will give thanks to my Heavenly Father for all things.

I will forgive.

I will not ask for help if I can do it myself.

I will not over-react.

I will look for the bright side in every situation.

I’ll remember that I am weak but He is strong.

I will know how valued I am as a child of the King.

I refuse to allow discouragement to stick around.

I will be slow to anger.

I will search for eternal perspective in all of life’s situation’s.

I will allow God’s word to transform my mind daily.

I will lead patiently.

I will give.

I will smile.

I will laugh, and others will laugh with me.

I will sing, even when I don’t know the words.

I will learn something new.

I will encourage, pat somone on the back as I pass by.

I will listen.

I will approach my work as if doing it for the Lord. I will not half-way do anything.

I will be a peacemaker.

I will choose my words wisely.

I will cheer others.

I won’t sweat the small stuff, but I will celebrate small victories.

I will value people more than tasks and schedules.

I will remain calm in the storms, knowing God is with me.

I will make myself last, not first.

I will model a life worth living. Someone is always watching. I AM a role model.

I will love.

I will make the most of today, knowing that God holds every tomorrow.

We All Learn In the Yellow Submarine

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

Summer vacation 2014. Still waiting for a call from social services. I don’t think the security cameras at Food Lion will be able to track my whereabouts since my wife paid cash, following the sudden eruption of violence between my son and me outside the checkout line.

Let’s travel back in time a few moments to the events leading up to the Food Lion incident. Get out of bed at 4am, 11 hours on the road to Nags Head, NC. 10:30am breakfast, arrive at an empty cupboard beach house at 4:30 without any further meals.

Great plan, all the moms in our group make a trip to the supermarket and dads can order pizza. The only problem with this is that over half the people vacationing here arrive on the island between 3 & 5 on Saturday (and arrive hungry). Can’t even get through on the phone to order a pizza. “That’s ok. I can just drive to the Yellow Submarine and order it and wait for it.” (first mistake). My 8 year-old son decides to go with me. (second mistake? nah). Very busy place. We are told it will be a 45 minute wait for our order. No problem.

We decide to walk next door to the supermarket to find my wife and make sure the balance of junk food and health food doesn’t tip too far in the health food direction. She is already in the checkout line with a full buggy. As we approach and say hello, it happens. Kal suddenly turns like Big John Studd and head butts me in the gut (a growling empty stomach). It feels like a hit below the belt and I flash back to my junior year of high school in 1985 when boys drilled each other in the nuts for entertainment. I reacted just like any 16 year-old would…….I punched Kal in the back…..right there in Food Lion……in the checkout line…..the 10-deep checkout line.

Talking quietly and deliberately to him even though my teeth were clenched tightly together, “I have told you to never do that to me!”

The look of horror on my wife’s face just said, “oh mercy, we’re gonna get our kids taken away”. She might have possibly scolded me at this point, but maybe not…….

Kal and I turned and left Food Lion. Both of us realized we had done something we shouldn’t have. We killed a few minutes at Dunkin Donuts and returned to Yellow Submarine to wait for our order, sitting at a booth just inside the door. It become evident that there was no way our order would be ready in 45 minutes.

My “how to be a better dad” instincts were on high alert now after the head-butt/back-punch incident. I soon forgot about my travel exhaustion, growling belly, and headache that was coming on fast from not eating. As I sat across the booth from my child, this precious gift from God, looking into his innocent eyes, questions started racing through my mind:

1) What kind of adult do I hope and pray that he will become?

2) How the heck can his mother and me lead him to be the person he needs to be?

3) Am I truly paying close enough attention to being the best dad I can be every minute of every day.

And almost comically, teaching moments seemed to come in waves in the coming moments (for both of us) as a large and very rude and impatient crowd had gathered around our booth waiting to pick up their orders.

“Dad, I’m starving. When’s our food gonna be ready?” (“You’re hungry son. You’re not starving. There are a lot of people in this world who will die because they have nothing to eat and lots who will eat nothing at all today. We are thankful that we are going to be eating soon.) A lesson in GRATITUDE.

People over our shoulder griping about being told it would take 40 minutes but it’s taking an hour. “Son, I wonder what those people are gonna do with that extra 20 minutes they’re complaining about…..must be something pretty special.” Yeah, I know. Like my wife, you question the value of a little perspective of sarcastic wit? A lesson in figuring out the reality of situations.

People over our shoulder, “This is ridiculous. Let’s just cancel our order and get our money back.” (“Hey Kal, maybe if they cancel their order, we can buy their food at a discounted price. I’m sure somebody back at the house will want it.” **Always find a bright side, squash negativity, even if it’s not your own.** A lesson in being POSITIVE.

People over our shoulder demanding that the counter help go back to the kitchen to find out how much longer their order will be (when they are abviously overwhelmed) “Kal, what if every single one of these people waiting here did that? If we did that, wouldn’t it be like jumping up and saying we are more important than everybody else?” A lesson in HUMILITY.

People over our shoulder basically just being mean to the workers, “Kal, these people are doing the best they can. They might be able to take care of 50 orders in an hour and they’ve had 100 come in. They are doing the best they can. It doesn’t matter if we wait here for another hour, WE ARE GOING TO BE KIND!” (and I said it loud enough to embarrass some of the grumblers into hushing……….but I regret not doing more to defend some of these young folks who really were working hard). A lesson in KINDNESS and putting ourselves in other people’s shoes.

“Dad, do you think we’ll have to wait much longer?” Strangely enough, if I hadn’t punched him in the back, I most likely would have answered his questions differently, like a simple, “hush son, I don’t know, I’m STARVING too”. But instead I just answered his final question with “probably not much longer buddy. If you’re bored, you can play games on my phone or we can walk around and look at some of the neat stuff on the walls.” His reply, “Nah, I’m good”. Little lessons learned I think.

Picked up my order, made a big production out of smiling and loudly thanking the workers and putting money in the tip jar (almost had to push the rude folks out of the way to do so).

The right way becomes so easy to see after you’ve painfully chosen the wrong way. And sometimes it’s good to have strangers around to remind you how not to act when you’re eager to share wisdom with your kids.

Just Living…..Or Fully Alive?

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

I hear it often: someone is greeted with a “how are you doing?”

The response: “Well, I’m above ground and that’s a good thing.”

Is it?

Is it enough to just be living and breathing? To just exist, floating from one moment to the next with no clear intention.

God calls us to be ALIVE in Him, to serve His greater purpose.

Collosians 3 tells us that we, as Christians, are made alive in Christ.

¹²Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Guys like me, we stumble along, trying to live out our lives as Christians………..in our mind and on a keyboard. Spending too much time reading and sorting out thoughts.

Seemingly having a relationship with God, but leaving out a large part of that relationship……loving His people. Love doesn’t happen in books, thoughts, theories, or in one’s mind.

Love happens in deed. For all those things (opportunities) that I may claim to “not have time for” because of work and family time obligations, etc, it’s not TIME that I am lacking. It is COMPASSION that I am lacking.

Compassion, being a Christian, is First Baptist Church in Grayson, KY pulling together people and resources to package over 120,000 meals to send to Haiti……… in one day.

A church this size, in a community the size of ours, has no business pulling off something so monumental.

But when compassion and love become action, all things are possible with God.

A mission team from First Church of Christ in Grayson is currently serving in the Dominican Republic, sharing God’s love and the hope of the story of Jesus. Daily, the pictures are shared on Facebook of our youth and adults conducting a VBS at an orphanage, singing praises to God, preaching, and simply loving His people there.

Compassion. Love. Faith. Action.

These are the things that change lives, give hope.

I can’t say that I’ve ever experienced a true life-changing moment because of things I’ve read or words that have been spoken to me.

Life change happens when people are loved and when they witness the love of Jesus being poured out around them. It’s a blessing right now to see God’s people in Grayson, KY pouring it out so faithfully.

Lives are touched. Lives are changed. God’s people are ALIVE here. Bless these fine people and pray that because of their efforts and faithfulness, countless others will become alive in Christ.

Image Is Everything?

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

Kids need their parents’ approval. They need encouragement. Security.

But they don’t need to grow up watching their parents live as if the approval of the world is of great importance.

Galatians 1:10

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

So how do we raise kids who are secure enough to walk around in public with their pants unzipped and leave home each day without looking in the mirror?

Maybe the first step is to commit to redefining “image”. What do others think of me vs. what do others think of my God. Sure, we can dress in Iron Maiden and Metallica shirts just to avoid the cookie cutter church guy image (but that qualifies as image management that should be avoided). And when we do something nutty in public, and our kids say, “Dad! What are people going to think?”, we can fire off that we don’t really care what people think. We say we don’t care what people think, but do our actions really portray a life that revolves around pleasing God or trying to impress man.

Ultimately, parents need to consistently model for their children, a life of obedience to God. Not a life where anything less than perfection is considered failure, but a life that displays daily choices and actions that paint a picture of surrender. Peace comes from God’s love and living to please Him. Choose daily to love others (not just the easy-to-love folks), serve others, give up our own selfish desires, and seek the character of Christ.

Just a few simple suggestions or at least some things to think about before our kids freak out because they can’t find a boyfriend or girlfriend at age 15 or post a selfie on Instagram that gets 100 likes (or whatever Instagram pics get?) And why should anybody listen to me? Because I have two boys (14 & 8) that have never combed their hair. That pretty much qualifies me as an expert in leading children down the path of “I’m not real worried about what anybody thinks of my appearance”.

1) Don’t complain about doing a good deed and not receiving praise or recognition. You might be doing it for the wrong reasons.

2) Do look for opportunities to praise and encourage others. Pride fools us into thinking we are deserving of gratitude and recognition. We can’t demand these things but we must give them to others.

3) Serve others. Put others before yourself.

4) Don’t obsess over appearance (your own or your childrens’). Avoid phrases like, “you’re not going out of the house like that”. If their tail is clean and proplerly covered and their teeth are brushed, they are ready to face the world. God doesn’t judge us by our neatly combed hair or having clothes that match. Kill the “what will people think” mentality, early and often.

5) Don’t play the fairness card. Don’t even talk about it. “If I do ___ , I deserve ___ . ” “I’ve done twice as much work as my brother so I DESERVE _____ .” Another part of the battle with pride. Kids need to learn to do the right thing without reward. Life’s not fair so suck it up, and all that great stuff our kids hate to hear.

6) Love unconditionally, just as God loves us. Appearance and performance can’t be viewed by children as a measuring stick of our love for them. We love who they are and not how they look or what they accomplish.

7) Don’t use overkill with the word “pretty”. Beauty is on the inside. Make sure your kids know it.

8) Always be mindful of making choices based on the management of your image. Am I trying to impress man?

The only “what will people think” that matters is “what will people think of my Lord because of the way I live my life”? Can I influence them to follow who I follow? Am I maintaining an image that influences others in some way that helps them find their identity as a servant of Christ?

You don’t have to like my hair or clothes, but on my worst days, I can’t do anything to turn someone away from my Savior.

It Takes A Village

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

I turned 46 last week.

In their birthday wish, someone jokingly asked if I had a funny story to share from the events of the day.

It’s usually not hard for me to come up with a tale of my own incompetence or seemingly planned misfortune.

Sure, I did fall backwards on my birthday while hand-trucking a refrigerator and it did sort of come down on top of me (but I’m so experienced and skilled at falling that I wasn’t hurt).

And I did spend two hours trying to remove the chipped and broken blades on my riding lawnmower. Cut my hand open while impatiently separating the 3-pack of new blades. And it only took me 20 minutes to attach the new blades the second time when I realized that I’d installed all three of them upside down the first time.

It’s almost as if I do stupid stuff for the purpose of telling good stories.

Laughing at myself comes naturally. Perhaps speaking in general terms of being richly blessed seems natural too. But puclicly counting blessings just seems awkward; more like bragging about our own good fortunes than about the goodness of God.

But…..today, I make an exception about “bragging”.

The biggest event of this week was not the birthday of a middle-aged man or his acts of goofiness.

A remarkable young lady graduated from high school this week. Nothing remarkable about that. Thousands of kids graduate every day at this time of year, and every parent thinks their kid is amazing.

But, Oh my gosh! When did my baby girl become this young lady?

And the mind of a parent spins and reflects.

The journey from birth to 18 years.

How did she become the person she is today?

I see obvious physical and personality resemblances to her mother and me that make me smile.

But I also see amazing character traits that go beyond the trial and error parenting journey that her mother and I have traveled for 18 years.

It is evident that God uses ordinary people to impact our kids’ lives in amazing ways as they are growing up.

Hindsight is a little clearer now of the awesome collective influence of these people……so I brag on them:

The Sunday school teacher who taught her about the love of Jesus.

The basketball coach who pushed her a little harder than she wanted to be pushed. Lessons is toughness and determination.

The childrens minister who inspired a love for reading the Bible.

Grandmothers who were available for anything and everything around the clock year-around.

A student minister who taught her what it meant to love Jesus and keep a pure heart.

A piano teacher that pushed her to practice until she got it right.

Soccer coaches that helped her find the confidence to believe she could do anything she set her mind to.

Teachers who always managed to make her feel special in a classroom crowded with so many other kids.

The church Christmas program coordinator who whispered her lines to her as she repeated them so quietly that no one could hear.

Cross-country and track coaches that turned her loose and encouraged her every practice, every race. Always believed in her.

Teachers who stirred her creativity and made sure she figured things out on her own.

Two younger brothers who were always secretly proud to say, “that’s my sister.”

Parents of friends who treated her like their own daughter.

A sister that shared with her every part of life. A true best friend.

The student minister who celebrated her graduation in our church service, and handed her a microphone to hear her boldly and confidently tell of her plans to attend a Christian university and serve God in the mission field.

A mother. A tireless worker. Selfless. Perfect model of a godly woman.

It takes a village to raise a child.

I’m thankful for the village that’s raising my children.

Pray for our children.

Pray…….and get movin. Every child is amazing. I bet God can find an amazing part for you to play in a child’s life today.

Thanks to all who have played a part in my daughter’s life (so far).

Sweat the Small Stuff

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

I like to keep things simple. Choose spoken words carefully, avoiding those with no value and speaking only when there is a least some chance that someone is remotely interested in what I have to say. The flip side of this is that I often make the universal sign for “blah blah blah” when someone else is talking too much. I’m judgemental. People spew more words than I want to listen to. And at least once a day, I accuse someone of “making something a lot more complicated than it needs to be.”

Maybe we have a lot of churches that are treading water by doing both of these things at the same time:

1) Making it too simple. “Invite people to church.” “Tell people about Jesus.”

2) Making things a lot more complicated than they need to be. See the two directives in #1. People freak out about their shortcomings and get stopped in their tracks because they can’t see themselves doing “the big stuff” that churchy people speak of. Then think about your own inadequacies, lack of bible knowledge, shyness, less than stellar reputation from a previous life, etc. It becomes overwhelming, hopeless……especially for new believers. BIG STEPS SEEMS TOO HARD AND PATHS FOR SMALL STEPS AREN’T LAID OUT CLEARLY ENOUGH.

Obviously, it’s a difficult matter to balance, but maybe we could be more effective in the true mission of our churches simply by teaching our members to be more like Jesus? (sounds so easy, right?) But I guess poor disciples can’t effectively spread Christianity.

I know I come back to this verse time after time:

Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

But it seems that new and long-time believers alike miss out on the life that God desires for them because we fail to embrace the concept of daily growth/change/surrender.

We know big changes are needed and fail to seek God’s guidance through the patience of making small changes over time.

It seems hopeless.

We can’t see the end, so we don’t even take the first step. We fail to trust.

Face each day with a willingness to change for God.

Or perhaps worse, we fail to acknowledge the need to change.

We coast, living under the impression that we’re doing ok.

We settle for mediocrity, living only by our own strength and not by faith.

I guess I should really circle to a point since I claim to be a man of few words.

If you are a Christian of one week or 50 years, you have spent periods trying to figure out what the heck your spiritual gift is.

You may be like me and spend years believing you have none. You can’t do anything BIG, so you do nothing at all?

In Matthew 28:19 Jesus says to make disciples of all nations. Sounds like a pretty tall order on the surface.

Now go back to Romans 12:2.

The great commission starts in our mind with our commitment study God’s word, to seek his will daily, to become more like Jesus each day. If we are to tell the world about Jesus, our co-workers, friends and neighbors have to see us living like Jesus.

We have to become credible messengers.

My spiritual gift….and yours…..is small victories.

Daily growth, closer to God. Understanding His word and His will more each day.

Loving others, forgiving, serving, putting others before self.

Modeling honesty, kindness, compassion, integrity, strong work ethic.

Placing value on every relationship and every encounter with every person every day.

I guess it was in the 90’s that the “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” books were popular.

I think the concept was not stressing or freaking out about small stuff (good idea).

I can’t see myself hitting many homeruns in my Christian walk.

But consider the value of the opportunities that “small stuff” present each day.

When we tackle the small stuff God’s way, time after time, day after day……….that small stuff becomes an absolute jackpot.

Others may actually want to follow who you follow.

Others may place value on your spoken words.

Seek God’s guidance each day to make the small stuff count.

My Brother’s Keeper

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

“Mom, Dad never has time to do stuff with me any more”.

Pretty sobering words relayed to me by my wife from my 8 year old son. I responded in typical male fashion- defense mode, “I know, but I just can’t help it right now. There’s nothing I can do about it”.

John 10:10

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Life to the full. What’s that supposed to look like for a follower of Christ? Eternity is a long time. Point our eyes toward heaven and do something while we are here and do it well. We’re not on this earth long enough to sit still or to wallow in mediocrity.

I can’t offer the perfect formula for balance in life. Like a training athlete, we have to be willing to push ourselves and to be pushed. We can take on such an overwhelming load that God’s presence and strength obviously carries us through, and our faith grows. Or we can fly around wildly, over-promising ourselves and under-including God and littering our world with a whole lotta C- efforts…..just getting by. Maybe this is the way that many of us truly develep our trust in God, by failing and seeing more clearly our dependence on Him. It’s the logical next step that comes after “I’m about to have a complete beakdown. I can’t handle this”. Either way, we learn of the importance of seeking His will and His strength and trusting Him more each step along the way.

Life to the full. Wife and four kids. Demanding job managing a family business. Involved in church leadership and teaching Sunday school. Coaching middle school basketball and Upward basketball. Two daughters in high school track, cross-country, and soccer. Doing laundry at 2am to make sure everybody has clean uniforms and underwear for the next day. Certainly not taking advantage of all my opportunities but certainly not sitting still.

BOOM! A lifetime of suffering with migraine headaches is taken away. My basketball coaching load is taken away. I have TIME. I have prolonged clarity of thought for the first time in my life. Clarity told me that I’ve been working 40 hours a week at a 65 hour a week job for the last 15 years in an effort to raise children that make a difference in this world (definitely not something I regret, but something that has left a stinky trail of mediocrity in its path). So I’m not only tackling today’s problems with energy and focus, I’m backtracking and fixing yesterday’s problems, and preventing tomorrow’s problems. Sure, now is the best time to do this. It’s ok to work 60-65 hour weeks NOW.

“Dad never has time to do stuff with me now”

“There’s nothing I can do about it”

TRUTH. When we are where God wants us to be, doing the things that He desires for us to do, He provides a way. Satan provides excuses and we can’t wait to grab them and use them. Most likely, the responsible thing for me to do in the short-term is to continue to work extended hours while I have the focus and energy to fix the results of my years of neglect. But as far as finding time to do things with my youngest son, I can do something about it besides make excuses. Claiming to be “tired” in the evenings is not an option. Plan something and do it. And don’t pawn off “dad duties” on mom or big brother.

And that brings me to the greatest point in this long and winding story. When we are faithful (and apparently even when we are just somewhat faithful but willing to admit our failure) God provides a way. When you are living for God, and there just doesn’t seem to be enough of you to go around as a dad (or a mom), He provides a way to fill in the gaps. Special people……grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, coaches, youth ministers are there to provide that special something. When that little voice in your head says, “I can’t do it all”, don’t give up. Do your best and trust Him with the rest. Obviously I can try harder as a parent, but I can see clearly now how God has filled in the gaps with an awesome mom and older brother.

My 3 great lessons for the week:

1) It’s not acceptable to make excuses for not having or making time for our kids. Plan it. Do it.

2) Where I have shortcomings as a father, I am so thankful these shortcomings seem to be perfectly offset and overcome by the strengths of my wife. In the case Kal, our 8 year-old son, I’m thankful the God gave him the best mom in the world to do the exact things that I have failed to do (like teach him to ride a bike).

3) Kal is truly blessed to have a big brother that takes care of him when the responsibilities of life call mom and dad in other directions. Saturday, it was truly like seeing up close, the hand of God at work, as Kal’s 14 year-old brother selflessly devoted his entire day (and night) to playing with, entertaining, teaching, and patiently listening to his little brother. He takes care of his little brother, not because he’s been instructed to but because he wants to. That’s not a normal teenage boy thing. That’s a “what God’s love looks like” thing. And it’s pretty cool to see when you aren’t really expecting it.

I can’t do it all. But I don’t have to. But I still have to try. And I have to trust. And mediocrity is not acceptable.

Baby Please Don’t Go…..To the D-League

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

If you get annoyed at the basketball insight of Jimmy Dykes, you might want to stop reading here.

If you fail to agree with at least 90% of Charles Barkley’s profound basketball wisdom, you may want to unfollow me on Twitter.

And if you are in danger of using a sick day at work if John Calipari leaves the University of Kentucky for the NBA, go ahead and unfriend me on Facebook.

Random insights about “one and dones” and things driven into the ground in and around UK basketball.

-There is a difference between being drafted and being an NBA player. Check out these impact players from the 2011 draft:

1	Cleveland	Kyrie Irving (PG) Duke
2	Minnesota	Derrick Williams (PF) Arizona
3	Utah	Enes Kanter (C) Turkey
4	Cleveland	Tristan Thompson (PF) Texas
5	Toronto	Jonas Valanciunas (C) Lithuania
6	Washington	Jan Vesely (SF)
7	Sacramento	Bismack Biyombo (PF) Spain
8	Detroit	Brandon Knight (PG) Kentucky
9	Charlotte	Kemba Walker (PG) UConn
10	Milwaukee	Jimmer Fredette (PG) BYU
11	Golden State	Klay Thompson (SG) Wash St
12	Utah	Alec Burks (SG) Colorado
13	Phoenix	Markieff Morris (PF) Kansas
14	Houston	Marcus Morris (PF) Kansas
15	Indiana	Kawhi Leonard (SF) SDSU
16	Philadelphia	Nikola Vucevic (C) USC
17	New York	Iman Shumpert (PG) Ga Tech
18	Washington	Chris Singleton (SF) Florida St
19	Charlotte	Tobias Harris (PF) Tennessee
20	Minnesota	Donatas Motiejunas (PF) Lithuania
21	Portland	Nolan Smith (SG) Duke
22	Denver	Kenneth Faried (PF) Morehead St
23	Houston	Nikola Mirotic (SF) Serbia
24	OK City	Reggie Jackson (PG) BC
25	Boston	Marshon Brooks (SG) Providence
26	Dallas	Jordan Hamilton (SF) Texas
27	New Jersey	JaJuan Johnson (PF) Purdue
28	Chicago	Norris Cole (PG) Clev St
29	San Antonio	Cory Joseph (PG) Texas
30	Chicago	Jimmy Butler (SF) Marquette

An odd mixture of D-Leaguers, role players, busts, a few starters, and one all-star.

As Charles Barkley pointed out during an NCAA tournament broadcast, the quality of play and players in the NBA has reached an all-time low, thanks to early draft entrants. My question is this: at what point did it become a good decision for players to enter the draft simply because they could be drafted? Sixty players are drafted each year. For those 60 to find work in the NBA, a total of 60 guys have to either retire or have their jobs taken from them. Barkley also pointed out that the NBA is a league of grown men. As I was reminded so many times during the course of this season, as I watched UK’s freshmen players fail to make fundamental basketball plays that I would expect freshmen in high school to make, ……..”They’re just boys. They were in high school at this time last year.” EXACTLY

And they’re gonna take the jobs away from grown men who aren’t ready to give up their jobs?

For every true one and done like John Wall there is a drafted and struggling Marquis Teague. The statistical success of Demarcus Cousins is quietly matched by the up and down D-league struggles of Daniel Orton (who isn’t under NBA contract- D-league salaries top out at $25,800) . Terence Jones and Eric Bledsoe could have benefited from another year of college, but they have now blossomed as pros. Liggins, Lamb, and Goodwin continue to bounce among teams and stints in the D-league. Lamb would have been a senior this year. Would this have made him a better NBA prospect? It would be nice to find out. What kind of advice do these “kids” get from their coaches? Is there a draft day ego factor that plays into the equation (getting kids drafted carries almost as much value as winning championships and LONG TERM outlook for players’ futures)? Sometimes it appears the Calipari’s philosophy is “send em on, boost our draft numbers for bragging/ego/recruiting, reload, and overestimate my ability to coach up the next bunch.” Honestly, whose job in the NBA did he think Marquis Teague was going to take? You couldn’t name a second string point guard that he could beat out for a job……….but teams draft on potential, so he’s gone.

What’s alarming to me about this year’s group of UK freshmen that may enter the draft is the fact that some of them are still fairly clueless in some fairly important areas of basketball. The sad evolution of basketball, especially as it pertains to elite players=as long as you can do certain things to help your team win the game (put the ball in the basket), you will be permitted to bypass 1) the learning of fundamentals 2) playing and understanding man to man defense, and 3) living, practicing and playing by the same rules as your teammates. It starts in youth leagues where coaches skip over teaching basic skills for the sake of winning and it snowballs from there. I felt pity on Calipari this season as I observed how poorly his players’ previous coaches seemed to have prepared them for college basketball. And then, by season’s end, it became apparent that he subscribes to the same coaching philosophy. 5-star freshmen have the luxury of a “learn at your own pace” system (for games anyway). Other players get the “one mistake and you’re out” system. The players’ pace of learning earned them 10 losses. This was one of the most talented teams ever assembled. They were a couple of losses away from the NIT and people talking about what a terrible coach Calipari is. If the season was 10 more games long, they would have been destroying everybody. As it was, the season was saved and they had an amazing run to the finals thanks to some last minute heroics. Analysts babbled about what a great job Calipari did with his team. But how does the season rate if those shots don’t go in? Failure? Underachievers? Probably. Yes, it was great coaching from the SEC tournament on. What about the rest of the season? Some players can make any coach look good (see Seton Hall 89) and some can make any coach look bad.

But why wait to fix the obvious stuff? Afraid to hurt somebody’s feelings? Inmates running the asylum? Maybe just a little more accountability from day one. Accountability says that you don’t have the same kids on the floor making the same mental errors in game #25 as you had in game #1. It’s that simple. It didn’t happen. Maybe too many of the games are conducted like they are a recruiting poster. Coach the games today. This season, we sort of ran out of games and todays and chances to get better (and those are pretty vital when you set everything up to play with all freshmen). Maybe that was part of the tweak. Maybe that’s why Hawkins finally found his way back into the rotation. He would play defense when others would not. Calipari actually yanked a starter (Young) in the NCAA tournament for not playing defense. To my knowledge, he hadn’t done this all season (but I did quit watching for a period). Why not do it in the first game of the season? Kinda late to learn now.

That brings me to my final point. Kids not being ready for the NBA. The thing these kids need to consider before entering the draft is this: they’re actually going to have to guard real live NBA players. James Young is projected as a possible lottery pick. James Young fouled out against Louisville trying to guard Luke Hancock, a guy that’s 2 steps slower than him. He fouled him five times, not because he got caught off his feet or tried to block a shot, but just because Hancock put down one dribble and took one step. Young somehow still doesn’t know how to position his feet or his body to take away the first step dribble. Really? Does the NBA have guys that are teaching 5th grade fundamentals in practice now. I bet the D-league has some real defensive gurus. Is Calipari telling him he is “ready” to guard Durant? Amazing talent. Ready for the NBA? No.

Julius Randle. Another amazing physical talent. Struggles terribly with court awareness, reading situations and making the right play, where to send the ball, when to get rid of the ball, when to shoot the ball……..basically does the same thing no matter where the defense is. Sure, he has a bright future ahead, but his future next year might be that he’s gonna have a hard time taking anybody’s job. But at least he’ll have a job and get paid. A guy like him could possibly double his contract with another year of college experience to develop. Hard to develop your skills from the end of a bench.

So where does that leave UK next year? Of course, most of it depends on who stays and who goes. But a lot of it may depend on how much the freshmen know when they get here and what their “pace” is in the “learn at your own pace” system that is designed to draw in the next group of 5-stars.

Strange tidbits. Championship game was Kal’s first ever UK game. My daughter Macy is 17 and was a toddler at the 98 finals win in San Antonio. She was a baby at the 97 loss vs Arizona in Indianapolis (so she is banned for life for reading a book and being a jinx) so this will be her last UK game.

Big Blue Nation- Some Things You Learn the Hard Way

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

“Shoot yeah, man! We’re just gonna reload and compete for the Final Four pretty much every year”

Yes, I celebrated a championship in 1996. Never liked Pitino. Just tolerated him while he was here.

Yes, I celebrated in 2012. Calipari is ok. He seems to be a little kinder to people .

I still think John Calipari was a great hire.

Of course I celebrated in 1998. Tubby was my guy. Integrity. None of that northern arrogance. A gentleman.

If you don’t like Tubby as a person, you may not like people.

If you loved Pitino when he was here but hate him now, then you will probably hate Calipari when he leaves too, like he left you at the altar.

But I kept a list of all the people who used the phrase “10-loss Tubby”.

I love coaches who can take their guys and beat your guys and don’t have to have supreme talent to win; winning ugly is acceptable.

I never bothered to learn how to spell Bill G’s last name. I remember that there were people actually celebrating like it was actually a good thing that we’d fired Tubby and hired him. Some things you learn the hard way.

Calipari’s potential 40-0 team quickly approaches becoming his 2nd consecutive 10-loss team (“Tubby has to go. He just can’t recruit.) Some things you learn the hard way.

My dad took my brother and me to our first UK game the first year Rupp Arena opened. I remember actually saying a prayer as I listened on the radio when we trailed Providence in the NIT semifinals in 1976 (and of course the prayer was answered and we won). I remember crazy details of the 78′ championship game as a 10 year-old boy. Never missed a game as a student at UK, even Eddie Sutton’s last miserable year. Saw adults cry after the 92′ Duke loss. Scraped my knuckles on the ceiling during the 94′ LSU comeback. Drove 15 hours with a pregnant wife to watch a regional final vs Tim Duncan’s Wake Forest team in 96′ in Minnesota. Took an infant to the Final Four in 97. Drove 22 hours with a toddler to San Antonio for the Final Four in 98. Made it back to the Final Four with my son in 2011 in Houston and to the regional semifinals and finals in Atlanta with my son in 2012. I bleed blue. I take UK basketball kinda serious.

But this year, the craziest thing happened on the way to 40-0. I quit watching. No heart. Lack of effort. No fundamentals. Mistakes that you’d expect freshmen in high school to get benched for, are repeated over and over and over, and the same kids stay on the floor giving the same lame effort. Accountability? Will to win? Nope. Laziest, most selfish team ever? Definitely.

Gee, I could park myself in front of the tv and watch bad teams compete hard and play with a sense of pride and lose night after night. But I just couldn’t watch that crap any more. Thirty years. The worst.

All the irritating things that I have heard in recent years begin to sound so lame and based on wishful thinking. Most of it can be filed under the category of “the same basic cloud of salesmanship that coach Cal spews 24/7/365 toward 18 year-old kids”. People actually believe that we can fill our roster with high school kids and win a national championship even though it’s never been done before. It hasn’t. Don’t try to revise history on me. And it’s not going to happen. This year’s group of so-called super freshman have no clue how to play basketball. I’d go as far as saying that anyone who coached them in middle school or high school should be tarred and feathered. Calipari falls into that same category. “Oh, it doesn’t matter if ____declares for the draft, we’ve got ____ coming in next year” (and he looks awesome on this mix tape that I watched on YouTube dunking against 5’10” guys)

Too much of this season is spent as a recruiting poster for next season. The message is clear from Big Blue Madness on.

1) “We are a players first school” FALSE. That only applies if you are Anthony Davis or John Wall (then you are his recruiting pitch). If you are Kyle Wiltjer or Ryan Harrow, you transfer because you may not have a scholarship. If you’re Archie Goodwin or Marquis Teague you quietly walk away to the D-League. If you are Jarrod Polson or Jon Hood you live like a 2nd class citizen while the 5-star guys get 40 minutes a game while giving horrible effort and embarrassing the Kentucky uniform.

2) It’s all about the NBA. All Calipari wants to talk about is how many players are in the league and this is the place to come if you want to get there. Constantly parading former players around to impress the recruits. Sure, it’s effective. Perhaps it’s shallow and perhaps we have a shallow pool of players? It’s certainly a shallow pool of basketball IQ, heart, will to win, and any resemblance of unity.

3) Instant gratification. This is the killer.

If the coach wants to develop players, he needs to shut up about one and done. He needs to shut up about the draft.

Kids are showing up that don’t know how to play. They don’t need to show up on campus with intentions of staying only one year. They need to have intentions of learning the game of basketball. And here’s a novel idea that this year’s group seems to have missed out on their entire life: they might need to set out to do all the things necessary to help their team win basketball games. That brings us to the final point.

4) Me. It’s all about me. The “One and Done” world has evolved a bit over recent years as this generation of players has passed through middle school and high school with the “elite” label, having the disadvantage of seeing the instant success of too many Derrick Rose types while their AAU & high school coaches have failed them with accountability and fundamentals…….and at the same time, college coaches are telling them they can be the next Lebron or D Rose.

5) Me #2 is Cal’s ego. He gets a little too caught up in draft numbers and NBA players and forgets about WINS in the ongoing system of the sales pitch production that UK basketball has become. Coach has to kill the draft talk and get into some Vince Lombardi type stuff. Nobody really cares about the NBA, especially UK fans. Besides, he’s in danger of absolutely flooding the D-leaugue and Euro-leagues. Cal owes it to his players to give them better and firmer life advice than to let them enter the draft when he knows they’re not going to get a sniff of an NBA roster, not to make his next year’s roster better but because he is in a position to give them advice that can have a huge impact on their financial future (Goodwin and Teague? Really? just another notch on his draft belt and get them out of the way for the next crop? A chance for an actual nba career after 4 years of college? probably) Selfish fans blindly drink it up and those players begin to fade into obscurity. Who sees it coming and is in a good position to steer them away from it?

This picture is what college basketball is really about. A man of integrity that can flat out coach. And a player that did everything he could to help his team win……for 4 years. I’m sick of the year-round production. I’m not 18 and I get tired of propaganda geared toward the next crop of recruits. I get tired of seeing kids on the floor wearing UK uniforms that act like they should be playing for Louisville. Some players can make any coach look bad. You can’t teach a kid to play with heart. Cal better start recruiting some kids that have it. He might even want to take Chuck Hayes with him to help him identify what it looks like. Some things you learn the hard way.

Just To Spite the Seinfelds

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Karrick Dyer

In one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes, both Jerry and George’s parents are considering moving to a Florida to the retirement community of Del Boca Vista. Frank Costanza gets the impression that the Seinfelds don’t want them to live there.

“You think you can keep us out of Del Boca Vista…we’re moving in lock stock and barrel. We’re gonna be in the pool, we’re gonna be in the clubhouse, we’re gonna be all over that shuffleboard court…AND I DARE YOU TO KEEP ME OUT!!!”

Just to spite the Seinfelds? And he yells in reply, “JUST TO SPITE THE SEINFELDS!”

Do you ever find yourself reaching that point (or living for years at that point) where you’re constantly puzzled by finding the truth of being where God truly wants you to be and doing the things that He wants you to do? Feeling like perhaps you’re doing the right things but doing them poorly? Thoughts of scaling back and simplifying your life creep in or sometimes come over you like an avalanche. Tired of making excuses and wallowing in mediocrity. “MAN, I SUCK AT______.” God desires excellence and I give him excuses and half-done………everything.

I recently told my middle school basketball players that this would be one of the most important quotes/lessons they would every hear from me:

“Your confidence on the court cannot be based on your performance or your ability level. Your confidence must come from your level of effort and determination. When this happens, there is no failure.”

Practice what you preach, coach. Performance, results, people-pleasing, excess of self-reliance or self-confidence………they all cloud our vision of simply doing what is right by God’s standards. Obedience rarely equals comfort and popularity. In a life of Christian faith, I suppose we could substitute the word “peace” for “confidence”. A peace that comes from maintaining a high standard of effort toward pleasing and obeying God.

What God desires for us to do, he also equips us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

¹⁰For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

He desires excellence in all things from His children. Discouragement, stress, overload, fear of failure……these are lies of Satan.

Don’t scale back. Don’t retreat. Know that you are where God wants you to be. Stay there. Try harder. Trust more,

JUST TO SPITE THE DEVIL (but truthfully, just to please our Heavenly Father).

DETERMINATION= “I am gonna do this.” + FAITH= “My strength is not enough, but my Lord will become greater in my weakness.” EQUALS…….Satan loses every time

Just A Dad

"Hindsight is always 20/20. Lookin back, it's still a bit fuzzy." Dave Mustaine

Author Archives: Karrick Dyer